Chapter 20: A Pleasant Surprise (Part 2)

Mu Mian was still staring at the stack of money when she suddenly heard movement behind her. She turned around and saw Aunt Li who often visited their home.

Without a change in expression, Mu Mian discreetly stuffed the handkerchief-wrapped money into her pocket. Aunt Li was also surprised to see her. “Mian girl, what are you doing sitting there? Did you doze off?”

It wasn’t uncommon for kids to play on the mountainside and then nap on a big rock. Adults were used to it, especially during the sleepy hours of midday or afternoon, when it wasn’t rare to find children sprawled out on the rocks.

Mu Mian pushed herself up from the ground and smiled. “No, I just fell down here earlier.”

The dip in the ground was hidden by grass. If someone wasn’t careful, they could easily slip.

Shi Dabao must have tripped here while running at night, which was how he lost the money.

Only now did Aunt Li notice the dirt on her backside. “Oh dear, you didn’t fall too hard, did you? Try moving your waist and legs. If they don’t hurt, you should be fine. You kids are tough. A little fall shouldn’t be a big deal.”

Mu Mian moved her legs a bit. “I’m fine, Grandma Li. Aren’t you going to gather pigweed today?”

Aunt Li bent down to pick up a thick wooden stick. “Already finished cutting it. I had nothing else to do, so I came to gather some firewood.”

Mu Mian lifted her little face and grinned. “Then I won’t keep you. I’m heading home!”

Aunt Li waved her off with a smile. “Go on, go on. You kids have so much energy, running around the hills all day.”

After parting ways with Aunt Li, Mu Mian didn’t go straight home. She touched the money in her pocket.

If she had found money that had no owner, she wouldn’t have hesitated to keep it.

After all, this was one hundred yuan! A whole hundred yuan!

But in the end, her conscience won over, and she turned toward Shi Xiaolian’s house.

There was no way she was returning it to Old Lady Shi—it wasn’t hers to begin with.

Speaking of that old woman, she was simply reaping what she had sown.

Shi Xinggui was not a filial son. He had inherited his mother’s stinginess and selfishness tenfold.

In the past, when Li Guiyan was still around to work, and Old Lady Shi was able to get things and money from Shi Xingfu, life had been decent for them.

But now, those were gone. The work points Shi Xinggui earned weren’t even enough to feed himself.

Mu Mian had heard that Shi Xinggui barely took care of his elderly parents. Most of the time, they only had thin gruel to eat, and he hardly ever cleaned up after them, even when they wet or soiled themselves.

As for Old Lady Shi’s married daughters, not a single one had come back to visit her.

Shi Xinggui had even wanted Tian Hongjuan to take care of them, but that was impossible.

The families had already split up. Besides, after Shi Xingfu passed away, Old Lady Shi caused all kinds of trouble, even saying that the mother and daughters weren’t part of the Shi family and had no right to their home.

Because of that, the three of them had to apply for a new place to live in the most remote part of the brigade.

After everything Old Lady Shi had done, she ended up old and abandoned. Who knew what she had been scheming for?

Mu Mian walked down from the mountainside, but she didn’t see Xu Lele and the others on the way.

Hopefully, they didn’t get stung. But if anything had happened, it shouldn’t be too serious.

About ten minutes later, Mu Mian arrived at Shi Xiaolian’s house. She peeked into the courtyard but didn’t see anyone, so she stretched her neck to look inside.

Before she could call out, a voice came from the kitchen. It was Tian Hongjuan. She must have been busy inside and spotted her through the window. “Xiao Mian, do you need something?”

Mu Mian said, “Aunt, I’m looking for Shi Xiaolian.”

Tian Hongjuan seemed pleased. “She’s home. Come in and sit for a while. I’ll call her for you.”

As she spoke, she stepped out of the kitchen and called toward the bedroom. “Xiaolian, Xiaolian! Xiao Mian is here to play. Don’t stay cooped up inside.”

Within three seconds, Shi Xiaolian appeared, looking completely baffled.

She really had no idea why Mu Mian had come to see her.

Tian Hongjuan, on the other hand, was genuinely delighted.

The little girl didn’t know what was going on with herself. She used to run outside every day, sometimes disappearing for half a day without anyone seeing her.

But now, she stayed inside all the time, and no one knew what she was busy with. A child needed to go out and play. Only by running around could she grow up healthy.

Tian Hongjuan chuckled, “Go play, but don’t run too far. Make sure to come back before dark.”

Shi Xiaolian found herself following Mu Mian out the door without knowing why. However, as soon as they stepped outside the courtyard and reached the other side of the wall, she suddenly stopped walking.

Feeling puzzled, she directly asked, “What do you want from me?”

Mu Mian glanced around. The area near Shi Xiaolian’s house was wide open with no cover—definitely not a good place for a conversation.

Without another word, Mu Mian took the lead and walked ahead. “Let’s talk somewhere else.”

Shi Xiaolian hesitated for a moment, then followed with a suspicious look on her face.

They walked to the foot of the mountain, stopping beside a haystack. After looking around and confirming that there was no one nearby, Mu Mian pulled out a hundred-yuan bill from her pocket.

“I found this in the mountains. It probably belongs to your family. I’m returning it to its rightful owner.”

Shi Xiaolian took it in confusion, but as soon as she saw what it was, her expression changed drastically. Her face was filled with shock and delight.

After a long pause, she opened her mouth a few times before finally saying, “Thank you. My family really needs this money.”

Actually, the compensation her father received wasn’t just three hundred yuan—it was five hundred.

The factory leaders knew exactly what kind of person that old woman was. To protect Shi Xiaolian, her mother, and her sister, they publicly stated that the amount was only three hundred yuan.

Even so, the money was still not enough.

Her mother was in poor health and couldn’t do heavy work. She also needed regular medication. The grain her sister earned through her teaching job wasn’t much either.

For the past two years, their family had been struggling to make ends meet.

Shi Xiaolian also wanted her sister to continue her education and attend high school. Even though graduating might not guarantee a job, her Sister had the ability to study further. However, because of Shi Xiaolian’s young age and their mother’s illness, her sister had to give up that opportunity.

Looking at Mu Mian, who was a whole head taller than her, Shi Xiaolian sincerely said another “thank you.”

As for the nonsense that old woman had shouted about how this money was supposed to be her father’s contribution to her retirement, that was pure rubbish.

Her father had already given enough. When he passed away, their family barely had any savings left.

Mu Mian waved her hand and spoke honestly, “If I hadn’t seen the name ‘Shi Dabao’ written on it, I would’ve kept it for myself.”

With her task completed, Mu Mian had nothing more to do. She was about to leave after speaking.

However, just as she took half a step forward, Shi Xiaolian suddenly called out to her.

Mu Mian turned back in confusion. Shi Xiaolian seemed to be carefully choosing her words. After a brief pause, she finally said, “Uh, last month… I accidentally overheard two uncles talking…”

“They said they found a ginseng root under a big pine tree, not far from the southwest side of that small pond.”

“If one grew there, maybe there’s another one. You could go take a look if you have time.”

Mu Mian’s eyes widened instantly.

“!!!!!!!”

What did she just say?!

Ginseng?!

How could ginseng be growing on a mountainside?! She always thought it only grew deep in the mountains!

Now, Mu Mian was the one with a shocked and complicated expression.

Shi Xiaolian said “last month,” but it was probably from her past life.

Since Shi Xiaolian mentioned it, that meant no one had found the ginseng yet. The “second one” was probably just a way to cover up the real situation.

Mu Mian asked with a complicated expression, “You didn’t try to look for it?”

Shi Xiaolian was momentarily speechless before responding, “I did. I searched for two whole months.”

And found absolutely nothing.

She only knew about this because, in her past life, it had caused a huge stir in the brigade. The one who found the ginseng was Old Yang’s family, who lived nearby.

Not only did Old Yang dig it up, but he also bragged about it. He even revealed the exact location, saying it was under a big pine tree.

Later, he boasted that he had sold it for 150 yuan. But less than a week later, his money got stolen.

Now that she thought about it, it was very likely her uncle’s family who did it.

Since coming back to life, besides helping her sister, Shi Xiaolian had been busy looking for ginseng herself.

Her legs had gotten thinner from all the running, but she hadn’t even seen a shadow of the ginseng.

She knew it was supposed to be under a big pine tree, but with so many big pine trees in the mountains, how was she supposed to know which one?

After searching for so long, she had already given up. Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be.