Accidentally-Born-C54

Chapter 54

Li Mu Wu and Wang Sufen had lived with Grandma Li their whole lives. Grandma Li’s decisive personality and fiery way of doing things had become the spiritual pillar of the Li family. Li Mu Wu and Wang Sufen’s admiration and trust in Grandma Li had reached a blind level. Seeing Grandma Li patting her chest and confidently saying everything would be fine, Wang Sufen wiped her tears and then, with a smile, pulled Ming Dong and Guihua along, saying, “Oh, that’s great! I was scared to death just now. Guihua, stop crying. Your grandma already said it’s fine. Look at you two kids, you can’t keep calm, crying and wailing before the problem even arrives. You’re nothing like your grandma.”

Ming Dong and the others thought that the elders at home didn’t understand these matters, and they were also afraid of scaring them, which is why they spoke about it behind their backs. But when they heard Grandma Li speaking with such certainty and analysis, each of them felt more at ease.

Seeing Guihua still holding onto Ming Dong’s hand and crying, Grandma Li took a couple of puffs from her pipe: “Grandma knows you’re worried about Ming Dong, but you can’t go with him to Anbei now.”

When Guihua was about to argue, Grandma Li pressed her hand on her shoulder and said firmly, “Listen to Grandma. Your background isn’t good. There’s no one in Beicha who specifically seeks out a poor farming family to marry a wife. Even if someone dares to, I won’t spare them, but it’s different in Anbei.” Grandma Li released her hand, sat up on the kang, and continued, “If Ming Dong goes to the farm for re-education in Anbei, you’ll definitely follow him. But according to what I say, Ming Dong will be out next year. What if you can’t come out? Who will save you then?”

Guihua wasn’t a fool. She had been scared by their brothers’ words earlier and had gotten stuck in a corner. Seeing Grandma Li’s calmness, she finally settled down, and Grandma Li said, “Just stay at home and take care of Meat Bun and Bean Bun. When it’s safe for Ming Dong, you can go. Grandma will help you look after the kids at home, and I won’t stop you.”

Guihua looked reluctantly at Ming Dong, her eyelashes fluttered, and a string of tears fell down. Ming Dong felt both heartbroken and helpless. He reached out to wipe them away, but with Grandma Li, his parents, and younger brothers and sisters all surrounding them, including his mischievous younger sister, Ming Dong really felt embarrassed to do so.

Grandma Li smiled. Her tobacco pipe had run out of tobacco leaves, and she instinctively tapped the edge of the kang: “You two haven’t seen each other for half a year. Go back to your room and talk privately. Mu Wu, take your wife to the back room to bring Meat Bun and Bean Bun here. Let them sleep in the front yard.”

The family quickly followed Grandma Li’s instructions. After settling the two little ones, Grandma Li called Wang Sufen to make quilts. Last year, Zhenzhen had found cotton seeds and planted quite a bit of cotton. Grandma Li was cautious by nature, so she only replaced the cotton in the family’s winter clothes with fresh cotton, but hadn’t changed the bedding. From what Zhenzhen said, Ming Dong would have to stay at the farm for some time. That place would be much tougher than school, and with no other way to help, Grandma Li decided to make a thick quilt to keep him warm in winter.

Last year, Zhenzhen had planted quite a lot of cotton, but it took up a lot of space. After picking it, the cabinet was filled to the brim, but there wasn’t much left after making cotton clothes for the whole family.

When Zhenzhen heard that Grandma Li was going to make a quilt, she quickly dragged her to pick cotton. After so many years of controlling plants, Zhenzhen had become incredibly skilled.

Arriving at last year’s cotton field, they could still see the withered branches. As Zhenzhen approached, the dry branches turned green and immediately began sprouting new buds. Although Grandma Li and Wang Sufen knew about Zhenzhen’s abilities, they were still amazed every time they saw it.

Swallowing her saliva, Grandma Li opened the sack, and cotton flowers as white as clouds flew out of the buds and fell into the sack that Grandma Li had brought. Wang Sufen was still in shock, and in no time, the first sack was already full. Grandma Li quickly pressed it down and tied the opening, then took out another clean burlap sack.

After filling six sacks, the cotton was finally all picked. With a wave of her hand, the cotton branches returned to their previous dry state. Grandma Li and Wang Sufen didn’t want to stay on the mountain for too long. They had to hurry back home to make a quilt for Ming Dong.

By the time Zhenzhen was done, she had already been feeling sleepy. Looking at the strong sun overhead, she didn’t feel like going down the mountain. Grandma Li, while tying the two sacks together with hemp rope and resting them on her shoulder, looked at Zhenzhen helplessly: “What’s so fun on this mountain? You’re always out and not at home.”

Zhenzhen chuckled, “This mountain has all kinds of treasures. I just feel comfortable staying here.”

Wang Sufen had no choice but to remind her, “Go home early, don’t play so late like yesterday. You scared your grandma.”

Zhenzhen quickly nodded, “I know. I’ll go back after gathering some wild things. I’ll make sure my brother gets some meat to eat while he’s home, so he can replenish his energy. Once he go back to Anbei, the most meat he can have is during festivals, from the vegetables.”

Hearing this, Grandma Li sighed. She remembered the piece of beef Zhenzhen had brought back at noon, which weighed four or five pounds. Originally, she was thinking of stewing it for dinner, and preserving the rest for later.

But after hearing that Ming Dong wouldn’t get any meat in Anbei, Grandma Li didn’t feel the need to save the meat. She quickly told Wang Sufen, “When you get home, prepare the dough, pure white flour. Tonight we’ll steam beef buns, just like the buns Zhenzhen brought back from the hydrolysis plant.”

Zhenzhen thought of the beef buns from last time—thin dough and big fillings, bursting with juicy meat. Immediately, saliva started flowing from her mouth. She swallowed and told Wang Sufen, “Put more green onions and no vegetables. I want all meat inside.”

Pinching Zhenzhen’s chubby little cheek, Wang Sufen laughed so hard her eyes turned into slits, “You’re as fat as a little pig and still want all meat buns?”

“This means I’m blessed,” Zhenzhen pouted her cheeks and turned to ask Grandma Li, “Grandma, do you think I look blessed?”

Grandma Li’s favorite was this granddaughter. With her fair and tender skin, she was incredibly cute. Seeing Zhenzhen pout, Grandma Li quickly nodded, “Of course, our Zhenzhen is the most blessed. No one can compare to her.”

Zhenzhen hugged her chubby face, grinning happily, “Grandma knows me best.”

Watching Grandma Li and Wang Sufen leave the mountain, Zhenzhen entered her space. After going in and out several times yesterday, Zhenzhen finally understood the location of the space. In the past, she hadn’t been able to figure out how she could instantly appear miles away due to the speed. But this time, after moving in and out, she discovered a clue. It turned out that she only needed to pass through a passage about one meter long to reach any place within the range her consciousness could cover, which felt a bit like the idea of a “Door to Anywhere.”

However, this passage wasn’t surrounded by walls, but by light screens. Once she passed through the light screen, she was in her space. Zhenzhen was currently using the left side of the passage, while the right side was still unused for now.

Thinking about the large Meat Bun for dinner, Zhenzhen hurriedly went to the Space to fetch a willow basket and slung it over her back. She casually picked a basket of wild vegetables, caught two wild chickens, and after descending the mountain, she also grabbed a fish. With her hands full, Zhenzhen felt a sense of accomplishment from her harvest.

Zhenzhen returned home early today, and on the way, she encountered many people heading up the mountain or to the river. Neighbors had known for a while that the Li family hunted, but seeing Zhenzhen catch wild chickens, the compliments flowed freely, making Zhenzhen blush.

After running a few steps, she met a neighbor who lived not far away. As soon as he saw Zhenzhen, he grinned enviously: “Wow, this girl from the Li family is amazing! How old is she, and she can already catch wild chickens? She’s better than my big son!” After complimenting Zhenzhen, he turned and slapped the back of the head of a nearby young man, about seventeen or eighteen years old, saying, “Look at you, two years ago I told you to catch a rabbit for your mom, and where’s your rabbit?”

Zhenzhen smiled apologetically at the older neighbor, one hand holding the chickens, the other holding the fish, and hurried on. But after just a few more steps, she ran into someone else, who nodded at her and said, “Looks like the Li family has a successor. This girl is already this capable. She won’t have trouble getting married.” Zhenzhen, feeling a bit awkward, replied, “Uncle, you’re thinking too far ahead.”

The man laughed heartily, “Not too far! I have a boy just two years older than you. Don’t you both go to the same school? Right?”

Zhenzhen felt her face darken and thought of the clumsy big guy in her class. “You mean Wang Dazhuang, the guy who repeated three years?”

“He’s not repeating this year. They don’t need to take exams to advance now. You’ll still be in the same class next year. Hey, Li Mingzhen, why are you running?” The man looked at Zhenzhen, who had disappeared from sight, with regret. “This girl runs so fast. She’ll definitely be someone capable in the future.”

After running a few hundred meters, Zhenzhen saw that there was no one around, so she stopped, placed her things down, and wiped the sweat from her face. Having lived in this neighborhood for so many years, Zhenzhen was familiar with everyone’s personalities. The two people just now were honest but overly enthusiastic. Zhenzhen had trouble dealing with their attention every time.

She took out a military water bottle from the basket of wild vegetables and unscrewed the lid, taking a couple of gulps. Suddenly, a strong force rushed at her, almost knocking her over. Seeing the water spilled on her clothes, Zhenzhen glared up. In front of her, proudly holding a wild chicken, was Zhang Yunhong, the eldest son of the Zhang family, who had been described by Guihua as “having a face that looks like a dog licked it.”

Looking at his bully-like expression, Zhenzhen couldn’t help but sneer. Zhang Yunhong turned around and spat at Zhenzhen, then arrogantly laughed. Suddenly, the wild grass under his feet grew rapidly, wrapping tightly around his ankles, and Zhang Yunhong fell hard to the ground before he could react.

Zhenzhen, carrying the basket and fish, leisurely walked over. As Zhang Yunhong was about to get up, Zhenzhen swiftly extended her small foot and stomped him back down.

Although Zhang Yunhong was only fourteen or fifteen years old, he was big and strong. He was known for being worse than his father. He liked to snatch candy and snacks from other people’s children, and during the New Year, he would even take the red envelopes from nearby kids. After taking something, he would beat them as a threat. Many people had gone to his family to complain over the years, but his father, Zhang Defu, was also a rogue. The neighbors could do nothing about them, so they just told their kids to avoid them.

Zhenzhen usually didn’t play with the nearby kids, so she had never had a direct confrontation with Zhang Yunhong. In fact, this was the first time Zhenzhen had been robbed of something. Seeing the water on her clothes, her temper flared up.

She stomped her foot heavily on Zhang Yunhong’s back, coldly saying, “You’re really something, daring to steal again? If you have such skills, why don’t you go up the mountain to catch your own stuff? Always stealing from others—aren’t you ashamed?”

Zhang Yunhong felt as though a huge stone was pressing on his back, unable to lift himself. He strained his back with all his might, but his upper body didn’t even lift by ten centimeters before he crashed back to the ground. He had always thought he was one of the toughest kids around, but never in his wildest dreams did he expect to run into someone like Zhenzhen today.

Lying on the ground, Zhang Yunhong felt a little scared, but he couldn’t bring himself to apologize to such a small girl. He didn’t believe Zhenzhen could keep him pinned down, thinking maybe she was stepping on his pressure points, which made him weak. He reached out to grab Zhenzhen’s ankle.

Zhenzhen sneered and stomped harder on Zhang Yunhong’s ankle, while her other foot quickly, sharply, and accurately stepped on his hand.

Zhang Yunhong nearly spat blood from the pain. He tried to pull his hand free, but Zhenzhen’s foot was firmly pressing down, and he couldn’t move. At this point, Zhang Yunhong was truly scared, his voice tinged with menace, “Let me up, or I’ll tell my dad to kill you.”

“Go ahead, let your dad come to my house and see whose dad is tougher!” Zhenzhen glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then looked at a birch tree on the side of the road. A branch the size of an infant’s arm quietly fell into Zhenzhen’s hand.

She broke off the excess leaves and threw them aside, leaving only the thickest part. Then, she lifted her foot off Zhang Yunhong’s wrist, squatted down, and slapped his buttocks hard twice. “So, who’s stuff have you stolen?”

Zhang Yunhong immediately felt like his buttocks were burning, as though the flesh had thickened by half an inch. He let out a heart-wrenching scream and cursed repeatedly. Zhenzhen coldly sneered and slapped him twice more. “When your mouth is clean, you won’t be punished.”

Zhang Yunhong immediately stopped cursing. Trembling, he whispered, “I haven’t stolen anything.”

“Not being honest with me, huh?” Zhenzhen twirled the stick in her hand. “Let me tell you, I’m an expert at dealing with people who aren’t honest. If you lie even once, I’ll hit you. When you start being honest, we’ll stop. Got it?” Zhenzhen waved the stick in front of his eyes and smiled coldly, adding, “You might not know, but I’ve been hunting wild boars with my dad since I was little. When I was five, I dared to swing a stick at a wild boar. You think your skin is thicker than a wild boar’s?”

Seeing Zhenzhen raise the stick again, Zhang Yunhong’s legs went weak, and a hot stream flowed down his pants. Zhenzhen, smelling the foul odor, quickly covered her nose, disgusted, and retracted her foot from his back. She stepped aside a few paces, muttering, “So embarrassing, you’re over ten years old and still wet your pants.”

Zhang Hongyun’s face turned red as he got up from the ground. His two large hands didn’t know whether to cover his front or his back. Zhenzhen saw that he no longer had any fighting strength, so she decided to let him go. After all, wasting time with such a scoundrel wasn’t worth it. She’d better hurry up and send the wild chicken home, since she still wanted to eat beef buns and drink chicken soup in the evening. She really had no time to waste with him.

She wrinkled her nose in disdain, raised the stick, and pointed at him. “Next time I hear you stealing someone else’s things, let’s see if I won’t beat you to death.”

She tossed the stick to the side of the road, picked up the wild chicken and fish, humming a tune as she walked home. Zhang Hongyun, unwilling to accept it, glared at Zhenzhen’s retreating figure, then glanced at the stick on the road, a hint of malice flashing in his eyes. He raised the stick and quickly ran towards Zhenzhen. When there was still about a meter between them, Zhang Hongyun swung the stick towards Zhenzhen’s head.

Zhenzhen had long been accustomed to using her consciousness to watch everything around her. She had already noticed Zhang Hongyun’s small movement. Just as Zhang Hongyun used all his strength to swing the stick down, Zhenzhen seemed to take a light step to the side but instantly moved a meter away. Before Zhang Hongyun could react, he was suddenly kicked away with great force and fell back onto the ground again.

“Cough, cough…” Choked by the spit, Zhang Hongyun coughed, and suddenly tasted something bloody and sweet in his mouth. He opened his mouth and spat out a front tooth.

After beating Zhang Hongyun, Zhenzhen ran home, still shaking the wild chicken and fish in her hands. Guihua was in the yard chopping beef, and Zhenzhen quickly put the wild chicken and fish aside. “Sister-in-law, let’s make some soup tonight, so we don’t just eat buns and choke.”

Guihua looked at Zhenzhen with a smile, “You’re complaining about buns choking you? If you say that out loud, people will say you’re decadent.” While chopping the beef, Guihua looked at Zhenzhen, “You’ve never had sweet potato pancakes, huh? Now, that’s something that can choke you.”

Zhenzhen chuckled and grabbed a washed cucumber from the nearby bowl, taking a couple of bites. “Sweet potatoes are best roasted. Just put them on the stove rack. In half an hour, they’ll be golden and oozing with oil. Ah, I can’t talk about it anymore, I’m drooling.”

Guihua laughed at Zhenzhen’s greedy little look, “You love to eat so much. When we harvest sweet potatoes in the fall, I’ll leave more for you. But now, you should focus on those buns.”

With a smile on her face, Guihua went to check the dough. She pressed a finger into it, noticing that it wasn’t fully proofed yet. She took the meat filling inside to the room, then boiled a pot of hot water and grabbed a kitchen knife to go out and kill the chicken.

Just as Guihua had begun to bleed the wild chicken, Zhang Defu led Zhang Hongyun to the yard. As soon as they entered, Zhang Defu started shouting, “Li Mu Wu! Get out here! Look at what your daughter did to my son! You need to pay for his medical bills!”

Li Laotai, hearing the noise from inside, hurriedly jumped out of bed, muttering to herself, “Zhenzhen, is this the youngest son of Zhang Defu starting trouble again?” Wang Sufen was also confused, quickly following her out.

When Li Laotai came out, she saw Zhang Defu with his notorious bully son standing in her yard. However, this time, his bully son looked very different. Instead of his usual arrogant posture, he was now shrinking behind Zhang Defu, not daring to raise his head.

Upon recognizing these troublesome father and son, Li Laotai sneered and pulled out her tobacco pipe from her waist, “What’s this? You planning to start another fight?”

Zhang Defu had liked to steal vegetables from Li Laotai’s house when he was young, so he had often been beaten by her with her tobacco pipe. Seeing her move like this, he instinctively took two steps back. It wasn’t until he bumped into Zhang Hongyun that he snapped out of it. He sneered, “Li Laotai, don’t try to scare me. Do you still think you’re in your forties? I’ll tell you, you can’t beat me now!” He looked around at the women in the yard and sneered again, “Li Mu Wu is at work and not home, and your four sons just left. Even your dog is out wild, so let’s see how capable you women are.”

He glanced at the fat wild chicken that had just been bled. A greedy look flashed in his eyes, “My son had his tooth knocked out by your wild girl. You must pay me five yuan for medical expenses today, and these two chickens and this fish, I’ll take them as compensation to help my son regain his strength.” With that, he reached out to grab the wild chicken from the basin.

Guihua, holding a kitchen knife, immediately chopped down at Zhang Defu’s wrist without hesitation. Startled, Zhang Defu quickly pulled his hand back, his face filled with shock as he shouted, “Are you crazy? You’re really going to chop me?”

Guihua sneered, “If you dare to take it, I’ll dare to chop. I’m telling you, I, Guihua, have never been afraid of anyone. My dad’s not home, so what? I’m even tougher than him. Come over here and we’ll see who’s stronger.”

Zhang Defu, looking at the kitchen knife in Guihua’s hand, swallowed nervously and quietly took two steps back. With a lack of confidence, he shouted, “Are you paying or not?”

Guihua stood up holding the kitchen knife, saying each word slowly, “No compensation!”

Zhang Defu still wanted to say something, but suddenly a large black wolfdog charged in from the door, barking fiercely at him.

Li Mu Wu’s dog, Li Mingzhong, was famous in the area for its strength. People around here all knew it, and it was said that it had even killed wild boars. As soon as Zhang Defu saw Li Mingzhong, his legs went soft, and he grabbed his son, running out of the yard. Li Mingzhong bared its teeth and chased them for about two miles, until they lost their shoes, before it triumphantly returned.

Seeing the angry looks on her family members’ faces, Zhen Zhen spoke up about what happened on the way back: “You guys are useless, that big guy couldn’t even beat me, and he ended up knocking his own tooth out. Didn’t you see he didn’t dare open his mouth after that? He must’ve been afraid of looking embarrassed.”

Li Laotai quickly defended her: “I told you, it’s definitely not Zhen Zhen’s fault. If Zhang Hongyun from their family hadn’t picked a fight, could Zhen Zhen have hit him?”

Wang Sufen looked helpless, thinking that her mother-in-law, daughter-in-law, and daughter all had some kind of talent, while she herself was a bit too honest. Watching her daughter, who seemed so soft and tender, it was hard to believe how strong she was when fighting. Wang Sufen patted Zhen Zhen’s head and said, “Next time you go out, don’t fight with anyone, alright? It’s not good if you cause trouble and don’t know when to stop.”

Zhen Zhen nodded. Li Laotai and Wang Sufen quickly went back to work, and since it was still early for lunch, Zhen Zhen found an empty place and entered the space.

Inside the Yang Building of the Meng family, Zhen Zhen reluctantly opened the box and began placing the antiques she had collected one by one on the Treasure Pavilion in the study. Zhen Zhen’s knowledge of antiques was limited to the collection and identification shows she used to watch on TV, where she’d nervously wait for experts to appraise the items. She’d get so excited if an item worth millions was deemed genuine, feeling as if it was her own treasure.

Now, these treasures were really hers. Zhen Zhen carefully wiped each antique—vases, jars, and bottles—using a soft cloth, and after finishing, she thought about moving the other antiques and paintings from the other floors to make it easier to count them. She spent the next four to five days organizing everything, even digging up the boxes buried underground in the mountains.

After Zhen Zhen’s organizing, the Meng family’s original 60-square-meter study was filled with more than ten rows of shelves. The earliest porcelain pieces were from the Song Dynasty, with a few from the Yuan Dynasty, and the majority from the Ming and Qing Dynasties. As for the Republic of China items, Zhen Zhen took them to the living room to use as vases.

Zhen Zhen knew little about antiques but was considering going out for a day to try practicing continuous teleportation. She figured that she could make a trip to the capital and maybe find some books to bring back.

But since Li Laotai was always at home, it was difficult to find the right opportunity. Just as Zhen Zhen was thinking about this, the chance came sooner than expected.

Li Laotai and Wang Sufen had made a thick quilt for Ming Dong. The quilt wasn’t just thick, but even the mattress weighed four pounds. Once it was finished, Li Laotai, afraid that the quilt would be too thick and might be stolen, had a clever idea of putting two layers of quilt covers and adding Ula grass between them. When someone touched it, they would hesitate to take it.

Zhen Zhen was amazed by Li Laotai’s creativity and admired her idea. Ula grass was considered one of the three treasures of the Northeast, along with ginseng and mink fur. Unlike the other two, which were expensive, Ula grass was something poor families relied on to survive the winter. Families that couldn’t afford cotton to make quilts or mattresses would dry the Ula grass in autumn, and it could serve as cotton. It was lightweight and warm. Even if a family couldn’t afford cotton shoes, they could put Ula grass inside their shoes, and it would keep their feet warm throughout the winter.

However, it was still summer, and Ula grass was in its greenest state, so it couldn’t be used for warmth. Seeing that no one else could handle this, Zhen Zhen hurriedly helped ripen the Ula grass into dry hay and instructed them to weave it into mats. Li Laotai, seeing this, gave Zhen Zhen a thumbs-up: “You really have a clever mind. No matter how it’s touched, it will always feel like Ula grass, and there’s no way it will be exposed.”

When Li Mu Wu and Wang Sufen returned with the soft grass mats, Ming Dong thought they had gotten them from some relative and kept insisting that they didn’t need to make such a big fuss.

Soon, the time for Ming Dong to leave was approaching. Though Li Laotai had confidently assured him, she still wasn’t at ease since she hadn’t been to Anbei before. After asking Ming Dong, she learned that the school was stable, and she slapped her thigh and decided, “I’ll go with your dad and mom to Anbei. Guihua will stay home to look after Meat Bun and Bean Bun. When we come back, we’ll talk in detail. you go get the introduction letter and buy the train tickets quickly.”

Li Mu Wu, who always listened to his wife, immediately got up, put on his shoes, and left. Ming Dong hurriedly tried to stop him: “Dad, no need! I’m grown up now, why do you need to send me off?”

Li Mu Wu didn’t even look back as he left: “I’m listening to your grandma!”

“Grandma, why are you making such a fuss at your age?” Ming Dong helplessly looked at Li Laotai. “Your little feet are inconvenient.”

“What’s inconvenient? I go up and down the mountain just fine.” Li Laotai lifted her chin and looked at Ming Dong disdainfully through her nostrils. “Besides, I’m not old. I’m just in my sixties. Back in my hometown, there was a 100-year-old elder. Our village has good feng shui.”

So, helpless Ming Dong once again found himself on a train, not only carrying a mountain of bedding but also reluctantly accompanied by his grandmother and parents.

In contrast to Ming Dong’s helplessness, Zhen Zhen was ecstatic. Finally, she could enjoy some freedom away from home.

#Author’s note:

Mini-play:

Li Laotai: “Do you think Zhen Zhen loves staying on the mountain so much because she’s the reincarnation of the Mountain God?”

The Mountain God, suddenly feeling weak, kneels down: “Ancestor, I’ll send you a wild boar head, please don’t curse me!”