Did Xiao Zhong Tell You Again?

    "Aaaaah!!"

    Shrieks echoed through the wind, causing everyone digging up sweet potatoes to freeze and exchange worried glances. Tianrong searched for his daughter but found no trace of her, which sank his heart. Could the scream they just heard belong to his little girl!

    Dropping his spade carelessly, he ran off without a second thought for his own safety. Tianchen was about to follow when Liu Hao grabbed his shoulder, insisting he would go instead. The young man dashed after Tianrong, trying to catch up to the elder man's rapidly disappearing back.

    "Xiaolin! Where are you?"

    "Xiaolin!"

    The little figure turned towards the calls. Those were the voices of her father and her handsome uncle Hao, both sounding desperately worried. Realizing her own scream had caused the alarm, Xiaolin's eyes widened in shock at her own thoughtlessness.

    "Father! I'm here!" she called out weakly, waving her hand. Seeing his daughter safe, Tianrong sprinted to her, lifting her up to check her over thoroughly. Finding no injuries, he sighed in relief, grateful she hadn’t been harmed by wild animals. How could he face his wife if something had happened to their daughter?

    "Why did you not listen to me when I told you not to wander off too far? What if something had happened to you?" Tianrong hugged his little girl closely, filled with worry. Xiaolin felt terrible for worrying her father so much. She saw A-Hao, panting not far off, and pouted, tears welling up.

    "I'm sorry, Father, Uncle Hao," the little girl said softly, burying her face in her father's shoulder, hearing the labored breaths of the two men who had rushed to find her.

    "It's alright, nothing happened," Liu Hao said, looking at the tearful little face with pity.

    "But why did you scream so loudly? What happened?" Seeing his daughter about to cry, he changed the subject, not wanting to scold her further because he didn't want to see her tears.

    "I saw those," she pointed her chubby finger towards a large tree teeming with large red Lingzhi mushrooms clinging to the trunk.

    "That is.." It was Liu Hao who gasped in amazement, but Tianrong looked unimpressed, making Xiaolin realize her father probably didn't recognize them. However, Liu Hao must surely know them well.

    "Do you know these mushrooms, A-Hao?"

    "You don't know them, Rong?"

    "I don't."

    "Rong, these are extremely rare and valuable herbs. With this many, I reckon you could sell them for a fortune and become quite wealthy," He had studied in a scholarly institution for nearly two years before he had to leave following his parents' deaths. That's why he had some knowledge, unlike Tianrong, who had focused solely on providing for his younger brother since his youth.

    "Really, Hao?" Tianrong was astounded, staring at the unusual mushrooms in disbelief.

    "It’s true."

    "Father, let's collect them quickly!"

    Xiaolin nudged her father, who stood frozen in surprise. Regaining his senses, Tianrong moved closer to inspect, followed by Liu Hao, who also wanted to gather some Lingzhi mushrooms to sell so his grandmother wouldn't have to skip meals. However, desiring them as he might, he couldn't bring himself to ask Tianrong outright.

    "But how do we collect them?" Tianrong turned to ask Liu Hao, but the young man shook his head. Though familiar with them, he had never encountered them in person, so he couldn't advise on the collection method. The books he read only offered basic information and lacked detailed harvesting instructions.

    Seeing the two men at a loss, Xiaolin sighed impatiently. She wriggled out of her father's arms and walked up to a mushroom at the tree's base, larger than both her hands combined. She grasped the mushroom and twisted it free without much difficulty.

    Seeing that, Tianrong quickly went to collect them. He took off his outer shirt to spread on the ground and placed the mushrooms on it, gathering them with a smile like a madman. Xiaolin turned to look at the young man standing sadly watching her father gather the Lingzhi mushrooms, not understanding why.

    "Aren't you going to collect some, Uncle?" She asked.

    "How can I collect them? Are you suggesting I help myself?" Liu Hao looked down at the little girl who asked.

    "You could sell some too,"

    "How could I? These are yours... I can't just take them."

    "Uncle, there are so many. Please take two or three," Xiaolin looked at the young man approvingly. It's good he's considerate and not greedy to take others' belongings. Seeing him hesitate, she added, "I'm not giving them to you, Uncle. These are for great-grandmother."

    She shoved the mushroom in her hand into the hand of the young man who stood there dumbfounded. The mushroom probably weighed nearly one jin. Liu Hao looked down at the red Lingzhi mushroom in his hand in a daze.

    Xiaolin walked over to pick another mushroom and shoved it into the hand of the person who was standing still, as if turned to stone. Meanwhile, her father was starting to resemble a madman more and more.

    Sigh!

    Tianchen paced back and forth anxiously. His brother and A-Hao had been gone for a long time without any sign of returning. He wanted to follow but was worried about leaving Grandmother Liu, who was nearly fainting from worry for Xiaolin. So, he helped her to sit down and rest.

    The sound of conversation coming from the forest relieved Tianchen. He waited for the three who were chatting joyfully, looking very happy with smiles and laughter, which puzzled Tianchen. Wasn't his niece in danger? He watched his brother carrying his niece in one arm and holding the little girl's small basket in the other, while Liu Hao clutched a bundle of cloth possessively.

    "What's going on, brother? And is Xiaolin alright?" Tianchen, seeing the happy demeanor of the trio, felt somewhat relieved but still concerned for his niece.

    "It's nothing, Xiao Chen. Xiaolin, your niece, found something quite valuable," Tianrong set his daughter down on the ground. The little girl ran to Grandmother Liu, who was sitting exhausted, with a small Lingzhi mushroom in her hand, letting the men talk by the stream.

    "Great-Grandmother," a small voice sounded in front of the elderly woman, causing her to look up. The little face, cute and chubby, made her immensely relieved. Her wrinkled hands gathered the little girl into her lap and hugged her tightly.

    "Xiaolin, never go into the forest alone again, do you hear me? I nearly died of a heart attack," the elderly woman caressed the little girl’s head and face with concern.

    "I'm sorry, great Grandmother. I wasn’t in danger, only found this," the little hand presented the unusual mushroom to the old woman, who looked puzzled.

    "What is this?"

    "It's a Lingzhi mushroom, great Grandmother. Uncle Hao said it's a very expensive herb."

    "Is that so? Well, that’s good. Your house will have some money saved for the winter," Grandmother Liu handed it back to the little girl, but Xiaolin smiled sweetly, refusing to take it back.

    "Why won’t you take it?"

    "I'm giving it to you, Great Grandmother."

    "Goodness! How can I accept it? Tell me, isn’t it supposed to be expensive? You should give it to your father to keep."

    "Yes, great Grandmother. But father has already collected a lot, so I wanted to share some with you," hearing this, Grandmother Liu’s eyes welled up with tears. She hugged the little girl, rocking her back and forth.

    "You're such a good kid. Thank you, but I can’t accept it."

    "If you don't accept it, I will be angry with you," Xiaolin crossed her arms and turned her face away. Fearing that the little girl would be upset and run away, Grandmother Liu quickly grabbed the plump little body.

    "This child is so stubborn."

    "Please keep it, great Grandmother. I've collected plenty already. I intentionally saved some for you," Tianrong walked over to the elderly woman. He was pleased that his daughter was a child who knew how to share. Grandmother Liu was one of the adults who would often check on him and his younger sister when they were young, sharing food with them on several occasions, making her one of the people he was grateful to.

    "You still need to save money for a granddaughter-in-law for Uncle Hao," Tianrong interjected before the elderly woman could protest, seeing her about to argue. Grandmother Liu could only sigh at the stubbornness of the father and daughter duo.

    "Alright then, I'll accept it," she said, carefully wrapping the hand-sized mushroom in a handkerchief before tucking it inside her shirt.

    "Let's rest for a bit, then continue digging the sweet potatoes," Tianchen suggested. Everyone took a short break and then got back to their task with renewed vigor.

    Xiaolin, wanting to go find a lemon tree again but reprimanded by her father, could only sit sullenly under a tree. The young uncle, noticing his niece had been sitting for a while and fearing she might get sore, spread his shirt for the little one to lie down on. Eventually, she dozed off.

    At noon, Xiaolin was awakened to eat. Her father took her to wash her face at the stream before sitting down to have their meal. Today, her mother had prepared grilled fish again, but smaller ones for easy wrapping. Her father skillfully removed the bones and fed her to speed up the eating process. They also enjoyed boiled vegetables that Grandmother Liu had shared, adding another layer of deliciousness to the meal.

    With not much sweet potato left, Xiaolin asked her young uncle to take her fruit picking. After her father gave permission, the uncle and niece set off to another part of the forest. Tianchen, watching the little head bobbing around, felt a surge of affection.

    "What fruit do you want, Xiaolin?" Tianchen asked, stooping down to his niece who was looking around eagerly.

    "I want sour fruits, please,"

    "But those aren’t tasty," he noted.

    "I will give them to Mother so she can cook them. Yesterday's fish curry was delicious, but if it had a bit of sourness, I think it would be even better," Tianchen listened and nodded in agreement, thinking it made sense.

    "Then, I will take you to pick some. I remember seeing a tree once; it had round green and yellow fruits."

    "Really?" Xiaolin asked excitedly. That must be the lime tree she had been looking for.

    Tianchen led the little girl to the sour fruit tree he had once found. Before them stood a tall lemon tree, its branches laden with plump, large lemons. Xiaolin ran towards it joyfully.

    "Uncle! Let’s pick them, pick lots!" She planned to ask for her mother's small jar to squeeze the lime juice into it for storage, though she wondered how long they could keep it since ancient times lacked preservatives.

    "Which color do you want, Xiaolin?"

    "Yellow, please, but not too many yellow ones because they are almost rotten."

    Tianchen nodded and they started picking, storing the lemons in his old satchel since Xiaolin’s basket was already overflowing with large Lingzhi mushrooms.

    Xiaolin, happy with her haul of limes, also dug up a small tree to plant. Her simple seafood sauce ingredients were now complete. She planned to make delicious grilled squid and steamed lime squid for everyone tomorrow, but she’d need her mother's help due to her small stature.

    Just the thought made her drool, and Tianchen, thinking she was hungry, offered her some wild apple he had picked along the way. She giggled and took a bite, enjoying its tangy taste.

    Yum! this wild apple is surprisingly sour.

    Upon their return, Xiaolin saw her father and Uncle Hao struggling with sacks of sweet potatoes, crossing the stream to load them onto a cart. Tianchen hurried over to help, while Grandmother Liu was washing up by the stream. Xiaolin approached the elderly woman.

    "Grandma, I’ve brought some apples for you," she said, offering three pieces of the fruit.

    "Why not keep them for yourself? Oh, they’ll help you grow quickly."

    "You should eat too. Fruits can help with digestion," Xiaolin insisted.

    "Is that so? Thank you very much," Grandmother Liu accepted, knowing fruits might ease her constipation.

    "Let's go home, Xiaolin," Tianrong crossed over to fetch his daughter. She was lifted into his arms along with her little basket full of red Lingzhi mushrooms, carefully covered with his outer garment to shield from prying eyes.

    "Don't forget to catch that strange creature for me, Father," Xiaolin said. Tianrong furrowed his brows slightly before remembering his promise to her from the morning.

    "Of course, my child. But what do you plan to do with so many of them, hmm?"

    "Cook them."

    "Are they edible?" He asked, turning to look at his daughter who cheerfully replied.

    "Yes, they are, Father, and delicious too! I want to grill the big ones to eat with spicy sauce, and steam the small ones and then pour the sauce over them."

    "And how do you know they're edible? Did Xiao Zhong tell you again?"

    "Hehe," Xiaolin laughed nervously when her father questioned her, nodding slightly. Tianrong said nothing more. He placed his daughter down on a sack of sweet potatoes and began pushing the cart, with Liu Hao helping to push as well.