Chapter 69: Mine! Mine! It’s All Mine!

Ming Dai never forgot to think about food, even while watching the commotion.

After all the grains were distributed, Ming Dai used soybeans and mung beans to grow bean sprouts.

The method was simple—just maintaining the right humidity and temperature. She set up a simple heated platform inside the hut and placed two large baskets of soybeans and mung beans on top.

In a week’s time, the bean sprouts were ready to eat.

Whether stir-fried or made into soup, they were widely welcomed by everyone.

Thinking of adding some variety, Ming Dai also sprouted some peanuts and stir-fried them occasionally for a change in flavor.

Everyone was delighted. Compared to the coarse, grainy meals of previous years, this year’s food was like heaven and earth. Not to mention, they could now eat two full meals a day. If not for the exhausting labor, each of them would have gained weight—a thought that was unimaginable in past winters!

Most people adapted well, except for the new educated youths.

Day and night, the sound of Liu Yan’s sobbing could be heard now and then, earning her the nickname “Meng Jiang Nü.”

However, she only dared to cry when Song Lanlan wasn’t around.

Otherwise, Song Lanlan would always find a way to make her cry even louder.

Qi Zhijun also became increasingly silent.

Having been a wealthy young master with no worries about food or clothing, he had never exerted himself physically. Back in Liujiawan, when he had to peel corn and chop cabbage, he already found it exhausting. Compared to that, the work at the reservoir was simply overwhelming.

Even with Liu Yan occasionally helping him, he struggled. His shoulders were swollen so badly that even a light touch would cause pain.

He spent money asking people to send letters to the commune, hoping Fang Rou would come to see him. Even just a bit of comfort would help him endure.

But Fang Rou never came—not even once. She didn’t even reply to a single letter. All his hopes sank like a stone into the sea.

Zhang Xiaojun and Liu Daye continued slacking off as usual. They were frequently warned and had their wages docked, but in the end, they simply stopped caring altogether.

Only Cai Mingcheng and the simple-minded Qin Fangfang worked diligently. They were fully accepted by both the villagers and the older educated youths.

At that moment, the very Fang Rou that Qi Zhijun longed for was standing inside the office of the commune’s elementary school.

She looked at the letter from the capital. Instead of repeatedly urging her to return, the wording had changed—it now instructed her and Qi Zhijun to stay in the countryside and seriously participate in their rural assignment.

She hadn’t expected the downfall of the Fang and Qi families to come so soon.

In her previous life, since she and Qi Zhijun had still been in the capital, the elders must have deliberately kept this from them.

But now, everything was different. She wouldn’t rush into the countryside and end up as the abandoned wife she was in her past life. This time, she would become the wife of the richest man, standing at the pinnacle with her beloved.

As for the letters Qi Zhijun had sent, of course, she had received them.

From the initial longing, to the sincere pleas in the middle, and finally, to the frustration and anger at the end—Fang Rou read them all with a smile.

“Zhijun-ge, the pain I endured in my past life, I will return to you a thousand times over!”

Aside from her usual cooking, Ming Dai had started venturing into the nearby mountains with Zhou Sinian.

They usually set out at night and returned by noon to cook. If they planned to go farther, they would prepare the food in advance so that Huang Dalian could simply reheat it the next day.

On this particular day, their target was a deep mountain in the distance.

They departed at midnight. Zhou Sinian’s long legs covered nearly two meters in a single stride, while Ming Dai, tucked under his arm, swung her short legs in jealousy.

By dawn, they had reached their destination.

This was the tallest mountain in the area—Daqing Mountain. There should be a spring on the mountain, as part of the reservoir’s water supply came from here.

Rubbing their faces numb from the cold wind, they began their ascent.

Ming Dai had recently discovered a new feature of her treasure-hunting ability—she could now set the category of treasures based on her intent.

For example, if she set her target to food and medicinal herbs, all edible plants, animals, and herbs in the area would become visible to her.

Especially the medicinal herbs—Daqing Mountain was practically a treasure trove! A treasure trove!

The very herbs she had desperately sought in her past life were everywhere here!

Today, their goal was to find wild ginseng!

After setting the target, the entire mountain seemed to break down before her eyes. Slowly, tiny glowing spots began to appear throughout the forest.

Once they confirmed the location, they headed toward the brightest and densest cluster of light.

Ming Dai led the way while Zhou Sinian cleared the path and kept watch for safety.

Besides wolves, Ming Dai also spotted two Siberian tigers. She wasn’t sure if they were a mating pair.

The morning fog in the mountains was thick, leaving everything damp and slippery. After walking for a while, Ming Dai was completely exhausted.

It wasn’t that she lacked stamina—she was just too small. The ground was covered in layers of decaying plants, and one misstep could easily send her tumbling. To make things easier, Zhou Sinian carried her on his back.

Being on Zhou Sinian’s back felt strange to Ming Dai—part of her resisted, yet she also felt shy. No one had ever carried her like this before.

She had also never experienced what it was like to breathe the air at over 1.9 meters in height.

But after a brief moment of awkwardness, she quickly became dissatisfied. Zhou Sinian was too skinny, and his bony back was painfully uncomfortable. She couldn’t understand where all the food he ate every day actually went.

Without the extra burden, Zhou Sinian moved much faster, and they quickly reached the area where the glowing spots were concentrated.

Lifting away layers of decomposed leaves, an entire field of wild ginseng was revealed.

Ming Dai’s eyes lit up as she gasped in excitement. “We’re rich! We’re rich!”

She looked at one root—oh! 200 years old!

Then another—ah! 500 years old!

Ming Dai couldn’t believe it. In the past, at medicinal herb conventions, she had begged, pleaded, and even offered a fortune, yet she still couldn’t buy wild ginseng like this.

But here—

There was an entire field of it!

Mine! Mine! It’s all mine!

Take it all! Take it all! Everything must be taken!!

She was completely dazzled by the sight and couldn’t bear to leave any behind. In the end, she simply packed up the entire hillside and stored it in her space.

Fortunately, her space had a vast expanse of land, so she placed the small ginseng forest right in front of her villa. Seeing it there filled her with endless delight.

After securing the ginseng, Ming Dai was full of enthusiasm as she directed Zhou Sinian to the next location.

This area also had a patch of wild ginseng, just as large as the previous one.

Ming Dai didn’t harvest everything—she only dug out the older ones, leaving the younger ones to grow.

Zhou Sinian watched as Ming Dai lay on the ground, carefully brushing away the dirt with a small brush. He couldn’t understand her obsession.

After observing for a moment, he simply took out the pine nut candy Ming Dai had made for him, chewing as he kept watch.

When Ming Dai unearthed a 500-year-old ginseng root, her entire body trembled with excitement.

This kind of treasure didn’t exist in later generations. The so-called century-old wild ginseng on the market was either a family heirloom or an artificially cultivated fake.

Looking at the ginseng root, which had already taken on a humanoid shape like a tiny ginseng doll, Ming Dai’s grin nearly reached her ears.

Zhou Sinian, still chewing on his candy, noticed Ming Dai’s enchanted expression. His eyes flickered mischievously.

In a flash, before Ming Dai could react, he snatched the ginseng doll from her hands with lightning speed.

Ming Dai barely saw a blur before realizing the ginseng was gone from her grasp!!

She looked up just in time to see Zhou Sinian lifting the ginseng doll toward his mouth!!

!!!!!!

Ming Dai’s scream caught in her throat. In a desperate leap, she lunged onto Zhou Sinian, immediately shoving her hand into his mouth just before he could take a bite!

She blocked him completely!

Zhou Sinian!!!