Chapter 595: Chapter 595: You Can’t Eat Randomly Chapter 595: Chapter 595: You Can’t Eat Randomly Xuexue found it very curious that with so many fruits still at the periphery of the mountain, why hadn’t the villagers discovered them?
In her past life, aside from working, she generally stayed indoors, seldom stepping out of the inner door, and even when she had to go out, she would lower her head and hurry past, never having been to the mountain.
Chuner often followed Madam Xie up the mountain to chop wood.
Xuexue asked, “Chuner, when you went to the mountain with mother before, didn’t you see all these fruits? Didn’t you know you could eat them?”
“Mother said that unfamiliar things on the mountain shouldn’t be eaten casually, for they could easily cause someone’s death. In the past, an incident occurred in our village where someone died from eating wild fruits in the mountain! Since that incident, people in the village are afraid to randomly pick and eat wild fruits when they go mountaineering.”
Reminded by Chuner, Xuexue also recalled that there indeed had been such an incident. To dispel Chuner’s doubts, she smiled and said, “Chuner, don’t worry, these fruits are definitely not poisonous.”
“Mmm.” Chuner nodded vigorously and said, “We’ve been eating them for so long, and our stomachs haven’t hurt; they must be safe.”
Xuexue decided to pick more mangosteens to take home, planning to let Shopkeeper Fan try them tomorrow and decide on the selling price.
So, the two sisters worked together, one picking from the tree and the other gathering from the ground, and soon, they had filled a basket with mangosteens.
Xuexue’s basket was full of mangosteens, with the wild chicken tied on the outside.
Chuner, being small and less strong, only had Little Tiger and a few pounds of wild vegetables in her little basket. To prevent Little Tiger from dirtying the vegetables, Xuexue specially laid several layers of wild yam leaves over the vegetables, so that even if Little Tiger defecated, the vegetables wouldn’t get dirty.
The journey uphill felt slow, but descending was quick. They exited the woods, followed the twisty stone-paved path, crossed a wide plain, and followed a dirt trail into the village.
Madam Xie was sitting at the doorway, anxiously watching the road, hoping to see her two daughters return. As soon as their figures appeared around the bend, she hurried over to meet them.
“Oh! You sisters have come back. Mother has been worried all day. Nothing happened today, right?” Madam Xie babbled and, noticing Xuexue’s heavy load, promptly took the basket from her back and hoisted it onto her own.
“What could possibly go wrong? Haven’t we returned all safe and sound?” Xuexue said as she took the basket off Chuner and carried it in her hand.
Having been anxious all day, Madam Xie was overjoyed to see her two daughters return safely, her face breaking into a smile, “It’s good that nothing happened.”
“Mother, Mother, we had a good haul in the mountain today!” Chuner said excitedly.
Madam Xie asked, “Oh! What happened? Tell Mother all about it?”
“Today, we found a kitten on the mountain, quite cute, but it’s hairless,” Chuner giggled as she spoke.
“Really?” Madam Xie looked surprised. A wild cat picked up in the mountains?
“It’s true, if you don’t believe me, take a look,” Chuner said as she tugged at the basket in Xuexue’s hands to show Madam Xie.
Madam Xie peered inside and saw that it was indeed so, “Oh my! This kitten is so pitiful, without any fur.”
Chuner said, “Sister says it was born premature, and that’s why it doesn’t have any fur. It will get better as it grows!”
Madam Xie turned to Xuexue, “Is that true?”
Xuexue nodded, “Yes! When I found it, its mother had already died from excessive blood loss.”
Chuner, feeling sympathy, reached into the basket and caressed Little Tiger, “This poor little kitty, born without a mother. If it weren’t for us, it would surely have starved!”