Chapter 39: Wishes Come True

A wild chicken burst out from behind a tree, attempting to run across the narrow path into the brush on the opposite side. But just as it took off, it unexpectedly entered the line of sight of the five people walking by.

Sensing danger, it immediately changed direction, dropping back to the ground and sprinting behind the trees until it vanished from sight.

Fang Bo Song rushed after it. He quickly emptied his bamboo basket and dashed into the woods behind the tree.

Tong Lingxian bent down to grab a rock, circling around from the other side to cut off its escape. Looping behind the grove, she drove the chicken back toward the center of the trees.

With both routes blocked, the chicken panicked and spun in place.

Seeing two people closing in, it flapped its wings in a desperate attempt to take flight again. But before it could lift off, Tong Lingxian hurled the stone in her hand.

Crack!

The stone struck the chicken squarely on the head. Its wings froze mid-flap before its body went limp, collapsing onto the ground.

At that moment, Fang Bo Song arrived with his basket. Acting swiftly, he flipped it over and trapped the chicken underneath.

From the moment they spotted it to the moment they secured it, the entire process took less than three minutes. Fang Mingxi and Tang Yao could only stare in stunned silence.

To avoid distracting the adults, the girls had forcibly swallowed the screams that nearly burst out of their throats. They barely finished covering their mouths when the once-mighty chicken fell in defeat.

Fang Mingxi gazed at Fang Bo Song and Tong Lingxian with pure admiration, her eyes full of awe.

So this is what decades of underground Party training looks like?

They were incredible. They didn’t need words, just one look, and they knew exactly what to do. And now this massive chicken was in their hands.

Just as Tong Lingxian secured the chicken, Wu Meixia made her own discovery.

While the pair were catching the bird, she had slipped back to the spot where it first flew out. Lifting the grass nest, she uncovered exactly what she’d hoped for, twenty warm chicken eggs.

These were nothing like the first batch they had found. Each egg was nearly the size of a goose egg.

She held one up to the sunlight, squinting slightly. Confirming it was unfertilized, she nodded. It could be stored for ten days or half a month without spoiling.

Wu Meixia quickly arranged some dried grass at the bottom of her basket and gently placed the eggs inside one by one. She covered them with another layer of grass and a few twigs to prevent them from being crushed.

With both the chicken and the eggs secured, the group still had one more foraging attempt left. Fang Mingxi’s gaze fell on a large white tremella fungus beneath a nearby dead tree.

She carefully plucked it, held it in front of her face, and made a playful expression at Tang Yao.

Tang Yao couldn’t help but laugh. “Xixi, you look so funny.”

With everyone finding something, she also scanned the area, hoping to spot more edible plants.

Seeing this, Fang Mingxi quickly tapped her panel to end the exploration. Their gathered food vanished, and the group returned to reality. They huddled together, examining their harvest with smiles so broad their eyes curved into crescents.

“Looks like Xixi was destined to have chicken today. This one’s huge, pluck the feathers and it’ll weigh at least four or five jin,” Fang Bo Song said.

“Exactly! And these eggs are bigger than goose eggs. Just one could make two whole dishes,” Wu Meixia added, slinging her basket onto her back with a sincere smile.

Once again, it proved that Fang Mingxi was their little lucky star. She had just said she wanted to eat chicken, and one appeared moments later. Who wouldn’t say she had incredible luck?

Wu Meixia even felt that the He family girl’s luck paled in comparison. Although they claimed to find all sorts of things every day, Xixi was no worse, her first catch of the day was already this massive chicken.

And Xixi found rare mushrooms every day. The He family didn’t necessarily get that many.

Following Xixi was clearly the right choice. From now on, Wu Meixia would never doubt a single decision she made.

Tong Lingxian stuffed the tied-up chicken back into the basket. The not-so-large basket was instantly filled. She pushed the chicken’s head downward and piled a handful of grass over it.

Using the softness of the grass, she filled the gaps and concealed the bird completely, ensuring not a single feather showed.

Once bitten, twice shy.

Yesterday’s incident was still fresh in everyone’s minds. They would never again let a chicken escape from their hands.

After securing the chicken, the five of them lingered on the mountaintop a bit longer, gathering a huge bundle of firewood before slowly heading downhill.

Although they had wandered around the top and made unexpected discoveries, it wasn’t thanks to Fang Mingxi’s golden cheat. They actually found wood-ear mushrooms and a patch of wild strawberries in the real forest.

Wu Meixia plucked two strawberries, wiped them on her clothes, blew off the dust, and popped one each into Fang Mingxi’s and Tang Yao’s mouths.

“Xixi, Yaoyao, feeling better now?”

Tang Yao chewed happily. Wild strawberries weren’t like regular ones, they were smaller and less sweet, with a pleasant tartness. About seventy percent sweet and thirty percent sour. She loved the taste.

She nodded, opening her bright red mouth. “I’m all good now.”

Her anger had completely faded. Today’s chicken was even bigger than yesterday’s. So what if Liu Damazi caught one? They had another of their own.

Fang Mingxi swallowed her strawberry whole. “Grandma Wu, these strawberries are sour. Let’s take them home!”

She vaguely remembered having strawberry seeds in her bag. If they transplanted the wild plants, she could scatter more seeds later.

The adults agreed. The patch was thriving, transplanting it would give it a good chance of survival.

They carefully dug up the plants with some roots attached, wrapped them in leaves, and placed them on top of the baskets.

As soon as they reached the foot of the mountain, Fang Mingxi’s exploration panel faded, and the maze it created vanished with it. He Lei finally led his group out of the forest.

None of them noticed anything unusual. They gathered scattered branches and continued toward another area of Maple Leaf Mountain.

But while collecting firewood, He Xi spotted a freshly dug hole. Instinctively, she looked downhill.

Was that… mushrooms?

……

When the group reached the bottom of the mountain, lunchtime at the cattle shed was about to begin. The rice was already steamed, only the vegetables remained to be cooked once they returned.

But no matter how long they waited, no one came back. Old Yu and the others grew increasingly impatient, repeatedly glancing toward the mountain.

Just as they began to worry that something had happened again, Old Yu suddenly spotted the group with their baskets appearing in the distance. He immediately tossed the vegetables into the pot and lit the fire to stir-fry.

Zhong Zhicheng stepped forward to help remove Wu Meixia’s basket.

“Why are you all so late? Did something happen on the mountain?”

The three adults exchanged knowing smiles, lips sealed.

Zhong Zhicheng froze. “What’s going on? Why won’t you say anything? Did something really happen?”

It was the New Year, no one wanted a bad omen to start the day.

Fang Bo Song carried his basket inside, set it down, brushed aside the dried grass, and grabbed the chicken by the neck, lifting it out.

“Look, chicken! We’re having a feast today.”