Chapter 586 - Suspicions (2/2)
Yu Xiaocao had Zhu Junyang help to prepare the roe deer and hazel grouse meat. Then, she swiftly cooked up a pot of hazel grouse soup and stewed up a pot of roe deer meat. During the mealtime, she only served up enough food for their group and sent Chunhua and Qius.h.i.+ with the remaining food to give to the Jin Family.
Old Man Jin attempted to refuse but saw that they sincerely wanted to give the food to them. He thanked them a few times and ended up taking their gift. There was savory preserved meat steamed on top of rice, a large basin of roe deer meat, a basin of hazel grouse soup, and a few different vegetable dishes. The Jin Family couldn't bear to make this much food during the New Years!
“Grandfather, they have given us both medicine and food. Do you think there’s something they want from us?” Jin Xiaohu gnawed on the roe deer meat as he mumbled out his question.
“What could they possibly want from us?” Old Man Jin was also a bit puzzled by their guests’ generosity.
“Father, do you think they want us to lead them into the mountain? Last time, the eldest son of the Lu Family was pressured to take some n.o.bles up the mountain and ended up getting savaged by a black bear. When he got back, he only managed to endure for a few days before he pa.s.sed, right? If they ask this of us, you absolutely cannot agree ah. How is this leading them into the mountains? This clearly is asking for us to act as bait!” The Jin Family’s second daughter-in-law was a shrewd one. The other two daughters-in-las also began to look worried and anxious.
“They probably wouldn’t, right? Do you think they really resemble those other people ah?” Old Man Jin placed down his bowl and chopsticks as he pondered over this
“Father, how are they not the same as the others? To the rich and powerful, are we, commoners, even people to them? In my opinion, we need to be careful of suspicious folks bearing gifts as they are sure to be ill-intentioned——they likely have ulterior motives!” His second daughter-in-law coldly huffed and picked up a piece of roe deer meat to chew on angrily. The rich added generous amounts of oil and seasonings to their food, so even the vegetables they cooked tasted better than what their own family made.
“Then what can we do ah?” The other two daughters-in-law were so worried now that they had no appet.i.te. Only the second daughter-in-law continued to eat with relish, as if this didn’t affect her appet.i.te.
“Grandfather, if they want us to bring them up the mountain, let me do it ah! I often run around the forest near the mountains and know where there aren’t any fierce beasts but plenty of prey. Even if we encounter any danger, I have nimble legs and feet and will be able to run much faster than those weak and soft young masters and misses!” After thinking about it in this way, Jin Xiaohu felt an urge to eat more. There was so much delicious food and savory meat. It’d be such a pity to not eat to his fill. It was better to fill his stomach than to continue to fret over this.
As the Jin Family continued to discuss how to avoid being taken advantage of, Xiaocao and the others were currently making their plans for the next day to enter the mountain.
“Tomorrow, just the three of us should go up, right? Didn’t they say that there are a lot of vicious creatures up there? It might not be a good thing to bring too many people along!” Yu Xiaocao gestured between herself, Zhu Junyang and Su Ran as she proposed her idea.
Chunhua and Qius.h.i.+ immediately objected, “Our objective is to keep you safe, Young Miss. You also just said that there are fierce beasts in the mountain. We need to go with you.”
Hou Xiaoliang regarded them with a bit of disdain as he opined, “With the master and Head Su around, does Miss Yu still need you two to protect her? Just obediently stay back and don’t drag them from behind. Look at me, I know my limits and didn’t even try to bring myself along!”
Chunhua and Qius.h.i.+ wanted to continue to protest but they were interrupted by Zhu Junyang who made the final decision, “Alright, it’ll just be the three of us. Bring along Little Black and Little White. Cao’er, make sure you let those two know that they are not allowed to leave one step away from you.”
“It’s not a big deal. Don’t I also have Little Glutinous Dumpling ah?” Yu Xiaocao pointed at the golden kitten that was sleeping soundly on her knee and gave a knowing look towards Zhu Junyang.
Su Ran, who was sitting on the other side of Xiaocao, reached out and picked up the golden kitten by its scruff and brought it over. He met the kitten’s golden eyes for a bit of time and then shook his head and put the angry little animal back down. He muttered to himself, “This kitten’s fur is a bit more brilliant than other cats’, but I don’t see anything else that’s special about it. Are you sure it’s able to protect you and wouldn’t just run off at the first sign of danger?” The second sentence he directed towards Xiaocao.
“Sir Su, don’t underestimate it. Although Little Glutinous Dumpling looks quite small, it’s very fast and has sharp claws. It can easily attack an opponent’s eyes. Even Little Black and the others don’t dare to provoke it!” Yu Xiaocao comforted the little divine stone who wanted to claw Su Ran for the insult. She said a few good words for it in front of Su Ran in order to have the other man not suspect her too much.
“Oh? It’s that special eh? Then it must not be an ordinary house cat right? Little La.s.s, where did you go to get so many powerful pets?” Su Ran was very interested in the arrogant and aloof white wolf. If it wasn’t Xiaocao’s pet, he would have long s.n.a.t.c.hed it over. Now, she even had an additional strong little kitten and it really piqued his curiosity and desire to investigate more into this.
Yu Xiaocao unconfidently turned her gaze away and lifted the little golden kitten to her eye level. She had an unnatural smile on her face as she said, “I had picked up Little Glutinous Dumpling near the West Mountain, so who knows what type of breed it is. After raising it for so many years, it hasn’t gotten bigger. It’s always been so tiny and cute, so I kept it by my side.”