"Elder sister, can we eat this?"
Twelve-year-old Chunyan ran up to Chun Nuan with a handful of green leaves and small yellow flowers.
"No, this is called a Poisonous Plant," Chun Nuan replied, implying it's deadly, "Quickly throw it away, and go wash your hands well by the creek."
With no other choice, since their eldest sister was married off, fifteen-year-old Chun Nuan, the oldest remaining, watched as Chunyan washed her hands properly in the creek. Just as she stood up, Chun Shu approached from behind, holding a fetid peony in front of her.
"Elder sister, what kind of flower is this, can we eat it?"
"Take a sniff, can you eat that?"
Not recognizing anything and having to ask her about everything, Chun Nuan also had to mind their safety—afraid of them falling, getting bitten by bugs or ants, and even more, not noticing and letting these sisters bring back poisonous herbs that could poison all twelve family members.
Taking two novices up the mountain to dig for wild vegetables, she felt like she was paying for her sins.
They followed her without fear of dirt and hard work, which was nice, but maybe next time, it was better not to bring them.
"Elder sister, aren't we useless?" A series of setbacks left the two girls dispirited and defeated. "Grandmother said we used to learn calligraphy, chess, books, and painting. In times of hardship, none of this is useful, and the whole family relies on you to dig wild veggies for sustenance."
"Chunyan, Chun Shu, every inch has its shortcoming; this just isn't your forte." Chun Nuan pulled out the dandelions and houttuynia from the small bamboo basket for them: "Each of you take one, look for wild veggies that look and taste the same as these."
"Okay, elder sister, we got it."
The two young girls regained their fighting spirit and continued searching for the evening's meal.
Watching their backs, Chun Nuan's nose inexplicably tinged with sourness.
Who would have thought, that just a month ago they were the granddaughters of Doctor Xiao, the director of the Imperial Hospital in the Capital? They could be considered as noble ladies, learning calligraphy, chess, books, painting, embroidery, and cooking from a female teacher, merely waiting to grow up and be married into a well-matched family as a young mistress.
Chun Nuan was betrothed to Zhaang Mansion's second eldest son, with the wedding set for August 19th. Yet who could have expected that her grandfather would be implicated in the Emperor's favorite concubine's false pregnancy scandal, resulting in his execution outside the noon gate, and all males over twelve in the family being exiled to the Northern Desert for three generations without the right to take imperial examinations. By the grace of the Empress Dowager, female family members were led by their grandmother back to their ancestral place in Shu City, Zhaang's family annulled the engagement, and the Xiao family understood, after all, who would want to marry into the family of a criminal? If it wasn't for her pregnancy, Chunyu's eldest sister would have been abandoned by the Wu family too.
They thought the care given by the great-grandfather and grandfather to clan members over the years would offer some protection.
Unexpectedly, grandmother led the whole family, yet they couldn't even enter the main gate of the Xiao Family's clan; the Clan Leader directly expelled this branch from the clan.
Grandmother fainted on the spot in anger.
Fortunately, the eldest aunt remained composed, pawned some of the family's fine garments to get a few ounces of silver, rented a rundown cottage behind a town, and managed to settle the family. After paying for rent, daily necessities, and a few pounds of coarse grain, the silver was nearly depleted.
The family was truly lacking everything; if it wasn't early summer, all twelve members would have frozen to death.
With no food, Chun Nuan went with village maidens and young wives to the mountain to dig for wild vegetables. Previously uninterested in calligraphy, chess, books, and painting, only in reading and fiddling with herbs, Chun Nuan now became the backbone of the family.
Seeing their elder sister working too hard, Chunyan and Chun Shu volunteered to come along to the mountain—now it seemed, bringing them was just a burden.
Since their grandfather's downfall, the Xiao family's path was all rugged and tough.
Sighing deeply, Chun Nuan continued treasure hunting.
Indeed, she wasn't just digging for wild vegetables, she also wished to find some herbs, process them, and sell them at the pharmacy for some money to support household expenses.
"Elder sister, look quickly, is this the same?"
Chunyan called to her from a distance by the creek, and Chun Nuan hurried over to check.
"Does the smell seem the same?"
"Yes, it's the same but just doesn't smell pleasant."
"Even if it smells bad, it's still a wild vegetable, and there's quite a lot here, dig carefully and don't hurt your hands."
Chun Nuan crouched down too, using a stick to pry up the houttuynia. Yes, they didn't even have tools to dig wild vegetables, relying entirely on makeshift means.
Upon hearing there were a lot of wild vegetables, Chun Shu also came running over. The three sisters worked up a sweat, finally digging up a small basketful.
"Elder sister, is this enough for tonight's meal?"
"These can be stored for a couple of days, keep looking while I go wash them."
Crouched by the creek, washing the houttuynia, Chun Nuan mused that crystal-clear water had no fish, this creek shouldn't have... Hold on, what was that?
It was a huge crab.
Chun Nuan tossed the houttuynia behind her, slipped off her embroidered shoes, rolled up her pants, cautiously approaching the rock the giant crab crawled under: they could have extra for dinner tonight!
Removing the rock, the startled crab scuttled out.
"Where are you running to?" Chun Nuan gave chase relentlessly, splashing water everywhere until she finally caught it.
"Ah!" Her finger hurt painfully, making her involuntarily cry out.
"Elder sister..."
Chunyan and Chun Shu heard the commotion and came running: "Elder sister, what's wrong?"
"My hand, my hand."
The darn thing wouldn't let go!
Chun Nuan even tried smashing it against the road rocks, yet the crab didn't budge.
"Elder sister, what should we do, elder sister..." Ten-year-old Chun Shu cried out in fear: "Someone, anyone, help my elder sister."
A group of teenagers came upon the scene.
"Haha, got caught by a crab."
"Look, it made her cry."
"Which young lady is this, catching crabs in the river?"
Four or five teenagers stood by the creek, laughing and watching the spectacle.
Chun Nuan felt both angry and embarrassed amid the pain, at a loss for words at the moment.
"Miss, if you put your hand back in the water, the crab will release its grip." Zhao Minghua, standing at a distance, couldn't help but speak up.
"No, if I put it in the water, it'll loosen up and escape."
Chun Nuan actually knew this method of freeing herself, but once the crab escaped, she wasn't confident of catching it again, a risk she couldn't take.
"You..." Zhao Minghua was taken aback: A girl seemingly fine at first glance turned out to be a fool?
"Is the crab more important or your fingers?" Zhao Minghua felt anxious: "If it keeps pinching, your fingers will start bleeding."
That did make sense.
But she couldn't let the crab pinch her for nothing either.
Seeing the nearby small bamboo basket, she quickly dumped out the houttuynia, placed her hand and the crab into it, then submerged it into the water.
Sure enough, as soon as it touched the water, the crab automatically released its claw.
Ignoring her pain, Chun Nuan hurriedly lifted the bamboo basket from the water.
"Great, it's still there."
"Elder sister, are you alright?"
Tear-streaked Chun Shu ran over to check Chun Nuan's hand.
"Elder sister is fine." She gently wiped away the tears on Chun Shu's face: "Don't cry, we can have an extra dish tonight."
"Elder sister?"
"Look, it's a crab, we can make a soup tonight."
"Elder sister." Chunyan's eyes reddened as well.
"It's alright, let's go home now."
Chun Nuan put on her embroidered shoes, divided the cleaned houttuynia into five parts, giving her two sisters each a handful, while she held wild vegetables in her left hand and a bamboo basket in her right. Occasionally, she glanced to see if anything was about to crawl out.
Passing by the boys, Chun Nuan didn't show any hint of discomfort.
Do not look at, hear, or speak of impropriety; it was their rudeness in witnessing her awkward moment.
However, passing by Zhao Minghua, who was standing at a distance, Chun Nuan nodded and softly thanked him.
"Thank you, young master, for your advice just now."
"No need to be polite." After Chun Nuan and her sisters walked past, the young man suddenly asked: "Are you family of Doctor Xiao from the Capital?"