Chapter 95: Mountain Vegetables

(1)

Spring in Jiangnan always arrives early.

At the beginning of spring, the mountains are already covered in a blanket of green.

Among the trees on the hillside, red and white crabapple blossoms dot the landscape.

They are the earliest flowers to bloom each spring in this small city, and seeing them usually means that spring has truly arrived.

By the roadside, there are some unnamed wildflowers—mostly white, with a few pale yellow ones sprinkled in.

The vibrant colors before their eyes lifted everyone’s spirits.

If one’s life is spent solely chasing material meaning, no matter how strong their endurance, they will inevitably collapse halfway.

Sometimes, you have to stop and appreciate the scenery around you—a person’s life journey is long; there’s no need to rush constantly.

“Does this count as ‘spring outing’?”

An Jing paused before a cluster of flowers and took a deep breath.

“Ah— it smells so good here.”

“Want to go on a spring outing? After we finish cleaning, I’ll take you all up the mountain for a walk. Now that spring’s here, the whole place is full of beautiful sights,” Zhang Qiqi said, folding her arms.

“By the way, can you make flower crowns?”

“That’s Wang Wang’s specialty!”

Fang Qiang seemed to recall something from before.

“She can even weave grass rings!”

“Hmmm… it’s been so long since I made one, I’ve probably forgotten how,” Wang Xinru shook her head shyly.

“Making grass or flower crowns… when I was a kid, I’d wear them on my head for half a day and then lose them,” An Jing glanced at Zhu Ying beside her.

“Xiaoying, can you?”

“Do I look like I can?”

“We have to play properly these few days. Try everything, Mom,” Sun Wei twisted his body left and right, the joints cracking loudly.

“I heard you had a tough time getting out?”

Zhou Chao asked with a smile.

“Yeah, I said I wanted to go out to play, and my mom scolded me. Damn it.”

Sun Wei couldn’t help but raise his middle finger.

“She said, ‘You’re about to graduate from ninth grade; you should study hard. What’s with all this playing around? You’ll have plenty of time when you grow up.’”

“Pfft,” Zhu Ying covered her mouth, laughing.

“My dad says this is the time to play hard. If you don’t play when you’re young, you won’t have time when you grow up.”

“Sigh, everything has to be meaningful, every action has to have a tangible purpose. It’s so annoying.”

“If only you studied better, your mom wouldn’t say that.”

“Bullshit! Back in elementary school, I was often first in the class, always in the top five. But my mom still wanted me to try harder and harder. Even if I got first place, if I didn’t get a perfect score, I’d still get scolded. Why the hell would I bother studying then!”

“You’ve been rebellious since you were little,” Fang Qiang clicked his tongue.

“If a person endlessly pursues so-called ‘meaning,’ they’ll eventually fall into a void, because when you analyze everything to the end, nothing truly has meaning,” Zhu Ying said softly, as if speaking from experience.

“I don’t get those big philosophical ideas. I just know—”

Zhang Qiqi, supporting her head with her hands and leaning back slightly, walked at the front of the group, “when you insist on trying to get something out of everything, you’ll never find happiness.”

“What’s with you all turning into philosophers today?”

Fang Qiang teased.

“You’re barely older than a fart, talking about life philosophies. Later when you look back, you’ll be the embarrassed one.”

“Ha ha, Fang Qiang, like you’re so old,” Yang Lingfei laughed lightly.

“I just think this stuff is nonsense, meaningless.”

“See, see, this guy’s fallen into the ‘meaning trap’,” Sun Wei shouted excitedly, like he caught someone in a mistake.

“Go on, go on, you talk too much!”

***

(2)

The wooden house built on the hillside remained unchanged.

In winter, the snow here must have been deep, but by now, it had all melted.

The climbing vines had sprouted new buds, and two very tender blades of grass grew in the tile crevices.

A flock of plump, round sparrows lounged on the eaves, lazily soaking up the sun.

When the group approached, they fluttered their wings and scattered—but not far, perching on nearby branches, cocking their heads as they observed these uninvited guests disturbing the mountain’s quiet.

“Swish swish…”

The sound of sweeping came from inside the house. Dust stirred and floated in the air like falling stardust, each speck distinct.

“Dad? What are you doing here?”

Zhang Qiqi stood surprised by the stairs, looking at the one-armed man sweeping dust out.

“Haha… I always have your classmates clean up. It’s kind of embarrassing. This time, I came to have some fun—consider it a vacation.”

The middle-aged man balanced a dustpan between his legs and held the broom with one hand, sweeping trash inside with wide motions that made his empty left sleeve swing.

“Uncle, you’re such a great guy!”

Sun Wei looked like he was about to cry.

“Finally, I don’t have to do chores anymore!”

“Shut up, think before you speak, huh?”

Zhang Qiqi gave him a sharp glare.

“Are we eating lunch here later?”

“I’ve got plenty to do back at home. You guys have fun. What am I, a third wheel?”

“How will you get back?”

“By minibus. There should be one leaving around one in the afternoon.”

“Oh, Dad, do as you like then.”

“By the way, I brought Qingyan with me. She’ll be in your care these few days. It’s rare to have her around.”

“Sure. Where’s Qingyan?”

“In the house.”

“Qingyan?”

An Jing scratched her head.

“I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere.”

“That girl in the wheelchair last time. How can you forget?”

“It’s normal not to remember other girls’ names, as long as you remember yours!”

“That’s so cheesy—”

Zhu Ying laughed and pinched An Jing’s cheek.

“Xiao Jing, you actually say things like that now?”

“I didn’t teach her that!”

Zhou Chao immediately waved his hands.

“You just revealed yourself,” Yang Lingfei teased, laughing.

“Anyway, let’s go inside first, put down your bags, and then—are you all hungry?”

“No.”

“I’m fine.”

“I just ate before leaving.”

“A little hungry…”

“Now you say that, and I’m hungry too!”

“Brother can eat anytime.”

Everyone talked at once, and Zhang Qiqi waved her hand to quiet them down.

“Then we’ll eat around two or three in the afternoon. For now—let’s go gather wild vegetables, dig up bamboo shoots, and pick mushrooms!”

***

(3)

The mountain path was calm and quiet.

The girl in the wheelchair was pushed to a relatively spacious clearing, watching everyone excitedly follow Zhang Qiqi in search of bamboo shoots.

She glanced down at her legs and sighed softly.

“Can I call you Qingyan too?”

Zhu Ying squatted beside her with a smile.

“Mm…”

“Look, it’s spring foxtail grass. This one is especially fluffy.”

Zhu Ying picked one and handed it to her.

“I wonder if this counts as a symbol of spring?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Then what do you think is a symbol of spring?”

“Spring… is flowers.”

“Well, there are lots of wildflowers here.”

“Don’t pick them!”

Chi Qingyan suddenly stopped Zhu Ying’s reaching hand with some urgency, making the latter pull back in surprise.

“Uh!”

“Sorry.”

She apologized quietly, lowering her head.

“It’s just that they’re blooming in the land where they belong, so… I don’t want them to wither so soon.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Wow—there are so many mushrooms on this tree!”

An Jing exclaimed, standing in front of a straight pine.

“Don’t pick those. They’re poisonous.”

“Really? Poisonous?”

Yang Lingfei looked curiously.

“The color’s so plain, they don’t look much different from normal mushrooms…”

“Who the hell told you poisonous mushrooms have to be colorful?”

Zhou Chao shook his head.

“Many poisonous mushrooms look very ordinary. You have to look at where they grow and some subtle differences.”

“What differences?”

“The color is too gray.”

Zhou Chao rustled through thick grass and walked under a crooked tree.

“Look, these are edible mushrooms—the kind we often buy at the market.”

“Yeah, those are safe.”

Zhang Qiqi tossed a bamboo basket to Zhou Chao.

“Pick some! Don’t take them all—leave some for next time.”

“Wow.”

Sun Wei patted Fang Qiang’s back excitedly.

“A Qiang, come look. When I was little, my mom often sold these kinds of wild vegetables at the market. It’s rare to see her selling them these years.”

“What is it?”

“In my family, we call them mountain bracken.”

“We call that ‘fist vegetable.’ It’s delicious but must be blanched before eating, and you can’t eat too much.”

Zhang Qiqi glanced back.

“What vegetable? Let me see.”

“This one, An Jing, have you seen it?”

“Oh, yes! I ate it when I was little!”

This bracken has a long stem with the top part curled like a mosquito coil, which at first glance looks a bit like a green lollipop.

Though it’s tender green now, after blanching it turns purple.

“Let’s make a cold dish with it later—that’s the best way to eat it.”

Zhou Chao wiped his mouth as if drooling.

“It’s crisp and tender. It’s a bit small now; it’s best to pick them in a month or two.”

“Tender is better.”

Zhang Qiqi swung her hoe and unearthed a small spring bamboo shoot.

“Hmph, perfect! Not a scratch!”

“There are really a lot of edible things in the mountains.”

Yang Lingfei leaned in to look at the bamboo shoot covered in soil.

“This one’s so small and kind of cute.”

“That’s how spring bamboo shoots are.”

“Qiqi, come quick!”

Wang Xinru waved and shouted from a higher spot.

“There should be several bamboo shoots here. Come dig!”

“Coming, coming!”

Zhang Qiqi dragged her somewhat heavy hoe but ran lightly up the slope and stood steadily on a flat patch.

“Oh—there really are a bunch here.”

Chi Qingyan watched the others from afar, a hint of envy in her eyes.

She took a deep breath and squeezed her thigh tightly.