Chapter 16 — Entering Mount Yuehua
Lingjia Village is flanked by mountains on both sides. Compared to the mysterious Yuehua Mountain Range, Dagong Mountain and Xiaogong Mountain on either side are much more ordinary and not very high. During the off-season, the men and women in the village would go into the mountains to hunt wild game and dig for wild vegetables.
The father and his two sons who entered Dagong Mountain did not see any medicinal herbs or even wild vegetables along the way. In recent years, the court has been unstable and the people’s lives have not been good. There is not enough food in the fields, so the wild vegetables and fruits on the mountains naturally cannot escape the fate of being picked.
“How about we go to Yuehua Mountain?”
They were already halfway up the mountain and the bamboo basket on his back was still empty. Ling Jingxuan, who had initially been full of confidence, was greatly discouraged. In his previous life, he didn’t like reading. He spent his time either playing cards in the village chief’s teahouse or studying medicine and poison at home. But in the 21st century, time-travel novels and TV dramas were already rampant and he knew a thing or two about them. Other people who time-traveled were either princes or emperors, or at least the eldest son of some powerful family. At the very least, they had a cheat code, easily finding rare items like ginseng and lingzhi mushrooms in the mountains. Why didn’t it work for him?
Thinking of this, Ling Jingxuan couldn’t help but mentally give the middle finger. Reality was definitely much crueler than TV dramas and novels.
“What are you doing going to Yuehua Mountain? Daddy, are you out of your mind? Everyone in the village says there are monsters on Yuehua Mountain, we can’t go.”
Da Baozi’s face darkened, glaring at his father with obvious displeasure, as if to say, “You’re asking for trouble.” Ling Jingxuan, feeling helpless and exasperated, rubbed his nose. How many times had Da Baozi lectured him in just a few days? Who was the father here, anyway?
“Hehe… Daddy’s gotten darker again…”
The little dumpling on the other side covered his mouth and laughed carefree, his round eyes sparkling with the innocence of a five-year-old. Ling Jingxuan tapped his head with his finger, squatted down, and said to the big dumpling in a serious tone, “How can what the villagers say count? They all say I’m a monster, do you think I am? Besides, we’re not going deep into the mountains, we’re just strolling around at the foot of the mountain. Have you forgotten? I still have to gather herbs to treat Second Uncle’s illness.”
The big dumpling was clever and precocious, and he liked to treat him like an adult. Seeing that he hesitated decisively, Ling Jingxuan pressed on, “Treating Second Uncle’s illness requires a very expensive fruit, but we don’t have the money. I was thinking if there might be any wild fruit in the mountains. Xiao Wen, you have to think this through. If we don’t try our luck, we’ll have to use the money from selling fish to buy it.”
As long as money was mentioned, he believed that the big dumpling would definitely compromise.
“Don’t even think about taking that money. It’s for emergencies. Let’s go.”
Sure enough, the little boy glared at him warily, then turned and headed towards Yuehua Mountain.
“Uh… is it normal for you to be so wary of your own father?”
Ling Jingxuan, holding the little boy’s hand, followed behind him with a face full of black lines. Damn it, when did he ever say he wanted to touch that money? Although he seemed to have thought about it, it was too embarrassing for his son to expose him like this. He would never admit it even if he were beaten to death.
The mountainside of Yuehua Mountain was shrouded in clouds and mist all year round, and the summit was probably covered with snow that never melted, but no one had ever been there. Usually, the villagers would just set traps at the foot of the mountain and dig for wild vegetables, but they dared not set foot on the peak. Ling Jingxuan carried a bamboo basket on his back and held one child in each hand. The three of them walked into the mountain, sweating profusely.
“Daddy, look! So many wild fruits!”
It’s so nice to be in a place untouched by humans. Soon, the little boy’s excited exclamation rang out. Looking around, the hillsides were covered with red and green wild fruits, some of which even Ling Jingxuan couldn’t name.
“Let’s stop here for now. These wild grapes taste pretty good. You can pick as many as you can. I’ll go see if there are any usable herbs nearby.”
Using a sickle to clear away the dense, waist-high weeds around him, Ling Jingxuan reached out and picked two dark red wild grapes, putting them in his mouth. The extreme sourness and extreme sweetness simultaneously filled his mouth, a taste far superior to any artificially grafted and cultivated grapes from the 21st century.
“Wow, so sour! Daddy, can we not pick these?”
The little boy copied him, picking a fruit and popping it into his mouth. His little face instantly scrunched up, his eyes filled with grievance. The older boy quickly pulled out a water bag that had been prepared beforehand and handed it to him.
“I told you not to be so greedy! Why are you putting everything in your mouth?”
His face clearly showed his heartache but he kept nagging. The older brother didn’t seem like an older brother but more like a father. Anyone who didn’t know would never guess they were twins, born in the same year, and only five years old at the end of the year.
“Hehe…the black ones are sweeter but don’t just pick the black ones!”
Seeing this, Ling Jingxuan affectionately ruffled his hair. Grapes have many uses; sweet and sour are both useful. He was even thinking of getting some branches to plant in the yard; maybe next year he could make a fortune from them.
“Why? What’s the point of picking them if they’re not tasty?”
It wasn’t the younger brother who asked but the older brother, his face full of heartache. The younger brother was still drinking water and judging from his furrowed brow, he was clearly very unhappy with his father’s decision.
Ling Jingxuan smiled, a playful glint in his long, narrow phoenix eyes. “If I told you I could turn those terribly sour fruits into piles of silver, would you want to pick them?”
“Really?!”
The big dumpling instantly transformed into a money slave, his impatient eyes turning into the shape of coins.
“Haha…you, how come you’re so obsessed with money?”
Ling Jingxuan couldn’t help but burst into laughter, poking his head with a mixture of affection and exasperation.
Surprisingly, this time the big dumpling didn’t show any disgust, waving his hand away and eagerly asking, “Daddy, tell me quickly, is it really possible to turn those sour fruits into money?”
As long as he could make money, he wouldn’t mind not eating a single sweet fruit.
“Of course, your dad is a scholar who has passed the imperial examinations.”
Well, thank goodness for the damned imperial examination system of ancient times—all other professions were inferior except for studying. In modern times, a scholar who had passed the imperial examinations was at most a primary school graduate, but here it was clearly different.
The moment the words “scholar who has passed the imperial examinations” were uttered, the slightest doubt in Da Baozi’s eyes vanished instantly. He turned and pulled Xiao Baozi along, saying, “Xiao Wu, let’s go pick fruit.”
Seeing his eager expression, as if the fruit would disappear if they were too slow, Ling Jingxuan burst into laughter again. His son was both greedy and stingy; he was truly… well, you know.
Sorry (｡Ó﹏Ò｡) I was late. . .
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Translator: LazyHermitGal
Author: LazyHermitGal
A Lazy Hermit Gal. A little support goes a long way! If you’d like to help me keep creating, you can do so at https://ko-fi.com/lazyhermitgal
