"Auntie, can I go take a look at the back?"
"There's nothing much to see back there, just a pile of wood and a patch of wasteland."
Zhou Qiong still peeked through the back door. It was just like their side—no fence marking the yard, and the outhouse was equally crude.
"Auntie, if I wanted to clear a vegetable patch by the side or behind the house, would anyone in the village say anything?"
In her previous village, every plot of land was accounted for, and you couldn’t cross the slightest boundary when building a house. She thought it best to ask clearly before doing anything.
"Just go ahead and clear it. Our land deeds are for two mu each, and the house takes up only a fraction of that. How much space could a vegetable patch take up? I just don’t have the energy to tend to one, otherwise I’d have cleared one myself."
"Land deeds?"
"You’ll have to ask your Xiao Shu about that." Feng Shi smiled. "Even though we live in a remote area, we still have land deeds. Things like land deeds and household registrations are important—Xiao Shu must have kept them safe."
Zhou Qiong nodded and said with a smile that she’d take a good look when she got back.
Feng Shi looked surprised again. "Don’t tell me you can read?"
Zhou Qiong was also a bit uncertain. In her previous life, she could read, but she didn’t know if she’d recognize the characters here. "I don’t remember. I’ll know when I see them."
The meal for the three children was quickly prepared.
Yang Miao ran back to fetch bowls and served Zhou Qiong a large bowl of wild vegetable porridge. "Mother, you must be hungry. Eat quickly."
Gui Bao also brought a large bowl to Mrs. Zhou. "Grandma, here’s yours."
The three children filled large bowls for themselves and began eating heartily.
Zhou Qiong watched them devour the wild vegetable porridge but found it hard to swallow her own bowl. The porridge had only a faint hint of saltiness and no other flavor. After one sip, she didn’t want any more.
Seeing the children glancing at her from time to time and considering her own situation, she realized she had no choice. When you’re starving, you can’t afford to be picky. Frowning, she forced herself to finish the large bowl. After eating, her stomach indeed felt much better.
"You eat so gracefully. Those kids eat like bandits, as if they want to swallow everything in one gulp. They say growing boys eat their fathers out of house and home. Thankfully, we only have Gui Bao, or I’d be struggling to feed them all."
"Mother, the quilts and padded jackets at home have all been washed. What do you want to do this afternoon?" Yang Miao took her bowl. "I’ll wash it for you." Then she took Feng Shi’s bowl as well.
"I want to go take a look at the nearby mountain to see if I can find anything edible."
"Mother, I’ll take you." Xiao Shu hurried over as soon as he heard.
"Auntie, I want to go with you too." Gui Bao, with traces of soybean porridge still around his mouth, immediately crowded over when he heard Xiao Shu was going up the mountain.
"Anything edible on the nearby mountains has long been picked by the villagers. There’s nothing left for you. Gui Bao, didn’t you say you wanted to bathe? If you go with them, will you still bathe?"
"Can’t I bathe when I come back tonight?"
"When it’s dark, Grandma won’t be able to see clearly, so how can you wash properly? You can go next time. Stay and bathe today. Tomorrow, Grandma has to work in the fields and won’t have any free time." After speaking to Gui Bao, Feng Shi turned to her. "If you’re going, focus on looking for wild vegetables. They grow quickly, and if you’re lucky, you might find some more. It’s better to fill your stomachs with something than to go hungry."
After finishing their meal at Feng Shi’s place, the mother and her three children took their bowls and returned home.
"Xiao Miao, do we have a straw hat at home?"
Yang Miao shook her head, "Mother, are we going up the mountain to look for wild vegetables? Today, my brother and I picked all we saw. There probably aren't many left nearby—too many people in the village dig for them."
"Mother wants to go up the mountain to take a look. Do we have a hoe at home?" Since they were going up the mountain, they should bring tools. They had land, so surely they had a hoe, right?
Unexpectedly, Yang Shu, who was behind them, shook his head, "We originally had a hoe at home, but Uncle said it would just rust if left unused, so he took it away."
Zhou Qiong felt angry inside. What kind of oddball was this uncle? She really wanted to meet this person.
"If we don’t have one, then forget it. Bring a basket and take Mother to look around." Today would just be for exploration. They say one relies on the mountain to survive—surely they could discover something.
The two children were naturally delighted. They picked up a basket, closed the door, and led her out of the yard.
First, they went down the slope, passed through the village, and headed toward the mountain path. The villagers they encountered along the way kept their distance from them.
"Mother, they don’t know you’ve recovered. If they knew, they would greet you. Today, Grandma told us not to tell anyone about your recovery. My brother and I didn’t say anything, so they don’t know."
Zhou Qiong patted her head, "It’s better they don’t know. We can let them know once we’ve gotten our lives back on track."
She touched the bun she had pinned up with chopsticks—it was secure and shouldn’t come loose. Then she pulled the two children closer to examine their small hair buns. Their hair was dry and yellowish, clearly a sign of malnutrition.
"Do you often go up the mountain? Just to look for wild vegetables?"
Xiao Shu nodded, "Third Uncle said that anything found on the mountain is like a free find. But there are so many people searching now, so we have to go farther to find anything useful."
As they walked toward the mountain, they encountered several groups of villagers at the foot. Some women, upon seeing them, avoided them as if they were the plague, quickly moving away.
"Xiao Shu, why did you bring your crazy mother out today? What if she hurts someone?" A man passing by voiced his displeasure.
Xiao Shu ignored him, only glancing worriedly at Zhou Qiong.
Zhou Qiong smiled, "I’m fine. It seems I must have been quite mad before. It’s better they avoid me—if I had to talk to them, I wouldn’t even know what to say."
Ignoring the others, the three of them headed straight up the mountain. The weather was hot, but once they entered the woods, it felt less scorching.
"Are there hunters around here?"
"Yes, Uncle Dongnan’s family in the village hunts. They’re the only ones who often eat meat." At the mention of meat, Yang Miao began to swallow her saliva again, "But they mostly take it to town to sell for money."
Zhou Qiong nervously looked around, "Are there any dangerous beasts here?" Dangerous beasts were no joke.
"Mother, dangerous beasts stay deep in the mountains. They only appear occasionally when it snows. There aren’t any in this area, so don’t be afraid. But we need to watch out for snakes." Yang Shu broke off a few sticks from the side, "Sweep them through grassy areas to scare the snakes away."
She wasn’t afraid of snakes. The traditional Chinese medicine clinic next to the martial arts school kept snakes, and she had even gone to see them. Aside from looking disgusting, there was nothing to fear.
"Brother, let’s go further in. We’ve already searched the outer areas."
The two children took the initiative to walk ahead and scout the path. As they continued on, Zhou Qiong spotted something valuable and quickly stopped, carefully examining a particular plant.