Chapter 29: Just what kind of supernatural being is that little girl of theirs?

"Mother, why can't we plant anything?!"

At the courtyard entrance, the five men—Su Da, Su Er, and the others—were still carrying the thorns and withered grass they had scavenged. They arrived home just in time to hear the old woman’s words. Their expressions all soured instantly.

Once they entered the house and learned the reason from the old woman, the home that had just begun to show a glimmer of joy was once again shrouded in despair.

"What kind of world is this!" Su Da crouched by the eaves, gritting his teeth in a curse. "We can't farm, and those people have even chopped down all the trees on the mountain! They are determined to drive us to our deaths! In a little while, when the withered grass on the mountain is all picked clean, we won't even be able to light a fire! When that day comes, the only way to survive will be to become slaves for others!"

The three young wives sat nearby, clutching their children in silence, their hearts filled with hopelessness. Su Er didn't even have the strength left to curse.

"When we were gathering grass on the mountain, we heard that anyone who becomes a tenant farmer or a slave for the wealthy here ends up forced to sell their wives and children. That group that arrived half a month ago was taken away to be tenant farmers."

Old Man Su and the old woman felt their eyelids twitch; their lips trembled, unable to speak for a long time. The group that arrived half a month ago—wasn't that the main branch of the Su family?

Thinking of the fate of selling off children, Old Man Su said with a trembling voice, "Even if we starve to death, we must not become tenant farmers!"

The old woman hardened her heart as well. "Since we’ve been pushed into a corner anyway, we will farm! We’ll just plant a little! I don't believe that if we grow a tiny bit of food to sustain ourselves, those people will come to snatch it!"

The others looked at each other, and after a moment, their eyes brightened.

He Daxiang slapped her thigh. "That's right! We’ll just plant a little! Like we used to, just a small vegetable garden, only enough for our own consumption. With such a meager amount, those people wouldn't even think it worth the effort to come and take it!"

"That is a viable plan, but the problem is, where do we get the seeds?"

"..."

A bucket of cold water doused their spirits, leaving them chilled to the bone. Even the three little ones, affected by the atmosphere, began to whimper with reddened eyes.

Tianbao pursed her little lips in confusion. She had already taken out so many things; why hadn't Grandpa and Grandma thought of her when they were discussing things? She didn't have seeds, but she had many, many saplings and vegetable seedlings. Oh, and she also had tons of firewood. Didn't Father say the family was running out of fuel?

Tianbao turned her head and glanced toward the kitchen.

"Xiu'er, go to the kitchen with your sisters-in-law and start cooking. We can think of solutions slowly, but we have to eat," the old woman said, her brow furrowed with worry as she gave the order.

***

Su Xiu'er nodded and headed to the kitchen with her two sisters-in-law, taking the three children along. Everyone was agitated, and the children’s constant crying only made the adults feel more stifled.

Seeing her three brothers leave, Tianbao tilted her head. Out of thin air, a foot-long sapling appeared beside the old woman, its branches covered in light green, vibrant buds.

The familiar sound made the people under the eaves stiffen, their gazes locking onto the sapling. One, two, three... In just a moment, a pile of saplings lay at their feet.

As Tianbao tossed things out, she watched her grandparents' expressions, and her confusion deepened. She had thrown out so many, why were Grandpa, Grandma, Father, and Second Uncle not saying anything? Were these not things that could be planted?

She scratched her short, sparse hair with a tiny claw. It didn't matter; if the saplings were useless, she had other things. From the garden in her space, various "vegetable seedlings" vanished and reappeared outside. Fearing that her grandparents wouldn't recognize them, she even tossed out a few large plants—some with red fruit, some with beautiful white flowers, and she even threw out a dark red poisonous mushroom.

The four adults beside her were stunned, their pupils dilating. "..."

At the same time, from the kitchen came the children’s excited cries: "Firewood! Firewood! So much firewood! Mmph—" The rest of their words were likely stifled by the women.

These cries snapped the four adults outside out of their stupor. The old woman scrambled to cover her granddaughter’s little hands, even pinning her tiny feet with her elbows just in case. "My precious! Stop tossing, stop tossing! Treasure, you’re going to scare your grandma to death!!"

Old Man Su’s hands shook, and for once, he was incoherent. "Da, Er, quickly! Hurry and hide these things in the house! These are... these are ginseng and lingzhi!"

The Su family was poor and of low status, having never seen such treasures. However, a traveling doctor used to visit the village to dig for herbs, and thanks to him, Old Man Su and the others could recognize a few precious medicinal plants. They had always hoped that one day, by some stroke of luck in the mountains, they might find good herbs to sell and improve their family’s circumstances.

Su Er, who had been squatting, slumped onto the ground, staring blankly at the items. "Father, I... I can't move..."

Su Da was slightly more composed. He gestured in the air, trying to gather the items to move them inside, but he was so afraid of damaging such precious medicine that he didn't know where to start.

Old Man Su’s nostrils flared as he breathed heavily. In his anxiety, he kicked Su Er and slapped Su Da. "You two useless things! Our courtyard wall is only so high; if someone sees this, who knows what trouble it will cause! Move them, now!"

Su Da and Su Er jolted into action. Seeing the wall that was only half an inch taller than them, they became incredibly swift and smooth. They scooped the items into their robes, rushed into the house, and dumped them down. It was done in one breath.

***

Once everything was moved and the little girl was hugged tight and ceased her "mischief," the four adults finally let out a sigh of relief, their backs soaked in cold sweat.

With the items hidden and their minds functioning again, the four looked at each other, still finding it hard to believe what they had just obtained. Ginseng, lingzhi—treasures that even pharmacies struggled to acquire—and they had suddenly gained two, no, three of them!

The old woman gasped, "Old man, that white one, that’s a lotus flower, right?"

Old Man Su replied in a daze, "It is a lotus."

"What kind of lotus?"

"Maybe... it’s also medicinal?"

"And that ginseng, I saw it just now; it’s longer than my palm and has so many roots... how many years old is it?"

"..."

"What about the lingzhi?"

"..."

"I heard that good medicine needs to be processed and stored. We don't know anything about that; will it spoil if we hide it?"

"..."

"What should we do?"

A series of unanswerable questions left each of them with a head full of question marks. Finally, they all cast their eyes toward the little girl, who had gone back to happily blowing bubbles with her spit.

What they wanted to know most now was: what kind of divine being was their Tianbao, and how could she produce anything she wanted?

Old Man Su rubbed his face hard, trying to stay calm. "This matter must never be known by outsiders. We are just ordinary people; we cannot protect such treasures."

The other three straightened their expressions and nodded. Looking at the little girl, who was playing happily and blissfully ignorant of the world after tossing her treasures, the adults didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The little one was still too young to understand that by revealing those items in this hellish place of exile, she had invited endless trouble.