All the way, Xu Jianing was very quiet.
Father Xu glanced at her several times before finally sighing and saying, "Ning'er, it's all my fault for being useless and letting you suffer."
"I'll go deep into the woods later to take a look. You just sit on that rock and wait for me to come back. Remember, don't wander too far."
After speaking, he couldn't help but feel uneasy, so he took out a homemade wooden whistle from his embrace and stuffed it into her hand. "Keep this safe. If you encounter danger, blow it once, and I will appear quickly."
Xu Jianing initially wanted to refuse; in her opinion, this thing wasn't very useful.
Even if she truly encountered danger, given her father's speed, by the time he could rush to her side, it would likely be too late.
But when she met Father Xu's worried gaze, she couldn't bear to make him sad. She could only silently hide the item in her sleeve and nod at him.
After arranging all this, Father Xu left with relief.
Xu Jianing wasn't idle either. After observing the surrounding environment, she picked up a wooden stick from the ground and walked toward the woods. How could she miss such a good opportunity?
It would be a lie to say she wasn't scared; looking at the increasingly dense forest, Xu Jianing's heart pounded.
Fearing she would get lost, she made markers along the way.
Since it was her first time in such an unfamiliar place, she didn't intend to put herself in danger. Therefore, she didn't go too far, stopping after a few steps under a large tree not far away.
Seeing the round, ball-like things scattered on the ground beneath the tree, she suddenly felt they looked somewhat familiar.
She bent down and poked at them with the wooden stick; some had already split open, making it easy to see what was inside.
She was delighted—weren't these Chestnuts?
Visions of many ways to prepare Chestnuts immediately flashed through her mind. These were money!
Looking at such a large patch of chestnut trees, she felt a sense of joy about getting rich.
Ignoring whether it was dirty or not, she put down her Back Basket, squatted down, and began picking up the things on the ground.
Soon, all the Chestnuts on the ground were gathered, filling only a little over half the Back Basket.
Seeing how many Chestnuts were still on the trees that hadn't fallen, she felt a bit worried.
She tried hitting the Chestnuts on the tree with the wooden stick in her hand, but she couldn't reach them at all.
With a sudden idea, she put all her strength into kicking the chestnut tree, and instantly, the ripe Chestnuts on the tree fell down with a "patter."
This made her kick with more vigor, not feeling tired at all.
However, her actions were seen as quite abnormal by others.
When Father Xu came looking for her, he saw Xu Jianing frantically kicking a large tree covered in green balls.
Dropping the prey he was carrying and ignoring the discomfort in his legs, he rushed over quickly and pulled his daughter, who seemed off, into his arms from behind.
"Ning'er, are you feeling unwell somewhere? It's my fault; I shouldn't have left you there alone. Stop kicking, be careful not to hurt your foot. I'll take you home right now, and we'll have Chicken Soup when we get back."
Xu Jianing, who had been happily kicking, hadn't noticed that someone had suddenly appeared beside her at some point.
Upon hearing the familiar voice, she excitedly said to Father Xu, "Dad, look, I found treasure."
Looking at the green fuzzy balls on the ground, Father Xu smiled bitterly; these were not treasures, just useless things.
He pondered in his heart that this Girl must have hit her head quite hard.
He needed to figure out a way to get her back quickly and then find Doctor Liu to check on her.
Fearing he might agitate her, he thought for a moment and spoke to Xu Jianing as if coaxing a child, "Ning'er, look, these things have thorns and can easily hurt your hands. Let's just leave them."
Then, as if presenting a treasure, he brought all the Game Meat he had just dropped in front of Xu Jianing. "Ning'er, look, Dad hunted a few very plump wild chickens just now. Let's go back and make soup to drink; it will be good for you."
That tone of coaxing a child made Xu Jianing frown slightly. "Dad, what's wrong with you? I'm not a little kid; you don't need to talk to me like that."
"What I said just now was serious. I really have a way to exchange these Chestnuts for money. Dad, since it's still early, help me gather all of these into the Back Basket. The more, the better."
After speaking, Xu Jianing busied herself.
After careful consideration, Father Xu couldn't help but speak up, "Ning'er, there are plenty of these things every autumn harvest. They are covered in thorns, inedible and unusable—how can you sell them for money?"
Hearing that there were many of these things, Xu Jianing's eyes lit up.
She wasn't annoyed by her father's words; very calmly, she picked a split Chestnut from the pile of fuzzy balls, used her hand to forcefully peel away the bothersome outer shell, and put the kernel inside into her mouth, eating it seriously.
The raw Chestnut, uncontaminated, tasted sweet and crisp.
"Ning'er, what are you doing? Spit that out quickly. If you are hungry, let's go back right away, and Dad will make you something delicious."
Father Xu stomped his feet anxiously nearby, while Xu Jianing leisurely continued what she was doing.
Only after peeling another one did she slowly speak up, "Dad, you should try one too. It's really fine."
"I won't hide it from you; when I was little and gathering firewood, I would always find things to eat in the Mountains whenever I was hungry. These things look scary, but what's inside is truly edible. Especially after being cooked, the texture is even better than this."
Father Xu took the item with a complex expression and tasted it.
"How is it? Delicious, right?" Xu Jianing couldn't help but lean closer and ask in a low voice.
In her view, changing Father Xu's mind all at once was impossible. She could only do it step by step.
Their family's situation wasn't good right now. Winter was approaching, and before that, they had to fix up the house. The prerequisite for that was having money.
With her current abilities, she still needed the help of her family. And her father was currently the only one who could help her. That was why she chose to persuade her father little by little.
"It's actually quite good. But Ning'er, this thing isn't particularly special for us country folk. There's no way it can be sold like this. I'm worried..."
Seeing that he had finally relented, Xu Jianing breathed a sigh of relief and continued, "Dad, trust me, this thing can really sell for money."
"Do you know where there are beehives in the Woods? honey isn't cheap, right? We can use honey as a substitute to make Sugar-fried Chestnuts and sell them in the Town. It will cost almost nothing, and maybe we can even make a profit. Let's just try it, okay?"
After pondering for a moment, Father Xu nodded in agreement. He knew his Daughter was also thinking of the good of their family. He could sense her change and was willing to try this honey-fried Chestnut idea with her.