At dawn, Shūxīn was woken by the sounds of her parents getting up. Seeing her awake, Mother Liú didn’t rush out.
She helped Shūxīn put on her clothes and carry her out of bed, then led her out the door. She left Shūxīn in the yard to wash her face while she went to the kitchen to help Grandma Liú prepare breakfast.
In the Liú household, cooking was generally Grandma Liú’s responsibility. After all, in these times, controlling the food was equivalent to controlling authority in the household.
The family hadn’t divided properties, so the power over cooking remained with Grandma Liú. Having lived a frugal life, she wouldn’t let the two daughters-in-law squander the household grain.
In the yard, Aunt Liú swept while feeding the chickens. Grandpa Liú and Uncle Liú sharpened their knives; in just over half a month, the autumn harvest would begin, and Grandpa Liú wanted the sickles razor-sharp to avoid delays.
Father Liú prepared the tools for today’s fieldwork. Everyone had their own tasks, bustling about in a lively scene.
Breakfast consisted of coarse porridge and pickles, and those heading to the fields got a couple of steamed corn buns each. Mother Liú gave Shūxīn and her older brother half a bun apiece—no more than that.
Shūxīn didn’t mind. She held her half-bun and nibbled slowly. Even though two children shared half a bun, it was enough.
Anshì, in northern Huáguó, made corn buns larger than usual. Half a bun with a bowl of porridge was enough to fill two small children.
After breakfast, Grandpa Liú led the adults out to the fields. Grandma Liú stayed behind today.
In the 1950s, every household still had private land. Grandma Liú didn’t work the fields year-round; sometimes she tended the private plots and tidied the house. At her age, and with two daughters-in-law at home, whether she went to the fields or not didn’t matter.
Children in rural areas were largely free-range, unlike in Shūxīn’s previous world, where kids were pampered. Pre-apocalypse, even young children led hard lives.
So when her parents left, Shūxīn only reminded her brother and herself not to go near water or venture deep into the mountains. She didn’t worry much about it.
Her older cousin and Shūlán helped Grandma collect the dishes and then received their assignments for the day. They shouted as they headed out.
Shūxīn quickly went to the storage room to grab a small basket and followed. The basket had been woven by Father Liú when little Shūxīn used to trail after her older siblings.
Small and dainty, the basket looked adorable on her three-year-old back, making her seem even cuter.
Holding Shūlán’s hand, she walked toward the mountain’s base. Her brothers had already run ahead, saying, “Girls can’t keep up with us.”
Though the boys didn’t stick with her, they didn’t neglect their chores. Village children all had similar tasks: gathering pig fodder and firewood.
The Liúlín Brigade was surrounded by mountains—two main peaks, one taller than the other, connected seamlessly. At the foot of each lay a village: Liúshù Village and Línjiā Village.
During the Japanese invasion, both villages lost many people. After the founding of the nation, the two villages were merged into the Liúlín Brigade.
The majority of residents bore the Liú or Lín surname, the largest families in the area, all related in some way. During the Japanese invasion, many displaced people also settled here, so there were other surnames as well.
The brigade leader and secretary were from the Liú and Lín families. Most locals were from these families; outsiders had little authority over hundreds of brigade members.
Yesterday, from her doorstep, Shūxīn had seen the tall green peaks. Now that she was closer, she realized the mountains were even taller and deeper than they had seemed.
The surrounding peaks marked other villages’ territories.
Shūlán led Shūxīn to meet her small group of friends, their chatter and laughter filling the morning air.
Though gentle and composed with Shūxīn, Shūlán was lively and playful with her friends, pulling Little Flower along while chatting and jumping around.
The village girls didn’t mind Shūlán bringing Shūxīn along. Having observed her a few times before, Shūxīn didn’t cry or make trouble, so they had no objections.
Despite the bustle, their legs kept moving steadily toward their chosen spots.
This morning, the girls planned to gather pig fodder and forage for wild vegetables, then in the afternoon, collect firewood elsewhere.
Shūxīn had no objections. At three years old, no one paid attention to her opinion anyway. Besides, she wasn’t there just to work.
After discovering her ability and the space last night, she wanted to test both today, and maybe add some items to the space.
The space was empty, so she hoped to collect small animals or fruits on the mountain and transfer them in. She couldn’t just use the space’s existing supplies without replenishing it.
Also, she was a bit greedy and hoped to catch a rabbit or pheasant to improve their meals.
Upon arrival, Shūlán and Little Flower discussed dividing up to find their own spots. Once set, they began working.
Shūlán said, “Xīn-bǎo, I’m going to gather pig fodder. Stay close to me and don’t wander off!”
Shūxīn chose a spot not too far and not too close, replying, “Okay!”
Seeing Shūxīn within sight, Shūlán focused on picking tender pig fodder, occasionally glancing up to check on her.
Shūxīn turned away and used her ability on the nearby plants. A gentle, strange energy flowed from her fingertips into a small wildflower.
Miraculously, the flower visibly grew from a small sprout, blossomed, bore fruit, and withered before her eyes.
Seeing that her ability worked on the world’s plants reassured Shūxīn. Her wood-element power was still low-level, capable of only a few flowers. It would take time to grow stronger—but without survival pressure, there was no rush.
With her wood-element ability confirmed, Shūxīn rested a moment and closed her eyes to sense the plants around her, checking for rabbits or pheasants nearby. She longed for meat, so upgrading her powers could wait.
Her ability didn’t just accelerate growth; it could sense the thoughts of wood-element plants and extract their essence.
Now, fused with the Nine-Colored Lotus seed, she was even stronger. Though her power level had temporarily decreased, her affinity with plants had increased. She could understand and communicate with sentient plants!
Of course, not all plants were sentient. Only a few had consciousness; others could only convey their inherent attributes.
This was a relief. Otherwise, she might feel guilty eating conscious plants, especially since she herself was now a flower in essence.