Chen Ermao was about to speak when Monkey whispered a few words in his ear, and Chen Ermao nodded.
"No, ten days is too long. I can give you three days at most."
"Remember, if you don't see the silver after three days, don't blame me for being rude."
With that, Chen Ermao waved his hand, and with Monkey and the others, turned and walked towards the village outskirts.
Seeing them walk away, Chen Xiaobei pulled Chen Qiao'er, and the two of them ran along the street and turned to leave.
At the east end of the village, Chen Ermao and his group began to discuss.
Monkey rubbed his shoulder and said fiercely, "Bastard Chen Xiaobei, for hitting me this time, I will get revenge sooner or later."
Chen Ermao waved his hand, "Alright, alright, let's not talk about this for now. What did you just say?"
Monkey chuckled, "Brother Ermao, brothers, you all know Chen Xiaobei's family situation. He can't get a cent. If he wants to repay the debt, he'll definitely have to borrow money. We'll keep an eye on him in secret. As soon as he leaves home, we'll snatch that Chen Qiao'er away."
A dark-skinned man next to him sighed leisurely, "Brother Ermao, Chen Qiao'er is our clanswoman after all. Isn't it a bit excessive to sell her to Steward Zhao as a child bride for burial?"
Chen Ermao squinted at him, "I say Er Leng, why are you siding with outsiders?"
"Don't forget, Qiao'er is worth three taels of silver. We can trick that fool Chen Xiaobei with five hundred coins, and the rest of us brothers can go to the county town to eat and drink well. Oh, and don't you want to see what Baihua Tower looks like?"
Hearing this, the people around burst into laughter.
After everyone stopped laughing, Chen Ermao continued, "Alas, laugh it up, but I'm telling you, this matter must be kept absolutely secret. If anyone leaks it, don't blame me for turning hostile."
At this time, Chen Xiaobei had already taken his sister and run out of the village.
Outside the village was a small river.
The riverbanks were lush with grass and water, and the stream gurgled. It was a picturesque scene of a mountain village by the water.
But Chen Xiaobei couldn't afford to admire the scenery.
He desperately lay by the river and drank a bellyful of water.
However, after drinking a bellyful of water, he was even hungrier now.
"Brother, I'm not thirsty, I'm hungry," Chen Qiao'er said timidly again.
Chen Xiaobei stood up and looked around.
There were fish in the river, but the water was too deep, and without tools, it was difficult to catch them.
He looked up at Qingniu Mountain in the distance, and Chen Xiaobei gritted his teeth, deciding to try his luck in the mountains.
The brother and sister climbed more than three miles in one go, but found nothing except a few wild fruits. Chen Qiao'er finally couldn't walk anymore.
Moreover, they had already reached a place with very few traces of human activity. The villagers had always spread rumors that there were fierce beasts in this mountain, so ordinary people did not dare to come up often. Only bold hunters would venture in occasionally.
Alas, it was truly difficult.
Chen Xiaobei looked at the exhausted Chen Qiao'er, and then thought of his so-called home. He couldn't help but roar at the mountain in front of him, "Damn it, what kind of transmigration is this!"
His voice echoed through the mountains, gradually fading.
Suddenly, Chen Xiaobei noticed that the grass more than ten yards away was shaking.
This startled him. Just as he was about to pull his sister away, a group of pheasants fluttered up from the grass, cackling and scattering into the distance.
Pheasants.
Seeing this, Chen Xiaobei's mind stirred.
In his previous life, his family was also from the countryside. Wild pheasants often appeared in the fields. He and his friends would track and observe pheasants for a long time, just to find their nests and get some wild eggs.
Pheasants are very intelligent animals. When they feel threatened, they will immediately run in the direction away from their nests.
They would run at least four or five meters, or even more than ten meters, before taking flight.
This would prevent predators from finding their true nesting sites.
Therefore, to find a pheasant's nest, one must search backward from where they took flight.
With this thought, Chen Xiaobei became excited. He broke off a branch from a nearby tree and, while patting the grass, moved towards where the group of pheasants had flown up.
After searching around, he actually found several nests of wild eggs. Looking at the large expanse of white wild eggs, Chen Xiaobei became excited.
Pheasants cannot have all their eggs taken. If all were taken, the pheasants would abandon the nest and not return. Therefore, taking a few from each nest would still allow the pheasants to return.
Chen Xiaobei took off his shirt, wrapped more than ten eggs in it, and hurried back.
"Qiao'er, we have something to eat. Look at these wild eggs."
Chen Xiaobei picked up an egg and gently tapped a small hole in it on a rock.
"Here, open your mouth and lift your head."
Chen Qiao'er was indeed very obedient. She tilted her head slightly and opened her small mouth.
Chen Xiaobei brought the wild egg close to Chen Qiao'er's mouth, shook it slightly, and the liquid slowly flowed into her mouth.
One, two, three. Chen Qiao'er ate three wild eggs in one go, and then suddenly stopped.
"Qiao'er is full, brother, you eat."
What an intelligent and clever child. Chen Xiaobei's heart warmed. At such a young age, she already knew how to care for others.
Chen Xiaobei only drank two wild eggs and then stopped. He wanted to take the rest back.
At night, with some wild vegetables and a wild egg, a pot of soup would be enough to fill their stomachs.
He couldn't understand how, with so many resources, the Chen Xiaobei of his previous life could starve to death.
Just then, Qiao'er pointed into the distance and asked with her head tilted, "Brother, over there, are there more wild eggs?"
Chen Xiaobei was stunned and asked subconsciously, "What do you want to do?"
"Sell the wild eggs in the county town to help brother repay his debts."
That single sentence reminded Chen Xiaobei.
This was a very tricky problem: how to earn two taels of silver within three days to get rid of this nuisance, Chen Ermao.
But there was nothing valuable left in the house. Borrow? How many families in the entire village could he approach? Forget two taels of silver, he probably couldn't even borrow two copper coins.
Therefore, he had to think of another way. After thinking hard, Chen Xiaobei's gaze fell on these wild eggs again.
Yes, catch pheasants.
In his mind, memories of his past life flashed.
Once, a pheasant accidentally flew into their house. His father caught it and sold it to a big boss for a lot of money.
So, in this era, pheasants should also be very valuable, right?
If he could catch a few pheasants within three days, then the problem would be solved.
With this thought, he became excited. First, he tore a piece of cloth from his clothes and tied it to a small tree at the place where he found the wild eggs. He made a mark.
Furthermore, catching pheasants couldn't be done bare-handed. He needed to make a net.
He stood up and looked around, his gaze finally falling on a small tree not far away.
This small tree was about a person tall and forked into two branches at about chest height. It was a standard Y-shape.
Without suitable tools to cut trees, he could only use stones to smash. After a lot of effort, Chen Xiaobei finally broke off this small tree, which was about as thick as Qiao'er's arm.
Chen Xiaobei, as if he had found a treasure, called out to his sister, "Let's go, Qiao'er, we're going home."
Chen Qiao'er shook her head, "I'm not going back. I'm afraid they'll catch me again."
It was obvious that Chen Xiaobei had underestimated Chen Ermao's shamelessness. He shook his head, "Don't worry, brother will give them some copper coins, and they won't catch you."
Hearing this, Chen Qiao'er finally smiled, "I'll listen to brother and go home. Qiao'er will dig for wild vegetables."
The brother and sister, hand in hand, returned home.
Chen Qiao'er took a dilapidated bamboo basket from the kitchen in the east and went to the village entrance to dig for wild vegetables.
Chen Xiaobei searched the house inside and out. According to his plan, he would use the tree branch he brought back to make a pheasant net.
After searching everywhere, the only thing in the house that fit his criteria was the dilapidated half of a mosquito net at the foot of the bed.
Chen Xiaobei spread the mosquito net on the ground, and then placed the tree branch he brought back on it.
After toiling for more than half an hour, a net as large as a millstone was finally completed.
Just then, his second aunt from next door suddenly rushed in and asked him loudly, "Xiaobei, do you have guests at home? I saw a stranger digging for vegetables with Qiao'er."