Chapter 5: 5. Chapter 5: Going Up the Mountain

Chapter 5: Going Up the Mountain

After the family finished their meal and saw off the few villagers who had come to help, they washed up and went to sleep.

There were three beds in the house. The one in the innermost corner belonged to Wen Jiarui and Mrs. Wu. Mrs. Wang slept in one with Wen Ran and Wen Nuan, while the three Wen brothers shared a large bed.

They were too poor to worry about the separation of men and women; having a place to rest their heads was already good enough.

After a busy day, everyone was exhausted. That night, the family fell into a deep sleep, surrounded by the scent of bamboo and earth.

Wen Nuan had slept too much during the day, so she was a bit restless. Her stomach was hungry, and her mind was preoccupied.

She had to earn money quickly!

The feeling of being hungry was truly miserable.

But she couldn't bring herself to eat alone, consuming the food her family had saved from their own mouths.

She kept thinking about her past and present lives, planning the path for her future. Then she realized the most urgent task was to nurse her body back to health!

Wen Nuan raised her right hand, and a wisp of purple energy swirled in her palm.

With a thought, the purple energy flowed through her entire body, and she felt much lighter.

Feeling refreshed, she listened to the fragrance of bamboo and soil and the chirping of insects, letting her mind wander. As dawn approached, she gradually drifted off to sleep.

——

Over the next two days, Wen Nuan used the purple energy to "scrub" her body several more times. Soon, she went from being able to walk on the ground to being able to help with light household chores.

Seeing the changes in Wen Nuan, the family was overjoyed.

There was finally some hope for their lives.

Mrs. Wang believed this was all thanks to that bowl of minced meat porridge. She used the one tael of silver to pay the medical bills and planned to spend the rest on meat and rice to nourish Wen Nuan. As a result, Wen Nuan had half a bowl of minced meat porridge at every meal, while the others hid away to drink thin porridge and eat wild vegetables, afraid of letting Wen Nuan find out. Wen Nuan couldn't do anything about them.

For the past two days, whenever Wen Jiarui returned from work, he would take his two sons to continue building the bamboo house.

With so many people in the family, living in one room was inconvenient, so there were now two bamboo houses.

Two more days passed, and Wen Nuan felt that, aside from being a bit weak and prone to colds and fevers, she was no different from a normal person!

She couldn't wait any longer; she was too hungry.

She was hungry, and she was certain the others were even hungrier!

Things couldn't go on like this. Today, she had to go up the mountain to find food and see if there was anything she could sell for money.

After breakfast that day, everyone went out, leaving only Wen Ran at home to watch her. This was mainly out of fear that she might try to harm herself again. Although Wen Nuan had promised she wouldn't, the family remained worried.

Wen Nuan walked out of the house, beginning her plan to forage on the mountain.

Wen Ran was currently watering the newly cleared vegetable patch in the courtyard.

Even at home, Wen Ran never stayed idle; she did whatever work she could. Over the past two days, Mrs. Wang had turned the soil in the yard and planted some vegetables.

Wen Ran had taken it upon herself to handle the watering. The water used for the vegetables was scooped directly from the water vat.

The vat had been filled by Wen Jiarui before dawn.

Seeing this, Wen Nuan brought over half a bucket of water to help Wen Ran.

Wen Nuan picked up a ladle made from a dried gourd shell, scooped up some water, and splashed it onto the vegetable patch. As she did so, she said to Wen Ran, "Ran-jie'er, let's go for a walk around in a little while!"

Wen Ran shook her head firmly. "Third Sister, your health is poor. Mother said you can't walk around, or you'll catch a cold from the wind!"

Wen Nuan began to coax her. "I'm already better now. Haven't you noticed that I'm stronger than you? Look, I carried more water than you. I splashed it further, and the water spread out better than yours! You can see that my illness is gone."

Wen Ran was silent for a moment. That was only because she was still young!

She shook her head again. "No, Mother told me to keep an eye on you and not let you walk around."

Wen Nuan continued to coax her. "The doctor said that life lies in movement; only by exercising more will the body become healthier! Look, I've been helping with chores for the past two days, and my body has become stronger. Before, I couldn't even lift half a bucket of water, right? If you don't use your body, it's like iron—it slowly rusts! It breaks! It becomes useless! Only by moving can a person become healthier!"

Wen Ran listened, thoughtful. It was true that over the past two days, Third Sister had done a lot of chores—washing dishes, sweeping the floor, and helping plant vegetables—and she hadn't had any issues. In fact, her complexion had become rosy.

Grandmother also always said that a person's strength is built through exercise; the more you train, the stronger you get.

Could it be that more exercise really was better for the body?

Walking around the village shouldn't be a problem anyway.

Thinking this, Wen Ran nodded. "Then I'll accompany Third Sister for a walk in a little while."

With her watching, if Third Sister got tired, she would take her home immediately. As long as they didn't go far, it would be fine.

The coaxing was a success, and Wen Nuan smiled. "Good!"

She worked even harder! She had to hurry; otherwise, Mrs. Wang wouldn't be so easy to fool when she returned.

Soon, the two finished their work.

Wen Ran locked the courtyard gate, and they set off.

Before leaving, Wen Nuan brought along a sharpened bamboo pole, using the excuse that she could use it as a walking stick if she got tired.

Wen Ran thought it made sense and didn't pay it any mind.

Once they were out, Wen Ran wanted to take Wen Nuan toward the village, but Wen Nuan headed toward the small path leading to the back mountain.

Wen Ran panicked. "Third Sister, didn't you say we were going to walk around the village? Why are you heading toward the mountain? We can't go up there! There are wild boars on the mountain."

"I didn't say we were walking in the village! There are too many people in the village, and I don't want to see them. We'll just walk around the foot of the mountain; don't worry! Besides, the back mountain is closer to our house, isn't it?"

When Wen Ran heard this, she assumed Wen Nuan was afraid of the village children mocking her for being a "medicine jar," a "sickly weakling," or a "jinx."

Those people were too mean; it was better not to go to the village to avoid Third Sister getting sad and trying to jump into the river again.

So, the two headed toward the mountain.

Reaching the foot of the mountain, Wen Nuan walked obediently along the edge for a few steps, then feigned surprise. "Ran-jie'er, I see a pheasant ahead. Let's go catch it, and we'll have chicken for dinner."

When Wen Ran heard there was a pheasant, her eyes lit up! She knew how to catch chickens!

"Really? Where? Why don't I see it?"

"Right in front, hidden by the grass. Let's go take a look; maybe we can even find some pheasant eggs."

"Sister, you wait here for me." The allure of a pheasant and pheasant eggs was quite strong. Besides, this was where Wen Ran usually came to gather firewood, so it was very safe. She didn't even think twice before heading inside.

Wen Nuan followed behind Wen Ran, unable to help but silently give a "yay" in her heart!

"I'll go with you; I'm scared to be alone."

Wen Ran nodded. She came here almost every day; it was very safe.

Naturally, there was no pheasant, but the two spotted a wild rabbit.

Wen Ran said excitedly, "There's a wild—"

Before the word "rabbit" could leave her lips, the bamboo pole in Wen Nuan's hand flew out, piercing the rabbit's neck in one go.

Wen Ran was dumbfounded!

She turned her head stiffly toward Wen Nuan. "Third Sister, where is your bamboo pole?"

She still couldn't quite believe that the pole that had pierced the rabbit belonged to her Third Sister.

"We'll have wild rabbit for dinner tonight!" Wen Nuan ignored her silly question, walked forward happily, pulled out the pole, and picked up the rabbit.

Wen Ran: "..."

Was this really her Third Sister?

If she hadn't been with her every day, she would have suspected someone was impersonating her!

How could she have become so capable just because her illness was cured?

She wasn't like this before, was she?

After picking up the rabbit, Wen Nuan turned back to the stunned and bewildered Wen Ran. "Ran-jie'er, let's go! We still need to catch the pheasant. I saw where it ran!"

Wen Ran hadn't yet recovered from her shock and followed along blankly.

The path on the mountain wasn't difficult to walk because there were trails worn by the villagers.

But this also meant there wouldn't be much in the way of wild goods on this path.

Wen Nuan headed in a direction where few people walked. They hadn't gone far when she indeed saw a pheasant—and it was a case of an eagle catching a pheasant!

Wen Nuan saw an eagle with a slightly injured wing, unable to fly because its talons were clutching a pheasant that was flapping wildly.

(End of chapter)