Chun Mian gathered herbs for most of the morning. When the sun had fully risen, she turned around and headed down the mountain.
The mountains around Xiao Wo Village had plenty of herbs. Although she hadn't found any precious ones yet, there were all the common ones, as well as the specific ones Chun Mian needed.
When Chun Mian returned, many villagers were heading home from the fields. The men didn't look at her with any particular expression, but the women's gazes were much more complicated.
"Shumei, why did you go up the mountain? Why aren't you resting at home?"
Chun Mian didn't care about the villagers' stares, but after taking only two steps, someone linked arms with her from behind. If she hadn't sensed that there was no danger, Chun Mian would have thrown the person the second their hand touched her. As for how many meters they would have flown, even Chun Mian didn't know.
"Aunt Wei." Seeing who it was, Chun Mian smiled with pursed lips and tried to pull her arm back. However, despite looking scrawny, Aunt Wei was surprisingly strong. She held tightly onto Chun Mian. Not daring to use too much force, Chun Mian couldn't break free.
"You child, why aren't you recovering at home? Your health is not something to joke about! It's all the Gao family's fault, those heartless scumbags. We went too easy on them when we beat them up back then.
"Are you still feeling unwell? I have some brown sugar at home. I'll bring it over to your mother later. You should mix some with water and drink it when you have time. Brown sugar is good stuff.
"By the way, now that you're divorced and back home, do you have any plans? I know a few people around here. Actually, I think Xiao Jiang's teacher is pretty decent. He only has a daughter, so you can just give her a bit of money and marry her off in the future. It won't affect your life together."
...
BLAH, BLAH, BLAH...
Chun Mian felt as if several broken third-generation robots were going BZZZ BZZZ and BEEP BEEP endlessly by her ears, giving her a massive headache.
The problem was that Aunt Wei genuinely cared about her. Although every household's living conditions were much better than in the past, certain things were still considered luxury goods for the villagers. Sugar, for example. Over the past two years, the price of sugar had almost caught up with pork. Since Aunt Wei was willing to give her family brown sugar, her intentions were clearly good. It was just that she was too talkative.
This was also confirmed by Wei Shumei's memories. Aunt Wei wasn't a bad person; she was just so chatty it induced headaches. Furthermore, she was a straightforward person without any ulterior motives. She said whatever came to her mind, regardless of whether it sounded pleasant or not.
Right now, so many people around them were blinking their gossip-hungry little eyes, eager to watch a show. They wished they could pry Chun Mian open to see what juicy secrets lay inside. As a result, without them even having to ask, Aunt Wei served all the juicy gossip on a silver platter.
There was really nothing Chun Mian could say to that. Since Aunt Wei genuinely cared about her, Chun Mian couldn't exactly throw her all the way to the next village, could she?
It was just that Chun Mian wasn't exactly known for her good temper. At this moment, she was holding back so hard that the veins on the back of her hands were bulging.
"I'm doing fine, Aunt Wei. You don't need to worry," Chun Mian said softly, grinding her teeth.
Aunt Wei was still going BLAH, BLAH, BLAH...
Chun Mian was speechless. Her hands were itching to hit someone!
She finally managed to endure it until they reached home. Wei Shumei's house was connected to Uncle Wei's, while Aunt Wei's house was further away, requiring a bit more walking. Therefore, at the entrance to Chun Mian's house, the two finally parted ways.
Mrs. Wei had returned from the fields early to cook. Seeing Chun Mian back, she hurried over to greet her and smoothly took the basket from her hands.
"Mom, I want to plant some herbs in the backyard. It's a bit tiring to always go up the mountain to pick them." The herbs on the mountain were too unpredictable and random. Chun Mian needed a massive quantity of them, so relying solely on foraging wouldn't cut it. She had to grow them herself.
Others might not be able to easily cultivate an herb field, but Chun Mian, who possessed the upgraded version of the Wood Element Superpower, certainly could. The Wood Element represented the growth of all living things. Besides stimulating growth, Chun Mian's upgraded superpower could also heal the sick and save lives.
Chun Mian's mother only had the most basic version of the Wood Element Superpower, which could only accelerate plant growth. However, even with just this simple superpower, she was able to marry into a prominent family despite her impoverished background.
In the interstellar era, Superpower Users were incredibly rare. Those with superpowers related to growth were even rarer. Because of this, Chun Mian's mother was able to leap over Longmen and rise from rags to riches, becoming a wealthy madam.
Although Superpower Users were formidable, they suffered from a major disadvantage: it was extremely difficult for them to have children. The heavens were fair, after all; they wouldn't give you everything on a silver platter. Chun Mian's mother had been married into the Chun family for years and had only given birth to one child: Chun Mian.
Unfortunately, perhaps because her father's aptitude was far too mediocre, Chun Mian didn't inherit her mother's superpower. Or at least, that was how the Spring Family saw it.
Chun Mian had long since seen through the Chun family's underlying selfishness, so she had made plans for herself early on. Subsequently, she became an outcast of the family and was exiled to Seventy-nine Stars, living a precarious life where she never knew if she would survive to see the next day.
However, Chun Mian didn't regret her choice in the slightest. Rather than losing her sense of self and being treated as a machine to earn fame and fortune, she would much prefer to live a happy, peaceful life on Seventy-nine Stars. At the very least, she had freedom and dignity.
Hearing Chun Mian's request, Mrs. Wei agreed without a second thought. "Do whatever you see fit. However, there are still some vegetables in the field. I'll go pull them out later; some are still edible, so you'll have to wait a bit. Do you have a lot of herbs? If there's not enough space, I'll have your dad clear out another plot of land for you."
As Mrs. Wei spoke, she glanced at the herbs in the basket. Chun Mian had gathered more than half a basket's worth of herbs, but the basket itself wasn't very big. After seeing this, Mrs. Wei had a rough idea of how much space was needed. However, she knew nothing about medicinal herbs and had no idea how much space they required to grow, so she could only look at Chun Mian for confirmation.
"It doesn't need to be very big. I can take it slow. Thanks, Mom." Chun Mian felt that Wei Shumei's family members were truly wonderful people. It was a pity that Wei Shumei herself was too stubborn, always swallowing her grievances and suffering in silence. She had met such a miserable end; it was hard to say whether it was pitiful or tragic.
"You silly child, we're family. There's no need for thank yous." Mrs. Wei lightly smacked Chun Mian's arm. Her words sounded dismissive, but her eyes crinkled with a relieved and proud smile.
Chun Mian pursed her lips and carried the basket to the backyard first.
"Sis, what are you doing? Let me do it, let me!" Wei Shuxiang appeared just as Chun Mian reached the backyard entrance. Seeing Chun Mian holding a hoe, she dashed over and snatched it right out of her hands.
Mrs. Wei still had to cook and couldn't attend to the two sisters for the time being. Wei Shuxiang volunteered for the task and quickly cleared out a vegetable patch filled with withered vines.
Chun Mian carefully took the herbs out of the basket, sorted them by category, and planted them neatly, row by row, into the newly cleared plot of land. Wei Shuxiang brought over a bucket of water. Following Chun Mian's instructions, she gently watered the newly planted herbs.
The two sisters worked together perfectly. In just over half an hour, all the herbs were successfully planted.