"Daddy!"
Xiao Feng hopped to Mo Lingxi's side, smiling as he looked up at him. "Daddy, Mommy and I are so, so amazing."
He gave himself a thumbs-up, proudly recounting how he and his mother found the ginseng and chased away the bad guys.
Mo Lingxi had come to check on them after his hidden guards had informed him of the incident.
Seeing Xiao Feng and Tao Lengshuang safe and sound, his heart relaxed. He was then pulled by Xiao Feng to join Tao Lengshuang in learning to identify various medicinal herbs.
Watching the plump woman, who spoke eloquently, exuded confidence and cheerfulness, with a smile in her eyes, Mo Lingxi's gaze flickered.
Who was this completely different woman?
The original Tao Lengshuang was lazy, a nuisance to the village, and detested by everyone.
This Tao Lengshuang was confident, spirited, and intelligent. She was kind to both him and Xiao Feng and never did anything to offend others.
He suddenly felt curious about who this Tao Lengshuang truly was.
Being stared at by Mo Lingxi made Tao Lengshuang feel a bit uneasy and creeped out.
She subtly shifted to the side, trying to avoid his peculiar gaze, but her large size made it impossible to hide.
She could only brace herself and focus her attention on her son, rolling her eyes internally. Was Mo Lingxi out of his mind to stare at her like that?
"Mommy, shall we go sell the ginseng in Hehua Town this afternoon?"
Xiao Feng's words brought Tao Lengshuang back to attention. She instantly thought of a better idea. "Okay, we'll go to Hehua Town to sell the ginseng this afternoon."
Between Dongdu and Shilipo Village, there was Hehua Town. It wasn't particularly prosperous, but it was the most frequented place for the surrounding villages.
After all, Dongdu was too far away, being the capital city. Unless there was a major event, people from the surrounding villages wouldn't go to Dongdu.
However, in the future, she intended to visit Dongdu and start a small business.
"If we go to Hehua Town now, we can return earlier in the afternoon," Mo Lingxi suggested.
Tao Lengshuang considered it. It would take more than half an hour to walk to Hehua Town. Glancing at the sun, she decided to head to Hehua Town now.
The family of three took a different path from the back mountain towards Hehua Town.
Along the way, with nothing else to do, Tao Lengshuang checked her spatial medicine garden and was surprised.
Her spatial medicine garden had gained two new plots. One was filled with Sanqi of excellent age and quality, and the other was filled with Cordyceps sinensis.
"..." Was this the prelude to getting rich?
But the problem was, why had her spatial medicine garden suddenly acquired two new plots?
She thought carefully about what had happened recently but couldn't figure out how these two plots had appeared.
Unable to understand, she pushed the matter to the back of her mind, planning to sell some Sanqi at a pharmacy in Hehua Town later.
She couldn't sell the Cordyceps sinensis for now.
It was a precious medicinal herb. If she were to suddenly take it out to sell, it would invite trouble.
With a plan in mind, Tao Lengshuang was already contemplating what items to buy once she had money.
Just then, Mo Lingxi pulled her down.
"Careful!"
Before Tao Lengshuang could ask what was happening, she heard a whistling sound fly past her head, making her break out in a cold sweat.
"What was that?"
She looked back.
She happened to see an arrow flying towards a spot not far away.
Terrified, she immediately grabbed Xiao Feng and hid behind Mo Lingxi, her heart pounding as she scanned their surroundings.
"Mommy..."
As Xiao Feng spoke, Tao Lengshuang covered his mouth, signaling him with her eyes not to make a sound.
Xiao Feng nodded obediently.
Tao Lengshuang released his mouth and cautiously scanned their surroundings.
At that moment, another arrow flew directly towards her. She quickly dodged with Xiao Feng in her arms.
She watched as Mo Lingxi caught the arrow and felt a slight relief. "Who wants to kill me?"
Her mind was filled with doubts.
Something was wrong, very wrong.
The original owner of this body was a notorious bully in the village, but she had never left the village and had never offended anyone outside of it.
Now, as soon as she left the village, someone wanted her dead.
This was too abnormal.
Mo Lingxi carefully examined the arrowhead.
It was a blunt arrowhead.
This type of arrowhead couldn't kill, but it could injure.
Clearly, the attacker wasn't trying to kill anyone.
It didn't seem like it was aimed at him, nor did it seem like they knew he was hiding here, otherwise, it wouldn't be this kind of projectile.
He snapped the arrow in half, continuing to protect Tao Lengshuang and her son as he moved forward, keeping an eye on their surroundings.
"Have you offended anyone?" he asked Tao Lengshuang in a slightly cold voice.
Tao Lengshuang nodded, then shook her head. "The only people I've offended are those in the village."
"As you know, this is my first time leaving the village. I have no contact with anyone outside the village, so how could I have offended someone like this?"
This was also something she couldn't fathom.
Why would someone want to kill her?
For the time being, Mo Lingxi couldn't figure this out either. "Until we figure this out, try to leave the village as little as possible in the future."
Tao Lengshuang repeatedly promised that, apart from making money and for necessary matters, she would absolutely not leave the village.
Meanwhile, a man in green clothes hidden in the shadows almost gritted his teeth. Damn it, Tao Lengshuang had left the village!
The direction was towards Hehua Town.
Fortunately.
As long as she wasn't going to Dongdu, there wouldn't be too much of a problem. But in the future, she should try not to let Tao Lengshuang leave the village again.
If she messed up her master's plans, she would die.
...
Tao Lengshuang, Mo Lingxi, and Xiao Feng arrived at Hehua Town.
Standing at the town gate, Tao Lengshuang saw the true appearance of an ancient city for the first time.
Simple and ancient, yet exuding solemnity.
This was her first impression.
She looked again at the high city walls, then at the soldiers standing lazily at the gate, chatting with their colleagues, and the common people entering and exiting.
Occasionally, she saw passing carriages or donkey and ox carts.
The street wasn't very bustling, but she could hear different calls of vendors, noisy conversations, and people of all sorts passing by.
There were those wearing fine silks and dressed luxuriously, those wearing plain cloth and dressed well, and those like her family, living at the very bottom.
These people were the most numerous.
Tao Lengshuang held Xiao Feng's hand, stayed close to Mo Lingxi, and walked, stopping and looking, like Liu姥姥 visiting the Grand View Garden, her eyes wide with wonder.
Suddenly, she saw Xiao Feng's eager eyes fixed on a vendor selling candied hawthorns nearby, his mouth watering.
"Xiao Feng, when Mommy sells the ginseng, I'll buy you a skewer of candied hawthorns, okay?"
Xiao Feng forced himself to look away and shook his head. "Xiao Feng doesn't like candied hawthorns."
"Mommy, with the money, let's buy some rice and flour to take back, and get Daddy some new clothes."
He heard that candied hawthorns were very, very delicious, and he wanted to eat them too.
But he couldn't eat them.
Their family's life was not good, and money had to be spent on essentials.
Tao Lengshuang's heart ached upon hearing this, and she hugged him gently. "But, Mommy wants to eat them."