Chapter 38: New Year’s Eve

New Year’s Eve arrived the next day. Early that morning, everyone got up to give the cattle shed a thorough cleaning.

Bright and early, with the clanging and banging of tools, Fang Mingxi and Tang Yao were woken up before they could enjoy a proper sleep.

The two girls put on their old clothes and went outside obediently, each carrying a rag to clean everywhere, inside and out.

“Xixi, Yaoyao, you two sisters, come back inside quickly!” Wu Meixia hurriedly urged them into the house.

Their only cotton-padded jackets had been sent for washing yesterday, and it would take several days for them to dry. What they wore now were just autumn clothes, which offered little protection against the cold.

But Fang Mingxi and Tang Yao didn’t seem to feel the chill. No matter how much they were urged, they refused to go inside. They plunged their hands into the just-heated hot water, cleaned the rags, and then tidied up the beds.

By around ten o’clock, after a busy morning, everyone had finally finished cleaning the house.

Taking advantage of the sun, they laid all the cotton quilts out to dry.

After the cleaning, Tong Lingxian and two others carried baskets and prepared to go up the mountain to gather firewood. The rest stayed behind to prepare lunch for New Year’s Eve.

During the autumn harvest, they had received a considerable amount of grain. Even though the three who went to the mountain hadn’t been there as long, each household had received around a hundred catties of potatoes and sweet potatoes.

The others also received an additional twenty catties of rice. Each of them took a bowl of rice to cook.

As for the three without rice, they took extra potatoes and sweet potatoes and volunteered to gather firewood. With time on their side, they all agreed to head up the mountain together.

Fang Mingxi immediately dragged Tang Yao out of the house. “Grandpa, Grandma, I want to go too!” She carried a small basket and followed the three without leaving their side.

Fang Bo Song squatted down. “Xixi, be good. You and Yaoyao stay home. It’s too cold on the mountain, and your clothes are too thin, you might catch a cold.”

Fang Mingxi shook her head stubbornly, swinging the basket in her hand. “No, I’m going to the mountain to gather mushrooms. The mushrooms we had yesterday got trampled. I’m going to pick them back today.”

Fang Bo Song chuckled softly. “Silly child. Today’s New Year’s Day. Everyone in the brigade went up the mountain early to gather mushrooms. If we go now, there’s probably nothing left.”

These past few months, he had noticed that Xixi and Yaoyao’s luck was truly extraordinary. In ten days, at least five or six days yielded mushrooms. The rest of the time, they’d find either wild vegetables, fruits, or potatoes and sweet potatoes.

Frankly, there was probably no other household in the brigade that ate mushrooms as consistently as theirs.

But ever since some rumors started spreading, people had been going up the mountain more frequently, some even two or three times a day, just to check their marked spots for mushrooms.

So by now, there wouldn’t be a single mushroom left on the mountain, perhaps not even wild vegetables.

Tang Yao was also hesitant. She still felt uneasy about what happened yesterday and feared encountering those people again. She held Fang Mingxi back and said, “Xixi, let’s not go today. We can wait until after the New Year. There will definitely be too many people on the mountain now.”

Tong Lingxian and Wu Meixia also tried to persuade Fang Mingxi to give up the idea of going up the mountain.

But usually obedient Fang Mingxi was resolute today. She ignored all advice, keeping her head down and walking forward, paying no attention to anyone trying to stop her.

The three adults couldn’t stop her, so they followed her up the mountain.

Tang Yao, worried that Fang Mingxi would be bored alone, had no choice but to follow.

The five of them headed toward the northern Maple Leaf Mountain to gather firewood. But just as they were about to climb, they suddenly heard voices not far ahead.

Looking ahead, they saw a group of people already on the mountain, carrying sticks. Leading them were He Xi and her older brother, He Lei.

The children in that group carried baskets on their backs, checking the bushes for wild chicken eggs, or trying to spot wild chickens and rabbits. Their baskets were already full of firewood, green vegetables, and wild strawberries, exactly the ones Fang Mingxi had seen yesterday.

Seeing so many people on the northern mountain, the five of them stopped in unison.

They had expected that the southern mountain would be crowded, but who knew that even the northern Maple Leaf Mountain had been trodden?

With so many people, they wondered if they could still quietly gather firewood.

Wu Meixia wanted to give up and stay home since they already had enough firewood. They could always go up the mountain early the next morning.

Before she could say this, Fang Mingxi suddenly turned and sprinted toward a hidden trail.

The hidden trail was in a rarely used patch of bushes. They had specially cleared it as an emergency escape route, and normally no one went there.

Seeing Fang Mingxi head there, Fang Bo Song and Tong Lingxian panicked. “Xixi, you can’t go there! No one goes there!”

They rushed forward to grab her and pull her back.

Fang Mingxi ignored them, wriggled free, and darted into the bushes.

She confirmed that He Tian and He Lei had already passed halfway up the mountain. Then she quickly opened the mountain system panel on her device.

At the same time, she controlled the mountain range on the panel to within a hundred meters and moved everything that had been within a kilometer to the end of the hidden trail.

Among these was a specially moved flock of wild chickens. This one was bigger and stronger than the chicken Tang Yao had knocked out yesterday, with legs as long as Fang Mingxi’s arms.

The flock also had twenty eggs, quietly waiting on the panel. Once she clicked “confirm,” they would appear in reality.

Fang Mingxi slowed her pace intentionally to let the four behind her catch up.

She readied everything, and Fang Bo Song immediately went in, followed by Tong Lingxian and the others.

She clicked “confirm,” and the flock of chickens instantly moved behind a tree.

“Xixi, why are you running so fast? This trail has so many thorns. What if you get hurt?”

Tong Lingxian removed the thorns from Fang Mingxi’s head and body.

Fang Mingxi blinked her big eyes. “Grandma, I want to eat wild chicken.”

Tong Lingxian paused, brushed her hair off her forehead, and tucked it behind her ears. “Be good. We’ll eat meat when we get back. There will be wild chickens later.”

Fang Bo Song patted the thorns off his own clothes and said, “Grandpa can catch you two big wild chickens next time, okay?”

Fang Mingxi whined, “I want to eat them now.”

They exchanged smiles. Just as they were about to speak, Wu Meixia, who had arrived last, suddenly spotted a black shadow dart behind a tree.

Startled, she covered her mouth. “Lingxian, Lao Fang, look ahead! There’s a wild chicken!”