Chapter 8: Going to Fourth Uncle's House

It’s just that the people in her family never developed the awareness that bamboo shoots were edible. It wasn't until Hua Xiali went to the city in her previous life to accompany her child for their studies and saw processed bamboo shoots being sold at the vegetable market that she realized they were not only edible but delicious. Later, when her child returned to the village for holidays, she would occasionally take them into the mountains to snap off bamboo shoots.

Thinking of this, Hua Xiali couldn't help but feel happy. Since no one here ate bamboo shoots yet, naturally, no one would be competing with her for them.

"Xiali, you're here. Come on in." Fourth Uncle stood by the door, waving at her.

"Fourth Uncle, how did you know I was coming?" Hua Xiali carried her basket and walked over quickly, pleasantly surprised.

"Of course your mother called to tell me; otherwise, how would I know?" Fourth Uncle took the basket from her hand. Seeing a hen tied up tightly inside, he said helplessly, "It’s enough that you came yourself; why bring things? It would be better to keep them for your father to nourish his health."

Hua Xiali gave a sweet smile. "I have more at home!"

Fourth Uncle and Fourth Aunt had three children in total: two sons and one daughter. The two sons were working out of town and weren't married yet, and the daughter had already married off, so now it was just the two of them at home.

They raised chickens, ducks, and geese, and grew some fruit and tea trees, so they lived a decent life.

The main thing was that they were getting on in years and couldn't handle working away from home, and since they could get by, who would want to leave their hometown?

Fourth Aunt came out of the kitchen, untied her apron, and said with a smile, "Xiali is here. Go get some water to wash your hands; we’re eating right away."

"Sorry for the trouble, Fourth Aunt." Hua Xiali smiled shyly.

"We're all family, what trouble is there?" Fourth Aunt laughed heartily, not minding such things at all.

Hua Xiali went to the large water vat by the kitchen door, drew water to wash her hands, and then went into the living room. Fourth Uncle’s kitchen was quite small—it couldn't even fit the water vat, let alone have space for dining—so they ate in the living room.

"Xiali, your mother called and said you wanted fruit trees. Which ones do you want, and how many?" Fourth Uncle asked while eating.

Hua Xiali thought for a moment and said, "I want twenty fig trees, and for the rest—peaches, apricots, plums, grapes, Gala apples, persimmons, dates, and pomegranates—five of each, if that’s okay?"

The climate here wasn't suitable for many types of fruit, so these were all she could ask for. As for other delicious fruits, it was useless to even think about them.

The climate just wasn't right!

Fourth Uncle nodded. "That’s fine. I’ll help you gather them tomorrow."

Hua Xiali was overjoyed. "Thank you, Fourth Uncle."

After dinner, it was still quite bright outside. Fourth Uncle and Fourth Aunt told Hua Xiali to go for a walk and look around; after all, she had visited their home many times since she was a child and was very familiar with the area.

Once Hua Xiali stepped out, she went straight into the bamboo forest outside Fourth Uncle’s house. She walked a few meters in, and once she was sure no one outside could see her, she flashed into her spiritual spring space.

Earlier, after she had put the vegetable stand into the courtyard as an experiment, she had hurriedly poured a cup of hot tea and placed it inside. To her surprise, even after half a day had passed, the tea was still as scalding hot as before.

This meant that things placed inside the spiritual spring space would not change at all. For Hua Xiali, this made the utility of the space much greater.

After coming out of the spiritual spring space, Hua Xiali began snapping off bamboo shoots.

Bamboo shoots were delicious on their own, and if she added a bit of spiritual spring water to enhance the flavor, they would be even better. She felt that with just bamboo shoots alone, she could make a fortune.

After all, this area was a major producer of bamboo. Even if it wasn't covered in bamboo and shoots everywhere, they were certainly all over the mountains and plains!

Hua Xiali snapped bamboo shoots until the sky turned dark before stopping. She neatly stacked them in a corner of the spiritual spring courtyard and then returned to Fourth Uncle’s house.

Seeing that Hua Xiali had returned, Fourth Aunt said, "Xiali, you’ll be staying in your cousin’s old room tonight. I’ve already made the bed for you."

Although their daughter was married, they had kept her room so that she would have a place to stay when she brought her children back to visit.

"Thank you, Fourth Aunt. You should get some rest early, too! I’m a grown woman; I can take care of myself." Hua Xiali had often visited Fourth Uncle’s house, sometimes staying for long periods, so it felt just like her own home. She didn't need them to worry about her.

"Then take care of yourself. We’re heading to our room." Fourth Aunt scooped hot water from the iron pot in the kitchen and carried it back to their room.

It was only April, so it wasn't hot; there was no need to bathe every day, just washing one's face and feet at night was enough.

Hua Xiali went to the kitchen and saw the pot full of hot water, feeling deeply moved. With such good family and relatives, how could she have been so foolish as to marry Wang Liang for that three-hundred-yuan dowry? If she could go back to her previous life, she would definitely slap herself a few times to wake herself up.

Three hundred yuan couldn't solve her family's difficulties; instead, it ruined her entire life and didn't even help her parents. She hadn't been by her parents' side during their final moments. She had many regrets from her previous life, and this was the deepest one of all.

Hua Xiali took a ladle of spiritual spring water and poured it into the large water vat. She couldn't repay Fourth Uncle and Fourth Aunt for the time being, so she would use the spiritual spring water to help improve their health!

She didn't wash up right away. It was still early, and she couldn't sleep, so she went back outside to snap more bamboo shoots. This time, she didn't go deep into the forest but stayed right outside the house to snap the outermost shoots. If Fourth Uncle or Fourth Aunt came out to check, she would just say she was looking at the stars.

Soon, Hua Xiali finished the outermost shoots and headed back. Having squatted for so long, her legs felt like they didn't belong to her when she stood up. After a while, the sensation eased, and she returned to the house.

After locking the courtyard gate, she went to the kitchen to scoop hot water to wash up, then went to her cousin’s room to rest.

The next morning, when Hua Xiali woke up and came out, Fourth Uncle was nowhere to be seen. Fourth Aunt told her that he had gone to other people's houses to help her find fruit saplings.

No one here grew fruit on a large scale yet; they only had a few trees in their courtyards or vegetable patches. Since Hua Xiali wanted so many at once, Fourth Uncle didn't have them on hand and had to go ask around.

Hua Xiali felt quite bad about causing Fourth Uncle trouble, but she wasn't an ungrateful person. Since they were helping her, she would definitely repay them.