Since she was little, Shen Qinghe had always been told by her parents never to go to Huming Mountain alone, not even with her several older brothers. Later, when her nephews and nieces were born, she kept hearing the same warnings again and again. So, apart from going with family or villagers, she had hardly ever ventured up the mountain alone.
But now it was different. She had her space, and if any danger arose, she could immediately hide inside it. Nothing could be safer than that.
At the foot of the mountain, people often came to gather firewood, so the vegetation was sparse. She didn’t stop her pace and headed straight for the mountainside. This time, she wanted to find some wild fruit trees to plant in her space.
Vegetables watered with Spirit Spring water tasted better, so wild fruits would probably be the same. Most wild fruits in the mountains were sour and hard to eat; otherwise, birds and other wild animals would have eaten them long ago.
Even families who didn’t have enough food at home wouldn’t pick such sour fruits to eat, because the more you ate them, the hungrier you got.
The higher she climbed, the denser the vegetation became, and the more green filled her vision. Holding a stick to clear the way, she soon discovered a tebiaozi plant.
Tebiaozi, also called water grapes, had tiny fruits resembling grapes. This plant’s fruits were mostly ripe, their purplish-brown color looking quite appealing.
She reached out and touched the fruit, silently thinking, “Move into space.” And something magical happened—the entire tebiaozi plant, roots and all, vanished into thin air! Not a trace was left behind.
She checked inside her space and found the plant had indeed appeared on a patch of open black soil. Shen Qinghe was delighted; this saved her the trouble of digging and replanting.
Besides tebiaozi, she also found several chicken mushrooms under an old tree. Chicken mushrooms usually grew in clusters, and there were several here, so there had to be more nearby. She crouched down and carefully searched the area, indeed finding multiple patches of chicken mushrooms.
To her surprise, on a decaying log, she spotted several pure white spheres. Upon closer inspection, they were crystal-clear—silver ear mushrooms!
Shen Qinghe had eaten silver ear mushrooms in her previous life, but that was after they had become common. Now, they were rare. Legend said silver ears were a tribute used by Empress Dowager Cixi for skincare, and a single mushroom could sell for more than twenty taels of silver—valuable and nearly impossible to obtain.
On this decaying log grew six or seven mushrooms—three small ones the size of her fist, and the rest palm-sized. The four large silver ears were in excellent condition. She wondered how much she could sell them for.
Not wanting to waste the log, she moved it into her space as well. With the nourishment of Spirit Spring water, it might even produce more silver ears.
She intentionally searched for more decaying wood; even if nothing was growing, she brought it into her space to cultivate mushrooms later. She was lucky—on a thinner log, she found a cluster of plump wood ear mushrooms.
Then she moved gaoliangbiao, firethorn fruits, wild hawthorns, wild jujubes, wild pears, and other wild fruit trees into her space. The previously empty space suddenly became lively and abundant.
Tired from walking, Shen Qinghe sat under a tree to rest. She took out her water bottle from her backpack and gulped down a big mouthful of Spirit Spring water. She drank too quickly and spilled some on the ground, but didn’t care. Soon, a gray wild rabbit came rushing toward her.
Her eyes widened as she saw the rabbit pause to lick the damp leaves. She realized the Spirit Spring water had attracted it!
The plump gray rabbit seemed completely enchanted by the taste, and didn’t react even when Shen Qinghe grabbed its ear.
Spirit Spring water really did have such effects!
Following the same method, she sprinkled more water on the ground. This time, she sprinkled more generously, and as expected, more prey came—she caught three wild chickens and four wild rabbits!
She placed the animals in her space and mentally divided the area so they wouldn’t mess with the Spirit Spring water or the black soil.
After over an hour, she figured it was time to head down. The adults at home were working in the fields, so she took on the task of cooking. She couldn’t wait for her parents to come home hungry while the food wasn’t ready.
On the way down, she picked some dry firewood and placed it on top of her backpack to cover the items underneath. In these times, everything on the mountain belonged to the collective. If she caught a large animal like a wild boar, it would have to be handed over to the village. Small game like wild chickens and rabbits didn’t need to be reported, but to avoid envy, it was better to cover them.
Sure enough, when she reached the foot of the mountain, she saw two other girls gathering firewood. Shen Qinghe recognized them—they were both educated youth.
At this hour, most educated youth should be working in the fields, but there were exceptions. Someone had to cook at the youth workpoint, and these two were probably off work early for that, passing by Huming Mountain to collect firewood on the way.
“Comrade Liu, Comrade Zhang, you’re gathering firewood too?” Shen Qinghe greeted them proactively. She remembered these two girls weren’t on good terms with Lin Yingxue. The enemy of my enemy is my friend—she wouldn’t miss a chance to subtly attack Lin Yingxue.
Liu Yun and Zhang Nan exchanged glances. Zhang Nan then politely said, “Comrade Shen, you’re gathering firewood as well?”
“Yes, I’m just heading home. You can continue collecting.”
“Ah, Comrade Shen, we’ve almost finished too. Why don’t we go back together?” Liu Yun spoke up suddenly.
Zhang Nan frowned in confusion but just shook her head lightly.
“Sure, let’s walk together then.”
The three walked side by side. Liu Yun was in the middle, close to Zhang Nan, while Shen Qinghe kept a person’s distance.
“Comrade Shen, I heard you fell into the water. Are you feeling alright now?” Liu Yun asked.
“Much better.”
“I also heard your engagement to Comrade Gu was called off. May I ask… was it because he saved Lin Yingxue?”
“Liu Yun…” Zhang Nan frowned. How could she ask such an impolite question? Shen Qinghe must feel hurt by this.
But Liu Yun ignored her and continued, “Comrade Shen, do you know what relationship Lin Yingxue has with Gu Linchuan? Why did he save her but not you?”
“Liu Yun! You’ve gone too far.” Zhang Nan stopped, apologetically looking at Shen Qinghe. “Comrade Shen, sorry, Liu Yun is just a bit gossip-happy. She means no harm.”
Shen Qinghe lowered her eyes, a fragile expression flickering across her face. “I know Comrade Liu means no harm. Actually, I also wanted to figure out these things—Gu Linchuan doesn’t know Lin, yet he saved her, while I was the one negotiating a marriage with him…”