RKCFE -Chapter 4 She Caught a Snake

Back then, the original Song Wei hadn’t even had time to grieve before she was forcibly put on the train to the countryside. After crying for two days, she discovered that the village she had been assigned to was the very same place where her childhood sweetheart, Luo Yecheng, had been sent.

She pulled herself together and treated Luo Yecheng as her last lifeline.

But all the devotion she had given him had been wasted. After learning about her situation, Luo Yecheng completely denied that there had ever been anything between them. He insisted he had always regarded her as nothing more than a younger sister.

Then he dropped a bombshell.

He was already dating Jiang Xiaowan, the village party secretary’s daughter, and they were even discussing marriage.

The others knew nothing about the complicated relationship between Song Wei and Luo Yecheng. All they saw was her constantly chasing after him, so behind her back they often mocked her for being shameless and lacking self-respect.

The original Song Wei knew all about those rumors. Liu Linlin never missed a chance to repeat the gossip in front of her just to ridicule her.

All Song Wei could do was hide in her little room and cry in despair.

After that came her encounter with Jiang Xiaowan by the river. The two had argued, and in the scuffle Song Wei accidentally fell into the water.

On the way to the hospital, the original Song Wei’s soul, having completely lost the will to live, dissipated.

As for how she herself had crossed through time and ended up in this body, she had no idea.

But now that she was Song Wei, she treasured this life dearly.

She didn’t feel guilty toward the original owner of the body.

After all, it wasn’t as though she’d forced the girl out. The original Song Wei had chosen to give up her own life first.

As for that emotional mess with Luo Yecheng, it had nothing to do with her.

Instead of wasting time on romance, she’d rather head into the mountains and stockpile as much food as possible.

Song Wei still had a little over one hundred yuan.

It wasn’t a fortune, but it wasn’t exactly a small amount either.

The reason she still had money and ration coupons was because she had an older brother serving in the army.

Every month he mailed her fifteen yuan along with some ration coupons.

Her stepmother had naturally coveted them.

At first, every letter and every cent had ended up in her stepmother’s hands.

But during one visit home, her brother learned the truth and beat up the precious son of that husband-and-wife pair right in front of them.

After that, her stepmother no longer dared seize the money and coupons he sent.

She still demanded living expenses from Song Wei, though.

Otherwise, there wouldn’t even be food for Song Wei at home.

By now, the original owner had only about a hundred yuan and a few scattered coupons left.

That money would keep her going for now.

But there was no way her family would send her any more money.

She wasn’t the original Song Wei, and she couldn’t accept support from the original owner’s brother in the army with a clear conscience.

So sooner or later she’d have to find a way to earn money herself.

Unfortunately, in this era all commerce belonged to the state.

Private business and trading could easily earn someone the labels of “capitalist” or “speculator.”

Starting a business was out of the question.

Still…

The black market was another matter.

Supplies were scarce everywhere, and the mountains were full of resources.

As long as she wasn’t caught, she’d be fine.

She found a hidden spot and concealed her money and ration coupons before leaving the educated youth residence.

After getting some sleep, her headache had eased considerably.

The moment she looked at the endless stretch of lush mountains surrounding the village, she couldn’t sit still any longer.

Grabbing a basket and a hatchet, she eagerly ran toward the mountains.

My dear mountains, here I come!

The sun was perfectly normal.

No radiation.

The plants were perfectly normal too.

No mutations.

Who could possibly understand the excitement in her heart—or the trembling of her hands?

Standing at the foot of the mountain, Song Wei wanted to howl with joy.

She squatted down, pulled up a handful of fresh grass, stuffed it into her mouth, and slowly chewed.

The faint bitterness of the fresh greenery spread across her tongue.

Only then did she finally feel at ease.

Just then, a skinny little child happened to witness the scene.

Barefoot, the child stood perched in a tree, staring at Song Wei with wide, stunned eyes.

Without changing expression, Song Wei calmly swallowed the grass and looked back at him.

The two simply stared at one another.

After a while, wariness appeared in the dark, skinny child’s surprisingly beautiful eyes.

Still chewing, Song Wei glanced toward the tree he was standing in.

Oh? Those are edible.

“They’re mine!”

The scruffy little boy bared his teeth fiercely.

Unfortunately, instead of looking intimidating, he resembled a frightened wolf cub desperately trying to protect its food.

Even though he was terrified, he still showed his tiny teeth in an attempt to scare her away.

The tree he stood in was a walnut tree.

His tattered, filthy clothes were bulging with walnuts he had gathered.

Song Wei wanted some too.

If this had been her previous life, she would’ve snatched a few walnuts away even if the other party had been a child.

But now…

The mountains were overflowing with food.

There was no need to fight a child over a handful of walnuts.

“Alright. They’re yours.”

With her basket on her back, Song Wei continued deeper into the mountains under the boy’s vigilant gaze.

The child on the tree seemed conflicted.

After hesitating for a while, he finally called out.

“There are wild beasts deeper inside. It’s dangerous.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he quickly climbed higher into the tree, apparently not wanting Song Wei to see him anymore.

Song Wei smiled.

“I know.”

But there was no way she was turning back.

She had arrived in the countryside just after the busy farming season had ended.

That came with both advantages and disadvantages.

The good part was that she didn’t have to jump straight into the backbreaking harvest work without any time to adjust.

Otherwise, the original owner probably wouldn’t have ended up in the hospital because of falling into the river.

She would’ve been hospitalized from heatstroke—or simply from working herself into collapse.

The downside was that, having just arrived, she hadn’t earned any work points.

Winters came early in Northeast China.

The small amount of grain allocated to her probably wouldn’t last through the season.

She might not even be able to exchange enough grain from the production team to survive.

So she set her sights on the mountains.

The deep mountains were home to wild animals.

Most villagers didn’t dare venture this far.

Which suited Song Wei perfectly.

Not long after entering, she stumbled upon a cluster of wood ear mushrooms.

An entire tree trunk was covered with thick, plump black fungus.

Song Wei’s eyes immediately lit up.

She set down her basket and quickly got to work harvesting them.

The rich aroma of the mushrooms filled the air, making her immensely satisfied.

By the time she finished, one-third of her basket was already full.

Continuing onward, she walked for about five minutes before discovering another edible wild fruit.

The locals called them yuanzaozi.

They were actually wild kiwifruit, about the size of dates and green in colour.

They were already ripe this season.

The vines had climbed high into a large tree, leaving many of the fruits hanging well above the ground.

The fruit smelled wonderfully sweet.

Song Wei picked one and popped it into her mouth while both hands continued harvesting nonstop.

She gathered every fruit she could reach.

With her cheeks stuffed full, her bright black eyes sparkled with pure happiness.

Then she nimbly climbed the tree.

It was a tall one, but she scampered up like a monkey.

She couldn’t bring the basket with her, so she filled the front of her shirt with the fruit instead.

Her mouth didn’t stay idle either.

Once her shirt could hold no more, she prepared to climb down, empty it, and return for another round.

Then something unexpected happened.

A thick snake—as thick as a person’s arm—had silently been hanging behind her.

Just as it opened its mouth to strike, Song Wei tilted her neck aside.

With her free right hand, she seized the snake precisely behind its head.

Her slender, fair hand—its bluish veins clearly visible beneath the skin—tightened instantly.

The tendons stood out on the back of her hand as she yanked the snake down and slammed its head against the tree trunk.

Bang!

The impact nearly flattened its skull.

The blow killed it instantly.

Its body, however, continued writhing violently.

“Not bad. Should weigh close to three jin.”

Song Wei casually hefted the snake in her hand.

To her, that was all meat.

After climbing down, she spread a layer of leaves over the mushrooms in her basket, coiled the snake neatly on top, then covered it with another layer of leaves before finally placing the wild kiwifruit above everything else.

Later she found even more edible mushrooms.

She even discovered four lion’s mane mushrooms.

By the time she was done, her basket was packed to the brim.

She piled a huge bundle of dry firewood on top, making the load tower high above her.

It only made the frail-looking young woman appear even smaller beneath it.

She looked as though the weight might crush her at any moment.

Yet she lifted it with effortless ease.

Not only that, halfway down the mountain she picked up a dead tree trunk thicker than the leg of a burly Northeastern man, tucked it under one arm, and strode downhill.

She walked as though the wind itself carried her.

There wasn’t the slightest sign that she was someone who had only just been discharged from the hospital, supposedly weak and recovering from illness.