Winter had come, and the sun set early. By the time of Shen Zheng, it was already dark. The twilight enveloped everything, rendering the distant mountains even more vast and indistinct. Hua Xiaomai, with a small basket of wild mushrooms on her back, emerged from a patch of low woods and entered the village. She made her way to the fifth farmhouse on the west side, paused briefly in the yard, then tiptoed to the door of the east room. Silently, she pressed her ear against the door panel, unsurprised to hear an unusual sound.
"Taihe," a woman's voice, sweet and cloying, hummed from the throat, weaving through the air in several twists and turns before drifting out faintly through the thin door, "Ouch, be gentle..."
The woman's moaning was passionate and forceful, each cry higher than the last, tender and alluring, soaring to the skies. When it reached its peak, it suddenly turned sharp, almost making Hua Xiaomai worry that her eardrums would burst. But in a moment, the florid singing dropped again, becoming languid and enticingly sporadic.
Hua Xiaomai was always sensible and insightful, well aware of the adage that eavesdropping could lead to earaches. She rolled her eyes at the dusty sky in a textbook-perfect expression of disdain, stepped back, and sat down on the doorstep, letting out a sigh.
This was her tenth day in Fire Knife Village.
Before she became Hua Xiaomai, she had countless expectations for her future.
Having graduated from the renowned national chain of Chef School as an outstanding graduate, she had been assigned to intern at a five-star grand hotel—a coveted opportunity that many would fight for, but that came to her easily. The kitchen, larger than any classroom, equipped with high-tech modern appliances that had only existed in courseware, the dazzling stovetops and sinks, and the dust-free, immaculate chef's whites... everything lifted the corners of her mouth involuntarily, as if she had fallen into a cloud.
In that daze, she seemed to see her bright path ahead: becoming a general manager, rising to CEO, marrying a tall, rich, and handsome man, holding everything in her grasp. But...
How could she have imagined that even the kitchen of a five-star hotel could have a gas leak?
The air in the sealed kitchen, filled with the pungent smell of gas all night, was breached by the corpulent second chef covering his nose as he stepped inside, instructing her to check around while fatefully reaching to press the light switch. Then, with a loud "Bang," Hua Xiaomai was engulfed in a wave of heat, a flash of white light before her eyes, and when she woke up, she had become an orphan, her parents long deceased, who had come to Fire Knife Village to rely on her elder sister due to a famine back home.
Hua Erniang picked up the fainting Hua Xiaomai from outside the yard on a cold night. By then, Hua Xiaomai had gone hungry for four or five days; she was nothing but skin and bones, with cracked lips and a pale complexion tinged with blue, barely alive. Hua Erniang didn't call for a doctor, instead, she forcefully fed her two or three bowls of Ginger Soup, and little by little fed her millet porridge. Meanwhile, she began to prepare for Hua Xiaomai's funeral, but unexpectedly, after three days, Hua Xiaomai gradually recovered and thus settled down with her sister and brother-in-law.
Hua Xiaomai later thought it fortunate that on that day, she had arrived exceptionally early at the hotel to show initiative, and aside from her and the second chef, there was no one else. The hotel suffered serious damage yet there were no greater casualties, which was the only consolation she could find. Now, she had somehow grabbed another chance at life, but what should she do in this unknown era?
After sitting in front of the door in a daze for a while, the commotion inside the room continued intermittently but never ceased. Hua Xiaomai grew impatient, stood up, and wandered out of the yard aimlessly into the village. Barely taking a few steps, she encountered Pan Taigong, the neighbor.
"Xiaomai, Xiaomai, wait a moment!" Upon seeing Hua Xiaomai, Pan Taigong's face broke into a broad smile, he waved at her, and with tremulous high steps, shuffled over. Hua Xiaomai quickly extended her hand to support him.
Pan Taigong glanced at the basket on Hua Xiaomai's back and said gleefully, "Did you go into the woods to pick mushrooms?"
"Yes," Hua Xiaomai nodded, "Do you want some, Taigong? I'll give you some; they're all over the mountains, I can pick them anytime..."
"No need, no need!" Pan Taigong quickly waved his hands as if they were windmills, "You and your sister and brother-in-law have always taken good care of us old folks, always remembering us whenever you make something to eat, how could I take your things?"