The night was deep.

The chirping of insects and birds echoed continuously.

When Cheng Wanwan first arrived here, she couldn’t sleep at all.

But after a few days, she got used to it.

She slept soundly and woke up naturally at dawn.

Early in the morning, the village head gathered everyone in the village.

Except for the elderly, children, and pregnant women, all were required to assemble under the big pagoda tree in the center of the village.

Many who were well-informed had already figured out what was happening.

“I heard that food was found deep in the mountains.”

“Seems to be something similar to sweet potatoes. It’s called ‘jade bamboo shoots’ and can fill the stomach.”

“I go up the mountain three times a day. How come I never found such a treasure?”

The village head stood on higher ground and coughed. Instantly, the entire crowd fell silent.

Matters concerning food were of utmost importance.

“It hasn’t rained, and there’s not much work to do in the fields. Today, everyone should set aside their farming tasks and follow me up the mountain!” the village head announced loudly. “Bring everything that can hold food. Every able-bodied person must go. We need to dig up the food as quickly as possible!”

Someone asked, “How will the food be divided?”

“Whatever you dig up is yours,” the village head said sternly. “But our Dahe Village is like one big family. Some elderly, weak, women, and children can’t work, and we can’t just watch them starve. So, each family that digs jade bamboo shoots must contribute ten pounds. We’ll gather around 200 pounds to distribute among those in need.”

Upon hearing this, the villagers became excited.

The village head was always fair.

If he was asking for ten pounds per household, that meant each family could at least dig up 100 pounds.

In these tough times, 100 pounds of food could save lives. If rationed carefully, it could feed a family for a month.

The whole village set out in a mighty procession toward the mountain.

As they walked, the women started chatting, and gossip spread among them.

“I heard that Old Zhao’s family discovered the jade bamboo shoots. As soon as Old Zhao found them, he immediately told the village head.”

“But his family has a troublemaker—Zhao Youcai’s wife, Madam Sun. Yesterday, she secretly sent someone to neighbor Village to inform her relatives about the jade bamboo shoots.”

“When the village head and Old Zhao arrived, they found that more than a dozen people from the Sun family were already digging up the jade bamboo shoots. That mountain belongs to our Dahe Village! Why should the other Village take our food?”

“So what happened? Did we get the jade bamboo shoots back?”

“Our village head is kind-hearted. He saw that the Sun family’s grandchildren were starving and let them take about ten pounds back. But because Madam Sun leaked the information, the village head had to urgently call all of us to dig up the jade bamboo shoots. If we had delayed, other Villages would have taken everything.”

“Osmanthus Village is too shameless! Setting traps in the mountains was one thing, but now they’re stealing our food?”

The crowd kept talking, and Madam Sun’s face turned red with anger.

The jade bamboo shoots were discovered by her daughter—what was wrong with letting her own family take some?

If it weren’t for her daughter Chunhua following along, her sister-in-law would never have told the village head.

Now, these ungrateful people were benefiting from their find and still blaming her!

She opened her mouth to argue but hesitated.

They were all from the same village, and she had to live with them.

If their relationships soured too much, she would suffer.

Instead, she vented her frustration on her youngest daughter, Donghua, pinching the little girl hard.

Eight-year-old Donghua winced in pain, her eyes welling up with tears.

“It was Donghua who saw the food and couldn’t resist bragging to her uncle’s family. Who could have expected this mess?” Madam Sun explained, then turned to scold her daughter, “If you dare to run your mouth again, I’ll tear it right off!”

Terrified, Donghua didn’t even dare to breathe loudly.

She knew it was her mother who had told her to inform Osmanthus Village, so why was she being blamed now?

But her mother’s expression was too frightening.

She didn’t even dare to cry.

Her grandmother once told her that when her mother was pregnant with her, she thought she was carrying a son.

But when she was born a girl, her mother never liked her.

Donghua clutched her sore arm and silently followed behind the group.

The other villagers fell silent.

If they said any more, Donghua might end up getting beaten.

Among the crowd, Cheng Wanwan shook her head.

Being loyal to one’s maiden family was understandable, but angering the whole village had its consequences.

If she were in that situation, she wasn’t sure she would handle it well either.

But she would never let a child take the blame.

At the end of the day, the real problem was poverty. With a famine looming, everyone just wanted to fill their stomachs.

Everyone had their own selfish interests.

After half an hour of walking, they finally reached their destination.

The dried-up pond was only about three or four acres, but underneath the soil, layers of jade bamboo shoots were hidden. With a single shovel, one could dig out quite a few.

However, the soil was incredibly dry and hard. It took the time of an entire cup of tea to dig out just one shoot.

Extracting them intact took even longer.

Cheng Wanwan and her four sons found a shaded spot.

She instructed them, “Dig as much as you can, but don’t overwork yourselves. Be careful not to hurt your hands.”

Zhao Sanniu patted his chest. “Don’t worry, Mom, my skin is thick!”

He grabbed a shovel and got to work enthusiastically.

Zhao Dashan and Zhao Ergou weren’t far behind, working quickly.

Meanwhile, Zhao Sidan squatted on the ground, carefully brushing the dirt off the bamboo shoots before placing them in the basket.

Cheng Wanwan couldn’t just sit back as an adult.

She resigned herself to squatting down and working alongside them.

But soon, her palms started to sting.

Within moments, she had three large blisters on her hands.

Zhao Dashan noticed and said, “Mom, why don’t you take a break? We’ll do the digging.”

Cheng Wanwan frowned. “Show me your hands.”

The boys stretched out their hands—thick-skinned and completely unscathed.

Cheng Wanwan felt embarrassed.

The original owner of this body had been too lazy.

She hadn’t worked in so long that her skin was more delicate than that of a teenage girl.

She got up and went to rest in the shade.

This was what the original owner always did, so no one found it unusual.

Having many sons was a blessing—once they grew up, they were all excellent laborers.

No wonder Zhao Dashan’s wife was struggling so much.

When the younger sons married, their wives would also have to follow strict rules and obediently serve their mother-in-law.

Many women in the village were envious.

Especially Madam Sun. She had no sons and resented those who did.

She glanced at her two daughters and grew even more frustrated.

Her face darkened.

Next to her, Chunhua and Donghua worked silently.

Their hands blistered and bled, but they didn’t dare make a sound.

Cheng Wanwan sat in the shade for a while, then decided to go back to work.

As she stood up, a voice suddenly echoed in her mind.

[Ding! A wild hundred-year-old ginseng has been discovered!]