Ordinary observers in fast time travel

Chapter 1207 Greed
When Jia returned to the chestnut grove, the scorching sun was already high overhead. Fortunately, the trees were dense, and only dappled sunlight fell on Jia.

"Phew~" Shi Jia quickly threw the two bamboo poles into the grass and hurriedly put down her basket. She subconsciously touched her body, wanting to find a water bottle, but immediately remembered that she had not brought one.

Shi Jia licked her lips, missing her farming space. Unfortunately, she couldn't use it.

She looked up, her eyes scanning the treetops, trying to find that splash of red among the dense foliage. Unfortunately, all she could see was lush greenery; not a single red could be seen.

Somewhat disappointed, she could only lower her head and look at the low bushes, where a vibrant red quickly appeared amidst the green.

It's a raspberry!
Her breathing quickened, and her feet automatically moved closer to the raspberries. Her fingers easily plucked a raspberry from among the thorny vines, and she couldn't wait to put it in her mouth. The sweet and sour juice made her saliva secrete a lot, and her thirst was immediately relieved.

But that wasn't enough. She didn't have time to savor the sweet and sour taste of the raspberries. Her hands flew through the thorny vines, and in no time, she had picked a bag full of raspberries.

She grabbed a handful and put it in her mouth. The rich juice burst in her mouth, and Shi Jia felt like she had truly come back to life.

"Phew, I need to get a water bottle." Shi Jia thought of the grove of trees they had just left; he could use a bamboo tube as a water bottle.

However, she would have to wait two days; she needed to get all the chestnuts back in the meantime. With that in mind, she didn't rest; she grabbed a bamboo pole and started knocking down chestnuts.

With a whoosh, a rain of chestnuts fell from the chestnut tree as the bamboo poles were struck. Shi Jia quickly stepped back, afraid of being pricked by this thorny "rain."

Shi Jia's basket wasn't very big, and it was quickly filled up.

She looked at the chestnuts scattered on the ground and could only carry her basket back to unload them and come back again. It was around 3 p.m., and the sun was blazing; the villagers of Xinghua Village were unwilling to go out to work at this time.

So Shi Jia didn't encounter anyone on her way back, but she found that the place where she had seen wild vegetables in the morning was now empty.

She pursed her lips, not regretting not picking any, but feeling a deeper sense of the scarcity of food at the moment.

The 50-pound load was a huge burden for Shi Jia. If she lost her balance even slightly, the basket would pull her backward. So she had to bend over slightly so that most of the weight of the basket would be directly on her back.

Even so, her shoulders were still aching from the straps of the basket. She could only find some leaves, stack them together, and place them under the straps to cushion the weight of the straps on her shoulders.

"Huff... huff..." Shi Jia walked very slowly, her legs feeling like they were filled with lead, or like noodles. She gritted her teeth and persevered with great willpower.

Call ~
She considered herself someone who had endured hardship, but at this moment she had to admit that there was only more suffering to come, no end to it. The pain was especially intense when she possessed the ability and a treasure trove of knowledge yet was unable to use it.

This is what it means to cultivate one's mind.

But in such an environment, even if she could manufacture airplanes and cannons, and cultivate high-yield crops, what good would it do?

What good is having exceptional business acumen if you lack the means of production? You'll struggle to even survive.

Sigh, let's fill our stomachs first.

It took more than an hour to walk there, but two hours to come back. I didn't get home until after five o'clock.

"Hey, Little Flower's gone into the mountains again. What delicious food did she find?"

As soon as Shi Jia opened the courtyard gate, she heard a slightly shrill voice. She turned around and saw a person with sunken cheeks and dark skin, whose eyes were fixed on her basket with a greedy gleam.

Shi Jia quickly turned the basket behind her back.

"Chestnuts? Let me see! Where did you pick them?" The woman walked up to Shi Jia and was about to push the door open when Shi Jia quickly stepped back, closed the door, and bolted it shut.

"Hey, you brat, you slut, open the door! If you don't open the door, I'll tell the village chief about the chestnuts you picked up on the mountain!" the woman screamed.

"This is a public society now, everything belongs to the public. Hiding chestnuts is a crime, I'm telling you," the woman outside the door kept nagging. Shi Jia calmly put down his basket, picked up a fist-thick wooden stick, and opened the door with it. As soon as the door opened, the woman rushed towards Shi Jia without saying a word.

Shi Jia kicked the woman hard, causing her to fall backward and hurt her buttocks.

"Ouch~ It hurts so much!" the woman wailed. "You little bitch, how dare you kick me! I'll beat you to death!" She struggled to get up and was about to hit Shi Jia.

Shi Jia gripped the wooden stick tightly, holding it horizontally in front of him. "Don't come any closer, or I'll hit you."

"Well, you little slut, you've really grown some guts, haven't you!" Upon seeing this, the woman looked around and quickly spotted a wooden stick in the corner. She ran over, picked it up, and turned to charge at Shi Jia.

The ferocity on his face made Shi Jia frown involuntarily.

She gripped the wooden stick and struck it hard at the incoming stick. "Crack!" The stick snapped in two. Seeing this, the woman immediately threw the broken stick at Shi Jia.

Shi Jia nimbly dodged the attack, and the woman, seeing this, trembled with anger. She picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at Shi Jia. Upon seeing this, the latter quickly turned around and went back into the yard, closing the door tightly behind him.

"Whoo~"

Her gaze fell on the basket of chestnuts in the yard. Lost in thought, she wondered who the woman outside was. Shi Jia tried to recall, but to no avail.

She pursed her lips. Based on her understanding of Li Xiaohua, those who had no memory at all were usually so-called relatives.

"Is it Auntie?" Shi Jia's eyes were cold. From those memories, it was clear that after Li Xiaohua's parents died, her two uncles not only failed to help take care of her, but also took away the savings and food that Li Xiaohua's parents had left her.

They said they wanted Li Xiaohua to live with them, but they didn't even provide her with food. Later, Li Xiaohua couldn't take it anymore and went back to live at home on her own.

The commotion outside the door quickly attracted the attention of the neighbors, such as Granny Wu from next door, who came out shakily to persuade the woman.

"Manfang, what are you doing? What did Xiaohua do to offend you again! How can you be so mean as her aunt..." Granny Wu scolded the woman.

Wu Manfang retorted, "Pah! What niece doesn't respect her aunt? She thinks she's right!"

"Li Xiaohua, get out here right now!" Wu Manfang shouted. "You bitch, hurry up and take out the chestnuts."

Granny Wu was very dissatisfied, "Xiao Hua finally managed to pick up some things, and you come to steal them too. Do you want Xiao Hua to die on purpose!"

"Yes, Aunt, do you want me to die?" Shi Jia came out again, still holding the wooden stick in her hand.

"Aren't you afraid that my parents will come looking for you when you're sleeping at night?"

Wu Manfang shuddered. "Pah! Superstition! There are no ghosts in this world! Don't scare me. Give me the chestnuts now."

"Impossible! Don't even think about it!"

"Give it to me now, or I'll call your uncle and cousin over in a bit, and you'll be sorry."

"Okay, then I'll go and call the village chief to settle this matter."

“Yes, Xiaohua, go find the village chief now. These people are becoming more and more lawless!” said Granny Wu.

Upon hearing this, Wu Manfang's eyes darted away, and she cursed Shi Jia a few more times before reluctantly leaving.

However, the look in her eyes before she left clearly showed that she hadn't given up.