Among the Xie brothers, Second Xie and Fifth Xie were the most talkative, while the Oldest Xie was reserved, Fourth Xie was cool and detached, Third Xie was silent, and Sixth Xie was a bookworm.
Right now, the bookworm Sixth Xie was sitting alone on a rock, bobbing his head as he read a book intently. Who knows what he was reading, but his expression was utterly focused.
Gu Jiu glanced at him a couple of times and noticed the large character "Yi" was clearly written on the cover. Heh, he was actually reading one of the classics.
The original host was also a bookworm, though she preferred to read less serious works like travelogues, miscellaneous records, and even vernacular novels -- the kind of miscellaneous books. She would stay cooped up at home every day, a young lady with a touch of social anxiety.
If the original host were here, she would probably find common ground with Sixth Xie. But unfortunately, Gu Jiu wasn't interested in bookworms.
Having nothing better to do, Mrs. Gao called out to Gu Jiu, Xie Sanyou, and Xie Siyu to go forage for wild vegetables together.
The things they brought were quite bulky, so they couldn't carry much in the way of vegetables. Fortunately, it was a season when wild greens were abundant in the mountains, making foraging convenient.
The Xie children were used to this kind of work and could identify the wild vegetables. Mrs. Gao thought that since Gu Jiu came from a decent background, she probably had never seen wild vegetables before.
So as they picked, Mrs. Gao explained, "This is shepherd's purse. You can add it to pancakes when frying them, or simply stir-fry it -- it's delicious either way."
Gu Jiu nodded. "Mm-hmm, shepherd's purse is cooling in nature. Since you have a deficient and cold spleen and stomach, you should eat it sparingly."
Mrs. Gao looked at her in surprise. "You can recognize wild vegetables? No, wait, how did you know I have a deficient and cold spleen and stomach?"
Gu Jiu didn't recognize wild vegetables, but she knew medicinal herbs. Before transmigrating, she had been studying traditional Chinese medicine through a system and had gained some basic knowledge, including the identification of Chinese herbs, the four diagnostic methods of inspection, auscultation and olfaction, inquiry, and palpation, as well as acupuncture.
Gu Jiu explained, "Your complexion is sallow, you have a weak voice and energy, your hands are often cold, and you have a poor appetite but produce a lot of phlegm. These are all signs of spleen and stomach deficiency."
Mrs. Gao was even more surprised. "You're just a young girl, but you really understand medical theory. Is your family in the medical profession?"
"No, I've just liked it since I was young. I've read enough books to gain some understanding."
This wasn't a lie. The original host had read a bit about it too, though her knowledge was superficial and limited.
Gu Jiu shook her head and continued, "When I have the means in the future, I'll help regulate your body, Mrs. Gao. I think you may have other ailments too. You can't let illnesses drag on; the longer you wait, the worse they'll become."
Mrs. Gao thought to herself that even renowned physicians hadn't been able to cure her ailments. How could this young girl treat her just by reading a few books?
But the child had good intentions, so Mrs. Gao didn't want to discourage her enthusiasm. She smiled and said, "Alright, I'll wait for our Jiu to treat me."
Gu Jiu nodded solemnly. "Rest assured, Mrs. Gao, I'll definitely be able to cure you!"
As mother and daughter were conversing happily, over a dozen people approached from the opposite direction.
Gu Jiu looked up and thought, "Well, well, look who it is!"
Leading the group were three people she recognized from the broken-down estate in the county town: the Scruffy-faced Bearded Man, the Lewd Man, and that young woman.
The day before, when the flood hit, a woman from Dahu Village had been pulled to safety by a man. It turned out to be the Scruffy-faced Bearded Man and that young woman. No wonder their figures had seemed vaguely familiar at the time.
But the young woman could no longer be called that. In just a few days, she had changed to a married woman's hairstyle and was walking arm-in-arm with the Scruffy-faced Bearded Man, their manner very intimate.
Heh, so they had developed feelings for each other!
The woman looked at Gu Jiu with jealousy in her eyes.
This wretched girl was unexpectedly so good-looking. The other day, she had only caught a glimpse of her, but could already tell that her skin was exceptionally fair. Now that she saw her clearly, she realized Gu Jiu was truly beautiful! At such a young age, her eyes seemed to have hooks that could reel people in.
It wouldn't be so bad if she were just good-looking, but why did she have to escape the same scoundrels unscathed, while the woman herself had ended up in such a sorry state?
She pinched the flesh on the man's arm viciously. "See, I told you she's very pretty. It's all your fault, you two idiots couldn't even handle a girl of ten-some years!"
The Scruffy-faced Bearded Man winced in pain and slapped her face. "You're getting cocky after a couple of days, huh? Keep that up and I'll sell you off to a brothel."
The woman covered her face, lowering her head to hide the resentment in her eyes.
The Lewd Man had one eye covered in a black cloth, his remaining eye glaring at Gu Jiu with hatred.
"You little wretch, so you've been hiding in Huaishu Village. But it's no use, even if you hide here. You blinded one of my eyes, so today you're going to kowtow to me and reimburse me for the loss of an eye, or you and I will never be done!"
The Lewd Man advanced menacingly, but Gu Jiu had been so hungry and weak the other day that she didn't have a shred of strength left. Now, her condition was different. Although this body was still small and not very strong, she judged that she could easily handle these two beasts again.
She was about to say, "What do you mean 'never be done'? Let me tell you..." when Mrs. Gao pulled her back and shielded her.
"Are you from Dahu Village? We're all fellow villagers here; there's no need for such harsh language. My child is so young, how much strength could she possibly have? Not only did she not blind your eye, I doubt she could even reach high enough to slap you."
Gu Jiu felt a warmth in her heart. She had only been at the Xie Family for two or three days, but everyone, from the highest to the lowest, treated her like a member of the family and protected her. This kind of warm family atmosphere was something she had never experienced before.
In her previous life, humanity had endured several major wars, and various weapons heavily damaged the living environment. Humans fought incessantly, large-scale and small-scale wars breaking out constantly, as they vied for living space and resources.
Gu Jiu's parents were mid-level military commanders who were constantly on the move, with little time to spend with her. Even her education was handled by high-tech learning systems.
Gu Jiu had essentially grown up wild, never experiencing parental love.
So when she suddenly felt this sense of being protected by an elder, Gu Jiu was overwhelmed by an unfamiliar emotion that left her at a loss.
As Gu Jiu stood dazed, the Scruffy-faced Bearded Man chewed on a wild grass leaf and lifted his brow. "Good lady, I don't recall the Xie Family having a daughter. This wretched girl not only blinded my brother the other day, but she also kicked me and tore my woman's clothes. I need to settle that score with her. You're not in good health; don't bring trouble upon yourself for the sake of someone unrelated."
Huaishu Village and Dahu Village were neighbors, so even if the two villages didn't interact much, they still knew a bit about each other's affairs.
Mrs. Gao smiled. "Jiu is the adopted daughter of our Xie Family. Since we've taken her in, she's my own daughter. We're all fellow villagers here; you can't be so unreasonable. It's a bit much to try and pin such a big crime on my young daughter when she's just a child and couldn't possibly withstand it."
Mrs. Gao waved her hand behind her back, and Xie Sanyou quietly went to summon others.
Gu Jiu noticed and decided to stall for time. Though she wasn't afraid, she would wait for Xie Zhan and the others to arrive before resolving the issue, to put Mrs. Gao's mind at ease.
She poked her head out from behind Mrs. Gao with a grin. "Oh, Miss, you got married? Congratulations, congratulations! Who won that day? Oh, I know, you married him, right? That's a win-win! Congratulations, congratulations!"
Gu Jiu pointed at the Scruffy-faced Bearded Man. "You two really are a match made in heaven. You haven't even thanked me, your matchmaker, yet. Without my help, you never would have ended up together. Isn't that right?"
The woman was fuming. If she were truly getting married, she might have accepted it. But she had been taken back by brutes and assaulted day and night, unsure of when she might be resold.
Gu Jiu's "congratulations" twisted a knife in her wounds.
She pointed at Gu Jiu and cursed, "Thank you? You wretched, doomed little whore..."
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