RFGCF 04

Chapter – 04

Heading into the Mountains to Try Their Luck

Ye Xiaohua had already planned it out. If Seventh Uncle Guan kept pressing her, she’d come clean and tell him the truth—that getting hit on the head had actually knocked some sense into her.

But Guan Qiu’s attention didn’t linger on Ye Xiaohua for too long. He took a careful look around the messy, chaotic room, his throat tightening with emotion. The words stuck in his throat eventually dissolved into a single, heavy sigh.

Without saying anything, he pulled two still-warm cornmeal buns from his sleeve and handed them to Ye Xiaohua. Then he patted her shoulder and left without another word.

Ye Xiaohua could tell from that final glance he’d given her—it was complicated, full of unspoken meaning. He probably thought there was no way out for the two siblings. And he had his own large family to feed—he had good intentions but lacked the means.

Even so, she was deeply grateful to him.

With these two buns, they wouldn’t go hungry today. She’d already decided last night: live off the mountain. She needed to go into the woods. Though bringing Xiaodouzi along was hardly convenient, given the current situation, she simply couldn’t rest easy if he wasn’t under her watchful eye.

Old Mrs. Ye and the eldest branch of the family were still scheming to sell Xiaodouzi for money.

Ye Xiaohua boiled some hot water, and the two siblings shared one bun. She wrapped the remaining one in a clean piece of cloth she’d searched the house for ages to find, then packed it into her basket along with whatever tools she thought might come in handy in the mountains.

Years of chronic malnutrition had left Ye Xiaohua’s body severely underdeveloped—she was smaller than other children her age. Unfortunately, her family’s basket was heavy and oversized, making it quite a struggle for her to carry.

Leading her little brother by the hand toward the back mountain, Ye Xiaohua drew inevitable whispers from the villagers. But no one stopped them. The two siblings were like sticky rice cakes now—no one dared get too close, afraid that saying even one word might get them stuck with an entanglement they couldn’t shake off.

News of the siblings heading into the back mountain quickly reached Old Mrs. Ye’s ears.

Wild beasts and wolves often roamed those mountains. Even strong, able-bodied men rarely dared to venture in. And now two little children—one of them a fool—were heading in there. They’d probably never come back.

Old Mrs. Ye mourned the loss of the money she could have gotten for Xiaodouzi, but at the same time, she was pleased that the second son’s house would fall into her hands without any effort. She just wished night would fall a little faster.

Ye Xiaohua led Xiaodouzi by the hand, trudging deeper up the mountain step by unsteady step. Autumn harvest was long over, and winter was approaching. There wasn’t even any wild greens left on the mountain—nothing to fill their stomachs.

With no other choice, Ye Xiaohua picked the flatter paths and kept moving inward, constantly checking on Xiaodouzi. His little nose was beaded with sweat, but he stubbornly shook his head and refused to stop.

After crossing a small ridge, Ye Xiaohua herself was feeling worn out. She found a large rock that had been warmed by the sun and sat Xiaodouzi down, setting down her heavy load of tools as well to rest before continuing their search.

She pulled out the water flask and let Xiaodouzi drink first. While she had a moment, she looked around—and spotted tiny dots of red scattered among the yellow-green thickets of trees and brush.

Looking closer, she saw they were wild crabapples. In her past life, Ye Xiaohua had eaten them during a mission deep in the mountains. Though the fruit was brightly colored, she knew it wasn’t poisonous. Eaten raw, it wasn’t particularly tasty—sour and astringent—but with some processing, it made for a decent snack.

Moreover, she remembered the locals in the mountains telling her that the wild crabapple tree was valuable from root to tip. It had elegant, graceful branches, lush foliage, and beautiful white flowers that complemented its green leaves and red branches—it could be grown as an ornamental tree. Its saplings could also serve as grafting rootstock for apples and crabapples.

The wood was straight-grained, fine-textured, and could be carved into furniture. She didn’t yet know the level of woodworking craftsmanship in this place, but perhaps someday she’d have a chance to try it out.

There were no signs that anyone had harvested these wild crabapples before, so Ye Xiaohua guessed the locals probably thought they were inedible.

After collecting about half a basket of wild crabapples, Ye Xiaohua felt she’d already made a decent haul. She’d come prepared to go back empty-handed—who knew this was only the beginning?

With a little child in tow, she didn’t dare venture too deep into the mountains. If a fierce beast appeared, she wasn’t sure she could escape in time.

Unfortunately, no matter how careful she was, Xiaodouzi’s short little legs still tripped over tree roots and stones. Luckily, he was bundled up thickly—his knees were only bruised, not scraped raw.

But that fall turned out to be a fortunate one.

After checking his wound, Ye Xiaohua turned back to pick up his shoe that had fallen off—and that’s when she spotted yellowish-brown objects stuck to the branches of a low shrub nearby. They were praying mantis egg cases—a type of medicinal herb.

Her flushed little face broke into a wide grin. Everyone thought the two siblings wouldn’t come back, but she’d found a treasure trove out here.

Looking around, she saw mantis egg cases all over the branches of the surrounding shrubs. If she sold these to an apothecary, they’d at least be able to afford food.

“Jiejie, why are you picking this stuff?” Xiaodouzi asked, though his hands were already busy collecting the egg cases too. His little hands were so small that he could barely hold two at a time.

Ye Xiaohua tilted her head and smiled. “With these, we’ll have steamed buns, meat buns, and braised pork!”

It was getting dark, and the little bit of food they’d eaten in the morning had long since been burned off during their long trek. Xiaodouzi licked his lips, imagining all the delicious things his sister had mentioned. “Really?”

“Of course! This is medicine. If you ever wet the bed again, we’ll just give you some of this to cure it.”

“Who… who wets the bed?!” Xiaodouzi turned his face away, his dark, sallow cheeks flushing with a faint red that matched the sunset clouds in the west.

First the wild crabapples, then the mantis egg cases—Xiaodouzi was beginning to realize that his sister, whom everyone called a fool, actually knew more than all those so-called clever people!

Darkness was falling fast, and there were still plenty of mantis egg cases left unharvested in the distance. Ye Xiaohua truly hated to leave them—each one was money, and more of them meant more steamed buns. But she knew they had to go back. If they waited any longer, it would be too dangerous to descend the mountain.

Besides, despite all her caution, Xiaodouzi had still gotten hurt. She definitely couldn’t bring him along next time.

Carrying an empty basket had already been tough for Ye Xiaohua, never mind one full to the brim. Though the way back was mostly downhill, it still took just as long as the climb up.

By the time they reached home, it was completely dark. But from a distance, Ye Xiaohua spotted something unusual—their little broken-down yard was ablaze with torchlight, crowded with people, as if some major event had taken place.