Important Notice: I will be undergoing a hand surgery next week, which would inhibit my ability to type, so I would be taking a break from translating to recuperate. For now, I have scheduled release up to chapter 38. It might take probably around two months before I can resume typing normally again. (hopefully by late August or early September). Thank you for support and following the series up till now, and I hope to be able to return to translate this series as soon as possible.
“……”
Oh my goodness, did he trip over such a massive ginseng root?
Is this for real? People frequently roam around the mountains, so why had no one ever discovered this ginseng with its size?
Su Dalang slapped his cheeks to confirm that he was not hallucinating, and rapidly retrieved it. In the past, he had occasionally heard his mother mention how absurd Dabao’s luck was, but this was way beyond his expectations. He genuinely understood the meaning behind his mother’s words today.
“Uncle will safekeep it for Dabao in the basket for the time being.”
“Okies-”
Su Dalang was relieved that he had brought a basket along. However, it soon turned into regrets as the subsequent incidents made him wish he had brought a larger one instead.
By the time they experienced the third instance of a wild pheasant bumping into Dabao out of nowhere, Su Dalang had already grown numb to it. In the previous expeditions to the mountains, capturing one wild pheasant would have filled him with immense joy and excitement. Yet at present… they were practically sending themselves into his nephew’s arms!?
He did his best to fit as much as possible into the bamboo basket. It was already filled to the brim and there was no space for any more loot.
Fortunately, they had reached their destination, a low-lying plain by the side of a hill. To the right was a meandering river and the entire area was covered with dense weeds.
Su Dalang had always been a man of few words. Although he had no idea why these kids wanted to come here, he refrained himself from asking and instead followed along quietly, while maintaining a vigilant awareness of the surroundings.
Relying on his exceptional memory, Erbao led the group to the location where they had previously encountered a pair of young wolf cubs by chance. Ever since, the cubs had been on their mind and they were curious about the cubs’ wellbeing at present.
“Brother, are the two young cubs still around?”
“I have no idea. A few days have passed since…” Erbao furrowed his brows and shook his head, while Dabao surveyed the area. He noticed a trace of dark fur amidst a heap of weed and called the others over to take a look.
Su Dalang moved ahead and cleared the weed out of the way. Their gazes fell upon two small dog-like animals huddled closely together, curled up into the shape of a ball, completely motionless. He carefully lifted one up but the cub had no reaction.
“Why is it so thin? Did it miss its meals?” Dabao had a worried expression, as he cautiously approached to touch the cub but quickly pulled back his hand.
Su Dalang checked for its breathing. Fortunately, the little one still displayed signs of vitality, although its condition was extremely weak. Both of them were as thin as skeletons. It was unlikely for them to survive much longer in the wilderness.
“Let’s bring them back and feed them.” All three kids unanimously agreed and Su Dalang had no objections either. He indulgently complied with the wishes of the kids, scooping up the other cub with his remaining hand.
The group then began their descent from the mountain to return home. Thankfully, their trip back went smoothly without any complications.
“Thank you, Uncle.” The trio said goodbye to their uncle with their usual antics and swiftly departed with the wolf cubs cradled in their arms.
Su Dalang, along with his wife and children, Lu Shi, Su Yan and Niu Niu, were currently residing in their previous house. Although Su Jin had recommended them to move into the recently constructed manor, they had not approved to do so yet. Despite Su Dalang’s generally straightforward and honest nature, he could be pretty stubborn and unyielding once he set his mind on something. There was nothing much Su Jin could do besides providing assistance in other areas.
Qin Shi, on the other hand, moved into the manor together with Su Jin’s youngest brother, in order to assist in bringing up the three kids.
As for her second brother, Su Ce… Ever since he started receiving occasional coaching from old man Xuanyuan, he had made significant progress in his academic endeavours. He graduated as a scholar early last year, and was now studying in the advanced institute of higher education to prepare for the imperial examination scheduled for next year. He stayed at the dormitory in the academy.
Before Su Dalang had the chance to reply, three pairs of little legs hastily scurried off, leaving no traces behind. Su Dalang had a resigned expression as he clutched onto the bamboo basket. He was left with no choice but to make a trip to Su Jin’s manor.
……
Due to her hurry, Guaibao inadvertently collided with another individual.
“Oww-” The young girl got up smoothly with a flip, and felt mostly alright. However, the other person was not fortunate enough to emerge without injury. The individual was sent flying through the air and made a dramatic descent, rolling twice before eventually coming to a halt.
Had it been Dabao or Erbao who collided with him, he would have likely been unhurt. Regrettably the person he bumped into was Guaibao, who possessed immense strength sufficient to easily shatter large boulders with a single punch. Naturally, the impact from the collision would contain a significant amount of force, which stunned the opposing party.
Guaibao paused for a brief moment when she realized the situation. She… had caused a road accident! She quickly brushed the dirt off her clothes, anxiously twirling her fingers as she approached the individual to apologize with a remorseful tone, “I am sorry, unfamiliar uncle. Guaibao will ease the pain. Huff, puff, pain pain go away…”
Da Bao and Er Bao laid the cubs on the ground and approached to check on the man as well. They were contemplating on getting a physician to assess his injuries, since they were the ones at fault. Good children take responsibility for their own mistakes!
Xu Qingzhi arched his back, clenching his teeth in agony. Upon hearing the youthful voices, he lifted his head and an expression of revulsion immediately flashed across his eyes.
It turned out to be the three little brats of Su Jin.
No decent child could be born from a cheap woman like her. He held lingering resentment from the time he engaged a matchmaker to ask for her hand in marriage and was rejected. He originally presumed that Su Jin was simply playing hard-to-get and would come begging for him eventually.
But not long after, Su Jin’s belly began to visibly swell up with each passing day. An unmarried woman was expecting a baby. Qin Shi had maintained the narrative that Su Jin had tied the knot while she was away from the village and only returned after her husband had passed away. He was not convinced by the story, and even felt humiliated by the fact that he almost married a woman like this.
Whenever he saw these three kids in the village, he would feel disgusted by the trio who were born out of wedlock with unidentified parentage. He imagined the ridicule and mockery from the villagers in private, and began to entertain malevolent thoughts.
With his ill intent openly on display, he looked at the small girl crouching beside him, who was still exhaling air through her mouth in an effort to ‘ease his pain’. As he cast his gaze downwards, he saw the ground full of jagged fragments of gravel and rocks, and a gleam appeared in his eyes.
After confirming that there were no witnesses nearby, he stretched out his hand and forcefully shoved the little girl down to the ground. Out of the three, the girl appeared to be the most delicate one, and he would derive great pleasure at the sight of her face marred by scratches from the gravel and rocks.
However…
Uh… she wouldn’t budge??
Xu Qingzhi was surprised, yet he was not willing to give up like this and made another attempt. This time, things did not go the way he wanted.
Erbao became wary when he perceived the malice from the man’s gaze. He moved nimbly and pulled Guaibao out of harm’s way. After closely observing the man and running through his memories, he was able to deduce the identity of the man. The man was the only scholar in the village, Xu Qingzhi, at least, until his second uncle also passed the exam.
There must be some reason for him to harbour such intense resentment towards his sister, or possibly towards all three of them. Regardless of the reason, Erbao had no intention of forgiving him. Glaring intently at the man with his pair of dark eyes, he conveyed an ominous message in a serious yet youthful tone, “As fate would have it, misfortune will follow you today, random stranger. Be cautious of your steps!”
After failing twice, Xu Qingzhi casted a vicious glare towards the trio and stood up while enduring the discomfort in his hand. At that moment, he heard one of the boys cursing him. He spat on the side of the road and wanted to approach to teach them a lesson. Dealing with Su Jin was beyond his means, but he believed that it would be a different story dealing with her kids instead.
“Bang! Splash-”
Unexpectedly, Xu Qingzhi stumbled and fell into a muddy ditch beside him, as though something had caused him to trip.
Dabao blinked his eyes in confusion and had a delayed response, “Erbao, that man is a baddie?” Otherwise, Erbao would not have jinxed that person with his words. Erbao rolled his eyes and looked at his slow-witted brother who was still struggling to comprehend the situation.
(Why did he get to be born first? I should be more suited as the eldest child. If it hadn’t been for his insane luck, he would have been abducted and sold away.)
“Hmph!” he responded proudly with a single sound and ignored Dabao.
Erbao rarely spoke much due to two main reasons – his cool personality and the fact that his mouth was effective at bringing bad luck. In order to avoid harming people, he had always exercised extreme caution when speaking.
Su Jin had encouraged Erbao to speak up and express himself more frequently, as she was worried that constantly suppressing his emotions would be bad for him. However, Erbao showed no signs of concern or interest. He still preferred to maintain his solemn facade. The origins of his traits and behaviour were truly a mystery.
Guaibao, who had been pulled to the side, pouted her lips unhappily. She had put in a lot of effort to soothe the man’s pain, but it was met with his malicious retaliation. Was it because she wasn’t cute enough?
She massaged her soft, plump face. She needed to find a therapy that could heal the dent in her confidence…
The trio ignored the wailing for help coming from the mud ditch, playfully patted their bums and hopped back home with the baby wolves in their arms.
It was only some time later that Qin Shi caught wind of the news that Scholar Xu had suffered an injury to his hand and lost his ability to write, for reasons that remain unclear. He began cursing and swearing all day long, resulting in people being intimidated and avoiding him.
But it was of little to no concern to the three children. They were not particularly bothered by it. After all, they were below the age of three and lacked understanding of holding grudges and resentment. Even if Scholar Xu were to insist on their involvement in his injury, no one would take his words seriously.
……
The weather had been scorching hot lately. While several regions were reported to have experienced droughts, Fengyuan County managed to avoid being affected. The Su family enjoyed their daily lives without any troubles or worries, and their days passed by calmly and undisturbed.
As per usual, Su Jin had brought her three kids for their usual afternoon nap after having their lunch. Shortly after, Guaibao, who was supposed to be in deep slumber, silently opened her eyes and looked around her surroundings. She then nimbly crawled out of bed without making a sound…
The tiny figure poked around the area with a small twig, eventually finding a suitable spot and commenced digging a hole, all the while wiggling her butt proudly. Just as she was about to bury the box in her hand, the shadow of a person blocked her view.
Guaibao was taken aback and instinctively hid the box behind her back. When she looked up and realized that the shadow belonged to Er Gouzi from the butcher’s family in the village, she let out a sigh of relief. Her nerves were severely shaken when she thought she had been discovered.
This was her secret stash of money that she diligently accumulated and needed to keep concealed from her mother. Otherwise, it would be confiscated to offset the negative balance in her allowance from all the chairs she had damaged.
Alas… What a tough life. Guaibao heaved out a deep breath. Was it really that simple to save money? Why did it feel like a tall task for her?
The young boy in front of her had a slender face and tanned skin. He wiggled closer to Guaibao as he looked at her with sparkling eyes filled with anticipation. “Yesterday… I gave you a flower. You said that you would let me hold your hand for a while today,” said the boy as blushes started appearing on his cheeks.
Guaibao was astonished. Did she make that promise? She rarely paid any attention or kept track of what she said.
She rolled her eyes and planted both hands on her hips as she exclaimed, “Yesterday’s Guaibao was the one who received that flower. What does that have to do with today’s Guaibao?”
The boy became bewildered…
Guaibao confidently maintained her stance and added, “Besides, that was a gift from the past you. It has nothing to do with the current you. Well, Guaibao must go back to sleep now. Let’s not meet again.”
As she turned around, she squeezed a tear from the corner of her eye and brushed it away with her small hand.
(Once again … Guaibao’s fragile heart is broken. How saddening… Time to move on and seek solace in a new sweetheart.)
The four-year-old boy was still in a state of bewilderment and confusion, remaining motionless for a long while as his mind was processing various questions.
How do I return to being the past me??
TL Corner: I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Do let me know in the comments or discord if there are any errors or mistakes.
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Thank you!
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