Chapter 18 – I’m Actually Naturally Strong with Great Aim

Someone was cursing on the other side of the hill. Before Fu Mingze could say anything, Shen Mo’er made a silencing gesture. Fu Mingze raised his eyebrows but truly didn’t make a sound, even mimicking Shen Mo’er and hiding himself further behind the rocks.

Shen Mo’er quietly poked her head out for a look. When she saw who it was, her eyes blinked in surprise.

No wonder she had thought the voice sounded familiar—it turned out to be Liu Yunshuang, the woman she had seen at the supply and marketing cooperative the other day. Thanks to her that day, Shen Mo’er had managed to buy ten feet of defective fabric to make a shirt for her father.

Of course, Shen Mo’er also remembered that Liu Yunshuang had said a bunch of strange things back then like, “Wasn’t she dead?” and “What the hell?”—a bunch of nonsense.

Nonsense, yes, but since she had transmigrated into this world, Shen Mo’er couldn’t help but take it a bit seriously. Still, Liu Yunshuang had run off after saying those things, and being from the Songshu Brigade, they didn’t usually cross paths. Shen Mo’er had been busy with building the new house lately and had nearly forgotten about her.

Now hearing her muttering about reincarnation and past lives… Could it be that this person was someone who had come back from the dead?

Shen Mo’er perked up her ears, hoping Liu Yunshuang would say more.

It seemed people from the Songshu Brigade really didn’t venture this way much, because Liu Yunshuang wasn’t at all worried about being overheard. After a minute of silence, she resumed her murmuring.

“Could it be that this life turned out differently? That’s not impossible. Take Shen Mo’er from Yangliu Brigade—in my past life, she was already dead by this time. I heard she died from hunger and a serious cold. She had a high fever at night, and by the time her father found her, she was practically gone. Her dad had it rough too; he didn’t last much longer after that. But in this life, neither of them is dead. Not only that, it seems their family is even building a new house…”

“Ahhhh!” Liu Yunshuang suddenly screamed and hit her own head several times. “Why is it like this? Why has everything changed? Where the hell is that wild ginseng?!”

She suddenly went berserk, her scream echoing through the mountains. Even though it was far away, the people from Yangliu Brigade heard it. Several kids screamed in fright: “Ahhh! Could it be a wild beast?”

The older women, being farther away and not knowing what was going on, quickly began to “evacuate” too.

A crowd of people retreated in chaos. In all the confusion, no one noticed that Shen Mo’er and Fu Mingze were missing.

Liu Yunshuang heard some of the commotion too. However, she knew that although the mountain forest here was dense, there shouldn’t be any wild beasts. After all, in her previous life, she’d lived many years and never heard of wild animals roaming this mountain.

In fact, Liu Yunshuang was more afraid of people.

She had just been rambling on for quite a while. If anyone had overheard her, they might think she was either a demon or a lunatic.

“Who’s there?!”

Liu Yunshuang suddenly shouted, then began swinging a wooden stick wildly at the grass and bushes.

She was trying to flush someone out. If someone was hiding, they might be startled and give themselves away. Unfortunately for her, the two hiding were neither stupid nor inexperienced. They saw right through her ploy and weren’t going to fall for it.

Neither of them made a sound, instinctively ducking deeper behind the rocks. In the process, they accidentally bumped into each other.

Feeling the warmth of the other’s body, Shen Mo’er was startled and instinctively looked up. At the same moment, Fu Mingze turned his head to look at her. The sudden closeness between them made Shen Mo’er notice the long, thick lashes shading his slightly lowered eyes, and she could feel the faint warmth of his breath…

Even someone as bold as Shen Mo’er couldn’t help but feel her heart beat faster.

Fu Mingze froze for a few seconds before seemingly snapping back to reality and quickly turned his head, subtly putting distance between them.

Shen Mo’er had felt a little awkward at first, especially because her heartbeat was so loud she worried he might hear it from that close.

But when Fu Mingze turned away and she saw how red the tips of his ears were, somehow she no longer felt awkward—she even smiled a little.

The always calm and composed Fu Zhiqing was actually quite shy. He got bashful when praised by old ladies, and now, in a moment like this… he was pretty cute.

Liu Yunshuang flailed her stick around for a while, but when she didn’t find anyone, she sighed in relief and started muttering again:

“I will succeed in this life! When I have money, I’ll buy two bowls of soy milk—drink one and pour the other out. I’ll buy a whole basket of buns, and if I can’t finish them, I’ll feed them to dogs. Even if the food rots, I won’t give a single bite to those male-preference jerks!”

“Oh right, I need to study high school textbooks. In a few years, the college entrance exam will be reinstated. I’m going to college—yes, I’ll go to college, to the capital or Shanghai. Then I’ll save money to buy property, a bunch of houses, and become a landlady. Hahaha!”

The more Liu Yunshuang talked, the more excited she became, laughing maniacally with her hands on her hips.

In the deep forest, with a woman acting half-crazed and ranting about past and future lives, it really was creepy—

If it hadn’t been for Fu Mingze beside her, Shen Mo’er might’ve truly felt scared.

Even though she herself didn’t belong to this world either.

Because Liu Yunshuang’s story about the original Shen Mo’er dying from hunger and a cold was very close to the truth, Shen Mo’er found herself believing at least 70-80% of it. As a result, she took very seriously what Liu Yunshuang said about college exams and saving money to buy property.

Liu Yunshuang muttered as she searched the woods, though she never did find the wild ginseng she was looking for. However, she did find a few plants of sanqi and astragalus. Liu Yunshuang recognized them and quickly dug them up.

Even though she didn’t find wild ginseng, these herbs could still fetch a decent price—at least ten to twenty yuan at the purchasing station, which wasn’t bad.

Still feeling unsatisfied, Liu Yunshuang muttered and cursed while slinging her basket over her back and walking off.

Once she had gone far enough that her voice could barely be heard, Shen Mo’er let out a long sigh and rubbed her numbed calves. Hiding motionless like that was actually quite tiring.

Fu Mingze glanced at her, amused. He didn’t even know why they had hidden there so long just to eavesdrop on a crazy girl muttering to herself.

Fu Mingze stretched slightly and asked, “Do you know that comrade?”

If she were a stranger, there’d be no need to hide. Especially since the girl had mentioned Shen Mo’er in her muttering, he guessed they must know each other and that Shen Mo’er didn’t want to run into her.

“She’s Liu Yunshuang from the Songshu Brigade.”

Liu Yunshuang’s antics were widely known, especially among the nearby brigades. People talked about her often—how she did outrageous things and said shocking things. She was the latest hot topic.

Shen Mo’er figured Fu Mingze must’ve at least heard of her.

Sure enough, Fu Mingze gave a strange look. “So it’s her.”

“We know each other, but not very well. Back in middle school, we were in adjacent years. Since our villages were in the same direction, we sometimes crossed paths on the way to school.” Shen Mo’er explained, “I ran into her at the supply and marketing cooperative last time, and she said something like I should’ve been dead, like I was a ghost. I thought it was weird, but now I know she thinks… it’s all about past lives and futures and whatnot.”

She cautiously asked, “Fu Zhiqing, do you believe what she said?”

Fu Mingze didn’t believe it, of course. He was a staunch materialist—how could he believe in such superstitious nonsense? He shook his head. “You don’t need to take her words seriously. I think she might have some mental issues. If possible, she should really get checked out at a hospital.”

Then he sighed quietly, “I do hope what she said about the college entrance exam is true—that it’ll resume in a few years.”

It was a sensitive topic, so Fu Mingze didn’t elaborate.

Seeing that he didn’t take Liu Yunshuang’s words seriously, Shen Mo’er secretly sighed in relief. After all, Liu Yunshuang had mentioned her, and in a way, what she said was close to the truth—the original Shen Mo’er and her father really had disappeared from this world.

Who knew if what Liu Yunshuang predicted would come true? Judging by Fu Zhiqing’s tone, he seemed to care a lot about the college exams.

It was natural for scholars to seek fame and success, just like in the Great Liang dynasty, where scholars aspired to become officials through the imperial exam.

Thinking about the college entrance exam, Fu Mingze fell into a slight daze. It wasn’t until he heard faint voices calling them from afar that he snapped out of it. “Is that Granny Chen and the others calling us?”

“I heard it too. Let’s hurry and catch up to them,” Shen Mo’er replied.

They were in a deep forest, and the two of them—an unmarried young man and woman—were alone. Others wouldn’t know it was just a coincidence. They might gossip.

Fu Mingze nodded.

Just as they were tidying up to leave, a few gray figures suddenly shot out of the nearby bushes, darting past them.

Before Fu Mingze could react, Shen Mo’er had already thrown her short hoe, used for digging wild vegetables, and in a flash, grabbed the sickle from his hand and flung it too.

Thud!

Thwack!

The gray figures were hit. Fu Mingze quickly stepped forward and was dumbfounded. Several rabbits lay on the ground.

Yes, multiple rabbits.

One had been hit in the head with the hoe, another struck in the body with the handle, and one was pinned down by the sickle. It wasn’t a bloody scene, but these four rabbits were clearly not going anywhere.

They struggled weakly but couldn’t escape.

“You…” Fu Mingze looked back at Shen Mo’er, at a loss for words. “You’re pretty amazing.”

If it had been just one rabbit, maybe it could’ve been chalked up to luck. But four in a row? That was definitely skill.

Shen Mo’er looked a little resigned. It was purely a reflex. After all, she had been riding a pony to the annual autumn hunt in Great Liang since she was eight. After ten-plus years of training, it was muscle memory to strike when she saw prey in the wild.

Especially in this world where meat was a rare treat—when she saw the rabbits, her hunger practically leapt out. Her hands moved faster than her brain.

If only she’d had a bow and arrow, it wouldn’t have been just four rabbits—it would’ve been a whole nest.

Now that it had happened, Shen Mo’er grabbed some grass and skillfully tied the rabbits together, tossing three into Fu Mingze’s basket and carrying one by its ears. She explained, “I’m actually naturally strong and have good aim.”

Fu Mingze couldn’t refute that. If she didn’t have good aim, how could she hit a sprinting rabbit with a casual throw? And if she weren’t strong, how could she knock out three rabbits with a single hoe?

Not to mention, her way of tying up the rabbits was also impressively practiced.

If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, Fu Mingze would never have believed someone could catch wild rabbits so easily.

But at the same time, a question nagged at him: if she had such skills, why had she nearly starved before?

Still, it was too personal a question, so he didn’t ask.

“Huh? Is that… ginseng?!”

After cleaning up the wild rabbits, Shen Mo’er caught a glimpse out of the corner of her eye of the place where the rabbits had heroically fallen, now barely clinging to life. Several plants nearby had been knocked askew, and among them, one was unmistakably a wild ginseng root.

Judging from the arrangement of its leaves, it wasn’t particularly old, but since they were already relatively far south, wild ginseng in this region was exceedingly rare. Even more so for one that had aged a few years.

Could this be the very same wild ginseng Liu Yunshuang had been searching for all this time?

The thought made Shen Mo’er’s scalp tingle. It was one thing to have doubts before, but now that she had discovered something Liu Yunshuang had clearly described, it seemed to confirm her story. The idea of someone returning from the dead now felt all the more undeniable, sending a chill through her heart.

Although Shen Mo’er had experienced a few miraculous things herself, she hadn’t gone through life and death. Toward ghosts and spirits, she felt not only respect but also an unavoidable fear.

Fu Mingze clearly had the same thought, but his belief in materialism was rock-solid. His voice remained calm and even as he said, “It’s probably just a coincidence.”

Even after they actually found a wild ginseng root, he still didn’t believe Liu Yunshuang’s story. Shen Mo’er turned her head to glance at him. His handsome face was serene and unshaken. It was clear he truly believed what he said. She couldn’t help but feel both amused and impressed.

Comrade Fu truly had a steadfast will.

Perhaps it was his calm demeanor that influenced her; Shen Mo’er didn’t feel so afraid anymore. She quickly gathered her emotions, rolled up her sleeves, and deftly dug out the ginseng root.

Now that they had found it, they couldn’t just leave it lying there.

In fact, her family vault had ginseng much older and more precious than this—some decades old, even over a hundred years. But they wouldn’t dare take those out.

Instead, it was this kind of wild ginseng—discovered by chance in the forest, and not particularly old—that didn’t draw attention and could be directly taken to the procurement station for money.

Shen Mo’er tossed the ginseng root into the bamboo basket Fu Mingze was carrying on his back, then gathered a few handfuls of wild vegetables and placed them on top to roughly cover everything inside.

After that, she boldly picked up one of the rabbits they’d deliberately left outside and said, “Let’s go.”

Her actions were smooth and fluid. Watching her, Fu Mingze couldn’t help raising his brows slightly. He realized that the impression he had of Shen Mo’er from hearsay was vastly different from the person herself.

Not long after they left, they ran into Aunt Chen and the others, who had come back looking for them. Aunt Chen’s face was full of worry. “Oh dear, where did you two run off to? We were so worried!”

Little Zhuang, the sharp-eyed grandson of Aunt Cai, immediately spotted the rabbit in Shen Mo’er’s hand and shouted, “Ah! A rabbit! A rabbit!”

Once he spoke, the other children noticed it too.

“Wow! It really is a rabbit!”

“Big Sister Mo’er, did you catch that rabbit? You’re amazing!”

“This rabbit looks so tasty… slurp…”

Shen Mo’er glanced at the rabbit in her hand and replied confidently, “I didn’t catch it. It was Comrade Fu who did.”

All the children immediately turned their adoring eyes toward Fu Mingze, their bright yet silly gazes full of longing for rabbit meat.

Fu Mingze: “……”

If he tried to say that Shen Mo’er had actually caught the rabbit, no one would believe him anyway, right?

He looked speechlessly at Shen Mo’er. She grinned slyly, then turned away without a care and began discussing how to deal with the rabbit with Aunt Chen.

According to regulations, wild game from the mountains was supposed to be handed over to the collective. After all, the mountains belonged to the people, so every blade of grass and every animal technically did too.

But in reality, the various production brigades didn’t enforce things so strictly. Otherwise, would people have to hand over wild vegetables and mushrooms they gathered too? That would be chaos.

Their local mountains didn’t have many wild animals. There were wild boars, but they stayed deep in the woods and were rarely seen. There were pheasants and rabbits as well, but since there were no hunters in the surrounding brigades, it was rare for anyone to catch any.

So when a blind cat stumbled upon a dead mouse, as long as they didn’t go around flaunting it, they could quietly sell it on the black market or eat it at home, and no one would say anything.

In other words, they could handle this rabbit entirely on their own.

After a brief discussion with Aunt Chen, Shen Mo’er decided to let Aunt Chen take the rabbit home to cook. Later, they would invite everyone present today to share the meal.

A single rabbit didn’t have much meat; each person wouldn’t get more than a few bites. But for rural folk who hardly had meat year-round, this was an incredible treat.

The children instantly cheered with joy, and even the older women beamed with happiness.

Thinking about the upcoming meat feast, and seeing that Shen Mo’er didn’t have many mushrooms in her basket, they assumed she had been too busy chasing the rabbit to gather more. They began gathering mushrooms themselves—some picking a few, others grabbing handfuls—and soon her bamboo basket was full.

They even skipped their original plan of digging for bamboo shoots and simply headed home.

Once they reached the village at the base of the mountain, everyone split up to return home. The plan was to cook their own rice and then bring it to Aunt Chen’s house to eat the dishes together.

Cooking just the dishes already required a lot—firewood, seasonings, and vegetables for stewing the rabbit. All of that cost money. No one was so shameless as to expect someone else to provide the rice too.

Aunt Chen was delighted. On the way home, she stopped by her own plot and picked some water spinach, planning to cook a rabbit stew with mushrooms, stir-fry the water spinach, and make a cold salad from wild vegetables. In rural terms, that was already a very decent meal to serve guests.

Right before parting, Aunt Chen grabbed Fu Mingze and urged him, “Comrade Fu, you have to come. You caught the rabbit. If you don’t come, we’ll be too ashamed to eat it!” She was afraid the young man would be too shy to show up.

Fu Mingze: “……”

But he hadn’t actually caught the rabbit.

The old lady was too enthusiastic. When he didn’t immediately agree, she clung to his hand and wouldn’t let go. With no way to refuse, Fu Mingze had no choice but to nod.

Since the bamboo basket belonged to Shen Mo’er’s family, he accompanied her to carry it back home.

There were still a few mushrooms and wild vegetables at the bottom of the basket that Fu Mingze had picked, but they were buried under the rabbits. There weren’t many of them, and he didn’t feel like bothering with them, so after putting the basket down, he turned to leave.

Just as he turned around, Shen Mo’er grabbed his arm and said, “Comrade Fu, we haven’t split the loot yet!”