Chapter 60: Sound of Water
The bamboo basket was surprisingly snug on Anji’s back when she carried it. Even with her poor stamina, she could easily carry it with the little straps attached to them. It was as if they were tailored for her. The size was big enough but not extremely heavy. The bamboo used was lighter than the ones Lizi used, making them an expensive product. Anji learned that the depth of a pond could never be judged from the surface. Yan Ping was a teacher who took everything as an opportunity to teach, especially outside the classroom. Hence, this must also be some form of test to teach Anji something new.
Following her teacher’s advice, Anji found a patch of herbs that she had seen in Doctor He’s books. Since there wasn’t any seasoning in the kitchen, the herbs would give the food some aroma after they were dried and ground up. Thankfully, she did not need to learn any spells to use the mortar and pestle.
Next, Anji spotted a tree with some plums. Many were still unripe, but the few that were ripe were too tall for her to reach. Anji could climb the tree, but she was afraid her arms might still be too short. Without a weapon, reaching them would be impossible. She looked around on the floor to check if any plums had fallen to the ground but sighed in dismay when there were none. The birds and squirrels must have eaten those already. She might have to revise her chores routine and wake up early tomorrow morning if she wants to have any luck eating fruits.
Following the less dense foliage, Anji found some berries on bushes she could reach. Without wasting time, she hurried over to pick all the ripened berries, leaving the unripe ones on the bushes. The basket wasn’t even a third full by the time she had gathered all the berries she could see. However, only eating berries would not fill her. It would be difficult to forage for food after the sun went down. Hence, Anji decided to continue looking around for wild vegetables.
Further down the path, after ten minutes of stumbling, the small girl found a familiar five-pointed leaf. She immediately recognised what it was. Although Anji was not allowed to do anything in the kitchen, she often observed how the uncle chef cooked. Lizi would explain to her the different ingredients used while she snacked. Anji was very certain that this leaf belonged to sweet potatoes that could only be found beneath the soil.
Apart from a bamboo basket, Anji had no tools to help her dig. Sweet potatoes are buried deeply in the ground, and even if Anji dug with her bare hands, she might not reach them even after the sun went down. Hence, she could only grab onto the leaves.
The leaves covered the berries, shielding them from the sun. The bamboo basket was also half filled with leaves now. This should be enough for today. She would find other things tomorrow. For now, she had to find the pond Yan Ping talked about and follow it to the creek to get twenty pebbles.
After twenty minutes of roaming the forest, Anji realised she must be lost. The path she had taken earlier had completely vanished, and she had no idea where she was. Panic started to set in, but Anji refused to cry. Whenever she was in a hopeless situation, the most important thing to do was to stay calm. Her shifu wasn’t a heartless person. Anji had faith that she would find her if Anji failed to return in two hours.