A Little Jade in Goddess Gorge

Chapter 29: Miss QiQiao

In Songfeng town, QiQiao and Yu Xiao sat down inside a popular tea shop, drinking tea and eating snacks while chatting happily. 

"Sister Yu, your dress is amazing." It's currently autumn and the weather starts to get cold. Yu Xiao made herself a brown robe lined with white fur that she wears with a pants underneath her dress. There are small white flower embroidery along the lining and her collar. It's easy to move and from afar she looked like a martial artist, not a village woman.

"Do you like it? It's comfortable and I think men don't dare to stare at me too much when I wear something like this."

QiQiao pouts "You can easily move around, but still you never come to the village to visit me anymore. I even look for you every time I go to the embroidery house but you didn't come as often!"

Yu Xiao smiles, "You know it's not convenient for me to come to your village anymore. You can still visit me in this town for a while. Sister Fang gave me a big job from her cousin."

"Really? What are you going to make this time?"

"Sister Fang's cousin owns a ready-made clothing store and they got a custom order for outer clothes for a rich merchant wife, so I will stay a bit in the city to help them. Do you want to help?"

"Of course! How much does it pay?" QiQiao excitedly answer.

"You! Since when you are such a money-grubbing?" Yu Xiao laughed. Sister Fang also asked her to train a few embroidery ladies because they are getting more orders. QiQiao already has a good basic, so it would be good if she could join the team.

QiQiao pouts again, "You know my family, they only treat me nicely now because I'm making money. If not, all they talked about was about which village they could sell me to. Since I start taking orders from sister Fang, my mother allow me to eat eggs every day. Not even my oldest brother has this kind of treatment!"

Yu Xiao observes the young teenage girl closely. Compare to a few weeks ago, she does look healthier and happier. "Well, it pays well, I guarantee that. Besides, you could see me all the time then, sister Fang arrange for a rental house nearby so I could train more girls. What do you think?"

QiQiao quickly nodded. She knows it would be hard for Yu Xiao to visit her in the village. She heard that she has some dispute with the Li brothers, but she didn't know the details and doesn't want to pry.

When she returned to the village, she bumped into Chunni and other young girls. "Sister QiQiao? You looked so beautiful! What do you use for your skin? It's so white!" Lately, QiQiao used most of her time embroidering or go to town to sell them. When would she have time to chat with these girls? However it is nice to talk to them every once in a while. 

When the girls chatted together, Li Shu passed by with a bucket of fish. He knows the girl, QiQiao, who usually stares at him strangely from a distance. However, he can't put together that girl with a cheerful girl who is chatting happily with other girls. She also looks pretty good, instead of her yellowing face and skinny malnourished figure, she is now has fair-skin and glowing face.

What he didn't know is that, before her parents barely feed her enough and she has to work like a horse around the house. However, now she makes more money in a month than what her family could make in a year, so of course her parents now treated her like a princess. If anything, her parents now compete to take more jobs from her. In fact, with how good she looks now, a lot of people have asked her hand in marriage but the parents don't agree. Which family could make 10-15 silver every month? If QiQiao got married they won't have access to that income anymore.

"Sister QiQiao, that's Li Shu." Everyone around the village knows that QiQiao likes Li Shu but the Li family already has a wife. Different than before, now QiQiao has the courage to accept it. She could now pursue her own happiness. 

QiQiao nodded and greet him, "Mister Li."

Li Shu is amazed that she actually talked to him. Before, all she could do around him is lower her head, hide behind someone, and mumbles some unintelligible words. But now she smiles and confidently greet him.

"Miss Wu." He greets her politely before walking away. 

She looks at his back and remembers the first time she met him. A long time ago when they were still children, she was bullied by older boys who are friends with her brothers. No one ever cares about her or treated her nicely, so she just crunch into a ball and accept the beatings. However, Li Shu came and beat up those boys, so they all run. Li Shu scolded her for being a weakling and left, but she never forgot. 

Now she could accept that regardless of her gratitude and feeling towards him, all these years he never liked her. She smiles and decided to let him go.

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When Li Shu returned home, Bai Lan was telling the brothers about her sister.

"I thought your sister's name is Ru Lan." said Li Yan.

"Actually, we are not blood-related sisters, but we worked together for the same mistress. Our mistress like orchid, so all maidservants was given a name with a "Lan". I worked for the mistress since we were young, but Ru Lan was purchased shortly before the mistress got married. I don't know her birth name."

"Her real name is Li Man then?" 

Bai Lan also doesn't know the answer. 

"So what do we do? She is talking in a weird language and doesn't recognize you."

Bai Lan looks at the brothers with expectation, "I want to look after her."

Li Yan quickly comforts her "Of course, Lan-Lan. She is your sister so she is our sister too. Of course we need to look after her. 

However, with only two rooms the brothers won't be able to consummate their marriage if Li Man still sleeping with their wife.

They still have some silver leftovers, so they decided to build a house in the back yard so Li Man could have her own room. They also agreed that Li Hua should get his own room so he could study. 

Li Mo suddenly starts talking "Just build an extra third room as well." Then he walked away and disappeared again. 

Li Yan quickly covers him, "Ah. Xiao Wu also growing up and he might go to school as well in the future. If not, it's convenient if we have any guests as well. 

Bai Lan privately thinks Li Mo meant the room is actually for someone specific, but she is too worried to ask.

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That night, when Yu Xiao returned to the cave she was greeted with a faint scent of blood. 

She hurriedly look around the cave with worries and found Xiao Xue licking three newborn pups.

"Xue-Xue?" She quickly checked her and surely, Xiao Xue had just given birth. She regretted not even realizing that her little girl was pregnant. "Xue-Xue, you are so young... how come you mated so early. Who is the father of these.."

Before she finished her sentence, she saw how the three black pups look like bears and she recognize those faces.

"Big Hei? Xue-Xue! You had so much potential! You could have found a wolf king somewhere and have his pups, but you had to fall in love with a village dog?? You...."

She sobs uncontrollably and hugs her, "You and I have similar taste in men, huh?" 

She has to admit that she missed that man so much. How long since the last time she saw him?

His tall body, with broad shoulders and arms that look like he could support any burden. His eyes look at her fondly, with a slight crescent shape every time he smiles. 

She missed telling him everything that happened in her life. Even now Xiao Xue has children with his dog, and she can't even tell him.

Xiao Bing looks at her with panic and try to comfort her. 

Yu Xiao looks at the newborn pups sadly. Because of her failed romantic adventure, Xiao Xue also separated from the father of her puppies. However, at least the puppies still have her, Xiao Bing, and their mother. 

"Once this job is finished, I won't accept those jobs anymore. I'll just stay here with you guys, alright?" She has played around with other humans for long enough. Now she should prioritize her real family.