Chapter 3 Treasure Hunting in the Mountains

"Sister Jiaojiao, you finally remembered to come back! You've been gone for three months; I thought you weren't coming back! That you might have settled down at grandma's place!"

Jiaojiao chuckled, poking Xuxu on the forehead with her finger, and said with a smile, "Look at you, little rascal, making up stories about me. The moment I got back, I hurried over to see you,"

Having said that, Jiaojiao's smile faded as she sized up Feng Xuxu, "I heard about it as soon as I got back. Uncle Dahong is gone, and you got sick too. But life has to go on. Don't think too much about it,"

Feng Xuxu, looking into Sister Jiaojiao's concerned eyes, quickly assured her, "Don't worry, Sister Jiaojiao, I'm all better now, for real. I know if I keep moping, my brother will worry, and our parents in heaven will be even more troubled. I'll take good care of myself." Zhang Jiaojiao saw that aside from being a bit thinner, Feng Xuxu seemed normal otherwise, only now she seemed even more cheerful than before.

Then, shifting the topic, she asked, "What were you daydreaming about when I came in?" Jiaojiao asked with a puzzled face. "Sister Jiaojiao, I was thinking of going up the mountain tomorrow to get some fresh air and pick some wild vegetables. The wild vegetables are really tender right now. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water," Xuxu said, smacking her lips after finishing.

Seeing Feng Xuxu's craving face, Jiaojiao laughed and teased, "Look at how greedy you've become. In past years, when we ran out of food, we always went to Spiritual Mountain to forage for wild vegetables. I've never seen you so enthusiastic about it before," Jiaojiao joked.

Jiaojiao could have never imagined that the person in front of her had changed entirely, no longer the timid and indecisive person who couldn't even talk in front of strangers.

Feng Xuxu thought gloomily, it wasn't that she enjoyed eating wild vegetables in the past! When she arrived in this time, the ground was still frozen! There were no wild vegetables to be dug up in the mountains. These past two months, it was pickled vegetables for every meal—her taste buds were practically numb from the blandness! If she didn't switch it up, she worried she'd soon turn into a human pickle herself.

Hearing Sister Jiaojiao teasing her, Feng Xuxu blushed and responded, "Oh come on, I just felt like having some, that's all. During winter, all we had were pickled vegetables and cabbages. We didn't get to eat any green vegetables. If we could have fresh green vegetables in winter, that would surely be a different kind of treat."

Having said this, Feng Xuxu paused, realizing something. That's right, in ancient times, there were no greenhouses. Only high officials and the wealthy had heated rooms to grow vegetables in winter, but ordinary officials couldn't afford to have such luxuries. The cost was too high, not to mention the glazed tiles had to be imported, and specialized personnel needed to maintain the correct temperature in the greenhouses. Too much heat, overwatering, among other issues, often resulted in low survival rates for the vegetables. But she was a professor of Agricultural Science and Biology. She could introduce greenhouse farming to this era. The more she thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. In her previous life, she worked herself to death, dying a natural death, only to wake up in a body with the same name, Feng Xuxu. Perhaps this was fate giving her a chance to achieve greatness here.

Jiaojiao observed Feng Xuxu's face, her eyes gleaming with an idea, then chuckling foolishly to herself. When called, she was unresponsive, confusing Jiaojiao who tentatively touched Feng Xuxu's forehead—no fever. What was it about wild vegetables that made her like this? Could she be going crazy? Yes, that might be possible. Considering this, Jiaojiao resolved that she must accompany Xuxu to Spiritual Mountain tomorrow. What if Feng Xuxu went mad because she couldn't find any wild vegetables?

If Feng Xuxu knew what Jiaojiao was thinking, she would probably slap some sense into her right now. They say there's a generation gap every ten years, but this was more like a thousand-year gap! How can she handle this, seriously?