As soon as Song Wei landed on the ground, she was met with a cheer from the children.

“Sister Song, you’re amazing! How did you do that? Can you teach me?”

To kids, especially the boys, there’s nothing cooler than someone who can pull off impressive stunts. Right now, Song Wei was like a hero straight out of picture books—a warrior.

Holding up her prize, the honeycomb, Song Wei gestured for them to move. “No time for talking! Let’s go before the bees come back!”

Afraid of being stung, the little ones scrambled to keep up, their short legs working furiously. One lagging child almost tripped, and Song Wei hoisted him by the back of his collar just as the buzzing drew closer.

Realizing they’d been robbed, the bees started to give chase. Without missing a beat, Song Wei hefted the smallest child up under one arm and took the lead.

“Keep up, everyone! Don’t fall behind!”

“Wait for us, Sister Song!”

“Carry me too!” one of the kids shouted.

Without turning, Song Wei replied, “You’re too big! Walk on your own!”

Under her guidance, they all managed to escape the bees. Song Wei held the honeycomb aloft, smiling brightly as she led her little gang back toward their grilling spot.

“Let’s go enjoy our spoils!” she said with a mischievous grin.

The children mimicked her swagger, each taking up her unbothered, “nobody-messes-with-me” strut as they walked back, almost like they were heading into a brawl rather than a feast.

In their eyes, Song Wei was their leader now.

Back at their grilling spot, she kept the largest chunk of honeycomb and carefully divided the smaller one into equal portions for the seven kids. The children munched on fish and licked honey from their hands, each grinning like they’d won the lottery.

“I’ll just have a little. I want to save the rest for my parents,” one of the boys said.

“I’ll give some to my grandma.”

“I’m bringing mine home for my sister.”

As unruly as they could be, these kids knew how to share the good things with their families. Heidan, watching them quietly, looked down at his honey with a conflicted expression.

He didn’t want to take it home and lose it to his greedy relatives.

Song Wei patted his head. “If you can’t finish it, I’ll keep it for you. Just come by whenever you want some.”

She slipped him a rough-grain bun as well, saying, “Eat up,” knowing that he might not get another good meal anytime soon.

Heidan’s eyes lit up. “Thank you, Sister Song,” he said politely, then bit eagerly into the bun.

“Eat as much fish as you want, too.”

Despite her usual reluctance to share her food, Song Wei couldn’t help but be generous with these kids. She handed out pieces of her bun and millet bread, softening at how they followed her around loyally.

By the time everyone was full, they had bonded over their little adventure, and the kids had officially declared Song Wei as their leader.

While gathering mushrooms, they eagerly pointed out good spots for her and told her about places with wild fruits.

“I know where there’s a huge wild grapevine! It’s deeper in the mountains, though. My parents won’t let me go there alone,” one boy said, his eyes wide with excitement.

Now that piqued her interest. “Well, maybe next time we’ll go together. You lead the way, and I’ll keep us safe.”

“Okay! Sister Song, you have to remember, though!” To them, Song Wei seemed braver than even their fathers, so they felt safe with her in charge.

With a basket full of mushrooms, Song Wei carefully stacked a bundle of firewood on top, grabbed another bundle with her hand, and led the kids back down the mountain.

Each child carried a fish caught by Song Wei, grinning from ear to ear as they headed home.

“Meet me tomorrow if you have time,” she said. She knew Heidan would have a hard time keeping anything at home, so she’d save some for him.

He nodded eagerly, a rare smile lighting up his face, his wary, wolfish expression gone.

As they descended, they ran into a few village women coming back from work, who were also on their way up to look for mushrooms, with a few little girls trailing them.

“Mom!” one of the boys shouted, running off to greet his mother.

Some of the other women recognized Song Wei too, like the few she’d shared a cart with.

“Oh my, Song Wei, look at all the stuff you’ve got there,” Liu Guifen said as she rushed over to poke at Song Wei’s basket.

“Quite the haul of mushrooms in here, and two big fish!” Liu Guifen shouted, her voice ringing out in fake outrage. “These are public resources, you know! It wouldn’t be right to keep all of it to yourself.”

Liu Guifen had it out for Song Wei after what happened that morning. Her mother-in-law had vented her frustration over the whole incident on her, dragging her husband in to discipline her too.

As far as Liu Guifen was concerned, if it weren’t for Song Wei, she wouldn’t have suffered those two humiliating slaps.

But Song Wei stood firm and calmly pushed her hand away. “So by your logic, everyone should hand over everything they gather? Well, if that’s what everyone thinks, I’m happy to turn it in.”

The other women immediately protested. They had come to the mountains to gather mushrooms themselves—no way were they letting Liu Guifen set that kind of precedent.

“Since when did you get so generous, Liu Guifen?” one woman scoffed. “If you’re so keen on making donations, why don’t you go home and bring out all the things you’ve gathered for the village?”

Another chimed in, “Exactly! You think we all collect mushrooms to give them away?”

The kids, feeling like they were part of Song Wei’s crew now, chimed in to back her up.

“Mom, Sister Song gave us fish to bring home,” one boy said, proudly holding up his catch. “We’re gonna have fish tonight—and honey, too! Sister Song climbed a huge tree to get it.”

He proudly unwrapped a clean leaf holding a chunk of golden honeycomb, and the other kids quickly showed off theirs too, each piece as big as a palm.

For families that hadn’t tasted meat or sweets in ages, this was a treasure. Smiling brightly, the mothers shifted their attention, admiring Song Wei’s generosity.

“Such a kind gesture from Song Wei. She even shared honey with the kids!”

The parents without kids around regretted it. They sighed, wishing their kids weren’t missing out, while imagining them playing somewhere, completely missing out on all the excitement and treats.