Chapter 10 : Digging a Trap

The siblings tidied up the kitchen together, said a word to Hua Guixiang, then slung on their baskets and headed up the mountain once more.

With the morning’s experience under their belts, they moved much faster this time. Qiao Nian didn’t overreach—she focused solely on digging up Prunella vulgaris (known locally as xiakucao), planning to try her luck selling it in town the next day. If she could indeed sell it, then she intended to spend the days leading up to the summer harvest gathering medicinal herbs in the mountains.

They lived in the north, and the entire Huaizhou Prefecture cultivated wheat and corn. In another ten to twenty days, the summer harvest would begin. This year, the only real laborers in their household were her and Ping’an. She hoped to improve their meals a bit so they’d have the strength to face the upcoming harvest.

There was also the matter of Hua Guixiang’s health, which hadn’t been good lately. Qiao Nian was thinking that if they earned enough silver, she’d take her to the clinic in town. She wondered whether the spiritual spring water in her space could help heal physical ailments, or if it merely relieved fatigue.

She had too many plans, and her thoughts were all over the place. Standing up to stretch, she cleared her mind before crouching down to continue digging.

In the nearby villages, there was only one village physician, Physician Li. Very few people knew how to recognize or dig herbs. While not growing in every patch, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say there was a medicinal plant every ten steps in these mountains.

Qiao Nian dug with ease and occasionally glanced at Ping’an, who was also busy and focused. She smiled and returned to her own task.

Suddenly, a plant beneath the shade of a tree ahead caught her eye. It looked very familiar. She quickly stepped over. The purplish-red flowers were in full bloom, the stem covered in fine soft hairs, and the leaves were long ovals with jagged edges. Qiao Nian was certain—this was Rehmannia glutinosa (dihuang).

Without hesitation, she dug it up. Judging by the size and thickness of the root, this plant had been growing for at least two or three years and was now at its most potent for medicinal use. With this, the medicine shop surely wouldn’t turn her away.

Qiao Nian carefully placed the dihuang into her basket. She glanced around and realized there was a small hillside just ahead. Below it, clusters of purple-crowned flowers swayed in the wind. Her smile widened as she turned to call out to Ping’an in the distance. “Ping’an, come quickly! There’s something good here!”

Ping’an heard her, and seeing how far she had gone, hoisted his basket and ran over.

“A-Jie, what did you find?” he asked curiously.

Qiao Nian waited until he got closer, then pointed at the dihuang in her basket with excitement. “Ping’an, this is the same herb Physician Li dug up before! I see a lot of them down the slope. Let’s dig as many as we can and bring them to town tomorrow.”

Ping’an peeked down the slope and frowned slightly. “A-Jie, are you sure it’s not just some weed? These kinds of wildflowers are everywhere this time of year. I see them all the time. Could you have mistaken it for something else?”

Qiao Nian shot him a look, mimicking her past self’s tone, and said, “Remember last year when we went up the mountain and ran into Physician Li on his way down? Weren’t these exact flowers in the basket on his back? Clearly you’ve forgotten.”

It was true that they often ran into Physician Li on the mountain. Qiao Nian was betting Ping’an hadn’t been paying attention or simply didn’t remember. Even if he did remember, he likely wouldn’t recall the details. Besides, she was absolutely certain this was dihuang—she had seen it all her life in her previous world and couldn’t possibly mistake it.

Sure enough, Ping’an scratched his head and smiled sheepishly. “I rushed up the mountain that time, probably missed it. If you’re sure, A-Jie, then let’s start digging.”

Seeing that her bluff worked, Qiao Nian picked up the basket and was about to head down the slope when suddenly a rustling noise came from the forest. Then, two wild pheasants with iridescent feathers burst out of the bushes, one after the other, flying off in a flash. They were surprisingly beautiful.

“A-Jie, it’s wild pheasants! Too bad we can’t catch them—they can fly and run really fast,” Ping’an exclaimed, his voice gradually trailing off. He suddenly remembered how Father had said that once he turned nine this year, he’d begin teaching him how to hunt. But before that could happen, Father was gone.

Seeing the eagerness in his eyes, Qiao Nian felt her own craving intensify. They hadn’t had a bite of meat since the New Year. Just thinking about it made her mouth water uncontrollably.

“Ping’an, do you want to eat wild pheasant? Maybe have some pheasant soup?” Qiao Nian asked, her eyes fixed intently on the two leisurely strutting pheasants not far away.

Ping’an nodded enthusiastically. In a hushed voice, he asked, “A-Jie, do you have a way to catch them?”

“I saw Father set traps before. Go dig up a few earthworms from the shady side over there. I’ll start on the trap.” As she spoke, Qiao Nian set down her basket and strode quickly toward a suitable spot to dig.

She might never have tasted wild pheasant before, but she’d seen them run—fast and alert. Still, she had watched plenty of hunting trap videos online, and any kid raised in the countryside would have at least some idea about this kind of thing.

Qiao Nian found a flat patch and got to work. To catch pheasants, the trap didn’t need to be big, but it had to be deep. She planned to line the inside with sharpened wooden stakes—not to injure the bird, but to hinder its escape. If they could slow it down, they could rush in and grab it.

Just imagining the success made Qiao Nian gulp with anticipation.

She was halfway through digging when Ping’an returned, holding a large leaf folded into a bundle. Inside was a small pile of earthworms. Qiao Nian clicked her tongue in admiration—dangling meat as bait really got results fast.

As for whether she was afraid of the worms? Please. A kid raised in the countryside scared of bugs? That’s laughable.

Seeing that she was digging slowly, Ping’an volunteered to take over the digging so Qiao Nian could keep watch. But she had no intention of just standing idle. Instead, she wandered nearby and gathered a bundle of tree branches, each about the thickness of a finger. With Ping’an focused on his task, she turned her back and discreetly pulled a small fruit knife from her space to start sharpening one end of the branches into stakes for the trap.

She didn’t prepare too many—after all, she wasn’t counting on the stakes to actually injure the pheasant. Once she had a dozen or so, she stopped. By then, Ping’an had finished digging the pit.

Qiao Nian stuck the pointed ends of the stakes into the bottom of the pit, tips facing upward. Then, she covered it with long, dry grass and withered leaves. She scattered the earthworms loosely among the cover. While Ping’an was off pulling more grass, she quickly dripped a few drops of spiritual spring water around the area and over the trap.

To be honest, all the extra work was just to avoid arousing Ping’an’s suspicion. From the beginning, she had planned to use the spiritual spring water to lure the pheasants. If it worked, then they’d never have to worry about meat again.

Once everything was in place, the two of them ran and hid behind a large tree at the base of the hill, waiting in anticipation. They’d even given up digging herbs for the moment. Both their faces were filled with eager excitement as they watched for the pheasants to fall into the trap.

It was Ping’an’s first time setting a trap. He really wanted it to work, but deep down he doubted their luck was that good. If it were this easy to catch pheasants, Father wouldn’t have had to go deeper into the mountains.

Still, he couldn’t help hoping—what if, just this once, they really did get lucky?

Qiao Nian stared unblinking at the nearby underbrush, praying the spiritual spring water would do its job. Was it really as magical as the legends said, capable of drawing animals right to them?