Zhou Laosan quickly lowered his head and searched the ground carefully.
However, even though his eyes were practically popping out of his head, he couldn’t find anything good. On this desolate wilderness road, aside from mud and weeds, there were only some wild vegetables that were incredibly hard to swallow.
“Mianmian?”
Now, Zhou Laosan was a bit unsure of his daughter’s thoughts.
He turned his head and nudged his daughter’s chubby little face, only to see Zhou Mianmian blinking her large eyes, staring intently at a specific spot on the ground.
Following her line of sight, Zhou Laosan prostrated himself on the ground. Only then did he spot two or three clusters of golden, umbrella-shaped objects sprouting from the dirt.
Golden Bamboo Fungus seedlings?
Zhou Laosan plucked a few stalks at random, smiled, and turned around to gently scratch Zhou Mianmian’s slightly chilly little nose.
Then, he said cheerfully to Song Nianxi, “Our daughter really is a little genius. She’s so small, yet she already knows what the good stuff is.”
Song Nianxi also smiled, but she wasn’t particularly excited. Instead, she squatted down to pick the wild vegetables.
This variety of Golden Bamboo Fungus was rare and valuable. It was indeed an excellent culinary ingredient, but only wealthy families could afford it. If the quality was good, just two large stalks could sell for the high price of half a string of coins.
However, the ones in Zhou Laosan’s hand were unformed seedlings that couldn’t fetch a price; in fact, nobody would want them even if they were given away for free. The soil in this area was simply unsuitable, meaning the Golden Bamboo Fungus could never mature properly. Wild bamboo fungus here could at most grow into a shriveled little lump that was impossible to eat, and restaurants wouldn’t accept them either.
Just as Zhou Laosan was about to toss the bamboo fungus away, Zhou Mianmian grew anxious. Whimpering, she grabbed her father’s hair.
“Mianmian wants!”
The land here couldn’t grow good bamboo fungus, but her Spiritual Space certainly could! If she threw this Golden Bamboo Fungus into the Spiritual Space to soak for a night, it would guaranteed grow into the highest quality. Wouldn’t using it to exchange for a little cash be wonderful?
Zhou Laosan was taken aback. Seeing how much his daughter treasured the item, he quickly stuffed the stalks into Mianmian’s little palms.
Her soft hands greedily cradled them, and Zhou Mianmian urged in a milky voice, “Mianmian wants more, wants a whole, whole lot!”
“Alright, Daddy will gather them for you!”
Zhou Laosan doted on his daughter; as long as it was within his power, he would never deny her. Let alone picking some wild Golden Bamboo Fungus that nobody else wanted.
Before long, Zhou Laosan had picked the entire area clean, accumulating a large handful.
Old Madam Zhou also indulged her beloved granddaughter. She pulled a piece of linen cloth from her bundle, wrapped the bamboo fungus neatly for Mianmian, and carried it with them.
Once they finished, the Zhou family continued their journey forward.
Seeing a fairly large village ahead with curls of cooking smoke rising from it, the Zhou family felt even more exhausted. They originally thought they could go into the village to ask for information or rest for the night.
But unexpectedly, just at that moment, the fleeing refugees all came running out of the village, chased out like stray dogs. They looked incredibly wretched.
Seeing that things looked bad, Zhou Laosan walked over to ask about it.
“What happened, Uncle Li? That village won’t let us in?”
The person Zhou Laosan pulled aside was the blacksmith from their old village.
He had a bitter expression and shook his head repeatedly. “There are too many of us. They’re afraid we’ll cause trouble if we go in. They wouldn’t even give us a sip of water, and they beat us on sight.”
Zhou Laosan wasn’t surprised. Times were bad right now; what village wouldn’t be terrified upon seeing so many refugees?
Since the village ahead wouldn’t let them in, the other villages would surely be the same. It seemed they could only take a detour and walk all the way to the town in one go.
As many of the fellow villagers had the same idea, everyone continued on the road together.
Zhou Laosan led his family a bit further, but he was starting to find it hard to keep going. Seeing that Song Nianxi’s forehead was sweating and that Sanlang and Silang were rubbing their stomachs from hunger, Zhou Laosan found a spot under a large tree to take a temporary break.
“Mother, I’m starving to death. Do you still have anything to eat over there?”
The moment they stopped, Li Chunzhu crept over with a sneaky, rat-like expression, attempting to rummage through Old Madam Zhou’s bundle.
Old Madam Zhou’s hands were covered in thick calluses, and with a swift smack, she sent Li Chunzhu’s hand flying.
“There’s a fart! Do you think I’d secretly hide food behind your back?”
Li Chunzhu pouted, thinking that it was hard to say. Previously, didn’t this old woman use white sugar to give that girl, Zhou Mianmian, a private meal?
Thinking of Zhou Mianmian’s bowl of sweet rice water, Li Chunzhu felt incredibly unbalanced. She sat back down beside Zhou Lousan in a huff.
She was just a little girl, yet the Zhou family treated her like a precious treasure and pampered her. If she were a girl from any other family, how could she ever get such treatment? Being given a bite to eat would already be considered good; considering the current famine year, the number of girls being abandoned was by no means small.
“Mother, I’m hungry.”
At that moment, a dark, skinny little girl threw herself onto Li Chunzhu.
Li Chunzhu glanced at her impatiently, her anger flaring even more. This was Meifu, the daughter she had with her previous husband and brought along to the Zhou family. Since she wasn’t of the Zhou family bloodline, Old Madam Zhou naturally never treated her as a granddaughter. Her treatment couldn’t compare to Zhou Mianmian’s at all, so how could she not be angry?
Meifu was only about five years old, but she already possessed a pair of shifty eyes. Driven by hunger, she was currently clawing at her mother, Li Chunzhu.
Annoyed, Li Chunzhu slapped Meifu on the head.
“Go away, I’m hungry too. It’s just our bad luck to have such a miserable fate; nobody cares even if the two of us starve to death.”
These words, meant as a veiled insult, did not escape Old Madam Zhou’s ears.
Old Madam Zhou didn’t tolerate such behavior. She took off her shoe, lifted her hand, and threw it, hitting Li Chunzhu square on the head.
“Who says nobody cares about you two! Have you forgotten who ate up all the corn last night and let out several massive, smelly farts, almost making my precious granddaughter throw up from the stench?”
Hearing this, Zhou Mianmian couldn’t help but widen her small mouth and let out a cheerful giggle.
Her grandmother wasn’t exaggerating—that smell was truly pungent! It could easily waft for two miles.
Clutching her throbbing head, Li Chunzhu endured it, not daring to talk back any further.
Old Madam Zhou didn’t forget to continue lecturing her: “Fourth’s wife, don’t forget that if the Zhou family hadn’t taken you in back then, the two of you would have lost your lives long ago!”
Hearing this, Li Chunzhu shrunk her shoulders, completely losing the courage to utter another word.
How could she possibly forget? Back then, because she couldn’t give birth to a son and was lazy, she and her youngest daughter were kicked out by her previous in-laws. It happened to be a bitterly cold, snowy day. Dressed only in thin clothing, they had nearly frozen to death in the snow. If Zhou Lousan hadn’t passed by while hunting and saved them, Li Chunzhu and Meifu would have long since reincarnated elsewhere.
Thinking back on this matter, Li Chunzhu felt a deep ache inside.
She could only give birth to daughters, which had caused her to be utterly detested by her previous in-laws. Yet, who could have guessed that after remarrying, she would encounter a family that treated a baby girl like a treasure? If she had known that giving birth to a girl could bring such a massive advantage, it would have been so much better if she had met Zhou Lousan earlier. Instead, Song Nianxi was the one who got to solely gain favor in front of the mother-in-law. Why did they have the same lives, but such different fates?
Turning her head to look at Meifu, this little baggage of a daughter, Li Chunzhu gritted her teeth in resentment. This child simply lacked fortune; if only she had been born as Old Madam Zhou’s biological granddaughter! Then all the benefits Zhou Mianmian was currently receiving would belong to her, and she could share in the glory too!
“Mother, why are you glaring at me?” Meifu looked up at Li Chunzhu while scratching her foot.
The mother and daughter shared the same shifty facial features, with pointed chins and slightly bucked teeth—looking exactly like a pair of black rats.
Song Nianxi looked over and smiled gently.
“Fourth’s wife, you must all be hungry. I just picked a handful of wild vegetables; we’ll be able to have some vegetable soup in a little while.”
Wild vegetables? Li Chunzhu turned her head away, ignoring her.
Who cared about eating such garbage? This Third Sister-in-law must be hiding the good stuff to eat for herself, using wild vegetables to brush her and her daughter off.
At this point, Zhou Lousan could no longer stand it and roared out.
“Can’t you see Third Sister-in-law is cooking? You don’t even know to help add some firewood.”
Only then did Li Chunzhu reluctantly trudge over.
Just as she finished gathering the firewood, she saw Old Madam Zhou pull a pair of trousers out of her bundle; they were newly made. She was currently measuring them against Zhou Mianmian’s body.
The size was exactly right for a child.
Li Chunzhu’s eyes lit up, and she reached out to snatch them.
“Mother, this must be for Meifu, right? It looks just like her size!”