Chapter 9

In this era where all kinds of supplies were scarce, aside from her foster mother, the thing Xu Wanchun was most grateful for was the environment itself.

The mountain wind blew, pine trees rustled, and Xu Wanchun sat on the back seat of the bicycle, squinting her eyes as she enjoyed the most pristine taste of nature.

When they neared the foot of the mountain, Cao Xiu left the bicycle at a farmhouse before setting off up the slopes.

A proper, seasoned traditional Chinese doctor really was different. They hadn’t gone far into the mountains before he had already spotted medicinal herbs.

No—that wasn’t quite right.

Strictly speaking, in the eyes of a professional old doctor, the entire green mountain was covered with medicinal plants.

The only difference was whether you could recognize them or not.

Once again, Xu Wanchun sighed with emotion: “Truly, within books lies a house of gold—ancient wisdom never lies.”

Sure enough, after just an hour, she not only learned new knowledge, but her little bamboo basket was nearly full—all of it small bundles of future money.

“Shall we keep identifying more herbs today?” After teaching her the harvesting methods, growth habits, and picking seasons of ten different medicinal plants in a row—enough for the little girl to digest for a while—Cao Xiu took the initiative to pause.

Xu Wanchun had a good memory, but she also knew that greed leads to choking; she wouldn’t recklessly rush ahead just because she was clever. After considering for a few seconds, she said with certainty:
“I can still learn five more kinds.”

Hearing that, Cao Xiu didn’t rush to evaluate, only nodded lightly, then led her deeper into the mountains.

When they reached a shady, north-facing slope, their eyes fell on a small patch of upright orange-yellow stalks.

Cao Xiu squatted down and continued his lesson for the little girl beside him:
“Do you know what this is?”

Xu Wanchun squatted too.
“Is it… tianma (gastrodia)?”

“Correct.” After giving his praise, Cao Xiu went on to carefully explain the basics of gastrodia:
“…But the season isn’t right. Summer is when gastrodia has the best medicinal properties. For now, just make a note, and when the season is right, come back for it.”

As he spoke, he pulled a palm-sized notebook and a pen from his pocket, jotting quickly.

After finishing, he put away the notebook and pen, then hesitated for a few seconds before frowning:
“It won’t do if you don’t know how to read. Starting tomorrow, your aunt and I will teach you.”

What? Such a good thing? Finally, she could leave behind the state of being illiterate. Xu Wanchun’s heart leapt with excitement and gratitude:
“Thank you, Uncle Cao.” She really, truly meant it.

Cao Xiu lifted his big hand and patted the little girl’s head, his face stern:
“Don’t thank me yet. If you’re disobedient, and fail to finish the tasks your aunt and I assign, then take my words back as unsaid.”

No way, no way—if nothing else, diligent study was one of her few publicly acknowledged strengths. Besides, she already knew how to read. Brimming with confidence, Xu Wanchun declared:
“I’ll be serious.”

A studious child really was likable. Cao Xiu nodded in satisfaction:
“Good. I’ll take you a bit further in.”

The deep mountains were dangerous, but the central ridges could still be entered a little.

Naturally, Xu Wanchun had no—

There was no objection, so the elder and the little one continued onward…

=

“Sister Nan, I’m afraid it’s going to rain tomorrow.”

Around four in the afternoon, when Xu Hehua came out for the third time to wait for her daughter, she ran into Su Nan and casually brought up a topic.

Su Nan tilted her head back. The cloud cover in the sky was indeed very thick, but she didn’t understand the weather as well as Hehua, who had worked the fields for years. So she asked:
“It won’t rain today, will it?”

Xu Hehua shook her head.
“Shouldn’t… Eh, they’re back, they’re back! Sister Nan, Doctor Cao and my Taohua are back.” Excited as she spoke, she even tugged at Su Nan’s arm and hurried forward to meet them.

Knowing she was worried about her daughter, Su Nan found it amusing, but still willingly played along.

Cao Xiu was riding his bicycle at a good pace, and in no time at all they arrived in front of them.

“Mom!” As soon as the bike stopped, Xu Wanchun was lifted off the back seat by her foster mother.

Hehua carefully inspected her daughter, and when she was certain the girl looked fine and in good spirits, only then did she feel relieved. She quickly remembered to thank Doctor Cao.

Cao Xiu waved it off, saying it wasn’t necessary, and instead pointed to a small basket hanging at the back. He asked the little girl:
“Do you want to take this home and sort it yourself, or come to my place tomorrow morning and do it together with me?”

This was another chance to learn. Xu Wanchun’s eyes lit up.
“I’ll go with Uncle Cao!”

Satisfied, Cao Xiu said:
“Then I’ll take all these herbs back with me.”

Xu Wanchun: “Okay! Thank you, Uncle!”

Seeing the girl still lively and energetic, Cao Xiu finally left with his wife. When they were almost at their courtyard gate, he suddenly remembered something, turned back, and called out:
“Tomorrow morning at 7!”

Xu Wanchun also shouted back:
“Got it!”

“How was today? Not too tired, right?” Although she phrased it as a question, Xu Hehua had already made up her mind that her daughter must be exhausted. She didn’t even let the child walk, but carried her straight toward the kitchen.

Actually, she really was quite tired. Even for adults, a full day on the mountain was tough, not to mention a bean sprout like her. Facing her foster mother, Xu Wanchun didn’t hide it—her brows and eyes drooping with weariness:
“A bit. But it’s much better than last time. Mostly I was only busy in the morning. In the afternoon Uncle Cao had me sit, didn’t even let me do much work.”

Xu Hehua finally felt completely at ease. Doctor Cao really did know how to keep things measured—it was only her own worry that had made her anxious.

But there was no helping it. In this era, child mortality was far too high. Just like her little Tiedan…

She thought of Tiedan again, and her gaze softened. Seemed like she needed to find some time in the next few days to go check on him…
“Taohua, are you hungry?”

“A little.” Put down on the ground by her foster mother, Xu Wanchun didn’t immediately flop down, but first scooped a few ladles of water to wash her hands.

Xu Hehua opened the cupboard, took out two chestnut cakes she had made earlier, and handed them to her daughter:
“Eat a little to fill your stomach. Mom will cook dinner now. Oh, and tell me—how did Doctor Cao teach you today?”

Of course Xu Wanchun had no reason to refuse—

She pulled over a little stool, sat down beside her foster mother, and while eating the pastry began to recount the day’s events:

“…That huge mountain range, but Uncle Cao walked around as if it were his own backyard—he knew exactly where every kind of herb was.”

Xu Hehua swallowed the chestnut cake her daughter had handed her before replying:
“Of course, he’s been roaming those hills for over ten years. Not just Doctor Cao—most of the folks in the village are familiar with them.”

That made sense. Xu Wanchun went on:
“…Oh, right, we also passed by near my parents’ graves.”

As she shoved more firewood into the stove, Xu Hehua said in surprise:
“Such a coincidence? Did you pay your respects?”

Xu Wanchun shook her head:
“No, I just said hello in my heart.” Mainly, Uncle Cao had already spent his whole morning teaching her. She couldn’t very well impose on him in the afternoon too. And she couldn’t go off alone as an eight-year-old child, so she let it be—there would be plenty of chances in the future.

Her little daughter’s words made Xu Hehua chuckle.
“Remembering them in your heart counts as well…” After comforting her, she shared some good news:
“Mom traded with your Aunt Lancao for two grape seedlings. I planted them in front of the east room. Want to go take a look?”

Of course she wanted to look—this was fruit! But—
“How much did you trade for them?”

Knowing her daughter was fussing over the expense, Xu Hehua laughed and poked her forehead.
“Just a few jin of sorghum. Grapevines can bear fruit for many years.”

She had felt a twinge of pain at the trade, but hearing her foster mother put it that way… it actually sounded like a good deal.

So Xu Wanchun quickly left the kitchen, her face full of expectation, and headed for the east room.

Not even a minute later, she came back and sat down beside her mother again.
“It’s just two little sticks? Will they bear fruit this year?” They looked so tiny.

Xu Hehua:
“They’re fresh seedlings. Forget this year. If we tend them well, next year we’ll get some.”

Alright then—at least it was something to look forward to. Doctor Xu then thought of the fruit trees in the mountains:
“Mom, why don’t we transplant a jujube tree? Or maybe an apricot tree? Wild cherries would do too.”

Xu Hehua:
“Craving fruit, are you?”

“Mhm, I am. Best would be to plant fruit for every season—then there’d always be something to eat.” Xu Wanchun swallowed hard. There really wasn’t much good food around here, and she was genuinely craving it.

It wasn’t exactly a difficult wish to fulfill. Xu Hehua agreed readily:
“Alright. But we’ll have to wait until autumn. Cherry trees aren’t like grapevines—if you transplant them now, they probably won’t survive.” She could even look for a pear tree and plant those around the house too.

=

It rained.

The next morning, spring thunder woke Xu Wanchun.

She sat up, kneading her sore limbs, before pulling open the blue calico curtain to look outside.

The night still hadn’t fully retreated, no raindrops could be seen, only the faint sound of scattered dripping.

Xu Wanchun was about to lie back down for a nap, but before she could, faint noises came from the main room.

Her foster mother must be—

“Up already?”

Without a clock, she worried about being late on her very first day of lessons, so she gave up the idea of dozing off again.

Throwing back the quilt, she groped her way out of bed in the dark.

When she pulled open the bedroom door, a warm orange glow greeted her.

“Did I wake you?” Xu Hehua was holding a kerosene lamp in one hand and shielding the flame with the other, just about to head out.

Xu Wanchun hurried over.
“No, you didn’t wake me. I’m not sleepy anymore. Mom, what time is it?”

Xu Hehua could only guess.
“The rooster already crowed—it must be past four. Go back to sleep a bit more. I’ll wake you when breakfast is ready.”

“I won’t sleep. It’s the first day Uncle Cao is teaching me to read—I’d better go early.”

“Read? What reading?” Xu Hehua was confused.

Ah! She really had been too tired yesterday and forgot to mention it. Xu Wanchun quickly explained Uncle Cao’s words:
“…Uncle said we’re not to mention tuition. He won’t take any. But he also said once I start school, he won’t be teaching me to read anymore.”

That was more than enough! She never imagined Doctor Cao and his wife would be willing to teach her daughter literacy—it was a tremendous kindness. Could this mean they wanted to take her as a pupil?

Overjoyed, Xu Hehua spun in place several times before blurting out excitedly:
“We can’t let them do it for free. How about this—we won’t mention money, but I’ll steam some big pork buns, and you can take them over. At least it’s a token of gratitude.” Without waiting for her daughter’s reaction, she rushed into the kitchen in such a hurry that she didn’t even bother to put on her rain cape.

Xu Wanchun grabbed a bamboo hat, placed it on her head, both touched and amused, and followed. She was just thinking about how she needed to work even harder to earn money when—her foot slipped.

“Ah!” With a loud yelp, she landed squarely on her backside.

Hearing the commotion, Xu Hehua quickly ran back from the kitchen. Easily lifting her daughter, she carried her back into the main room, then asked anxiously:
“Are you hurt? Did it hurt?”

It didn’t really hurt—just embarrassed her. Xu Wanchun touched the muddy water on the seat of her pants, feeling utterly dejected.
“Mom, we should haul a few baskets of stones from the mountain foot one day and pave a little path in the yard. I really can’t get used to all this mud on rainy days.”

=

A little after six in the morning.

After being carefully dressed and thoroughly fussed over by her mother, Xu Wanchun carried the white-flour pork buns and arrived at the Cao household.

Just finishing his boxing practice, Cao Xiu glanced at his watch. Seeing she was half an hour early, his satisfaction grew. He gave a warm smile.
“Perfect. That extra half hour will let me quiz you on the herbs you learned yesterday.”

Xu Wanchun hadn’t even sat down yet…

Meanwhile.

Though she worried about her daughter, Xu Hehua didn’t sit idle.

After tidying the house, she set the loom clattering as she began weaving.

As long as Taohua wanted to learn, she was willing to sell even the pots and pans to support her.

Fortunately, she was still young and not afraid of hard work. If she could weave an extra bolt of cloth each month, the money would keep adding up.

The busy hours slipped by—two, nearly three.

When she got up to change the threads, Xu Hehua stretched her stiff neck.

Suddenly, she slapped her forehead. Oh no! She had forgotten to buy paper and pens.

They weren’t paying tuition—she couldn’t possibly let Sister Nan’s family provide writing supplies on top of that.

The more she thought about it, the less she could sit still.

It was still raining outside, making a trip to town inconvenient.

So she went into the main room, dug out twenty cents, wrapped herself in a rain cape, and set off to trade for some at Old Uncle Tun’s house.

The muddy road was hard to walk, but her spirits weren’t bad.

Until—halfway there, she ran into her own mother, her face full of panic.

Xu Hehua’s smile disappeared. Frowning, she hurried to meet her and asked worriedly:
“Mom, what happened? Why are you covered in so much mud? Did you fall? Did you hurt yourself?”

But Madam Xu looked even more haggard than before, her brows sagging, tears streaming down as she clutched her daughter desperately. Trembling, she finally choked out a sentence:

“Shuigēn… Sanni’er… what do we do? Shuigēn took Sanya and ran away.”