I asked you to dig wild vegetables to pay off your debt, not go up the mountain to pick up money!

"I dug bamboo shoots and exchanged them for silver to buy meat for Ayue."

Hearing her sister say this, Song Anyue thought of last night's braised pork. It was so delicious! Sister must dig more bamboo shoots.

The Zhangs nodded with satisfaction. That’s great. Even when the eldest brother is away, Aning can still support the family.

Seeing Song Anning's cheeks red from the sun, he felt distressed again.

"Aning, you're not made of iron. You need to take your time when working. Take a break after working for two days. Don't get too tired."

"Don't worry, grandma. Look at my big body. I won't get tired."

Song An Ning pinched her round cheeks, making Zhang burst out laughing.

"It's getting late. Let's prepare some dry food from the mountain tonight. We'll set out early tomorrow and might not have enough time. Bring two extra sacks so we can carry the extra we dig."

She knew Song Anning had grown up, but as a grandmother, she couldn't help but nag. What if the children forgot? What if she hadn't said something and the children suffered a loss?

"Don't worry, grandma. I'll prepare everything tonight and wait for you at the door tomorrow to go up the mountain together."

"Okay."

At home, Song Zeyuan had already prepared rice porridge and the fish that was left over from the morning.

There were five pheasant eggs left, so Song Anning went to the small hill outside the courtyard wall to dig up two handfuls of wild onions and fried them with the eggs.

While there was still some fire at the bottom of the pot, Song An Ning scalded the dough, mixed it with some lard, and made multi-grain cakes and corn cakes to stick to the edge of the pot.

After a tiring day, Song Anning was really hungry. He drank two large bowls of porridge and ate a corn tortilla.

Strangely, Wang Ying'er only drank a bowl of porridge and didn't eat anything else. She put down the bowl and went back to her and Song Feng's room without making any noise.

"What did my mother do today? Weaving baskets all day?"

"Mother helped us collect firewood today. She picked up half of it and then ran back to make baskets."

Song Anyue frowned and thought about it. It seemed that her mother was a little different. After she went crazy, she never helped with housework. Sometimes when she and her brother went to fetch water, her mother would kick over the bucket and make trouble.

Song An Ning was a little hesitant about whether to go up the mountain tomorrow. She was worried about Wang Ying'er's condition.

Unexpectedly, the next moment, Wang Ying'er opened the door and stared blankly at the three siblings.

She remembered what the doctor had said before, that Wang Ying'er's illness might be cured one day, or it might become more serious due to stimulation.

"Mother, are you not full? I'll serve you another bowl so we can eat more."

"No, I don't want to eat it."

Because she hadn't spoken properly for a long time, Wang Ying'er's voice was very hoarse.

"Leave some for your father and your elder brother to eat when they come down the mountain."

"...???"

After she finished speaking, she snatched the pancake from Song Zeyuan's hand and took it to the kitchen.

"..."

"Sister, is Mom...even crazier?"

The two little ones were a little scared and snuggled into Song An Ning's arms. Such a mother was so crazy and scary.

Song An Ning remembered that a relative of hers in her previous life also had this disease. Because her son died in a car accident, she was in so much pain that her body helped her erase the painful memory.

This is what Wang Ying'er looked like. She didn't know what she heard or saw in the past few days, but she became more awake. However, because she was in so much pain, her memory went back to the time before her father and elder brother got into trouble.

"Mother has simply forgotten about that bad incident. You two should be careful and pretend that father and elder brother are still alive in front of mother."

Although the two little ones didn't quite understand, they still agreed obediently. As long as their mother still recognized them, they were happy.

Wang Ying'er went to the kitchen to wash the dishes, then ran to the front door and looked out a few times, muttering, "It's already this late, why hasn't he come back yet?"

Seeing the three children sitting in the room without moving, she started nagging again: "Why are you three still sitting there? You are as dirty as mud monkeys. There is water in the pot. Go wash up and go to bed. You all keep worrying me.

Go to bed early. I heard them say they are going up the mountain to dig bamboo shoots tomorrow. Let's all go."

"..."

"Didn't Dad and Big Brother go to the capital to work? They won't be back for a few months. Mom, are you too busy to notice?"

Song An Ning pretended to be indifferent and pinched the two younger ones secretly, signaling them not to reveal their true identity.

"Yes, mother, father and elder brother have only been out for a few days."

Song Zeyuan also added a sentence pretending to be calm, but his heart was beating fast. What was A Niang's reaction? Did she believe it or not?

A Yue stared at Wang Ying'er intently, swallowing her saliva nervously.

"Oh my goodness, I forgot about this the second I turned my head. Hurry up and close the door. The man is not at home, so you have to close the door early."

"..."

Finally, I got through it! Song Anning breathed a sigh of relief and took her younger brother and sister to wash up.

She knew that her mother's illness had not been cured, it had just taken a different form. In her previous life, it would have been called post-traumatic stress disorder.

"Xiangxiang, you should know about this disease, right?"

"Xiangxiang knows..."

After a systematic and comprehensive scientific popularization, she realized that Wang Ying'er's initial basket weaving and silence were symptoms of numbness and substance dependence in post-traumatic stress disorder.

Now we are in the unconscious avoidance stage, which may last for a few days or even decades.

Today, maybe because I heard people going up the mountain talking about digging bamboo shoots, it became what it is today.

Now I can only find an excuse to deal with it, maybe I will be confused again tomorrow.

But the next morning, Wang Ying'er got up early to fetch water and wash, added water to the water tank, and went to the kitchen to cook, just like before.

Hearing the noise, Song Anning also got up from the bed. When she went out, she saw her grandmother standing in the yard, looking at Wang Ying'er's busy back, her face full of disbelief.

"Aning, is your mother...okay?"

"Half healed..."

Song An Ning told her grandmother about her mother's situation, and reminded her not to let anything slip, as her mother could not stand the shock.

But, there are so many people going up the mountain today, what if someone says something mean...

"Grandma, I'm going to go look for Second Grandpa."

Before going up the mountain every year, Song Erhe would call the head of each family to give them a few words of advice, telling them not to fight for territory, to keep an eye on their family members and not to run around.

It was just daybreak and there was still some time before going up the mountain, so Song An Ning wanted to get this done quickly.

Zhang also understood what she meant, so she whispered, "Go faster and ask your second grandfather to give them a few more words. Don't let anything go wrong. I'll be watching here."

She felt relieved knowing her grandmother was there. She went to the well to wash her face and ran towards the village.

When Wang Ying'er turned around, she saw her daughter running outside, and her mother-in-law was still standing in the yard staring at her.

"Mom, I heard they were going up the mountain to dig bamboo shoots today. Is there something you need to come at this time?"

"You and your mother are the only ones at home, and I was worried, so I came to check on you. And Lin Ziyuan, don't forget anything, because you won't have time to come back for it."

"Don't worry, Mom. I've been there many times. I don't know who made these backpacks in the backyard, but there are more than a dozen of them."

"..."

"Your father made this up when he was bored, so I'm giving it to you guys to use. Hurry up and wake the kids up for dinner, and bring plenty of food."

Zhang wiped the cold sweat from her head and said, "Oh my god, I have to be very careful with every word I say. It's so tiring."