Chapter 15: What Serious Illness Afflicts the He Family?

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It was a thin booklet, only two or three pages long, but inside were things that should have been destroyed. Fang Mingxi felt her scalp go numb as she looked at it. She dared not imagine what would have happened if she hadn’t learned to walk or hadn’t seen that man. If he reported them, Tang Yao and Grandma Wu would definitely be in trouble.

She hurriedly put the book back into her backpack, erased the traces on the bed, and returned home. Only after covering herself with the quilt and lying down did the door suddenly open.

A disappointed Tang Yao came in, carrying an empty wooden bucket and a bundle of firewood, quietly approaching the bedside.

Fang Mingxi pretended to kick off the quilt. Seeing this, Tang Yao’s face lit up, the sadness instantly wiped away.

“Xi Xi, you’re awake! I thought you were still asleep!” She put down the bucket and firewood, scooped a ladle of water to wash her hands, then picked up Fang Mingxi. “If I had known, I would have waited for you to go up the mountain together. I found nothing up there.”

Whether it was bad luck or something else, her trip up the mountain yielded nothing, not even the spot where the porcini mushrooms had appeared yesterday was left with anything.

Recalling that for the past two days she had only found anything when going up the mountain with Fang Mingxi, Tang Yao suspected more than once that maybe their luck only worked when they went together. That’s why she hurriedly came down to see if Fang Mingxi was awake.

It was a fortunate coincidence that Fang Mingxi had woken. Tang Yao planned to go up the mountain again in the afternoon to test if today’s bad luck was real.

Fang Mingxi wrapped her arms around Tang Yao’s neck and sweetly called out, “Sister.”

My sister, since we’re not Fu Bao, naturally we don’t have the luck to find things.

Tang Yao helped Fang Mingxi put on her clothes and took her out to prepare lunch.

Lunch was simple. Tang Yao had cut a small portion of yesterday’s porcini mushrooms to make soup and steamed half a potato for Fang Mingxi.

Fang Mingxi watched with cold sweat as Tang Yao pulled food out from under the bed. If that man had stayed a moment longer, none of the food might have been safe. It could even have given him more reasons to report them.

Though there was no explicit rule forbidding people from the cattle pen from quietly going up the mountain to find good things, their identities were special. If the man accused them of embezzling public property, every word could be deadly.

Her eyes flickered. She knelt on the ground, shakily crawling under the bed, then quickly crawled back out.

The potato was cooked. Tang Yao blew on it to cool the heat, peeled it, and scooped some mashed potato with a wooden spoon to feed Fang Mingxi.

It had no salt, but Fang Mingxi enjoyed it very much. Compared to rice soup or malted milk powder, which were watery, the potato was filling. After eating it, she wouldn’t worry about being hungry again soon.

The two sisters were too lazy to go back inside, so they simply sat outside in the open air to eat. Sitting side by side at the edge of the field, they enjoyed the breeze and watched the wheat stalks in the field to pass the time.

Whether it was Fang Mingxi’s imagination or not, she always felt that Tang Yao wasn’t happy eating the potato.

Following her gaze, Fang Mingxi saw Tang Yao staring blankly at the half-eaten potato, tears glistening at the corners of her eyes.

She tugged on Tang Yao’s sleeve and asked with concern, “Sister, what’s wrong?”

Tang Yao wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “What’s wrong, Xi Xi? Did you need to pee?”

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Fang Mingxi crawled onto her, burying her head in her arms and nuzzling her gently.

Don’t cry. Everything will get better. We just need to endure a few more years, and it will all be fine.

The child’s soft body nuzzling her heart ached, but Tang Yao felt her own sadness lift a little. She embraced Fang Mingxi, resting her head on the soft, fluffy hair and smiling softly.

“Xi Xi, I’m glad you’re here.”

.....

After delivering food to the adults, Tang Yao carried Fang Mingxi and ran toward the mountain.

The more you do something, the more familiar it becomes. This time, Tang Yao was braver. Though she was still a little nervous seeing strangers, as long as they didn’t come close, she wasn’t as scared.

Probably because the adults at home had been busy these days, the children in the village couldn’t stay long in the fields and had started to form small groups carrying little backpacks to go up the mountain.

In just a few steps, the two encountered at least three groups of people heading up the mountain.

Everyone avoided them, which made Tang Yao anxious because more people meant fewer chances to find porcini mushrooms herself.

So when they met the fourth group, Tang Yao decisively made a decision: to go back down and collect firewood from the Red Leaf Mountain to the north.

That mountain was where they often went. Although it wasn’t frequently explored, there might be some surprises.

Fang Mingxi agreed. Fewer people meant a better chance to activate her “golden finger” ability. Even though she could activate it now, once she entered the forest, the other children on this mountain would get trapped in a maze.

Unless time was up, they couldn’t get out.

It was the right decision. Just as Tang Yao and Fang Mingxi descended, they met the He family’s siblings walking this way.

The two groups exchanged glances. He Lei snorted unhappily and rolled his eyes at them before leading He Xi up the mountain.

He Xi glanced at the two girls and then turned to follow.

He Tian intentionally lagged behind, scanning Tang Yao up and down. Seeing her empty wooden bucket, he relaxed and hurried to catch up with his brother.

Tang Yao kept her head down to avoid their scrutiny, but Fang Mingxi saw everything clearly. She made a face like an old man on the subway looking at a phone, watching the backs of the group, mouthing words.

What the heck is this? They look like they think we’re thieves. What’s wrong with these kids?

Fang Mingxi almost laughed from anger, inexplicably getting an eye-roll and being looked down on by a few kids.

She shot them a glare back. With Fu Bao around, nothing good ever happens. A whole day’s good mood ruined.

.......

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They said no one had set foot on Red Leaf Mountain to the north, but a rugged trail had been worn out.

Tang Yao, carrying Fang Mingxi, was panting as they climbed. The path wasn’t as easy as the southern mountain. It was full of brambles and tall weeds nearly swallowing a person.

Fang Mingxi felt heartbroken watching this. Many thorns had scratched Tang Yao’s calves, leaving countless small wounds.

There were also strange mosquitoes in the grass, and within minutes, both were bitten several times, swelling in large lumps.

Fang Mingxi activated her exploration ability, and in a blink, they were inside the forest.

At the same time, she used the search function on her panel to check if anyone was nearby. Seeing no red dots, she searched the panel for buried items underground.

This was an added function Fang Mingxi had discovered. With this, she didn’t have to wander around miserably looking for big food sources.

The panel showed two kinds of plants nearby: one was a white sweet potato that could be eaten as fruit or vegetable, the other an orange tree.

The orange tree was closer with many fruits hanging. Fang Mingxi quickly clicked to delete it, making the tree disappear before their eyes.

Fruit trees were too conspicuous. They couldn’t be picked all at once, and the quantity was large.

If Tang Yao told the adults at home and they came to pick oranges only to find empty trees, it would be quite funny.

As for the buried treasures, it was different. You couldn’t see how much food was hidden, so she could fish around in the dark at night.

They reached the area around the white sweet potatoes. Fang Mingxi hurriedly wiggled to get down.

Tang Yao was indeed tired. She squatted carefully to put her down and sat behind a big tree, fanning herself.

“Xi Xi, be careful not to run around. There are many thorns on this mountain. Don’t get scratched.”

Fang Mingxi crawled away, halfheartedly nodding her back to Tang Yao.

“Got it, but I’m not listening.”

After crawling a dozen steps behind the tree, Fang Mingxi reached the white sweet potatoes. The vines were green and thick, sprawling densely across the ground, covering almost everything in front of her.

Looking at the endless sweet potatoes, her mouth watered.

Good heavens, so many tubers!!!