Lan Qingshuang gave a satisfied hum. “That’s more like it. Also, it’s time to give our daughter a name.”  

[Fuman, Little Fuman! The name Mama picked—Fuman likes it!]

The couple looked down at the little one’s sparkling eyes.  

Ye Zhoushan raised an eyebrow. “So, Fuman it is? Ye Fuman?”  

The little one pouted. [No, no! Mama picks, not stinky Daddy!]  

Ye Zhoushan: “…”  

Lan Qingshuang burst into laughter. “Then Fuman it is. Little Fuman, our little treasure, brimming with good fortune!”  

[Yes, yes! A little treasure full of blessings, Mama’s little treasure!]

Ye Zhoushan gritted his teeth. “I’ll go cook.”  

Lan Qingshuang glanced at the man, whose eyes were red with frustration, and felt a twinge of pity.  

“Make a bit more. You’ve been working hard lately.”  

Ye Zhoushan patted his daughter’s little bottom. “No need. Supplies are tight, and you don’t have enough to eat as it is.”  

“I’m a grown man—I can handle anything. Don’t worry about it. I know how to manage.”  

Lan Qingshuang sighed. “Tomorrow, go borrow some grain from the brigade. We’ll pay it back by year’s end.”  

“No matter what, we still need to fill our bellies.”  

Ye Zhoushan nodded. “I’ll also see if anyone’s selling chickens. If not, I’ll go up the mountain and try to catch a pheasant to make soup for you.”  

“Our daughter needs milk, and you need nourishment. Chicken is best for that.”  

Lan Qingshuang doubted anyone would sell a chicken—they were too precious.  

Pheasants were even harder to catch, but she didn’t want to dampen his spirits with pessimism.  

As Ye Zhoushan went to cook, Lan Qingshuang fed their daughter again.  

Little Fuman ate absentmindedly, her tiny mind fixated on the pheasant Ye Zhoushan had mentioned.  

[Pheasant, pheasant, pheasant…]

Ye Zhoushan & Lan Qingshuang: “…”  

Ye Zhoushan was boiling water when a pheasant fell from the sky—straight into the pot.  

Ye Zhoushan: ???  

…  

The next morning, the work bell rang across Minsheng Brigade.  

Ye Zhoushan had already prepared breakfast for Lan Qingshuang.  

“Leave the bowls here when you’re done. I’ve left a chamber pot in the room—use it if you need to relieve yourself. Don’t go outside and catch a chill.”  

“I’ll come back to check on you now and then. If anything happens, don’t panic.”  

Their home was quite isolated, and after what had happened before, Ye Zhoushan couldn’t rest easy leaving his wife and daughter alone. He repeated his instructions over and over.  

Lan Qingshuang didn’t find it annoying.  

But Little Fuman, disturbed by the noise, puckered her lips and waved her tiny fists, on the verge of waking up with a loud cry.  

Ye Zhoushan quickly shut his mouth and planted a kiss on his daughter’s head in mock exasperation. “You’re truly my little ancestor. Be good and wait for Daddy to come back, alright?”  

Lan Qingshuang couldn’t help but laugh. Cradling their daughter, she gently patted her to sleep and shooed Ye Zhoushan away as he kept glancing back.  

Once the baby was sound asleep, she picked up her bowl to eat breakfast.  

Inside was the pheasant that had “volunteered” itself the night before, along with some wheat-flour dumplings.  

Thinking back to last night, both Lan Qingshuang and Ye Zhoushan couldn’t help but suspect that the pheasant had been summoned by their daughter.  

The little one seemed to possess abilities beyond their understanding—like the mind-reading, for instance.  

The couple wasn’t afraid, but they worried whether these abilities might harm their daughter.  

….

“Trash gave birth to a worthless girl.”  

“One’s a filthy wretch, the other’s a short-lived ghost.”  

“Green grass on the ground, green hat on someone’s head.”  

“Shameful, laughable, clapping hands for the joke of the century.”  

Lan Qingshuang was lost in thought when a group of children ran past the door, chanting and laughing as they disappeared into the distance.  

Every word reached her ears clearly, and her expression darkened.  

….

In the fields, Ye Zhoushan was assigned the task of carrying water to irrigate the crops.  

The seedlings had sprouted, but with no rain for over a month, the land was parched and required manual watering.  

Thanks to his youth and strength, Ye Zhoushan shouldered the buckets and ran back and forth at a brisk pace.  

He needed to finish today’s assigned work quickly so he could go up the mountain afterward.

Although a chicken had miraculously appeared yesterday, it wasn’t enough. He still needed to go up the mountain to check.  

As for buying a chicken—that was out of the question.  

Every household guarded their chicken jealously, so no one would sell. He couldn’t be bothered to waste his time asking.  

What usually took others a full day to finish, Ye Zhoushan completed in less than a morning.  

Just as he was about to pack up and leave, a young woman approached him.  

“Ye Zhoushan, you’re done here, right? Perfect—we’ve got a lot of work left. Come help us out.”  

The young woman was Ye Zhenzhen, Old Man Ye’s late-born daughter—Ye Zhoushan’s aunt.  

Petite in stature, she took entirely after her mother, Madam Wu.  

Her looks were merely average. If she had inherited Madam Wu’s fair skin, she might have been passable.  

Unfortunately, she’d gotten Old Man Ye’s dark complexion, making her… well, hard to describe.  

In the Ye household, she was the pampered princess—never lifting a finger, yet always bossing others around.  

Demanding Ye Zhoushan’s help was second nature to her, delivered with an air of entitlement.  

The Ye family usually worked together as a unit, and no one wanted to partner with them.  

On top of that, the tasks assigned to them were always more difficult than others’.  

Ye Zhoushan glanced up, expression indifferent. “Sure. I was planning to go up the mountain to find some food for my wife and kid.”  

“But since Auntie here needs help, I won’t have time for the mountain. Guess my wife will just have to make do with a few eggs.”  

“Auntie, go fetch the eggs first. I’ll take them home and make lunch for my wife while I’m at it.”  

“After I finish the work, I’ll just grab a bite at the old house—saves me the trouble of cooking again.”  

Ye Zhenzhen’s small eyes widened in outrage. “Ye Zhoushan, have you no shame? Asking for payment just to help with a bit of work? Has your conscience been eaten by dogs?”  

“Or has that trashy wife of yours poisoned your mind so much you’ve forgotten your own roots?”  

Ye Zhoushan’s expression turned frosty. “Ye Zhenzhen, I heard your mother’s been scouting for a husband for you in the commune.”  

“Anyone living in the commune has at least some reputation to uphold.”  

“You think they’d still want you if they knew how foul-mouthed, mean-spirited, and lazy you are?”  

Ye Zhenzhen’s face twisted with rage. “Ye Zhoushan, if you dare ruin my reputation, you’ll regret it!”  

Ye Zhoushan couldn’t care less about her empty threats.  

“I’ve got no time to waste bickering with you. So, are there eggs or not? If not, I’m heading up the mountain.”  

Ye Zhenzhen gnashed her teeth. “Go eat shit!” With that, she stormed off.  

Ye Zhoushan smirked. With the Ye family’s background, dreaming of marrying into the commune? Only a fool like Madam Wu would entertain such delusions.  

Oh, wait—no. Both mother and daughter were fools, equally delusional.  

After packing up the buckets and returning them to the brigade, he strode into the mountains.  

It was early spring, the season of renewal, and wild vegetables were sprouting everywhere.  

Along the foothills and the outer edges of the mountain, children were busy digging up greens.  

Ye Zhoushan didn’t pass them up either, casually plucking some and tossing them into his basket.  

The wild greens were tender—perfect for making dumplings if he managed to get some meat later.  

Too bad his little princess didn’t have teeth yet. She’d just have to watch.  

The thought of his wife and daughter brought a smile to his face, and his steps grew even bolder.  

The largest mountain in Minsheng Brigade was called “Pants Mountain,” named for its resemblance to a pair of trousers.  

Minsheng Brigade sat right at the “crotch” of Pants Mountain.  

Ye Zhoushan walked inward from the crotch, soon reaching the deeper parts of the mountain.  

Rumors said this place was teeming with wolves, bears, tigers, and wild boars—far too dangerous for anyone to venture in.  

Which worked out perfectly for Ye Zhoushan.  

He came here often. The area was rich with game, and whatever he caught, he’d trade in the county town for money, ration coupons, or supplies.  

That big iron pot at home? That’s how he’d gotten it.  

Even before marriage, he’d relied on hunting here to fill his belly—yet he’d never once encountered those legendary beasts.  

But his luck today was as lousy as ever. Aside from wild greens, he found nothing.