After taking all sorts of twists and turns along the mountain, they finally found the tree.
“Oh my goodness, these apples are huge!”
Zhao’s mother opened her mouth wide in amazement.
“Daughter, you must be tired after walking for so long. Sit here and rest for a while.”
Zhao’s mother picked up an apple, wiped it against her clothes, and handed it to Zhao Xiyan.
“Mom, I’m not tired. Let’s hurry up. It’s getting late.”
With that, Zhao Xiyan was the first to start picking apples.
“Come on, hurry up and pick them.”
Zhao’s mother immediately joined in, moving quickly and efficiently.
The two little ones carried their baskets and carefully placed the apples inside one by one.
Time flew by.
“Mom, let’s go back. It’s getting late. If we keep loading them, it’ll be dark before we can get down the mountain, and besides, we can’t fit any more. They’re already full.”
“All right, let’s go.”
“Mom, I’ll carry those two sacks.”
As she spoke, Zhao Xiyan lifted both sacks with ease and started walking forward.
Zhao’s mother was completely stunned.
Was her daughter really this strong?
It seemed that keeping her daughter from exercising all these years had actually harmed her.
Thinking this, she hoisted her basket onto her back and quickly caught up with her daughter.
Once everyone had gathered their things, they headed down the mountain. The fatigue they had felt on the way up had completely disappeared, replaced by smiles of delight.
“Goodness, we’re getting down so quickly! We made it in less than half an hour. Come on, let’s hurry home. Even though we’re the only household around here, we’d better take everything home. Who knows if some crazy person might suddenly wander over here, and it’s safer at home anyway.”
Zhao’s mother hurried toward home, her steps quick and light as though she wasn’t carrying any weight at all.
Although their family was the only household at the foot of the mountain, there was also a cowshed nearby. The people living there were all sent down for reeducation, and although they were being kept there, it would still be troublesome if someone saw them. Getting reported would be even worse.
The moment they entered the house, the members of the Zhao family had already returned from work. Everyone was sprawled in chairs, exhausted.
When they saw the group coming in with hurried steps, they merely raised their eyelids.
“Whoa, what are all these? There are so many!”
Everyone immediately gathered around.
“Wow, these apples are huge! Mom, where did you pick them? Are there any left? I’ll go pick some too.”
Zhao Yi, the eldest son, had his eyes light up when he saw the mountain of apples. He immediately picked one up, wiped it against his clothes, and took a bite.
“You all only know how to eat. Your little sister was the one who found these, so you must remember how good she is to you.”
“Mom, of course we’re good to Little Sister. Do you really need to tell us that?”
“That’s right. Little Aunt is the best!”
“Little Aunt is the best!”
The moment Zhao Yan, the second son, saw all the apples, he stopped talking and simply picked one up, wiped it against his clothes, and bit into it.
The two little ones were already exhausted and panting heavily. They quickly grabbed an apple each and began eating without even bothering to wipe them.
In an instant, the entire main room fell completely silent, with only the crisp sounds of apples being bitten into filling the air.
Zhao Xiyan watched everyone happily devouring the apples and began to question herself.
Were they really that delicious? Why did it look as though they were eating heavenly peaches?
If there had been a mobile phone right now, she would definitely have recorded the way these people were eating their apples. It would surely have attracted a huge crowd of food lovers.
Perhaps it was because of that drop of Water of Vitality, but Zhao Xiyan felt as though she could now kill a cow with her bare hands.
Zhao Xiyan stretched her back and decided that after dinner, she would go for a walk around the village. She hadn’t explored the village yet.
Just then, her eldest sister-in-law called everyone to dinner.
However, Zhao Yi, Zhao Yan, and the two little ones had already eaten their fill of apples, and they were even burping.
Still, the four of them felt that they could eat a little more.
Zhao Aiguo had gone to town to pick up the new educated youths and had not returned yet. He probably wouldn’t make it back before dark, and normally, the family didn’t wait for him at this hour.
“Huh, Little Sister, why do I feel like you look so…”
After dinner, Zhao Yan was sprawled lazily on a reclining chair.
The reclining chair had been handmade by Zhao’s father, an old craftsman, with strips of bamboo woven together one by one. The Zhao family had been craftsmen for generations. In this era of scarce food and clothing, having a practical skill was highly valued. Even the large furniture in the house, such as the wardrobes, had been made piece by piece by Zhao’s father.
There was also a thatched shed built against the wall in the backyard. It was filled with good pieces of wood that Zhao’s father and the Zhao boys had dragged home whenever they found suitable timber while gathering firewood in the mountains.
Zhao Yan felt that something about his little sister had changed, yet at the same time, nothing seemed particularly different. Looking closely, though, she did seem somewhat different.
She looked more energetic?
And had she gotten a little darker?
“Little Sister, did you get tanned?”
Zhao Yan asked the question bluntly.
Everyone in the main room turned around and stared at Zhao Xiyan, examining her from every angle.
“Hmm, our precious girl does seem a little darker.”
“Yeah, this tan is rather distinctive.”
“Little Aunt, why is your tan different from everyone else’s? And why is it coming off like dust?”
As Zhao Wen wondered this, he vigorously rubbed Zhao Xiyan’s arm.
“Ow!”
The pain made Zhao Wen let out a howl like a wolf.
Everyone’s eyes twitched at the sight, and they couldn’t bear to watch.
“Little Aunt, why is your dirt coming off? Why is one part black and another part white? I want to look like this too. Little Aunt, do it for me too.”
He said it without the slightest hesitation, completely unaware of what was wrong with his request.
“?”
Confused, Zhao Xiyan walked over to the water basin, drew up a ladle of water, and poured it into the basin before lowering her head into it.
What the heck is this?
Why was her face black and white in patches?
She raised her head and looked toward everyone.
Everyone looked left, right, up, and down, deliberately avoiding looking at Zhao Xiyan.
Zhao Xiyan scooped up some water and washed her face.
The clear water instantly turned black.
What?
It really turned black?
“?”
“What happened?”
“Little Sister, how many months has it been since you washed your face?”
Everyone stared at Zhao Xiyan, whose face was now darker than charcoal.
“I’ll go to work. I suddenly remembered that I still have some work to finish.”
Zhao Yi grabbed his hoe and ran away as if his life depended on it.
“I’ll go to the river to fetch water.”
Zhao Yan grabbed his buckets and fled just as quickly.
“I’ll wash the dishes.”
The eldest sister-in-law hurriedly cleared the table and disappeared into the kitchen.
“I’m going to rest.”
Seeing everyone running away, Zhao’s mother followed suit and fled as well.
The main room was left with only Zhao Xiyan and the two little ones staring at each other.
She took a deep breath, inhaled, then exhaled.
“Mom, I’m going outside for a walk.”
“Go ahead. Take Zhao Wen and Zhao Wu with you.”
“Okay!”
With that, Zhao Xiyan took Zhao Wen and Zhao Wu and leisurely walked out of the house.
After leaving through the main gate, they turned left. Several hundred meters away, there was a group of village women chatting together. They were too far away to see clearly, but the distance itself was enough to leave Zhao Xiyan speechless.
Just think about it. If a wolf came to their house, they could scream until their throats went hoarse, and no one would be able to come to their aid.
Was their home living in splendid isolation?
Were they completely cut off from the outside world?
Or did they simply dislike noise?
Zhao Xiyan asked Zhao Wen and Zhao Wu with a blank expression.
She forced herself to keep her expression under control so she wouldn’t reveal her astonishment, but internally, she was already screaming like a groundhog.
“Zhao Wen, don’t people visit each other after dark? Isn’t it exhausting to walk all the way there and back just to visit someone?”
At other people’s homes, if someone needed to borrow some oil, salt, soy sauce, or vinegar, they could simply shout from their doorway and someone would hear them.
But with their family, they could shout themselves hoarse and might even end up attracting a wolf before anyone came to help.
“Little Aunt, we usually just walk over to find our friends, but Mom doesn’t let us go outside to play after dark.”
“All right. Asking was pointless anyway. But it’s not like we don’t have any neighbors. There are people living in the cowshed, after all. If we shout loudly enough, someone should still hear us. According to the original Zhao Xiyan’s memories, there are eight people living in the cowshed. What a miserable situation.”
She didn’t want to think about it anymore.
With her hands clasped behind her back, she leisurely walked toward the village.