Her eyes, however, kept darting towards the hawthorn tree. She secretly mused, "This hawthorn tree is quite good. If it were made into wine, it would be excellent to drink during the New Year."
Fu Xin Ci pondered finding an opportunity to collect the hawthorn later, her steps slowing considerably. The others had already begun scattering to pick up branches, but she hadn't even noticed.
"Sister Fu, hurry up and catch up," Qi He called out when he saw her falling behind.
"Coming, coming," she replied.
There were many people who came together today, so they spread out across the hillside to gather branches.
It was then that Qi He discovered a wild grape vine in an inconspicuous spot, laden with ripe wild grapes.
Looking at the clusters of deep purple grapes, emitting a tempting aroma, he immediately plucked one and put it in his mouth. "Mmm, so sweet."
This was the first time he had tasted such sweet wild grapes, and he loudly called out, "Sister Fu, hurry over here! I've found a grape vine with very sweet grapes."
"Really?"
Hearing Qi He say the grapes were sweet, both Meng Yu Wu and her sisters, as well as Shuang Bang, rushed towards him.
Of course, Fu Xin Ci was the fastest, arriving as if blown by a gust of wind.
Qi He felt it most keenly; he felt that the moment he finished calling out, Sister Fu had already arrived.
He quickly acted first, plucking the largest and best bunch of grapes he could find and handing it to Fu Xin Ci. "Eat quickly."
"Alright," Fu Xin Ci loved eating grapes the most, especially these purple ones.
As everyone else gradually ran over, they each picked their favorite bunch.
Then, everyone was seen holding a bunch of grapes, each happily feasting.
"Mmm, these grapes are so sweet. We haven't eaten such delicious grapes in a long time," Meng Yu Wu said, holding a grape in her hand.
"Yes, this is the first time we've eaten grapes this year," Meng Yu Su truthfully added.
"We have to thank Qi He. We wouldn't be able to eat such sweet grapes today without him," the Meng Qi Shan brothers said, sharing a bunch and saving the remaining one for their younger brother.
"Yes, we all have to thank Brother Qi," Meng Yu Tang chimed in.
Qi He just smiled and picked all the remaining grapes, placing them into Fu Xin Ci's basket. "Let's take them back for Grandpa Meng and the others to eat."
"Mmm," Fu Xin Ci had already eaten more than half of the bunch in her hand by this time. Hearing Qi He's words, she felt a pang of guilt.
She had been so focused on eating that she hadn't thought of her family at all. But Qi He had, and he had acted on it, proving much more thoughtful than her, who considered herself a caring little helper.
They sat together and ate their fill. Then, they dispersed again to gather branches.
Fu Xin Ci, however, did not move. After everyone had moved a little further away, she collected the grape vine into her spatial dimension.
This way, she would always have grapes to eat.
Today, they were also lucky. Meng Qi Tian found two apple trees laden with fruit not far away.
Although the taste wasn't as good as the apples they had eaten before, they were still edible. The group swarmed them, stripping them bare of their fruit.
The baskets and baskets they had brought from home were almost full, and they had gathered nearly enough dry branches. Someone then suggested heading back.
"Then let's go back," Qi He said, and everyone, laughing and joking, started walking back.
Fu Xin Ci deliberately lagged a few steps behind. Concealed by the large apple trees, she successfully collected a small, unfruitful apple sapling into her spatial dimension.
Today's harvest was good. She then quickly caught up. Seeing a withered tree nearby, as thick as an adult's arm, and thinking that she alone was empty-handed, she used her wood element ability to skillfully bring down the withered tree. She then swaggered along behind everyone else, dragging the dead tree.
Shuang Bang looked back and saw the withered tree she was dragging. They were inspired, thinking, "Perhaps we can find large dead branches to drag home in the future. That seems like a good idea."
From a distance, the idle young men from Wujia Village saw the children from Mengjia Village returning from the mountain, their baskets full, and they wanted to rob them.
However, as soon as they saw Qi He walking at the front, they immediately gave up the idea.
He Xiao Ni also saw Qi He, and she saw him looking back repeatedly to call to Fu Xin Ci, who was trailing behind.
Seeing Fu Xin Ci, she couldn't help but shift her gaze to the small building.
From afar, the two-story building with its upturned eaves and corners was hidden behind a patch of green trees. The bright glass windows reflected beautiful light, causing her to involuntarily squint.
She had heard people say that the second master of the Meng family had spent a thousand taels of silver to build this small building for his granddaughter.
It was also the boudoir of her dreams. If only this small building had been built for her.
However, when she shifted her gaze back to Fu Xin Ci, she was so angry that her teeth ached.
That shameless little vixen was smiling at Qi He, and with such a bright smile!
No, she had to teach that little vixen a lesson.
But she also understood that she couldn't defeat that little vixen alone, especially with so many people accompanying her.
Hmph, she'd let her off the hook today.
Fu Xin Ci was unaware that someone was once again plotting against her.
Even if she had known, she wouldn't have been afraid. For her, all peace was hard-won.
"If you don't obey, fight!" This was her motto.
Madam Zhou came out to cut grass and saw her two sons returning heavily laden. The elder son had a basket on his back and was dragging a large branch, while the younger son carried a small bundle of dry branches and, like his brother, was dragging a large branch.
Seeing her sons sweating profusely from exhaustion, Madam Zhou prepared to rush over to help.
The two Shuang Bang saw her and quickly waved their hands, "Mother, we can go home by ourselves. You should continue cutting grass. We'll help you after we deliver these things home."
"You don't need to come out to help Mother anymore. Just rest well at home," Madam Zhou said, her eyes reddening involuntarily.
Before the Meng family's misfortune, although they weren't wealthy, they had two maids serving them. Her sons had never endured such hardship.
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but curse Meng Qing Hong and his son again in her heart.
She didn't know how many times she had cursed that damned scoundrel.
Come to think of it, she had learned this from her second elder brother-in-law on the road during their exile.
Now, whenever something difficult or troublesome happened to their family, she would secretly curse Meng Qing Hong.
And, it really did make her feel much better.
If Meng Qing Hong knew at this moment that he had become a mood regulator for a sister-in-law in the clan, he would likely have a lot to say.
After Fu Xin Ci and Qi He put the dry branches in the woodshed, she carried her basket back to the main house. The apples and grapes in the basket were placed in her grandfather's room.