Reborn in 1985, starting from the mountains of Northwest China

Chen Feng was stunned for a moment. The excitement in his heart was like being doused with a bucket of cold water, and it was extinguished in an instant.

He rummaged around for a bit, and more and more of the bright yellow bamboo shoots were revealed, thick and sturdy, clearly good stuff.

But what he was looking for wasn't winter bamboo shoots, but ginseng.

Chen Feng squatted there, looking at the winter bamboo shoot, and suddenly felt a little ridiculous.

That's true, ginseng isn't that easy to find.

Enough of that. The mark is dead, but the divination is alive.

Even having a general location would be helpful, as this freezing weather isn't a place to linger.

Who knows if the ginseng is really here?

Chen Feng sighed and planned to reach out and dig out the winter bamboo shoot.

Winter bamboo shoots are a precious commodity these days!

In the Northwest during winter, villagers mostly eat pickled cabbage and pickled radishes. Who knows how much these fresh bamboo shoots will fetch?

Chen Feng also hoped to find ginseng.

Since we haven't found it, why keep thinking about it? Ginseng doesn't grow legs; maybe we'll find it next year in some crack in a rock or under a tree root!

As Chen Feng pondered this, he quickly finished digging out the root.

He rummaged around a couple more times, and there was another one.

Judging from this, there must be at least a dozen winter bamboo shoots hidden under the snow, which looks very promising.

The slight disappointment in Chen Feng's heart slowly dissipated.

He squatted there, digging out the seeds one by one.

The dug-up winter bamboo shoots were piled up on the snow, a golden yellow mass.

When he dug up the last tree, he looked around again.

It was all white, there was nothing there.

That ginseng was never found.

Chen Feng stood up, patted the dirt off his hands, and glanced at the red rope on the old oak tree.

The mark is here, so the ginseng must be nearby. But this area is so big, and the snow is so thick; it's impossible for him to find it by himself searching blindly.

We'll have to wait until spring.

We'll come back to look after the snow melts, after the soil is exposed, and after we can see the forest clearly.

At that time, that ginseng won't be able to escape.

He tied the pile of bamboo shoots with a rope, carried it on his shoulder, and strode down the mountain.

As I walked to my doorstep, I saw Lin Xiu's older brother, Lin Bei, squatting by the courtyard wall, playing with his dog.

This dog is a mongrel belonging to the neighbor; it barks at people whenever it sees them.

Several times when Xiaoshan passed by it, the dog would bare its teeth and bark incessantly.

She even scared Xiaoyue to tears.

When I saw it today, it looked completely different.

The dog whimpered and whimpered as Lin Bei teased it, its tail between its legs as it tried to run away but couldn't.

When Chen Feng saw Lin Bei, he paused, and his initial excitement subsided by a third.

Given this person's habit of only showing up when there's a reason, he probably heard about their trip into the mountains yesterday and came running.

As expected.

When Lin Bei saw someone coming, he looked up and immediately took a liking to the bundle of winter bamboo shoots; his eyes lit up instantly.

He stood up, patted the dirt off his bottom, and grinned as he came closer.

They completely forgot the embarrassment of being chased for debts on the second day of the Lunar New Year.

"Hey, brother-in-law, what's this? Bamboo shoots?"

Chen Feng hummed in agreement and continued walking into the courtyard without stopping.

It's best not to make it public that he's carrying a bundle of bamboo shoots at the door right now.

Lin Bei followed behind, his eyes fixed on the bundle of winter bamboo shoots.

"Wow, this is great stuff! Where did you get it in the middle of winter?"

Chen Feng didn't even turn his head: "The back mountain."

Lin Bei chuckled twice, his words tinged with disbelief.

"The back mountain? I've been to that place eight hundred times, how come I've never seen this thing?"

Chen Feng didn't reply. He put the bamboo shoots in the kitchen and turned to leave.

Lin Bei grabbed him.

"Hey, brother-in-law, don't go. Let's talk."

Chen Feng turned around and looked at him.

Lin Bei rubbed his hands together, his face crinkling with laughter.

Lin Bei wanted to just take it, but when he thought about how Chen Feng looked that day, he hesitated.

Anyway, he's a master at being annoying. If hard tactics don't work, he'll try softer ones.

"Um...look how many bamboo shoots you have, you can't eat them all by yourself, could you share a few with me? I'll take them back for your sister-in-law to try."

Chen Feng looked at him without saying a word.

Lin Bei felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze, but he still brazenly persisted.

Lin Qingfeng and the others went out to sunbathe, but he was waiting here specifically!

We can't just wait in vain.

"We're all family. When you first came, I treated you pretty well, didn't I? It's the New Year, what's wrong with giving your older brother a few bamboo shoots?"

Chen Feng smiled.

"Brother, do you want bamboo shoots?"

Lin Bei nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, just a few trees. I won't take them for free, I'll..."

Chen Feng interrupted him: "What if you make up for it later? You'll find another way to compensate later?"

Lin Bei's expression changed.

Chen Feng looked at him, his smile unchanged, but his tone turned cold.

"Big brother, you are Xiuer's big brother, and I have always regarded you as my big brother. I won't say anything unpleasant."

"But these bamboo shoots were dug out of the mountains early in the morning, my feet sinking deep into the snow. You want some? Sure, go dig them yourself tomorrow."

Lin Bei's face turned red.

"Chen Feng, what do you mean? Are you looking down on us?"

Chen Feng shook his head: "It's not that I look down on you."

He also had a headache dealing with this brother-in-law.

He turned to go inside, and Lin Bei cursed behind him.

"Damn it, what's with the attitude? It's just a few rotten bamboo shoots! I don't care! You just wait, one day you'll be begging me!"

Chen Feng paused in his steps.

He turned around and looked at Lin Bei.

Lin Bei took a step back under his gaze, but remained defiant.

"What are you looking at? Did I say something wrong?"

"You outsider, what are you doing acting so arrogantly in our village? You'll regret it sooner or later!"

He was all too familiar with Lin Bei's face; in his previous life, whenever things didn't go his way, Lin Bei would become a rogue and a scoundrel.

In his previous life, Chen Feng endured it all because of his family ties.

When we needed help, this guy was nowhere to be found, enjoying himself!

In this life, if I keep tolerating him, I might as well just find a block of tofu and smash my head against it!

Lin Bei noticed Chen Feng's expression had changed: "You... what do you want to do?"

Chen Feng didn't say anything, walked up to him, and grabbed him by the collar.

Lin Bei struggled for a moment, but couldn't break free.

He felt a little panicked—this Chen Feng used to be a coward, what's wrong with him today?

"Chen Feng, let go! I'm your older brother!"

Chen Feng looked at him and suddenly smiled.

"Big brother? You dare to challenge me?"

He shoved Lin Bei to the ground with a forceful jerk. Lin Bei staggered a few steps and landed hard on his backside in the snow.

The neighbor's dog finally got its chance and ran away with its tail between its legs.

Lin Bei sat in the snow, stunned for a long time before he came to his senses.

"You...you dare hit me?"

Chen Feng squatted down and looked at him.

"I didn't hit you. I just let you sit on the ground and cool off."

Lin Bei's face turned pale and then red. He wanted to curse but didn't dare, and he wanted to fight but couldn't win.

Finally, he got up, brushed the snow off his bottom, and took a few steps back.

"Fine, Chen Feng, you've got it. You just wait!"