Chapter 37: The Daily Joy of Stockpiling Food in the Mountains

Having grown up in the plains, Wen Nuan Nuan had never witnessed such abundance before.

She felt like a bee that had fallen into a honey jar, an ant in a sugar pot, or a squirrel in a pile of nuts—so overwhelmed with riches she didn’t know what to do.

It was too plentiful, as if treasures were scattered everywhere.

So much to eat, so many delicious things!

She wished she could clone herself or have forty-eight hours in a day, so she could keep picking and gathering in the mountains without stopping.

In reality, the food in the refrigerator was more than enough for their family, with plenty left over each day. If she wanted to be lazy, she absolutely could.

But she just couldn’t control her excited, exhilarated heart.

As a foodie, looking at all the delicious food everywhere, her mind was already filled with various ways to prepare it. This excited her even more than finding money!

Well, since there was a storage room that prevented food from spoiling, these ingredients wouldn’t go bad. Stocking up more would just mean having more variety to enjoy.

Besides, who knew what things would be like during their journey to escape the famine or after arriving in the capital? It was never wrong to prepare more food!

Having justified her actions, Wen Nuan Nuan felt even more motivated.

Eagerly, she hoisted her bamboo basket and set off.

Having a skillful Eldest Brother at home was truly convenient—he could do anything, and everything he made was easy to use.

“Eldest Brother, Second Brother, Little Brother, let’s go.” After locking the main hall door, Wen Nuan Nuan urged the three little ones standing motionless in the yard.

“Sister-in-law, do you want to rest for a day?” Leng Tian asked worriedly.

The two little ones also looked at Wen Nuan Nuan with concern.

Wen Nuan Nuan was confused. “Why should I rest? The weather is so nice today—of course we should take the chance to gather food in the mountains!”

“Sister-in-law, you haven’t rested since you returned from the city a few days ago. Aren’t you tired?”

Seeing how diligent their sister-in-law had been these past two days made their hearts ache!

She woke up early at dawn to make breakfast and heat up Steamed Buns. After eating, she went up the mountain with them, tirelessly picking mushrooms, wood ears, and Yun Zhi, gathering hazelnuts, chestnuts, and walnuts, and harvesting persimmons, hawthorns, pears, and red dates…

At noon, they ate the Steamed Buns and shaomai they brought with them. In the evening, she returned to cook dinner for them.

After hurriedly finishing dinner, she would continue shelling walnuts and picking out impurities from the ingredients under the oil lamp at night.

Thinking of this, the three little ones felt a pang of bitterness in their hearts.

Their sister-in-law was working so hard because of them.

It must be because they ate too much, and she didn’t want them to go hungry, which was why she was working so hard to stockpile food!

“I’m not tired, not tired at all. I’ll rest when it rains and we can’t go up the mountain.” Wen Nuan Nuan waved her hand dismissively.

She found picking things incredibly satisfying—even more enjoyable than when she used to visit peach, cherry, or fig-picking farms.

After all, those places only had one or two types of fruit to pick each time, the entrance fees were quite expensive, and the price for buying extra beyond the weight limit wasn’t cheap either.

So, when these bright, heavy fruits were laid out before her for free, how could she resist the temptation?

No, of course she couldn’t.

And she didn’t want to, either.

She just wanted to follow her heart and keep picking, feeling a great sense of accomplishment seeing the ingredients pile up.

Compared to her previous exhausting and stressful work, she didn’t find this tiring at all—at least her heart wasn’t tired!

No need to clock in morning and night, no need to deal with interpersonal relationships, and no office politics among leaders and colleagues. Just going up the mountain every day to pick several large bamboo baskets of food—simply looking at it filled her with joy and satisfaction!

After dinner, she sorted through the ingredients under the oil lamp, picking out the dried branches and fallen leaves. She stored the fresh ones in the storage room and laid out the parts that needed to be sun-dried, planning to take them out to the courtyard the next day.

For someone who used to frequently work overtime late into the night, this kind of work was nothing. At least, she quite enjoyed it.

It was nothing like the misery of working overtime.

Indeed, it’s best to do what you love.

If there was one drawback, it was that the oil lamp wasn’t bright enough. The flickering flame, no bigger than a bean, cast a dim and hazy light, making it hard on the eyes when sorting things out.

Candles were better, but they burned quickly and were indeed not cheap. It was better to save them for urgent needs.

Using them to sort ingredients wasn’t cost-effective.

Ah, she really was a master at managing household affairs.

She had adapted so well to rural life!

Still, if possible, she wished for something like an electric light—safe, bright, and without an open flame.

Alas, that was just wishful thinking. In this ancient era, how could there be a lighting tool without an open flame yet bright enough?

The uneven patches of weeds were still damp with morning dew as the four of them trudged forward, step by step.

“The Leng Family, you’re out early today!” a cheerful voice called from behind them.

Wen Nuan Nuan turned and saw Aunt Li and Aunt Wang from the same village. She greeted them with a sweet smile, “Yes, hello, Aunt Li, hello, Aunt Wang.”

They had been heading into the mountains early these past few days, occasionally running into a few villagers.

The mountain hollow where they lived had little farmland and even less wasteland. Wild beasts from the mountains often came down to cause trouble. Aside from households skilled in hunting, the rest had either moved away or worked for wealthy families in the city.

Currently, the small village had about twenty households. Most of them made a living by hunting or gathering medicinal herbs to sell for silver, and they often went into the mountains to find food.

It made sense—living at the foot of the mountain and not relying on its resources would be foolish.

Still, some were more skilled than others, and their living standards naturally varied.

Originally, the Leng Family was among the best of these twenty or so households. They owned fields and land, lived in a three-room brick-and-tile house, could occasionally eat meat, and even had the means to send their children to the Academy.

This was mainly because Leng Xiao was skilled—he could venture deep into the mountains to gather ginseng and hunt, making him an excellent earner.

Later, when Leng’s Mother fell seriously ill, they spent all their silver, sold their fields, and pawned everything they could. Eating rice or flour became a luxury, and even having enough to eat became a struggle.

They quickly became one of the poorest families in the village.

“The Leng Family, heading into the mountains to pick wild fruit again! How pitiful—with no rice, salt, or oil, how will you survive the winter?!” Aunt Wang stepped closer, her tone full of pity, but her expression clearly showed she was enjoying their misfortune.

Wen Nuan Nuan put away her sweet smile and replied coolly, “Thank you for your concern, Aunt Wang. Our family is managing just fine.”

In fact, they were doing quite well—not only did they have rice, oil, and salt, but they also had meat!

They could even eat their fill of meat.

But she wouldn’t tell anyone that. The three little ones had said that this year’s rainfall was scarce, affecting not only the crops in the fields but also reducing the number of plants and animals in the mountains.

Families in the village with land often went into the mountains together to gather food.

Fortunately, the mountains were vast and rich in resources, and the village was sparsely populated. This year, the villagers hadn’t been too badly affected.

But if the drought continued next year…

Wen Nuan Nuan didn’t dare think about it.

As the saying goes, it’s not the thief you fear, but the thief who has you in mind. If someone like Aunt Wang found out that their family not only had enough to eat but could also have meat and fine rice and flour with every meal, wouldn’t she burn with envy?

When you have meat, you should hide it in your bowl and eat it quietly—she mustn’t find out, or there would be endless trouble in the end.

A desperate petty person is capable of anything.