Chapter 74 - 74

Chapter 74 The Silly Roe Deer is Adorably SillyAunt Yao wasn't originally from the village; she came from elsewhere. No one knew where she came from or why she arrived here in such a disheveled state.Xiao Jun's grandfather, Li Fulai, found her collapsed on the roadside and took her in. After that, she naturally stayed and lived with him.Li Fulai was an honest and kind man who treated Aunt Yao very well. He didn't ask about her past, and the two of them lived like that.However, Aunt Yao was not in good health, and it took her many years to conceive a child, who became Xiao Jun's father, Li Zhiqiang. Later, when Li Zhiqiang grew up, he joined the army in his teens.Having not returned home for many years, the elderly couple thought their son was gone, which was a great blow to them, and their health deteriorated.But who would have thought that six years ago, Li Zhiqiang would come back with a little boy in his arms, and the old couple would burst into tears of joy.However, he didn't stay long, leaving Childbehind before departing again.Now, Xiao Jun is six years old, and he has never seen him come back again.Grandpa Li passed away three years ago, leaving Aunt Yao and Xiao Jun to depend on each other.The villagers sympathized with their family and took good care of them on a daily basis, but no matter what, they couldn't possibly be there for everyone.They didn't stay long; they all planned to go back and get some things to bring over.Yun Ting took half a pound of brown sugar and two pounds of millet and headed to Aunt Yao'shouse.When she arrived, she saw Aunt Meihuastarting a fire, probably cooking something." Aunt Meihua, what are you cooking?""Little Educated Youth Yun, you're here! Cook them some hot rice porridge; the barefoot doctor is inside examining them!""Yes, I brought some brown sugar and millet. Millet porridge is good for the stomach and suitable for the elderly and children.""Little Educated Youth Yun, you're so thoughtful, good child."Yun Ting entered the room and stuffed twoWhite Rabbit Milk Candies into Xiao Jun'smouth. The child stubbornly refused to accept them, so Yun Ting unwrapped the candies and secretly put them in his mouth when he wasn't looking.Xiao Jun looked at her with teary eyes, making her feel a little uncomfortable. "Sweetie~ I gave you these, so eat them. There are two more left, keep them. When Grandma gets better, you and she can each have one, okay?""Thank you, sister..."Xiao Jun thanked her softly, feeling a warm glow in her heart. Little did Yun Ting know that the sweetness she gave her today would sweetenXiao Jun's entire life.Grandma Yao only caught a common cold, and after taking medicine and receiving proper care, she recovered quickly.The villagers piled up a lot of firewood in their yard, enough for the grandfather and grandson to use this winter.The grandfather and grandson were deeply moved and kept thanking everyone. Xiao Junsecretly made up his mind to repay the people who had helped his family in the future.As the weather gets colder, families who haven't collected enough firewood go up the mountain to gather more every day, some even going to the neighboring mountain.Yun Ting found some time and went up the mountain alone. This time, her goal was to go deep into the mountains and check how the chestnut trees from last year were doing. She planned to transplant them directly into her space, roots and all, since no one would dare to come into the deep mountains to pick them anyway.She only dared to go deep into the mountains because she had access to a safe space; otherwise, she wouldn't have been so reckless.Following my memory, I quickly found the chestnut tree. The wild chestnuts here are relatively small, but they taste quite good.She moved the chestnuts, roots and all, directly into the space.Yun Ting held a wooden stick in her hand, but her eyes scanned the surroundings like radar. Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks and saw several clusters of plump hazel mushroomspeeking out from among the withered leaves under an old pine tree, each mushroom with a small brown cap. Hidden nearby were several clumps of bright red hawthorns, each one as plump as a small lantern.She can never have too many hazel mushrooms; if she can't finish them, she can dry them for preservation.A surge of joy filled her heart, and she quickly squatted down to carefully pick the mushrooms. Just as she put the mushrooms into her basket, Yun Ting caught a glimpse of a thick tree trunk not far away, and she suddenly held her breath.Embedded in the cracks of the mottled tree bark was something striking. At first glance, it looked like a giant mushroom, but upon closer inspection, my heart leaped—it was a Ganoderma lucidum!It is about the size of a palm, with a soft, wavy edge on the cap. The surface is bright red, as if it has been coated with wax, yet it also has a natural, warm luster. The edge is also surrounded by a faint golden ring, as if it has been moistened by morning dew, giving it a jade-like texture.What surprised her even more was that not far below it, there was another slightly smaller Ganoderma lucidum half-hidden in the moss. It was a little lighter in color, but it was just as plump, with fine and neat tubes under the cap."Wow... I've really struck gold! Haha..."Fearing that the basket might get damaged, she carefully placed it in the storage space."Hiss... hiss..."Yun Ting suddenly felt a chill run down her spine. She turned her head and was so frightened that she almost died on the spot.With a "Ah...", it quickly hid inside the space.Her heart pounded. Snakes…she was terrified of them all, especially such a large python.She was careless. Wild animals roam these deep mountains, and people say that good things are guarded by animals. She didn't notice the ginseng before, so she didn't take it seriously. Luckily, she dodged quickly enough this time, or she would have been swallowed whole by the python.Looking outside from inside the space, the giant python was still there, looking around curiously. How could such a big person have disappeared?Yun Ting didn't dare to go out for the time being, so she decided to stay in the space for a while.I'll eat an apple to calm my nerves...About half an hour later, she glanced outside and, not seeing the giant snake anymore, quickly went outside and left the area.As Yun Ting ventured deeper into the area, surprises kept coming.On the trunk of a sturdy linden tree hung several strings of grayish-black wood ear mushrooms, as thick as palms; on the slope, beside several shrubs blown down by the wind, lay a nest of round, plump Wild Chicken eggs, white and fluffy, nestled in the grass; what excited her most was that in a shady crevice of rocks, she found several ginseng plants with emerald green leaves, their roots firmly buried in the soil, clearly indicating that they were quite old and of good quality.We've taken them all.Wild chicken: A wild rabbit hopped around in front of me, so I took it too.Yun Ting was happily lining her basket with soft grass when she suddenly heard a rustling sound behind her, like something moving over fallen leaves.Yun Ting's hand tightened, and she cursed inwardly, "No way? Where did my luck go?" She instinctively grabbed the stick and turned around, her heart pounding wildly—in these deep mountains, she might encounter a bear or a wild boar, but what she feared most was that giant python!But when she saw the scene before her, she was stunned.A few steps away, a round head peeked out from behind the bushes, topped with two short, pointed horns. Its large, black, grape-like eyes stared at her blankly. The creature was covered in light brown fur with a tuft of white fur on its rump. It was tilting its head, as if trying to figure out what this novel wooden stick in her hand was.It's a silly roe deer!Yun Ting had just breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the little beast not only didn't run away, but instead took two steps forward, tentatively pawing the ground with its front legs and making soft "humming" sounds in its throat, just like a curious child coming over to watch the fun.She couldn't help but laugh; the reputation was indeed genuine. She deliberately moved the stick in her hand to the side, and the roe deer's eyes followed, then it moved closer until it was only three or four steps away from her. Suddenly, as if remembering something, it jumped back, its white fur on its rump bristling like a fluffy dandelion.It only jumped once, then stopped in place, staring intently at her, as if to say, "Why aren't you moving?"Not daring to disturb it, she quietly took half a step back. To her surprise, this movement emboldened the silly roe deer, which took two steps with its short legs and sniffed the air, probably smelling the fragrance of wild fruits in her basket."What a clever little devil, and such a glutton."Yun Ting was overjoyed. To see such an adorable creature in this day and age was a delightful surprise. She took a slightly unripe wild grape from her basket and gently tossed it aside.The roe deer was startled and jumped back half a meter. Seeing that the grapes were not moving, it cautiously approached, nudged them with its nose, hesitated for a moment, picked them up and chewed them, and its tail even wagged slightly.Yun Ting's heart softened at the sight, and she dared not tease it any further, afraid of startling it. She slowly backed away and turned around. After walking quite a distance, she looked back and saw the little guy still standing there, like a tiny furry ball stuck in the woods, staring blankly in her direction."Fine, I'll spare your life since you're so cute..."