Shocking! My Rugged Husband is the Hidden Tycoon in the 70s Novel-Chapter 55: Is This Female Educated Youth Out of Her Mind?
What a group of kind-hearted children!
Xu Qinghuan watched them descend the mountain, then turned to walk into the woods.
Just now, she picked quite a few herbs; the feeling of a free harvest is truly delightful!
This is an experience she’s never had before.
In her past life, wild herbal medicines were rare; even if there were some, they were exceedingly valuable.
Almost all were cultivated.
There’s always a considerable difference in efficacy between cultivated and wild herbs.
You could say that if cultivated herbs are used according to traditional medicine formulas, they might even have adverse effects due to the significant difference in efficacy.
Xu Qinghuan was very absorbed, but this was her first time picking herbs in the wild, so the experience was unique, to say the least, and she had no real expertise.
Thus, when she came face-to-face with a spotted poisonous snake, she instantly let out a terrified scream.
Jiang Xingye paused his hand, allowing a rabbit, which he had targeted just moments before, to escape as he rushed over, taking large strides. Xu Qinghuan leaped into his arms, "Snake, wah wah, it’s a poisonous snake, wah wah!"
Qinghuan feared nothing more than soft-bodied creatures, especially the poisonous snake that had just flicked its tongue at her. Her legs clung around Jiang Xingye’s slim waist, her hands gripped tightly on his shoulders, her entire body trembling.
Xingye saw the snake trying to slither away, indeed it was venomous. The sickle in his hand flew out, slicing the snake into two.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Jiang Xingye finally paid attention to the fragrant softness entangled around him like vines – it truly smelled lovely.
A subtle fragrance wafted directly to his nose.
Her disheveled hair slipped into his collar, clinging to his body, sending a tingling sensation through him.
Jiang Xingye was entirely stiff, turning his head away with a cold voice, "Get down!"
Xu Qinghuan refused, wailing, "No, there are snakes!"
"It’s already dead!" Xingye maintained his patience, his voice raspy, jaws clenched, fists tightened, veins bulging from his temple down to his neck and arms, suppressing an intense feeling.
"Wah wah wah, there’ll be other snakes!" Qinghuan was too agitated, her fear overriding all rationality; at this moment, the threat of a poisonous snake eyeing her with death was all she could think about.
Xingye lifted his hand, restraining the urge to toss her aside, and gritted his teeth, "I promise there won’t be any!"
"You’re lying!" As soon as Qinghuan spoke, she met Xingye’s lowered gaze, akin to a black hole in the cosmos, possessing a power to engulf everything, even more terrifying than the snake’s triangular eyes.
Xu Qinghuan’s reason finally returned, belatedly realizing she had once again offended the future big shot, daring to sully his purity!
The big shot held himself as pure as jade, yet her actions seemed to tempt the saint into crime.
Qinghuan was instantly scared stiff, fumbling to climb down from Jiang Xingye.
The big shot wouldn’t toss her out, right?
In a stroke of misfortune, Xu Qinghuan’s knee nudged an unspeakable spot.
Boom!
Jiang Xingye’s mind went blank for a moment, heat rushing to one particular area as he turned abruptly, his back to Qinghuan, his breathing ragged, eyes shut tight, calming the turmoil in his heart.
Qinghuan remained oblivious, engrossed in anxiety, awaiting the big shot’s final judgment.
Yet, fear of the snake outweighed her fear of Xingye, for he was, at least, trustworthy, not one to take her life.
If bitten by the snake, she had lifesaving pills in her space, though she’d rather die than suffer a snake bite.
She was petrified by these creatures, always feeling they were evil embodiments, exuding a chilling aura that made even a glance uncomfortable.
Jiang Xingye strode off.
His gait was somewhat peculiar.
Xu Qinghuan didn’t think much of it, quickly catching up to grasp his garment.
Xingye turned to her, speaking coldly, "Let go!"
Qinghuan shook her head, "No, there are snakes!"
Only then did Xingye recall the snake; he quickly returned to the spot, picked up the snake, and placed it into his basket.
A drop of blood landed on Qinghuan’s hand, and she jumped up, screaming, "Poison, poison!"
On her bright, jade-like hand back, a drop of crimson blood. Xingye’s eyes grew darker, throat moving, swallowing with difficulty.
After hesitating, he picked a leaf from an unknown tree, used it to shield his grip on Qinghuan’s wrist, and took hold of his garment to wipe the snake’s blood from her hand.
"No poison!" he said, then walked away once more, "You should head down the mountain!"
Indeed, he was not fond of women.
Qinghuan still wanted to gather more herbs, but abruptly saw a patch of mushrooms on a dead tree trunk, and ran over, "Mushrooms, come quick, there are mushrooms here!"
Jiang Xingye took a glance, "Poisonous!"
The non-poisonous snake blood made her scream, yet the poisonous mushrooms had her rejoicing, unafraid of ending up flat on the ground.
Qinghuan suddenly felt as if doused with cold water, the saying "red cap, white stalk, eat and lie flat" reverberated in her mind. She gazed at the mushrooms with regret, earnestly asking, "Brother Jiang, can you teach me to identify mushrooms?"
She was unfamiliar with mountain goods, so standing before a treasure trove like Da Shan would only leave her craving.
First was Comrade Jiang, now Brother Jiang, was this female intellectual a natural at getting friendly?
"I can’t!" Xingye continued walking ahead, Qinghuan trailing behind him. He stopped and spoke with a dark expression, "All the aunties in the village can identify them, ask them for guidance!"
"Aren’t they all working in the fields now? Just happened to meet you!" Qinghuan defended earnestly.
Xingye felt a profound weariness he couldn’t resist. He truly couldn’t understand the female intellectual’s intent, why she persisted in following him?
He was merely a country lad without wealth or power.
"You should stay away from me; if people see, it will only harm you!" Xingye warned coldly, his black eyes deep and filled with an obvious distance.
Qinghuan was momentarily stunned, quickly letting go in disbelief, "You, you, you have someone special?"
Jiang Xingye was equally stunned and incredulous; why would she ask that?
What were her intentions?
After appraising her briefly, Xingye slowly uttered two words, "No!"
Qinghuan breathed a sigh of relief and simultaneously, curiosity arose as she asked, "Then do you have a girl you fancy?"
Xingye glared at her and quickly left.
Is there one or not?
Qinghuan was exceedingly curious, but recalling the setup her best friend mentioned, she shook her head, realizing she was overthinking. Xingye remained single until the book’s end.
Her best friend designed him as the diamond bachelor, the perfect man.
Not hearing footsteps behind her, Jiang Xingye breathed a sigh of relief.
Before he could fully exhale, another breath caught him, as he spun back urgently, noticing Qinghuan had found another patch of poisonous mushrooms, unsure of their toxicity, and astonishingly scraped a bit with her finger, intending to taste it.
Jiang Xingye was nearly faint with anger; was this female intellectual seriously ill in the mind?
