Time Travel: Volume 1! Starting from a Small Mountain Village

Seeing the sparkle of interest in Hu Lili's eyes, Long Lifan couldn't help but be infected by it as well. She was also thinking that going to collect some wasn't a bad idea; she could mail some back to her parents in Shanghai so they could also try the mountain produce from G province.

So she readily agreed: "Okay, then we'll go together this afternoon, but I need to go to the chicken farm first to say hello to Lin Xiuxiu and the others."

Upon arriving at the chicken farm, Long Lifan found the Lin sisters, who were busy at work. When she told them about her idea to collect wild produce, the Lin sisters exchanged a smile and readily agreed. They knew that for these city dwellers, newly arrived, collecting wild produce was indeed a novel experience.

But for these children who grew up in the mountains, this is just an ordinary meal. In previous years, they would also go up the mountain at this time, but now that they work at the chicken farm and have a stable salary and work points, they prefer their current life.

"Lin Yue, you should come along too," Lin Xiuxiu said to Lin Yue beside her. "The temperature has dropped sharply and the chickens aren't running around much. The two of us sisters are enough to take care of things here."

Lin Yue nodded upon hearing this, a bright smile spreading across her face. Although she had grown up in the countryside, the South was very different from the North, and she really wanted to go for a walk in the mountains.

The group of seven chatted and laughed, carrying baskets and sacks on their backs, and set off into the mountains with great enthusiasm. Long Lifan hadn't been up the mountain for several months. She remembered that the last time she came up the mountain was in spring or summer, when wildflowers were in full bloom, trees were lush, and the whole mountain was full of vibrant life.

Now that autumn has arrived and winter is approaching, the leaves on the trees on the mountain are beginning to turn yellow, and many leaves are falling to the ground. Looking around, the scenery is completely different from before. In the mountains and forests, many members of the commune are busy picking up mountain produce. Seeing this, Long Lifan and her group know that there probably won't be much to be gained in the outer areas, so they can only walk deeper into the mountains and forests.

The mountain path was somewhat rugged, but they were not afraid at all; on the contrary, they were full of anticipation. As they walked, they looked up and around, afraid of missing anything.

"Wow, Sister Fan, look over there, isn't that a hazelnut tree? It looks like no one has picked any yet!"

After walking for another ten minutes or so, Hu Lili suddenly pointed excitedly ahead, her eyes sparkling with surprise. Hearing this, everyone looked in the direction she was pointing and saw a thick hazelnut tree standing before them, its trunk so large that it would take an adult to encircle it.

"But how can we knock the hazelnuts down?"

Lin Yue frowned slightly as she gazed at the several-meter-tall hazelnut tree and asked the others for help. Although they had brought harvesting tools, the tree was simply too tall; without climbing it, they couldn't reach the tempting hazelnuts. Clearly, none of the seven girls possessed the skill. For a moment, everyone fell into deep thought, pondering how to reach the hazelnuts on the tree.

Ultimately, having no other option, they could only sigh at the tree, knocking down the few hazelnuts they could reach below before hastily ending their task. But the group was not giving up and continued forward, hoping to find a shorter hazelnut tree.

The group continued their search through the woods, their steps light and full of anticipation. Suddenly, the scattered hazelnuts under a hazelnut tree caught their attention. The freshly picked hazelnuts lay quietly beneath the tree, as if waiting to be discovered.

"Hey, who knocked down these hazelnuts?"

Hu Lili squinted curiously, exchanged glances with her companions, and then looked around. However, it was quiet all around, and she didn't find any trace of anyone.

She looked at everyone in surprise, a strange excitement welling up inside her. "Why don't we pick it up?" she asked tentatively, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.

"Wouldn't this... be a bit inappropriate?" Long Lifan hesitated for a moment. "What if this was captured by someone else and temporarily left here?"

The group stood there waiting for several minutes, but still no one came. There were people everywhere on the mountain; if they didn't pick them up, someone else would. "Fine, let's pick them up first!"

However, as she encountered these scattered fresh hazelnuts repeatedly along the way, Long Lifan couldn't help but feel a growing sense of unease. She frowned, deciding to investigate further. "I'll go check ahead first..." she said, quickening her pace, eager to uncover the secret behind it all.

Those hazelnuts were clearly just knocked down; it was as if someone was always one step ahead of them, having already knocked the fruit down before they even arrived. Long Lifan was filled with confusion and curiosity.

She hadn't walked far when she heard a sound coming from ahead. Looking up, she saw Qi Shishen standing on a tree branch, gripping a long bamboo pole tightly in his hand. With each swing of the pole, countless hazelnuts fell to the ground—that was the source of the hazelnuts!

Seeing that Long Zhiqing had spotted him, Qi Shishen nimbly leaped down from the tree branch, landing steadily. He paused for a moment, seemingly at a loss, but quickly regained his composure, smiled politely at Long Lifan, and greeted her, "Long Zhiqing..."

"You hit all of those below too..." Long Lifan was a little embarrassed. They had been picking them up with great enthusiasm, but now that the person in question was right in front of them, they didn't know what to say.

"How about we share it in half..." Long Lifan tentatively suggested. Although Qi Shishen was the one who picked the fruit, they had put in a lot of effort to pick it up along the way, so it couldn't be said that they hadn't contributed anything!

"Need not…"

Qi Shishen slowly shook his head and said, "I saw you group of female educated youths standing under that tree on that hilltop just now, looking helpless, so I thought I'd come and help. Keep all these fruits; I have plenty at home!"

Upon hearing this, Long Lifan looked up at Qi Shishen. She was surprised to see his usually cold demeanor now displaying such a helpful and noble quality, which warmed her heart. She then said somewhat embarrassedly, "How could I possibly accept this? It would be too much trouble for you."

Qi Shishen chuckled softly, "It's nothing. In fact, I should thank you. Since you came to the countryside, Fangfang's personality has become much more cheerful. She always talks about how good you are to her!"

So it was because of Qi Fangfang. Long Lifan thought to herself: I knew it. Qi Shishen doesn't usually seem like the type to help others willingly.

Long Lifan looked at Qi Shishen, recalling his hunting skills, and considered sending some wild game like pheasants and rabbits home. However, she hesitated, wondering if all the small animals were hiding away for the winter at this time of year. Thinking of this, she couldn't help but ask, "Comrade Qi, how's the hunting going lately?"

Upon hearing this, Qi Shishen was slightly taken aback, then replied, "It's alright, you..." Before he could finish speaking, Long Lifan interrupted him, "Oh, I want to buy some to mail back to my parents. They live in the city, and they might not be able to buy these things even if they want to!" Long Lifan's eyes were full of anticipation.

Qi Shishen looked at her and secretly decided that this had to work! Even if the rabbit hid in a cave, he would still dig it out, after all, this was the first time the girl had taken the initiative to ask him for a favor.