Chapter 20 ☆ Cherry Picking (Part 2)

Cheng Yaoyao glanced at the water and then at Xie San. She suddenly reached out to him. Xie San stiffened, stepped back a few paces into the water, and said, “Come down. I promise you’ll be fine.”

“… Humph!” Cheng Yaoyao rolled up her trouser legs, revealing her slender, straight calves and smooth ankles. She bit her lip and tried to step into the water. The pebbles were slippery, and her tender soles felt sharp pain before she slipped. “Ah!”

Cheng Yaoyao’s foot throbbed with pain, causing her to fall awkwardly into the water. In a critical moment, Xie San grabbed her and lifted her high, soaking half of his own body. Warm and light, Cheng Yaoyao felt like a delicate flower as Xie San carried her to the shore.

Cheng Yaoyao, lying gracefully on the grass, looked delicate with a few drops of water on her feet, which were white and dazzling.

Xie San let go of Cheng Yaoyao immediately after setting her down. She only got her feet wet, while Xie San was drenched. They looked at each other, unsure of what to say.

Cheng Yaoyao was still in shock. Her face was pale, her peach blossom eyes misty, and she stood there with bare white feet, looking simply vulnerable.

Xie San’s Adam’s apple moved, and after a long pause, he said in a softer voice, “You’re too careless.”

Cheng Yaoyao, feeling aggrieved, retorted, “You were the one who told me to go into the water by myself. How was I to know the pebbles would be so slippery? My shoes even fell off…”

In her panic, Cheng Yaoyao accidentally threw her shoes. Xie San wiped his face and walked back into the stream to help her find them. Fortunately, the water plants blocked the downstream flow, and Cheng Yaoyao’s shoes were tangled in the water plants, preventing them from floating away.

Xie San retrieved the shoes, removed the waterweed, and compared them to his hand to ensure they were the right size.

He poured out the water from the shoes and set them in the sun to dry. As he stood up, Cheng Yaoyao had already run over, exclaiming, “Look, that cherry tree is so tall!”

On this side of the stream, after bypassing the crooked mulberry tree, the view opened up to a small hillside. Halfway up the hill stood a cherry tree with a trunk as thick as a basin and branches heavy with fruit, like countless coral beads. Many birds chirped around the tree, pecking at the cherries.

As Xie San approached, the birds fluttered their wings and flew away.

“So many cherries!” Cheng Yaoyao looked up at the cherry tree excitedly, reaching out for the fruit, but the tree was too tall.

Xie San, with a kitchen knife at his waist, climbed the tree with ease. Though tall and long-limbed, he was surprisingly agile, quickly scaling the tangled branches to reach a high spot.

The branches swayed dangerously under his feet, and several cherries fell onto Cheng Yaoyao’s head.

Cheng Yaoyao’s face turned pale, and she shouted, “Xie San, don’t climb so high! It’s too dangerous!”

Xie San reached for the highest cherry, plucked it, and threw it down to her.

Cheng Yaoyao quickly caught it. It was a large cherry branch, its color particularly red from the sun. Cheng Yaoyao didn’t bother to eat it but shouted up to him, “Come down! It’s too high, and I… I’m scared…”

Xie San seemed to smile, though it was hard to tell. He turned around and continued picking cherries.

Cheng Yaoyao called out to him a few more times, but he kept picking cherries in the distance. She bit her lower lip and remained silent, feeling a mix of admiration and anxiety.

Standing under the tall cherry tree and watching Xie San climb it made Cheng Yaoyao feel very anxious. If Xie San were to slip even a little, she would be terrified. She nervously watched his every move, her heart pounding, afraid to even breathe loudly for fear of disturbing him.

After plucking seven or eight branches and nearly finishing all the ripe cherries on the tree, Xie San stopped and jumped down from the trunk. He was holding a bird’s nest in his hand and approached Cheng Yaoyao with a rare smile. “Look.”

Cheng Yaoyao didn’t even glance at him and exclaimed, “Don’t climb so high next time. You scared me to death!”

Xie San wiped the sweat from his brow and said, “I often climb trees. It’s fine.”

Cheng Yaoyao’s face immediately fell. Xie San noticed that her eyes were red, as though she was about to cry.

Xie San’s palms began to sweat. He rubbed his hands on his coat and quickly picked up the cherry branches that had fallen to the ground. He placed the bunch of cherries in front of Cheng Yaoyao but couldn’t elicit a smile from her.

Feeling like a chastised puppy, Xie San silently looked at Cheng Yaoyao with his dark eyes.

Cheng Yaoyao’s rosy lips were still pouting.

After a while, Xie San spoke slowly and thoughtfully, “Next time… I won’t climb trees.”

“What does that have to do with me?” Cheng Yaoyao muttered. She plucked a cherry and popped it into his mouth, then asked, “Where’s the bird’s nest you brought down? Show it to me!”

Xie San picked up the bird’s nest he had set aside and handed it to Cheng Yaoyao.

The nest, made of grass and twigs, was very delicate. Inside were three small, light blue bird eggs, delicate and charming. Cheng Yaoyao smiled immediately. “Tiffany blue! So beautiful.”

She reached out to touch the eggs, but Xie San dodged and said, “If you touch them, you’ll leave human scent, and the mother bird won’t hatch them.”

Cheng Yaoyao was surprised and asked, “Aren’t you going to eat the eggs?”

“…” Xie San was silent for a moment before replying, “The eggs have been there for a while. They can’t be eaten.”

Cheng Yaoyao crossed her arms and asked, “Then why did you take it down if you can’t eat it?”

Cheng Yaoyao’s peach blossom eyes narrowed slightly. With a teardrop mole under her eye, she looked both charming and commanding, even without a smile. Xie San, staring into those eyes, felt a pang of guilt and whispered, “It looks nice… I just wanted to show you.”

Cheng Yaoyao snorted and said, “Return it once you’re done. If the mother bird comes back and can’t find her nest and her eggs, she’ll be furious.”

Xie San hummed in agreement and climbed the tree again. With skillful precision, he held the bird’s nest carefully, avoiding any bumps.

Cheng Yaoyao looked up at him, a big man hanging on the tree, carefully placing the nest. She thought to herself how this was unexpectedly endearing.

Cheng Yaoyao ran barefoot around the hillside, looking for treasures. This hillside was rich with finds, including a cherry tree and several bayberry trees bearing red and green fruit.

Remembering the green bayberries Xie San had eaten, Cheng Yaoyao excitedly took out her lunch box and began picking bayberries.

Xie San reminded her, “These are very sour.”

Cheng Yaoyao picked large, clean bayberries and carefully placed them in her lunch box. Without looking up, she said, “Don’t worry about the sourness. I’ll make you something delicious tomorrow.”

Xie San let her be while he picked mushrooms and horse manure bags in the shade.

Each bayberry was like a small ball with soft thorns. You pick them up by gently pinching them with your fingers. If you press too hard, the bayberry will break and release its juice. These wild bayberries were different from the dark red ones of later generations; they were deep and light red, some even half green and half red, and firm when pinched.

Cheng Yaoyao picked up a light red bayberry and put it in her mouth. The initial sourness quickly gave way to sweetness, making her mouth water. It wasn’t as sour as she had imagined.

Xie San, picking chicken mushrooms at the foot of the hill, looked up and saw Cheng Yaoyao’s wrinkled face. He said, “If you want something sweet, there’s Dongkui bayberry at the west end of the village.”

Cheng Yaoyao’s interest was piqued. “Dongkui? Is there such a good variety in the village?”

Dongkui bayberries are known for their large size and thick flesh, which is superior in taste to other bayberries. Cheng Yaoyao used to love eating preserved Dongkui bayberries from a well-known brand, which were thick and chewy, unlike the dry, pit-filled ones.

Xie San nodded. “Do you want to try them?”

Cheng Yaoyao pointed at her eyes and said, “Look at my eyes.”

Her peach blossom eyes, with densely curled eyelashes and a pool of autumn water within, were always alluring. The teardrop mole added to her charm. Staring into those eyes, Xie San felt a tremor in his heart and sweat on his palms. “What’s wrong?”

“How clueless,” Cheng Yaoyao teased, then pointed at her eyes and said, “Look at my eyes. They’re full of desire for the Dongkui bayberries!”

“…” Xie San pursed his lips, turned around, and said, “I’ll bring some for you tomorrow.”

Cheng Yaoyao, excited about the Dongkui bayberries, continued picking wild bayberries. It was the season for ripe bayberries, and soon her lunch box was full. She also gathered soft grass leaves in a cloth bag, picked a bunch of cherry branches, and filled half of the bag. The rest went into Xie San’s basket to take home for his family.

There were too many cherries and bayberries to fit, so Cheng Yaoyao decided to finish them before leaving. The two of them sat cross-legged on the grass, eating the fruits, and it was rare for them to open up in conversation.

For the first time, Cheng Yaoyao heard about Xie San’s family. When he spoke about his grandmother and sister, his usually stern face softened with tenderness. “Cherries are good for the spleen and stomach, which is why I thought my grandmother would like them.”

Cheng Yaoyao asked, “Is your grandmother in poor health? What’s wrong with her?”

“Back then… the illness I suffered was due to a weak spleen and stomach and a cough.” Xie San mentioned his past casually, but his fists clenched and the veins on his hands bulged.

Cheng Yaoyao bit her tongue, realizing she had touched on a sensitive topic. She quickly changed the subject. “You have a younger sister, right? Why doesn’t she come out to work?”

When Xie San mentioned his sister, his tone softened. “Xiao Fei is weak and timid, so she doesn’t go out often.”

Cheng Yaoyao, tasting the sourness of the bayberry pip, recalled that Xie San’s sister, Xie Fei, was described in the original book as a delicate and timid beauty. Due to her beauty and poor family background, Xie San had always kept her sheltered and protected. In the story, she was eventually cared for by the heroine, following the typical script of a pampered character.

Thinking of Xie Fei made Cheng Yaoyao think of the book’s heroine, which only made the plums in her mouth seem even more sour.

Cheng Yaoyao raised her hand and flicked a plum at Xie San’s head.

Xie San looked confused. “?”

Cheng Yaoyao wiped her hands and stood up. “I’m full. I want to go home!”