The Fortunate Lady and Her Mountain Man

Chapter 214: Chapter 214: Never Again

Ever since Dabao had started talking, Ji Huan had spent the whole winter correcting his pronunciation and pacing. Her efforts had paid off; he spoke much more smoothly now, no longer sputtering out one word at a time.

"Um... it’s right next to our house. Not far. I’ll be back in a little bit."

Ever since Dabao came to the dilapidated shack to live with Ji Huan, he hadn’t once mentioned going back to see the place he used to share with his grandfather.

It was very close, right on the path to the Hu Family’s home.

Every time they passed it, Dabao would stare straight ahead, as if it weren’t his former home at all, but a place completely foreign to him.

’It was hard to tell if he was traumatized or if he had genuinely forgotten.’

’A five-year-old should be old enough to remember things...’

But Ji Huan, recalling the state she had found Dabao in, didn’t want him to be reminded of the scene and dredge up memories of that tragedy.

That was why she had no intention of taking Dabao to the mud hut, not unless he asked to go himself someday.

Dabao didn’t say anything, but his eyelids drooped. Ji Huan could tell he was displeased.

"A pouting Dabao isn’t a handsome Dabao. Come on, give me a smile. I’ll make you a feast for lunch today."

Ji Huan cupped his small face in her hands, squishing his chubby cheeks together. Dabao didn’t smile, but she herself let out a chuckle.

"Alright, you focus on your writing practice. I’ll be quick. I’m going to lock the front and back gates. If you get tired, you can play in the courtyard with Dahuang and Jia, Yi, Bing, and Ding. Don’t go into the kitchen, and don’t touch any scissors or sharp objects."

She didn’t relent until she’d managed to coax a reluctant nod out of him.

After Ji Huan left, Dabao stared at the half-finished sheet of paper. His left hand, which had been resting on it, suddenly clenched, crumpling it.

Dahuang trotted over, wagging his tail, and was promptly bonked on the head by the crumpled ball of paper.

Jia, Yi, Bing, and Ding also came looking for their mother, but the threshold to the main hall was too high for them to cross, and they yelped in frustration.

Dahuang looked uncertainly at the clearly upset Dabao, then glanced back at his pups, who were trampling all over each other in an attempt to scale the "wall." For a moment, he didn’t know who he should be comforting.

"Stupid dog."

Dabao looked away, pulled out a fresh sheet of paper, spread it over the felt mat, and began writing again.

Ji Huan, however, couldn’t stop worrying. When she reached the mud hut, she gave the key to Hu Dacheng and told him to go keep Dabao company.

Hu Dacheng had just been tormented by Dabao, and to make matters worse, neither Wan nor his own older brother believed him. He was feeling thoroughly wronged and had no desire to go back and babysit that little imp.

But it wasn’t up to him. The moment Hu Liang raised his foot as if to kick him, Dacheng shot off like a rocket and vanished from sight.

A fenced yard and two small mud huts—it wouldn’t take long to clean.

But because the place had been vacant for so long, the yard was overgrown with weeds—some from the previous year, and some newly sprouted.

The floor inside wasn’t paved, so it was in much the same state as the yard. Some of the more vigorous weeds had pushed up through the packed earth and were already knee-high to Ji Huan.

The spring had turned the weeds a vibrant green. Far from looking desolate, the place almost seemed to be thriving.

To an outsider, it might have seemed fine. But as someone who had witnessed what happened here, standing in the middle of it all sent a bone-deep chill through him, and goosebumps prickled his skin.

Of course, this was mainly how Hu Liang felt.

But he felt that as the older one, he couldn’t show any fear in front of Ji Huan. He was supposed to be the one giving *her* courage. So he chattered away, trying to start conversations, his voice loud enough to be heard from the main path.

The two of them first worked together to clear all the weeds in the yard. Then, Ji Huan had Hu Liang haul the weeds away to the roadside in a willow basket and give the yard a final sweep.

Meanwhile, she went straight into the main hall.

Although the place gave Hu Liang the creeps, he couldn’t let a girl like Ji Huan face it alone.

"How about... you sweep the yard, and I’ll take the main hall."

Ji Huan, a kerchief tied around her head, was using a long-handled broom to sweep dust from the ceiling beams. She wasn’t paying close enough attention and ended up choking on a cloud of it.

"COUGH, COUGH... Once you’re done with the yard, the kitchen is all yours. I’ll take care of the main hall."

Hu Liang knew he couldn’t change her mind, and seeing that she genuinely didn’t seem to be forcing herself, he had no choice but to agree.

At the same time, he couldn’t help but curse himself inwardly. ’I’m a grown man, and I have less guts than Ji Huan!’

Influenced by Ji Huan’s composure, Hu Liang gradually began to relax. After tidying the yard, he moved on to the kitchen.

Ji Huan, however, ran home two or three times before she had even finished cleaning the main hall.

It wasn’t that she was trying to slack off; she just couldn’t rest easy with Dabao out of her sight for so long.

And Hu Dacheng had a "prior record." Even though he had repeatedly promised to turn over a new leaf, he wasn’t exactly reliable yet. What if he got distracted and ran off to play again?

Hu Dacheng might be a simple boy, but he wasn’t clueless. When he saw Ji Huan running back home again and again, he knew it was because she didn’t trust him, and he felt incredibly hurt.

"Wan, I really didn’t wander off this time! I locked the gate tight as soon as I got here. See? When you knocked just now, I even made you give the secret password before I’d open it..."

Thinking about that made Ji Huan want to laugh.

She had come up with the password to prevent strangers from tricking the children into opening the door by claiming to know their parents when no adults were home.

Ji Huan had repeatedly warned them that if they weren’t sure who was outside, they had to ask for the password through the door first. If the password was wrong, they were under no circumstances to open the door.

But just now, Hu Dacheng had clearly recognized her voice, yet he still insisted on the password before opening the door. The moment she stepped inside, Ji Huan gave him two light taps on the forehead.

Still, it proved he was really taking his responsibility seriously.

Hu Dacheng hung his head, defending himself in a small voice. "I just sat by the door of the main hall. I didn’t go anywhere, and I didn’t bother Dabao while he was writing..."

He’d gotten a beating and a scolding for losing Dabao, but what upset him more than any of that was the fact that no one trusted him anymore.

Lately, his mother wouldn’t even let him take Xiao’an and Hua out to play. And now, even Wan was treating him the same way...

Ji Huan felt a pang of guilt.

Hu Dacheng wasn’t a little kid anymore. His sensitivity was a clear sign of how much the incident had affected him.

And her actions had probably hurt his feelings, however unintentionally.

"I apologize. I shouldn’t have doubted you."

Hu Dacheng froze for a second, then his face turned beet-red with embarrassment.

"N-No, Wan... It-it really was my fault. I was just fooling around... But please believe me, I’ll never do it again! I’m going to be a man of my word!"

Ji Huan patted his shoulder earnestly. "I believe in your resolve, and I believe you can do it."

A huge grin spread across Hu Dacheng’s face, instantly chasing away the gloom.

"So, th-then why did you come back...?"

"To supervise you, of course."

"Huh?"

Ji Huan flashed a perfectly plastic smile. "I believe in you, and you have to believe in me. Before you become a true man, the observation and supervision of the masses is an absolute necessity."

With that, she darted into the east room to check on Dabao, then hurried away.

She left Hu Dacheng standing there, dumbstruck, looking as if he’d been struck by lightning.

"So do you believe me or not, Wan?!"

When Ji Huan got back to the mud hut and relayed the conversation to Hu Liang, she couldn’t stop laughing.

Hu Liang’s somber mood lightened somewhat, and he took the initiative to bring up the topic they had been deliberately avoiding all morning.

"Wan... I never would have sold Ximei. I really didn’t know..."

"I know," Ji Huan said, cutting off his bitter, feeble explanation.

"You believe me?" Hu Liang’s eyes brightened for a moment, only to dim again. "But my mother and Ximei... they don’t believe me. They’ll never forgive me..."

"Ximei was terrified, and Aunt Xie is bottling up her anger. They need time to recover and calm down. you have to give them that time, and you have to be patient."

"You’re saying... they might still forgive me?"

Ji Huan held up her hands. "I can’t make any promises about that. It’ll depend on what you do from now on."

Hu Liang knew exactly what "what you do from now on" meant.

"Don’t worry," he said. "It will never happen again."

’No one would ever harm his family again. Not even a little.’

Seeing the determination in his eyes, Ji Huan felt half her worries lift.

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