For the past two days, the weather had remained clear and sunny. Granny Yu took out the medicinal herbs she had gathered a few days prior to dry the ones that needed it, and processed whatever else required preparation while she had a spare moment. Along the way, she taught little Shuqi how to identify and process the herbs, which was why Granny Yu had not gone up the mountain these past couple of days.
"Granny, are we going to the town soon? Can Xiao Shuer go along?" Shuqi asked while turning over the herbs, her eyes full of eagerness to go.
Hearing this, Granny Yu paused in her work, turned her head to look at Shuqi, and said, "No, Xiao Shuer. Granny has important business to attend to, so I can't take you with me." After a short pause, she added, "Xiao Shuer can stay and watch the house. Is there anything you want? Granny can bring it back for you."
Hearing that she could not go, Shuqi felt somewhat disappointed, and her movements slowed down considerably. She really wanted to go and see the town.
Granny Yu: "......" There was really no need to pull such a long face.
"Granny will take you next time. Our Shushu must stay home and take good care of the herb garden. Didn't you say you wanted to make lots of money to buy clothes for Granny? Granny remembers every word!"
"All right then, Shushu will wait obediently at home for Granny." Shuqi thought to herself that there would be opportunities to go eventually.
On this day, there was a large market in town. Granny Yu got up early, made and ate breakfast, and then strapped the processed herbs and plump game meat onto her back, getting ready to head out.
Before leaving, she went into the main room to check on Little Tuanzi to set her mind at ease. Seeing that she was sleeping soundly, Granny Yu mischievously poked Shuqi's chubby little cheek with her finger. Seeing that Little Tuanzi still showed no signs of waking up, Granny Yu sighed helplessly, walked over to the table, and left a note: [Your meal is on the stove. Remember to eat it when you wake up. Granny has gone to town and will return today. Be a good girl.]
When Shuqi woke up, the sun had already risen, casting a warm glow across the courtyard. Seeing the note left by Granny Yu, Shuqi didn't think much of it. She went to the kitchen, stepped on her special little stool, and ate her breakfast.
After finishing her meal and cleaning up the kitchen, she checked the time and saw that it was already past noon. She figured Granny Yu must have arrived in town by now, and wondered how her business was going.
The Granny Yu that Shuqi was worrying about was currently in a bit of trouble. As soon as she reached the town, she went straight to her partner pharmacy and sold the herbs. Upon stepping out of the pharmacy, she sensed someone sneakingly following her. Feigning complete ignorance, she calmly walked toward the market. Looking at the bustling streets and the dazzling array of goods, Granny Yu's smile unconsciously deepened a little.
Following the sound of hawking, she arrived at a stall, picked up a silk flower from the table, and asked, "How much is this? Do you have any other colors?"
Seeing a customer, the vendor replied with a beaming smile, "Yes, we do. Which color would you like? Let me find it for you." With that, the vendor took a box of silk flowers out from the box behind him, filled with a wide variety of colors. "You can pick whichever one you like." So he said, but his hand subtly pushed a cherry-blossom-colored silk flower closer to Granny Yu's hand.
Granny Yu took the silk flower, twirled it between her fingers, and paid for it with a smile.
After leaving the bustling market, Granny Yu hurried back toward the village without a moment's delay. When she reached the entrance of the village, dusk was already approaching. She shifted the bamboo basket on her back, looked around from side to side, and seeing no movement, turned toward the foot of the mountain.
"Xiao Shuer." She didn't dare call out too loudly, but Shuqi had been waiting for Granny all day after finishing her chores. The moment Granny Yu made a sound, Shuqi came out to open the gate for her. Before Shuqi could even ask anything, Granny Yu spoke first: "Granny bought a bit too much stuff, and some of it is still left in our secret base at the foot of the mountain. Xiao Shuer, go over there and keep an eye on it first. Granny will put away what she's carrying and then come over to get the rest."
"Oh, okay." Confused, Shuqi felt a bit uneasy after hearing what Granny said. She wanted to refuse, but seeing the determined look on Granny's face, she had no choice but to obey.
That day, little Shuqi waited in the secret base for a long time, but her Granny never showed up. As dusk fell, Shuqi finally lost her patience and went home. However, when she pushed open the courtyard gate, her Granny was nowhere to be seen. In the courtyard, there were obvious signs of a struggle, and traces of blood that had not yet dried lingered on the ground.
Shuqi's very first reaction was that something had happened to Granny!