Wencheng stepped forward and wiped Mrs. Chen's tears with his sleeve, "Granny, don't worry, Wencheng will certainly listen to grandma's words and study well. When Wencheng grows up, I will be very filial to grandpa and grandma." This old lady was very kind to all her grandsons without favoritism, which is why the children were all very close to her.
The grandmother and grandson chatted, but let's leave that aside for the moment. Up on the mountain, Jinghan and her brother were picking wild vegetables. Today they were not only picking celery but also siberian ginseng. Siberian ginseng, with its stems and leaves, also has five palm-shaped compound leaves, and the stems can be as thick as chopsticks. Blanched in boiling water and then stir-fried with eggs, it made for the most delicious meal. As Jinghan picked the siberian ginseng, she asked Wenhan, "Big brother, do we have any tender ginseng shoots here?" Those tender shoots tasted even better than regular siberian ginseng. They were thicker, some even bigger than an adult's fingers, and they felt even better to eat.
"Yes, we do, but we'll have to wait a few more days; the tender shoots sprout a bit later. It's delicious food, and some people from our village go pick it to sell," Wenhan responded.
Upon hearing this, Jinghan's spirits lifted, "Big brother, people are selling tender ginseng shoots? How's that going? Are they selling well?" If their own family could also go pick some to sell, they might earn a bit of money.
Wenhan thought for a moment, "They sell quite well. At its most expensive, it can go for seven coins per pound. Although it gradually gets cheaper, you can still sell it for five coins, I've heard them say."
"Big brother, then let's also go pick some to sell; we could still earn some money. The family is relying solely on ginseng for income, and without any other source, this won't do," Jinghan quickly said to Wenhan.
Wenhan looked at his sister with difficulty, "Isn't that a bit wrong? There are only one or two in our village who sell it. If we also go, wouldn't we be stealing their business?"
Jinghan found herself lost for words at this. She was really at her wits' end with these people. How could their minds be so rigid? "Big brother, those one or two people, how much can they gather? I guarantee it's not enough to sell. We should also go pick the tender shoots and sell them, and there will definitely be no problem. Let's try in a few days if you don't believe me. By the way, do you know where there's a lot of tender ginseng shoots?"
Wenhan was slow to get it, but he still nodded, "I know. There's one place with particularly many tender ginseng shoots, and not many others know about it. We can go there. Little sister, do you really think this will work?"
Jinghan promptly nodded, "Of course it will work. There are quite a few families in town, right? Those tender ginseng shoots are delicious, and it's only available once a year. Who wouldn't want to buy some to taste something fresh? I guarantee there won't be a problem." Jingya didn't come with them today, and Wenxuan was too young to come, so it was just the sibling pair on the mountain. "Big brother, do we have enough vegetables for today? We should head back."
Wenhan looked at his basket, which was already full, and nodded, leading his sister back home. Jinghan carried a stick in her hand and was walking ahead when suddenly, she noticed something moving in the grass ahead. Upon closer inspection, it was a snake. It was a black snake, its grayish-black body marked with yellow-white spots. The snake was large, as thick as an adult's wrist, and its tail was as thick as the handle of a hoe. "Brother, look, a big snake ahead." The snake was precisely on their path home.
"Let's walk around it; it's best not to provoke such things," Wenhan said, leading Jinghan to try passing by the side. Unexpectedly, the snake turned around and charged towards them. The snake moved on its belly scales, but its speed was still fast, and it was quickly catching up to the siblings.
Seeing the snake following them, Jinghan got angry, "Stupid thing, I didn't want to mess with you, and yet you followed." She turned around and, aiming with her stick, struck down. Jinghan's previous self was tomboyish and was not afraid of these things, and in her previous life, she was fearless, so she did not put the snake in her eyes at all. The stick struck accurately on the snake's head. Jinghan hit hard, causing the snake to be in immense pain. Its tail twisted around, attempting to coil around Jinghan.
At that moment, Wenhan grabbed the snake's tail and swung it around forcefully. Wenhan was twelve this year and not short, standing at about one meter sixty. He swung his arms forcefully, banging the snake, which couldn't bear this kind of tormented tossing and soon became a bit dizzy. Holding the snake by the tail with one hand, Wenhan frantically wrung the creature's body with the other hand. After a faint noise, the snake lay there, stiff and straight. "Stupid thing, I was trying to avoid you, but you just had to seek death."
Old people always taught them to avoid provoking snakes, foxes, and the like while in the mountains, so the siblings had initially tried to avoid it. However, the snake was too obtuse and followed them, leading to its downfall at the hands of the brother and sister. Wenhan coiled the snake tightly and tied it up with tree bark, then hung it on the stick Jinghan was carrying. Luckily, the stick was sturdy enough not to break, although it bent a bit. "Alright, let's go. We can have snake meat for dinner today," the siblings said as they descended the mountain.
They hadn't even reached home when they saw their mother looking out from the door. They quickened their pace, reaching her side. "Mother, we're back."
Mrs. Xue was naturally very happy to see her children return. She looked behind her son and saw a large snake strung up on a wooden stick. "Oh my, why did you bring back such a big creature? Haven't I told you not to bother with these things?"
"Mother, we didn't want to bother it, but it followed us. We had to beat it, or should we have waited for it to bite me?" Jinghan wrapped her arm around her mother's, explaining the situation.
Only then did Mrs. Xue understand, "Oh, I see, come on in. In a while, I'll have your father skin it, and we'll cook it for dinner. It's been days since we've had some meat."