Chapter 19 Mountain Orchard

19. Mountain Orchard

The grime secreted from her body was like paint, and Jiang Rong applied shower gel three times but couldn't wash it off at all. In the end, she had to use her wood-type ability to move around her skin to remove the annoying grime.

When he came out after washing up, the unpleasant smell in the study hadn't dissipated. The smell permeated the living room, making the child cover his nose and the dog roll its eyes.

After thinking it over, Jiang Rong decided to open the doors and windows to let in some fresh air. As for the father and son, they could go outside for a walk; the smell would probably dissipate by the time they returned.

Jiang Rong's suggestion was agreed upon by Jiang Xiaoheng. "Dad, didn't Grandpa and Grandma say that their hometown isn't far from ours? I haven't been to their house yet, why don't we go and take a look?"

Thinking of Chu Qiang's family, who were still trying to get home, Jiang Rong's eyes dimmed slightly. He nodded slightly, "Okay, pack up, Dad will take you to visit Uncle Chu's hometown."

The sun was blazing outside, and Jiang Xiaoheng, completely oblivious to the dangers, tried to rush into the yard shirtless. Jiang Rong grabbed her son's arm. "Come back, put on some clothes."

Jiang Xiaoheng's chubby cheeks puffed up even more, and his big eyes were full of accusation, "Dad, it's so hot outside..."

Jiang Rong skillfully helped his son put on a sun-protective outfit. He explained gently, "The sun is too strong. If you don't wear clothes, your skin will get sunburned. Look at this outfit, isn't it very light and thin? It's protecting your body and helping to block out bad things. Touch it and see if what Daddy said is right."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xiaoheng touched the ice sleeve on his arm, and then a surprised smile appeared on his little face. "Really? Dad, it's cool and feels so comfortable."

Jiang Rong bent down to tie his son's shoelaces. "Yes." There are many mosquitoes in the forest, and he didn't want any part of his son's skin to be exposed to the air.

Suddenly, his son gently touched his face. Jiang Rong looked up in surprise, "What's wrong?"

Jiang Xiaoheng blinked, then lowered his voice as if he had discovered a secret, "Dad, your face is smoother than your clothes, it feels so nice to touch."

Jiang Rong: ? ? ?

Before Jiang Xiaoheng could finish speaking, he tilted his head and said seriously, "Dad, you seem to have gotten fairer."

Jiang Rong smiled and put a sun hat on her son's forehead. "If you don't go out in the sun, you'll become pale. Son, you have to remember that men should have bronze skin. That's what makes them healthy and handsome."

After thinking for a moment, Jiang Xiaoheng grabbed the brim of the little yellow duck sun hat with both hands. He looked up at Jiang Rong with determination in his eyes, "Then Dad, I want to sunbathe too, and I want to become a man too."

Jiang Rong ruthlessly suppressed him, saying, "You don't need to worry. You're still a baby, and you need to take good care of your skin." Children's skin is delicate, and if it gets sunburned, it will be difficult to recover later.

Jiang Xiaoheng was a little unconvinced. He held up his two tender, lotus-root-like arms to Jiang Rong. "Dad, look at my muscles. I'm a little man now!"

Jiang Rong: ...

It's just that the videos he's been playing at the gym lately, with the fitness instructors showing off their muscles so frequently, that my son has already memorized several of those moves.

Seeing that Jiang Xiaoheng hadn't given up, Jiang Rong quickly changed the subject, "By the way, son, do you want some ice cream?"

Ice cream was Jiang Xiaoheng's favorite food. As soon as he finished speaking, he stretched out his little hand to Jiang Rong, "Yes, yes! I want vanilla flavor~"

Jiang Rong pressed her advantage, "Okay, but you have to promise Dad you'll wear a sun hat when you go out."

With ice cream, who cares about sun hats? Before long, Jiang Xiaoheng was happily licking his popsicle as he walked along the mountain path.

Jiang Rong, however, was far from leisurely. He held Lele's hand with one hand and his son's with the other. In addition, a sharp dagger was strapped to his thigh, and a menacing-looking gun was slung across his back. Times had changed; now the mountains were teeming with wild beasts. Venturing into the forest without any protection could very well cost him his life.

Just as the father and son reached the end of the field, Jiang Xiaoheng suddenly saw the wild boar carcass lying across the middle of the road. He immediately slowed down and slowly hid behind Jiang Rong.

Seeing his son's reaction, Jiang Rong's eyes softened. Of course, he could clear away the bones on the road when his son wasn't looking, but he could do it once or twice, not indefinitely.

If my son wants to live in the wasteland, he'll eventually have to get used to the carcasses of all sorts of animals... all sorts of animals.

Feeling her son's small hand suddenly clench, Jiang Rong comforted him, "Son, are you scared?"

Jiang Xiaoheng nodded and then shook his head. Looking at Jiang Rong's gentle eyes, Jiang Xiaoheng said softly, "I'm a little scared, but it's okay."

After a pause, he looked at the wild boar skeleton gnawed by ants and asked, "Dad, what were they when they were alive?"

Jiang Rong said slowly, "It's a wild boar."

Jiang Xiaoheng seemed to be thinking about something. After a while, he raised his childish face and asked, "Did the pig die from being exposed to the sun because it wasn't wearing clothes or a sun hat?"

Jiang Rong couldn't answer this question, so he chuckled and tried to brush it off, "Yes, so Xiao Heng must be careful to protect himself from the sun when he goes out."

Jiang Xiaoheng looked down at his sun-protective clothing and muttered to himself, "Xiaoheng should dress properly and not follow Zhuzhu's example."

The mountain path the two were walking on was only three feet wide. In the days when roads were underdeveloped, this path was an important passage connecting several villages in the mountains. When they were children, he and Chu Qiang would run along this path several times a day. Later, after cement roads were built, fewer people walked on the mountain paths.

The path was paved with small pebbles, and hops and kudzu vines almost completely blocked it. If it weren't for the mutated ants chasing wild boars past, Jiang Rong wouldn't even have been able to see where the original path was.

If it were the old him, seeing such road conditions would have been a real headache. But now these vines were no longer a problem for Jiang Rong. Just as Jiang Rong was about to end their lives, he suddenly had a strange idea: since wood-type abilities affect plants, could he control them and make them grow according to his own will?

Thinking of this, Jiang Rong gently released a bit of his supernatural power from between his fingers. The power landed on the nearest kudzu vine, and the kudzu vine, having absorbed the power, suddenly became glossy from its wilted state, and the vines grew thicker at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The hops clinging to the kudzu vines were truly detestable, and Jiang Rong, unable to bear it any longer, simply pulled out their life force. With Jiang Rong's help, the kudzu vines soon won the battle for survival.

Numerous kudzu vines stretched along the mountain path, and soon "handrails" woven from kudzu vines appeared on both sides of the path, with a path in the middle that could accommodate two people.

Jiang Xiaoheng stared wide-eyed at the suddenly appearing Ge Teng Mountain Road, the ice cream in his hand dripping down.

Jiang Rong reminded him, "Son, the ice cream has melted."

Jiang Xiaoheng finally snapped out of his daze. Forgetting all about licking his ice cream, he gestured wildly at his father, "Dad! How did you do that? You're amazing! I just saw you tap the grass a few times, and it turned into a wall. Dad, can you do it again?"

Jiang Rong had no intention of hiding her abilities from her son. If she wanted her son to have a good life, she had to make him realize the difference between ordinary people and mutants as soon as possible.

He knelt down and straightened his son's clothes. "Because Dad is a superhuman, do you remember when Dad had a high fever a few days ago? After that, Dad awakened his wood-type superpower."

Jiang Xiaoheng tilted his head, trying to understand Jiang Rong's words, "Dad, what is a superhuman?"

Jiang Rong took her son's hand and slowly walked into the mountains, explaining to him as they went what superpowered individuals were. Jiang Xiaoheng seemed to understand, but he was convinced of one thing: his father was incredibly powerful, even more so than the superheroes on TV.

The kudzu vines not only failed to block the mountain winds, but also provided a refreshing coolness when walking on them. Jiang Rong was quite satisfied with this mountain path; he planned to take a walk on it when he had time, using the kudzu vines as a barrier where people walked. If any mutated animals attacked, the kudzu vines could also provide some protection.

The kudzu vine path stretches for hundreds of meters, cutting through the eastern hilltop. At the end of the path is a rocky stream, but due to the recent high temperatures, the stream has dried up, revealing pebbles of varying sizes and animal bones on its dry riverbed.

Looking at the stream filled with skeletons, Jiang Rong sighed softly. Jiang Xiaoheng was clearly frightened by the skeletons covering the riverbed; he instinctively huddled closer to Jiang Rong, wishing he could hug his father's leg.

Jiang Rong looked at the winding riverbed with a complicated expression, her voice full of nostalgia, "When your father was little, he and your Uncle Chu often caught fish and shrimp in this stream..."

Back then, the mountains and rivers were lush and green, the air crisp and refreshing. There were no terrifying mutated plants or animals, nor any so-called superhumans. The mountains echoed with birdsong and the fragrance of flowers, and the carefree laughter of children. But all of this came to an abrupt end with the arrival of a great crisis, and can never be relived.

A wind blew in from the mountains, carrying the stench of decay and unbearable heat. After pausing briefly by the stone stream, Jiang Rong picked up her son and carried him to the other side.

The vegetation on the opposite mountain is sparse, with some distance between each tree. Before the great crisis, this was an orchard, and many of the carefully cultivated fruit trees could not survive the natural disaster. Now, their leaves are withered and curled, and the unripe fruits hang pitifully on the branches.

However, some fruit trees have become even more vibrant after the crisis. For example, Jiang Xiaoheng spotted some tall trees not far away, laden with red fruit. Ignoring the high temperature and danger, Jiang Xiaoheng took his father's hand and walked towards the tree. "Dad, Dad, look, there's fruit over there."

Jiang Rong looked closely and saw several lush bayberry trees growing on the gentle hillside. June was the season for bayberries to ripen, and the branches were laden with red bayberries, some of which near the crown had already turned black and were ready to be picked.

This was an unexpected delight; when he discovered this orchard in his previous life, he hadn't paid attention to this bayberry tree.

Jiang Rong gently patted her son's head, "You and Lele stay here and don't move. Dad will pick some bayberries for you."

The bayberry tree was quite tall, and to pick the bayberries on the crown, one had to climb it. But this was no challenge for Jiang Rong; in his previous life, he had honed his skills to obtain food.

Jiang Rong quickly scurried up the tree trunk to the top of the canopy and soon picked a small bagful of dark red bayberries. Just then, Lele called out twice, and Jiang Xiaoheng followed suit, calling out, "Daddy—"

Jiang Rong thought his son was getting impatient, so he replied, "Almost there, almost done."

As he slid down the tree trunk, he saw two middle-aged or elderly people appear beside his son. The two, a man and a woman, were clearly a couple. One of them was holding a machete, and the other was carrying a bamboo pole. Judging from their attire, the two were the owners of the orchard.

Jiang Xiaoheng stood between the two, looking embarrassed as if he'd been caught red-handed, "Dad..."

Just then, Lele whimpered twice. Jiang Rong looked in the direction of the sound and saw a powerful, large wolfhound sitting beside Lele. This dog was clearly a mutant, with a body as strong as a calf. At that moment, its large paws were pressing down on Lele's head, rendering it unable to move. The silly, adorable Lele was wagging its tail pitifully and whimpering.

Jiang Rong: ...

Author's Note:

Every year in June and July, when the bayberries ripen, there are always news reports: so-and-so from such-and-such place fell from a bayberry tree and got hurt.

Old Cat's friendly reminder: Please don't pick the wildflowers and wild fruits by the roadside!

Getting caught red-handed is one thing, but if you fall or get food poisoning, things get complicated.