A jinx, me? But I bring good fortune to my whole family!

Inside the room, the flame of the kerosene lamp flickered.

With another person lying on the kang (a heated brick bed), the house felt even more cramped.

Su Xiulan looked at the sleeping boy on the kang (a heated brick bed), then at the nearly empty rice jar, and began to worry.

Just when things were starting to look up at home, another mouth to feed was added.

He was just an injured child who didn't know the details, and medical treatment and medicine would cost money.

She sighed softly, afraid of waking the children.

"Mom, don't worry."

A small hand grabbed her fingers.

Nuannuan woke up at some point and stared at her with her big eyes.

"Nuan Nuan, go find medicine for your brother, and also find lots and lots of succulents!"

The little girl patted her chest, very seriously.

Su Xiulan felt a warmth in her heart and patted her daughter's head. "Silly child, there's nothing in the mountains in the dead of winter."

"You'd better just stay home and behave yourself."

But she was worried. The little food they had at home wouldn't last more than a few days, and Xiao An wouldn't get paid until next month. It was too late to solve their immediate problem.

Looks like I'll have to use the money from selling things on the black market last time.

I originally saved it to build a house later.

But money can be earned again, but the children can't be wronged.

Seeing that her mother was unhappy, Nuannuan got up from the kang (a heated brick bed), ran to the corner of the wall, and whispered a few words to the mouse hole.

The next morning, she put on a thick cotton-padded coat and a small hat, wrapping herself up very warmly.

"Mommy, Nuannuan went to play with Xiaohei, she'll be back soon!"

Before Su Xiulan could react, the little girl pushed open the door and ran out in a flash, leaving a trail of footprints on the snow.

"This child!"

Su Xiulan wanted to chase after him, but she was worried about the feverish boy on the kang (heated brick bed). She could only stomp her foot at the door and shout, "Don't run far! Come back soon!"

Snow clung to the branches, and when the cold wind blew, the snow fell down.

The warm cotton shoes crunched on the snow.

Black crow waited on the treetop, cawed twice when it saw her coming, and landed on her shoulder.

A mouse poked its head out of her cotton-padded coat pocket, sniffed the cold air, and then shrank back inside.

"Little Blackie, lead the way!"

Nuannuan issued the order.

"Little mouse, stay put, it's cold outside."

Okay, Warm Baby!

【Received! My little master!】

A treasure-hunting team consisting of one person, one bird, and one mouse set off.

There's not much to eat in the mountains during winter, but that's for ordinary people.

In Nuannuan's area, there are food options everywhere on the back hill.

Little Black flew ahead and landed on a big pine tree, quacking at a hole in the tree.

Nuannuan ran over, took a few kernels of corn out of her pocket, and placed them under the tree.

A squirrel peeked out, took a look, and couldn't resist the temptation, so it came down and took the corn kernels back with it.

A little while later, the squirrel came out again, chirping at Nuannuan, and then pushed out a bunch of walnuts from the tree hole.

Here, have some! Thank you for the corn kernels!

Nuannuan stuffed the walnuts into her pocket, and when the pocket was full, she threw them directly into her spatial storage.

Just as she was about to leave, she heard Xiao Hei shouting not far away.

【Warm and cozy baby! Look! That silly chicken!】

Nuannuan ran over to take a look and laughed.

A pheasant, somehow, bumped its head into a tree stump and is now lying in the snow with its legs outstretched.

"Wow! We get to eat meat!"

Nuannuan ran over, tied the pheasant's legs with a vine, and threw it into her spatial storage.

Having made such a good haul, Nuannuan is ready to take one more round before heading home.

At that moment, the chattering voice of Little Green echoed in her mind.

[You idiot! Stop! Stop right now!]

[Go to the left! Yes, yes, that patch of withered grass! Dig it up quickly! I can smell the treasure!]

Xiao Lü's voice cracked with excitement.

Nuannuan walked to the edge of the withered grass, brushed away the snow on top, and revealed the frozen black soil underneath.

She took out the small wooden shovel her brother had made from her pocket and started digging.

The frozen soil was too hard; she dug for a long time until her little hands turned red from the cold before she finally dug through a single layer.

[Oh dear! This is driving me crazy! Can't you use a little more force?!]

Little Green was jumping around in her mind.

"Nuan Nuan is out of energy."

Nuannuan pouted.

She thought for a moment, then grabbed a rock and smashed it hard against the ground.

Bang, bang.

After pounding it a few times, the frozen soil loosened a bit.

She then used a small wooden shovel to dig, and found several ginger-like things under the roots of the withered grass.

Wow! It's Gastrodia elata! And such high-quality wild Gastrodia elata!

Little Green squealed excitedly, "We're rich! We're rich! Human cub, we're rich!"

Nuannuan didn't recognize Gastrodia elata; she only knew it was the treasure Xiao Lü had mentioned, which could be exchanged for lots of money and meat.

She carefully wrapped the gastrodia elata in cloth and tucked it into her bosom.

Looking at the sky, the sun is starting to set in the west.

When they were almost home, Nuannuan put her things out and, dragging her spoils, trudged down the mountain.

A pheasant, a string of wild rabbits caught by Xiao Hei, and a bag of walnuts are too heavy for a five-year-old child.

She had to rest after walking a few steps, her little face flushed with exhaustion.

Da'an and the others waited halfway up the mountain.

He was worried because his sister hadn't returned for so long, so he told Su Xiulan and went out to look for her.

When he saw his sister coming down the hillside, dragging a large bundle of things, he was stunned.

The younger sister was small, with a tail trailing behind her that was even longer than hers—a pheasant and three rabbits. She was carrying a cloth bag in her arms.

Did they go to the mountains to buy goods?

Da'an walked over quickly, took the things from his sister's hands, carried them with one hand, and held his sister's cold little hand with the other, and walked home without saying a word.

But he walked much faster than usual.

When the spoils of war were laid out in front of Su Xiulan and Gu Jianguo, the room fell silent.

Su Xiulan looked at the string of pheasants and rabbits, and the pile of walnuts, and was too excited to speak.

Su Xiulan hugged Nuannuan tightly, not caring whether her little face was dirty or not, and kissed her first.

"My sweetheart! You are truly our family's lucky star."

Tears welled up in her eyes as she spoke; she was just too happy.

Gu Jianguo, leaning on his crutch, picked up a piece of something Nuannuan had dug up, smelled it, and examined it. "Is this Gastrodia elata? Wild?"

He used to spend all his time in the mountains, so he knew a bit about herbs. This is a rare thing; it's not easy to cultivate, and wild ones are hard to find.

Naturally, its value is not low.

"Honey, can this be sold for money?" Su Xiulan asked excitedly, sounding eager to try.

"Yes!" Gu Jianguo nodded. "I reckon we can still get a good price for it. Xiulan, go to the black market in town tomorrow and see if you can exchange it for money to buy some grain and cotton, and quickly make clothes for the children."

"As for the old ones, let's leave them for now. When spring comes, we'll clean up the house and build five new rooms."

Su Xiulan nodded vigorously, feeling a weight lifted from her heart.

The family was enjoying themselves when a hoarse voice came from the kang (a heated brick bed).

"You can't get a high price on the black market."

Everyone turned around and saw that the boy named Ye Qing had woken up and was leaning against the wall, his green eyes looking at Gu Jianguo.

His fever had subsided somewhat, but he was still pale.

"I can sell it for ten times the price."

The boy spoke again, his voice not loud, but very firm.

Gu Jianguo and Su Xiulan were stunned.

The next morning, Su Xiulan decided to take Ye Qing with her.

The child's origins were unknown, but his confident demeanor made Su Xiulan feel that she could trust him this once.

Nuannuan wanted to go with them, clinging to Su Xiulan's leg and refusing to let go.

"Mommy, take care of Nuannuan! Nuannuan is a lucky star!"

Su Xiulan couldn't dissuade her, so she dressed her properly, and the three of them—one adult and two children—walked towards the village entrance.

Just as we reached the big locust tree at the village entrance, Nuannuan pointed her little finger to the distance.

"Mommy, look, it's the bad grandma!"