That evening, while cooking dinner, Liu Qingyan quietly added a little spirit spring water into the food and also secretly drank a bit herself.
Early the next morning, the three siblings still woke up at dawn.
Qingyi and Qingyou said excitedly, “Sister, I feel much stronger than yesterday. My whole body feels so comfortable.”
Liu Qingyan smiled and said, “Maybe it’s because you ate well and slept well last night, so you feel different today.”
Qingyou nodded vigorously. “Yes! I was full and slept so soundly. I didn’t wake up hungry at all. It feels so good.”
Children were always easy to satisfy, and Liu Qingyan was determined to gradually make their bodies healthier and stronger.
Breakfast was again wild vegetable and coarse grain porridge. With these ingredients, there was nothing new to make—they could only make do.
After all, under their current conditions, simply having enough to eat was already very good.
After breakfast, Liu Qingyan spread the soaked mung beans evenly in a wooden basin, covered them lightly with a clean white cotton cloth, and then sealed it with a lid to block out light.
After preparing two basins of mung bean sprouts, they heard Tieniu shouting at the top of his lungs, “Qingyi, Qingyou, let’s go! Time to head up the mountain!”
The siblings finished preparing and each carried a basket out of the courtyard.
Their house had no lock anyway—there was nothing valuable, so there was no fear of theft.
Liu Qingyan kept the silver hidden in the bedroom space. That was their family’s survival money; if it was lost, they would truly have nothing left.
Xiaoyu looked at Liu Qingyan and asked with concern, “Qingyan, your injury hasn’t fully healed yet. Can you go?”
“I’m fine now. Doctor Song already said I recover quickly. I can move around a bit, just not do heavy work,” she replied.
The group walked together, chatting and laughing, toward Yunwu Mountain. The original owner was very familiar with this place and often came here to dig wild vegetables.
Liu Qingyan told Qingyou to stay with Xiaoyu and not wander too far, while she herself went deeper into the forest to see if there were any unexpected gains.
This part of the mountain had never been explored by the original owner, so she did not dare go too far and only intended to familiarize herself with the terrain first.
As she walked slowly deeper in, she kept her ears alert, listening carefully for any movement. If she encountered a large animal in her current weak body, it would be a death sentence.
Ahead, she found a large patch of mushrooms. She squatted down and examined them carefully, confirming that they were all non-toxic.
She had received wilderness survival training in her past life and clearly remembered which mushrooms were poisonous and which were not.
It seemed that in this era, no one dared to eat mushrooms—they all believed they were poisonous. That made things convenient for her.
She put down her basket and began happily picking them. Mushroom gathering was something she especially enjoyed in her previous life; every time she saw a patch, she became excited. Soon she had collected nearly half a basket.
Just as she was about to leave, something unusual flashed in her sight. She used a branch to gently push aside the dry grass—and a pleasant surprise appeared.
It was a nest of wild chicken eggs.
Carefully, she reached out and picked them up. After counting, there were ten eggs in total. She was overjoyed.
She placed them gently into her basket, then hid nearby, waiting for the wild hen to return. After waiting a long time, the hen never came back—perhaps it had sensed movement and dared not return.
She couldn’t just keep waiting forever. Seeing that it was getting late, she picked a few more wild vegetables and headed back.
When she met up with Xiaoyu and Qingyou, Liu Qingyan said mysteriously, “Xiaoyu, Qingyou, guess what good thing I found.”
Qingyou’s eyes lit up immediately. “Sister, what is it? Hurry up and tell us!”
“Yeah, Qingyan, we can’t guess it,” Xiaoyu added.
Liu Qingyan put down her basket and took out the eggs. “Look, I found a nest of wild chicken eggs. Xiaoyu, take four of these home—one for each person in your family.”
“Qingyan, this is such a good thing, I can’t take it. You three sisters need it more to nourish yourselves,” Xiaoyu refused.
“Just take them. We’ve eaten plenty of your family’s meals before. I found ten eggs, and we still have six left—enough for us,” Liu Qingyan insisted.
She forced the eggs into Xiaoyu’s basket, and Xiaoyu had no choice but to accept.
The three then found Qingyi and Tieniu and went down the mountain together. Because of the eggs, everyone was extremely excited, their steps feeling much lighter.
After returning home, Qingyou and Qingyi held the eggs tightly as if they were priceless treasures.
What pitiful children they were. Watching them, Liu Qingyan felt a wave of sadness.
Later, the two children saw the basket full of mushrooms and turned pale with fear.
Qingyi said anxiously, “Sister, these are poisonous—you can’t eat them! In the past, someone in the village was so hungry they ate them and died. No matter how poor we are, we can’t eat these!”
Qingyou also stared wide-eyed at her.
Liu Qingyan patiently explained, “Qingyi, Qingyou, these mushrooms are not poisonous. Some mushrooms are poisonous, and some are not.”
Seeing their doubtful expressions, she added, “I’ve eaten them before. They’re really not poisonous. Don’t you trust your sister?”
“We trust you, sister,” they quickly replied.
She then told them to remove the roots and dry the mushrooms in bamboo baskets so they wouldn’t spoil. She would also go water the mung bean sprouts.
For dinner, they cooked coarse grain porridge, boiled three eggs, and stir-fried mushrooms with lard residue.
The children had never eaten boiled eggs before. When they took their first bite, Qingyou said happily, “Wow, sister, boiled eggs are so delicious!”
Qingyi nodded hard. “Mm-hmm!”
“Try the mushrooms too,” she said.
She was the first to take a bite herself.
The two children looked like they were facing execution as they cautiously ate the mushrooms. After chewing a few times, their eyes suddenly lit up.
Qingyi said excitedly, “Sister, I didn’t expect mushrooms to be this delicious!”
Qingyou chimed in happily, “Yes, sister! They’re so smooth and tasty. We can eat them often in the future!”
“Right, we can pick more now. Others don’t dare eat them anyway. We can dry them and save them for winter when there’s no vegetables,” she said.
Qingyi muttered softly, “That depends on whether we survive tomorrow. It would be good if they’re really not poisonous…”
Although his voice was small, Liu Qingyan heard it clearly. The children were afraid of being poisoned to death, which was understandable since they had never eaten them before.
The siblings happily finished their dinner.
Afterward, Liu Qingyan and Qingyi went to fetch water.
Qingyou originally wanted to go with them, but since Liu Qingyan was already much better, she did not let her.
In the village, there was a large well where everyone fetched drinking water, making daily life quite inconvenient.
Seeing the eggs Xiaoyu brought home, Aunt Wang felt very relieved and said emotionally, “Qingyan and those three children are all good kids—they know how to be grateful.
That old witch from the Liu family is truly not a good person. These children are so sensible and hardworking—how could she be so cruel to them?”