“You better hurry up if you’re interested. Plenty of young men in the brigade have already taken a liking to Song Zhiqing. Some even tried to help her with her work just to impress her, but she drove them off, saying they were weaker than her and just getting in the way.
As for Lin Youfu, that guy probably had his eye on her too, but Song Zhiqing gave him a solid beating. When Lin family tried to smear her reputation, she turned it around and accused old lady Lin of infidelity.”
Aunt Wang animatedly recounted the first clash between Song Wei and the Lin family.
At first, Lin Zhen’s face darkened at the mention of the Lin family. But as Aunt Wang continued, a spark lit in his eyes.
Lin Zhen: Good job!
The more he learned about her, the more he thought Song Wei was… adorable?
Meanwhile, deep in the mountains, Song Wei sneezed loudly.
“Song Sister, are you catching a cold?” Heidan asked with concern.
“No way,” Song Wei said confidently. “With my health? Someone must be cursing me.”
Heidan’s expression turned serious, immediately on alert. Who dares to harm Song Sister?
Seeing his reaction, Song Wei burst out laughing.
“I’m kidding! And even if someone tried, I’d just punch them back.”
Heidan puffed up with pride, as if he were the one capable of knocking people out with a punch.
“Song Sister is amazing!”
Song Wei chuckled and pinched the chubby cheeks she’d worked so hard to plump up. Heidan happily let her.
With mushroom season over, the pair ventured deeper into the forest—territory few dared to enter. But Song Wei, skilled and fearless, made it her playground.
“Song Sister, look! There are pine trees here with lots of cones underneath!”
Song Wei pulled out a woven bag and started collecting the cones.
A curious squirrel perched in the branches twitched its tail, baffled by the human competing for its food.
“Song Sister, over there—wild red berries! But they’re too sour to eat.”
Song Wei’s eyes lit up. Those weren’t just berries—they were hawthorn! Sure, they were sour when eaten raw, but they could be made into delicious treats.
“Come on, let’s pick some hawthorn.”
Hawthorn berries looked enticing with their bright red color, but their tartness could make anyone’s mouth water. These wild ones were especially sour.
Instead of climbing the tree, Song Wei hugged the trunk and gave it a good shake.
The berries rained down like a storm.
“Ah!” Heidan yelped as he got pelted, though his cries were mixed with laughter.
They carefully gathered the best berries. Heidan picked a large one and cautiously took a bite. A second later, his face scrunched up, and drool dripped from his mouth.
“Song Sister, this tastes awful!”
Song Wei laughed and gently flicked his forehead. “Who told you to eat it raw? We’ll make candied hawthorn, fruit rolls, and hawthorn cakes out of them.”
Though he had never heard of such things, the names alone sounded delicious. Heidan’s mouth watered at the thought.
“Song Sister, can you make all that?”
Song Wei’s smile faltered. “Don’t ask such bold questions.”
If she could cook, would she need to keep pestering Li Juan for help?
She knew dozens of recipes by heart, but despite having all the ingredients now, she could never get them right. No matter how closely she followed the instructions, the results were always a disaster.
Out of sheer frugality, she and Heidan forced themselves to eat her culinary failures. But given the choice, she much preferred to enjoy good food rather than endure her own experiments.
“Sigh…”
Both of them sighed in unison.
Heidan patted Song Wei’s arm consolingly. “Don’t worry, Song Sister. I’ll learn to cook, and then I’ll make you all kinds of delicious food!”
What a sweet kid! Song Wei ruffled his hair, feeling her efforts in raising him were well worth it.
With their basket nearly full of hawthorn, they stumbled upon a sour jujube tree.
Even during times of hunger, Heidan avoided sour jujubes. They were far more sour than hawthorn and practically inedible.
But Song Wei’s eyes sparkled.
Sour jujubes could be made into jujube cakes!
She rolled up her sleeves, ready to harvest.
“Song Sister, those are so sour!” Heidan winced at the thought, his face scrunching preemptively.
“Don’t worry, I’m not eating them raw.”
Suddenly, Song Wei froze. She grabbed Heidan and swiftly climbed a nearby tree, her movements as fluid as a cat’s.
“What’s—”
“Shh… Don’t make a sound. Something’s coming.”
She clamped a hand over his mouth. Within minutes, the forest filled with the sound of chaotic footsteps and faint wolf howls.
Heidan’s eyes widened. Wolves!
The deep forest was home to all sorts of wildlife—some herbivorous, others carnivorous. This was why most villagers avoided venturing so far in.
But the first creatures to appear weren’t wolves—they were a herd of panicked wild mountain goats.
Mountain goats!
Song Wei’s eyes locked onto them, practically drooling. Goat meat!
Before she could react further, a large adult wolf lunged from the bushes, landing on a goat that had fallen behind. Its jaws clamped down on the goat’s spine.
One by one, more wolves emerged, chasing the herd. Another goat was caught and brought down.
“Baaah!”
The injured goats struggled and bleated in vain. The others paused briefly, looked back, then fled without hesitation as more wolves appeared.
The pack, about a dozen, quickly captured the two fallen goats. With their prey secured, they stopped the chase.
The alpha wolf stood over one of the carcasses and let out a commanding howl before tearing into its belly to devour the entrails.
The rest of the pack waited patiently, not daring to eat until the alpha had claimed its share.
Song Wei found the scene gruesome. She tried to cover Heidan’s eyes, but the boy dodged her hand, staring intently at the wolves.
Fortunately, the strong scent of blood masked the humans’ presence, keeping the wolves unaware of their hiding spot.
The alpha wolf, however, seemed to sense something. It raised its blood-streaked head, sniffing the air for a long time.
Song Wei held her breath.
But finding nothing amiss, the wolf returned to its meal.
Within an hour, the wolves had stripped one goat down to bones. The second carcass was dragged away as the pack disappeared into the forest.
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