She led the whole village to prosperity by raising koi fish.

Chapter 4 Making New Friends

Since arriving in this unfamiliar place, Su Yuning has lived an extremely difficult life every day. The food he can obtain is very limited, consisting of either bitter wild vegetables picked from the wild or salty, hard pickled vegetables. These wild vegetables and pickled vegetables have become the mainstays of his daily meals. At every meal, Su Yuning can only silently chew on these monotonous and rough foods.

Crispy, golden fried chicken and lavishly filled burgers were foods she couldn't even dream of. So she decided to go hiking in the mountains to find some delicious ingredients.

"Mother, you and Father stay at home, may I go hunting in the mountains?" Su Yuning asked in an extremely sincere and earnest tone.

Without the slightest hesitation, without even a moment's thought, the woman decisively and resolutely rejected her expectant and earnest request! It was as if this decision was already deeply ingrained in her soul; without any hesitation or deliberation, it came out as a conditioned reflex: "No!"

Su Yuning had no choice but to follow the woman around, acting coquettishly.

"Mother, you're the best! Please, please let me go for a walk in the mountains. Staying at home is so boring, I'm about to go crazy from boredom. Dear Mother, please grant my request!"

The woman responded without hesitation.

"No! No need to discuss!"

Su Yuning is a very smart girl; if this suggestion doesn't work, she'll change the subject.

"It's the height of summer now, and the river water won't be too cold. Maybe I should go catch some fish and shrimp to improve the family's meals."

The woman stood with her hands on her hips, looking at her with great displeasure.

"What are you thinking about all day? Fishing and shrimp catching are things for men. What kind of girl goes down to the river to catch fish and shrimp? If you're always showing your face like a tomboy, what young man would dare to marry you?"

Su Yuning sat on the doorstep in anger, not saying a word.

At this moment, Old Su, who was resting in bed, spoke up to plead for his daughter.

“Honey, you should say less. Yu Ning is better now. Going out for a walk and immersing herself in nature will soothe her mind and relax her body. It’s a wonderful thing. Just let her go.”

The woman said discontentedly, "What if she gets lost if she goes up the mountain alone? What if the old women in the village gossip about her if she goes fishing or catching shrimp?"

Old Su was silent for a moment, then came up with an idea, "Isn't there a brother and sister in the hunter's family? They're about the same age as Yu Ning. The sister is good at hunting, and the brother is good at fishing. Let Yu Ning go out with them to gain some experience!"

Looking at her daughter's expectant eyes and then at Old Su's affirmative expression, the woman finally nodded in response.

That afternoon, the woman and Yu Ning went to the hunter's house together. After the woman explained her purpose, the hunter readily agreed. The woman bowed gratefully in thanks, left a plate of pickled vegetables, and then left.

The hunter was busy all day long, so he instructed his children, "Xixi, Dong'er, you two should get along well with Su's little sister!"

"Yes, Dad!" the children answered in unison.

Afterwards, the tall and slender girl walked over and waved to Su Yuning with a smile.

"Hello, you must be Su's youngest sister? You look familiar, but I can't remember where I've seen you before."

Su Yuning smiled and replied, "Yes, my name is Su Yuning. When my sister went hunting, I would go with my father to collect medicinal herbs nearby."

"Oh, no wonder you look familiar. My name is Zhou Xi, let's be friends!" the hunter's daughter said, extending her hand to shake hands with Su Yuning.

“Okay,” Su Yuning replied, shaking hands with him.

“And me, my name is Zhou Dong,” said the hunter’s son beside him.

"Hello, nice to meet you!" Su Yuning smiled and shook hands with him.

Afterwards, the three children held hands and went to the foot of the mountain behind the village. They found a big rock, sat down, and discussed going hunting in the mountains.

As the eldest sister, Zhou Xi naturally had the most authority to speak, and she said calmly...

“I have all the hunting tools, so tomorrow I’ll bring a bow and arrow, a slingshot, a sickle, and a bamboo basket. Zhou Dong, you can just bring a bamboo basket. As for Su’s little sister, you can bring some food and water.”

Su Yuning looked embarrassed and said, "My family usually makes wild vegetable soup, how am I supposed to bring that?"

The Zhou siblings didn't laugh at her; instead, they tried to distract her to make her feel better.

Zhou Xi said gently, "Look over there, someone is digging for wild vegetables."

Su Yuning and Zhou Dong looked in the direction Zhou's older sister was pointing. Several old women were chatting and laughing as they worked, digging up shepherd's purse with shovels.

"Although the shovel may seem insignificant, it's quite useful. You can use it to dig up lamb's quarters, shepherd's purse, and dandelions. If you ask me, little sister Su, you should bring a shovel and a basket tomorrow."

Su Yuning nodded in response, "Okay."

Then, Zhou Dong added in a serious tone, "I'm preparing a tinderbox, a gourd, a basket, rope, hooks, dry food, and a bamboo mat."

"Pfft!" Zhou Xi couldn't help but chuckle and teased, "Little brother, you brought a straw mat, are you planning to take a nap on the mountain?"

Zhou Dong's face flushed red with anger. "No way! The mat I was talking about is the small one. We can spread it out in the woods to cool off, and we can even have a picnic there."

“Okay, sure!” Zhou Xi and Su Yuning agreed in unison.

That night, Su Yuning, who was lying on a mat in the courtyard enjoying the cool air with her mother, couldn't fall asleep no matter how much she tossed and turned.

The woman asked with concern, "What's wrong, daughter? Is something on your mind?"

As Su Yuning looked up at the starry sky, she replied, "I'm going hunting tomorrow, and I'm so excited that I can't sleep."

The woman smiled slightly, gently fanning her daughter with a palm-leaf fan as she explained.

"Learning new skills is indeed a joyful thing, but if you don't get enough rest, it will affect your performance. What you should do now is to get a good night's sleep and be well-rested so that you can unleash your full potential."

"Mother is right. I'm going to sleep now. You should rest early too," Su Yuning replied, then closed her eyes to rest and soon fell asleep.

Afterwards, the woman lit some mugwort to repel mosquitoes for her daughter, while she went to the kitchen next door to brew medicine. She brewed the medicine until it was ready, then fed it to Old Su, cleaned the kitchen, and prepared the items her daughter would need for going up the mountain the next day before going to rest.

On a summer morning, sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows. Taking advantage of the cool morning air, the three children gathered early at the back of the village and set off together.

The mountain path was winding and uneven, riddled with potholes and ravines of varying sizes and depths. Every step required careful maneuvering to avoid sharp rocks and tripping or twisting one's ankle. Moreover, due to the undulating terrain, there were times when it was necessary to climb steep slopes. The three of them helped each other, pulling one another along to keep going.

Zhou Xi was lucky; he hit a pheasant with his slingshot as soon as he arrived.

"Little sister Su, quickly pick up the pheasant and put it in the basket."

"I...I'm a little scared, I don't dare touch the pheasant."

“What’s there to be afraid of? The pheasant’s already cold; it won’t peck at you,” Zhou’s younger brother replied.

But this was the first time Su Yuning had witnessed such a scene, and she really didn't dare to touch the pheasant. She just stood there blankly, not moving at all.

"Alright, Zhou Dong, go and collect the pheasants!" Zhou Xi said helplessly, and his underling quickly did as he was told.

After that, Su Yuning followed the Zhou siblings to pick many ripe mulberries, and she didn't even miss the green mulberry leaves.

“What use are the leaves? They’re neither edible nor drinkable. I advise you to throw them away,” Su Xi advised.

Su Yuning explained softly, "Sister, you may not know this, but mulberry leaves can not only be used to make tea, but also to improve eyesight. I was thinking that since our parents are getting old, if they often boil mulberry leaves in water to steam their eyes, they can see things more clearly."

Su Xi nodded as if she understood, "Alright, I respect your choice and decision."

The mountain is home not only to pheasants and rabbits, but also to venomous snakes and wild beasts. The path ahead was blocked by a venomous snake.

The younger brother of the Su family reminded him,

"Sister, use the bow and arrow to kill the poisonous snake!"

Su Xi shook her head and refused, then led them on a detour.

Afterwards, Su Xi explained to them,

"With my archery skills, killing a poisonous snake is an easy task, but the arrow becomes unusable after touching a snake, which is too much of a waste, so I take a detour."

"My sister is brilliant!" Zhou's younger brother smiled and gave her a thumbs up.

"I see, sister is truly courageous and resourceful!" Su Yuning also praised her actions.