Chapter 6

Sang Luo, who had silently observed everything, thought to herself with admiration: "They're really sensible."

But they also carry too much burden, it must be hard for them.

In her previous life, she spent her early years in an orphanage, focused on studying and earning money during college, worked hard in her first year of employment to save for a house, and then, after falling ill, lived alone in the mountains for five years. The last part of her life was spent in a hospital.

So, she really hadn’t had many days of true peace.

Looking at Shen An now, Sang Luo saw a reflection of her own younger self.

Not wanting to see the children so burdened, Sang Luo smiled and stood up, picking up two empty baskets from the corner, “I promised to find us some food, and I feel a bit stronger now. Let’s go for a walk and see what we can find.”

……

Qiyang County is mountainous, and Shili Village is a small village nestled in the mountains.

The main part of the village, where most people live, is located to the east, also surrounded by mountains but not as close to the larger ones. Sang Luo’s home, where she lived with Shen An and Shen Ning, was a bit further from this central area, requiring crossing three hills to reach the nearest household in the village.

Naturally, many hills close to the village are owned by villagers who often go there for firewood. The hill where Sang Luo and the children lived was one of the two hills allocated to their family when they settled here, making these nearer hills frequently traversed with established paths and relatively safer.

To the west, however, lie vast, deep mountains with no end in sight. In the original owner's memory, few from Shili Village ventured deep into these mountains.

Part of the reason is that the village is now mostly populated by the elderly, women, and children, as many able-bodied men have been conscripted to the front lines. Some have been gone for years, still serving in the army, alive but not home; others, less fortunate like Shen Lie, went to battle and never returned.

Conscription has been a norm in this era, especially in the Daqian Dynasty, and has intensified in recent years since the new emperor ascended to the throne. Almost every family has someone conscripted, like the extensive drafting two years ago, which was neither the first nor the last of its kind.

With such a demographic of mostly vulnerable individuals, no one in the village dares venture deep into the mountains.

Now, Shen An and Shen Ning each carried an empty basket, following hesitantly beside Sang Luo.

Shen Ning, with hesitation, advised, “Big sister, you’re still not well. Rest at home for a few more days? We can save the grain to last a bit longer, and my brother and I can go find wild vegetables.”

Sang Luo’s previous condition had frightened them.

Shen An, looking towards the west, where Sang Luo was headed, expressed his confusion, “Big sister, didn’t you forbid us from going into the mountains before? Our elder brother also never allowed us to go.”

Sang Luo, of course, didn’t dare venture deep into the mountains, especially considering the children's short pants, barely covering their legs. She couldn’t risk leading them into areas where snakes or insects could easily bite their exposed skin. A non-venomous bite was manageable, but a venomous one could be disastrous.

“We won’t go deep, just around the outskirts,” she reassured.

Shen An’s shoulders slumped visibly, “There’s not much left on the outskirts. Haven’t we been searching there every day?”

He regretted his earlier trust in Sang Luo’s assurances. If she really had a solution, why hadn’t she used it before they nearly starved?

Shen An felt foolish, convinced it was the aroma of the morning's white rice porridge that had clouded his judgment.

Annoyed yet relieved he had saved some rice and half of his porridge for Shen Ning.

Saving the porridge had been the right choice. Although Sang Luo was kind to him and his sister, she wasn’t very reliable, especially after waking up from her illness – seemingly even less so.

Previously, at least she was careful with their food supply. Now her use of their provisions was making him anxious. How many days would Mrs. Chen’s borrowed grain last at Sang Luo’s current consumption rate? And who could they borrow from once it ran out?

Just a few steps outside their hut, Shen An was already consumed with worry.

He wondered why they needed two baskets just to look around nearby. He didn’t want to damage Sang Luo's morale, especially after her recent illness and bold promises, so he kept quiet. The baskets were not heavy, after all.

Yet, he resolved that night they couldn’t follow Sang Luo’s plan for dinner.

Let Sang Luo eat well alone if she must, but they couldn't afford such thick porridge anymore. They would prepare her portion separately, using fewer wild vegetables to sustain her for a few days.

He and his sister would stick to their usual meals, foraging for more wild vegetables and perhaps pleading with their uncle again. They could endure.

They couldn’t afford to prepare thick white rice porridge like this morning again. Such wastefulness would make not only winter but even autumn difficult to endure.

Shen Ning looked at her brother, and a glance was enough to share their mutual concern, their faces mirroring the same worried expression.

Unaware that she had been categorized as unreliable by the young siblings, Sang Luo smiled confidently, “We’ll see if there’s anything, just follow me around.”

She regretted that they only had a couple of empty baskets – more would have been better. Their household possessions were indeed too few.

With differing thoughts in their minds, the trio, armed with sticks and bamboo branches, headed towards a small mountain path nearby.

……

As promised, Sang Luo didn’t lead them deep into the forest, but to a stream near the western hill of their home.

Shen An, seeing the small fish swimming in the clear stream, realized Sang Luo’s plan, “Big sister, these fish are agile and hard to catch. Ning and I have tried before, and we couldn’t catch even one in half a day.”

Shen Ning confirmed, “They swim too fast and are slippery.”

Sang Luo smiled, “Catching them by hand is indeed difficult. But we won’t use our hands; we’ll set a trap and let them swim into it.”

Taking Shen An’s basket, she gathered some grass and leaves by the stream, added a few pebbles, placed a fist-sized stone, and, removing her shoes and socks, waded into the stream with the basket.

The stream, fed by a natural spring, was exceptionally clear and shallow, with the deepest part barely reaching Sang Luo's knees. She positioned the basket in the deepest part, adding a few moss-covered stones from the riverbed before returning to the bank.

Shen An and Shen Ning watched in amazement.

“Can we really catch fish like this?”

Sang Luo nodded, “It would be better with bait, but we don’t have any right now. Still, there are plenty of fish in this stream. Let’s give it a try and see. If there are few, we can try different spots and set more traps.”

Saying this, she prepared to use Shen Ning's basket to set another trap.

Shen An was getting excited.

“Big sister, let me try this!” he offered eagerly.

“Sure,” Sang Luo agreed, knowing kids love to play, especially since the water was shallow. She quickly taught them the technique and let the siblings take over, simply watching from the side.

Shen Ning was like her brother's shadow, happily following him, helping to gather pebbles and retrieve stones from the water.

The siblings discussed and chose another spot, replicating Sang Luo’s method, then excitedly climbed back to the shore. Shen An’s eyes sparkled as he looked up at Sang Luo, “Big sister, when can we check the basket?”

They finally seemed like children again.

Sang Luo smiled, “We’ll check in the evening. Now, let’s set up some traps for catching shrimp.”

Ideally, such traps should be checked the next day for a better catch, but they needed food sooner, so they had to shorten the wait.

The mention of catching shrimp immediately captivated the children: “How do we catch shrimp?”

Setting shrimp traps was quite simple. Sang Luo showed the children how to bend branches with leaves and secure them under water with stones, placing them a little farther from the fish traps.

Intrigued by this novel method, the children enthusiastically set seven shrimp traps along different parts of the stream before feeling satisfied.

Back on the shore, they were still eager, “Big sister, what now? What do we do?”

“Do we also wait until evening for the shrimp?”

They asked, one after the other, their bright eyes fixed on Sang Luo.

Even though they hadn't seen the results of their traps yet, Sang Luo's reliability in the children's eyes had noticeably increased.

Observing the children, much happier and more spirited today compared to their fearful and despondent state the previous night, Sang Luo smiled, “We have to wait. Let’s go find something else in the meantime.”

She called to the two little ones, ready to leave.

Shen An hesitated, glancing back at the spot where they left the basket in the creek: “Big sister, are we just going to leave like this? What if someone takes our basket away?”

The joy of playing faded, and his responsible nature resurfaced. At this moment, the fish was a secondary concern; their basket was one of only two they owned. In fact, everything they had at home was precious due to their scarcity.

If they didn't catch any fish and lost one of their few possessions, Shen An would be left with nowhere even to cry.

Shen Ning, who had just started moving, also stopped, turning to look at Sang Luo.

Sang Luo, however, wasn’t as worried, smilingly reassuring them: “It’s okay. Take a look for yourselves. The place where we put the basket is barely visible from the shore unless you’re really paying attention.”

The siblings glanced over to where the basket was placed, and indeed, it wasn’t very noticeable. Reassured, they let go of the idea of staying to guard it.

Sang Luo patted Shen Ning's head affectionately: “Let’s go. I’ll take you to get some other food.”

Hearing there were other options for food, both siblings’ eyes lit up instantly!

“What is it?”

Author's Note:

I need to clarify something about the place names in this story. This is a work of fiction, so please don't equate it with reality. I named the county "Qiyang" because I searched dozens of names on Baidu and found that all of them exist in reality, either with the same pronunciation or characters. I eventually had to settle for what was available. Future names of states in the story might also be historical, but I advise readers not to link these fictional locations too closely with real places. Remember, this is a fantasy setting, with its own rules and creations, like the vast mountain behind Shili Village that doesn’t correspond to any real-world location.