Chapter 22

Chen Suihuan wanted to maintain a good relationship with the people at the Educated Youth Site, but she did not want to be taken advantage of.

For the sake of smooth relations in the future, she believed it was better to be upfront and clear from the start.

Fortunately, Guo Lan was not an unreasonable person. After putting herself in Chen Suihuan’s position, she didn’t have any particular thoughts or objections.

However, Liu Lainan suddenly jumped in: “Chen Suihuan, this is your fault. Since you dared to go up the mountain and could pick so many mushrooms, naturally you should do more work. You need to pick more in the future, otherwise this small amount won’t be enough to cook.”

Chen Suihuan looked at Liu Lainan, then turned to Guo Lan and said: “Tomorrow’s stir-fried mushrooms will not include any for Liu Lainan. If you let her eat it, then I won’t give these mushrooms to the Educated Youth Site at all.”

After saying that, Chen Suihuan pushed Liu Lainan away and went back into her room. Qin Fei and Gao Yue sneered and followed her inside.

Liu Lainan immediately became angry: “Chen Suihuan! What do you mean by that?”

“I don’t like you! That’s why I don’t want you to eat the mushrooms I picked.”

Chen Suihuan straightforwardly said what she felt. She really, really disliked Liu Lainan.

Liu Lainan was so upset she could hardly contain herself. Then she turned around and glared at Guo Lan, who was trying to sneak away quietly: “Look! Chen Suihuan is discriminating against me. Aren’t you going to do anything about it?”

Guo Lan looked at Liu Lainan as if she was crazy: “These are her mushrooms that she picked. She can choose who to give them to or not. She has every right. How do you want me to manage this?”

After saying that, Guo Lan ignored Liu Lainan and went straight into her own room, closing the door.

Liu Lainan gave a cold glare at the door, then stormed angrily into the courtyard to wash up.

After waiting until everyone else had fallen asleep, Chen Suihuan went again to the toilet and then into the storage space. After feeding the chickens and ducks, she noticed many fruits were ripe, so she picked a few to eat. After finishing, she took more than twenty eggs back to her room.

Yesterday, Qin Fei, Gao Yue, and another had bought some eggs from villagers nearby. Since the work was too tiring and there was no meat, they could only rely on eggs to replenish their energy.

Using this as an excuse, Chen Suihuan took out some extra eggs from the storage and put them in the box so that no one suspicious would notice.

After finishing this, Chen Suihuan filled Qin Fei and Gao Yue’s water bottles with diluted Spiritual Spring Water before going to bed.

The Spiritual Spring Water had a good effect on strengthening the body, and the diluted version was enough for them.

If they drank it pure, Chen Suihuan worried it might turn them into two strongmen. If that happened, her secret about having the spirit potion probably wouldn’t stay hidden anymore.

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The next day, when she had eight pounds of vegetables in hand, Chen Suihuan informed Qin Fei and Gao Yue and once again carried her basket up the mountain.

She walked deeper into the mountain for a while, only spotting a tall figure by a small creek.

Lu Xingyan saw Chen Suihuan, waved, and then walked over.

Chen Suihuan noticed that he was also carrying a basket on his back and held a machete in his hand—he must have come prepared.

Lu Xingyan led Chen Suihuan up the mountain, explaining along the way some of the plants and animals—pointing out which were edible and which were poisonous.

He was a very good and attentive teacher, and Chen Suihuan studied very earnestly.

Halfway through the walk, Lu Xingyan suddenly stopped, his eyes shining as he pointed at a patch of grass not far ahead.

“See that? You have to remember this kind of leaf. This is yam, and it is exactly the season when it bears fruit. There’s such a big patch here; it could probably yield a hundred pounds or so of yam.”

Chen Suihuan hurried toward the spot: “Is it really true? If it’s just one or two jin, we can eat for a long time. I love eating yam the most.”

Lu Xingyan followed her and took a couple of steps, then suddenly his expression changed: “Chen Suihuan, wait!”

But it was already too late. Chen Suihuan had already squatted down by the yam vines. She heard Lu Xingyan call out, and just as she was about to raise her head, she saw a green snake springing toward her.

The next second, Chen Suihuan was suddenly yanked backwards by the collar of her clothes and fell hard. At the same time, a hand holding a dagger swung upward and chopped the snake in half.

Chen Suihuan was truly frightened. Seeing the snake suddenly, her body shook uncontrollably—this was a completely instinctive reaction.

“It’s okay now, don’t be afraid. The snake is dead.” Lu Xingyan said as he saw Chen Suihuan’s face turn pale. He couldn’t help but pull her into his arms to comfort her gently.

“I—I’m fine now. It’s just that the snake appeared so suddenly, I didn’t have time to react. Are there really so many snakes on this mountain?” Chen Suihuan suddenly felt reluctant to explore the mountain any further.

Snakes! They were the creatures she feared most.

Lu Xingyan felt a bit apologetic: “It’s my fault. I forgot that there are actually snakes around here. Wait for me a moment.”

After saying this, Lu Xingyan released Chen Suihuan and started to walk to the side. Chen Suihuan instinctively grabbed the corner of his clothes.

“What are you doing? Take me with you. I don’t want to stay here right now.” Just thinking about the snake made her break out in goosebumps.

Lu Xingyan took Chen Suihuan’s hand and walked to the side. Chen Suihuan no longer cared about anything else; she followed him closely like a shadow.

Looking around, Lu Xingyan finally found two or three medicinal plants. While digging, he tore off a leaf and handed it to Chen Suihuan.

“This is Seven-leaf One-branch Flower, also called Chonglou. It’s the best herb for preventing snake bites. Next time you see it, you can pick some, dry it, crush it into powder, and carry it with you. That way, snakes won’t come near you.

“This one is Snake Commander, which also prevents snake bites. These two are a bit hard to find. If you get the chance, you can also look for Balsam Flower—it’s also pretty effective against snakes.”

Chen Suihuan was familiar with Balsam Flower. When she was little, she often used it to dye her nails. She had never expected it could also keep snakes away.

“Thank you.” Chen Suihuan sincerely said, watching Lu Xingyan busily working.

Lu Xingyan looked up at her: “You’re the one I brought into the mountain, so of course I have to take good care of you. Hurry and remember these herbs. Next time you come into the mountain, you won’t be afraid of snakes.”

Chen Suihuan nodded and hurried to distinguish between the Seven-leaf One-branch Flower and Snake Commander.

Looking down at the herbs, she didn’t notice a faint blush flash across Lu Xingyan’s face, even his ear tips turned red.

He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Chen Suihuan stared into his eyes; he was clearly a little overwhelmed.

While Lu Xingyan was digging the herbs, Chen Suihuan subtly took several whole plants with roots and slipped them into her storage space.

Since both herbs repelled snakes and she was most afraid of snakes, she was determined to plant some in her storage space. Since the space was special, the herbs might be even more effective there.

After encountering the snake that day, Chen Suihuan was still shaken and didn’t think it was suitable to run further up the mountain. After discussing, the two decided to dig yams here and go further up the mountain the next day.

Both of them carried machetes, not small hoes, so digging the yams was somewhat difficult. However, they were both strong, and after a little over an hour, they had dug almost a whole basket full.