Chapter 13: Snakeberries

The group exchanged glances and, after a brief discussion, Pu Shunyi suggested, “Then let’s accompany Xiaohua up the mountain for a walk—but we’d better come back early and not wear ourselves out.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. Since they were already here, it would be a shame not to go up the mountain, especially after finally picking a day with such pleasant weather.

Jing Hongyi reached out gently and asked softly, “Do you need me to help you?”

Jing Xiaohua shook her head with a smile. “No need, I can walk on my own.”

With that, she stepped forward and started up the mountain path.

The others followed closely behind. Pu Jiaojiao carefully took Xiaohua’s wrist, making sure not to touch her wound.

Pu Shunyi and Jing Hongyi each carried a bamboo basket on their backs, trailing behind the two girls with vigilance, wary of anyone else who might carelessly bump into them.

The mountain path was winding and curved. When the group reached halfway up the mountain, they finally found a shady spot beneath some dense trees to rest.

The terrain at this midpoint was relatively open, with a refreshing breeze and several other hikers scattered about taking a break.

But Pu Jiaojiao had no intention of just sitting around. After a short rest, she eagerly pulled Jing Xiaohua up and began foraging in the nearby grass. “Xiaohua, look over here. The mushrooms with round umbrella-shaped caps and plain colors are the edible ones.”

She then called over Jing Hongyi, “A-Yi, come here too. I’ll teach you how to recognize wild vegetables. See, this is shepherd’s purse. The edges of the leaves have tiny serrations, and it has a fresh fragrance.”

As she explained, she nimbly picked a small bunch with practiced hands. “And those mushrooms with unnaturally bright colors—no matter how pretty they look, never touch them. Most of them are poisonous!”

Guided by Pu Jiaojiao’s tips, the group began picking with great enthusiasm.

They took a few more steps deeper into the forest, where the sunlight filtered through the overlapping leaves, casting dappled patterns on the ground.

Suddenly, Pu Jiaojiao’s eyes lit up. She crouched down and pushed aside a patch of ferns, revealing several clusters of small, bright red berries beneath.

“Ah! Snakeberries!” she exclaimed in delight. Carefully, she picked a few, their stems still glistening with morning dew.

She held one up like a treasure and offered it to Jing Xiaohua. “Xiaohua, try this one—it’s sweet.”

Curious, Jing Xiaohua opened her mouth. As soon as the red berry touched her tongue and she gently bit down, the juicy pulp burst instantly on her taste buds.

First came a faint tartness that awakened her palate, followed by a cool, sweet flavor infused with the wild fragrance of mountain herbs. It quickly spread through her entire mouth.

The taste was truly wonderful. Jing Xiaohua squinted her eyes in delight, her little head swaying slightly like a kitten enjoying honey, a soft hum of satisfaction escaping her throat.

Just as Pu Jiaojiao was smiling at Xiaohua’s adorable expression, Pu Shunyi came hurrying over with his arms full and a proud grin. He held out his hands like he was presenting treasure. “Jiaojiao, look what I found!”

In his palms lay over a dozen round, brown, glossy nuts—no doubt about it, they were chestnuts!

Pu Jiaojiao let out a joyful cheer. “Wow! Chestnuts! Brother, you’re amazing!”

Even Jing Hongyi perked up with interest.

Encouraged, Pu Jiaojiao pulled Jing Xiaohua along and called to the others, spreading out to search through the piles of fallen leaves.

The ground was scattered with spiky chestnut husks, which had to be carefully stepped on to crack open and retrieve the nuts inside.

“Pick more, everyone—pick as many as you can!” Pu Jiaojiao called out while continuing to search. “Once we get home, I’ll make candied roasted chestnuts for you all! My candied chestnuts are sweet, soft, and sticky—you’ll never forget them after just one taste!”

“You’ve really improved your cooking skills since getting married, huh? You even know how to make these now,” Pu Shunyi teased, all the while working quickly—he stepped on each chestnut to break the shell and picked up the brown nuts inside with practiced ease.

By the time they’d collected nearly a full basket of chestnuts, Pu Jiaojiao’s waist was sore. She quickly called for a break and had everyone sit down to rest. She pulled out the meat pies and tea eggs she’d prepared in advance, and the four of them dug in happily.

Pu Shunyi brought out a few flatbreads made by Qiao Sanniang early that morning. Each piece had an egg and chopped scallions spread over it—not like those mixed egg-and-flour pancakes, but with a whole fried egg laid on top. They were also brushed with some savory sauce Sanniang had marinated earlier.

Pu Jiaojiao devoured two in one go.

“Little sis, your meat pies are really good. When we get back, have Mom make some more. I can take a few with me when I travel,” Pu Shunyi said while scarfing down three pies himself. He was just as impressed with the tea eggs she’d brought, praising them repeatedly.

“Later, talk to Mother and ask her to make some tea eggs,” Pu Jiaojiao said confidently. “Now that the weather is turning cooler, we can set a small stove by the shop entrance and keep the tea eggs simmering on it. I bet customers would love to have one or two while shopping.”

She had good faith in her tea eggs—after all, it was her own secret recipe. The flavor was especially savory and delicious.

Since Pu Shunyi was in charge of procurement for the general store and often out and about, he was quick-witted and immediately caught on to the idea.

He could see the business opportunity right away. And truth be told, setting up a small food stand outside the shop during autumn and winter could bring in extra income.

It wasn’t hard to do and wouldn’t interfere with anything else.

Besides, both he and his sister knew how skilled their mother was in the kitchen.

There was no time wasted—this was a win-win.

“I’ll talk to Mother about it when we get back. It really doesn’t take much effort,” Pu Shunyi said eagerly. He hadn’t expected a simple hike up the mountain would lead to a business idea.

He looked at Pu Jiaojiao curiously. “Jiaojiao, who would’ve thought you actually had such a head for this? Why didn’t you think like this before? If you had, our family could’ve earned a lot more by now.”

Pu Shunyi didn’t suspect that Jiaojiao had changed into a different person or anything like that—he simply thought that his little sister had finally started using her brain after getting married. Back when she was still at home, she’d been spoiled by their parents and spent her days just eating and relaxing, doing nothing productive.

Of course, Pu Shunyi didn’t admit that he himself had spoiled her too.

He knew that a girl only had a few carefree years while living with her parents. Once married, those easy days were gone for good.

That’s why Pu Shunyi treated her well—from the heart.

“It’s not too late to start now,” Jiaojiao said cheerfully. “In a few days, I’ll send something else over to the shop too.”

Lately, she had been gathering materials for making soap.

She had made lots of handmade soaps before, so she was already familiar with the process.

Even if she didn’t plan to sell them, she still wanted to make them for personal use.

After all, the soapnuts (used for washing) currently sold on the market were very drying. Her handmade soaps could retain fragrance and were much gentler and more moisturizing.

She didn’t have grand ambitions—she just didn’t want to rely on others or ask her husband for money every time. She needed to have her own income.

If she placed her handmade goods at her family’s store to sell on consignment, she was sure her family wouldn’t skim off her share.

“What are you going to send?” Pu Shunyi asked curiously.

Jiaojiao blinked mischievously. “You’ll see in a few days.”

Helpless in the face of his sister’s teasing, Pu Shunyi could only smile warmly.

“Huahua wants to go look at the flowers over there,” Jing Xiaohua suddenly said, pointing to a patch of purple-red blossoms in the distance.

“I’ll take you,” Jing Hongyi replied, taking a sip of water before gently holding her hand, being careful not to touch her injury.

Pu Jiaojiao could see the two of them from where they sat, so she wasn’t worried. She simply reminded Xiaohua, “Hold your brother’s hand tightly and don’t run off. Be very careful.”

“Got it, Mama! Huahua’s going to pick some pretty flowers for Mama,” Jing Xiaohua replied sweetly, excitedly tugging her brother to go with her.

She was determined to choose the prettiest blooms to give to her mother.

Jing Hongyi, resigned, let her lead him and gently reminded her, “Slow down. The flowers aren’t going anywhere. If you fall again, you’ll be crying your golden tears all over.”

“Hmph! I won’t!” Jing Xiaohua pouted and huffed at her brother, clearly displeased. “Huahua was knocked over last time, remember?”

“Yes, yes, my bad,” he said quickly, smiling. “Our Huahua is the best.”