Rebirth in Famine: She Thrives by Lucky Space

The dead are honored, Kong Zhongyou brought up the dead, and even the dissatisfied ones couldn’t say anything. But what they thought in their hearts could be imagined.

"Village chief, I know you mean well for me, and the community looks after me, but the more it is like this, the more I can’t take advantage of everyone. My parents are gone; I don’t want their share. We are in difficult times now, and we should work together to overcome these challenges."

I may be small and weak, but I still want to contribute my share. I remember everyone’s kindness in my heart."

After hearing Jiang Xinyu say this, those who were dissatisfied earlier felt embarrassed instead, and their expressions showed a hint of awkwardness.

"Xinyu, it’s fine, you should keep it." Kong Zhongyou persuaded.

"Village chief, I really can’t take it. Just give me what is due, thank you."

Upon hearing this, Kong Zhongyou stopped urging her. Over there, the team leader, Zhou Jiaxing, Zhou Lihong’s father, weighed out six ounces of sweet potato flour and poured it into the container Jiang Xinyu brought.

Why is it called a container? Because the capacity of this tin container is one liter.

Jiang Xinyu went to the side and divided a pound of dried sweet potatoes and another pound of dried squash.

She brought the food home and saw the dough hadn’t risen yet. But she couldn’t wait; she would steam it when she returned in the evening. She picked up her basket, took a machete, a rake, and went to find Wang Ailing.

Their family was in line before hers, so the siblings had packed their things and were waiting for her.

The three didn’t laugh and chat along the way; they quickly headed to the mountains.

The boys were more familiar with Dashan than they were.

Wang Xiaolong led the way, with Jiang Xinyu and Wang Ailing following behind. Now entering the mountain, Jiang Xinyu felt like talking. She approached Wang Ailing, "Sister, I’ve made dough rise; I’ll steam buns tonight and bring them to you."

"You little wastrel, why are you steaming buns when you should be eating porridge like the canteen does to last a few more days?"

"I’m craving them, just this once."

"You’ll be living on your own in the future; you need to be more thrifty."

"Listen for me knocking the door at night."

"You should steam them in the middle of the night; it’s safer that way."

"Okay, I’ll do that. Once they’re steamed, I’ll bring them to you and ask you to help me push the millstone."

"Okay." Wang Ailing didn’t refuse.

Jiang Xinyu checked the time; they had been walking for over two hours and hadn’t arrived yet?

"We’ll be there soon, don’t worry." Wang Xiaolong seemed to sense their anxiety and comforted them.

The trees had become noticeably dense, and there were more fallen branches underfoot, along with many wind-blown logs. Others couldn’t take them back, but I could come on my own in a few days and collect them. This would save a lot of time cutting branches.

Jiang Xinyu looked around curiously; it was all trees and nothing edible.

"Ahead there’s a small valley, let’s go there. But remember, you two shouldn’t come here if there aren’t many people."

Both nodded, and suddenly Jiang Xinyu saw a grey rabbit run by.

"Brother Xiaolong, there are wild rabbits here."

"Yeah, but they’re hard to catch. Those rabbits are cunning."

Ten minutes later, they arrived at the valley Wang Xiaolong had mentioned. It was similar to the one Jiang Xinyu had visited, except the opposite mountain wasn’t barren. (Barren mountain here means all stone.) The mountain wasn’t steep and had plenty of vegetation.

"Alright, you two look around but don’t stray too far from me."

The three advanced in a triangular formation. Jiang Xinyu found many mountain greens which were edible; if it could be eaten, it should be taken back. No one had been here yet, but once people realized, it would be like locusts passing through.

After more than an hour of searching, they didn’t find much.

Slowly climbing up the slope, Jiang Xinyu finally discovered wild yams, and there was a large patch.

"Brother Xiaolong, sister, come quickly, there’s something good here."

Hearing her, Wang Xiaolong and Wang Ailing rushed over. They saw densely frost-bitten vines on the ground with many small beans attached.

"Xinyu, what’s this?" Wang Ailing asked.

"Sister, these are wild yams, a kind of herbal medicine. Like sweet potatoes, they are edible tubers. I’ll dig them up and show you."

Jiang Xinyu put down her basket, took out the machete, cut the vines, and started digging.

Soon, the chunky yam stalks were revealed.

"Sister, this is it. It can be boiled in porridge to become tender. You can also steam it, fry it, or cook it in stew." frёeωebɳovel.com

"Xinyu, let me do it; you don’t have the strength."

Jiang Xinyu immediately stood up and moved to the side. "Brother Xiaolong, be careful not to snap it."

Wang Xiaolong nodded, well aware of this even without Jiang Xinyu’s reminder.

Like sweet potatoes, they come in clusters, and soon they dug up one plant and filled half a basket.

The three of them were excited. Wang Xiaolong had brought a machete, and Wang Ailing joined in. With nothing else to do, Jiang Xinyu wandered nearby and discovered that the patch of wild yams was indeed extensive.

Wang Xiaolong, having spent long periods in the mountains, was very experienced and had brought two burlap sacks. In two hours, they filled the baskets and two sacks. It was already after 3 p.m.

"Let’s go; we’ll come earlier tomorrow." Wang Xiaolong said, covering the excavation site with vines.

Seeing this, Jiang Xinyu understood his intent to keep the loot to themselves, which she liked.

Though it seemed like a full basket, it wasn’t much due to the long yams that had to be placed vertically. Even so, Jiang Xinyu put in a lot of effort before she managed to stand up.

"Xinyu, can you handle it?"

"Yes, absolutely, let’s go."

Following Wang Xiaolong, Jiang Xinyu leaned closer to Wang Ailing, "Sister, tomorrow we’ll focus on digging, and later uncle and aunt can come and carry them in the afternoon. I have a flashlight at home, something I scavenged from the scrap station on my last visit to the city."

"All right." Wang Xiaolong answered before Wang Ailing could.

Carrying the basket made their pace much slower than when they came, which was fine as they didn’t have to worry about encountering people.

They returned to the village at 7 p.m.

Wang Xiaolong’s parents had been worried. Seeing their son and daughter return safely put their minds at ease.

On the way, Jiang Xinyu had told Wang Ailing how to prepare the yam in porridge and specifically reminded her that the juice would make her hands itch when she peeled it, but it was harmless.

Back home, Wang Ailing had her mom heat the fire while she peeled the yams. An hour later, the family was enjoying yam porridge.

Wang Jianqiang said, "This is really good stuff. It means we can get through the year in peace."

"Dad, Mom, Xinyu said she has a flashlight. Tomorrow the three of us will start digging, and you and Mom can go over at night so we can bring it back without being noticed."