Chapter 259: Seizing the Original Heroine's Opportunity

She swept her gaze over the area surrounding the tree but still found nothing: who would idly run to such a place? It clearly made no sense.

Since the marker she sought was a crooked-neck tree, this place must hold something unusual; could there be another crooked-neck tree elsewhere?

Unable to figure it out, she let out a heavy sigh, looked up at the sky, and suddenly spotted several large stones standing upright on the cliff edge, no more than ten-odd meters away.

She had already scanned the surroundings with spiritual energy using the crooked-neck tree as the center; if those upright stones over there held no anomalies either, she would have to keep a closer eye on Ding Surong.

After all, the tragedy of their family in the book was inseparable from Ding Surong's handiwork; this time bomb had to be nipped in the bud. Moreover, the book mentioned that the first pot of gold she and Liu Jian Dong made after the Reform and Opening Up came from this very mountain.

It had been merely a passing mention back then, but now that she was here, she would feel not a shred of guilt about seizing the original heroine's opportunity.

She circled the stones once but saw no clue.

Refusing to give up, she released her spiritual energy again and examined the area meticulously; this time she finally made a discovery. Hidden in the narrow gap between two stones lay another stone; without close inspection, one would think they were a single piece.

But Liu Chuxue discovered that the stone had been placed there artificially.

She tried to store the flat stone, which was only ten-odd centimeters wide but about fifty centimeters long, into her space; in front of her appeared a natural stone cave slightly smaller than the stored stone, containing many small bundles wrapped in oil paper.

She did not take them out one by one but directly stored everything into her space; during her earlier spiritual energy scan, she had already known the cave's size and that it held nothing but good things.

After storing everything, she quickly placed the covering stone back in its original position.

She turned and left the place.

After all, these items were likely Ding Surong's first pot of gold for launching her career in her past life; who knows, the shift workers might come looking again soon, so it was best to leave first.

She preferred making a fortune quietly and scheming against people in the shadows.

Her guess proved correct; not long after she left, Ding Surong came to this place again.

She had originally planned to come after work, but as soon as she arrived at the fields, a strange discomfort struck her chest, as if something had detached from her; she felt restless and irritable, so she found an excuse to ask for leave.

Avoiding people, she went straight up the mountain; that sense of urgency made her heart race terribly.

Upon arriving, she searched repeatedly in many places but still could not find that crooked-neck tree; even when she was nearly walking out of that cliff area, she had not found the tree she sought. She felt somewhat discouraged at the moment, thinking she should call home at the commune tomorrow instead.

She even began to doubt whether the information was reliable.

Meanwhile, Liu Chuxue was like a fish entering the sea; she not only found the precious grass that clears the lungs and resolves phlegm, strengthens the spleen and aids digestion, and relaxes tendons and activates blood; the Acanthopanax without stalks that dispels wind and dampness, strengthens the stomach and promotes urination, and clears heat and detoxifies; and the wild soybeans that replenish qi and blood and promote urination; she also caught a pair of Chinese serows. Since they were not yet national second-class protected animals, she stored the pair in her space to let them breed well; perhaps in the future, she could release several more pairs back to benefit the mountain.

Most importantly, she saved a little leopard cat; it was truly adorable, so small that without close inspection, one might mistake it for a house cat.

She had originally planned to bandage its injured hind leg and then release it, but this little creature kept following Liu Chuxue; even when she was preparing to descend the mountain via another path, the leopard cat still followed step by step.

Those two round eyes completely captured Liu Chuxue's heart: "You want to follow me."