Chapter 31

“Grandma, why did you come out?” Zhan Xinyue had just reached the foot of the mountain when she saw Grandma Sheng walking towards her anxiously, leaning on a cane.

“Grandma, take it easy.” Zhan Xinyue strode forward and supported Grandma, afraid that the little old lady would fall if she wasn’t careful.

It would be terrible if the old lady fell. At best, she would be bedridden for ten days and a half month, at worst, she would die.

“Xinyue, you weren’t bitten by a snake, were you?” Grandma Sheng was still worried, “I’m old, I don’t remember many things. I just remembered that you were bitten by a poisonous snake when you were little, you almost died on the mountain. It was Tunan who carried you back.”

“Grandma, don’t worry, I’m fine. No snakes, not even insects have bothered me.”

Zhan Xinyue patted the old lady’s hand reassuringly and helped her walk back, “Grandma, was I bitten by a snake? I don’t remember at all.”

“You were only five years old then. You came back and had a high fever. After the fever subsided, you forgot everything before the age of five.” Grandma Sheng felt relieved seeing that Zhan Xinyue wasn’t bitten by a snake this time.

“Those black-hearted people from the Zhan family, they didn’t give you food. You were so hungry, and you were too embarrassed to tell me. You were so young, you went up the mountain alone to pick mulberries to eat. You didn’t come back until evening. Your grandpa and I were worried, so we went up the mountain to look for you. Tunan insisted on following, and he was the one who found you first. You had been bitten by a poisonous snake at that time, and he sucked the poison out for you. We went up the mountain and split into three groups. Tunan couldn’t wait for me and your grandpa, so he carried you down the mountain.”

“He was only ten years old at that time. After going down the mountain, Tunan also got a fever. But he was a boy, and he ate well, so he recovered quickly. After he recovered, he told his grandpa that he had sucked the poison out for you, that he had kissed you, and that he had to take responsibility for you, that he had to marry you.”

Grandma Sheng recalled her grandson’s childhood antics and smiled like a chrysanthemum, “Now you’re going to get married, Tunan must be very happy. This has been his wish since he was a child.”

Zhan Xinyue’s face turned red. Hearing Sheng Tunan’s affection for her from Grandma’s mouth made her even more shy and felt even more real.

It’s just that she really didn’t remember.

Maybe the high fever burned away her previous memories, or maybe most people don’t have memories from before the age of five.

Zhan Xinyue didn’t dwell on it too much. She supported Grandma and walked carefully. It was the hottest time of day now, so she tried to walk in the shade with Grandma.

A wild chicken in the backpack woke up sluggishly and flapped its wings weakly.

Fortunately, there was no one on the road at this time. Zhan Xinyue quickened her pace, and soon arrived home. She locked the courtyard gate, put down the backpack, took out a winnowing basket from the house, and started to air-dry the herbs she had dug after washing them slightly.

Grandma saw the wild chicken and rabbit in the basket, and she wasn’t surprised. Zhan Xinyue had learned how to hunt, and she came home with three wild chickens and a wild rabbit after half a day on the mountain. It meant that her granddaughter had good fortune.

Grandma helped to kill the chicken and rabbit. She had heard of the black market and knew that these things could be sold for money, but she didn’t want Zhan Xinyue to take risks. If she was caught, she would be labeled as a speculator, and she might even be imprisoned.

“Xinyue, we’ll eat one chicken and half a rabbit today. I’ll marinate the rest and smoke them, making them into smoked chicken and smoked rabbit. We can eat them slowly later.”

“Okay, I’ll listen to Grandma.” Zhan Xinyue finished drying the herbs and came over to help pluck the feathers.

After plucking the feathers, they started cooking. Zhan Xinyue was in charge of cooking, and Grandma processed the rest of the chicken and rabbit.

Zhan Xinyue, who had been reborn, was generous with the oil when cooking. As the saying goes, “Too much oil won’t spoil the dish.” It was hot, so it was always good to add more oil.

“Sizzle,” the chicken meat went into the hot oil, and the aroma of meat began to spread.

It was a good thing that the Sheng family lived far away, otherwise, this powerful aroma would have attracted many hungry children.

She braised both the wild chicken and the wild rabbit. Grandma’s teeth weren’t very good, so Zhan Xinyue deliberately stewed them until they were soft and easy to eat. When the food was ready, Grandma had also marinated the rest of the chicken and rabbit and tied them with twine.

Zhan Xinyue hung them on the stove. They needed to burn firewood when cooking, so it was convenient to smoke the meat.

“Grandma, do you think any relatives might suddenly come to visit?” Zhan Xinyue brought the food to the table and asked, a little worried.

What if a relative suddenly came over and saw the chicken and rabbit hanging in the kitchen? Although it wasn’t much, it was a collective system now. If you hunted something and didn’t turn it in, and someone reported you, you would be in trouble.

“No, my relatives and your grandpa’s relatives were all killed by the Japanese.” The old lady shook her head, her face full of sadness.

Her three sons with the old man also died in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

Seeing Grandma’s sad expression, Zhan Xinyue cursed the ancestors of the Japanese in her heart. But she didn’t know how to comfort Grandma.

That period of history was too heavy, too humiliating, and too cruel. Zhan Xinyue hugged the little old lady and said softly, “It’s good that we’ve survived now. China will only become stronger and stronger, and our people will only become happier and happier.”

“Yes, Xinyue is right, we’re looking forward. Grandma took out some homemade rice wine from the cabinet and asked Zhan Xinyue, “Can you drink?”

“Yes.” Zhan Xinyue nodded. In her previous life, she was in business, how could she not drink? She had developed a tolerance for it.

Grandma Sheng loved to drink when she was young, she could drink more than men. Now that she was old, and her only relative, Sheng Tunan, was in the army, there was no one to drink with her. Drinking alone was always a bit lacking. Therefore, Grandma hadn’t drunk in a long time.

Now she had Zhan Xinyue to keep her company, and she was a good cook, the wild chicken and rabbit meat were both delicious. Naturally, the little old lady wanted to have a few more drinks.

After finishing the second small cup, Grandma was about to pour more wine when Zhan Xinyue stopped her.

“Good wine and food are good, but you can’t drink too much. Grandma likes to drink, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future. I’ll drink with Grandma.”

“Okay.” Grandma Sheng was a little sad, but she knew her body and didn’t force herself.

After eating and drinking their fill, the grandmother and granddaughter worked together to clean up the dishes. It was only three in the afternoon, and they could eat the rest of the food at night.

Grandma Sheng was a little sleepy after eating and drinking. Zhan Xinyue asked Grandma to go to sleep for a while. She couldn’t sleep herself. The sun was strong today, so she stayed with the herbs, turning them over several times. Once they were completely dried, she could decoct them for Grandma tomorrow.

Zhan Xinyue sat under the grapefruit tree with a palm fan, trying to recall things from before the age of five, but she couldn’t remember anything.

“Grandma wouldn’t lie to me on purpose.” Zhan Xinyue muttered to herself, imagining how the ten-year-old Sheng Tunan had carried her back home, huffing and puffing.

As she thought about it, Sheng Tunan’s tall and handsome figure appeared in her mind, and her face began to blush unconsciously.

She started to miss him on the first day they were apart.

When Sheng Tunan came back and got the marriage certificate, Zhan Xinyue would be able to join the army with him.

But Zhan Xinyue didn’t want to leave Grandma alone either. She wanted to cure Grandma’s eyes and adjust her other minor ailments, so she could take Grandma with her to join the army.

Grandma’s body didn’t have any major problems, why did she leave so early in her previous life?