Li Xingyue asked little Yanran to pick some wildflowers, as she planned to make some shampoo and body wash herself.
She also wanted to prepare some moisturizer and face masks.
In her previous life, though she ended up as an unmarried woman past the usual marrying age, it was by her own choice.
She earned her own money, spent it freely, and still lived beautifully.
The internet even said it clearly: a woman should live beautifully into old age; as long as she isn’t dead, she should pursue beauty to the fullest.
But now, she couldn’t even maintain basic personal hygiene. Thinking about how she hadn’t properly washed her hair or bathed for days, she felt uncomfortable all over.
There was no way around it—in this ancient time, personal hygiene was a persistent problem. Forget about bathing or washing hair; the worst part was using the toilet.
Flies buzzed around the dry latrines, and maggots crawled over the cesspits. Every time she used the toilet, it left her feeling nauseated for a long while. She was in a rush to earn money.
Once she had enough, she wanted to build a house with blue bricks and tiles, dig a well in the yard, and construct flushable bathrooms and toilets…
But what if famine struck? The house could wait, but she had to make money.
Li Xingyue followed little Teddy, walking while thinking, when suddenly she heard Gu Wan’er’s shout.
“Sister-in-law, look! Isn’t this Astragalus?”
Li Xingyue hurried over and saw that indeed there were a few Astragalus plants.
“That’s right, it’s Astragalus. Wan’er, dig it quickly.”
Gu Wan’er nodded, smiling broadly.
She could now find medicinal herbs on her own—a clever girl indeed. Li Xingyue asked Wan’er and Yanran to dig the Astragalus here, leaving them two eggs and a bamboo tube of water, so the aunt-and-niece pair could wait there while she continued up the mountain with little Teddy.
A few Astragalus plants would only sell for a few hundred coins, which wouldn’t solve her problems. She thought that if she could find a few wild ginseng plants, that would be ideal.
Following little Teddy, she continued deeper into the mountain. This stretch of mountains belonged to the Greater Green Mountain, which extended hundreds of miles; Xinghua Town was part of Qingshan County. The mountains were full of apricot, peach, and persimmon trees.
Li Xingyue saw many small wild seedlings in the mountains and transplanted a few into the space on the hillside. After about half an hour, little Teddy led her to a secluded spot at the mountain top, where the thick layer of fallen leaves had dried and started decomposing.
Teddy suddenly stopped at one place and began pawing at the decayed leaves with his short legs.
“Could there be something underneath?” Li Xingyue asked curiously, patting Teddy’s head.
Teddy only “woofed” in response.
Li Xingyue took out a small shovel and carefully began digging. Soon, she unearthed a ginseng root—not very large, about fifteen to twenty years old.
Little Teddy truly was her little lucky star.
She searched nearby and found two smaller ginseng roots, about five or six years old. It was too early to harvest them fully, so Li Xingyue dug them up with the soil and replanted them in her space. Crops grew faster there; she hoped these ginseng roots would mature quickly.
On the way down, she also dug up some newly sprouted mint and planted it in the space as well.
Returning to where Gu Wan’er and little Yanran had been digging Astragalus, she found the two had filled a small basket.
Seeing Li Xingyue return, Gu Wan’er ran over excitedly. “Sister-in-law, we dug so much!”
Li Xingyue smiled and praised them for their diligence, showing them the ginseng she had found. Gu Wan’er’s eyes widened, full of envy. Little Yanran, unaware of ginseng’s value, held up her little basket of flowers to Li Xingyue and said softly, “Mama, look, Yanran also picked lots of flowers for you.”
She blinked her big eyes at Li Xingyue, looking for praise. Li Xingyue couldn’t disappoint the little girl. She crouched, patted her head, and said, “Our Yanran is amazing. When we get home, Mama will cook something delicious for you and your aunt.”
At the mention of food, little Yanran’s eyes curved into a delighted smile.
The three ate one egg each and drank some water, then headed down the mountain. By the time they returned home, it was noon.
The Zhou family was always frugal. The Gu family usually had only two meals a day with no extra oil; everyone was skinny, with yellowish faces. This wasn’t the life Li Xingyue wanted. She understood Zhou’s thrift but found it extreme, almost unbearable.
In her previous life, Li Xingyue’s grandmother had also been extremely frugal. They were all used to hardship, so changing their habits wouldn’t happen overnight. Looking at the family, Gu Qishan and Zhou worked almost daily. Gu Wan’er and little Yanran were still growing, and she herself was pregnant. The household’s diet had to improve. Li Xingyue decided that everyone should eat three meals a day.
The Gu family had few rooms, but a large courtyard. Zhou had cultivated a small plot in the northwest corner with green onions, garlic sprouts, spinach, and bok choy. Unfortunately, the crops weren’t growing well, and Zhou was turning the soil in a corner.
The three went inside and set down their baskets. Li Xingyue took the ginseng to her room, while Gu Wan’er carefully placed the seven or eight wild eggs from the basket in the kitchen.
Li Xingyue asked Zhou, who was busy nearby, “Mother, what are you planning to plant?”
Without looking up, Zhou said, “At this time, naturally, cucumbers and beans.”
Li Xingyue didn’t reply further and went into the kitchen, smiling at Gu Wan’er. “Wan’er, the meat and pork offal we bought yesterday… if we don’t eat it now, it will go bad.”
She washed the pork liver with water, ready to slice it.
Gu Wan’er was confused. “Sister-in-law, you’re going to cook?”
Li Xingyue nodded. “Otherwise? Wan’er, aren’t you hungry?”
Gu Wan’er nodded quietly. Li Xingyue said, “If we’re hungry and have food at home, why not eat? From now on, our family should have three meals a day. Look at everyone—they’re all skin and bones!”
Gu Wan’er agreed with this, but she still worried about her mother. “Sister-in-law, if you cook now, will Mother get angry?”
Li Xingyue didn’t care. “Let her get angry if she wants.”
Gu Wan’er didn’t know what to say and silently watched.
“Go help me pull two green onions and get a bowl of flour from Mother’s room,” Li Xingyue instructed.
Gu Wan’er, already hungry, tiptoed to fetch the flour.
For lunch, Li Xingyue kept it simple: a pot full of pork liver soup, and green onion pancakes fried with lard and flour.
When the aroma wafted from the kitchen, Zhou finally realized that Li Xingyue and Gu Wan’er were cooking.
Gu Qishan returned from the mountain with firewood, and upon entering the house, the smell made him even hungrier after a half-day’s labor.
He couldn’t help swallowing.