"You jinx, what do you want to do?" Meng Jing stood in front of A Mian.
"Ah, it's that child." Ah Mian finally remembered—it turned out that she taught the children in the village to read, and sometimes she would receive some birds that had been knocked down. There was often a child who would hide behind the door and listen, but never come into the house.
There were many children in the village, and A-Mian didn't know much about their families' situations, so she quickly said, "She didn't tell me; I secretly followed her here. I wanted to drag her down the mountain, so she rang this bell."
"Besides, she even taught you to read, how could you do this?" Meng Jing said angrily. "I don't want your Ganoderma lucidum anymore, A-Mian, let's go down the mountain!"
After hearing the explanation, the boy called "Broom Star" thought for a moment and put down his bow and arrow. "Alright. Then... none of you should tell anyone."
Amian wondered if he lived in the mountains? But aren't there wolves in the mountains?
Just then, the broom star jumped onto the dirt and said, "Come with me."
Ah Mian understood without needing to say more. Luckily, she had brought a basket with her, and along the way, she had already seen matsutake mushrooms. These mushrooms were a favorite of hers and the villagers, with a rich aroma that made them absolutely delicious in soups. She often only managed to pick a few at the foot of the mountain, and even then, she had to compete with the villagers for them. But as she ventured deeper into the mountains, she discovered there were so many!
Overjoyed, A-Mian filled her little book basket to the brim.
“This is worthless, it’s everywhere,” the jinx muttered, leading the two deeper into the area.
Amian asked, "Aren't there wolves on the mountain? What if they bite us?"
“We killed a male wolf. A wolf had come down the mountain earlier, probably that one. There were two dead wolf cubs in the den, probably starved to death. The mother wolf led the rest to escape to the other side of the mountain.”
"You guys?" More questions popped into A-Mian's head, but before she could ask, the Broom Star said, "We're here, this is it."
Before they knew it, they had reached a cliff. Seeing that all around them were bare rocks, A-Mian grabbed Xiao-Jing's arm, anticipating that if things went wrong, they should run away quickly.
She glanced down and saw that it was a bottomless abyss below. If she were to slip and fall, Ah Mian would probably lose her life.
Undeterred, the broom star actually climbed to the bottom of the steep rock face!
Ah Mian roughly understood by then, and cautiously peeked out. Sure enough, she saw the Broom Star clinging to the vines, picking something. He moved nimbly, using a bamboo knife to cut off the old stems. The rock wall was slippery, so he had to be extra careful. He watched for a while, sweating profusely, before finally picking three bunches. Only then did the Broom Star climb up.
"What is this?" Xiao Jing had already passed the initial stage of surprise, admiration, and praise, and leaned over to look at the contents of the wicker basket.
The boy touched his nose, trying to hide his disappointment, but being a child, it was still quite obvious. He answered sullenly, "Golden hairpin flowers are as valuable as gold. People down the mountain call them 'dens.' If you take them to a pharmacy, you can get four taels of silver for every tael. Although these are less than one tael, you can probably get more than three taels of silver, enough for you to go to the girls' academy."
Meng Jing clapped her hands. "Great! Don't worry, I'll teach you everything I learn and bring you lots of treats."
"No wonder we always eat the steamed buns so fast at home," A-Mian said thoughtfully. "Looks like we wronged him; he didn't take them."
Recently, Meng Chijian has been going to sleep in the woodshed every few days.
His eyes were filled with sorrow, as if he hadn't been fed enough.
Just then, birdsong echoed from the woods, and Broom Star's face immediately darkened. "Hurry up, don't come here for the next few days. I'll take you down the mountain as soon as possible!"
He hurriedly escorted the two to the foot of the mountain and then disappeared in a flash.
Amian looked at the golden hairpin flowers in Meng Jing's basket and carefully memorized what they looked like, just in case she could pick them some in the future.
Both of them were very happy after coming down the mountain. A-Mian put the matsutake mushrooms she had picked at home, and rode A-Dou to take Meng-Jing to register her for the girls' academy.
There are only young women there, so Meng Jing won't be bullied while studying there, and it won't harm the reputation of unmarried women.
The two of them happily entered the city and sold the dendrobium. A-Mian put on a serious face and acted like an adult to negotiate the price. She even threatened that if they dried it, they would sell it in Zhoucheng, where it would definitely be worth five taels of silver. They successfully sold it for three taels of silver and five hundred coins.
"Ah Mian, you're amazing! Last time I went to sell, people tried to lower the price, and I thought I wouldn't be able to sell it. I only sold it for a little over one tael! I lost a lot of money."
Ah Mian said modestly, "Not at all, I only saw others bargaining like this in Zhoucheng."
Meng Jing then showered Ah Mian with compliments as if they were free, making Ah Mian dizzy with admiration.
Upon arriving at the girls' college, A-Mian found it to be much smaller than the academy, but more exquisitely decorated and with a much more pleasant atmosphere. The girls' college had hired a female tutor from Zhoucheng, who was said to have been a renowned talented woman from Jiangnan in her younger days.
The classes at the women's college were very loosely scheduled and the management was not very strict. Although there were only half-day classes every other day, people would still miss classes from time to time, and they didn't even need to ask for leave.
However, Ah Mian said, "Having spent five taels of silver a year, I must learn it properly."
“Yes,” Meng Jing said, “and Broom Star is so pitiful. His father was killed by wolves, and his mother gave birth to him and his two siblings, but later encountered miasma in the mountains and died a few days after returning home. He was raised by his uncle’s family, and his uncle called him Broom Star. He didn’t even have a name.”
Why don't they come down the mountain?
Meng Jing didn't know either, and couldn't give a clear answer. "I don't know, and the land on the mountain is difficult to cultivate..."
That evening, A-Mian decided to tell Meng Chijian about it.
She felt that this did not violate her vow, because Meng Chijian was not "another person." Besides, her promise to Meng Chijian that "if anyone says there is something they cannot tell others, they must come and tell me" was made even earlier.
Upon hearing this, Meng Chijian not only did not make Amian stand facing the wall as punishment or make her write large characters, but also said he would buy her half a roast chicken to eat.
Then Meng Chijian told his mother about it. His mother banged her cane on the ground and said, "Xiao Jing, come to my room!"
Meng Jing realized she had been exposed, glared at A Mian, and angrily said, "Traitor."
Feeling somewhat guilty, A-Mian hid in the woodshed.
She walked to the corner where the firewood was piled up, intending to recount her secret stash of money, but what she saw surprised her.
The number is incorrect.
She counted them again carefully.
She discovered that she had more than nine hundred extra copper coins, no more and no less, which perfectly rounded up to the nine taels of silver she had previously saved!
Ten taels of silver is equivalent to one gold ingot.
Ah Mian's ears turned bright red instantly.
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