Ordinary observers in fast time travel

The next day, Village Chief Li brought back some not-so-good news. This time, the grain requisition did not mandate the handover of rice, millet, or wheat; any wild vegetables or dried goods that could be preserved were eligible for requisition.

However, upon hearing this news, the villagers in the mountains were clearly not happy. Instead, they felt indignant, as if the imperial court was not even leaving them anything to eat.

Village Chief Li sighed, "I understand everyone's situation, but if we can't pay our grain taxes, we'll be conscripted. I don't think anyone wants to die on the battlefield, right?"

“From today onwards, all the young and strong men in the village will go up the mountain together. We’re sure to find something to eat if we venture deeper into the mountains. If we can hunt pheasants and rabbits, we can make them into preserved meat. One pheasant can be worth a bushel of grain.” It was clear that Village Chief Li was doing his best to motivate the villagers.

The villagers in the mountains hesitated upon hearing this. Everyone knew there was food in the mountains, but they were also aware of the dangers there.

"Village chief, what if we encounter a tiger?" A younger man asked, his face showing fear. His wife was pregnant.

"Yes, the deeper you go, the heavier the miasma becomes, and there are also poisonous insects and snakes..."

The villagers started discussing it amongst themselves, their faces full of rejection.

Village Chief Li frowned. "Quiet down! I'm just asking you, if you don't go into the mountains, how will you pay your taxes? Or do you want to be conscripted into the army?"

Everyone immediately fell silent.

"Alright, go back and prepare. Each family must send one person. Meet in half an hour." Village Chief Li issued the notice directly.

While others dared not venture into the mountains, Shi Jia was eager to try; she had long wanted to go into the mountains for a while. However, the dangers were unpredictable, and she had hesitated. Now that she could go into the mountains with the villagers, the danger was halved.

However, Wang Tieshan offered a different perspective. "Sister-in-law, let me go this time. I am the only male!"

“No, it’s true you’re a man, but you’re still a child. I’m the head of the family now,” Shi Jia immediately and sternly refused.

Although she could only use the knowledge that Li Yunniang possessed, she was not Li Yunniang after all. Her courage and level of understanding were incomparable to those of ordinary people.

If we're talking about who among the people going into the mountains would be in danger, it shouldn't be her!
Indeed, as she integrated into this world, Shi Jia's true nature easily overwhelmed that of her client, Li Yunniang.

Hearing his sister-in-law's unyielding words, Wang Tieshan felt a surge of resentment; he was truly useless.

Shi Jia noticed his red eyes and reached out to pat his shoulder. "Don't overthink it. You're only 14 now. In two years, when you're older, you'll be in charge of this family."

Wang Tieshan felt no comfort upon hearing this; instead, he couldn't hold back his tears. "Waaah~ I understand, sister-in-law."

"Okay, good girl!" Shi Jia smiled. "I'm leaving the house to you. Take good care of your sister and nephew!"

"Ok!"

Shi Jia carried a basket and a hoe on his back, wrapped a wood-chopping knife around his waist, and went out the door.

Dashan Village, as its name suggests, is surrounded by mountains on three sides. Moreover, the mountains behind the village are even more interconnected. On weekdays, the villagers of Dashan only venture into the mountains behind the village, and no one ventures into the mountains beyond that.

Meanwhile, the village chief of Dashan Village was leading more than thirty villagers into the back of the mountain.

"Everyone, stay close and watch your step!" Village Chief Li turned to look at the crowd, his gaze lingering on Shi Jia for a couple more seconds. He felt a sense of admiration; no wonder she had managed to escape safely from the north!
Shi Jia didn't care about the village chief's gaze; in fact, she had been watched the whole way. If gazes were nails, she would have been riddled with holes long ago.

As she walked, she looked around at the plants and soon spotted a chestnut tree. Since it was deep winter, the leaves on the tree had long since fallen, and a few thorny buds were hanging sporadically on the branches.

Her gaze drifted downwards, and she soon spotted spiky balls in the sparse grass.

"Village chief, there's a chestnut tree here!" Shi Jia shouted. Since they were all going up the mountain together, Shi Jia had no intention of eating it all by himself!
"What? Where?" Village Chief Li stopped in his tracks and turned around in surprise. "Here, they fell off, there are so many on the ground." Shi Jia pointed, "I just don't know if they're broken."

"Dasheng, Tiezhu, go and see!" Village Chief Li called to his two sons behind him. Indeed, three people had come to their house.

"Yes, Father!" The two strong men walked towards the chestnut tree. Shi Jia also went over.

Soon, two men exclaimed in surprise from the forest, "All the chestnuts are good!" As soon as they heard this, the onlookers rushed forward, and in the blink of an eye, only a mess remained on the ground, not a single chestnut was left.

The villagers, having found the chestnuts, lost their initial panic and excitedly looked at the village chief, "Village chief, let's continue on our way!"

Village Chief Li nodded, about to speak, when Shi Jia spoke up again, "Wait a minute!"

"Hey girl? What's up?" a simple-minded man asked. Everyone else looked over, their brows furrowed with impatience, thinking to themselves, "Women are such a hassle!"

"Village chief, I think I see sweet potatoes!" Shi Jia pointed to a patch of withered vines not far away.

"Sweet potato?" Everyone asked in confusion. What was that?
Village Chief Li frowned. "Madam Li, what kind of sweet potato are you talking about?"

Shi Jia realized that in Dashan Village, they didn't call sweet potatoes "sweet potatoes." "Uh, I don't know what you call them, but they taste very good. They can be used in medicine and made into sweet potato flour. I relied on them to fill my stomach all the way from my exile in Feng County."

Upon hearing this, everyone disregarded what the sweet potato actually was and immediately asked Shi Jia where the item was!

"There!" Shi Jia said as she walked towards the sweet potato vines. The group soon saw a patch of withered sweet potato vines.

"Hey, isn't this yam?"

"Yes, it's yam!"

"So much! We dug up at least a dozen loads!" someone said, then looked at the village chief. "Village chief, how much grain does our village have to pay?"

Village Chief Li said, "Our village has few people, so each household pays two dou, totaling six shi and four dou! If we don't pay rice or millet, we'll add another 30%. That makes it eight shi and six dou!"

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up. If they dug up all the yams in this field, they would have enough to collect for the grain requisition! Maybe each family could even get a few pounds of yams!
"Did you bring a hoe? Hurry up and dig!"

"I brought it!"

"I don't have any, I'll go back and get them now!" someone said, turning to walk back. The village chief quickly stopped him and called a few more people to come with him, "Take more hoes, and call anyone who's free to come too, it would be best if we could dig them up today."

The men readily agreed and soon dashed off into the distance.

Shi Jia, having brought a hoe with him when he went up the mountain, was already parting the grass and digging away. The others, who didn't have hoes, were clearing away the vines, exposing the yam roots, and marking them for easy digging later.

"Hey little sister, why don't you give me the hoe, I'll dig it up?" The honest-looking man walked up to Shi Jia.

Shi Jia looked up at him, noticed the muscles in his arms, thought for a moment, and handed him the hoe, saying, "Then I'll have to trouble you, brother!"

"Hehe, what's so hard about this! It's all thanks to the sharp eyes of the young lady that she found so many yams!" The honest man laughed with satisfaction.

It was a feeling of immense relief! (End of Chapter)