When Xu Ning returned from the city, she saw Xu An and Xu Mo leaning over the table, writing. Xu Mo was dictating while Xu An wrote,

“Brother Lu, I really miss you. When are you coming back? I went to the mountain today to pick mushrooms. I filled a whole basket and dried them in the sun. When you come, I’ll make soup for you. My sister also pickled some cucumbers; they’re really delicious. She also dried some eggplant.

Uncle Lu and Aunt Lu are doing well, so don’t worry. We’ll take good care of them.”

After saying this, Xu Mo thought for a moment and added, “Second Brother, write one more thing: tell Brother Lu not to forget my bullet casings!”

Xu Ning placed the basket from her bicycle into the kitchen and laughed as she said, “Little Mo, it seems you don’t miss Brother Lu—you just want the bullet casings.”

Xu Mo saw Xu Ning and ran over excitedly, saying, “Sister, you’re back!” As he spoke, he peered into the basket.

Xu Ning handed him a piece of peach pastry. Today, she had gone to the city to deliver some vegetables from their garden to Zhao Jianshe’s family and Su Hongying.

Seeing Xu An put down his pen and come over as well, Xu Ning gave him another piece of pastry and asked, “Are you writing to Big Brother Lu again?”

Xu An replied, “I wrote one letter to Brother Lu and another to Big Brother. Sister, why don’t you add a few lines at the end?”

“Just tell them everything is fine here, and ask them not to send any more money or ration tickets. We have enough at home. They should use the money to buy more food for themselves,” Xu Ning said as she took items out of the basket.

“I noticed a lot of mushrooms drying outside. Are there a lot on the mountain right now?”

The two excitedly told Xu Ning, “Sister, there are so many! We couldn’t even pick them all. Jianmin and I already made plans to go back this afternoon to gather more. Will you come with us?”

Xu Ning had originally planned to pick beans from their private plot and dry them in the afternoon, but hearing this, she asked Xu An to start cooking. She decided to pick the beans now and join them on the mountain later to collect mushrooms. Dried mushrooms made for an incredibly flavorful soup. Last year, they had picked a large bag, but they had finished it all before the New Year.

That afternoon, as soon as the three of them reached the mountain, many of the village women arrived as well. Xu Ning told Xu An and Xu Mo to stay on the mountain and continue picking while she carried the baskets of mushrooms down. She was quick on her feet.

After emptying the basket of mushrooms onto the open space at their doorstep to dry, Xu Ning saw Chen Xiangdong and Sun Hao tidying up their private plot. She told them that there were lots of mushrooms on the mountain these days and asked if they wanted to join in the picking. She also stopped by to let Wei Lanlan and Yang Xiaomei know. Soon, the group grabbed their baskets and ran up the mountain with her.

Xu Ning and her group spent two consecutive days picking mushrooms. Grandpa Qi even brought Uncle Lu and Aunt Lu up the mountain to join in for a day. However, after that, the mushrooms became harder to find, and the adults in the village stopped going up the mountain. Only a few older children would still head up daily, carrying baskets to search for mushrooms and pick wild fruits.

There was still some time before the autumn harvest, and there wasn’t much work to do in the fields. So, Xu Ning often took her two younger brothers into the mountains, where they dug for wild vegetables, gathered wood ear mushrooms, and picked regular mushrooms.

Wei Lanlan and Yang Xiaomei frequently went with Xu Ning and her brothers. They would gossip about the recent happenings at the youth commune.

“Lin Qiuhua has taken a liking to Yang Wenli,” Wei Lanlan shared. “She was secretly giving him eggs when Gu Wenjing caught her. The two of them started fighting on the spot. Gu Wenjing scratched Lin Qiuhua’s face, and it even bled. In the end, it was Gu Wenping and Yang Wenli who took her to the village clinic for treatment.

Now, whenever Lin Qiuhua and Gu Wenjing are together, they argue. Gu Wenping told Lin Miao to let Gu Wenjing stay with her for a while, but Lin Miao refused. So now, Gu Wenping and Lin Miao are in conflict,” Wei Lanlan gossiped to Xu Ning.

Afterward, she leaned in close to Xu Ning’s ear and whispered mysteriously, “I think Yang Wenli has a crush on Lin Miao. Once, I saw the way he looked at her, and it gave me goosebumps—it was so affectionate. But whenever he looks at Gu Wenjing, he just seems impatient.”

Xu Ning thought to herself, Big Sister, your guess is spot on. These people are going to be tangled up for a while.