Chapter 28: Changed Attitude

Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Changed Attitude

Hearing these words, Qiao Suluo felt a gentle tug at her heartstrings. Since transmigrating, she had kept her nerves pulled taut, working relentlessly to survive while ignoring her own feelings. This was the first time since arriving in this world that anyone had asked if she was in pain. Such a simple question plucked at her emotions, bringing a sudden surge of feelings rushing to the surface.

She felt a bit homesick—homesick for her family in her past life. Her nose stung, and her eyes grew slightly red, but only for a fleeting second before she steadied herself. She wasn’t the melodramatic type. Feigning nonchalance, she smiled and said, "It’s fine. I’m alright now."

Que Hongjin had been looking down at Qiao Suluo. The bitter grievance that had momentarily surfaced in her eyes was no illusion. He stepped forward and gently straightened her clothes, tucking her stray hairs into place. Meticulously careful to avoid touching her neck, he said, "Let’s go to the clinic first."

Neither of them brought up Tushan Feishang. No matter what, it was a fact that he had hurt the person she was now. Who knew if Tushan Feishang would one day regret treating her this way.

Qiao Suluo waved a hand dismissively. "There’s no need. A minor scrape like this isn’t worth a trip to the clinic."

She knew consultations here were expensive. Even without a prescription, just having a doctor take a look would cost quite a few copper coins. Let alone the medicine—herbs here were incredibly pricey.

"No, it’s already swollen," Que Hongjin insisted.

"We need to save money," Qiao Suluo replied. "Let’s go buy some grain. Besides, redeeming Tushan Feishang requires fifty taels of silver. I’m sorry you have to keep working so hard with me to earn money."

Que Hongjin replied softly, "Don’t say that, wife. We’re a family."

"We don’t find it hard," Bai Qianluo added. "You’re the one working hard, wife."

She did far more than they did. To think they suddenly needed fifty taels of silver! He continued, "We should still go to the clinic. Your injury is the most important thing."

Qiao Suluo shook her head. "Really, applying some ice or cold water will be enough."

She didn’t want to waste silver at the clinic. Besides, buying ointment from the Space Mall with points was much cheaper. It would be more effective to secretly buy some medicine with her points tonight and apply it. Naturally, she kept this to herself.

Since Qiao Suluo was so insistent, Que Hongjin and Bai Qianluo had no choice but to drop the matter.

At this moment, none of them noticed Tushan Feishang standing by a second-floor window, looking down at them. Seeing Que Hongjin and Bai Qianluo actually caring for Qiao Suluo, a flicker of faint surprise crossed his face.

"Caring for her? How is that possible?" he murmured.

Tushan Feishang knew better than anyone just how much Que Hongjin and Bai Qianluo despised her. It was safe to say that if the five of them hadn’t suffered severe injuries and become crippled, they would never have become Qiao Suluo’s Beast Husbands. They all loathed her.

"It seems things happened that I don’t know about while I was away from the village," he muttered to himself, a myriad of thoughts swirling in his eyes. "She really is somewhat different. I want to see what tricks you’re playing, or if you’re just pretending. But you can only pretend for a while, not a lifetime."

Next, Qiao Suluo, Que Hongjin, and Bai Qianluo went to Taotao Grain Store to buy soybeans. The shop assistant was exceptionally enthusiastic when he saw them return.

This time, Qiao Suluo bought the remaining three gunny sacks of soybeans outright. One sack weighed a hundred catties, so three sacks amounted to three hundred catties. At four cents per catty, the total was one thousand two hundred cents. After some haggling, Qiao Suluo got a discount of fifty cents.

She also bought sixty catties of glutinous rice. To make malt sugar, one catty of wheat could be paired with five catties of glutinous rice. The extra ten catties of glutinous rice could be used for cooking meals or brewing Peach Blossom Brew. The glutinous rice cost ten cents a catty. In total, she spent one thousand seven hundred and fifty cents.

The shop assistant beamed with extraordinary warmth. The shopkeeper would reward him with extra wages this month for successfully getting rid of the soybeans.

After finishing their shopping, they bought some pork and set off for home. While passing down the road lined with locust trees, they spotted many of their fellow villagers. Everyone was busy picking locust flowers, chatting and laughing happily as they worked. To climb high into the branches, many had transformed into their true feline forms.

"Who would’ve thought that locust flowers were actually edible?"

"Exactly! And it was Qiao Suluo who told us."

"The buns she gave us were so delicious—locust flower and pork buns! Usually, it’s only during the New Year that we can bear to buy a little meat to eat."

"That’s why I think Qiao Suluo has truly changed for the better. She knows so much now. It’s a good thing we brought over some coarse grain flour when we went to learn her first-aid methods. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have gotten to taste those wonderful buns, nor would we have known that locust flowers could be used as food."

"We’re lucky we came early and picked extra. By the time the rest of the village finds out, they’ll be two days behind us."

"They’re all regretting not bringing her gifts back then. If they had, they could’ve eaten those locust flower meat buns too. They were just too delicious..."

"The locust flowers over by the village valley have mostly been picked clean. I came here this time to gather some extra to send to my parents."

"We really must remember Su Luo’s kindness..."

"Of course."

As they chatted and laughed, their words were filled with nothing but gratitude toward Qiao Suluo.

Qiao Suluo was quite surprised to overhear this. No wonder she saw so many villagers here today—the locust flowers near their village had already been stripped bare. She felt she hadn’t actually done much, yet the villagers were keeping her small kindness in their hearts. Just like that, she was slowly changing everyone’s attitude toward her. This was a good thing.

When the villagers noticed her passing by, they stopped their work to greet her warmly.

"It’s Su Luo! Have you been to the county town again?"

"Su Luo, if you ever need anything from now on, just give us a shout. We’re all from the same village, and we’ve got plenty of strength to help out."

"That’s right! Don’t you be a stranger..."

"Exactly! Telling us that locust flowers are edible really solved a lot of our problems. These past few days, we’ve used them to make dishes, meatballs, and pancakes—they’re all delicious!"

Vegetables were scarce in the spring, so having locust flowers for a change of pace was a welcome and tasty treat for everyone.

Seeing everyone so enthusiastic, Qiao Suluo was still a little unaccustomed to it, but she responded with equal warmth. She even shared a few more recipes using locust flowers, explaining how to cook them to bring out their best flavor. The villagers listened intently, thinking ever more highly of her.

By the time they arrived home, it was almost noon. Using the dough she had left to rise that morning, Qiao Suluo steamed some buns. She also used the leftover tofu to make braised cabbage with tofu and meat-stuffed tofu, followed by fried meatballs and a cabbage tofu soup. To save money, she prepared mostly tofu-based dishes.

Once the food was ready, Qiao Suluo packed a portion of each dish along with a few steamed buns into a basket. Tucking one tael of silver into her pocket, she set off for her parents’ house.

When Qiao Suluo arrived, only her mother and her second older brother were home. Her brother was in the kitchen, making cornmeal vegetable pancakes with locust flowers, while her mother helped tend the fire.

"Mother, Erlin," she called out.

At the sound of his sister’s voice, Qiao Erlin nearly dropped the ball of cornmeal he had just rolled. He stared at Qiao Suluo with wide eyes. His sister, who had always hurled insults at them and treated them with disgust, was actually calling him by his name?

A few days ago, when they returned, his mother had told him that his sister had changed for the better and finally accepted them, but he hadn’t believed it for a second. In the past, she had told them to take a detour whenever they saw her.