It wasn’t until nine o’clock that night, when not a single light could be seen from the mountain looking down toward the village, that Lin Shengxia finally headed to the cowshed.
Zhuang Beiwang had been sitting in the courtyard waiting for her. The moment he saw Lin Shengxia appear, he let out a long sigh of relief.
Lin Shengxia didn’t waste time exchanging pleasantries. She immediately stuffed everything she had bought into Zhuang Beiwang’s arms.
She had repackaged the medicine and high-proof liquor beforehand. At the very least, there was nothing about their appearance that could reveal they had come from the future.
“Little girl, you’ve really done Grandpa Zhuang a huge favor!”
“Back when we lived in the residential compound, my parents were always busy with work. Xiaodong and I were practically raised under your care. Oh, right, Grandpa Zhuang! My mother made chicken noodle soup. Hurry and try some!”
As she spoke, she placed a large, steaming bowl of noodles in front of Zhuang Beiwang.
When Zhuang Beiwang saw the whole chicken leg resting in the bowl, his eyes grew warm with emotion, and he quickly lowered his head.
Seeing that he still hadn’t touched his chopsticks, Lin Shengxia hurriedly comforted him.
“Grandpa Zhuang, my father said that as long as we survive the difficult times, there will always be hope for the future. When misfortune reaches its end, good fortune will come. All we have to do is wait.”
It was at that moment that Fu Yanzhi regained consciousness.
Hearing voices coming from the courtyard, he struggled up from the pile of straw.
Under the moonlight, he saw an old man and a young girl sitting together and talking quietly.
His eyes lowered slightly.
He recognized Lin Shengxia.
When the Lin family of four had been sent up the mountain, he had happened to be carrying out a secret investigation. He had personally watched the family enter the ruined temple.
He hadn’t expected that after he was injured, she would be the one to help him…
After Lin Shengxia left, Zhuang Beiwang hurried back inside.
Seeing Fu Yanzhi leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, he couldn’t help complaining.
“You were shot in the chest, and the bullet hasn’t even been removed yet. How dare you sit up like that?”
Fu Yanzhi wasn’t annoyed by the old man’s nagging.
He obediently lay back down on the pile of straw.
Zhuang Beiwang fed him a fever-reducing tablet before carefully examining his wound.
Fortunately, although the area was somewhat red and swollen, there were no signs of infection yet.
He could still be saved!
“I’ll remove the bullet for you during the day tomorrow. You probably can’t stay here much longer, can you? Otherwise, it’ll be difficult for you to explain things back at Maisui Production Brigade.”
Although Fu Yanzhi had come to Maisui Production Brigade to carry out a secret mission, he had still gone through the official process of being sent to the countryside as an educated youth.
He had already been delayed here for two days.
If he stayed any longer, even if the brigade leader didn’t say anything, the other educated youths sharing his quarters would probably start asking questions.
Fu Yanzhi remained silent, indirectly confirming Zhuang Beiwang’s guess.
Zhuang Beiwang let out a long sigh and added more firewood to the fire.
With worries weighing heavily on his mind, he eventually fell asleep…
Meanwhile, after returning to the ruined temple, Lin Shengxia had also long since drifted into dreamland.
Early the next morning, Lin Shengxia went up the mountain as usual.
However, when she saw that the wild vegetables had clearly grown old and tough, she didn’t pick them.
It wasn’t that the vegetables were inedible.
But the people who came to buy from her were all regular customers from the neighborhood. She wasn’t willing to pass off inferior vegetables to them.
The wild vegetables stored in her space would probably last another three days.
If she couldn’t find another good way to make money by then, she would simply venture farther into the mountains and focus on gathering medicinal herbs instead!
Once she had made up her mind, Lin Shengxia stopped hesitating and slowly continued farther up the mountain.
But beneath an old poplar tree, she suddenly discovered an animal footprint larger than her face!
Although she couldn’t identify what animal had left it behind, she knew that encountering a creature that large could easily be fatal.
She might have her space to escape into, but that didn’t mean she wanted to deliberately put herself in danger…
“Forget it. Forget it! I’ll focus on selling wild fish today!”
After comforting herself with those words, Lin Shengxia quickly turned around and ran back down the mountain toward the ruined temple.
Lin Qizheng hadn’t expected her to return so early today.
Before he could even ask what had happened, Lin Shengxia picked up a branch and drew the paw print she had seen on the mountain.
After examining the drawing carefully, Lin Qizheng’s expression darkened.
“This… was most likely a black bear.”
Hearing his words, Lin Shengxia sucked in a sharp breath.
At the same time, she secretly congratulated herself for making such a quick decision to turn back.
It was already May, and the bears that had awakened from hibernation were desperately searching for food.
If she encountered one and ended up seriously injured or crippled, it would be disastrous!
“Since you said the wild vegetables on the mountain have already grown old, stop going up there starting tomorrow. We have some money saved now, so there’s no need for you to work yourself so hard.”
As long as they spent carefully, the money they had earned would be enough for their family to live peacefully at Maisui Production Brigade for a long time…
Lin Shengxia obediently nodded.
She had no intention of making her father worry about something like this.
After hurriedly eating breakfast, she set off for 2026.
When she met her regular customers, Lin Shengxia told them that she would only be able to supply wild vegetables for another three days at most.
Fortunately, she had brought plenty of wild fish today, which gave the neighbors another option.
After all, high-quality wild-caught fish like hers were also difficult to find.
Besides, everyone understood the growing cycle of wild vegetables.
If Lin Shengxia could somehow supply them all year round, they might actually begin to question where her vegetables were coming from.
Seeing that everyone understood her decision, Lin Shengxia finally breathed a sigh of relief.
After closing her stall, she placed the pastries Dong Wanqiu had prepared on the table.
Cui Shijin hadn’t arrived yet, so Li Xiangqin told her to sit down and wait for a while.
But Lin Shengxia couldn’t sit still.
Instead, she joined Xiao Zhang in helping Li Xiangqin carry bowls and clear dishes.
These days, the way she dressed was almost indistinguishable from other young women in modern society. Since she also came here every day to sell vegetables, many of Li Xiangqin’s regular customers had grown familiar with her.
They jokingly told Li Xiangqin that she should remember to pay Shengxia a salary.
Li Xiangqin laughingly agreed.
As she watched Lin Shengxia work quickly and efficiently, her gaze softened.
Only after the morning rush was over did they finally have time to open the food container Lin Shengxia had brought.
Today, Dong Wanqiu had prepared corn cakes, a type of delicately sweet and refreshing snack.
Seeing the golden corn cakes resting on fresh corn leaves, Li Xiangqin couldn’t help smiling.
She picked one up and took a bite.
“Mmm! These are incredible!”
She had barely finished speaking when Cui Shijin pushed open the door and walked inside.
The moment she saw the corn cakes, her eyes lit up.
“Something new again today? Shengxia, your mother is amazing!”
Not only did the pastries look beautiful, but more importantly, they tasted wonderful.
The moment one savored the flavor, it brought to mind the pure, natural taste of the original ingredients.
Smiling, Lin Shengxia handed one to her.
Only after seeing Cui Shijin happily eating did she pick one up for herself.
Lin Shengxia had bought pastries from 2026 and brought them home before.
Cream cake, in particular, was her little brother’s favorite!
But in Lin Shengxia’s heart, none of the pastries here could compare with those handmade by her mother…
Once Cui Shijin had eaten her fill, she asked Li Xiangqin for the key to the electric bicycle and took Lin Shengxia outside.
This was Lin Shengxia’s first time riding an electric bicycle!
She stared at it with curiosity, looking it over again and again, but she didn’t dare climb on.
Seeing this, Cui Shijin simply took matters into her own hands.
She firmly placed a helmet on Lin Shengxia’s head and helped fasten the chin strap.
Then she told Lin Shengxia to hold tightly around her waist.
With Lin Shengxia securely seated behind her, Cui Shijin rode steadily all the way to her traditional Chinese medicine wellness clinic!