TFWYH – Chapter 2 Picking Vegetables in the Mountains

While shielding her children, Jiang Shi explained to Tang Wan,
“Wan-niang, just… just now we had the doctor take a look at you, and the last egg we had in the house was used to pay him. We only have wild vegetable soup to eat… please don’t be angry, alright?”

Tang Wan didn’t like wild vegetables. In the past, she had thrown big tantrums over it.

But now, this really was all the family had left.

What should they do?

Tang Wan would surely get mad, right?

Jiang Shi was still worried when she saw Tang Wan calmly nod her head. Without needing to be called, she sat down at the table, picked up the chopsticks, and eagerly stared at the pot.

Jiang Shi: ?

She didn’t get mad?

Not only did she not get angry, she actually looked excited?

Was she hallucinating?

“Wan-niang… you… you’re going to eat?” Jiang Shi asked cautiously.

Tang Wan nodded seriously, “Mm!”

Of course she was going to eat! She wanted to eat! When could she eat already?

“Good!” Jiang Shi quietly let out a sigh of relief and quickly told the children to fetch bowls and chopsticks.

Soon, a large steaming bowl of wild vegetable soup was placed in front of Tang Wan.

Tang Wan couldn’t wait—she grabbed the bowl and took a sip.

The soup was warm, the vegetables fresh, and it had a nice earthy fragrance.

Delicious!

Tang Wan quickly finished one bowl, then helped herself to a second… then a third…

Only when the pot was completely emptied did the hunger in her stomach finally subside.

Tang Wan licked her lips with lingering satisfaction.

So this is what it feels like to be full?

Too blissful!

After sighing in contentment, Tang Wan looked up and suddenly froze.

She saw the mother and her two children looking miserable, and the youngest, Ling Chen, had a stomach that growled loudly.

They were… hungry?

Tang Wan looked at the now-empty pot she had just drained, then looked at the sorrowful trio.

Suddenly, she understood—and pressed her lips into a thin line.

Without a word, she stood up, walked out to the courtyard, picked up a basket and a sickle, and left the house.

Jiang Shi chased after her and saw her disappearing back. She couldn’t help but call out:
“Wan-niang, where are you going?”

“Up the mountain to pick vegetables!” Tang Wan didn’t stop walking and just waved back casually.

Her fat, clumsy figure stretched long under the setting sun—and somehow, there was a hint of freedom and ease in it.

Jiang Shi blinked in confusion.
She couldn’t help but feel—this daughter-in-law of hers was acting strangely.

Not only did she eat wild vegetables without a fuss, she didn’t get angry…

And now she actually said she was going up the mountain to gather vegetables?!

Wait—gather vegetables?

Jiang Shi was startled and quickly went inside to tell Ling Yue to follow her.

This daughter-in-law had always been lazy and greedy, never once had she gone up the mountain!

It was nearly dark—what if something happened to her?

But Ling Yue didn’t want to go.
“Mother, why do you care what she does? She’s awful. She drank all the soup and left us starving—and didn’t even save any for big brother. I’m not going.”

At that moment, Ling Yue even thought darkly—it’d be best if she just died out there.

That way, no one would scold or hit her and her brother anymore, and her big brother could finally be rid of that kind of wife.

Jiang Shi was angry when she heard this:
“Yue-er, how can you say such a thing? She’s still your sister-in-law!”

“I’m not going anyway.”
She never acknowledged this sister-in-law.

She shamelessly forced her way into their family, never did chores, and was always mean to them.

Whenever big brother upset her, she would take it out on them.

Even though big brother couldn’t walk well, he was still like a heavenly immortal. So many girls in the village wanted to marry him!

Tang Wan didn’t even take a look at herself—how was she worthy of her brother?

Jiang Shi wanted to scold her, but since she was her own daughter, she could only sigh and say,
“Are you going or not? If you won’t go, I’ll go.”

Ling Yue: …

Is this really her biological mother?

Why was she so concerned about that fat pig?

“Fine, I’ll go!” Ling Yue reluctantly gave in.

She agreed out loud, but the moment she stepped outside, she just found a shady place to hang around instead.

Jiang Shi sighed helplessly and went back inside to prepare food.

There were still some wild vegetable roots in the house—barely enough to scrape together a meal.

---

Tang Wan didn’t know any of this.

The country path was quiet and peaceful, the air fresh—not like the world she used to live in, where pollution made the sky perpetually grey, as if it were going to collapse at any moment.

Corpses of animals and humans lay everywhere, victims of radiation.

Even those who survived would mutate into monsters.

Here—there were no corpses, no monsters.

Only blue skies, white clouds, the scent of osmanthus blossoms in the air, and the occasional chirping of unknown birds.

This is what life should be.

Tang Wan made up her mind:
She would cherish this hard-won second chance, and enjoy life to the fullest.

At that moment, the sun was beginning to set.
Villagers who had finished their work were heading home with hoes on their shoulders.

When they saw Tang Wan, they whispered amongst themselves, eyes full of undisguised contempt.

“Isn’t that the fat woman from Yu-langjun’s family? She’s going up the mountain?”

“The sun must be rising from the west. She’s known for being lazy and greedy!”

“Alright, alright, leave her be. A dog can’t change its ways.”

“Shh! Keep your voice down—what if she hears you?”

“Poor Yu-langjun, so handsome yet stuck with such a wife!”

…

The villagers’ gossip faded as they walked away.

Tang Wan had excellent hearing and caught every word. That’s when she remembered this body’s husband.

He was not only quite handsome, but also looked a lot like Dr. X.

Tang Wan didn’t know whether Dr. X was still alive, and wasn’t sure if Ling Yu was actually him. She’d have to probe a bit once she got back.

---

There was nothing edible near the mountain’s edge, so Tang Wan carried her basket and headed deeper in.

The dense forest was remote and quiet, sometimes filled with strange animal cries. The towering trees gave the place a slightly eerie feeling.

Most people would’ve turned around by now.

Not Tang Wan—she followed the direction of the beast’s cry.

Gradually, the sounds grew louder—she heard a wolf’s mournful whine, incredibly sorrowful.

Her brow furrowed.
At first she walked, then started running.

Eventually, she reached the source.

A wolf lay dead on the ground.
Beside it, a wounded wild boar was dragging the dead wolf’s body away.

From beneath the wolf, a tiny gray-and-white “puppy” peeked out.

Looking closer, Tang Wan realized—it wasn’t a puppy at all.

It was a wolf pup.

The little wolf seemed to understand that its mother had died. It leapt out and bared its fangs at the boar, trying to look fierce in its tiny way.

Tang Wan’s ears twitched slightly.

In her past life as a combat survival robot, Dr. X had loaded her neural chip with countless pieces of expert knowledge.

To prepare her for encounters with endangered species, he had even installed an animal sound translation module.

Though the wolf pup couldn’t speak human language, Tang Wan could still understand it saying—

“Don’t come any closer!”

The wild boar snorted:

“Young meat… tender… tasty!”

The wolf pup howled and bared its teeth while backing away:

“Isn’t any wolf going to come save me? This fat pig is gonna eat me!”

The wild boar scratched the dirt with its hind legs, then let out a roar and charged at the pup.

The pup cried out and scrambled away.

Tang Wan frowned.

Without hesitation, she chased after the wild boar.

Just as its tusks were about to strike the pup, Tang Wan pulled out her sickle—
and hurled it with full force at the boar.