Lin Yuhe’s cooking skills were most evident in one thing: she never left any leftovers. Today, with time so tight and only one pot in the house, she didn’t cook the usual porridge with wild vegetables. After the meal, each person had a bowl of cool boiled water.
After dinner, the family, who had never eaten so full before, sat in the yard to enjoy the cool breeze. The gentle wind was refreshing, carrying a hint of coolness.
“Eldest son, you’ll go to gather snails tomorrow. We’ll dig lotus roots for a few more days, and find a chance to tell the village chief that they’re edible.”
Grandpa Lin understood human relationships well, mainly because of Lin Yuhe’s situation, thinking to do the villagers a favor.
“Understood, Father. I’ll take Second Brother later to bring back the lotus roots hidden in the fields,” Father Lin reported to the old man in advance.
“Wait a bit longer. Go after the villagers have fallen asleep, and be careful to avoid them on the way.” Fortunately, their house was at the very edge of the village.
Grandpa Lin worried that after today’s commotion, those with ill intentions might target their family, so he reminded his two sons.
“Understood, Father.”
In fact, Grandpa Lin wasn’t wrong. Chen Po-zi was indeed crouching by the wall, keeping an eye on the Lin family. It was only because she had gone home and voiced her suspicions, and the Chen family also felt she made sense.
“I say the Lin family is up to something. Look, who else goes out as a whole family to gather shell snails? And they filled two buckets full, while everyone else just picks a few while working.”
Chen Po-zi hid by the wall of her own house, keeping watch. The mosquitoes were too many at night, and she couldn’t bear the bites, so she went home to sleep. No one knew that in the middle of the night, two people from the Lin family secretly left home with back baskets.
After the rooster crowed several times and the sky was fully bright, the quiet courtyard regained its vitality. The whole family had eaten their fill the night before, slept soundly, and most noticeably, everyone woke up late.
After breakfast, the twins said they wanted to gather snails, while Lin Yuhe planned to go to the Back Mountain to dig for wild vegetables. The family wasn’t comfortable letting her go alone.
“Changping, Changan, you two accompany your sister to dig for wild vegetables. Don’t go too far. If you can’t find any, just come back early.” Mother Lin repeatedly reminded her two sons.
Girls weren’t like boys. Lin Yuhe had already been talked about after her engagement was broken off, so they absolutely couldn’t let their daughter go out alone.
“Understood, Mother.”
The men of the family all went to work in the fields. Grandma Lin instructed, “Each of you take a basket or bucket. If you have time while working, gather some snails. Don’t gather too many, and avoid drawing attention.”
Only Grandma Lin, Mother Lin, and Bai Haitang stayed at home. After tidying up the yard, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law closed the gate from the inside and headed straight to the kitchen.
They cooked most of the snails that hadn’t been cleaned yesterday, each holding a needle to pick out the snail meat. They had been in a hurry yesterday and planned to have Lin Yuhe stir-fry them today, then send a bowl to Third Uncle Lin to try.
While the two women were busy picking snail meat at home, Lin Yuhe and the two brothers had already entered the Back Mountain.
Since everyone in the village knew each other, the two brothers greeted their village friends. “Sister, why are you here digging for wild vegetables too? Usually, Grandma doesn’t let you go out.”
It turned out to be Lin Tong, the grandson of Third Uncle’s Wife. “Little Tong, you’re here digging for vegetables too. We’re out of wild vegetables at home, so I came to dig some. Why are there so many people today?”
Lin Tong wanted to say that among the village girls, only you don’t come to dig for vegetables. There are always many people here, every day. Seeing Lin Yuhe’s empty basket, he reached out and took it.
She dumped all the wild vegetables from her own basket—which she had spent who knows how long digging up—into Lin Yuhe’s basket.
"Sis, there are too many people here, and you can’t compete with them. Go home first, and I’ll bring some to you after I finish digging."
Though two months younger than Lin Chang’an, she was already so considerate, warming Lin Yuhe’s heart. This was what family truly felt like.
There really were a lot of people—young wives and children of various ages, all carrying baskets to dig for vegetables. The wild vegetables were indeed fewer than the people, just as Grandma Lin had said: as soon as the vegetables sprouted, they were dug up.
Lin Chang’an, seeing Lin Yuhe’s enthusiasm for digging vegetables turn to disappointment at the sight of more people than vegetables, said, "Sis, come with us. My brother and I know a secret spot where there are wild vegetables. Little Tong, follow us."
The three brothers and Lin Yuhe, four in total, wound their way around until they left the group of vegetable diggers behind.
Lin Yuhe felt it grow cooler the deeper they went. After about half an hour, Changping stopped. "Sis, we’re here. It’s this place. Though there aren’t many, it’s enough for us to fill two baskets. Little Tong, hurry up and dig."
On a small hillock, wild vegetables grew sparsely. Honestly, there weren’t many, just enough to fill two small baskets as Changping had said.
The three brothers crouched down and started digging. Lin Yuhe stood on the hillock, looking around. In the distance, mountains rose high and forests grew dense; nearby, several small hills dotted the landscape, the one beneath their feet among them.
She thought to herself that she must find time to explore the area. Even in modern times, she had heard that ancient mountains were rich in resources.
Looking down at the slope beneath her feet, she spotted a patch of lush green. Unsure what kind of grass it was, she decided to take a closer look.
Lin Chang’an followed her gaze. "Sis, that’s just grass. It’s not edible and smells really bad. There’s a whole patch of it over there."
Lin Yuhe felt it resembled something she had seen in her past life. She slowly approached, and the two brothers, concerned for her, followed. Seeing their sister’s eyes light up, they were puzzled.
"Sis, is this edible too?"
Neither of them liked the smell, finding it strange and off-putting.
But Lin Yuhe looked at it as if she had found a treasure. It could be said that those who liked it found its scent refreshing, while those who didn’t found it pungent.
"This is called Mint, also known as Fanhe Vegetable. It’s a wonderful thing, a type of medicinal herb. It’s pungent and cooling, relieves surface symptoms, soothes the throat, and is good for coughs, the respiratory system, and the liver." In her past life, she had loved it and even grown a patch in her villa garden.
The two brothers scratched their heads in unison. The villagers always said the Back Mountain held treasures and medicinal herbs, and here it was—they just hadn’t recognized it.
"Sis, is this valuable?" The twins asked the same question, as expected.
"It probably isn’t valuable. There should be plenty in the mountains. Didn’t you see? There’s a whole patch here. But even if it’s not valuable, it’s edible. It’s quite good served cold."
When it came to food, Lin Yuhe was the authority. Looking at this large patch, she knew she could achieve Mint freedom in the future—it was easy to grow.
Just yesterday, she had been thinking about making a special kind of candy today, and here it was! Mint candy would surely be popular with many people.
She picked up an empty basket. "You two go dig for wild vegetables. I’ll pick this. Tell Little Tong later to come to our house for dinner with his family tonight. I’ll make something delicious for you all."
"Got it, sis," It wasn't that they didn't want to help Lin Yuhe pick Mint, it was just that they really didn't like the smell.
The group had quite a fruitful harvest today and happily headed home by another path.
Along the way, Lin Yuhe also picked plenty of wild vegetable tips called "noodles." The twin brothers still hadn't learned their lesson. "Sis, you can't eat this either. This is the wild grass we use for sweeping at home."
Watching Lin Yuhe pick them with such enthusiasm, the brothers' voices grew softer and softer. How was it that everything their sister touched seemed edible?