The next day, Jin Shanyao carried a basket on her back and took the two children into White Head Mountain.
Meng Anzhi hugged the Compendium of Herbs tightly, planning to compare it with the plants in the mountains, while Meng Anci carried a small hoe, brimming with confidence.
This time, Jin Shanyao went farther than usual, straight into the depths of the mountains.
Rare things were precious; the scarcer something was, the more it was worth.
Jin Shanyao stirred her spiritual power and quickly located a century-old ginseng plant. She strode over and dug it out with a single thrust of her spade.
She tossed it into the basket and began looking for the next one, gathering every medicinal herb she passed, valuable or not.
Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci followed behind, their footing uneven.
"Auntie, lingzhi..." Meng Anzhi pointed at a tree, pleasantly surprised.
Jin Shanyao casually plucked it and tossed it to her. Meng Anzhi caught it in a fluster and giggled as she hugged it.
"Auntie, a lingzhi this big must be worth a lot, right?"
"Lingzhi more than five years old is wood. It's worthless."
Ah... Meng Anzhi stood rooted to the spot in shock. She couldn't decide whether to throw away the lingzhi in her arms or keep it. While she was still torn, her body suddenly felt light.
Jin Shanyao lifted her clean off the ground. "Ahhh... Auntie, what are you doing? Put me down!"
When Meng Anci saw his sister lifted into the air, his eyes filled with excitement. "Auntie, I want to be lifted up high too!"
Jin Shanyao laughed. "What do you mean, lifted up high? Pick those lion's mane mushrooms off the tree for me."
Only then did Meng Anzhi notice the round, fluffy white thing right in front of her. She shrieked again in fright. "Auntie, Auntie, what's that? I'm scared."
"It's called a lion's mane mushroom. It's a kind of mushroom too, but you don't often see it."
When Meng Anzhi heard it was a mushroom, her eyes went round. She studied it for a long while before she dared poke it with her finger. It was her first time seeing such a fluffy white mushroom, and she picked it with particular care.
The lingzhi she had been holding had long since been thrown onto the ground.
Meng Anci tugged at Jin Shanyao's hem and said excitedly, "Auntie, there's another one on the other side of the tree. Lift me up so I can pick it."
Jin Shanyao put Meng Anzhi down and lifted Meng Anci up in one motion. Ah... Being lifted into the air gave Meng Anci a different view.
It was exciting and thrilling... He carefully picked the lion's mane mushroom, and from then on he had eyes for no medicinal herbs, only a longing to be lifted up high. Unfortunately, they never came across another one.
At noon, when the sun was strongest, Jin Shanyao gave each of the children a ginkgo leaf and had Dahuang catch a wild rabbit. The three of them built a fire by a stream and roasted the rabbit to eat.
The rabbit sizzled over the wood fire, fat bubbling on its surface and its aroma wafting into their noses. Meng Anci held two skewers of mushrooms in his little hands, roasting them beside the fire.
Meng Anzhi held the book, checking the herbs one by one. "Auntie, why isn't there any ginseng in this book?"
Jin Shanyao sliced into the rabbit with a knife, turned it over and continued roasting it.
She glanced at the book out of the corner of her eye. "You took the wrong book. I have another Compendium of Herbs. I'll get it for you when we go back."
Meng Anzhi said, "Oh," and continued leafing through the book. Then her eyes suddenly lit up. "I've seen this one." She pointed to a picture and said eagerly, "It's under the leaves up ahead."
Jin Shanyao took a good look at the picture and pointed at the accompanying text. "Blue... staining... bolete. Remember that?"
Meng Anzhi nodded, picked up a twig and copied the words from the book onto the ground, stroke by stroke: blue, staining, bolete.
Meng Anci glanced at the words just once, then looked away and continued roasting the mushrooms. They sizzled over the fire, releasing their juices, and their delicate fragrance mingled with the aroma of the meat, making mouths water.
When the rabbit was cooked, Jin Shanyao pulled off both hind legs and handed them to Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci. "Careful, they're hot."
Meng Anzhi nodded and thanked her.
Meng Anci, meanwhile, bit straight into the rabbit. It was tender and smooth... and had a hint of saltiness. Delicious.
Rabbit stewed with potatoes could fill half a pot, but roasting had shrunk the fat rabbit considerably. Not a drop of fat remained; it had all dripped onto the wood fire.
What a luxurious way to eat it. This was his first time having it, and it tasted completely different from stewed rabbit.
The two little ones ate until their mouths were greasy, unable to stop.
Jin Shanyao noticed that the sole of Meng Anzhi's shoe was broken and the bottom of her foot had been rubbed red. She looked at Meng Anci's shoes and saw that his toes were already poking through.
"Auntie, aren't you eating?" Meng Anzhi moved her foot away without drawing attention to it and looked at Jin Shanyao, her big eyes blinking.
Jin Shanyao rubbed her little head. "Why didn't you tell me your shoes were broken?"
Meng Anzhi's cheeks reddened slightly, and she lowered her head. "I can still wear them."
Meng Anci paused, covered his feet with his legs and continued gnawing on his rabbit leg.
For no apparent reason, Jin Shanyao felt a tightness in her chest. She turned sideways, dipped a handkerchief in the stream to wet it, then placed Meng Anzhi's foot on her lap, took off her shoe and carefully wiped her foot.
"Auntie, it's dirty..." Meng Anzhi looked uneasy and tried to pull her foot back, but Jin Shanyao held it in place. "Don't move. I'll put some medicine on it. It won't hurt in a little while."
Meng Anzhi said nothing more. Her eyes glistened as she watched Jin Shanyao sprinkle golden powder over the sole of her foot, a little at a time.
A cool sensation seeped into the red, swollen skin, and the pain gradually faded.
Jin Shanyao looked up, somewhat surprised. "Why are you crying? Did I hurt you?"
Meng Anzhi wiped her little face and choked out, "Auntie, my mother made these shoes. I can't bear to take them off. I'm afraid that once I do, I'll never get to wear shoes she made again."
Hearing his sister say that, Meng Anci found himself unable to swallow the rabbit in his mouth. He hid his broken shoes even more carefully.
Jin Shanyao said, "You're still growing. Sooner or later, you'll have to replace your shoes."
Waaah...
Wait, I hadn't finished speaking. Why are you crying again?
Jin Shanyao hurriedly tried to make amends. "You can wash the shoes and keep them as treasures. Whenever you miss your mother, you can take them out and look at them."
The crying stopped abruptly. Meng Anci wiped away his tears, clutched his rabbit leg and took a noisy bite. Hic...
Meng Anzhi sniffled. "Auntie, can I keep the clothes Mother made as treasures too?"
"Of course. You can treasure everything in the house."
"What about the house? I don't want to tear it down and rebuild it. Father and Mother built it brick by brick."
Jin Shanyao froze... Only now did she realize she had been wrong. She had only wanted to give the children the best and have them grow up quickly, so she could return to heaven and be an immortal. She had forgotten that they were people, and people had the seven emotions and six desires.
"I'm sorry. I was wrong. Once we've sold the medicinal herbs, let's find someone to repair the house, all right?"
Meng Anzhi nodded emphatically.
Meng Anci said indistinctly, "Are we still building a big house, then?"
"No. We'll live in the old house."
Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci exchanged smiles, unable to hide the delight in their eyes.
Jin Shanyao sighed. "From now on, if there's anything you want to say, don't keep it bottled up. Your auntie has a wooden head; there are things I can't figure out, and I'm slow to understand.
"You have to tell me. I won't do things you don't like, especially when it comes to your mother."
Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci exchanged a glance and said with smiles, "All right. From now on, we'll tell Auntie everything."
"Oh, right, Auntie, if you're not clever, you can ask Anci. He's smart. No matter what he learns, he gets it in one try."
Uh... She really wasn't that stupid. She had just lived in the primeval forest for so long that she didn't understand things in the outside world.