Liu An was thrilled as he lay in bed, knowing that tomorrow morning he would go up the mountain with his mother and the others. Their family was very poor, and he longed to see the world beyond the village. There were no ways to earn money, and although everyone worked hard, they barely had enough to eat.
Looking at his elder sisters, his heart ached even more. In his previous life, he had been a girl, pampered by his parents and never knowing hardship. Now, having transmigrated into a boy, he felt an immense sense of relief. If he were still a girl, the absence of a male heir in the family would make life much harder—his sisters’ prospects would be bleak.
“Poor sisters… wait for me. Even if I can’t earn money now, one day I’ll make sure you all live well,” Liu An whispered to himself before drifting off to sleep.
“Darling, are we really taking An’er up the mountain tomorrow?” Xiao Chen asked her husband, Liu Sanzhuang, her voice tinged with worry.
Liu Sanzhuang smiled, trying to reassure her. “Let him go. A child his age should run freely across the hills.”
“But An’er is our…” Xiao Chen began, but Sanzhuang waved her off with a grin. “I know your concern, but An’er is our only son. He mustn’t be weak. One day, he will carry the Liu family’s reputation. He has to be strong.”
Xiao Chen sighed. Her father-in-law and husband had made their decision; there was nothing she could do. At worst, she would keep a careful eye on him tomorrow.
That night, the Liu matriarch spoke to her husband as he smoked. “Husband, you’ll cut back on the pipe a little, right? Did you really say he’ll roam the hills freely?”
He tapped his old tobacco pipe. “I did. From now on, our Liu family relies on An’er. Whatever he wants to do, we’ll support him. Staying cooped up at home won’t get him anywhere. I can tell he’s different from other boys—he’s smart.”
Hearing her husband praise their grandson, the matriarch laughed. “Of course, our grandson isn’t like those foolish boys.”
The couple chatted a while longer before finally going to sleep. It wasn’t just favoritism—they genuinely had a well-behaved little grandson. Since birth, Liu An had been easy to care for. Aside from crying when hungry or needing the toilet, he rarely fussed. By age one, he could speak many words politely, earning the whole family’s affection.
The next morning, Liu An rose early, trailing behind Xiao Chen to wash up. From age two, he had insisted on doing his own washing, and the adults indulged him.
“Good morning, little An’er! Up so early—excited to go to the mountain with your mother?” the grandmother asked, smiling at her diligent little grandson.
“Good morning, Grandma! I’ll be going with Mother soon to the mountain. I want to find treasures to sell, so we can buy meat for you,” Liu An replied eagerly.
“Good boy! I boiled an egg for you—eat well before you go to the mountain,” she said, smiling.
Liu An nodded eagerly, his thoughts already on the mountain, wondering what he might find. The morning air was cool, and with everyone eager to work, the family quickly ate breakfast before heading to their respective tasks—some to the fields, others to the mountain.
“ Xiao Cuihua, you’ll stay home and cook with me today. From now on, one of you three daughters-in-law will take turns helping me prepare meals each day during the busy season,” the grandmother instructed.
“Alright, Mother,” Xiao Cuihua replied immediately. Xiao Sun and Xiao Chen had no complaints; it was an old Liu family custom. During busy seasons, the daughters-in-law took turns helping the grandmother cook, so everyone could eat quickly after returning from work.
“Grandma, I want to go up the mountain with my brothers to look for treasures!” the youngest granddaughter, Qi Ya, exclaimed, her eyes sparkling.
“Alright, you may go, but you must behave. Don’t wander off—there might be tigers on the mountain!” the grandmother warned, trying to scare her into obedience.
“I’ll be good, Grandma,” Qi Ya promised, trembling a little. Liu An couldn’t help but chuckle at the exchange.
“Let’s go, Mother,” Xiao Chen said, holding both Liu An and Qi Ya’s hands. Though reluctant to let her grandson go, the grandmother finally nodded and waved them off. “Go early and return early. Take good care of the children.”
Xiao Chen and Xiao Sun nodded, determined to protect Liu An, and led the group toward the mountains, carrying their small baskets for vegetables.
Tiger’s Mouth Mountain existed long before Liu Village. No one knew why it was called that—it had simply become tradition. The villagers came in spring to gather wild vegetables and in autumn and winter to collect firewood.
“Oh! Xiao Chen, this must be your little An’er! So fair and plump, like the young master of a wealthy household,” a village woman remarked, seeing Liu An with a small basket.
“Yes, Aunt Xinxin, this is my little rascal. An’er, say hello to Aunt Xinxin,” Xiao Chen instructed.
“Hello, Aunt Xinxin,” Liu An said politely.
“Such a good boy! Much better than my Hutou. Look at how well-mannered he is,” Aunt Xinxin praised, delighted by Liu An’s politeness.
“Your Hutou is strong too. Among the village kids, he’s one of the sturdiest. He’ll grow up to be a great worker,” Xiao Chen replied.
“This little rascal eats well and works hard, though a bit silly,” Aunt Xinxin said, smiling at her son.
“Mother, I’m going with my sisters to look for treasures!” Liu An said, eager to get started.
Xiao Chen laughed. “He insists on coming to dig vegetables with us. He even calls them ‘treasures.’”
Aunt Xinxin chuckled. “Wild vegetables aren’t treasures, but I’ll take my daughter too.”
With that, they led Liu An to their usual spots for gathering wild vegetables, aiming to finish early before the sun got too hot.
Looking over the mountainside covered in wild vegetables, Liu An thought, Tiger’s Mouth Mountain really is heaven’s gift to Liu Village. With these vegetables, no one here will go hungry.
Xiao Sun and Xiao Chen began gathering with the older girls, while Qi Ya picked flowers, and Liu An looked around with curiosity, eager for adventure.
Xiao Sun and Xiao Chen treated it as just children being playful, but Liu An approached Xiao Chen and said, “Mother, I want to explore a little.”
Seeing no immediate danger around, Xiao Chen warned Liu An, “Alright, but don’t wander too far. The mountains can be dangerous.”
“I promise, Mother! I won’t go far. If you like, I’ll take Qi Ya with me,” Liu An replied quickly.
Hearing this, Xiao Chen nodded. “Qi Ya, go with your brother, but don’t stray too far, alright?”
“Yes, Mother!” Qi Ya said, rushing over to Liu An. “Brother, I’ll go with you. Look at all these beautiful flowers!”
“Qi Ya, I want to go a little further ahead. Will you come with me?” Liu An asked with a hopeful smile. Seeing the direction he pointed to was full of more wildflowers, Qi Ya happily agreed.
Excited to have his request granted, Liu An led the way, carefully observing the surroundings. “There are so many wild vegetables here,” he remarked.
“Yes,” Qi Ya agreed. “With these vegetables, our little chickens can eat well, and even they’ll grow stronger.”
Liu An nodded and pulled Qi Ya along to a large tree. Looking down, he spotted a whole patch of bracken—excellent! Bracken could be stir-fried with meat, or simply prepared as a salad or dried for later. Even if they rarely ate meat, it would still taste good.
Delighted, he ran forward and started filling their basket with bracken.
“Brother, we’ve collected enough wild vegetables for the chickens. We don’t need to pick the cat’s paw plants anymore,” Qi Ya said.
Liu An looked curious. “Qi Ya, are these the cat’s paw plants?”
“Yes,” Qi Ya explained patiently. “Here they call bracken ‘cat’s paw.’ At home, the chickens don’t eat them much; I usually feed them gray vegetables. They’ve grown so strong recently.”
Ah, Liu An realized—locally, people called bracken “cat’s paw” because its shape resembled a little cat’s paw.
“Qi Ya, let’s pick some together! Grandma can stir-fry it for us tonight,” he suggested eagerly.
“Brother, it’s a bit sour—won’t taste good,” Qi Ya warned.
“That’s okay. We can try it, and if we don’t like it, we won’t eat it again,” Liu An said with a smile.
Seeing her little brother so cheerful, Qi Ya couldn’t refuse and began helping him gather the plants. Soon, the basket was full. Liu An looked at the bracken and thought, What a treasure! Even if we can’t eat it all, we can sell some or dry it for winter.
After collecting, they saw their mother, aunts, and sisters had also filled their baskets with wild vegetables. In a few days, they would cut firewood nearby. With good weather, they could gather all the wild vegetables quickly. The men worked in the fields, and the women, after collecting vegetables, would gather some small branches for cooking back home.
Suddenly, a rustling sound came nearby. Qi Ya was about to run off to pick flowers when Liu An grabbed her and picked up a sturdy stick. “Don’t move, Qi Ya. Did you hear that noise?”
Qi Ya looked puzzled. “What noise?”
Before she could finish, Liu An swung the stick, and with a thud, something fell into the grass.
Cautiously, he and Qi Ya approached and discovered a white rabbit lying unconscious in the grass.
“Ah, a rabbit! How cute!” Qi Ya exclaimed, delighted.
Liu An quickly covered her mouth. “Quiet, Qi Ya! If anyone hears us, we won’t get to eat rabbit meat.”
Hearing the words “rabbit meat,” Qi Ya covered her mouth with both hands, eyes wide. “I won’t tell, I won’t tell!”
Feeling protective of her, Liu An said, “Qi Ya, I’ll stay here while you go get Mother.”
Qi Ya nodded and ran to where Xiao Chen was chopping small branches. “Mother! Mother!” she called.
Xiao Chen turned around. “Qi Ya, weren’t you supposed to watch your brother? Where is he?”
Qi Ya pointed to the distant tree. “Mother, brother wants you to come over.”
Thinking Liu An just wanted her, Xiao Chen left the chopped branches for Liu Ya and hurried toward him. Xiao Sun had also finished cutting firewood and encouraged her, “Go ahead, I’ll take care here.”
Soon, Xiao Chen arrived and saw Liu An sitting safely on the ground, smiling. “An’er, are you tired? Let’s go home.”
Liu An shook his head, pointing at the ground. “Mother, look! A rabbit. We’ll have rabbit meat tonight!”
Xiao Chen looked and indeed saw a fat rabbit. Gently picking it up, she asked, “An’er, where did this rabbit come from?”
Before Liu An could answer, Qi Ya excitedly explained, “After we were done gathering vegetables, we heard a sound. An’er was amazing—he threw a stick and hit the rabbit!”
Xiao Chen looked at Liu An, who nodded with a grin. “I thought it was a mouse, so I just threw the stick. Who knew it was a rabbit! Am I clever, Mother?”
Xiao Chen laughed at his proud expression. “Yes, my An’er is the cleverest! Come on, let’s go home and I’ll cook some meat for you.”