My Wife is the Vicious Supporting Character from an Era Novel - Chapter 13

Chapter 13

◎Little Calico Cat◎

The clothes on Ji Baiqing were washed until they were pale, neat but worn out. The other few pieces of clothing in the closet were the same. She didn’t need to change. Yunshui Village was backed by mountains and surrounded by water. Although it was not as rich as the neighboring village, no villagers starved to death. The mountains behind the village all belonged to Yunshui Village. Ji Baiqing took Wen Miao to the orange grove that they had picked from the year before. The foot of the mountain was surrounded by a fence. They walked around inside for a few circles. Wen Miao picked a few bigger oranges. After peeling one, she took a bite and squinted her eyes. She then fed a piece to Ji Baiqing. Ji Baiqing bit into it. Before she could thank her, she was startled by the sourness of the orange. “Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!” She spit out the orange, looked at Wen Miao, and pretended to be fierce. “How dare you trick me, Wen Miao!” Wen Miao showed a cunning smile and also spit out the orange she hadn’t swallowed.

Ji Baiqing pretended to tickle Wen Miao. Wen Miao saw this and screamed, running up the mountain. The two of them, like children, chased and ran. Finally, they reached the middle of the mountain. Wen Miao was finally out of strength and started to pant, holding her knees. Ji Baiqing saw her frail appearance and said helplessly, “Okay, I won’t chase you anymore. Walk slower.”

Wen Miao looked up and suddenly saw a few trees in front of her with fruits that looked like caterpillars. She pointed at the trees and was a little hesitant. “Are these mulberry trees?” Ji Baiqing snapped her fingers. “Smart.” She opened the small bag she had brought. “Let’s pick some to eat.” “Do you drink? We can even make mulberry wine with these.” Wen Miao nodded and also went forward to help Ji Baiqing pick them.

The purplish-red fruits were very sweet. There were no pesticides in this era. Ji Baiqing ate while she picked. After eating her fill, the small cloth bag was also full. She turned her head to look at Wen Miao. The beautiful woman’s fair face was stained with purple juice from the mulberries. Ji Baiqing held back a laugh and used her finger to wipe it off for her. She showed Wen Miao the purple on her palm and teased, “You’ve turned into a little calico cat.”

Wen Miao snorted. Then, when Ji Baiqing wasn’t paying attention, she smeared a line on her face. She was proud. “You’re a little calico cat too.” Ji Baiqing looked at her and smiled as she wiped her cheek. Wen Miao was really cute. Ji Baiqing still couldn’t understand how the author could write such a person as the villainess.

She hung the cloth bag on a tree branch and then took Wen Miao to pick ferns, mustard greens, and toon. When picking toon, the beautiful woman’s face was full of disgust. The stuff smelled bad. Ji Baiqing explained to her, “Stir-fried toon with eggs is very delicious. Some people like to steam it directly. I’ll make it for you when we get back.” Hearing her say that, Wen Miao finally nodded demurely.

After picking a whole sack of wild vegetables, Ji Baiqing took Wen Miao to look for camellia fruit and camellia ears to eat. Tea trees would grow camellia fruit and camellia ears this season. They had a sweet and crispy texture. Ji Baiqing picked one for Wen Miao to try. “How does it taste?” After Wen Miao swallowed it, she frowned. “…It feels a little strange, but it’s pretty good.” Hearing her say that, Ji Baiqing’s eyes curved in a smile.

“There’s a lot of other good stuff on the mountain. Spring, summer, fall, and winter have different scenery. You’ll know then. I’ll take you to catch fish in the river when summer comes.” Hearing Ji Baiqing talk about the future, Wen Miao also looked forward to life ahead. It seemed that life in the countryside was not as difficult as she had thought. Wen Miao of course knew that the main reason was Ji Baiqing’s presence. When she was around, Wen Miao felt that life in the countryside passed by very quickly. She solemnly agreed, “Okay.”

The two of them stayed on the mountain all morning and finally went down with big bags. Ji Baiqing was carrying a large sack filled with things, but she carried it effortlessly. Wen Miao followed behind her, carrying the small cloth bag of mulberries. The things were light, so she didn’t have to put in much effort. But she wasn’t watching where she was going. After stepping on an unknown creature, she immediately froze. Her voice even had a hint of nervousness. “Ji, Ji Baiqing!”

Ji Baiqing stopped and turned her head back in confusion. “What’s wrong?” Feeling the thing under her foot wriggle, Wen Miao got goosebumps on her back, but at the same time, she didn’t dare to lift her foot. Wen Miao was about to cry. “There’s… a snake under my foot… Wuwu…”

Ji Baiqing heard this and quickly threw the sack on the ground. She went forward to check the situation. Seeing a small head desperately struggling under her cloth shoe, Ji Baiqing let out a sigh of relief. “It’s okay. It’s a non-venomous grass snake.” After knowing what it was, her eyes lit up as she looked at the thing under Wen Miao’s shoe. “Wen Miao, just keep your foot on it and don’t move.” Wen Miao nodded, her eyes glistening with tears.

Ji Baiqing, as if doing a magic trick, took out another cloth bag from her pocket. She grabbed the snake’s head through the bag and then let Wen Miao lift her foot. Wen Miao shakily lifted her foot. Ji Baiqing was quick and put the grass snake into the bag and tied it. She reached out to touch Wen Miao’s hand, but Wen Miao was a little resistant to her touch, thinking that Ji Baiqing had just touched a snake. “Don’t, I’m scared.” Wen Miao’s voice was weak.

Ji Baiqing saw her rare scared expression and shook her head helplessly. She shook the cloth bag in her hand and said, “Don’t worry. This is a grass snake. It’s not poisonous. I’ll stew it for dinner tonight.” Thinking about it, it had been a while since she had eaten meat. This snake would just be perfect to satisfy her craving.

Hearing this, Wen Miao took a few steps back and shook her head in refusal. “No.” She was most afraid of these slimy, cold-blooded animals, especially snakes. There was no way she would eat snake meat. Ji Baiqing bent down and held her hand. “Okay, I didn’t touch the snake just now. Hold my hand, let’s go home.” She put the cloth bag into the sack. She was carrying the sack with her left hand and holding Wen Miao’s hand with her right, looking very relaxed.

At noon, she prepared and stewed the snake she caught. She also added an egg. Wen Miao helped wash the toon, and Ji Baiqing also made a dish of stir-fried toon with eggs. When He Xiangyue came back, she saw the snake soup Ji Baiqing had stewed and was a little surprised. “You caught a grass snake?” These were usually easier to catch in July and August when the weather was dry and hot.

Ji Baiqing looked at Wen Miao and said with a smile, “Educated Youth Wen caught it.” Hearing this, He Xiangyue gave Wen Miao a thumbs-up. “Miaomiao, you’re amazing.” Wen Miao smiled awkwardly and didn’t say anything.

During lunch, He Xiangyue kept trying to persuade Wen Miao to eat a bite of the meat and drink some soup. Wen Miao could only refuse. She had originally thought that the toon would be as bad as it smelled, but the stir-fried eggs tasted surprisingly good. The toon was fresh and tender, and the eggs were smooth.

There was only a little of the snake soup left. He Xiangyue enthusiastically recommended, “Miaomiao, you should try a bite of this grass snake. It’s actually no different from pork. It’s very tender and delicious, and the soup is very flavorful.” Ji Baiqing saw Wen Miao’s troubled expression and decided to just pick up a piece and eat it herself. Wen Miao pressed her hand down. Her expression struggled for a moment, but she finally gave in. “Okay, I’ll try it.” Ji Baiqing smiled and retracted her hand.

Wen Miao used a spoon to scoop the snake soup into her bowl. She chewed a few bites with her eyes closed and swallowed it whole. Although she was afraid of snakes, the snake meat was indeed firm and fresh, and the soup was very delicious.