Bamboo Mound

"Hiss, it's cold."

Ning Chang kept his eyes closed and reached out with his right hand to pull the blanket next to him.

"What's this?"

Ning Chang was slightly more awake, but still hadn't opened her eyes. She dazedly grabbed the object in her hand and tried to cover herself with it.

"Depend on!"

The sharp pain in his palm instantly snapped Ning Chang back to reality. He sat up abruptly and stared at the object in his hand.

"Where did this 'laola yang' come from on my bed?!"

Before Ning Chang could finish speaking, just as he was about to throw away a piece of sorghum vine, he suddenly came to his senses.

"No, where's my bed?"

"Wait, where's my house?"

Ning Chang threw away the sapling in his hand and stood up by pushing himself up with his left hand.

Looking around, Ning Chang became increasingly confused. He wondered if he had fallen asleep in the wrong place. All he could see were trees and weeds, with no trace of anyone having walked by!

Ning Chang felt a slight fear, an instinctive reaction to the unknown and loneliness, but he quickly dispelled it.

"This isn't the woods to the north." Ning Chang admitted to having poor sleep quality, easily awakened by the slightest noise, but he never expected to be carried to an unfamiliar place after going to bed so early yesterday.

Ning Chang had fully regained consciousness by this time.

"I'll find a village to call home first, no matter what." Ning Chang thought to himself as he looked around. He assumed it was a prank, a troublesome but unique adventure.

"The air is slightly cool, it should still be early. The sun is over there, let's head east to the road first." Ning Chang's gaze finally settled on his left. Through the leaves of the tall trees, he could see the traces of sunlight and the faint highlights, which was the direction of the sun!

To be honest, Ning Chang was not feeling well at the moment. Although he wore long pants when he slept, he was not wearing shoes when he woke up, so he had to walk barefoot in this patch of sedge, which was undoubtedly a terrible experience!

"Although it will be tough, I can just wait another two months for the third part of the driving test. Anyway, it's summer vacation now, so I guess I'll just have to bear with it."

Ning Chang gritted his teeth and said that while walking, he always kept his feet moving straight up and down, which could greatly avoid the "attack" of the sapling.

They walked until nearly noon, and the forest became quite hot under the sun. Ning Chang was already starving and drenched in sweat!

From the moment Ning Chang woke up in the morning until noon, he still couldn't find anything edible!

"I can't possibly eat wild vegetables, can I?" Ning Chang was somewhat exasperated.

"But it's alright. If you can't reach the leaves, you can peel off the bark. That tough outer layer is tough to chew, but at least you can eat it. You can't eat gnawing grass, and besides, you can survive for three days without food!"

Ning Chang was thinking when he suddenly saw a dirt road ahead!

"Finally, we're on the road. How big is this forest? Or did I go the wrong way from the start?" Ning Chang wondered, somewhat doubting himself.

But he didn't care about his injuries anymore. His feet were already covered in wounds and bleeding all the way, so he didn't care about the last stretch.

He hopped onto the road, taking two steps at a time. There were no more stags on the road. He squatted down, scooped up the loose soil from the road, and pressed it onto his feet, one pat at a time, until all the wounds were covered before he stopped.

"Let's leave it like this for now, it'll scab over in a bit."

After Ning finished treating her wound, she stood up and looked at both sides of the road. Both roads stretched as far as the eye could see, and the winding roads led nowhere.

At this moment, Ning Chang's vision began to darken, and his head became dizzy. In the instant he collapsed, only one thought remained in his mind.

My low blood sugar is acting up again...

...........

When Ning Chang woke up again, the surrounding environment had changed.

"Ugh... It's so hot... Where am I?" Ning Chang slowly opened his eyes, but what he saw was not the forest he was originally in, but a thatched roof. The dizziness caused by low blood sugar had dissipated.

Ning Chang lifted the blanket covering her; the reason she felt so stuffy earlier was because of this blanket.

He sat up and looked around. The room was sparsely furnished. Against the wall near the door was a very old wooden table surrounded by several benches. There was only one bed beneath him. The walls were made of mud mixed with dry grass. On the wall next to the door were two windows, with traces of paper pasted on them. Several ropes stretched along the walls on either side, from which hung dried meat...

As Ning Chang was observing his surroundings, the door creaked open. An elderly man with half-white hair but a strong voice entered, carrying a bowl. He looked at Ning Chang and was startled when he saw that he was awake. He then showed a surprised expression.

"You're awake, young man," the old man said, gently placing the bowl on the table, pulling over a stool to sit by the bed, and looking Ning Chang up and down again.

"Yesterday I found you unconscious by the roadside. It took a lot of effort to carry you back. Seeing how weak and frail you were, with such a serious injury on your foot and a deathly pale face, I thought it would take at least three days for you to wake up. But I didn't expect you to get up this morning." The old man sighed.

"Judging from the marks on the roadside, you came out of that forest barefoot?" the old man continued.

"Yes, I walked all morning and fainted as soon as I got to the road," Ning Chang replied.

After hearing this, the old man lowered his head slightly and began to think about something.

Seeing this, Ning Chang immediately asked, "Grandpa, where is this?" Considering the dialect issue, Ning Chang decided to temporarily switch to Mandarin to communicate.

“This is Lintou Village, and I am the village chief. You can call me Village Chief Lin,” Village Chief Lin replied, having finished his thought.

"Drink this bowl of porridge. It contains blood-tonifying medicine, so it will be a bit bitter." Village Chief Lin picked up the bowl from the table and handed it to Ning Chang.

Ning Chang then saw the contents of the bowl clearly: a bowl of reddish-brown porridge. He lifted it up and took a sip. It wasn't very hot, so he drank it in large gulps. Having not eaten for almost a whole day, Ning Chang was already starving. He quickly finished the bowl of porridge without even tasting it. Only after finishing it did he feel a slight bitterness lingering in his mouth.

"Thank you so much, Village Chief Lin." Ning Chang said, about to lift the covers and get out of bed, but as soon as he moved, the stinging pain in his feet made him gasp.

Village Chief Lin also pressed Ning Chang down with his hand, saying, "Young man, your injury hasn't healed yet, lie down."

After Ning Chang lay down again, Village Chief Lin asked, "Child, what's your name? Where do you live? How did you end up in the forest all by yourself?"

"My name is Ning Chang, and I'm from Wucheng County. As for how I ended up in the forest, I don't know. I woke up yesterday morning lying in the forest..."

"That's strange." After pondering for a moment, Village Chief Lin said, "Wucheng County? I've never heard of it. But you're all grown up, you shouldn't be able to forget your family's name. I'll go to the village and ask if anyone knows you. You should just focus on recovering from your injury." After saying that, the village chief took the empty bowl and went out the door, leaving Ning Chang alone in the house again.