Chapter 42: "Equivalent" Exchange

Mutong tugged at Duoji and said in a low voice, "Jucao is not feeling well, so you shouldn't bother her."

"Not feeling well? Where does it hurt? Should we go to the Great Shaman and have him cure you?" Duoji asked, full of enthusiasm. If Jucao was sick, she had to be healed quickly; otherwise, with the old and the young at home, no one would help her make a living.

Duoji actually admired Jucao quite a bit. There had been men who wanted to partner up with her, but Jucao insisted that anyone who partnered with her must also support the old man and the young child at her home. The child was manageable enough, since it was her own offspring anyway, and raising it meant someone to look after her in old age.

As for the old man, however, he was the father of Jucao's deceased man. Logically speaking, since that man had died, his father should no longer be Jucao's responsibility to feed. Yet what did this woman Jucao say? "His son died for this home, and his legs are broken. If I don't look after him, no one else will."

Could anyone help but admire such a strong and grateful woman? She was vastly better than some of the women in the tribe.

Seeing that it was Duoji and the Divine Envoy, Jucao first exchanged greetings with Mutong, and then shook her head at Duoji. "I'm not sick, my red water has come." With that, she reached out, grabbed a handful of grass from the nearby ground, and casually wiped away the blood between her thighs.

Mutong felt a twitch in her eyelids: Big sister, you are truly a hardcore warrior!

By now, Duoji also noticed the blood on Jucao's legs and smiled sheepishly. "So that's how it is. Then you should head back. I'll forage a bit more and share some with you when I return." He often saw the women in the tribe bleeding between their legs; only the first time had he been clueless, but after asking the little boys in the tribe later on, he had understood.

Jucao said with emotion, "Thank you, Duoji." In this tribe, only Duoji and his brother looked after her every time her red water arrived. She knew this had nothing to do with romantic affection; the two brothers simply pitied her. In the future, once she had the ability, she would repay these two brothers properly.

Seeing Jucao still wiping her thighs with grass leaves, Mutong felt a vein throb on her forehead. "Jucao, when the great auntie arrives――you call it red water? Where I'm from, we call it the great auntie. When the great auntie is here, you must pay attention to hygiene, avoid touching cold water, and rest more. Hurry back and sleep for a while. Sleeping more is good for you."

"Sleep? How can I have the time? My Chihui and my father are waiting for me to take care of them." Jucao spoke the truth. If she went home to sleep, there was no telling what kind of mess the mischievous Chihui would make, not to mention her father—even though he couldn't go out foraging, a whole mountain of chores waited for someone to do them at home.

Just as they were speaking, another surge of blood gushed wildly from between Jucao's thighs, startling Duoji quite a bit. "Why is there so much?"

Acting as if nothing were wrong, Jucao grabbed another handful of grass. "It's fine, just wiping it makes it better."

Mutong truly couldn't bear to watch any longer: the volume was simply too high, didn't she have any discomfort at all? She shoved her woven basket into Duoji's hands and said, "Wait for me here for a moment."

She turned around and pulled Jucao along. "Come with me."

Puzzled, Jucao followed Mutong: What on earth was the Divine Envoy trying to do?

Once inside the house, Mutong had Jucao stay in the living room while she first boiled some hot water in a stone pot, then went into the bedroom. A short while later, she came out holding several items.

She had Jucao place the boiled water into a stone basin and told her to thoroughly wash away the blood on her body.

Although Jucao had no idea what Mutong was up to, she followed the arrangements precisely since the Divine Envoy commanded it.

After Jucao finished washing, Mutong handed her a small, clean towel to dry herself. Then she taught her how to put on a pair of snug panties fitted with a sanitary napkin. At last, the blood flowing between her thighs stopped running about in a messy stream.

Handing Jucao a large pack of sanitary napkins, Mutong carefully explained how to use them. Jucao finally understood: she never expected the Divine Envoy to possess such wonderful things! Wiggling her hips, she found that the so-called panties fit securely on her body without the slightest bit of looseness. She could feel that the blood flowing from her body was being absorbed by the napkin inside the underwear.

This was wonderful! Did this mean she could now join the main group for foraging?

Jucao jumped up with joy, making the large steamed-bun-like mounds on her chest bounce back and forth, which made Mutong dizzy just looking at them. Fine, since she was already doing a good deed to the end, she might as well fix up this primitive woman a bit more—how much better would it be to turn her into a civilized person?

Finding a tank-top-style bra, Mutong had her put it on. Now that was much better—everything was neatly contained! Although she was only wearing underwear and a bra, it was leagues better than being completely bare and exposed as before.

Jucao touched the garments on her body with curiosity: although wearing these things felt a little awkward and unfamiliar at first, touching them felt genuinely comfortable. Were these given to her by the Messenger of the Gods? Or was she only allowed to wear them for a moment and then return them?

Straightforward by nature, Jucao naturally voiced this question. Actually, she desperately wanted these two items, but a person shouldn't be too greedy. The Divine Envoy was being kind-hearted, so she mustn't be greedy herself.

Mutong stared at Jucao with dark lines on her forehead: Even if you gave them back after wearing them, I wouldn't want them!

"These are gifts for you. If you feel bad about it, you can come over to my house and help out whenever you have free time." Mutong said this specifically to lift any mental burden from Jucao's mind.

"If those sanitary napkins run out and aren't enough, you can always come looking for me." Mutong's bracelet contained plenty of auntie pads. Because she hadn't needed them herself, she had left all the pads she collected with Xiao Jun. Who would have guessed that in the end, she would end up needing them herself anyway? Well, it made sense: back when she was a Foundation Establishment cultivator she hadn't needed them, but now that she had become an ordinary mortal, using auntie pads was only natural.

Looking at Jucao, who looked far more pleasing to the eye now that she was dressed, Mutong said, "You should just rest at home for the next few days. Right, didn't you want to help out? I still have a lot of rattan vines at my place; you can carry them all back and weave more boxes and baskets when you have free time at home, and use those to pay off your debt." The rattan vines she had harvested yesterday had only been used to weave reed mats and shallow bamboo sieves so far.

Clearly, Jucao wouldn't be able to go out foraging for the next few days, but without foraging, her family would have nothing to eat. For the sake of her choice to endure hardship rather than partner up with someone just to provide for the old man, this woman truly deserved respect.

That was why Mutong came up with the idea: let Jucao help weave boxes and baskets at home in exchange for the items given to her, as well as a portion of the food brought back from foraging later.

Jucao knew how to weave these things; she was very deft with her hands, and every day she would come to the Divine Envoy's home to watch and learn how these items were woven from the two A-Yu brothers.

Naturally, Jucao was more than willing to accept Mutong's arrangement. If she didn't go out foraging for even a single day, the food at home would fall short, and they would simply have to go hungry. Now, by helping the Divine Envoy work from home, she could watch the child, take care of the household, and still earn these priceless items and food—in truth, she was taking advantage of the Divine Envoy, so how could she possibly be unwilling?

Since it was an "equivalent" exchange, Mutong didn't mind giving Jucao a dress as well: it was an old sleepdress she had discarded, featuring a loose waistline and two matching ties at the waist.

When the watery-green patterned dress was slipped onto Jucao, and her hair was tied up with a rubber band, this woman instantly transformed into someone completely different.

Mutong also gifted Jucao the stone basin she had used along with the small towel. Jucao accepted them joyfully, cast a grateful glance at Mutong, turned and stepped out of the house, picked up a large bundle of rattan vines left in the courtyard, and headed back.

She needed to hurry back and weave more items. Only by doing so could she repay the immense kindness the Divine Envoy had shown her.