Chapter 45: Chapter 45: War God Possession, So Much Game

Xiao Chenye didn’t have time to check on Wen Ran before getting called away by Xiao Chengguang.

He felt a bit disgruntled, “What’s up?”

Xiao Chengguang glared at him and whispered, “What do you think? It’s serious business!”

Xiao Chenye understood immediately; it was about Li Chenggang.

He shared everything he had gathered recently without missing any details.

After talking for a while, his mouth was dry, “Is that enough? Is it sufficient?”

Xiao Chengguang gave Xiao Chenye a pat, “You’re doing great, this information is plenty, more than enough. I’ll let you know if there are any new updates.”

After saying that, he paused, a bit of worry on his face, “Don’t mention this to our second sister for now; I’m afraid she won’t be able to handle it immediately.”

“Don’t worry,” Xiao Chenye assured, “I understand.”

“Good,” Xiao Chengguang, while expressing concern for Wen Ran, added, “Is that little educated youth okay?”

When Wen Ran was mentioned, Xiao Chenye’s expression softened, “She’s okay now; her fever’s going down. A few days of good food and care should do the trick.”

“Alright then, I can tell you’re here in body but your heart’s elsewhere. I won’t keep you any longer; go in and take a look.”

“Got it!”

Xiao Chengguang only showed his face for a moment, greeted everyone, and left. Xiao Chenye busied himself tidying up and took them back home with him.

Originally, Wen Ran thought she could just go back to her own place, but Mrs. Xiao wouldn’t let her.

“Oh, why are you so stubborn? Who’s going to take care of you if you go back alone? Do you expect Hetao to do it?”

Hetao?

“Pfft~” Wen Ran couldn’t hold back her laughter, “Forget it, Hetao can’t even walk steadily.”

Mrs. Xiao agreed, “That’s right. What if something happens, and you’re alone in the house? Nobody would know if this time Xiao Chengguang didn’t happen to come across you. What about next time?”

That rhetorical question left Wen Ran utterly defenseless.

“You keep saying ’what if’, but if it happens to you, it would become a certainty!”

Alright then!

Wen Ran surrendered, “Aunt, stop. I’ll do as you say.”

“That’s more like it! The room you stayed in before hasn’t been disturbed, so you can stay there and get better. I usually take care of Chenyue and the kids at home during the day, so looking after you is just a matter of course.”

The old lady was quite grand, making Xiao Chenye chuckle, and he joked, “Yeah!

Whether it’s one sheep or a flock of sheep, they’re all herded the same.”

Mrs. Xiao silently grabbed a shoe sole and smacked him a couple of times, “You little brat, always running your mouth!”

~

Wen Ran still had a slight fever and lacked energy after arriving at the Xiao Family. Mrs. Xiao made a pot of millet porridge and told her to drink it before sleeping.

“Cover yourself up to break a sweat. When you get up tonight, you’ll feel like nothing happened.”

While tucking her in, Mrs. Xiao muttered, “Get better soon so that when it’s time to drink chicken soup tonight, you can really enjoy it.”

Wen Ran looked at Mrs. Xiao, unable to stop her nose from twitching.

Maybe people are just extra vulnerable when they’re sick.

At such times, when there’s someone you can rely on, you can’t control yourself.

She sat up and hugged Mrs. Xiao, her voice tinged with tears, “Aunt, you’re so kind, thank you.”

Thank you for letting me feel what it’s like to have a mother’s care.

Mrs. Xiao also felt a pang of sorrow, gently stroking Wen Ran’s back, “Hey! Good child, let’s not be sad!”

Wen Ran slept quietly, like a little angel. Mrs. Xiao watched over her for a long time before finally getting up to leave. As soon as she closed the door, she saw her own son circling around like a donkey grinding.

Pacing around someone else’s door.

Geez~

For some reason, she suddenly felt that her foolish son wasn’t quite a match for Xiao Wen the educated youth.

Xiao Chenye didn’t know he was being despised by his own mother. He crowded around to ask, “How is she? Is she asleep?”

Peeking around like a sneak, “Can I go in and take a look?”

Mrs. Xiao slapped a hand over half of her son’s face, “Shameless troublemaker, what are you going to see while the girl is asleep?

Being such a rogue!”

“Mom!” Xiao Chenye hollered in frustration, “You’re just slandering me.”

“Yes, yes, yes,” Mrs. Xiao responded nonchalantly but didn’t forget to ask about Xiao Chenye’s hunting results, “So, how did it go today? Taking the Red Army up the mountain for a hunt, what were the gains?”

Gains?!

If you talk about that, Xiao Chenye got excited.

He raised his eyebrows, “Mom, I’m not bragging, but today your son was like the War God. Guess how much I brought back.”

Mrs. Xiao wasn’t paying much attention since Xiao Chenye was always so bouncy; she casually replied, “Eight cows, seven mules, six horses.”

Xiao Chenye was speechless, “…”

He was at a loss for words, “Seven pheasants, six rabbits, and a silly roe deer.”

Mrs. Xiao stomped her foot and turned, “Are you messing with me?”

“They’re just over there.”

Mr. Xiao didn’t dare interfere with the warm moment, so he concentrated on being a merciless butcher, chopping away.

Upon hearing them, he lifted his head, chicken feathers sticking out at odd angles, “I’m not lying, it’s true. Come help me sort the meat, or else it’ll all go to waste.”

Outside, it was raining, apart from Wen Ran recuperating and Xiao Chenyue tending to the newborn, everyone else was busy processing the meat.

Mrs. Xiao was already planning what to do with it. The family wasn’t short on money, so the meat would stay for their own consumption.

Besides the fresh meat for tonight’s meal, the rest would be partly salted, partly smoked, and some made into jerky.

They could take some to Chenxing, and Xiao Chengguang could take some back to the military camp.

As for the pretty chicken feathers, they could be made into shuttlecocks. The rabbit and roe deer skins, when tanned, could make gloves, hats, and knee warmers for winter. Nothing went to waste.

Farm life is like this, carefully budgeting while savoring life’s romance and warmth day by day.

The village captain dropped by briefly, coincidentally right after they’d stashed the meat safely away.

He came to check on Wen Ran, “How’s that girl doing?”

“The high fever has subsided, but there’s still a slight fever,” Xiao Chenye whispered, “She’s sleeping inside now.”

“That’s good, as long as the high fever’s gone,” the village captain sighed, “This kid is truly admirable. If your family can support her, do as much as you can.”

“Of course, no need for you to tell us.”

After all, he was a bit ambitious himself, with ulterior motives, so it was only right to take better care of her.

“Creak~” The door opened, and Wen Ran walked out, meeting their astonished looks, and calmly extended her hand, “Hey, Uncle, don’t just pay lip service~

Such empty words are the least useful. Let’s do something practical!”

The village captain was taken aback, “When did you wake up?”

“Hehehe, right when you started praising me,” Wen Ran smacked her lips, remarking, “To be honest, I find it quite surprising.

There are times when you praise me, Uncle?

I always thought, in your eyes, I represented all that’s lazy, greedy and cunning.”

The village captain was speechless, “…”

He wasn’t!

He didn’t!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep