Li Suisui arrived at the ox cart just as it was about to leave. Having woken up far too early that morning, she accidentally fell asleep on the cart.
Fortunately, thanks to yesterday’s events, her reputation had spread—no one dared touch her belongings.
It wasn’t until they reached the destination that Gao Laosan woke her up.
Li Niannian had already been waiting at the drop-off point.
The moment she saw Li Suisui, she ran over excitedly.
“Sister, sister! What good things did you buy today?”
“I got scallions, ginger, garlic, some wheat bran flour, and a jin of pork belly.”
“That’s all?”
Li Suisui couldn’t help but pinch Li Niannian’s little nose. “Little one, are you hoping for malt sugar again?”
“Hehe, I already finished the two pieces I got yesterday.”
“Eating too much sugar isn’t good. We still need to take care of our teeth. I’ll get you more in a few days. Today, I’m going to make stir-fried pork for you—just as tasty.”
Li Niannian licked her lips. “Yesterday’s stir-fried leftover fat and vegetables were so delicious! I ate a whole bowl of rice. Today, I want a whole bowl too.”
“Hahaha, no problem. With Sister around, you’ll definitely eat your fill. Just don’t eat so much that you turn into a little fatty.”
“Why not? I’ve always heard that fat kids are lucky.”
“Ah? Haha… fat kids are lucky, yes, but I don’t want you turning into a little clown!”
“I don’t want to be a little clown, I want to be pretty.”
Like Li Suisui, Li Niannian had good features, just a bit dark, yellowed, and thin. With proper care, she could certainly become pretty.
“Then listen to Sister. I’ll turn you into a beautiful girl one day.”
“Okay, I’ll listen to Sister.”
Wang Xiulian stood in front of the stone house, smiling at the two girls chattering by the roadside.
“The sun’s up. Why are you still standing there? Come back inside and cool off.”
“Ah, Mother, we’re coming back!”
Li Suisui took Li Niannian by the hand, and the two ran home.
Seeing the wooden bucket Li Suisui carried, Wang Xiulian exclaimed again. “How come you bought so many things today?”
“Mother, these are all for eating and daily use.”
“But didn’t you already buy so much yesterday?”
“Mother, like we agreed, I’ll run this house from now on. You and Father just focus on eating, resting, and taking care of yourselves. You don’t need to worry about anything else.”
Wang Xiulian wanted to say more, but Li Erzhu stopped her. “Xiulian, let’s trust Suisui. She can earn money now, she has ideas, and life will only get better than before.”
“Even so, you can’t just waste money. We haven’t even finished the meat from yesterday, and now you bought more.”
“Mother, I didn’t buy this meat for myself. Father and Mother have helped us so much. I want to invite them over to eat, so I bought extra.”
Li Erzhu’s smile grew wider. “That’s right—honor your parents. See? Suisui runs the house, and life is getting better and better. Yesterday, we had leftover fat to eat, today there’s pork. And most importantly, she knows how to be filial.”
“I was worried she’d spend recklessly… well, fine. Since you support her, I’ll leave it be. I won’t interfere anymore.”
Li Suisui called Li Niannian over to tell Lin Guiying and Li Laotou to come to the old house for dinner.
She then grabbed a small wooden bucket, preparing to fetch water from the village well. The water they had from Li Dazhu’s work a couple of days ago was nearly gone, so she needed more to last through the evening.
Their household ate only two meals a day—breakfast and dinner. Lunch was usually skipped.
Just as she started down the road, Li Sanzhu called out.
“Suisui, where are you going?”
“Third Uncle, I’m going to fetch water. What about you, carrying firewood?”
“I’m heading your way to deliver it. Don’t worry about the water—once I finish unloading the firewood, I’ll fill your big water jar. Two trips will fill it; you won’t have to go back and forth carrying it yourself.”
Li Suisui smiled. “Thank you, Third Uncle.”
“When did you become so polite, little one?”
“Lead the way, tell me where to put the firewood.”
“All right.”
Her third uncle was cheerful and kind-hearted, though married to a meddling wife who sometimes intimidated him.
After putting down the firewood, Li Sanzhu carried two large buckets to the village well. His strength meant two trips were enough to fill their big water jar, enough to last a few days.
At that moment, Li Niannian returned from the old house. “Sister, Father and Mother don’t want to come over. They said to save the meat and cook it slowly for them.”
“Okay, I understand. If they won’t come, we’ll send it to them. It’s still early, so I want to go up the mountain. Are you coming?”
“I want to.”
“Let’s go. I’ll carry a basket for us.”
Li Suisui planned to forage for wild vegetables and see if there were any edible wild fruits. Most importantly, she wanted to test whether her “golden finger” would work on the mountain.
Behind Shigang Village lay a sprawling mountain. It was quite far from their home; it took Li Suisui and Li Niannian an hour to reach the base.
“Phew, so tiring! It didn’t look that far, but walking here is exhausting. Come on, let’s see if there are wild vegetables to pick.”
“Sister, there are some wild vegetables here. Looks like shepherd’s purse—they’re really tender.”
Li Suisui stepped forward. “Yes, they are tender. You can start picking here; I’ll go a bit further.”
She walked into the forest, closed her eyes, and silently focused on her “spiritual eye,” thinking about wild pheasants and rabbits.
When ready, she opened her eyes and began searching.
Disappointed—nothing. Everything looked as it had.
Had her “spiritual eye” failed again? Just as she began doubting, a wild pheasant appeared in her sight.
She wanted to chase it but found it was 493 meters away. Impossible to catch, she gave up.
It seemed the spiritual eye required focused thought: only what she mentally imagined would appear.
Wild eggs? None.
Fruits? Yes! She spotted a wild pear tree with a few pears swaying in the breeze.
She shouted back, “Niannian, come on! Let’s go forward.”
“Sister, I haven’t finished picking the shepherd’s purse yet.”
“Later! Let’s go get some good things first.”
She had been in this area for several days and had never tasted fruit—she was practically salivating from anticipation.