“Little one, you mustn’t shout next time—you almost scared the rabbit away!” Shen Xixi patted Xingbao’s head.
She braided some grass rope to tie up the rabbit, which wasn’t dead yet, just knocked out and might wake up at any moment, then tossed it into the back basket.
Then, with the little one in tow, she gathered wild vegetables while searching for kudzu vine. In her memory, no one knew this could be eaten; only some herbalists would dig it up for medicinal use.
But this stuff grew everywhere in the mountains, and even herbalists didn’t dig much of it, since it wasn’t worth much.
Not far away, there was a patch of kudzu vine with three-pronged leaves—clearly the edible kudzu root variety, which was great steamed or in soup. During famine years, it could fill bellies.
“Sister, what are you digging? I’ll help too!” The little one, now full, picked up a small hoe and joined in.
A few aunties nearby, also scouring the mountain for wild vegetables, saw the two children digging up roots.
“What a tragedy! I heard the family property was divided yesterday, and the second and third branches didn’t get a single grain of food. They’re forcing these children to dig up roots to eat!”
“How can roots be eaten? They won’t digest and could kill you!”
“I heard in the old days, some folks ate them until their bellies were swollen tight, but they couldn’t relieve themselves and ended up dying from it.”
The two aunties walked away as they spoke. There were plenty of wild vegetables left on the mountain—no need to compete with the children.
“Sister, can’t we eat this? Are we going to eat roots now?”
Little Xingxing was six years old and knew a lot.
He understood what the aunties said: eating this could kill you.
“It’s fine. If sister says it’s edible, then it is!” Shen Xixi dug until sweat dripped from her brow. Luckily, following the vine, a single root could weigh over ten pounds.
From just one kudzu vine, she dug out forty to fifty pounds.
“Then I’ll listen to sister!” The little one grinned, knowing his sister would never harm him.
Soon the back basket was filled entirely with kudzu root. Since no one knew it was edible, the mountains were full of it.
She piled the rest nearby, intending to sell it. With a thought, she activated Space detection.
“30 pounds of wild kudzu root and 20 pounds of wild onion detected. Sell?”
Shen Xixi clicked “Sell” directly. She previously had 520 wen coins, spent 206 wen on two hand-torn breads, a slingshot, and medicine, leaving 314 wen. Adding the 1,100 wen from this sale, her balance was now 1,414 wen coins.
After selling these, she gathered a small amount of wild vegetables and onions, plus 10 pounds of kudzu root, and placed them in the back basket.
Little Xingxing simply assumed it was another of his sister’s tricks that made the earlier items disappear.
Later, luck wasn’t as good—she only hit a few birds with the slingshot.
But the little one was thrilled. “Sister, can you teach me to use the slingshot too? Once I learn, I can hit rabbits, and our family will have lots and lots of meat to eat!”
“Alright, but you must promise not to shoot people with it. If you hurt someone, our family couldn’t afford to pay for it.” After a moment’s thought, she took a small knife, whittled a tree branch, and made a tiny slingshot for him.
It wasn’t very powerful, good for him to practice with.
The slingshot in her hand looked like it was made from a tree branch, but inside it was alloy, very sturdy and somewhat heavy. If it hit someone, it could do serious harm.
The two little ones gathered firewood as they walked, returning home fully loaded.
Liu Taohua also went out to gather some wild vegetables, but unfortunately, after more than half an hour, she had only managed to find a handful. To get more, she would have to go up the mountain.
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“Little guy, you can’t shout next time. The little rabbit almost ran away because of you!” Shen Xixi said as she patted Xingbao’s head.
She braided a grass rope and tied up the rabbit. This fellow wasn’t dead yet, just unconscious, and she didn’t know when it would wake up. She tossed it into the back basket.
Then, she took the little guy to pick wild vegetables while searching for kudzu vines. In her memory, no one knew this was edible; only some herbalists would dig it up to use as medicinal herbs.
However, this thing was everywhere in the mountains, and even herbalists didn’t dig much of it since it wasn’t worth much money.
Not far away was a patch of kudzu vines with trifoliate leaves. One look and she knew it was powdered kudzu root. This thing was great steamed or in soup, and it could fill one’s belly during famine years.
“Sister, what are you digging? I’ll help too!” The little guy was full now, so he grabbed his small hoe and joined in.
Nearby, several aunties who had come up the mountain to forage for wild vegetables saw the two children digging up tree roots.
“What a sin. I heard they had a Division of Family Property yesterday, and the Second and Third Branches didn’t get a single grain of food. It’s forcing the children to dig up tree roots to eat!”
“How can tree roots be eaten? You can’t digest them; they’ll kill you!”
“I heard the older generation used to eat them until their bellies were round and bloated, but they couldn’t defecate and ended up being literally stopped up to death.”
The two aunties walked away as they chatted. There were still plenty of wild vegetables on the mountain, so there was no need to compete with two children.
“Sister, is this not edible? Does our family have to eat tree roots now?”
Xiao Xing Xing was six years old and knew quite a bit. He understood everything the aunties said—eating this would kill them.
“It’s fine. If Sister says it’s edible, it’s edible!” Shen Xixi was sweating profusely from digging. Fortunately, by following the root, one piece could weigh over ten catties.
From just one kudzu vine, she dug up forty to fifty catties.
“Then I’ll listen to Sister!” The little guy grinned. He just knew his sister definitely wouldn’t hurt him.
Soon, the back basket was full of kudzu roots. Since people didn’t know they were edible, there were plenty on the mountain.
She piled the rest together, preparing to sell them. With a thought, she activated the Space’s detection.
“30 catties of wild kudzu root and 20 catties of wild onion detected. Sell now?”
Shen Xixi immediately tapped ‘Sell’. She previously had 520 wen, but after buying hand-torn bread twice, a slingshot, and medicine for 206 wen, she had 314 wen left. Adding the 1,100 wen from this sale, her balance was now 1,414 wen coins.
After selling them, Shen Xixi picked a small amount of wild vegetables and wild onions, adding them to the ten catties of kudzu root in her back basket.
As for Xiao Xing Xing, he simply assumed it was a trick his sister knew to make the things disappear.
They weren’t as lucky afterward, only hitting a few birds.
But the little guy was very happy. “Sister, can you teach me how to use the slingshot? Once I learn, I can hit rabbits too, and then our family will have lots and lots of meat to eat.”
“Alright, but you have to promise Sister that you won’t use this to shoot people. If you hurt someone, our family can’t afford to pay for it.” Thinking it over, she used a small knife to carve a small tree fork into a little slingshot for him.
This one wasn’t very powerful and was good for him to practice with.
The slingshot in her hand looked like it was made of branches, but it was actually made of alloy inside. It was very hard and quite heavy; if used to hit someone, it could cause serious injury.
The two little ones picked up firewood as they walked, returning home with a full load.
Liu Taohua had also gone out to find some wild vegetables, but unfortunately, she only found a handful after more than an hour. If she wanted more, she would have to look further up the mountain.