Chapter 13 Great Harvest

Ruo Xuan ran a few steps ahead and, when she was nearly there, swiftly cast a ripening spell. By the time Madam Liu and Ruo Shui caught up, Ruo Xuan said, "Dad, Mom, look! The chestnuts are ripe!"

"Just a couple of days ago, when I went up the mountain, this chestnut tree wasn't ripe yet… how could it ripen so fast…" Madam Liu rubbed her eyes and stared at the spiky husks on the tree splitting wide open to reveal the brown chestnuts inside. She gasped in surprise, "How did they ripen so quickly?"

Ruo Shui calmly set down the burden, "Why else, of course because of Mom's dream!"

Madam Liu: "…Right!"

"I'll knock them down with the shoulder pole first, you take Xuanbao and move away a bit, don't get hit."

Madam Liu hurriedly pulled Ruo Xuan away, right next to a bush of spiky bubble fruits.

These spiky bubble fruits could be seen everywhere along the village paths and at the edge of the mountains, ripe and deliciously sour and sweet, a favorite treat for the village kids that would be picked clean as soon as they ripened.

This one was just about to ripen.

While practicing, Ruo Xuan also infused it with spiritual power.

Madam Liu looked at her own husband.

Ruo Shui was strong; each strike of his shoulder pole sent down a flurry of chestnuts and green spiny balls.

For the higher spots where the shoulder pole wasn't long enough, Ruo Shui found a longer stick, tied it to the shoulder pole, and continued to knock them down.

Seeing this, Madam Liu said, "Xuanbao, you stay here, I'll go pick up the chestnuts."

She turned her head back and saw that the entire tree of spiky bubble fruits had ripened!

Madam Liu: "…"

Ruo Xuan smiled, plucked one, and popped it into Madam Liu's mouth: "Mom, eat!"

The sweet freshness and the fruit's aroma made Madam Liu feel giddy as she picked chestnuts.

Her mind was filled with the thought that perhaps she had given birth to a little Fairy Child.

Ruo Xuan picked all the spiky bubble fruits and wrapped them in Madam Liu's handkerchief, then went to help pick up chestnuts.

Picking chestnuts was somewhat challenging; besides their prickliness and tendency to poke, the mountain's uneven ground covered in weeds also caused many to disappear once they fell.

But with Ruo Xuan around, even if a chestnut fell into a rabbit's burrow, she could find it.

An hour later, with her little paws all red, the family of three was finally ready to descend the mountain!

On their way down, Madam Liu carried Ruo Xuan, and Ruo Shui shouldered a full basket of game, both beaming with smiles.

By the time they returned to the village, it was nearing evening, with the sun setting behind the Western Mountain, the sky ablaze with the glow of twilight.

The village's sunset was more magnificent than the sunrise, just as a person's life begins with hope and ends with glory.

When Ruo Shui walked into the yard with a big load of goods, a group of kids swarmed around, chattering and clamoring, "Dad, you're so mean! Why did you take Xuanbao away without us? I was supposed to play with Xuanbao today. Xuanbao, big brother will hold you, big brother will play with Xuanbao! Big brother saved persimmons for you, I didn't even want to eat them, I saved them for you!"

"Fourth Uncle, you're too mean! Not taking us to the city, not taking us to the mountains, and even taking Xuanbao away, I was planning to take Xuanbao to dig for soft-shelled turtle eggs today! Xuanbao, second brother will hold you, second brother will give you soft-shelled turtle eggs, I already had Mom cook them!"

"Xuanbao, here, these are wild berries, they're really sweet! Next time don't go out with Fourth Uncle, third brother will take you to pick wild fruits!"

"Xuanbao, this is the bird egg big brother got for you, it's already cooked."

Faced with her enthusiastic brothers, Ruo Xuan smiled and took what they offered, her hands not enough to hold everything. She happily said, "Okay, next time Xuanbao has time, she'll play with brothers! Today I went up the mountain to pick chestnuts, spiky bubble fruits, gather herbs, caught wild chickens, rabbits, and goats. I also bought candied haw sticks for my brothers to eat!"

Hearing this, the kids gathered around the basket to look at the contents, and on seeing so much stuff, they couldn't help but exclaim in amazement!

"Wow! Uncle caught a goat? That's amazing!"

"So many rabbits and pheasants! We're going to have meat tonight!"

"Chestnuts! Are these chestnuts? Did the chestnuts on the mountain ripen so quickly?"

...

Seeing so many things, several children were even more regretful that they hadn't followed to the mountain.

At that moment, Granny Lei took out the candied hawthorns wrapped in oil paper. She had been wanting to hold her precious granddaughter all day but was beaten to it by several stinky boys. She said loudly, "Alright, hurry up and take your candied hawthorns and go to the side. This was bought with the silver Xuanbao earned, you older brothers are really lucky! Take one each and go to the side. Xuanbao went out for the whole day and is hungry now, she needs to eat."

Ruo Xuan ran over and started handing them out one by one, "Here, big brother, and for you, second brother, ..."

The boys couldn't help but swallow their saliva as they looked at the shiny, bright red candied hawthorns.

Ruo Zhou was alright; he was the oldest at twelve years, and he began to lose interest in such sweet and sour things. "Xuanbao, you eat, your big brother doesn't like them."

Hearing this, the brothers refused as well. "Xuanbao, you eat, your brother won't eat!"

"Xuanbao, you eat, your third brother doesn't like it either!"

"Xuanbao has already eaten! Don't want any more! You brothers eat! I want to eat soft-shelled turtle eggs, bird eggs, wild berries!"

What's a soft-shelled turtle egg? It sounded delicious just by the name.

Xuanbao looked at the small egg in her hand. So it was a soft-shelled turtle egg?

Madam Liu had just come back from outside and heard there was food. "Eating what? If you won't eat, give them all to me! I'm nearly starved to death!"

She had eaten breakfast upon waking up this morning and then went out to watch people gamble. Returning now, she had scrounged a bun for lunch and was starving to death!

Upon hearing this, the children quickly ran off with their candied hawthorns.

This was something their sister had bought with the silver she earned; it was too precious, they absolutely couldn't let their third aunt/uncle's wife eat it.

None of the children wanted to take a bite, only licking it. It was really sweet!

Seeing the empty oil paper bag, Madam Liu pursed her lips in dissatisfaction. "Why is there none left? Xuanbao, why didn't you buy an extra stick for your third aunt? Didn't your third aunt pitch in for your medical expenses in the past? You ungrateful thing! Humph, everyone in the family is sucking the blood of my husband!"

Madam Liu was someone with a terrible memory, except for gambling, nothing else stayed on her mind. She had completely forgotten about the previous day's events and couldn't help but cause trouble again.

Granny Lei's face changed. "Shut your mouth. What nonsense are you spouting? Has Uncle not earned any silver to bring home? Didn't Uncle buy several dozen pounds of grain today? And aren't these game animals caught by him? Don't think I don't know what you're plotting! I'm not dead yet! Our family hasn't split yet! Say one more word and I'll divorce you!"

If it hadn't been for Madam Liu being pregnant and the Ruo Family's house rules, she would have divorced her already!

Ruo He walked in with a stern face, "If you spout any more nonsense, roll back to the Zhao Family!"

The brothers were united as one, never distinguishing between each other!

He himself had spent quite a bit of silver treating his eyes, and he felt very remorseful about it already, yet Madam Liu was always causing trouble!

Every moment he deeply regretted having taken on work from the Zhao Family that day, having drank that cup of wine at their house, falling into Madam Liu's trap!

Seeing Ruo He return, Madam Liu immediately dared not act up, mumbling, "I was just worried about our precious daughter going hungry. Every child in the house has something to eat, why shouldn't she have any?"

Ruo He was so amazed by her shamelessness that he laughed!

Does she have no shame at all?

Ruo Xuan blinked her grape-sized eyes in astonishment and looked at Ruo He, "Third uncle, do you and third aunt have a daughter?"