The Fortunate Lady and Her Mountain Man

Chapter 92: Chapter 92: Return and Extortion

"Liangzi, when you come back from town tomorrow, could you bring back some rice and flour for me? Please buy a lot. Your family should probably buy some too."

Hu Liang was confused. "But you haven’t even eaten much of what you bought last time. Why do you need more?"

"The weather has been so strange this year. There might be a huge snowstorm on the way. If the roads get blocked, it’ll be a hassle to buy anything then. And what if war breaks out..."

Widow Xie laughed. "Beiliang was beaten into submission long ago. Haven’t you noticed how peaceful it’s been for the past six months?"

Most people thought the same way, and Ji Huan couldn’t exactly explain the details to her.

"Anyway, it’s better to be safe than sorry. We don’t have much land, so we can’t compare to the other villagers who have grain stored up. Besides, didn’t you just say that next year might be a year of bad harvests?"

Widow Xie thought about it and realized it made sense.

Hu Liang made the decision on the spot. "We’ll listen to Wan. We’ll buy it tomorrow. I need to go to Fifth Grandpa’s to order some baskets later anyway, so I’ll ask him if he needs to stock up too."

Speaking of Fifth Grandpa, they had started helping him after ordering a few batches of rattan baskets. Now, whenever Ji Huan and Hu Liang went to town, they would take his baskets along to sell.

Besides the square baskets with lids, Ji Huan had also drawn up several new designs for him. She suggested he weave things like flowers onto them, creating a series of storage boxes and bins.

And it worked. This new style of weaving became quite popular, and several shops in town approached him to partner up.

Although people quickly started copying the style, their craftsmanship couldn’t compare to Fifth Grandpa’s. Plus, with Ji Huan’s encouragement, Fifth Grandpa had broadened his creative horizons and would introduce new products from time to time. This naturally gave him a competitive edge over the others.

Now, he no longer needed to bother anyone to help him transport his goods to town. Knowing he had trouble getting around, the shops he partnered with sent their own carts to pick up the baskets. Life had gotten much better for Fifth Grandpa’s family.

"Make sure you have a good talk with Fifth Grandpa. His family has sold all their land. It would be a disaster if they ran out of food during a snowstorm."

Ji Huan’s warning proved to be well-founded. Fifth Grandpa was used to a life of hardship and was reluctant to buy more food when he still had rations at home.

Hu Liang had to use every ounce of persuasion, repeating Ji Huan’s words, before Fifth Grandpa finally agreed.

The next day, Hu Liang and Widow Xie went to set up their stall in town as usual, taking Hu Dacheng with them. After breakfast, Hu Ximei followed Ji Huan’s instructions and gave her maternal grandmother her daily massage before playing with Xiao’an and Hua in the courtyard.

Ji Huan copied a book for Song Jing while watching Dabao practice with a brush on scrap paper. His writing was like chicken scratch, but his attitude was admirably serious.

’Look at that little face, so taut with concentration.’

Ji Huan smiled, leaned over to correct his grip on the brush, and then held his small hand to guide him through a few characters before letting him continue on his own.

Ji Huan was discovering more and more that Dabao was no ordinary child.

This wasn’t to say he was a prodigy who could master anything in one try. Rather, his comprehension and ability to learn were far superior to other children his age.

Once Ji Huan pointed out a mistake, he would almost never make it again.

For example, if he wrote a stroke backward, Ji Huan would hold his hand and rewrite it once. After that, he truly never wrote it backward again. When his grip was corrected, he would hold the brush exactly as Ji Huan had taught him, refusing to relax his grip even if his small hand couldn’t hold it steady and he looked like he was about to snap the brush in two.

The most important thing was his focus.

’Children with autistic tendencies are often less affected by external distractions, so their concentration is usually better than that of other kids. They can even be exceptionally talented in specific areas.’

’However, Dabao did exhibit, to varying degrees, some of the main symptoms of autism: language development delays, social interaction difficulties, narrow interests, and repetitive behaviors.’

’But his case is mild. As long as his living environment improves and he’s encouraged to interact with others more, he’ll be able to improve his social functions in the future.’

’He went from rejecting all strangers to being able to coexist with the Hu Family, didn’t he? When Dacheng teases him now, he just ignores him instead of biting.’

’These are all good signs.’

’Dabao is so smart. He won’t be trapped in his own little world forever. One day, he’ll emerge from it and become even better.’

’Of course, even if he stayed like this for his whole life, Ji Huan was prepared. As long as she, his big sister, was around, she wouldn’t let him suffer any grievances.’

Just as she was happily teaching and writing, a voice suddenly called from the entrance, "Is anyone home?"

The courtyard gate was open, and when Hu Ximei saw two men walk in, she asked them what they wanted.

"We’re looking for Ji Huan." Their faces were dark, and their tone was aggressive, as if they were here to collect a debt.

Hu Ximei looked back at Ji Huan.

Ji Huan studied the two men carefully and was certain she didn’t know them.

"I’m Ji Huan. What can I do for you?"

"You?" The middle-aged man in the lead looked her up and down, a flicker of doubt in his eyes. But then he remembered the things in the cart at the gate, and his face hardened. "You have the nerve to ask? Don’t you know what a despicable thing you’ve done?!"

Hearing his aggressive tone, Hu Ximei quickly moved to stand close to Ji Huan, lending her support. "Sister Wan..."

’There are no adults at home. If this turns into a fight, we’ll be at a disadvantage.’

Ji Huan patted her shoulder, then turned and told Dabao, who had stopped writing to watch, to keep practicing.

Seeing her calm and unhurried demeanor, the middle-aged man’s anger flared even higher.

"Fine! You’re going to play dumb with me, are you? Whatever. We brought the goods back. Now hurry up and give us our money back!"

Ji Huan scoffed. "You barge into someone’s home, start barking accusations without explaining a thing, and then try to extort money? Uncle, don’t tell me you’re from the Bai Family too?"

"What Bai Family? I own the restaurant on East Willow Lane in town! How are we extorting you? A couple of days ago, you came to our restaurant while I was out and tricked my son into spending ten taels of Silver on your bullshit dehydrated vegetables! Are you denying it? I brought the stuff right here. You can’t weasel your way out of this!"

When he mentioned dehydrated vegetables, Ji Huan’s expression changed slightly.

’Not many people know about dehydrated vegetables. Right now, it seems like my family is the only one who knows how to make them.’

’The most crucial step of the process was kept secret, but I can’t rule out the possibility that someone learned by watching... Could one of the hired helpers have figured it out and started selling it under my name?’

’No, that’s not right. If they had really succeeded, given the current vegetable shortage, the restaurant owner wouldn’t be this furious.’

"Could I see your dehydrated vegetables?"

The restaurant owner snorted and kicked the young man who had been standing beside him with his head lowered the whole time. "What are you waiting for? Bring them in!"

The young man must have been his son. Looking as though he had made a terrible mistake, he scurried outside without daring to say a word.

Seeing that the goods were just outside the courtyard, Ji Huan followed him out.

A mule-drawn cart was parked at the gate, carrying five or six large wicker baskets, all covered with felt cloths.

Ji Huan lifted a felt cloth to look inside and immediately burst out laughing.

’The dehydrated vegetables looked so "dead." To think someone had the guts to sell this, and someone else was actually dumb enough to buy it? He deserves to be kicked by his old man.’

Seeing that she could still laugh, the restaurant owner grew even more incensed. "I’m telling you, don’t even think about backing out of this! If you don’t refund my money, I’ll drag you to the magistrate!"

Ji Huan ignored him and turned to his son instead.

"Don’t be so hasty, boss. Why don’t you have your son lift his head and take a good look? Did he really buy this from me?"

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