Unlimited estates for rural beauty

Feng Xi finished tidying up and came out to see that only Xuxu was left in the courtyard. He said, "Xuxu, go inside. Even though it's April, the evening wind is still quite chilly." Hearing her brother calling her back, Xuxu replied, "Oh, I'm coming."

After dinner, while Xuxu was putting away the dishes, she spoke to her brother, "I'm going to Spiritual Mountain with Sister Jiaojiao tomorrow to dig up some wild vegetables. We won't be back by noon." Her brother frowned after hearing this and after giving it some thought, he said, "I'll go with you two tomorrow. I'm not at ease with just the two of you going."

It was now the time when the earth was rejuvenating, and the wild animals that had starved for nearly a whole winter would also come out in search of food. Thinking it over, he decided to follow them to be assured of their safety. Feng Xuxu didn't object either; having more people meant more pairs of eyes. More safety.

The next day, after breakfast, the trio headed towards Spiritual Mountain in the east of the village, under the morning glow. In roughly the time it takes to burn an incense stick, they arrived at the foot of Spiritual Mountain. Feng Xuxu, looking at the dense woods in front of her, the lush carpet of grass, and the sporadic blossoms that bloomed, cheerfully called to her brother and Sister Jiaojiao to enter the mountain. As soon as Feng Xuxu entered the mountains, she was like a bird released from its cage, speeding forward with her arms outspread and her bell-like laughter filling the forest. She felt like she had returned to the time at her modern-day grandmother's house, back to her youth, spoiled and free. Unrestrained. Feng Xi and Jiaojiao exchanged a helpless look, then quickly turned away. If one didn't look closely, they wouldn't notice the suspicious flush on Feng Xi's sun-darkened face.

Xuxu played around and soon forgot why she had come to the mountainside in the first place. Unintentionally, she found herself halfway up the mountain. There was a wealth of wild vegetables, like the bitter vegetables that grew on the ground, the thorny tender shoots, bracken, bellflowers, shepherd's purse, and cucumber fragrance. There was also water celery by the river and Chinese toon sprouts on the trees. Wild vegetables were everywhere this season, and some of them were unrecognizable to the locals. They only knew that some tasted bitter and, having tried them, had since refrained from picking them.

Like bitter vegetables, although they are unfortunately bitter, they can clear heat and detoxify, and can treat diseases such as dysentery and jaundice. Bitter vegetables can also be made into tea, as it is said in the "Book of Songs": Who says the herb is bitter? It is as sweet as shepherd's purse. This demonstrates how good wild vegetables are for the body.

Xuxu took out a shovel, ready to dig up more bitter vegetables. Seeing this, Zhang Jiaojiao took Xuxu's hand and said, "These wild vegetables are so bitter, what do you want them for?"

Feng Xi also joined in trying to dissuade her, "Yeah, little sister, this vegetable is so bitter when eaten. Over there are plenty of shepherd's purse and thorny tender shoots. Let's go dig those instead."

Xuxu looked at Jiaojiao's drawn, frowning face, shook her head with amusement, and said, "Sister Jiaojiao, brother, let me tell you, this vegetable is called bitter vegetable. Eating it is good for the body and can even prevent diseases, like dysentery and such."

After hearing this, her brother Feng Xi asked in bewilderment, "You're home every day, how do you know this bitter vegetable is edible and can prevent diseases?" Xuxu saw her brother's suspicion and, lowering her head and rolling her eyes, replied, "Brother, have you forgotten? It was Luo Da, the doctor who came to treat me when I was sick, who mentioned it." Feng Xi remembered that his sister had indeed been ill before and stopped thinking further, bending down to dig up bitter vegetables with his sister.

Since these vegetables had so many benefits and were good for the body, what's the harm in a little bitterness? The farmers feared nothing more than illness. Listening to Xuxu's words, Jiaojiao found them reasonable, thinking that a bitter taste often predates a cure; medicine is always bitter, so maybe these bitter vegetables might indeed have medicinal value. Thus, she too started to dig for bitter vegetables. Xuxu didn't care what they thought; her mind was preoccupied with the idea of walking deeper into the mountain, as she felt something ahead was calling to her.

Xuxu looked at the wild vegetables they had gathered, having a bit of each sort, enough to eat for three or four days, and decided to stop digging for wild vegetables.

Standing up and patting the dirt from her hands, she handed the cloth bag filled with wild vegetables to her brother and planned to wander nearby. Her brother admonished her not to wander too far and casually placed the cloth bag under a large tree. Then, with a rope in hand, he picked up sticks in the forest. Seeing Sister Jiaojiao with a bamboo basket on the ground picking mushrooms, Xuxu didn't call out to Jiaojiao and headed into the mountains alone.

As she walked, a wild chicken would suddenly fly out from the grassland. Then, seeing a person, they would cluck twice and fly away. The chicken's cry startled a rabbit, which bolted in fright and bumped into a tree trunk ahead. Stunned, the rabbit fell unconscious. Xuxu approached and grabbed the rabbit by the ears, laughing heartily with her mouth wide open, thinking to herself, am I practicing the strategy of standing by a tree stump waiting for a rabbit to come along? Xuxu tied the rabbit's legs with a rope she wove, picked up the foolish rabbit, and continued walking. About the time it took another incense stick to burn, she looked at the tree ahead and froze. Then she ran excitedly to the litchi tree, admiring the flower buds on the branches, estimating that in about a month or two, she would be able to enjoy fresh litchis. The thought alone made her mouth water.

Resting under the litchi tree, Xuxu felt that strange sensation again—as if something was urgently calling her.

Xuxu, wanting to get to the bottom of it, followed the feeling, zigzagging to the bank of a small stream. Strangely, the sensation suddenly vanished. Xuxu saw nothing unusual, so she squatted down beside the stream to wash her hands. However, she was attracted by a strange-shaped stone in the water.

She reached out to touch the stone and its sharp edge cut her finger. Blood flowed down her finger onto the stone. The stone instantly absorbed Xuxu's blood and emitted a blinding light before disappearing in an instant. By the time Xuxu opened her eyes, the scenery around her had completely changed. A chill ran down her spine as she squatted there, dazed and looking around, her inner turmoil evident. She wondered, what era had God sent her to this time? All that Xuxu could feel was a big question mark forming on her forehead.