My words have become law; I truly have no desire to display my divine power before others.

As dawn broke, A'Luo woke up.

Mornings come slowly in the mountains; it's still gray outside the window, with only the distant mountain peaks edged with a faint gold.

The birds are chirping and chattering, which is both annoying and reassuring.

Aro sat up and rubbed her eyes.

The room was very simple, with a bed, a table, a cabinet, and some firewood and miscellaneous items piled up in the corner.

There was a small bronze mirror on the table, which was already rusted and made people look blurry, but she still leaned over, gathered her hair, and casually tied it up with a wooden hairpin.

She changed into a clean set of clothes—coarse cloth, faded from washing, but neat. She slung her small basket over her shoulder, pushed open the door, and went outside.

The mornings in the mountains are cool and refreshing, carrying the fragrance of grass and trees.

The village has awakened.

Smoke rose from the rooftops of each house, drifting away in the morning light.

Someone was chopping wood in the yard, making rhythmic "bang bang" sounds.

Someone was carrying buckets of water toward the well, the carrying pole creaking on his shoulder.

Several children chased after a dog, their laughter carrying far away.

A Luo walked along the stone-paved road in the middle of the village, with stalls selling things on both sides.

This is the outer edge of the Ten Thousand Mountains, not as dangerous as the deep forests.

The villagers make a living by harvesting ginseng. Although their lives are hard, they are relatively stable.

They are kind to people, especially their own family.

If any outsiders come in, the first thing to do is to see if they are good or bad. Good people are warmly welcomed; bad people are not to be trifled with by the guards.

"Ah Luo, up the mountain again so early?"

Aunt Wang, who sells tofu, waved to her.

A Luo smiled and said, "Yeah, I'd like to try my luck."

Aunt Wang cut a small piece of tofu, wrapped it in a lotus leaf, and handed it to her, saying, "Take this and eat it on the way."

A-Luo was taken aback for a moment, then quickly declined, "Aunt Wang, how could I possibly accept this..."

"What's there to be embarrassed about?" Aunt Wang shoved the lotus leaf into her hand.

"You're just a little girl, with no parents. If I don't take care of you, who will? Take it!"

A'Luo had no choice but to accept it, thanked her, and continued walking.

She stopped as she passed a candy stall.

There were several kinds of candy on the stall—maltose, peanut candy, and sesame candy, all wrapped in oil paper, and they looked very sweet.

A Luo hesitated for a moment, then took out a few copper coins from her pocket and bought two pieces of malt candy.

The old man selling candy smiled and said, "Ah Luo, what brings you to buy candy today?"

A'Luo smiled too: "I want to eat it."

Actually, it wasn't that she wanted to eat it.

She carefully tucked the candy into her bosom and continued walking.

Along the way, everyone she met greeted her.

"Ah Luo, going up the mountain?"

"Ah Luo, how many ginseng plants are we picking today?"

"Ah Luo, be careful, don't go too far!"

A Luo responded with a smile, "I hope I'll have better luck today and be able to pick a few more plants."

Someone chuckled and said, "Then gather more and sell them for a good price!"

Some people even said, "You harvested more ginseng than we did; God is favoring you!"

Aro just smiled and didn't say anything.

She knew she had harvested more ginseng than others, not because God favored her, but because...

She touched the two pieces of candy in her arms, and her smile deepened.

......

After leaving the village and heading up the mountain, the road became narrower and the forest denser.

Aro walked slowly, looking around as she went.

She has walked this road countless times; she could walk it with her eyes closed and never get lost.

But she still looked very carefully—at the grass, at the tree roots, and at the places where ginseng could easily grow.

As she was walking, a hand suddenly reached out from behind and patted her on the shoulder.

"Snapped!"

Aro looked back, but there was no one there.

She sighed and continued walking.

After taking a few more steps, there was another one.

"Snapped!"

I turned around, but there was still no one there.

A'Luo sighed helplessly, "Baby, can you please stop playing pranks? It's not fun."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a head suddenly popped out from the bushes beside him.

It was a chubby, fair-skinned baby, wearing a red bib, with a topknot, a round face, and bright, dark eyes. He grinned, his smile so wide his eyes disappeared.

"Hehe, how did you know it was me?"

A'Luo looked at him, a smile in her eyes, but deliberately said, "Who else could it be but you? It's always the same old trick, can't you come up with something different?"

The chubby baby pouted, looking aggrieved.

"I don't even get to play with you much each day, and you won't let me play..."

When A Luo saw him like this, her heart softened immediately.

She walked over, squatted down, and reached out to touch his head. His hair was soft and smooth, and it felt especially nice to touch.

"Alright, alright, today is the anniversary of my parents' death. I need to gather some good ginseng to pay my respects to them first. After I'm done with my work, I'll play with you, okay?"

The chubby baby's eyes lit up immediately upon hearing this:

"Death anniversary? The day you go to the grave to burn paper money?"

Aro nodded.

The chubby baby scratched his head: "Then...does that mean we have to gather a lot of ginseng?"

A'Luo smiled: "Not too many, just a few will do. The kind that shows sincerity."

The chubby baby thought for a moment, then suddenly clapped his hands:

"I know where it is! Come with me!"

After he finished speaking, he turned and ran into the woods.

A-Luo wasn't in a hurry, and just followed behind him.

She knew that the doll would disappear as it ran, only to reappear somewhere ahead. He had led her to find ginseng in this way countless times.

Sure enough, the chubby baby ran a few steps and then suddenly disappeared.

Aro wasn't surprised; she simply continued walking in that direction.

After walking a short distance, the chubby baby peeked out from behind a big tree again:

"Over here, over here!"

Then it disappeared again.

A Luo followed him, winding her way deeper and deeper into the maze.

Finally, the chubby baby stopped in a secluded ravine.

He pointed ahead, beaming with pride:

"Look!"

Aro looked in the direction he was pointing—

Several ginseng plants grew there, of excellent quality, with lush green leaves and bright red fruits. Some were large, some small, some just sprouting, and some had been growing for who knows how many years.

Aro didn't rush to dig.

She first looked at the larger plants, then at the smaller ones, and finally chose one that was neither too big nor too small. She squatted down and carefully dug it up.

Her movements were very light and slow, as if she were afraid of hurting the ginseng roots.

The chubby baby squatted next to her, resting his chin on his hand as he watched.

"Why didn't you dig up the biggest one?" he asked.

Aro shook her head: "That plant is too old, let it continue to grow."

"What about the younger one?"

"It's too small, it needs to grow longer."

The chubby baby blinked, as if he understood something, yet also as if he didn't.

A'Luo dug out the ginseng and carefully placed it in her basket. She looked around to make sure nothing was missing before standing up.

"Let's go."

The chubby baby also stood up, then suddenly remembered something:

"By the way, were those two candies bought for me?"

A Luo paused for a moment, then smiled.

She took out the two pieces of malt candy from her bosom and handed them to the chubby baby:

"Take it."

The chubby baby took the candy, peeled off a piece, put it in his mouth, squinted his eyes, chewed it, and looked very satisfied.

"Sweet!" he said.

A Luo looked at him, her eyes full of smiles.

......

After leaving the mountain valley, A'luo did not go straight back to the village, but instead headed in another direction.