After two days of “scouring” the same stretch of shallow riverbank, the brother-and-sister-in-law duo found that the clams were becoming noticeably scarce. Yu Chunmiao refused to let Qi Rong pick up the tiny baby clams—otherwise, they’d wipe them out completely.
One scoop of the basket brought up only three clams. Qi Rong frowned.
“Sister-in-law, what do we do? It feels like there’s almost none left.”
Yu Chunmiao slipped the shoes and socks they’d taken off into the basket and said, “Let’s keep moving upstream. These things don’t just appear out of nowhere—they must’ve been washed down from above.”
Qi Rong swallowed hard, thinking of the two marrow bones waiting at home, and decided it was worth the risk.
Upstream, the river narrowed so much it could hardly be called a river anymore—more like a creek. The two of them carefully worked every inch of the creek bed, scooping sand again and again to test their luck.
There weren’t as many clams as in the wider river, but the ones they found were much bigger.
Without realizing it, they’d walked quite far. Yu Chunmiao checked the sky—it was time to head back. Between the two of them, they’d gathered more than half a basket.
“Let’s sit on that rock for a bit, dry our feet, then go,” she said. Not greedy, she sat down, stretched out her feet, and let the fading sunlight warm them.
Qi Rong hovered nearby like a dutiful lackey, tidying up their shoes and socks and sorting the clams.
Resting, Yu Chunmiao casually looked around. Suddenly, her gaze locked onto clusters of plants growing in the shade by the creek.
A single upright stem. Three leaves spreading out from it. And in the middle—a brownish fruit.
*Pinellia ternata.*
How could she mistake it? Her grandmother had taken her into the mountains to dig medicinal herbs since she was little. This was one of the most valuable ones. Other herbs sold for just a few dimes per jin—this one could fetch over ten yuan.
It thrived in damp, cool, shaded places. This spot was perfect.
“Rong’er, dig this pinellia up, roots and all. Let me take a look,” Yu Chunmiao ordered without hesitation.
Qi Rong walked over—and immediately froze. He was so scared he could barely speak.
“S-Sister-in-law… th-this thing is called ‘three-step jump’… it’s poisonous…”
She wasn’t planning to cook it for them, was she? No way—he absolutely wouldn’t eat it.
Yu Chunmiao chuckled. “I know. There’s a bulb at the root—it’s a medicinal herb. I want to dig a few and ask the pharmacy at the market tomorrow if they’ll buy them.”
Pinellia was harvested in the fifth lunar month. This was the perfect season.
Qi Rong finally relaxed. As long as he didn’t have to eat it, everything was fine.
They dug up three plants in a row. Each had a bulb larger than a longan. After harvesting the bulbs, the two of them headed home.
They deliberately walked along the shaded creek path. Yu Chunmiao soon realized there was plenty of pinellia growing all along the bank.
“Rong’er—we’ve struck gold!” she cried, grabbing him and hugging him excitedly.
Qi Rong’s face instantly turned bright red.
*Hey! I’m your brother-in-law—watch it!*
Yu Chunmiao felt her basket grow much lighter as they walked. She skipped all the way home, cutting a bundle of banana leaves on the way to use for selling clams tomorrow.
As soon as they entered the courtyard, her mother-in-law was collecting laundry, and Qi Chong stepped out of the kitchen.
“Mooom~~~” Yu Chunmiao rushed over and hugged Chen Ruolan, acting cute. “Mom, I found something amazing in the mountains today! Hurry and praise me!”
Caught off guard by the sudden hug and affection, Chen Ruolan froze for a moment and replied mechanically, “Chunmiao is amazing… You’re dirty though—you’ll rub it onto the clothes.”
Yu Chunmiao stomped her foot, refusing to let it go. “Say it again. One more time!”
“Alright, alright. Amazing. Chunmiao is a lucky star reborn—always finding good things,” Chen Ruolan said helplessly.
Qi Chong (silently): *Come here. I can praise you.*
Satisfied, Yu Chunmiao hopped off toward the backyard, completely ignoring Qi Chong, who had been ready with compliments.
Qi Chong swallowed the words he’d prepared and turned away awkwardly—only to see his younger brother standing in the yard, listless and innocent-looking.
“What’s wrong with you?” Qi Chong asked. “You look like you’ve been frost-bitten.”
Qi Rong shook his head, sighed deeply, and handed the basket to Chen Ruolan.
“Mom, help me dump the clams in the backyard.”
Tonight, he’d have to find a chance to tell his big brother that his sister-in-law had hugged him.
He hoped his brother wouldn’t beat him up.
Even though it wasn’t his fault… he had a bad feeling that if anyone got hit, it would definitely be him.
Well… who told him he was a man?
Chen Ruolan assumed her youngest son was just tired and didn’t think too much of it.
“Leave it there. I’ll put the clothes away and come in a bit.”
Qi Rong let out a heavy sigh and trudged back to his room, completely dejected.
At dinner that night, Qi Rong finished his food in just a few bites, then went straight to the backyard to bathe.
“Rong’er, washing in cold water right after eating will give you a stomachache. Use hot water instead,” Yu Chunmiao called out with concern.
Qi Rong shouted back that there was no need.
Qi Chong said sternly, “If I tell you to use hot water, then use it. Disobey me and you’ll get a beating.”
Qi Rong immediately turned back, scooped half a bucket of hot water from the pot, and left in a hurry.
Yu Chunmiao turned to her mother-in-law. “Mom, let me see the prescription from yesterday.”
Chen Ruolan went inside, fetched the prescription, and brought it back. From the wildly cursive brushstrokes, Yu Chunmiao quickly spotted two characters—Banxia.
“Hahaha! Mom, look—this is exactly what I found today. Banxia!”
Chen Ruolan handed the prescription to her son. “You can read? Don’t misread it. Let Chong’er check.”
Qi Chong put down his chopsticks, took the paper, and read aloud,
“Dried tangerine peel… rock sugar… fritillaria… aster… banxia… Yes, banxia is listed.”
“You really can read?” Chen Ruolan leaned in, staring at Yu Chunmiao’s face. Yu Chunmiao’s eyes darted around—both mother and son were waiting for her answer.
“I… I… my mother could read. She taught me quite a bit when I was little.”
My mother is already dead. If you’ve got questions, burn some paper money and ask her.
Hearing this, Chen Ruolan clasped her hands together and murmured toward the ceiling,
“Brother Zheng, thank you for blessing me with such a good daughter.”
Qi Chong: Daughter? Isn’t she my wife?
Chen Ruolan shot him a glare: Didn’t you say you didn’t want one?
Yu Chunmiao was secretly pleased with herself for bluffing her way through and completely failed to notice the silent exchange of looks between mother and son.
“This bone soup is really good—so tasty!” Yu Chunmiao said casually, in high spirits.
Qi Chong replied gently, “If it’s good, drink some more.”
She shook her head. “No, if I drink too much I’ll have to get up at night. I’m scared of snakes.”
“When you need to go, call me. I’ll go with you,” Qi Chong said, his love-struck brain firing on all cylinders. He didn’t even know how the idea popped into his head.
Chen Ruolan silently thanked her husband—back then, he had accompanied her to the latrine every night too.
Yu Chunmiao looked up at Qi Chong. Handsome and thoughtful—truly a heaven-chosen husband. She nodded shyly, silently agreeing to the arrangement.
Seeing the spring-like smile tugging at her son’s lips, Chen Ruolan thought he looked utterly hopeless… but she liked it.
Summer days were long. After dinner, Yu Chunmiao went to wash her hair. The original owner’s waist-length hair was black and silky, but without a hair dryer, it was hard to dry.
She carried hot water into the room and wiped herself down, but her hair was still damp. It was already dark—she couldn’t sleep yet—so she sat on the edge of the bed, drying her hair and spacing out.
In her modern life, Yu Chunmiao loved singing. The original owner’s voice was soft and delicate, so she tried a simple folk tune.
“What a beautiful jasmine flower… fragrant and lovely on every branch, so white and sweet, praised by all. If I could, I’d pick one and wear it…”
In the neighboring room, the two brothers each had their own worries.
Qi Chong: She likes jasmine flowers.
Qi Rong: I really need to say something… How do I say it so Big Brother won’t beat me up?