Chapter 13: Why Are You So Kind?
“We’re heading out, you be good!” Su Jing said, patting her on the head.
Su Wan watched her brothers walk away. Su Chen glanced back once and saw her still standing at the gate; when she noticed him looking, she waved at him. Su Chen turned back around, unable to hide a smile spreading across his lips.
Just as her brothers disappeared from sight and Su Wan prepared to head back inside, the sound of girls’ laughter echoed from the other end of the road.
Three young women walked past the Su family courtyard. The girl in the middle looked slightly older, around sixteen or seventeen, while the other two were about the same age as Su Wan.
They stopped when they saw Su Wan, each carrying a basket covered with a floral cloth. Su Wan looked back at them.
“You must be Big Brother Su’s biological sister, right?” the girl in the middle asked, looking at her with a kind smile.
Su Wan nodded.
The girl on the left pursed her lips, looking Su Wan up and down. As her gaze landed on Su Wan’s beautiful face, the look of disgust on her face became increasingly apparent. Su Wan had no idea how she had offended her, as this was clearly their first meeting.
“What is your name?” the older girl in the middle asked again.
Su Wan answered her questions honestly. Through their conversation, she learned their names: all three were village girls. The one in the middle was He Jiaolan, the village chief’s daughter; the one on the left was Chen Yinghong; and the quiet girl on the right was He Jiaolan’s younger sister, He Jiaoxing.
September had arrived, and the mountains were filled with pine mushrooms. They were going to the mountains to gather them, hoping to pick enough to sell in town.
As for Chen Yinghong, Su Wan knew her. She was Gu Yue’s childhood playmate and close friend. Later, she became Gu Yue’s personal maid and was married off to a guard in the male lead’s household. Her married life was miserable, as her husband was a gambling addict. The book only briefly mentioned her ending.
No wonder she looked at her with such disdain—she was holding a grudge for Gu Yue. But Gu Yue had already gone off to be a young lady of a wealthy family; this identity swap had nothing to do with her, so why the malice?
However, Su Wan’s attention was mostly on the pine mushrooms they had gathered. Hearing that they could be sold for money piqued her interest. She was currently short on cash—short on a lot of cash!
Thus, she smiled and began chatting with He Jiaolan. He Jiaolan also had a role in the original story as an admirer of Su Jing, but her pursuit was fruitless; first, because her social status wasn’t a match, and second, because Su Jing didn’t like her.
“Sister Jiaolan, where did you pick these pine mushrooms?”
Her voice was soft and incredibly pleasant. Even as a girl, He Jiaolan couldn’t resist it.
“Sister Su Wan, there are many pine trees in the mountains near our village, and these mushrooms grow right beneath them. After the rain the other day, they’ve all started popping up!”
“Why are you asking, Sister Su Wan? Do you want to go pick some too?”
Su Wan nodded immediately.
“Yes, Sister Jiaolan. I’d like to, but I just returned and don’t know my way around the area well yet!”
“If you want to go, we’re heading up the mountain again tomorrow morning. You can come along with us!”
He Jiaolan invited her without hesitation. She knew Su Wan was Su Jing’s sister, and if for no other reason, she wanted to get on her good side to see more of Su Jing in the future.
Chen Yinghong, however, was not happy about this and tugged on He Jiaolan’s sleeve.
“Sister Jiaolan, why bring her? Look at those delicate hands of hers—does she look like someone who can do hard work? The mountain paths are difficult; what if she gets annoyed after walking a few steps, slows us down, and hinders our work?”
“Yinghong, Sister Su Wan is part of our village now, and you’re all around the same age. It’s only right to look out for each other. It’s precisely because she doesn’t know how that we should take her along!”
He Jiaolan explained patiently. Her attitude gave Su Wan a very good impression.
“Sister Jiaolan, why are you so kind? Fine, fine, bring her if you want, but don’t expect me to look after her if something happens!”
Chen Yinghong huffed, grabbed her basket, and walked away. He Jiaolan looked at Su Wan with a helpless smile.
“Don’t mind her, Sister Su Wan. Yinghong is just straightforward, but she doesn’t have a bad heart!”
“It’s alright. Then it’s settled, Sister Jiaolan. We’ll go to the mountain tomorrow morning—don’t forget to call me!”
Su Wan didn’t care about Chen Yinghong’s opinion. She was indifferent; her goal had already been achieved.
After chatting a bit more with He Jiaolan, the sisters headed home. Su Wan noticed that He Jiaolan was quite talkative, while the younger sister hadn’t said a single word.
That evening, Su Wan continued to cook pumpkin rice, pan-fried potato cakes, steamed buns, and a stir-fried cabbage dish. She also served half a bowl of pickled radishes from the jar.
As the sun set, the five brothers returned. Su Wan had two pots of hot water ready for them to bathe. When Su Jing returned, he found that Su Wan had already finished cooking, the food looked and smelled delicious, and water was ready for them to wash their hands—she was being unexpectedly well-behaved.
Su Yun was silent, no longer taunting Su Wan. Perhaps his older brother had taught him a lesson?
During the meal, he savored the food Su Wan had made. He hadn’t expected even a common steamed bun to be molded so beautifully, which made the meal all the more appetizing. Su Wan didn’t understand why he was making so many faces while eating—frowning, then relaxing, then staring at the bun in deep thought. It was just a bun; could you really find that much to think about?
The table was soon cleared. Su Chen couldn’t help but let out a burp after eating, which made Su Wan giggle.
In the past, when Gu Yue was at home, she rarely cooked because her food was mediocre at best. They were always exhausted after work and still had to cook for themselves. This feeling of having a hot meal waiting for them upon returning was wonderful.
“I’ve boiled hot water in the kitchen. Brothers, go ahead and wash up. You must be itching all over after harvesting rice all day!”
Su Wan noticed their necks and hands were bright red, likely from the irritation of the rice stalks.
Under normal circumstances, the brothers would have just gone to the river to wash, but because of Su Wan’s kindness, they couldn’t refuse. Only Su Yun went to his room to grab his clothes, intending to go to the river anyway.
In the room, the clothes washed during the day were neatly folded on the bed, still smelling of the sun.
“Su Yi, do you want to go to the river together?” Su Yun thought that with five people taking turns, who knew how long they would have to wait.
“Alright, if Fourth Brother is afraid of the dark, I’ll go with you!”
Su Yun rolled his eyes at his high-sounding excuse, but he didn’t say anything.
“Sister Wan, Fourth Brother and I are going to the river to wash. Big Brother, Second Brother, and Third Brother will wash at home so we don’t run out of water!”
Su Yi was ultimately the most thoughtful one; he explained clearly so that Su Wan wouldn’t overthink it.
