Chapter 82 : Awkward

“Siying, you don’t have to go to work today. Do you want to go into the mountains to pick mushrooms?” Nangong Ruochen had received a task the previous day. It was suspected that there were enemy spies operating in the rear of the brigade, but their base had yet to be found. The three of them had been ordered to explore the deep mountains during the slack season. He planned to take Siying into the mountains today to fulfill a previous promise after that he wouldn’t have time to accompany her.

“I want to go. Actually, I was just about to tell you now that the autumn harvest is over, I can use my own stove again, so I won’t be eating with you anymore.” Yun Siying still felt that living alone was more convenient.

Hearing this, Nangong Ruochen felt a twinge of disappointment. But considering they would likely be deep in the mountains most of the time and wouldn’t have time to cook for her, he quickly agreed. “Okay!”

“You don’t have any other plans today?” Yun Siying asked. She didn’t want to delay his work. She knew that his role wasn’t limited to being just an “educated youth” on the surface, he definitely had other responsibilities.

“I’m free today. I haven’t fulfilled my promise to take you mushroom picking in the mountains. I took the day off especially for that. I’ll be busy soon and won’t be able to look after you, so you’ll need to take care of yourself,” Nangong Ruochen explained gently and with concern.

“I’ll definitely take care of myself. Let’s go now, once the sun rises higher it’ll get really hot.” Yun Siying and Nangong Ruochen put down their bowls and chopsticks and left them for Han Yuecheng to clean up.

Backpacks on their backs, Yun Siying and Nangong Ruochen headed into the mountains one after the other. On the forest outskirts, they ran into many villagers who were collecting mountain goods. Some had even come with their entire families. The villagers were very familiar with these outer areas and knew exactly where to find chestnuts, fungus, mushrooms, pecans, yams, pine nuts, and more.

In the outer mountains, every spot with valuable mountain goods was already claimed by someone trying to earn income for their family. Yun Siying was truly struck by how diligent and frugal people were in the 1970s.

Not knowing if the mushrooms Nangong Ruochen had found before would still be there, the two wandered through the forest. They breathed in the fresh scent of grass and listened to birds chirping. Sunlight streamed through the leaves above, speckling the ground and the two of them with warm light. The whole scene looked like a peaceful painting of mountain leisure.

They reached a valley and spotted a patch of small mushrooms in a clearing. There were fresh footprints nearby. A bit embarrassed, Nangong Ruochen said, “Looks like someone beat us to the mushrooms here.”

“The villagers sure came early. Looks like the early bird really does get the worm. Let’s keep going, maybe we’ll still find some mushrooms,” Yun Siying said without disappointment. After all, wild mushrooms belonged to whoever picked them first.

“Further ahead is the deep forest. There could be large wild animals,” Nangong Ruochen warned as he looked toward the dense woods. He’d been there a few times and had indeed encountered large beasts but had always managed to hide in time.

“Are you scared? I’m pretty capable, you know. I’ve never been that deep into the forest. Want to go check it out together?” Yun Siying raised her eyebrows and looked at him.

“If you want to go, I’ll go with you. Just don’t try to provoke me,” Nangong Ruochen replied, a bit helpless but his eyes were filled with affection and tenderness that Yun Siying didn’t notice.

There was no path deeper into the woods, thick weeds covered the forest floor. Nangong Ruochen picked up a wooden stick and led the way, using it to scare off any snakes. Yun Siying followed behind, the two of them trudging along uneven terrain. From time to time, birds startled by their movement flapped their wings and flew overhead.

“Nangong Ruochen, look there’s a bird’s nest in that tree! I wonder if there are any eggs inside?” Yun Siying pointed excitedly at a nest high up in the branches, her eyes scanning the area eagerly. And what a surprise she spotted five bird nests in total.

“I’ll climb up and take a look.” Nangong Ruochen set down the basket on his back and swiftly climbed the tree. “Siying, there really are bird eggs! We can have roasted bird eggs for lunch.”

“Then be careful, don’t break the eggs ‘cough, cough’ don’t break the bird eggs. I’ve never had roasted bird eggs before, so I don’t know how they taste.” Yun Siying was so embarrassed she wished she could dig herself a hole and hide in it. What she said sounded far too suggestive.

Nangong Ruochen, who hadn’t had any improper thoughts before, nearly fell from the tree when she coughed. What this girl said… He couldn’t help the flush rising to his ears and had to force himself to pretend that he hadn’t misunderstood, hadn’t thought of anything inappropriate.

“Don’t worry, I’m really good at picking eggs…. no, I mean bird eggs…” Nangong Ruochen trailed off, his hand hovering awkwardly in mid-air. He suddenly didn’t know if he should keep picking or not. His ears burned red. How had he managed to say something so embarrassing in front of Siying?

Heaven help him, this was way too awkward. The atmosphere turned painfully silent.

“Nangong Ruochen, let’s just go. I don’t want to eat them anymore.” Yun Siying couldn’t believe herself, had she infected him with her awkwardness? She wanted to disappear. She never wanted to hear the word egg again in her life.

Nangong Ruochen let out a breath of relief, climbed down the tree, and continued walking with Yun Siying. They both seemed to silently agree to forget the whole embarrassing moment. After walking for half an hour, Yun Siying noticed some bright red flowers blooming on nearby plants and said excitedly, “Looks like the real treasures are deeper in the mountains.”

Nangong Ruochen followed her gaze and recognized what it was. His eyes lit up. “You’re really lucky. There are more than ten ginseng plants here! Looks like you won’t have to worry about food for a while.”

“That’s right, I must be lucky today! The leaves are big, palmately compound, and a dark green color, it looks like these are old plants too.” Yun Siying was thrilled. She hurried toward the red-flowered plants, but unexpectedly slipped, and her body began to fall backward.

Nangong Ruochen took a quick step forward, wrapped his strong arms around her waist, and caught her. Yun Siying had braced herself to hit the ground, but instead found herself landing in a warm embrace.

It was the first time she’d ever been so close to a man. She could feel his solid chest and hear his heartbeat, and her face flushed hot. Once she regained her balance, she quickly tried to pull away, and he let go at once. A hoarse voice whispered in her ear, “Siying, did you twist your ankle?”

“No, no. Thank you. If not for you, I would’ve fallen hard,” Yun Siying said, her heart racing, feeling a little flustered.

“You’re welcome. I’m just glad you didn’t hurt yourself.” Nangong Ruochen was relieved to see she was truly fine. But thinking back to that moment how small, soft, and fragrant she felt, he couldn’t help but want to hold her again. His gaze darkened as he looked at her.

Yun Siying looked down and realized she hadn’t stepped on the ginseng root. She patted her chest in relief and said, “Good thing I didn’t crush the ginseng.” Then she squatted down, trying to break the awkwardness by getting to work.

Nangong Ruochen knelt beside her and said, “Let me dig it up.”

“It’ll take a while to dig them all out. Let’s do it together.” Yun Siying pulled a small herb hoe from her backpack and began carefully digging, fully focused.