Chapter 276: Chapter 276 Wild Vegetables Chapter 276: Chapter 276 Wild Vegetables “Mom, don’t be anxious, because it got late, there were no ox carts available, so I walked back from the town. It was pitch-black on the road, I couldn’t see anything clearly, and I don’t even know how many times I fell. I quickly got up and kept walking, probably got hooked by the thorny wild grass on the roadside, but I didn’t notice until you mentioned it,” Xuexue gave Madam Xie an excuse to gloss over her late return.
Upon hearing this, Madam Xie’s face filled with pain as she hurried forward, rolling up Xuexue’s sleeves to inspect her arms while murmuring with concern, “Poor Xuexue, it’s all because mom doesn’t have the means, causing you to worry about making money for the family every day.”
Seeing her mother’s excessive worry, Xuexue didn’t know whether to cry or laugh, feeling lucky that she hadn’t told her about Housekeeper Zhang’s attempt to kidnap her. Otherwise, given Madam Xie’s current state of anxiety, she wouldn’t be allowed to leave Mo Family Village ever again. How then could she earn money? How could she expand her own power and pave the way for her future return to the capital for revenge?
“Mom, don’t be too nervous, I really am fine,” Xuexue patted her back to comfort her.
“Are you really not hurt? Let me see,” Madam Xie insisted, trying to lift Xuexue’s clothes to check.
“Mom, don’t be . Big Bull is watching,” Xuexue quickly covered her clothes with her hands, preventing Madam Xie from succeeding. She might be thick-skinned, but she wasn’t about to do anything indecent in front of an adult male.
Reminded by Xuexue, Madam Xie turned to glance at Big Bull and stopped her actions, recognizing that the propriety that needed to be upheld before marriage must still be observed.
As the two of them argued animatedly on the side, they didn’t notice Big Bull nearby, whose eyes had shone when he heard Madam Xie wanted to lift Xuexue’s clothes, but dimmed and became disheartened when she refused, hanging his head as he walked off to the kitchen.
That evening, Xuexue’s late return had alarmingly startled Madam Xie. She was still shaken: “You girl, luckily nothing happened, you nearly scared your mom to death, knowing it was getting dark, you should have come home earlier.”
“Exactly, Sister, you were so late, mom cried out of fear,” Xiao Chun stood by with red-rimmed eyes, clearly having cried not long ago.
Xuexue, feeling the warmth in her heart from their concern, thought about how good it was to be truly cared for by family. In her past life, she had been blinded by deceit, failing to see these genuine relatives and instead putting her trust in those who used her, which ultimately led to her tragic death.
“Looks like you all haven’t eaten yet, right?” Xuexue gathered herself and said with a smile.
“Not yet, we’ve all been waiting for you,” Chuner said pitifully. She was already hungry early in the day, but due to worries about her sister’s late return, she had been distracted. Now that Xuexue was back, and Chuner relaxed, her stomach started to rumble loudly.
“Let’s go have dinner,” Xuexue said, taking Madam Xie’s hand, about to retrieve the food from the kitchen, when Big Bull’s call to eat echoed from the main hall.
“Hee hee…! Big Bull Brother is so nice!” Chuner exclaimed joyfully, bounding toward the main hall. As she ran, she looked back and called out, “Mom, Sister, come quickly.”
Madam Xie also smiled, “Though Big Bull seems silly most of the time, sometimes he’s quite clever.”
Xuexue, however, felt Big Bull had been acting strangely these past few days, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what exactly was odd about him at the moment.
“Wife, wife, come over here, let’s eat, you must be hungry too.” Big Bull filled a bowl with food for Xuexue, looking at her eagerly for approval.