The two brothers were overjoyed. One held open the sack, while the other bent down to pick up hazelnuts.
Laughter echoed through the forest.
The hope in life isn't about having high status or great wealth. It's the simple joy and satisfaction derived from small, unexpected gains.
"Big Brother, if we take all these hazel branches back, they'll be enough to last our family for the entire winter!" Yun Erman said with a beaming smile.
Yun Daman scooped up a handful of hazelnuts and tossed them into the sack. "Do you think... our sister is a fairy who descended to bless our family?"
Yun Erman shook his head. "I don't know if she's a fairy, but ever since our sister was born, our family has been incredibly lucky."
First the dairy cows, then the grain, then the wild game, and the spring water.
These things all appeared when the Old Yun family was at their most difficult and desperate.
They absolutely did not believe it was all a coincidence.
Once the sack was full, the two brothers took out their sickles and began cutting down the hazelnut trees.
By noon, the entire patch of hazel branches was piled high like a small mountain.
They couldn't possibly carry it all back by themselves.
With no other choice, Yun Daman shouldered the sack and headed back first, leaving Yun Erman to guard the hazel branches.
At noon, an autumn rain began to fall, gently wetting the forest.
The air carried a hint of damp earth and fragrance.
Thunder rumbled within the dark clouds, and mist swirled.
Yun Erman ate a cornmeal flatbread to fill his stomach.
He also cracked open a few hazelnuts to satisfy his craving.
After eating his fill, Yun Erman stood up and decided to walk around.
He hoped to find some more good things.
As he crossed a patch of bushes, Yun Erman suddenly stopped and squinted.
"Pat-pat..."
"What's that sound?" Yun Erman was a little stunned.
The sound was like something falling from a tree.
He quickened his pace, rounded a few sturdy poplar trees, and was then astonished by the magnificent sight before him.
It was a dense grove of sand plum trees.
Red fruits hung from the branches, packed tightly, countless in number.
The ripe fruits fell, kissing the earth again and again.
Yun Erman casually plucked a sand plum, rubbed it on his clothes, and took a bite.
With a crisp "crack," the juice splattered out, rich and sweet and sour.
These fruits only grew in northern regions and were about the size of small apples.
When picked, they could be sliced thinly and dried. After the moisture evaporated, their flavor would become even more fragrant and sweet.
They could also be mixed with sugar and steamed in a pot, or frozen directly. When you wanted to eat them, you could thaw them in cold water.
They had the effects of clearing heat, detoxifying, and purifying the intestines.
However, one couldn't eat too many, or their teeth would become sensitive.
"Oh my goodness! Is this real?"
Yun Erman could barely express his current feelings.
With so many sand plums, his family's root cellar wouldn't be enough to store them all.
The villagers were all native to the area; had they not discovered these treasures?
Yun Erman walked to the base of a sand plum tree, grasped the trunk with his large hand, and shook it vigorously.
"Rustle!~"
Countless sand plums rained down, piling up in a thick layer on the ground.
At that moment, a terrifying howl echoed from deep within the dense forest.
"Awoo, awoo!~"
It was the howl of wolves.
Yun Erman's face turned ashen. He gripped his sickle tightly, and a drop of cold sweat trickled down his forehead.
There were indeed wolves in this area.
Fortunately, Yun Daman returned quickly.
Old Man Yun came with Jinshan and Jinhe to carry the hazel branches and pick hazelnuts.
"Dad, there's a patch of sand plum trees over there," Yun Erman said excitedly.
Old Man Yun glanced at him. "Good boy, you even recognize sand plums?"
Yun Erman puffed out his chest, his face full of pride. "Of course!"
If you haven't eaten pork, haven't you at least seen a pig run?
Actually, he had only heard about them from his mother.
For some reason, his mother seemed to have seen and experienced far more things than his father.
The Old Yun family had a bumper harvest of hazelnuts and sand plums, more than they could eat themselves.
So, Old Man Yun informed the village chief.
"Oh, that mountain is too dangerous to go to!" the village chief said, frowning and taking a deep puff from his pipe.
Old Man Yun was confused. "Are all those hazelnuts and sand plums just going to rot on the ground?"
"I'm doing this for your own good. Too many people have died on that mountain. No villager dares to go in."
Alright!
Old Man Yun shrugged.
It took him and his two sons, along with his two grandsons, a full three days to transport the mountain goods back.
The root cellar was packed to the brim, and the remaining fruits were taken to the county town to sell.
Little Xi Tian lay on the kang, sleeping soundly and blowing bubbles from her nose.
There were too many good things in her space, and she couldn't take them all out at once.
Her family couldn't eat delicacies like fish and meat every meal.
Otherwise, the villagers would become suspicious.
Hazelnuts and sand plums were better; they were nutritious and could be sold if there were leftovers.
"Mmm!~" Little Xi Tian scratched her little bottom.
The kang was too hot, and she was sweating!
Days passed quickly, and it was soon time for the autumn harvest.
The villagers went out early and returned late, enduring hardships, rushing to cut wheat and harvest corn.
The courtyards of every household were a golden expanse.
After the wheat was cut, it needed to be sun-dried, otherwise, it would sprout and mold.
However, Yun Wangcai's courtyard was empty.
"Where's Goudan? Why hasn't he gone to collect the grain yet?" Yun Wangcai asked his daughter-in-law in a gruff voice.
Lu Jinping said indignantly, "How should I know? He's fooling around in the county town every day, probably rolling around with some slutty fox."
She had been married to Yun Goudan for many years and had never had a child.
The villagers said their family was heirless, which made Yun Wangcai lose face.
He also looked down on his daughter-in-law.
"Don't spew such nonsense here!"
Yun Wangcai glared at her. "Go and harvest the wheat in the fields. The government will be here to collect grain soon. If you don't pay enough, I'll sell you to a brothel!"
This was not how a father-in-law should speak.
He threatened to sell his daughter-in-law to a brothel.
Lu Jinping, however, looked indifferent. "Sell me if you want. If I go to a brothel, I'll have food and clothes without worry, instead of suffering in your Old Yun family!"
"Hmph, you shameless good-for-nothing!"
Yun Wangcai cursed angrily and grabbed his sickle to go to the fields.
Old Man Yun brought back quite a few radishes and cabbages from the fields.
Yun Daman bought three large jars. "Wife, will these pickled vegetables be enough for our family for the entire winter?"
Zhao Guihua put the washed cabbages into the jars and said with a smile, "These few cabbages are definitely not enough!"
With so many people in the family, they ate pickled vegetables almost every meal after winter set in.
By the time spring arrived next year, they would have eaten them all.
The Yun family had earned nearly one tael of silver from selling sand plums and hazelnuts last time.
The rice and flour bins at home were filled.
The coarse grains included buckwheat flour and corn flour, with a small amount of white flour.
The rice consisted of millet, corn, and sorghum.
One day, Little Xi Tian was leaning against a pile of quilts playing with a paper windmill when Liu Cuirong walked in.
"Oh my, Little Sweet Treasure, you haven't thrown away that paper windmill yet?" Liu Cuirong said with a smile.
Little Xi Tian rolled her eyes.
Why should she throw it away?
Liu Cuirong felt around in her embrace and pulled out a handful of milk candies. "Look, these are all bought for you by your second sister-in-law."
Little Xi Tian's eyes sparkled.
Just as she was about to reach out her little hand to grab them, she suddenly heard a quarrel from outside.