What was she doing over there?
Lin Ran looked around; aside from weeds, there were only shrubs interspersed with a few purple and white wildflowers.
As for the mountain?
It was completely covered by lush, green trees. There was certainly food inside, but it was also accompanied by danger; it was simply not a place two young girls could go.
Finally, she had no choice but to turn and look at Zheng Sanya.
“Sanya, are you sure there are wild vegetables here?”
Zheng Sanya nodded with certainty.
“We can find some here, though they are a bit scarce. But I know a place with plenty of mushrooms, and it seems no one else has discovered it yet. I often go there to pick them.”
“Sister Ranran, come with me.”
This made Lin Ran hesitate.
That place was clearly Zheng Sanya’s secret base. Since she herself didn’t lack food, wouldn’t it be wrong to snatch mushrooms from her? Originally, she had thought wild vegetables and mushrooms were abundant on the mountain, which was why she had agreed to come along.
But before she could say anything, Zheng Sanya seemed to read Lin Ran’s hesitation. She directly grabbed her arm and started walking.
“Sister Ranran, this is the first time anyone has played with me. Please just come with me.”
Hearing this, Lin Ran’s heart softened. No longer refusing, she followed the force of Zheng Sanya’s pull. At the very least, she would just take a small amount for the sake of appearances. She didn’t lack wild vegetables or mushrooms anyway; she could just “smuggle” some out from her space when they returned.
Next, Zheng Sanya led Lin Ran around the foot of the mountain. Surprisingly, they actually managed to dig up a basket of tender wild vegetables. Once they had enough vegetables, Zheng Sanya led Lin Ran to change locations, continuing further up the mountain.
Lin Ran thought she was going deep into the mountain and wanted to advise against it, but she stayed quiet when she saw Zheng Sanya stop before they had climbed very high.
Then, Lin Ran watched as Zheng Sanya began to clear away dead branches and leaves from a crevice between the rocks. Gradually, a gap about half a person’s height was revealed.
Zheng Sanya turned her dirt-streaked little face toward Lin Ran and grinned.
“Sister Ranran, it’s right inside. We’ll see them once we crawl in.”
Lin Ran looked closely. With such a hidden entrance, it was no wonder no one had found it. If those dead branches hadn’t been cleared, anyone else would have thought it was a dead end blocked by boulders, completely impassable.
After speaking, Zheng Sanya took the lead and crawled in. She was small in stature and passed through with just a slight bend of her knees. Lin Ran, having a slender figure, also entered easily by bending over.
As soon as Lin Ran entered, she felt a wave of coolness. This spot was naturally shaded, and now, shielded by rocks and trees, even the soil on the ground was damp—no wonder mushrooms grew here so easily.
Sure enough, Zheng Sanya was already shouting excitedly.
“Sister Ranran, come quickly! There are so many mushrooms here!”
Lin Ran walked over and saw mushrooms shaped like little umbrellas—red ones, white ones, gray ones, and even silver ones. They looked quite beautiful. She didn’t recognize these mushrooms, but she knew many of them were poisonous.
Zheng Sanya began to educate Lin Ran. Although she couldn’t name their scientific terms, she knew which were edible and which were not.
“Sister Ranran, you must never eat these silver or red mushrooms. I heard the aunts in the village say that if you eat them, you’ll ‘lie on a board’ [die].”
“And these mushrooms that turn blue as soon as you touch them must be cooked thoroughly before eating.”
“I remember once when I was so hungry I couldn’t help but eat a small one. My whole head felt dizzy, and I saw many little people calling me to play. I didn’t get better until the next day, and my parents even gave me a beating.”
Speaking of this, Zheng Sanya felt a bit dejected, no longer as excited as when she first saw the mushrooms.
From her memories, Lin Ran also knew what kind of life Zheng Sanya led in the Zheng family. To put it bluntly, she was treated worse than a dog. From the moment she could walk, she was assigned chores by the family. Once she was old enough to understand things, she took over all the household work.
Even so, the Zheng family would beat and scold her whenever they were unhappy.
If one were to say the Zheng parents favored boys over girls, Sanya still had two older sisters. Although they also had to do chores, they weren’t treated like Sanya, who faced constant verbal and physical abuse.
Thinking of this, Lin Ran didn’t know how to comfort Zheng Sanya, so she took out a piece of Cloud Slice cake and handed it to her.
“Sanya, don’t think about those unhappy things. Look, there are so many mushrooms here. Let’s eat something to fill our stomachs first, and then we’ll get to picking!”
Seeing the snow-white pastry, Zheng Sanya, who had been immersed in sadness, subconsciously swallowed her saliva. Her stomach also began to growl uncontrollably. Embarrassed, she clutched her stomach and took a few steps back.
“Sister Ranran, I’m not hungry. You should keep such precious white-flour cake for yourself.”
Lin Ran didn’t waste words and directly stuffed the cake into her mouth.
“It’s fine, I have more. This piece is for you—consider it payment for bringing me to pick mushrooms. If it weren’t for you, where would I find them?”
By the time Zheng Sanya reacted, the cake was already in her mouth. She hurriedly took it out, her face flushing red with anxiety.
“How can this be? The mushrooms on the mountain aren’t worth anything!”
Lin Ran picked up another piece of cake for herself and said while eating:
“Well, it’s already touched your mouth. I won’t take it back even if you return it, so do as you wish.”
Seeing the pastry stained with her own saliva, Zheng Sanya had no choice but to hold it carefully, terrified of dropping it on the ground.
Lin Ran urged her again,
“Eat up. We’ll pick mushrooms once you’re done.”
Zheng Sanya was reluctant to eat it, but she realized that if she brought it home and it was discovered, there would certainly be none left for her. This was given to her by Sister Ranran; she didn’t want to give it to her younger brother.
Thinking of this, Zheng Sanya finally began to take small bites. As soon as the pastry entered her mouth, her eyes lit up. It was so sweet!
But as she ate, her eyes involuntarily stung, and large tears began to fall.
“Sister Ranran, thank you. The cake is delicious!”
Actually, she also wanted to say, Sister Ranran, you are the first person to ever be this good to me! But she was too shy to say it.
Seeing her already dirty face turned into a mess by the tears, Lin Ran sighed softly. She took out a handkerchief and gently wiped the girl’s face. Once it was clean, she rubbed her head and said:
“Let’s go. Let’s hurry and pick the mushrooms.”
Next, the two moved nimbly to harvest all the edible mushrooms nearby. Lin Ran was purely swept up by Zheng Sanya’s enthusiasm.
By the time they finished gathering all the mushrooms, Lin Ran was slumped over from exhaustion. As the eldest daughter of a Marquis’s household, she truly had never done manual labor, let alone for so long. At this moment, she could no longer bother with etiquette or upbringing and sat directly on a rock to rest.
Zheng Sanya chuckled at the sight but didn’t disturb Lin Ran, tidying up the mushrooms by herself.
After resting for a while, Lin Ran felt a bit better. Seeing that Zheng Sanya had finished organizing the mushrooms, she stood up, ready to head home.
However, as soon as she stood up, her gaze happened to pass through a gap in the branches and spotted a familiar figure down the mountain.
Wasn’t that her cousin?
What was she doing over there?