I secretly sold grain at age 60

Chapter 17 First Encounter

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, commotion broke out in the courtyard.

While helping to stoke the fire, Gao Huaiyi said to his mother, who was busy at the stove, "Mother, I'm thinking of going up the mountain again today to try my luck and see if I can hunt some more wild animals. The more we hunt, the more food we can exchange for, and the family will be better off."

His mother glanced back at him, sighed, and said, "Alright, go ahead. The mountain path is slippery, so be careful."

The father, smoking beside him, nodded: "Don't go deep into the mountains, come back soon." The team will be less busy for a few days after these tasks are finished, so don't let too many people find out. It'll attract envy.

"Yes, Father," Gao Huaiyi replied. After finishing his meal, Gao Huaiyi picked up his wood-chopping knife, turned around, and went out the door, heading towards the back mountain. After he left, his parents also went to work in the production brigade to earn work points.

Not long after Gao Huaiyi stepped out of the village and went up the mountain, a slender figure appeared at the village entrance.

It was the same mysterious little girl from last night. She looked around, her gaze quickly locking onto the direction of Gao Huaiyi's house. She walked a short distance away, glanced at it a few times, and then entered the village.

She walked up to an elderly woman who was feeding chickens, a sweet smile on her face, and struck up a conversation: "Auntie, are you busy?"

The old woman looked up, saw a young girl she didn't recognize, and replied with a smile, "Yes, young lady, are you from another village?"

"Well, I'm here to find someone, ma'am. I have a question for you. Who lives in that house over there?" the little girl asked, pointing in the direction of Gao Huaiyi's house.

The old woman looked at the young girl warily. "Why are you asking about their family?" she asked. The girl, seeing she might cause a misunderstanding, quickly looked around and lied, saying, "I'm from the next village. Someone introduced my sister to a potential husband from this family. I've come to ask around about their family. We need to know if they're good people, right?" Hearing this, the old woman smiled and said, "That's good news! That's the Gao family. The couple are honest, hardworking farmers. They have a son named Gao Huaiyi, an older sister named Gao Huaijuan, a younger brother named Gao Huaijun, and a younger sister named Gao Huaixiu. The younger sister is a bit introverted, but otherwise, they're all very nice. Your sister would be happy to marry into their family."

The young girl nodded and continued chatting, casually probing, "His family seems to be doing alright? Are they all easy to get along with?"

"Sigh, these are tough times. Old Gao and his wife are good people, it's just that their in-laws are dishonest." The old woman lowered her voice, "It's Huaiyi's uncle, he came to their house yesterday to extort grain, but Huaiyi stopped him. But his mother, Li Xiulan, is a filial daughter, and she still gave them ten catties of coarse grain for her parents' sake!"

The little girl's heart skipped a beat, and she feigned curiosity: "Oh? Is that so? Why is his uncle coming to his nephew's house asking for food?"

"That's right, he's insatiable!" the old woman said indignantly. "That's Li Hongshan, Huaiyi's maternal uncle. He always likes to take advantage of others. Yesterday he came to my sister's house to cheat her out of grain. After he was exposed, he insisted on taking the grain. Huaiyi disagreed, and the two of them had a big argument."

"I reckon Li Hongshan was beaten yesterday because he couldn't stand by and do something about loyalty," the girl thought.

The little girl instantly understood; so that was the reason for everything. She knew what had happened, a faint smile playing on her lips. Without saying anything more, she continued wandering around the village, chatting with several people.

She then grabbed an older man carrying a hoe, preparing to go to the field: "Uncle, could you tell me if Gao Huaiyi from the Gao family is home today?"

The uncle waved his hand: "I don't know. I didn't finish work today. I don't know where I went. Nobody asked me."

Now the little girl understood completely: if Gao Huaiyi wasn't working at the brigade, he must be at home!

Having gathered all the information, she stopped wandering around and headed straight for Gao Huaiyi's house.

Reaching the courtyard gate, she raised her hand and gently knocked on the door: "Is anyone home? Is anyone home?"

The room was quiet; there was no response. She knocked several more times, but still no one answered.

The young girl thought to herself that Gao Huaiyi was not home. She did not knock on the door, nor did she linger at the door. She slowly retreated to the roadside not far away and found a clean stone under the shade of a tree to sit down.

She rested her chin on her hands, glancing occasionally at the two roads leading to Gao Huaiyi's house, quietly waiting for him to return. She knew that once he came back, she would get to know the young man.

The little girl sat quietly under the shade of the tree, glancing left and right every now and then. The sun was gradually setting, a gentle breeze rustled the leaves, and all was peaceful.

After waiting for another hour or two, a somewhat familiar figure finally appeared on the mountain path in the distance.

It was Gao Huaiyi.

He walked briskly, carrying a plump pheasant covered tightly with grass, looking like he had had a good haul. No one knew that in his personal storage space, there lay a wild rabbit and a large, already dead wolf.

Today, when he went up the mountain, he initially only wandered around the outer edge of the forest, but wild animals were scarce, and he didn't see many even after half a day. Unwilling to give up, he gritted his teeth and headed deeper into the forest, a place rarely visited by anyone.

The deeper he ventured, the denser the vegetation became, and the dimmer the light grew. Just as he was searching for prey, a dangerous chill suddenly swept over him from behind. A gray wolf had somehow spotted him, silently approaching until it was less than five meters away, ready to pounce.

On the brink of life and death, Gao Huaiyi reacted extremely quickly. With a thought, he instantly hid in his personal space.

Having isolated himself from external dangers, he calmed his turbulent emotions within the spatial dimension. With a thought, he reappeared in the same spot and, taking advantage of the wolf's momentary daze, directly absorbed it into his spatial dimension. Immediately afterward, he used his mind to manipulate the wolf, making it slam into the hard ground of the spatial dimension several times until it was completely lifeless, only then did he stop.

After dealing with the wolves, Gao Huaiyi searched the area for a while, catching only a rabbit and a pheasant, but nothing else. Seeing that it was getting late, he decided not to go any further and turned to descend the mountain.

He walked briskly and soon entered the village. When he arrived at his doorstep, he found a girl of about sixteen or seventeen sitting under the shade of a nearby tree.

At that moment, the little girl sitting under the shade of a tree by the roadside instantly fixed her gaze on him.

Gao Huaiyi also noticed the person under the shade of the tree. It was a girl of about sixteen or seventeen, with two long, glossy black braids, and wearing a clean, plain-colored coarse cloth outfit. Although her clothes were simple, they could not hide her cool and unique temperament, which was completely different from the girls in the village.

Although he had a slight doubt about the man, not recognizing him, he didn't think much of it, assuming he was just a relative visiting from another village. He continued walking straight towards his own courtyard gate, intending to hurry home and prepare his game for dinner.

As the distance between the two drew closer, Gao Huaiyi was about to pass by her.

Just then, the little girl who had been sitting quietly suddenly moved.

She slowly stood up, took two quick steps forward, and gracefully blocked Gao Huaiyi's path.

Gao Huaiyi paused, his brows furrowed slightly, a hint of wariness flashing in his eyes. He looked up at the unfamiliar young girl in front of him, preparing to ask her what her intentions were.