And so, Li Dazhu, Li Zhiming, and Li Zhihao—the father and his sons—began an orderly division of labor under Li Menglan's direction. Li Dazhu used the machete he had brought to cut a stick, taking responsibility for knocking the chestnut burrs down; while the two brothers, Li Zhiming and Li Zhihao, sat right down on the ground with the tools they had for cutting firewood and hunting, beginning to break open the burrs.
Li Menglan stood to the side, telling her two older brothers how to break open the spiky outer shells of the chestnut burrs. Only then did Li Dazhu and his sons suddenly realize—these "hedgehog fruits" wouldn't prick people unless their outer shells were removed. Immediately, Li Dazhu and his sons began working together with divided labor.
As for Li Menglan? The girl squatted half-crouched to the side, picking up the chestnuts that Li Zhiming and Li Zhihao had opened, one by one, and putting them into the bag they had brought.
After all, many hands make light work. Under the combined efforts of Li Dazhu, Li Zhiming, Li Zhihao, and Li Menglan—the father and children—the sun was nearly setting by the time they had completely stripped this one chestnut tree clean. Hah... good heavens, there was actually a full, heavy bag; a rough estimate put it at thirty to forty jin at the very least.
Li Menglan asked with lingering interest, "Dad, are there any more chestnut trees like this nearby?"
"Although these hedgehog trees are rather rare in our Yunliang Kingdom, there really are quite a few on this Crooked Neck Mountain; however..." Li Dazhu looked up at the sky and said, "It's getting late today. We'd best head down the mountain early lest your mother worries at home." After all, the Li father and sons were currently deep in the mountains. If they didn't descend soon, the mountain path would become even harder to traverse once night fell.
"But..." Li Menglan's small face was full of conflict. This girl's heart ached! These chestnuts were all money. With these chestnuts, perhaps her whole family could have a beautiful winter. The mere thought of her family's dilapidated house made Li Menglan's feet even more reluctant to move.
"Lan girl, be good." Li Dazhu said with a good temper, "Tomorrow Dad will come into the mountains with your big brother and second brother, alright? It's really gotten too late today. Let's go home first, okay?" It had to be said—in the Li family, Li Menglan was truly a treasure. If it were another family, how could they speak with such patience?
"Alright then! Dad, you mustn't lie to me!" Li Menglan said unhappily.
"When has Dad ever lied to our Lan girl? Let's go... heading home!" Li Dazhu hoisted Li Menglan onto his back in one motion and strode toward the foot of the mountain. The two brothers, Li Zhiming and Li Zhihao—one carrying the game, the other shouldering the chestnuts—followed closely behind their old man.
The late autumn mountain forest was quiet and deep, the pine trees lush and green. A gentle breeze brushed past, causing the reddened pine needles to rustle and fall, mixing with withered branches and weeds until the ground seemed covered by a thick red carpet. People walking upon it made not a sound. The sky grew increasingly dark; Li Dazhu and his sons couldn't help but quicken their pace, hoping to get down the mountain before nightfall.
The further down the mountain they went, the path was no longer as rugged and uneven as before, instead gradually widening. Turning a corner, a vast expanse of bright red color barged into Li Menglan's line of sight. Even though the sky had already dimmed, Li Menglan could still see it clearly—it was chili peppers... this entire area was full of chili peppers.
Li Menglan knew that no one in this Yunliang Kingdom ate spicy food. At first, Li Menglan had been quite unaccustomed to it; after all, chili peppers were indispensable to daily modern life. At first, Li Menglan had thought that Yunliang Kingdom simply didn't have chili peppers, which was why no one ate spicy food. But this... Li Menglan was absolutely certain she wasn't seeing things... this entire area really was chili peppers.
"Dad, put me down quickly." Li Menglan reached out and patted Li Dazhu's shoulder, saying loudly, "Hurry."
"What's wrong? Lan girl." Li Dazhu let Li Menglan down from his back, wondering what his daughter wanted to do now.
Li Menglan had no time to explain the reason, only shouting repeatedly, "Dad, big brother, second brother, hurry over here. Hurry up and help me pick all these chili peppers." Li Menglan smiled so joyfully! Hehe... truly wonderful. With these chili peppers, this winter wouldn't be so cold.
"But..." Li Zhihao hesitated a moment and said, "Little sister, are you sure? These wild fruits are spicy and astringent—completely inedible. Do we really need to pick them all?" Li Zhihao had once eaten these chili peppers as wild fruits when he was in the mountains. Tsk tsk... as for the result? It went without saying.
"Mm." Li Menglan was already busy working. Hearing her second brother's words, she didn't explain, only nodded vigorously. Li Menglan already had a plan in her heart—this couldn't go on long-term. She had to think of a permanent solution, lest she have to explain everything at length each time. Ancient people feared ghosts and gods; she would think of a way using this talk of ghosts and gods!
"Second son, what are you still foolishly standing there for? Hurry up and come help. The sooner we finish picking, the sooner we can go home." Li Dazhu glared at Li Zhihao, who was standing in a daze, and said angrily.
"Oh... coming, Dad." Li Zhihao quickly responded and joined the great harvest.
Although these chili peppers weren't as difficult to handle as the chestnuts, the quantity was truly too great. The entire mountain cove was full of them. By the time they had picked every last chili pepper clean, the sky had completely darkened. However, fortunately, it was nearly the Mid-Autumn Festival; the moon in the sky was very bright. Li Dazhu and his group finally stumbled their way through the dark back to that dilapidated home.
Zhang Yuniang had long been waiting at the main gate with a frantic heart. At the sight of Li Dazhu and his sons, she hurried forward to greet them. "Husband, why have you returned so late? Dad and Mom were worried to death."
"Sigh... it's all your daughter's doing. Let's go inside first, then we'll talk." Li Dazhu didn't want to discuss matters standing at the door, signaling to his wife that they would talk properly once home.
"Grandpa, Grandma, I'm back." As soon as Li Menglan entered the room, she struggled down from her father's back to the ground, grinning as happily as could be at Lin Sanniang and Li Fujin.
"Good... it's good you're back." Lin Sanniang said with a smile, the wrinkles all over her face blooming like flowers.
"Oh... my good granddaughter is smiling so happily. Did you pick up some treasure in the mountains?" Seeing Li Menglan's cheerful appearance, Li Fujin couldn't help but tease.
"Grandpa, how did you know I picked up a treasure?" Li Menglan deliberately widened her eyes and looked at Li Fujin in surprise.
"Uh..." This time it was Li Fujin's turn to be startled, frightened by Li Menglan's words. "Dazhu, get over here." Li Fujin raised his voice to call Li Dazhu over, intending to ask clearly what Li Menglan's words meant.
"Dad, what did you call me for?" Li Dazhu had been telling Zhang Yuniang about what happened on the mountain. Hearing his old man's call, he hurriedly ran over with quick steps.
"My good granddaughter says you picked up a treasure on the mountain today. Speak, what's going on?" Li Fujin pointed at Li Menglan standing to the side, indicating that Li Dazhu should clearly explain what happened on the mountain today.
"Dad, where did we pick up any treasure? Actually, it's like this..." Li Dazhu glanced at Li Menglan standing to the side, unable to hold back a bitter smile. He then recounted everything that happened during the day on the mountain from beginning to end, adding at the end, "Dad, you can't deny that your son really did have good luck today; just the pheasants and hares alone are several days' worth of usual harvest."
"Is that so?" Li Fujin had lived for several decades; he hadn't lived those decades for nothing. After hearing Li Dazhu's account, Li Fujin's eyes as he looked at Li Menglan clearly carried a layer of scrutiny.