Chapter 47.1

Jiang Suihan wiped the sweat from her brow. “How much further?”

She overestimated her physical strength. Climbing a mountain is not an easy task. Fortunately, Xu Zhao was leading her in front and supported her for most of the second half of the journey. Otherwise, she would have wanted to sit on the ground and not move.

Xu Zhao was carrying a bamboo basket with Jiang Leyun sitting inside. At first, the child had refused, thinking he was too old to be carried up the mountain like a baby. It would be embarrassing for a big kid like him.

Xu Zhao glanced at the road ahead and secretly calculated the distance: “Almost there, only five or six minutes left.”

At his speed he should have arrived long ago, but bringing along two burdens slowed him down.

There was a grape tree in front of her. Jiang Suihan walked over and picked a grape. She wiped the surface with her clothes and put it in her mouth. The sour taste rushed straight to her head.

It was so sour, she felt like her teeth might fall out.

Jiang Leyun followed behind her, looking up and asking, “Is it sweet?”

He wanted to try the grapes too.

Jiang Suihan composed her expression, pretending to enjoy the taste as she ate another grape. “It’s very sweet. You should try one.”

Jiang Leyun didn’t suspect anything. He picked a grape, wiped it carelessly on his clothes, and tossed it into his mouth. Immediately, his whole face scrunched up like a bun, and his taste buds protested.

“So sour!”

He had never eaten such a sour grape before. Were the grapes on the mountain some special variety?

It was so sour that he felt like his soul was about to leave his body—he was seriously questioning his life choices.

The boy looked at Jiang Suihan with a face full of blame: “Sister, you’re so mean! You tricked me again!”

Jiang Suihan, having played a small prank on her younger brother, felt no guilt at all. She spread her hands and said, “It’s your own fault for being gullible. I just said it, and you believed me. I’m teaching you early on to be aware of the dangers of people’s hearts, so you won’t be foolishly tricked in the future and even happily help count money for others.”

Jiang Leyun wasn’t appreciative, feeling that his sister was just making excuses: “All I felt was your malicious intent. What kind of sister does this? All you do is bully me for fun.”

He deliberately emphasized the word “malicious.” His sister went to such lengths to trick him, even at her own expense. He could only admire her dedication.

Xu Zhao chuckled as he watched the siblings bicker. The sister wasn’t acting like an elder at all, so it was no wonder the younger brother had complaints.

“Let’s go. I’ll take you to pick some persimmons.”

Jiang Suihan added, “Wait a moment, I want to pick some grapes to take back.”

The wild grapes were extremely sour, so sour they hurt your teeth, but they could be used to make wine. She had once accidentally come across a book on winemaking in her father’s study, and it had detailed instructions on how to make wine. She still remembered the general process, though she had never made it herself and might need to experiment a few times.

Xu Zhao was a bit surprised: “You want to eat something this sour?”

Jiang Suihan explained, “Not to eat directly. I want to try making wine. Once it’s successful, our family will have wine to drink.”

Xu Zhao nodded and obediently took the scissors to start cutting grapes without asking how to make wine.

These grapes, perhaps because they were too sour, didn’t appeal to the birds either. The vines were full, with many grapes already fallen to the ground. Once they had picked enough, Jiang Suihan called it a day.

A rabbit suddenly darted through the bushes, and Jiang Leyun exclaimed, “A rabbit!”

He quickly ran after it, trying to catch the rabbit, but it was too fast, and he couldn’t keep up.

The boy looked disappointedly in the direction where the rabbit had disappeared: “I couldn’t catch it.”

Jiang Suihan comforted her brother: “If you caught it, you’d be amazing. If you didn’t, that’s normal. The rabbit has four legs, and you have two. How could you outrun it? Don’t be sad. Later, I’ll take you to town for your favorite braised pork.”

Xu Zhao couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth, finding her way of comforting people rather unique.

Hearing about the food, Jiang Leyun immediately forgot about the rabbit and looked at Jiang Suihan with bright eyes: “When?”

Jiang Suihan thought for a moment: “In a few days. Once there’s a car from the army, we’ll go to town for a nice meal.”

Jiang Leyun was slightly disappointed but cheered up at the thought of going to town for a good meal and shopping at the department store.

Xu Zhao led them on for another ten minutes. When Jiang Suihan looked ahead, she saw a very tall tree with many persimmons.

She furrowed her brow, looking troubled: “How are we going to climb such a tall tree?”

She couldn’t climb trees, and Jiang Leyun definitely couldn’t either, so they had to rely on Xu Zhao.

Xu Zhao walked up to the tree, clearly intending to climb it himself.

Jiang Suihan felt a bit worried: “Maybe we should forget it. It’s too dangerous.”

If he accidentally fell, it wouldn’t be a laughing matter.

Xu Zhao said confidently, “Don’t worry, I’ve learned how to climb trees.”

In just a few quick moves, he climbed up like a monkey. Jiang Suihan looked up at him and muttered, “Soldiers really are versatile. They know all sorts of unusual skills.”

Jiang Leyun’s mouth hung open in awe, nearly drooling with envy. If he had known his brother-in-law could climb trees, he would have asked him to teach him.

With Xu Zhao, the skilled helper, picking the persimmons went smoothly.

The persimmons were still hard and not ready to eat. They would have to take them home and let them soften for a few days before they could enjoy them.

Suddenly, they heard a chicken clucking. Jiang Leyun, sharp-eyed, pointed to a spot in the bushes and whispered, “It’s over there.”

The rabbit had gotten away, but now there was a chicken.

Jiang Suihan instinctively slowed her pace, holding her breath and not daring to make a sound.

Xu Zhao, at some point, had pulled out a bow and arrow. He drew the bow and aimed at the wild chicken, which was still unaware of the danger, pecking at the ground for food.

The arrow flew from the bow, hitting the chicken in the left leg.

Jiang Leyun’s face lit up with excitement: “You hit it!”

Brother-in-law was amazing!

He also wanted to learn archery and tree climbing—he must not forget that.

The wild chicken, hit in the leg, couldn’t run fast. In its panic, it got tangled in a vine, and Xu Zhao easily caught it.

Jiang Suihan smiled and said, “Perfect. Let’s go pick some chestnuts later, and we can make chicken stew with chestnuts tonight.”

Jiang Leyun clapped his hands in joy: “Great! We’re having chicken for dinner!”

Seeing Jiang Suihan’s eyes shining as she looked at him, Xu Zhao’s mouth curved into a smile, his eyes filled with warmth.

Jiang Leyun squeezed over to Xu Zhao’s side, his face full of admiration: “Brother-in-law, you’re so good at archery! You hit the target in one shot—I didn’t even see it clearly. Who taught you archery?”

Xu Zhao found a thin vine and tied the chicken’s legs together: “I learned it from an old soldier. His ancestors were skilled hunters.”

Back then, not long after he joined the army, that old soldier was his squad leader. He was a kind man, and seeing Xu Zhao’s interest in archery, he taught him. Later, the old soldier retired due to an injury and returned home, while Xu Zhao was transferred to Li Province. They hadn’t seen each other in years.

Jiang Leyun, still excited, seized the opportunity to make a request: “I want to learn archery too.”

Xu Zhao, worried that the child was too young and might hurt himself, said, “Alright, I’ll teach you when you can run three full laps.”

Jiang Leyun immediately put on a sullen face, looking at Xu Zhao with a hint of grievance: “My life is so difficult!”

Unless it was raining or something urgent came up, his brother-in-law would unfailingly wake him up every morning to go jogging around the compound. In the beginning, he couldn’t even complete half a lap, but over time, he’s just barely able to finish one lap now.

Three laps, though, felt like an impossible goal—completely out of reach!

Xu Zhao encouraged him with little emotion: “Keep going.”

Jiang Leyun pouted, “That’s such a weak cheer. I also want to learn how to climb trees. Brother Xiaojun and the others can all climb trees, but I’m the only one who can’t.”

All of his friends knew how to climb trees, so every time, he was the only one left standing at the bottom, staring blankly—it wasn’t fun at all.

Jiang Suihan tugged at Jiang Leyun’s ear: “No way. Have you forgotten what you promised me?”

What’s the point of a child learning to climb trees? What if he falls?

Once, back in high school, a deskmate told her about a neighbor’s son who mischievously climbed a tree to pick longan. He lost his footing and fell. Although he didn’t seem injured at first, and his family didn’t think much of it, he suddenly became seriously ill later on and died just two days after being rushed to the hospital.

Jiang Leyun sulked, “Brother-in-law can climb trees, so why can’t I? You’re being unfair!”

Jiang Suihan replied, “He’s an adult, and you’re just a child. How could it be the same?”

Back home, Jiang Leyun had always been an obedient and sensible child who would always consider his sister’s feelings and never made excessive demands. But since coming here, he had grown bolder, wilder, and was now entering a rebellious phase.

Don’t be fooled into thinking kids only know how to play. Deep down, they’re well aware of the situation. Knowing there’s someone to spoil him, the child dared to act on his impulses. It wasn’t that he was desperate to learn how to climb trees; it’s just that the more the adults forbid him, the more he wanted to do it. He found it amusing to defy them.

Xu Zhao gave the child a helpless look—he didn’t want to get involved in the sibling dispute, lest he end up pleasing neither side.

By this point, they had picked most of the chestnuts, with only a few left. Xu Zhao led the two of them in a different direction to find other chestnut trees.

After collecting chestnuts, they also picked some mushrooms. Checking the time, the three of them decided it was time to head back.

Jiang Suihan couldn’t tell which mushrooms were poisonous and which weren’t, so Xu Zhao taught her how to identify a few easily recognizable ones. When she encountered mushrooms she was unsure about, she would ask him for help.

Jiang Leyun was lucky and accidentally found a nest of wild eggs—six in total. The child was ecstatic and kept insisting on finding more. However, it seemed his luck had run out, as they searched for a long time afterward without finding anything.

They had a fruitful day, with their baskets full of food. The wild chicken wasn’t carried by hand, as they would likely run into people from the compound on the way back, and carrying it around would be too conspicuous.

Without the basket, Jiang Leyun walked on his own the entire way back. When he got tired, he would stop to rest. They had covered most of the distance when, finally, Xu Zhao carried the child for the last stretch of the journey.