Chapter 35: A Pack of Rogues?

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Those neatly wrapped stacks of paper—though she had not seen them for more than a decade, she recognized them at once!

Storybooks! And all sorts of them!

Though Cheng Zhi was a shy woman, in her youth she, too, had spent nights under the covers with her closest friends, reading by candlelight.

Cheng Zhi’s face flushed, and Cheng Yuan immediately knew she had bought the right things.

Smiling, she walked out, not forgetting to close the door behind her.

“Mother, whenever you have nothing else to do, just read the storybooks. Let me know when you finish them, and I’ll buy you some new ones.”

Cheng Yuan closed the door with a grin, then turned and found Xie Yanzhi’s enlarged face right in front of her. She jumped.

“What are you doing?” she asked irritably.

“Are we having cake for lunch again today?” Xie Yanzhi’s eyes sparkled as he raised the basket of oranges in his hands.

The words “Go eat snow” caught in Cheng Yuan’s throat. She arched a brow. “Where did you get those?”

“I picked them on the mountain. Brother Fan took me up there early this morning. Oh, that mountain was so steep—I fell several times. Deep inside, we found an orange tree. Brother Fan said there are plenty of fruit trees in these mountains, but the wind and snow had knocked most of the oranges to the ground, and they’d rotted. Still, I managed to pick quite a lot and bring them back.”

As Xie Yanzhi spoke, his tone grew increasingly proud, as though he had a tail sticking straight up behind him.

There were orange trees here? Cheng Yuan was even more astonished. Still, she accepted it readily enough. After all, she had crossed into this world, and the original owner’s memories contained no real sense of geography. She had never bothered to investigate either.

This was good news.

If there was one orange tree in the mountains, there ought to be a second, perhaps even a third. Judging by Xie Yanzhi’s appearance, they were probably all ownerless. It was simply that, during the bitter winter, few people ventured deep into the forest, where the orange trees grew.

Cheng Yuan praised Xie Yanzhi and promised that tomorrow morning she would save him several more pieces of cake. Then she took him to find the Brother Fan he had mentioned.

They found him by the river.

From a distance, Cheng Yuan pointed at the boy—no more than eight or nine years old—who was breaking the ice with a stone, and confirmed once more with Xie Yanzhi, “Brother Fan?”

Xie Yanzhi clearly felt a little guilty, but he still lifted his chin and nodded. “Yes. Don’t let his size fool you. Brother Fan is an expert at gathering bird eggs, roasting fish, and climbing trees!”

As he spoke, he licked his lips, apparently reminiscing about some delicious food.

Cheng Yuan said nothing, but their conversation had already caught Fan Xiaopang’s attention.

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“Brother Xie! Sister Yuan!”

Clutching the stone, he came trotting over. Despite his cheerful, good-natured appearance, it was obvious at a glance that all four of Fan Xiaopang’s limbs were remarkably nimble.

“It’s time for Mr. Xie’s lessons. Didn’t your parents send you to school?”

Cheng Yuan had initially assumed that Brother Fan was at least her age, making it reasonable to ask him to lead the two of them into the mountains in search of more fruit.

But this little rascal before her, though apparently quite capable according to Xie Yanzhi, was still someone she could not truly ask to take them both up the mountain. If anything happened, she would never escape responsibility.

The smile in Fan Xiaopang’s eyes, which had been narrowed by his delight at seeing Xie Yanzhi, instantly froze. He pursed his lips.

“I don’t like studying. Sister Yuan, I like eating.”

Cheng Yuan stared at the two of them in astonishment. At last, she understood what people meant by a pair of disreputable companions.

“My father is dead. My mother is counting on me to find something outside and bring it home. Otherwise, we’ll starve to death.”

Fan Xiaopang’s next words left Cheng Yuan speechless.

It was true. When merely having enough to eat and stay warm was already a problem, how could anyone speak of studying?

Cheng Yuan could no longer bring herself to tell Fan Xiaopang to go to school. Instead, she invited him, “We’re planning to search the mountains for more fruit trees. Brother Fan, would you be willing to show us the way?”

Fan Xiaopang had lowered his head and hugged the stone, thinking that once the two stopped talking and left, he would try smashing the ice again to see whether he could catch any fish.

Everyone might pity him, but pity could not fill an empty stomach.

He raised his head blankly. When he saw the encouragement in Cheng Yuan’s eyes, he finally realized that he had not misheard her.

He nodded repeatedly, tossed the stone aside, and his eyes shone brightly. “I can. I can. Follow me.”

Fan Xiaopang seemed to know every inch of the mountain. He led them along the easiest paths, and even the dead branches blocking the way had been trampled down into countless tracks.

Cheng Yuan suddenly understood how even the delicate, pale-faced Xie Yanzhi had managed to climb the mountain.

“It’s right here, Sister Yuan. I found this orange tree three years ago. It bears a great many oranges every year.” Fan Xiaopang pointed at a tree as tall as a two-story building.

By now, however, all the fruit had been picked from its branches. Only the rotten oranges scattered across the snow remained, attracting swarms of flies.

Seeing Cheng Yuan’s measuring gaze, Fan Xiaopang scratched his head awkwardly.

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“After Brother Xie left, I came back once more and picked all the good ones that were left. I can sell them for a little money at the market tomorrow. My mother hasn’t eaten for two days. I’ve been waiting for this tree to ripen for a long time…”

Fan Xiaopang kept explaining. None of it was necessary, but he was terrified that Cheng Yuan would form a bad impression of him, and he explained himself until his forehead was slick with sweat.

“Fan Xiaopang, you’re very capable. You don’t need to explain so much to me.”

Cheng Yuan’s gentle voice was like the first spring rain nourishing the fields. Tears sprang involuntarily to Fan Xiaopang’s eyes.

Noticing that Xie Yanzhi was also watching him silently, he hurriedly wiped away his tears. “Sister Yuan, I’ll take you to look for more. I remember that farther in, there are several chestnut trees. This should be the time of year when they ripen, too, though I don’t know whether someone else has been waiting for them.”

Half an hour later, they all tilted their heads back to gaze into the dense canopy, and it became clear that Fan Xiaopang’s worry had been entirely unnecessary.

Quite a few chestnuts with cracked shells had fallen to the ground, though most were rotten. Presumably, many small animals had already gathered them to store for the winter.

“Oh, no!” Fan Xiaopang suddenly slapped his thigh, his face falling. “If I’d known we were coming back into the mountains, I would have brought my carrying basket.”

Indeed, Cheng Yuan and Xie Yanzhi had both brought baskets. If they relied on their bare hands, they would not be able to carry many chestnuts back.

Going back and forth would waste a great deal of time. Besides, too much could happen overnight. By tomorrow, perhaps only the smallest chestnuts would remain.

“It’s all right, Brother Fan. I can carry some back for you.” Xie Yanzhi felt sorry for Fan Xiaopang, but he still had to take Cheng Yuan’s wishes into account before doing anything.

Cheng Yuan looked around, then smiled faintly.

“Don’t pick them yet. Find me some vines like this.”

She tore a vine as thick as her thumb from a tree. It was thick and twisted, and without using considerable force, it would have been difficult to break.

“Vines? Sister Yuan, do you know how to weave baskets?” Fan Xiaopang asked in delighted surprise.

The two worked quickly, and Cheng Yuan was not slow either. Before long, a large carrying basket had taken shape.

It could not compare with one woven from bamboo, but it was more than adequate for carrying a load of chestnuts.

Fan Xiaopang thanked her repeatedly, removed his shoes and socks, and scampered up the tree.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded from below the mountain.

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