Chapter 14: Bringing Porcini Mushrooms to Express Gratitude in Person
The door opened, and a man wearing a white undershirt stepped out from inside. From a distance, Fang Mingxi couldn’t make out his exact features, only that he had a square face and seemed somewhat advanced in age. An old brick house, an elderly man—Fang Mingxi had a hunch who this man might be.
“Captain, I didn’t get a chance to thank you earlier for the medicine you gave Xixi. This is porcini we happened to find in the mountains, brought over as a token of our gratitude,” Fang Baisong said as he stepped forward after the man appeared, placing the bamboo basket he was carrying on the ground.
The man looked up, and under the moonlight, Fang Mingxi finally saw He Daixing’s kind face clearly. Seeing his gentle expression, she felt a wave of relief. It really was the captain. With such a righteous face, she could feel somewhat reassured—at least they wouldn’t have to live in constant fear of the team causing trouble for her grandparents.
He Daixing looked at the visitors, surprised. “Is the child feeling better?”
Fang Baisong nodded and gently pulled back the quilt covering Fang Mingxi’s head, revealing her small face. “Much better now. She can eat and drink, so it shouldn’t be anything serious.”
He Daixing exhaled quietly. “That’s good to hear. But I don’t want this. Take it back and eat it yourselves. A few grains of food won’t last until year-end.”
When unexpected visitors arrived, the team usually lent them grain for emergencies, to be repaid at the end of the year with work points. But a few dozen pounds of grain wouldn’t last four months until the year’s close. That’s why He Daixing often turned a blind eye to people searching the mountains for food, though he hadn’t expected Fang Baisong to find porcini mushrooms.
Porcini were rare in the mountains, usually appearing after rain, but it hadn’t rained for a long time, and no one from the team had found any recently.
Since He Daixing refused the mushrooms, Fang Baisong naturally wouldn’t take them home either. Without a word, he turned and ran off a few meters.
“Captain, please accept this as our token of appreciation. We’ll thank you properly one day for saving our lives.”
He Daixing watched them run off helplessly, smiled, and took the bamboo basket back inside.
When he closed the door, he deliberately left a crack open and waited in the courtyard for a moment before returning indoors.
“Who was that knocking so late at night?” Zhang Guihua yawned as she emerged from the outhouse wrapped in a jacket.
He Daixing lit the kerosene lamp, its dim light revealing two beautifully shaped porcini mushrooms, a few unopened chicken mushrooms, and a small pile of red spiny bubbles.
“This…” Zhang Guihua stifled another yawn. “Did the person who knocked bring this?” She hesitated, suspicious. “Them?”
“Yes.” He Daixing smiled, covered the basket again, blew out the lamp, and handed the basket to Zhang Guihua. “Mom, let’s eat these tomorrow. It’s been a long time since we had chicken mushrooms.”
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Zhang Guihua beamed with happiness, nodding repeatedly. “Xiaoyu has been talking about it for a long time. Perfect timing for breakfast tomorrow.”
Though Red Leaf Mountain had chicken and porcini mushrooms, they were usually picked early by the team, so getting some meant rising early and hoping for luck. They were lucky this time, though they weren’t sure if any had been left for themselves.
After chatting for a while longer, they each returned to their rooms. Once the sounds inside ceased, a shadow slipped past the doorway and disappeared into the night.
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Fang Mingxi slept soundly through the night and only woke when the sun was high the next day. She stared at the sunlight in sudden alarm.
Oh no! It was already broad daylight—how did she sleep so long?
She turned to search the room for Tang Yao but quickly realized no one was there. Tang Yao was gone—had she snuck off to the mountain?
Fang Mingxi panicked. Without activating her exploration ability, Tang Yao wouldn’t find anything on the mountain. Maybe some wild vegetables if lucky, but certainly nothing as bountiful as a golden touch.
She hurriedly climbed out of bed, throwing the quilt to the floor, and tried to get down. The bed wasn’t very high, and barefoot she could step on the quilt. Wearing short sleeves and shorts, she didn’t feel too cold, but as soon as she touched the floor, her legs lacked the strength to support her.
Her legs went weak, and she collapsed back onto the quilt.
Damn it! Fang Mingxi slammed the quilt and flipped over into a kneeling position.
Grabbing the leg of the stool in front of her, she first pushed up with her knees, then forced her toes to follow.
She looked toward the door with determined eyes, gritting her teeth and summoning all her strength.
“Bang!”
She failed and fell again.
Unwilling to give up, she tried this position seven or eight times more. Though she fell each time, she felt her legs growing stronger.
On the ninth attempt, Fang Mingxi finally stood upright, holding the stool leg for support. She took two tentative steps in place, then burst out laughing.
“Ha!”
Thank heavens, I can walk!
Excited, she slowly walked a few steps using the bench for support, first to the wall, then to the door.
She leaned against the door and peered through the crack in the frame.
Tang Yao must have gone out, otherwise she would have heard her come in. It was a good thing she left; otherwise, she wouldn’t have learned to walk.
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A faint breeze drifted near the door, cooling Fang Mingxi’s warm skin. She turned away, about to move back, when out of the corner of her eye she saw a man approaching along the path opposite.
The man had shifty eyes and a sly expression, clutching a dogtail grass as he sneaked toward the cowshed. He looked back nervously, as if afraid someone might suddenly appear.
A stranger. Fang Mingxi immediately stepped aside to hide herself, peeking through the door crack with one eye.
The man crouched on the edge of the field, picked up a stone, and tossed it onto the ground. After waiting a few seconds to make sure no one emerged, he climbed up the embankment and crept toward the neighboring house.
Fang Mingxi followed his movements and saw him first lie down beneath the window of Tang Yao’s home, peering inside, then open the window and climb in.
Her heart tightened—she didn’t know what the man intended, but it was certainly not good.
She hurried back to her bed, struggling to climb up, pressing her ear against the wall to listen closely to the noises next door.
The man seemed to be rummaging through things. Fang Mingxi heard the sounds of moved furniture and clinking bowls and chopsticks.
She grew anxious. She hadn’t seen what breakfast was yet, but if the man discovered the porcini mushrooms inside, that would be trouble.
Quickly, she opened her interface and accessed the volume control system, selecting footsteps to play.
“Tap tap tap—”
Several rapid footsteps sounded near her ear. She immediately turned up the volume.
“Tap tap tap—”
The man next door heard the footsteps and his expression suddenly changed. Hastily, he restored the disordered items, then pulled a bundle from his pocket and stuffed it into the gap between the bed board and the wall.
Without delay, he climbed out the window and ran swiftly down the embankment, disappearing along the ditch.
After he left, Fang Mingxi patiently waited inside, making sure he wouldn’t return before climbing down barefoot.
This time she went straight to the door, hooking her fingers into the crack and pulling it open easily.
Fortunately, the house wasn’t locked. Fang Mingxi strode out boldly. Before she fully realized she no longer needed the furniture to walk, she had already reached Tang Yao’s doorway.
Tang Yao’s door was unlocked too. Fang Mingxi pushed it open and stepped inside. The room was sparsely furnished and empty, but clean.
Unsure what the man had stolen or hidden, Fang Mingxi began searching thoroughly.
Luckily, the room was small. Climbing onto the bed, she spotted a cloth bundle wedged in the crack between the bed board.
Opening the bundle, her pupils suddenly contracted in shock as she recognized its contents.