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How could she make everyone believe that their family’s luck wasn’t as good, and that Song Jingyun was actually quite unlucky?
Perhaps, when they went to the mountains the next day, she could bring a shovel, dig a hole, and accidentally push Song Jingyun into it, claiming he fell into a hunter’s trap?
Or maybe, she could purposely get herself a bit dirty in the mountains, and then make Song Jingyun slip and fall, stating that he had bad luck being chased by a wild boar?
But that might result in Song Jingyun getting hurt, which seemed a bit unfair to him.
Maybe she could just keep going to the mountains for a few days and return empty-handed, claiming they couldn’t find anything.
Returning from the mountains repeatedly without anything to show for it, wouldn’t that be considered unlucky?
Satisfied with this plan, Jiang Mixia closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
“Achoo!”
Jiang Chunhe let out a loud sneeze.
“Are you okay?” Wu shi asked anxiously.
“I’m fine, just felt a sudden chill down my spine.”
Chill?
On such a scorching day.
Wu shi wiped the sweat off her forehead, grabbed a palm-leaf fan, and fanned herself and the child lying next to her to cool them down.
Jiang Chunhe also wiped the sweat off his forehead.
It was indeed hot, especially with no breeze tonight, making it unbearably humid.
Feeling a chill down the spine on such a scorching day was quite unusual.
Nervously, Jiang Chunhe turned over in bed.
The next morning, after breakfast, Jiang Mixia and Song Jingyun prepared to head into the mountains.
Sun Ergou suggested joining them.
Having ventured into the mountains before to forage for wild fruits and hunt rabbits to satisfy his hunger, he was familiar with the mountain trails.
After some thought, Jiang Mixia decided to bring him along.
The three of them set off into the mountains.
“What do you want to hunt, Sister Mixia?” Sun Ergou, holding something in his hand, asked eagerly. “I’m quite good at hunting rabbits.”
“We’re not hunting anything. Just going for a stroll in the mountains, maybe find some nice flowers and plants to bring back home,” Jiang Mixia replied.
It turned out that they were heading into the mountains to dig up flowers and plants, not for hunting, which explained why they only brought shovels and spades.
Sun Ergou and Song Jingyun felt a bit disappointed.
The former was disheartened as he couldn’t showcase his skills in front of Jiang Mixia.
The latter was saddened by the absence of wild game to cook, a missed opportunity.
However, since Jiang Mixia wanted flowers and plants, they had no reason to refuse. They followed her into the mountains, seeking out visually appealing and easily nurtured plants, as she described.
The wilderness was filled with abundant wildlife and diverse plant species, some of which had peculiar shapes and names unknown to them.
Uncertain of what flowers and plants to collect, Song Jingyun and Sun Ergou settled on picking the most visually appealing ones that would likely please Jiang Mixia.
After a flurry of activity, their bamboo basket on their backs was half full.
As the sun rose higher, despite the coolness of the mountains, they all had sweat on their foreheads from their busy work.
When they reached a mountain spring, Jiang Mixia suggested taking a break and washing their faces with the cool spring water.
Song Jingyun casually picked up a few stones.
Due to the mountain spring’s washing, the stones they picked up were now smooth and moist to the touch. Song Jingyun selected a few fist-sized smooth pebbles and tossed them into the bamboo basket.
“These stones look nice, Sister Xia.” Sun Ergou also picked up a few.
They were smooth and rounded river stones, polished by years of soaking and erosion, glistening like they had been polished.
“These stones would look great in a fish tank or a flower pot,” Sun Ergou remarked. “I’ve seen shops in town collecting beautiful river stones. They say the gardeners from the manor sometimes request these.”
Scratching his head, Song Jingyun added, “But I think the ones I picked are even better.”
Sun Ergou: “…”
The stones Song Jingyun picked were uneven, with a dull gray-brown color and a layer of moss, making them rather unattractive. Despite this, since Song Jingyun found them appealing, Sun Ergou accepted his choice.
Seeing no objection from Jiang Mixia, Sun Ergou decided to keep the stones that he found visually appealing to decorate flower pots later.
After a brief rest, the three continued their journey into the mountains.
Surrounded by a valley enveloped by mountains, the terrain was flat, with lush vegetation obscuring the sky. The cacophony of birds chirping filled the air, with glimpses of grass rustling as wild rabbits darted through, and the blurred silhouettes of pheasants with their vibrant tails.
Smoked rabbit, dry pot chicken…
Swallowing, Song Jingyun asked, “My dear, are we really not hunting today?”
“I doubt we could even if we wanted to,” Jiang Mixia shrugged, palms open. “We didn’t bring any hunting gear.”
Indeed, they only had shovels and small spades for digging up plants, not even a machete.
What a shame…
Sighing, Song Jingyun used the break to nibble on a meat pie and casually dug the soil with his shovel.
“What are you digging for?” Jiang Mixia, munching on her pie, leaned over to see.
“Digging a trap,” Song Jingyun finished his pie in a few bites, then enlarged the small pit he had started digging at his feet.
Once the pit was about half a person’s depth, he stopped.
“Done.” Song Jingyun wiped the sweat off his forehead, excitedly said, “Let’s move quickly, or the wildlife won’t dare approach.”
Jiang Mixia: “…”
The gaping pit in front of them, bare and uncovered, with no trap or bamboo spikes, made it unlikely for any wildlife to fall in. Even if something did fall, the depth was such that most animals could easily climb out.
Song Jingyun’s trap was destined to yield no results.
However, since they weren’t hunting today, the lack of success didn’t pose a significant issue.
Jiang Mixia mulled over this as they walked until a sudden noise interrupted her thoughts.
A cacophony of grunting and howling sounds echoed, loud and seemingly not too far away…
“It must be my trap catching something!” Song Jingyun eagerly turned back.
Jiang Mixia hurried to catch up, concerned that if there truly was wildlife, it might harm her husband.
Sun Ergou followed suit, tightening his grip on the large shovel in his hand.
The trio returned to the spot where Song Jingyun had dug the trap, and indeed, they found something caught in the pit.
A large wild boar.
Logically, a pit that size wouldn’t trap a large wild boar entirely; at most, it would catch a couple of legs, easily escaping with minimal effort.