Chapter 11: Purple Yam

The cool breeze in the mountains was refreshing, but things were not as optimistic as Ye Xin Ran had imagined.

The area had been almost completely searched by others.

There were remnants of fern roots and pieces of wood ear mushrooms on the ground, and most of the edible plants had already been dug up.

Ye Xin Ran walked further up the mountain, but finding nothing useful, she was preparing to head back down.

However, just as she turned her head, a few heart-shaped leaves caught her attention.

These leaves were growing on a thin vine, winding around a small tree, swaying gently in the wind.

“Purple yam?” Ye Xin Ran recognized it immediately.

She never expected to find purple yam here, and she was even more surprised that it hadn’t been dug up yet.

Without any tools at hand, Ye Xin Ran found a branch about the width of her finger and used it to pry the purple yam out of the ground.

The vine was thin, but the yam beneath was thick.

It took Ye Xin Ran a long time, but she finally dug up several pieces of purple yam, though some of them were broken.

The skin and flesh of the purple yam were a reddish-purple color, similar to regular yams, but with much higher nutritional value and a much better taste.

Purple yam can be eaten raw, it has a sweet and crispy texture and offers benefits like nourishing the lungs, strengthening the kidneys, and improving digestion.

There was enough yam here for them to eat for several days, but they were heavy, and some of them were too difficult to carry.

Ye Xin Ran tried to store them in her space, but they wouldn’t fit.

In the end, she lifted the hem of her skirt and wrapped the yam in it, slowly making her way down the mountain.

The two children at the foot of the mountain were anxious. As soon as they saw Ye Xin Ran coming, they rushed toward her.

“Auntie, Auntie, you’re finally out! We were about to go look for you!”

“Auntie, what’s that you’re carrying? Why is there so much?”

Ye Xin Ran was tired, so she loosened the hem of her skirt, and several pieces of yam rolled onto the ground.

Chang An leaned over curiously to look. “What is this? It’s purple. Can we eat it?”

“Of course, you can eat it! Try it!” Ye Xin Ran wiped a piece of yam clean with a leaf, peeled it, and let Chang An take a bite.

“It’s sweet!” Chang An grinned happily, squinting his eyes.

Chang Ping saw and also took a bite, showing the same joyful expression as Chang An.

A few women who had been looking for wild vegetables in the mountains and were initially far away heard that food had been found and quickly came over to see.

When they saw the large yam tubers on the ground, they all looked puzzled. “What is this? Can we really eat this?”

“Of course you can eat it! And it tastes great!” Ye Xin Ran answered.

“Hey, isn’t this the young lady from the Xiao family? The young lady knows about wild vegetables?”

“Who says a young lady can’t know about wild vegetables? Maybe she’s well-traveled and knows more than we do!”

A round-faced woman smiled widely at Ye Xin Ran. “Ye, Madam, what is this?”

Ye Xin Ran didn’t hide anything. She generously told them, “This is purple yam. It can be used in cooking, or you can eat it raw.”

“Is it poisonous?” another woman asked as she approached.

“If it were poisonous, would I let the children eat it?” Ye Xin Ran gave her a side long glance and, along with the children, picked up the purple yam and started walking down the mountain.

“Hey, she’s just asking a question, why is she so upset?”

“Didn’t you see the children eat it? Why ask if it’s poisonous? Who would be happy about that?”

“Exactly!”

“Alright, stop talking. Who knew we had something this good in the mountains? Let’s go look for some ourselves!”

“Let’s go, let’s go!”

Several women headed into the mountains.

On the way back to the village, Chang An and Chang Ping each carried a piece of purple yam. Chang Ping, being stronger, carried the largest piece.

At first, Ye Xin Ran was worried, but seeing that he walked with ease, she decided not to stop him.

As they walked, she glanced at the distant mountains, already planning to explore farther next time.

As they approached their house, they saw a crowd gathered ahead, and the sound of crying came from within the group.

Ye Xin Ran quickened her pace and saw that the crowd wasn’t gathered around her home but at the house next door.

The crying came from the youngest daughter of that household.

“It’s Xiao Hua!” Chang An tugged at Ye Xin Ran’s sleeve.

“Hmm,” Ye Xin Ran nodded. “Let’s take these home first and then come back to check.”

After delivering the purple yams to their house, they returned to find a plump woman in a yellow-green silk dress tugging Xiao Hua’s hand, trying to drag her away.

The little girl cried as she resisted, sitting down on the ground to make it harder to be pulled.

The woman, tired from tugging, finally let go and pulled out a handkerchief to wipe her face, which was as pale and doughy as steamed bread.

“I’m telling you, Zhang Da Li, your daughter won’t leave! If she keeps this up, this deal can’t happen!” the woman complained. “Let me tell you, two taels of silver is a fortune. If you don’t want it, plenty of others will come to me.”

“Yes, yes, Madam Luo, don’t be angry. I’ll talk to her properly,” Zhang Da Li said nervously, wringing his hands on his trousers.

“Xiao Hua,” Zhang Da Li picked up the little girl, choking back tears, “it’s not that your father wants to sell you, but we truly have no more food.

“I can’t watch you all starve! This lady promised to take you to live a good life, with endless white rice and even meat.

“If you go, the family will get two taels of silver. With this money, your mother can get treatment, and your siblings won’t have to go hungry anymore.”

“Father, Xiao Hua can eat less, can’t she? I’ll only eat one meal every two days,” Xiao Hua said, wiping the tears from her father’s eyes with her small hands.

“Father, I’ll go to the mountains to dig more wild vegetables. Once the new grain comes in, we’ll have food. Please don’t sell Xiao Hua,” her siblings pleaded with tears in their eyes.

“Husband, don’t sell the child! I’ll stop my treatment!” Xiao Hua’s mother cried even harder.

Witnessing the scene, Chang An blinked in confusion and whispered, “Auntie, poor Xiao Hua. She won’t see her parents anymore!”

“Hmm,” Ye Xin Ran nodded, feeling her eyes sting.

Having lived in a time of abundance, she found scenes of such heart-wrenching separations unbearable.

The plump woman, growing impatient, urged, “Alright, alright, this is a good thing. Stop with all this crying.

“Hurry up and talk to the child. Make her come with me obediently. If she won’t cooperate, tie a rope around her hand, and I’ll lead her back. Don’t worry, after a couple of days of good living, she’ll never want to come back!”

Seeing Zhang Da Li and his wife still hesitating, the plump woman gave her servant a look. The hunched man immediately stepped forward and tried to take the child from Zhang Da Li’s arms.

“Father! Mother! I don’t want to go!” Xiao Hua screamed in fear as she was taken away.

Her mother, Chen Shi, hurried forward and grabbed her daughter’s hand, refusing to let go.

The crowd watching shook their heads:

“It’s tough. Zhang Da Li and his wife are hard workers. How did it come to this?”

“Didn’t his wife fall ill last year? These days, getting sick is like a death sentence for the whole family!”

“Life is just too hard.”

As the family of five cried pitifully, Ye Xin Ran couldn’t bear it anymore. She was just about to speak up when a steady voice came from the edge of the crowd:

“It hasn’t reached the point of no return. Why sell your child?”