Some villagers had initially picked up many dead chickens and seen dead pigs.
However, An Jiuyue had warned them not to pick up dead animals that had been soaked in water to prevent contracting diseases. Hence, nobody dared to pick them up.
Compared to precious lives, such a small gain was insignificant.
The people in the An Clan Village were the only ones who could protect themselves. No one tried to take advantage of the situation because the Chief patrolled every house daily, ensuring nobody picked up dead animals.
If the Chief found those dead animals, the villagers would drag the animals away to be burned.
Back on the mountain, An Jiuyue was amused by Qian Yiyun, who could now almost juggle a pickaxe when she had previously struggled to even carry it.
“Stay at home today, Xiao Yiyun1. I’ll go for a walk in the mountain. I’ll come back in the afternoon to grill fish for you.”
An Jiuyue instructed Qian Yiyun in the morning before leaving with her basket on her back.
Behind her, Qian Yiyun could not help but frown when she heard her words. She had a strange feeling.
She had never felt this way when they were interacting amongst a large group of people. However, ever since she started living in the treehouse with An Jiuyue, the strange feeling in her heart grew.
“Why did she call me ‘Xiao Yiyun’?”
If she remembered correctly, there was only one person who would call her ‘Xiao Yiyun’. That was her sister-in-law, whom her brother had never met.
She was young then and had a vicious stepmother, who would bully her and refuse to give her food and water whenever her brother was not around.
Later, her sister-in-law arrived. Although she was too afraid to protect her, she would secretly prepare food for her and kept her from growing hungry.
Back then, her sister-in-law called her ‘Xiao Yiyun’.
After four years, she did not expect anyone to say ‘Xiao Yiyun’ again. Moreover, this was coming from her favorite, Sister Jiuyue.
But she was not young anymore. She was already 14 years old and would have her coming-of-age ceremony next year. How was she little?
“I think I’ve met Sister Jiuyue somewhere before?”
She tilted her head and tried hard to recall where she had seen An Jiuyue.
Although her face is quite familiar, I’ve never heard her name before. I’ve never met her before, right?
She did not want to think about this anymore and turned to the two little ones. “Zheng’er, Rong’er, your younger brothers are sleeping. You don’t have to keep an eye on them all day. Come, let’s play together.”
Sister Jiuyue’s two children are really sensible! Unlike other children, they stay at home every day and never cause trouble for Sister Jiuyue!
“Aunt Yiyun, we have to watch over Xiao Zhou and Xiao Xing. They will cry if we aren’t around,” Rong’er explained seriously.
“That’s right, Aunt Yiyun! Xiao Zhou and Xiao Xing are still young. We won’t play, we have to take care of them,” Zheng’er added.
Qian Yiyun was speechless.
I take my hats off to these two kids! They’re acting like the babies’ biological fathers! Even a biological father will not take care of his children like that.
“Zheng’er, has your mother named them yet? What are their names?” she asked.