Grandpa also took the opportunity to explain to Captain Guan that their family’s grain was nearly gone, and he wanted to apply to borrow some. The summer harvest had just been brought in, and although the public grain quota hadn’t been submitted yet, Grandpa’s situation was special. His family was classified as a household in hardship—composed of the old, the young, the sick, and the weak, with no able-bodied laborers. Captain Guan made an executive decision, allowing Grandpa to handle the paperwork with the treasurer and borrow two large burlap sacks of unprocessed rice from the production team’s warehouse. It was about two hundred jin, which after milling would yield over a hundred jin of white rice—enough to last for quite a while.

The grain borrowed now would be deducted from their share at the year-end distribution. For a family of three, what little work points Grandpa earned, combined with the corn and sweet potatoes from their private plot, would be barely enough to last a year beyond their basic ration. But they definitely wouldn’t be eating pure white rice on a regular basis. Their meals would have to be padded with corn kernels or diced sweet potatoes, and in the summer, they mostly ate congee.

Grandpa and Grandma were used to it. Xiao Man could get her fill from congee, but she would feel hungry again soon after. She’d then have to supplement her meals with a couple of boiled sweet potatoes or roasted taros. It was fine at first, but she grew tired of it after a while, and it would give her acid reflux. ’It really is true that it’s easy to go from a simple life to a luxurious one, but hard to go the other way around!’

’In her past life, under Liu Fengying, Xiao Man had lived a life that was dozens of times more miserable. Now, she couldn’t even remember what that had felt like!’

’The real difference between this life and the last one was that in her past life, she had believed with all her heart that they were her birth parents. Xiao Man was the type of person who was fiercely loyal to family. No matter how much she suffered, no matter how difficult things got or how wronged she felt, she would just bow her head, accept her fate, and endure it all!’

’But in this life, knowing she wasn’t their biological child, how could she willingly endure being so viciously mistreated and exploited?’

’I can’t live this poor quality of life for too long. I have to prepare for a change. Next year, the country will start making major moves. The year after that, all rural areas will implement the household responsibility system, contracting land out to individual families. People will no longer rely on collective labor and work points to eat. The era of Reform and Opening Up is coming! People across the nation will be able to display their Divine Skills, and the kind of life you want will be something you have to fight for with your own abilities!’

’In her past life, during the Reform and Opening Up of the eighties, even an uneducated person like her had earned a lot of money doing manual labor on the side. But Liu Fengying took it all.’

’But for now, I have to be patient and take things one step at a time.’

Xiao Man did a quick calculation. Of the seven hundred yuan Grandpa had earned from selling the herbs, three hundred had been paid back to the production brigade, and two hundred had been given to Ahua. After buying a few things for gifts, they probably only had a little over a hundred yuan left.

’Now that Grandpa isn’t standing night watch at the reservoir, and with Grandma and me stopping him from scaling high cliffs or catching poisonous creatures in deep valleys, his income will be even smaller and slower if he only gathers common herbs. Saving up to treat Grandma’s eyes has always been his ultimate goal, and he won’t be happy with this pace. Even though I know we won’t need his money for that, the Knowledge Youth House is going to be put up for sale soon—by next spring at the latest. Grandpa might consider borrowing money to cover it, but I don’t want him to go into debt again!’

’To avoid debt, the only way to make money fast is through my space. There are valuable herbs in there, and I could take some out to sell after the Spirit Lord leaves. But I’d need an excuse for their origin. Where did I find them? On which mountain, and in what specific spot? Grandpa has been exploring these mountains for years—he’s practically a forest deity around here—and even he has never found herbs this good. How could little Mo Xiaoman suddenly be so capable?’

Xiao Man propped her chin on her hands, completely stumped. ’What am I going to do? This is a real case of having dumplings in a teapot—I have the goods, but I can’t get them out!’

’I have skills, of course, but I can’t reveal them for at least another couple of years. I’m a ten-year-old girl who’s grown up in a poor village in the south and has never even left. We rarely see flour, and getting to eat steamed buns is a rare treat. If I suddenly started making exquisite pastries, how would people look at me? And that’s not even mentioning making banquet dishes from exotic delicacies or simmering incredible soups... Ugh, impossible. I should stop daydreaming!’

School was starting in a week, and the production team’s double-rush farming season was coming to an end. She heard Second Granny Qiu hollering, "Onions in the seventh month, garlic in the eighth! Time to get the vegetable gardens ready for autumn planting!"

So, Xiao Man discussed it with Grandma, and together they tilled and prepared the four or five rows in their family’s vegetable patch. They planted scallions and garlic, sowed seeds for vegetables like green bok choy, baby bok choy, and Shanghai bok choy, and also planted a row of white radish. The leafy greens would be ready to harvest in a little over a month, at which point they would plant taller bok choy, mustard greens, napa cabbage, crown daisy, and head lettuce. These were all winter vegetables. The white radish could be left in the ground until after the New Year. If they had leftovers, they could slice them into strips, air-dry them, and pickle them to make dried radish that would last all summer.

When Grandpa came back from the reservoir during the day, he saw Xiao Man and Grandma bustling about in the vegetable garden and joined in to help. With his help, they finished the few rows in just two days. Since Xiao Man had previously asked Grandpa about rice pestles on behalf of Qiu Xiaohu, Grandpa decided to take advantage of the clear, not-too-muggy weather to take a few of the little rascals into the mountain forest to gather rice pestles, mountain chestnuts, and wild walnuts!

Qiu Xiaohu, Jiang Xuehua, and the others cheered when they heard the news. It wasn’t that they didn’t know how to go into the mountains themselves, but if you wanted to know which forest had the goods—the *good* goods—you definitely had to ask Grandpa, the old mountain expert. If you followed Grandpa, you were one hundred percent guaranteed not to come back empty-handed. The little monkeys were smart!

Xiao Man was very happy too. Of course she was going; Grandpa had already woven her a back basket.

Before they left, Xiao Man had Qiu Xiaohu and Jiang Xuehua split up to notify Mo Shuixia, Mo Linghui, and Guan Ailan, asking if they wanted to come. More people would make the trip into the mountains livelier. Besides, Grandpa said that the forest he was taking them to, while a bit far, had lots of rice pestles, mountain chestnuts, and wild walnuts! There were also some wild fruits, like lemons, mountain pears, wild grapes, and figs!

Xiao Man asked Grandpa why he didn’t pick any to bring back. Grandpa said, "They’re all sour things, and you don’t like them. I’ve heard you always going on about the big yellow biscuits at the co-op store!"

"Who says? I like fruit, too! Those lemons and wild grapes are great! And figs aren’t sour; you can use them to make a jelly dessert!"

Grandpa had to admit, "Well, it’s because I didn’t have time! I was in a hurry to find herbs. When I pass by that area, I don’t always double back. I usually circle around and come down the mountain a different way. Where would I find the time to pick those for you?"

’So,’ Xiao Man decided, ’I’ll bring more of my friends into the mountains to pick all those wild fruits. Otherwise, they’d just fall and go to waste, which would be a real shame.’

Mo Shuixia, Mo Linghui, and Guan Ailan all replied: "We’re in! We have to go! And we’re bringing our younger brothers and sisters!"

The next day, Grandpa came home early to find the courtyard packed with children of all ages, carrying back baskets, shoulder baskets, and cloth bags. They were all staring at him with fiery gazes, which gave him a start. ’What’s going on? Are they here to storm the castle and seize the rations?’

Xiao Man told him, "They all want to go into the mountains with you to gather rice pestles!"

Only then did Grandpa breathe a sigh of relief. He said, "Alright, you can go, but you have to be obedient. Also, everyone bring a few sweet potatoes or taros for provisions. The really little ones, the five- and six-year-olds, shouldn’t come. It’s a long way—a half-day’s walk—and the mountain path is hard with all its ups and downs. I’m afraid you won’t be able to keep up."

Xiao Man and the older kids—Mo Linghui, Mo Shuixia, and Guan Ailan—started screening the group. They set the minimum age at seven. Five or six children who couldn’t go started wiping away tears. Xiao Man comforted them, "It’s not that we don’t want you to come, it’s just that the road is too long and we’re afraid you won’t make it. How about this? Since you all came to assemble here today, you’re officially part of our mountain team. You’re our cheerleading squad, even if you aren’t doing the work. When we get back, we’ll give each of you a bamboo tube full of rice pestles!"

That stopped their crying. They cheerfully saw the group off, shouting, "Come back soon! And gather a lot!"