Sold immediately after wearing it? I took my family and fled the famine.

Third Uncle came out of the house wearing an old cotton-padded coat, coughed twice in the yard, stretched his arms a few times, and then went to help Jiang Xing divide the snakes into bags.

The mountain wind snake should be packed in a separate bag, while venomous snakes like the five-step snake and the pit viper should be packed in an extra bag. Venomous snakes are valuable and should not be mixed with non-venomous ones.

After catching it the day before yesterday, it has been kept in a corner with the bag tightly tied. Now, occasionally a hissing sound can be heard from inside, which makes one's hair stand on end.

After breakfast, everyone gradually arrived. Shen Dehou had said last night that not too many people were needed to go to town; one or two heads of each family would suffice. Jiang Xing's family consisted of her and her third uncle, Shen Dehou himself counted as one, Doctor Gu counted as one, Wang Laoshi brought Shitou, Widow Sun brought Tiedan, and Chen Junsheng and Madam Hu brought Chen Sumei.

Originally, it was planned that Chen Xiaoxiao would go with her to pick up the things, but unexpectedly, it was Chen Sumei who came with her when she got up early in the morning.

Each household had gathered all the medicinal herbs they wanted to sell, including Rehmannia glutinosa, Scutellaria baicalensis, and Bupleurum chinense, and stacked them in bundles in their baskets.

Old Wang carried two large baskets on a shoulder pole, crammed full. Widow Sun tightened the straps of the bamboo baskets again and again. Tie Dan followed behind her, carrying a small bundle of dried dandelions in his arms. Doctor Gu carried a medicine chest on his back and a cloth bag on his other hand, which contained the rehmannia he had carefully prepared the night before and several of the best-looking medicinal herbs.

Only Chen Sumei stood empty-handed to one side. The medicinal herbs Chen Xiaoxiao had asked her to take to sell weren't heavy—a few bundles of rehmannia root and a small bag of dried plantain, weighing only about ten pounds in total. But Chen Sumei stood by the courtyard wall, her hands tucked into her sleeves, motionless, as if she hadn't seen the bundle of herbs on the ground.

Chen Junsheng and Hu Shi were already overflowing. The couple not only wanted to sell medicinal herbs, but they had also woven many straw hats and shoes to carry to town to sell; their carrying pole was brimming with goods.

With the objects piled up, there was no spare hand left to hold even a single thing.

The two looked down at Chen Xiaoxiao's bundle of medicinal herbs on the ground, then looked up at their eldest daughter. Madam Hu opened her mouth, but didn't say anything. She just sighed and bent down to put the bundle of herbs into her basket.

Seeing that her parents were too busy to attend to everything, Chen Sumei's eyes darted around as she quickly scanned the crowd.

She spotted Shi Tou in the group at a glance. He was young and had the fewest belongings, carrying only a small cloth bag, which made him very light.

Chen Sumei rolled her eyes, walked over gracefully, bent down, and spoke in a soft, gentle voice, as if talking to a kitten: "Little Stone, you're strong, could you help your sister Xiaoxiao carry these medicinal herbs? I stayed up late embroidering handkerchiefs last night and accidentally hurt my hand. I can't use my arm at all today, so I can only ask you to help me."

Her voice was much softer than usual, with a slight upward inflection at the end, making it sound like she was humming a tune.

Shi Tou looked up, frowned, and stared at her for a while before suddenly saying, "Sister Chen, is there cotton stuck in your throat? Why are you talking so strangely?"

The courtyard fell silent.

Tie Dan squatted down beside him and burst out laughing. Wang Laoshi turned his head away, his shoulders trembled, but he managed to hold it in.

Chen Sumei's smile froze instantly. The carefully crafted gentle expression cracked, her lips twitched, and she tried to say something, but couldn't utter a single word.

Jiang Xing was squatting in the corner of the yard, sorting snakes into bags. She tied the bag tightly, glanced up at Chen Sumei who was choking on a stone and couldn't speak, and rolled her eyes speechlessly.

She picked up the two snake bags, one in each hand, turned and walked quickly towards Stone, calling out, "Stone, hurry, hurry, these snakes we caught are quite heavy, come help me divide them into one bag!"

The two cloth bags swayed forward with her steps. Although the openings were tied, the bags themselves were thin, and the outline of a writhing snake inside was vaguely visible. Jiang Xing walked straight toward Chen Sumei, without making any attempt to avoid her. The bags drew closer and closer to Chen Sumei, almost brushing against her.

Chen Sumei looked down and saw clumps of things moving inside the bag. Some of them, probably startled, hissed and flicked their tongues, the sounds coming from the bag sending chills down her spine. The last trace of color drained from her face in an instant, and a scream practically exploded from her throat: "Ah—get away! Get away!"

She screamed and hid behind Shi Tou, curling up into a ball and gripping his shoulders tightly, using him as a shield. Shi Tou was pulled so hard he almost slipped from her grasp.

Jiang Xing showed no sign of stopping.

Chen Sumei dodged to the left, so she handed it to the left; Chen Sumei dodged to the right, so she handed it to the right, her expression serious, saying, "What are you afraid of? The snake's mouth is tied, it can't escape. Look, this 'mountain wind' is very valuable, one can sell for several coins."

Chen Sumei was no longer listening to any of this. She was so frightened that tears were about to come out. She no longer cared about her gentle image. She let go of Shi Tou's shoulder and backed away. She rushed to the bundle of medicinal herbs on the ground, grabbed it, and hid behind Hu Shi.

She huddled behind Madam Hu, only half her head showing, her voice trembling with tears: "Mother! You must do something about her!"

Madam Hu was also terrified by the snake bag, her face paling. However, she was holding a straw hat and straw sandals in her hands and couldn't free her hands to protect her daughter. She could only turn her body to the side to shield Chen Sumei behind her and chuckled dryly, "Jiang girl, quickly take that thing away from you, it's quite frightening."

Jiang Xing stopped and looked at Chen Sumei, who was trembling behind Hu Shi, then at the snake bag in his hand. He chuckled softly before turning around and handing the bag with non-venomous snakes to Shi Tou.

Shi Tou took the cloth bag, lowered his head, and held it in for a long while, his shoulders trembling. He looked up at Jiang Xing, his eyes full of barely suppressed laughter.

He leaned close to Jiang Xing's ear and whispered, "Sister Jiang, you definitely did that on purpose."

Jiang Xing neither admitted nor denied it, but raised his hand to pat his head and said calmly, "Let's go, we're about to set off."

Shi Tou hoisted the cloth bag onto his shoulder, glanced back at Chen Sumei who was still huddled behind Hu Shi, and recalled the tone of her voice when she spoke to him earlier. He couldn't help but chuckle twice and shook his head.