Transmigration: Flirted with My Childhood Sweetheart-Chapter 44 - 43 The Mountain Road is Difficult
44: Chapter 43 The Mountain Road is Difficult
44 -43 The Mountain Road is Difficult
Lin Nianhe had climbed many mountains before and trekked through numerous rugged, winding paths.
Now as she walked again, although her physical strength didn’t allow her to jump around wildly, it wasn’t too unbearable for her either.
Wen Lan, as always, seemed not to know what tiredness was.
Once she entered the mountains, it was as if she was home; wherever there was something to eat, she would surely spot it, prompting Wang Shumei to wonder if she had secretly scaled the mountain at night.
Although Wang Shumei was suspicious, she really didn’t have the energy to ask.
She had lived in the city before and hardly ever climbed mountains.
Although it was the slack farming season and there wasn’t much work in the fields, they had still put in a morning’s work, so to say they weren’t tired would be a lie.
“Hey, slow down a bit,” Wang Shumei, catching her breath against a tree, complained, “Aren’t we just picking up firewood?
We could just pick some at the foot of the mountain.
Don’t go any further in, or we might encounter wolves again.”
Wen Lan burst out laughing, pointing eastward: “This isn’t deep mountain anyway.
Less than two miles to the east is the main road.
What are you afraid of?”
Wang Shumei rolled her eyes at her, and after catching her breath, found the strength to ask, “Xiao Lan, how come you’re so familiar with this mountain?”
“That’s right, my home is close to the Qinling mountains, you know about Qinling, right?
Even the shortest peak there is taller than here.” Wen Lan said with her chin up, quite proud, “Since I was a kid, I’ve been scrabbling around in the mountains with my brother and sister.
What haven’t I seen?”
No sooner had Wen Lan finished speaking, there was a rustling from the leaves, and then, an animal resembling neither a deer nor a donkey poked its head out from behind the brush.
Lin Nianhe pointed at the animal ahead: “Well, Sister Lan, tell us what this is?”
Wen Lan: “…?”
Wen Lan was baffled; she really had never seen such a creature.
Behind them, Wang Shumei chuckled softly and casually tossed a stone she picked up from the ground.
The small animal, startled by the noise, immediately retracted its head and scuttled away.
Wang Shumei, feeling like she had found her stage, Chin lifted, stated: “That’s a muntjac.
Don’t worry about it.”
Lin Nianhe also knew about this peculiar creature called the muntjac, having often seen it online.
Pretending to be perplexed, she inquired: “Why call it a muntjac?”
“Hmm… you’ll find out in a bit.”
Wang Shumei acted profound, taking the opportunity to rest against the tree.
Wen Lan raised her eyebrows and suggested: “Let’s keep moving.
We didn’t bring any wood-cutting tools, and if it bumps into us, wouldn’t all our bones break?”
Wang Shumei waved her hand, indicating that Wen Lan need not worry.
Seeing Wang Shumei so composed, Wen Lan also relaxed a bit.
However, just as she eased up, the familiar rustling came from the brush again.
A small head peeped out once more, tilting as if it were asking: Who just threw something at me?
Lin Nianhe chuckled out loud.
She had only heard about how curious muntjacs were, that even if hunters missed, they would return on their own.
Now, witnessing it with her own eyes, the comical aspect seemed to have doubled.
She bent over laughing, scaring the muntjac away once again.
Wen Lan watched in utter confusion, not understanding: “Why did it come back and then run away again?
What’s it doing?”
Wang Shumei, seeing her dumbfounded look, suddenly felt her to be similar to the muntjac.
Wang Shumei also laughed, saying meaningfully: “Maybe it wanted to ask me something!”
Wen Lan pouted: “Don’t be so superstitious, how could an animal have such thoughts?”
“Hahaha…”
Joyful laughter echoed through the woods.
The girls were laughing as heartily as they hadn’t since they arrived at the Ten Miles Team.
Living off the mountains, there was always an abundance of delicious things in the mountains.
Although they weren’t hunters, they could still pick wild fruits and find mushrooms.
They walked and chatted, listening to Comrade Wen Lan reminisce about her glory days rampaging through the Qinling mountains.
“… A huge wild boar, massive it was!
It was my big cousin who led seven or eight lads from the village to take it down!
Dragged it back to my grandma’s place in the village, and we got a huge chunk of boar meat, at least seven or eight pounds!”
Lin Nianhe mulled over her words, finally feeling at ease.
“Sister Lan, did you often visit your grandmother’s house before?
Is that where you learned to do farm work?”
Wen Lan’s bragging stiffened on her lips.
She opened her mouth, then finally glared at Lin Nianhe: “How come you’re so nosy?
I just mentioned hunting wild boars, and you read into all that.”
She was essentially admitting it.
Wang Shumei couldn’t help but wonder: “Then why didn’t you just go to your grandmother’s village when you went to the countryside?
Why go so far away?”
Wen Lan lowered her head.
She walked with her head down, not speaking for a long time.
Just as Wang Shumei felt she had been too intrusive and was about to apologize to Wen Lan, she heard her say, “No one knows better than me how hard life is in the Northwest.
My grandmother and my eldest uncle tighten their belts all year round to get by.
If I had gone there, it would have just been an extra burden and made it even harder to survive.”
Wen Lan’s voice was very low, she wiped away her tears and added: “Although it’s cold in the Northeast, the land is fertile and there’s enough to eat.
I can also help support my family.”
Leading the way, her slender back seemed to hold countless reserves of strength.
Lin Nianhe slowed her pace, watching Wen Lan, her heart beating a bit faster.
If possible, who wouldn’t want to hide under their parents’ wings, a naïve girl who knows of nothing at all?
Life forced them to grow up early to share their family’s worries, forgetting to give them even a piece of candy.
After hearing Wen Lan’s words, Wang Shumei also fell silent for a long time, then sighed lightly: “I miss my sister and my brother, too.”
When most people first feel homesick, they think of their parents, but Wang Shumei thought of her siblings.
Lin Nianhe glanced at her and saw that Wang Shumei’s eyes were also red.
She pondered whether she should also join in and think of something…
Hmm…
She felt like eating barbecue, hotpot, big crabs.
She’d eat it when she got back in the evening.
“Hey, there’s a cave up ahead, let’s rest our feet there.”
Wen Lan’s sadness was fleeting, disappearing from her mind within a few breaths.
She turned around, pulled the staggering Wang Shumei, and led the three of them into a cave about twenty or thirty square meters in size.
It was unclear what this place was used for, with the cave entrance covered with dead branches and weeds, obviously it had been a long time since anyone had set foot here; it seemed to be naturally formed.
The three of them each found a spot to sit down, drinking from their water bottles, resting.
Wang Shumei leaned against the cave wall, panting: “This mountain path is too difficult to travel.
I’d rather carry two hundred pounds of rice for five miles than climb mountains again.”
“Dream on!” Wen Lan snorted, “If I could get two hundred pounds of rice, I’d be willing to walk fifty miles!”
“Hahaha, that’s true!”
Carrying the rice, however long the journey, would feel sweet and not tiring at all.
Lin Nianhe ignored their wishful thinking and took the chance to loiter at the cave entrance, stealthily sprinkling some realgar powder in the weeds.
“Hezi, what are you doing?” Wen Lan called out to her.
“Oh, I was just looking over there, you can actually see the main road from here,” Lin Nianhe casually pointed to the east.
“Really?”
Intrigued, Wen Lan got up and joined Lin Nianhe, using her hand as a visor to look, and indeed saw the distant road.
Wang Shumei didn’t have the strength to look, focusing instead on rubbing her sore and weak legs.
After resting in the cave for a while, they prepared to descend the mountain.
The trip had been quite fruitful as they even found some wild chicken eggs.
However, it seemed that their good luck had been used up on the way up the mountain.
Less than ten minutes after leaving the cave, dark clouds suddenly rolled in from the horizon.
A muffled thunderclap sounded across the sky, and raindrops the size of beans began to pour down.
