The school is far away, so Xiaoxue and Xiaohan don't come home for lunch. It's just Xiaoman and her parents at home.

Xiaoman's mother: "What is it? Tell me."

"I want to clear some land in the mountains." After much thought, Xiaoman felt she still needed to have her own land. Although she could hunt and exchange her prey for money to buy food, she felt uneasy about that. Sometimes, even with money, she couldn't buy food.

Just to be on the safe side, Xiaoman decided to clear some land in the mountains. The land in the mountains was just sitting idle anyway.

Xiaoman can find land and keep wild animals away. But she doesn't know how to farm.

Xiaoman's father: "We have land now."

Xiaoman: "How long will our stored grain last?"

Xiaoman's mother: "One year."

Xiaoman: "If the harvest is bad next year, will we go hungry?"

Xiaoman's mother: "This..."

Xiaoman's father: "How can you grow crops in the mountains? Even if you did, the wild animals would just ruin them."

Xiaoman's mother: "Exactly."

Xiaoman cannot say that she has a solution: "I want to try."

Xiaoman's mother: "What are you trying? Let's eat."

Xiaoman looked at her father and said, "I don't want to go hungry."

Xiaoman's father: "This..."

Xiaoman's mother: "What's this? The child is ignorant, but are you ignorant too? Eat your food."

Xiaoman: "We'll give it a try. It won't take much grain. If it works, we'll have one more path than others."

Xiaoman's mother: "It won't work, let's eat."

Xiaoman: "Dad?"

Xiaoman's dad: "How about we give it a try?"

Xiaoman's mother: "What's there to try? The mountain isn't yours. If you plant it, someone else will harvest it for you."

Xiaoman: "No."

Xiaoman's mother: "Why not? Those wild fruits on the mountain are picked before they're even ripe."

Xiaoman: "No one usually goes to the deep mountains."

Xiaoman's mother: "What? You're going to farm in the deep mountains? Are you going to farm or feed the wolves?"

Xiaoman: "I'm strong."

Xiaoman's mother: "No matter how strong you are, you can't beat a tiger. No way. You'd better stay home and behave yourself."

Xiaoman: "Okay." Looks like I'll have to figure out how to plant it myself. "Let's eat."

After dinner, Xiaoman's mother went to the kitchen to wash the pots and pans. Xiaoman's father looked at his daughter and asked, "Are you really not going?"

Xiaoman didn't say anything.

“Your mother is right, no matter how strong you are, you can’t be stronger than a tiger.”

Xiaoman stood up and picked up a fist-sized stone in the yard.

Just as Xiaoman's father was about to ask, "Why are you picking up stones?", the stone in Xiaoman's hand broke.

Xiaoman's father was stunned for a long time: "Dad will go with you."

"Aren't you afraid?"

“I’m afraid I can’t let you go alone. Besides, we really don’t have much food. If we encounter a year of famine, we’ll really go hungry. By the way, don’t let your mother know about this. Otherwise, she’ll nag.”

"Um."

When are you going?

"Let's wait a few days. If we go now, my mother will know as soon as she thinks about it."

"That's true, then let's go in a few days."

"Um."

After the father and daughter agreed, Xiaoman began preparing the things she would need for the trip into the mountains.

Five days later, the father and daughter set off.

Xiaoman's mother asked them where they were going. Xiaoman's father said they were going to the mountains to hunt for some things. Xiaoman's mother was worried that Xiaoman would go too far into the mountains, but Xiaoman's father said he would keep an eye on her. He also said that they wanted to hunt more this time and planned to stay in the mountains for more than ten days.

Xiaoman thought that mountain was nice when she helped the police rescue someone last time. After leaving home, Xiaoman took her father to that mountain.

The mountain was very large. It took Xiaoman and his father seven days to explore the entire mountain.

We found three valleys, two large and one small. Together they cover about thirty acres.

Outside each valley, Xiaoman arranged two formations using trees and stones. Whether it's a person or an animal, they will all go around them. Even if they accidentally break the first formation, they will be led to another place by the second formation.

After setting up the array, Xiaoman planted a few more trees in the valley. Birds dislike the smell emanating from the bark of these trees.

In the past, if she wanted to ambush the enemy in the mountains, she would give her soldiers a brocade pouch filled with powder made from the bark of this tree. Once the soldiers carried the pouch, birds would stay far away from them. This way, the enemy couldn't spot them by observing the birds.

This commotion lasted for more than ten days. It was time for Xiaoman and her father to go back. On their way back, Xiaoman killed a wild boar with a stone. They also caught seven rabbits and five chickens.

After descending the mountain, the father and daughter went directly to the county. After selling their game, they bought two bags of seeds at a grain store and then stayed at home.

Xiaoman stopped when she passed by Hexi Village.

Xiaoman's dad: "What's wrong? Are you tired?"

"without."

"Then why aren't you leaving?"

Xiaoman touched her chest: "I feel like something in this village is calling to me."

"What? Xiaoman, don't scare your dad."

"Really." Xiaoman lifted her foot and walked towards Hexi Village.

Xiaoman's father quickly stopped her: "You can't go."

"It'll be alright, don't worry. I just... I just felt like something in this village was calling to me. Dad, I have to go."

"You silly child."

Xiaoman's heart skipped a beat: "Dad, I have to go. I'll regret it if I don't."

Xiaoman's father stamped his foot: "Fine, go. Go."

"Thank you, Dad."

"Hmph!" Xiaoman's father turned his face away: "Aren't you leaving?"

"Let's go." Following her instincts, Xiaoman walked to the Hexi Village Committee.

A group of people were standing in the courtyard of the village committee.

Xiaoman pushed her way through the crowd to the front.

As they approached, Xiaoman's senses intensified. She looked down at the ground and saw a horse lying there, its belly swollen; it was likely pregnant. Three people were crouching around the horse: the village head of Nanhe Village, and the town's two veterinarians. "What happened to this horse?" she asked.

The three people on the ground remained silent. The person next to Xiaoman said, "The stable has collapsed."

Xiaoman looked at the horse on the ground: "Is there any hope?"

"The doctor said there's no hope."

Xiaoman walked over and said, "Village chief, please sell this horse to me."

Nanhe Village Chief: "What did you say?"

Xiaoman's dad: "Why did you buy it? It's about to die."

Xiaoman looked into her father's eyes and said, "I want to buy it."

“You…” Xiaoman’s father stamped his foot: “You child.”

Xiaoman turned to the village chief of Nanhe Village and said, "Sell this horse to me."

“This…” The village chief of Nanhe Village looked at Xiaoman’s father: “This horse is no good.”

"It's okay. How much?"

"You really want it?"

"Um."

"Then..." the village chief asked, looking at the people in the yard, "Should we sell this horse to her?"

Everyone in the courtyard agreed.

The village chief looked at Xiaoman and asked, "Do you have the final say?"

"Um."

"Alright. Then we'll sell this horse to you."

"How much?"

"This..." The village chief looked at the people in the yard and asked, "How about we sell it to her at the price of selling meat?"

Some villagers agreed, while others disagreed.

Village chief: "How about we vote by raising our hands, with the minority obeying the majority?"

Xiaoman: "No need. Just sell it at the price of a horse, and the foal inside its belly will also be sold at the price of a live horse."

Everyone: Is this girl stupid?!

Xiaoman's father: Is my daughter possessed?