Chapter 18: A Strange Sight (Part 1)

Mu Mian really did give herself a task. She wanted to prepare a gift for her grandmother. But as her mother said, their financial situation was what it was, and there wasn’t much she could buy.

More importantly, she had no money. Her little gold nugget stash was her secret treasure, and she couldn’t take it out to use now.

The one yuan compensation from the Shi family wasn’t in her hands either. It had been taken by Comrade Liu Shuangcui for safekeeping, fearing she might lose it.

After thinking for a while, Mu Mian realized that making something by hand was her only option. So, she asked her mother for some needle and thread, along with small fabric scraps.

Liu Shuangcui eyed her suspiciously, a bit uneasy. “What are you trying to sew? Don’t end up poking yourself and crying later.”

Mu Mian stretched out her little hands and wiggled all ten fingers. “That won’t happen! I’m nimble and definitely good with my hands!”

Liu Shuangcui was often amused by her daughter. “I’ve never seen someone praising themselves like this. Go ahead, but don’t waste anything. That red thread is hard to come by.”

Mu Mian patted her chest. “I won’t waste it!”

However, by then, the sky had already darkened. Even if she wanted to start, she would have to wait until the next day.

The next morning, when Mu Mian woke up, she found that it had rained lightly the night before. By now, the ground had mostly dried.

After breakfast, a breeze picked up, making the weather feel incredibly refreshing.

Mu Mian stayed in her room, carefully stitching and patching the small fabric pieces together. When she stepped out to use the toilet, she found that her parents were not at home. Only her grandmother and an older lady were sitting in the yard, chatting while making shoe soles.

Mu Mian asked, “Dad and Mom went out? Where did they go?”

Zhao Meihua nodded. “They left early. Your mother is at your Aunt Guizhi’s house. As for your father, I have no idea. Probably chatting away at someone’s place again.”

Then she turned to her granddaughter and asked, “What were you doing in the house for so long?”

Mu Mian grinned. “Nothing much, just messing around.”

Aunt Li next to Zhao Meihua sighed, “Girls can really sit still. My two boys? The moment they put down their bowls, they rush outside like the chairs at home have needles in them.”

Zhao Meihua chuckled. “That’s just how kids are. They all love to run around outside.”

Mu Mian didn’t want to interrupt their conversation. She looked up at the sky—it was perfect weather for a stroll in the mountains. It would be a shame not to take advantage of it.

Since there was still a week until her grandmother’s birthday, she wasn’t in a hurry to finish her project. She slung a small basket over her back, greeted her grandmother, and headed out.

Instead of going straight to the mountain, she first stopped by the brigade leader’s house. Just as she reached the entrance, she saw the brigade leader’s eldest son, Xu Gaoyi, stepping out.

Mu Mian tilted her head up and greeted, “Brother Xu.”

Xu Gaoyi smiled. “Looking for your mom?”

Mu Mian shook her head. “No, I’m looking for Lele.”

That little girl always came looking for her. If she found out Mu Mian had gone out without inviting her, she would probably pout.

Although, she was pretty easy to cheer up.

Just as Mu Mian finished speaking, Liu Guizhi’s voice came from the yard. “Xiao Mian, you’re here! Come in and sit for a while.”

Mu Mian took a few quick steps into the courtyard and saw her mother and Aunt Guizhi working on a jar of pickled vegetables.

Liu Shuangcui looked over. “Have you finished sewing?”

Mu Mian shook her head. “Next time, I’ll do it next time.”

Liu Shuangcui chuckled. “You sure you didn’t prick your fingers?”

Mu Mian held out her clean, fair hands to prove her dexterity. “I’m fine.”

Liu Guizhi joined the conversation. “What were you sewing?”

Liu Shuangcui replied, “She kept saying last night that she wanted to make something for her grandmother. But she won’t tell me what it is.”

Liu Guizhi exclaimed, “Aiyo! Your Xiao Mian is so thoughtful. She’s such a sweet and filial child.”

Mu Mian scratched her head, smiled sweetly, and quickly changed the subject. “Where’s Lele? Is she not home?”

Liu Guizhi gestured with her chin. “She’s lying down inside. She washed her hair with cold water last night, then left the window open while she slept. The wind got to her, and she woke up with a fever this morning.”

Mu Mian frowned. “Is it serious?”

Liu Guizhi reassured her, “It’s nothing major. The fever has gone down a bit. She should be fine after resting for the morning.”

Liu Shuangcui glanced at her daughter’s basket. “Why are you carrying that? What are you planning to collect? If it’s firewood, leave it to your dad. Don’t bother with it.”

Mu Mian shook the basket. “Not firewood. I’m just going for a walk.”

Liu Shuangcui didn’t press the matter. Kids who grew up at the foot of the mountains naturally loved to run around everywhere.

—

Mu Mian wasn’t collecting firewood. The small basket wouldn’t fit much anyway. She just wandered around, picking up mushrooms and other things she knew the purchasing station would accept.

Halfway up the mountain, Mu Mian ran into Dazhuang, Gutou and a few other boys. They had turned a sloping patch of land into a natural slide, taking turns zooming down with excited shouts.

Not satisfied with the speed, they even fetched water from the river and poured it onto the slope.

With nearly ten boys sliding down one after another, none of them remained clean. Their clothes were covered in mud, and some even had dirt smeared all over their faces.

Take Xiao Chengzi, for example. He was so filthy that Mu Mian almost didn’t recognize him. If he hadn’t called out to her, she really wouldn’t have known it was him.

Xiao Chengzi excitedly invited her, “Sister, are you sure you don’t want to try? It’s so much fun! It’s my turn next, but I can let you go first!”

Each person got one turn at a time, and he had to wait several rounds before it was his turn again.

Mu Mian sincerely appreciated her little cousin’s enthusiasm but declined without hesitation, “Heh, no need. You go ahead and play.”

No wonder his pants had so many patches. With how reckless he was, if they didn’t reinforce them with extra layers, his bottom would probably be exposed.

Xiao Chengzi gave his cousin a look that clearly said, You really don’t know what you’re missing.

Mu Mian, however, had no interest in experiencing it. She knew that if she got that dirty, even she wouldn’t be able to stand herself.

Not wanting to linger in a group of rowdy boys, she didn’t stay long and left soon after.

On the way, she spotted some scattered honeysuckle flowers and plucked them.

Honeysuckle could be sold at the purchasing station. Unlike other wild medicinal herbs, it was easy to process—just drying it was enough.

Without Xu Lele by her side chatting away, Mu Mian unknowingly walked a little farther than planned.

Besides honeysuckle, she also found some immature astragalus. The root and stem of this herb could be used for medicine, but they weren’t ready yet. Autumn was the best season for harvesting them.

She also spotted several rabbit holes, but they had already been emptied. The openings showed signs of burning, a clear indication that someone had smoked them out earlier.

After wandering around for a while, Mu Mian’s small basket was half full with all sorts of random finds. She had no idea what time it was, but the sky seemed unnaturally gloomy, suggesting that it might rain soon.

Just as she was thinking about heading home, she noticed a small patch of honeysuckle flowers at the bottom of a slope.

The slope was rather steep, so she took a longer route to reach it safely. But before she even got close, the tree branch she was using as a walking stick accidentally brushed against a patch of grass.

Suddenly, a large gray figure leaped out.

Mu Mian’s eyes widened in shock.

A rabbit!

A big rabbit!!

Her hands moved faster than her brain. Without thinking, she swung the branch at it, but only managed to hit one of its legs. The gray rabbit stumbled from the impact but quickly tried to escape.

Mu Mian instantly gave chase, her legs moving at full speed.

The injured rabbit, now limping, panicked and kept running into trees and crashing into bushes.

She might not have been lucky enough to witness a real-life waiting-by-the-tree-for-the-rabbit moment, but she managed to keep it within her sight the entire time.

Maybe it had hit its head too many times because, after a while, its movements noticeably slowed.

Finally, when they reached a small pond, the gap between them shrank. Seizing the opportunity, Mu Mian lunged forward and grabbed hold of the rabbit’s hind leg.

The rabbit thrashed wildly, struggling with all its might. But there was no way Mu Mian was going to let go of her hard-earned catch. Still lying on the ground, she smacked the rabbit’s rear a couple of times and laughed, “Trying to run? And yet, I still caught you!”

A big, fat rabbit! A big, fat rabbit!!

Her luck today was simply amazing!

Just as she was about to get up, still gripping the rabbit tightly, her gaze shifted away from her catch—and something didn’t feel right.

Not far in front of her was a pair of… small feet.

A pair of human feet.

A mountain. A cloudy sky. Small feet.

“Ahhh!!!”

Terrified that she had encountered something supernatural, Mu Mian instinctively hugged the rabbit tightly and scrambled up. That was when she saw—

Shi Xiaolian was crouching in a patch of bushes, silently staring at her.

In one hand, she held a piece of broken glass. In the other, she was pressing down on a barely moving hen. Beside her lay another hen, seemingly dead.

They were about seven or eight meters apart.

A seven-year-old girl holding a chicken.

An eight-year-old girl holding a rabbit.

The atmosphere was strangely eerie.

Neither spoke. The only sounds were the rabbit’s frantic kicking and the hen’s feeble struggles.

There was an unspoken understanding between them—I know you’re hiding something, and you know I might be hiding something too, but neither of us wants to say anything.

Shi Xiaolian didn’t move. She had suspected before that Mu Mian was like her.

But something didn’t quite add up. In her previous life, she had heard that Mu Mian had died young. If she hadn’t even lived to grow up, how could she have returned from the future?

Still, the current Mu Mian didn’t seem like an ordinary eight-year-old either.

People in the brigade said she was smart and resourceful, which was how she had escaped from the traffickers. But in her past life, Mu Mian had died without ever showing such cleverness.

So what was really going on? Even Shi Xiaolian wasn’t sure.

After a long silence, Mu Mian forced an awkward smile and stood up. “Haha, what a coincidence.”

Shi Xiaolian withdrew her gaze and continued pressing the glass shard against the hen’s neck. “Mm.”

Mu Mian glanced at the two hens. She remembered hearing that Shi Xinggui’s family had lost two chickens yesterday morning.

As if reading her mind, Shi Xiaolian’s calm voice drifted over, “These were mine to begin with.”

It was taken away by her grandmother. She was just taking back what belonged to her.

Mu Mian: “Oh.”

After that brief exchange, silence fell once again.

Mu Mian glanced around, feeling a little unfamiliar with the surroundings. She had never been to this area before, but she remembered the direction she had run from. As long as she retraced her steps, she wouldn’t get lost.

Her gaze landed on the pool of water, and she broke the silence again. “Are there any fish in there?”

The water was a bit murky and seemed quite shallow.

Shi Xiaolian shook her head. “No, fish only appear when it rains and water accumulates.”

Mu Mian nodded in understanding. That explained why it didn’t look deep.

Since she was already here, she decided to look around a bit more while carrying the rabbit. Then, she noticed a dark spot at the base of the cliff behind Shi Xiaolian. Thick vines and wild grass covered the entrance, making it hard to spot at first glance.

Shi Xiaolian followed her gaze and took the initiative to explain, “It’s a cave.”

In her previous life, when she had gone into the mountains searching for food, she had been caught in the rain and didn’t make it back in time. She had slipped down a steep slope and accidentally discovered this cave, which provided shelter from the rain.

Mu Mian grew interested. “Is it big inside?”

She walked forward to take a closer look.

Shi Xiaolian replied, “Not really. An adult wouldn’t be able to fit in.”

Just as she finished speaking, Mu Mian had already reached the entrance and seen it for herself. The cave opening was indeed small, and the inside wasn’t very deep.

If an adult wanted to enter, they would have to crawl on their stomachs. But with all the wild grass and vines in the way, crawling in would be quite difficult.

Mu Mian also noticed a few chicken feathers caught in the vines. Clearly, this was where Shi Xiaolian had hidden the chickens earlier.

The sky grew a bit darker. Worried that it might rain and trap them in the mountains, Mu Mian decided not to linger. She quickly knocked the rabbit unconscious and placed it at the bottom of her basket. Then, she picked up the items that had fallen from her basket earlier and prepared to head back.

Shi Xiaolian’s chickens were also completely lifeless by now.

The two girls exchanged a glance.

Then…

One pretended not to see anything, while the other seemed unbothered by the possibility of being exposed. Without saying a word, they each focused on their own tasks.

When they reached the area with honeysuckle flowers, Mu Mian paused for a moment, looked up at the sky, and thought about how calm Shi Xiaolian seemed.

She guessed that it probably wasn’t going to rain after all.

Sure enough, by the time she had finished picking the flowers and carried a full basket home, not a single drop of rain had fallen.

Her mother had already returned from the brigade leader’s house, but her grandmother was nowhere to be seen.

When Mu Mian went into the kitchen for a drink, she happened to see her mother putting a piece of cured meat into the cupboard.

Mu Mian’s eyes lit up. “Mom, where did the meat come from?”

Their family’s cured meat wasn’t that big of a piece.

Liu Shuangcui locked the cupboard and replied, “Where else? I traded it with your Aunt Guizhi.”

Mu Mian took a few big gulps of water from her enamel mug. “They actually had extra meat left?”

Liu Shuangcui chuckled. “There’s no such thing as extra meat. She squeezed some out because your grandmother’s birthday is coming up. When they have an event at their place in the future, we’ll have to return the favor.”

Mu Mian understood. Neighbors helped each other out. In the future, when supplies were no longer scarce, the main form of support would be labor instead.