4 Chapter 4 Entering the Mountains_1

It wasn't until she entered the house that Nanzhi saw Gougou sleeping soundly, completely undisturbed by the recent commotion. She put two sweet potatoes in the pot to cook and then went out again to find the village doctor.

Now that she had some money in hand, it was important to have the doctor check on him, just to prevent any issues.

The village doctor lived very close to the Shen Family, just a quarter of an hour away by foot.

The old doctor took Gougou's pulse and gave him a check-up before reassuring Nanzhi that there was nothing serious.

"However, the child's constitution has weakened…" then he didn't say anything more.

Now it was just the two of them, mother and son, with nothing to their name. How could they have anything to nourish the child's body? Nanzhi's unstable gait suggested she likely hadn't eaten for three days herself.

"I understand, Old Doctor Wang. How much is the consultation fee?"

"Forget it, forget it. I didn't really do much." The old doctor waved his hand and turned to head home with his medicine box.

"Old Doctor Wang, please wait. We should still pay what we owe for the consultation fee. Otherwise, it wouldn't sound good if word got out," Nanzhi said as she pulled twenty wen coins out of her bosom and tried to place them in Old Doctor Wang's hand.

"It's alright. I didn't really do anything this time. If you really want to pay, just giving two wen coins will do," he said.

The two of them haggled back and forth for a while, and in the end, Old Doctor Wang accepted five wen coins before leaving.

Looking at Gougou, who was deeply asleep on the bed, Nanzhi suddenly felt a pang of acidity in her heart.

She then went back to the kitchen.

The sweet potatoes boiling in the pot released a sweet fragrance, causing her stomach to churn with hunger, as if it were empty and gnawing at itself.

She ladled out a small bowl of the water in which the sweet potatoes were boiled and drank it slowly. The warm broth with a hint of sweetness made her feel somewhat better.

While waiting for the sweet potatoes to cook fully, Nanzhi didn't hesitate to scoop all of the "sweet water" from the pot into a bowl, not daring to waste a drop.

Although it appeared somewhat yellow-greenish, it tasted sweet.

She took the two half-rotten eggs she had found in the wild, put them in a bowl with some salt and oil, mixed with a little warm water, and set them in the pot to steam. Only then did she go to call Gougou.

After waking, the little one was still somewhat dazed, mumbling about dreamt egg custard and Brother Shi Tou.

"Gougou, hurry and wash your hands. It's time for lunch," Nanzhi said as she stroked Gougou's head, then silently withdrew her hand.

Her own hands were filthy as well.

The mother and son washed their faces and hands before serving their "lunch".

It was nothing but two sweet potatoes, a small bowl of egg custard, and a large bowl of sweet water from the sweet potatoes.

Things that once would have made Nanzhi frown were now shining in Gougou's eyes, as if he had been presented with a precious delicacy.

"Mom, we have sweet potatoes and egg custard!" Adoration shone in Gougou's eyes, making Nanzhi feel a stinging soreness in her own.

"The eggs were found by Gougou, and the sweet potatoes were bartered for with the eggs. This meal is thanks to Gougou's efforts."

Gougou ate his fill with great satisfaction, not only eating his fill today but also enjoying the egg custard.

Nanzhi too was coaxed into eating a couple of spoonfuls of the egg custard by the little guy.

Looking at Gougou touching his belly and grinning foolishly, Nanzhi sighed inwardly. The child was truly sensible, and even if the original host had been weak-willed, she had raised him well.

The sun outside was scorching, and although Nanzhi had initially planned to go up the mountain to forage, considering the harsh sunlight outside, she decided to wait until later in the evening to go up the mountain.

She coaxed Gougou back to rest inside the house.

Sitting alone in the main room, she stared blankly at the ground that was whitening under the glare of the sun.

```

Why had she crossed over to this place? Since she had arrived, did it mean that Gougou's real mother had already starved to death?

It was now the end of June according to the lunar calendar, and harvest was still more than a month away. Unfortunately, a severe drought this year had parched and killed off much of the crops in the fields.

Sweet potatoes and potatoes were distributed by the government last year, with each village receiving two thousand catties of each crop for Li Zheng to allocate to the villagers for planting.

The villagers didn't believe much in the yield potential of these new crops, and each household planted only a little. Had it not been for Li Zheng's insistence on planting some sweet potatoes and potatoes, this year's drought would have probably wiped out everyone's reserves.

Who could have anticipated that the least regarded sweet potatoes and potatoes would save lives in such a year?

Thinking about her own sold farmland, Nanzhi sighed. Although other families were struggling this year, they still had enough to fill their stomachs. At the very least, they could hold out until the autumn harvest, when they would get some new grain. Unlike her own family, which had hardly any sweet potatoes left, it seemed she had to buy land and grow her own crops in addition to raising her son.

Guessing that it was a little past two o'clock in the afternoon, Nanzhi went to wake up Gougou.

Although Gougou was young, he was obedient and didn't question Nanzhi about going up the mountain. He just took his little bamboo basket and followed her dutifully.

Behind Lihua Village lay a vast expanse of mountains. Villagers usually headed to the western part, as it was said that the eastern side once had wolves that killed two hunters from outside the village. Since then, no one dared to go to East Mountain.

Upon approaching the mountain, Nanzhi found herself at an impasse. Many villagers had gone to the mountains to dig for wild vegetables, so heading to West Mountain now might not yield much food.

She had ninety-five wen coins to spend, but she was reluctant to buy grain in the village.

Firstly, the villagers didn't have much grain to spare, and with the current drought, who knew whether there would be any harvest this year? Secondly, many villagers relied on last year's stored sweet potatoes to get by. She wanted to earn money to buy some finer grain to mix with the coarse food for Gougou.

Looking at the two very different paths, Nanzhi steeled her heart, took a chopping knife in one hand, and led Gougou with the other up the east mountain.

She would rather take a chance than starve to death at home with Gougou. She didn't believe her luck could be so bad as to encounter a wolf that hadn't been seen for over a decade.

Since the mountain had been deserted for a long time, the path was now completely covered with weeds, and mother and son could only slowly make their way inside.

It took them half an hour to reach a somewhat more open area.

Looking around the trees, Nanzhi felt something was strange, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She told Gougou to look around for wild vegetables without wandering too far.

Only after receiving Gougou's promise did Nanzhi start to feel around the area. She knew very few wild vegetables. In addition, due to the current harsh times, most of the plants that managed to grow were inedible.

After searching for a long while, mother and son only found about two or three catties of pellitory. Looking at the grass in Gougou's small basket, Nanzhi cried inwardly.

She had thought it was fun when the protagonist in "Survivor in the Wild" ate grass, but now it was her turn.

What comes around goes around; nobody is spared by the Heavenly Path.

Seeing that the sun had not yet set, Nanzhi was a bit unwilling to give up. She had only explored the outskirts, so what if she went deeper for a bigger haul?

Glancing at Gougou, who seemed as happy as if he had found money simply looking at the pellitory, Nanzhi steeled herself again and decided to go further in.

There might be dangers deeper in the mountain, but leaving Gougou alone here would be even more worrisome for her.

It would be better to bring him along.

Mother and son advanced, one in front of the other, with Nanzhi clearing the path with her chopping knife while Gougou followed obediently behind.

After walking for more than fifteen minutes, Nanzhi ran out of strength. The little food she had eaten at noon was probably long digested.

As she looked around at the fallen leaves, Nanzhi dumped her basket on the ground. Indeed, how could she, being so unlucky, ever have any good fortune?

Perhaps the heavens had tossed her into this world just to let her die of hunger.

Little did she know that no sooner had she sat down than she felt a pain in her butt, nearly causing her to jump up on the spot.

Picking up the culprit, Nanzhi widened her eyes in disbelief, rubbed it again and again to be sure she wasn't mistaken, and then burst into tears.

```