“Second Brother, this path looks like it’s been trodden by people often. Are there still hunters in our village?”
The journey hadn’t been as difficult as she had imagined.
Lin Jiaojiao was a bit curious—this was different from what her mother had said.
These days, in private, Lin Jiaojiao had already changed how she addressed them, calling Zhang Aihua “Mother” and Lin Shunde “Father.”
It was only a matter of time anyway, and she wasn’t being pretentious about it at all.
Moreover, calling them Father and Mother wasn’t for nothing.
Zhang Aihua had secretly slipped her 100 yuan, saying it was saved up for their daughter.
Perhaps in a later era, 100 yuan wouldn’t count for much.
But in this era, 100 yuan—who knew how long the couple had scrimped and saved for it.
And they still had to support five boys in the family.
Under such circumstances, being able to save up that 100 yuan for their lost daughter was truly not easy.
What’s more, before they even knew whether their daughter could be found, they had consciously started saving up a dowry for her.
This sentiment moved Lin Jiaojiao deeply.
Not to mention all the things the family had bought for her since she came to this home.
Having never experienced family affection in two lifetimes, now that she finally had a family who loved her, only a fool would refuse!
“There used to be hunters in the village, but now the authorities don’t allow villagers to hunt on their own, so the profession of hunter has been banned.”
“Now hunters are just like us ordinary folk—they have to work the fields to earn Gongfen.”
“This path was worn down by villagers gathering firewood and picking mushrooms. Actually, as long as you’re not too conspicuous about it, the brigade won’t confiscate things from the mountains.”
“Things like wild pheasants and rabbits—as long as you don’t openly carry them through the village, you can keep them to eat at home.”
Lin Guozhi explained some of the village’s situation to Lin Jiaojiao. These days, if you had meat, you had to eat it hidden at the bottom of the pot. If someone found out, there were always jealous people who would make trouble.
Fortunately, Qingshan Production Brigade didn’t have such awful people. The atmosphere in their brigade was very good—there were no lazy slackers who shirked work and played tricks.
Though there were a few people who were hard to get along with, these people were just solitary by nature and wouldn’t harm others.
There were also some domineering and forceful ones, but even they were reasonable.
As long as you didn’t make unreasonable scenes, in Qingshan Production Brigade, you didn’t need to worry about being bullied.
“Little Sister, I know a place where a few fruit trees grow.”
“I originally planned to bring Big Brother along in a couple of days to pick them.”
“Since the two of us are up the mountain today, let’s go pick a few to take home and try.”
Actually, Lin Guozhi wasn’t entirely sure whether the fruit had fully ripened yet.
Based on past years’ experience, they’d need to wait at least another week.
It didn’t matter if they weren’t ripe—it would still be nice to go take a look.
“Second Brother, are the fruit trees you mentioned far from here?”
Lin Jiaojiao was in high spirits, not feeling tired from the climb at all.
She had a basket hooked over her arm and was holding a stalk of foxtail grass in her hand. Her second brother had tied the foxtail grass into the shape of a little dog, which Lin Jiaojiao adored.
“Not far.”
“Just about 20 minutes and we’ll be there.”
Without a watch, Lin Guozhi could only roughly estimate the time.
“20 minutes and you call that not far?”
In her later life, going out meant taking a car. Even without a car, she’d ride her own little electric scooter.
To be honest, opportunities to walk on foot weren’t many.
Now she had to walk everywhere, and even a bicycle was considered a luxury.
How could she not miss modern life?
But if she really had to go back, Lin Jiaojiao found she couldn’t bear to leave after all.
No matter how good things were now, her family wasn’t by her side.
This place might be poor and backward, but she had relatives, care, warmth, and people who thought about her.
It couldn’t compare to that cold, indifferent world of the future.
“Little sister, don’t worry. If you’re tired, your second brother will carry you.”
Lin Guozhi looked at Lin Jiaojiao and smiled.
Having finally found his sister again, he couldn’t bear to let her tire herself out.
He was ready to carry her at any moment, constantly watching how Lin Jiaojiao was doing.
“I don’t want second brother to carry me!”
Lin Jiaojiao pouted. She wasn’t a three-year-old child.
Her family always doted on her like a baby, making her feel a little full of herself.
Seeing that his sister was doing well, Lin Guozhi continued leading the way.
The two walked for about fifteen minutes. Lin Jiaojiao wasn’t watching her step and tripped over a tree root, falling straight to the ground.
Her hand instinctively reached forward to brace herself, and happened to crush a plant.
Lin Guozhi, who was ahead, heard the noise and immediately came back to help his little sister up.
Lin Jiaojiao was still clutching that plant in her hand.
As Lin Guozhi moved her, the plant was pulled out as well.
Neither of them noticed anything unusual. Their eyes both fell on the spot beneath their feet.
There was a tree root there, breaking through the ground and lying across the surface.
That was the root Lin Jiaojiao had tripped over.
“Little sister, watch your step.”
“Did you hurt yourself from the fall?”
“Does anything hurt?”
Lin Guozhi asked anxiously.
“Second brother, I’m fine.”
“I’ll be more careful next time.”
Not wanting her second brother to worry, although her knee still hurt a little, Lin Jiaojiao chose to hide it.
It was probably just a scraped patch of skin. It shouldn’t have hurt the bone, otherwise she wouldn’t have been able to walk at all.
“Can you keep walking? If not, second brother will carry you.”
Lin Guozhi crouched down, signaling for Lin Jiaojiao to get on.
“No, no.”
“Second brother, keep leading the way. I’ll be careful next time.”
Lin Jiaojiao waved her hand and, at the same time, waved the plant in her hand through the air.
But neither of them noticed the other. Seeing that his sister was fine, Lin Guozhi continued leading the way.
Only this time, his pace slowed a great deal.
He walked as slowly as possible so she wouldn’t trip again.
Meanwhile, Lin Jiaojiao had just been about to toss away the weed in her hand.
But instinctively, she brought it closer to her eyes for a look, and discovered that it was actually a plump, fresh ginseng.
She was just about to cry out in surprise, excitedly wanting to call her second brother over to see.
But the next second, the large ginseng disappeared from her hand.
At the same time, some changes occurred in her Space.
Originally, aside from the house, the place had been a vast, boundless stretch of empty land.
It could neither be planted nor explored to its end.
The farther areas were still wrapped in thick fog. Now, having absorbed a century-old ginseng, changes appeared in the Space.
Within five hundred meters of the house, life slowly began to emerge.
One little ginseng sprout after another drilled out of the ground. Though sparse, it was no longer a barren expanse.
This meant that the land within a five-hundred-meter radius of the house could all be used for planting.
In this era of scarce clothing and food, having a piece of land of one’s own that could be cultivated meant not having to go hungry.
This was an extremely fortunate thing.
Lin Jiaojiao naturally noticed the anomaly inside the Space.
She extended her consciousness into the Space, observing the changes within, and her excitement grew.
It was fortunate she hadn’t cried out just now—otherwise, there would have been no way to explain the large ginseng that had disappeared.
“Sis, what’s wrong?”
It was Lin Guozhi who noticed her unusual behavior.