The filming in the small fishing village wrapped up quickly, mainly because there weren’t that many places that needed to be shot.

They went out to sea, cast some nets, hauled in some fish, went to the tidal flats to dig clams, and cooked all kinds of seafood dishes, and that was pretty much it. As for luxury sea sports like diving or surfing, those didn’t fit the tone of a show about changing lives, so they didn’t film them.

After they finished shooting in the fishing village, everyone naturally set off in a hurry again for another village.

They’d done a fishing village and a grassland already; this third place was a village deep in the mountains. It was another spot the director, Zhang Huijuan, had carefully handpicked—its scenery was breathtakingly beautiful.

Sheer cliffs rising a thousand ren high, clusters of waterfalls, a band of emerald water winding around the mountains, birds singing incessantly in their ears—no amount of words was enough to describe the splendor of these mountains!

What stood in stark contrast to this extreme beauty, though, was how backward and poor this mountain village was. The scenery here was stunning, but the mountain road was so narrow they couldn’t even get vehicles in or out.

When the film crew came to this village, they hired a large number of villagers to carry, by hand, all the equipment they needed for filming into the village.

The people living in this mountain village were very poor. Even though they sat on a mountain rich in resources and didn’t have to worry about food or drink, there was no road to sell what the mountains produced, so their lives were just at the level of not worrying about basic subsistence.

The people here had lived in these mountains for generations. Many went their whole lives without ever seeing the world beyond the mountains, and they didn’t even think about leaving. They just survived here in this village, generation after generation.

Although in recent years the country had been actively implementing policies to help mountain villagers move down the mountains, which had led many mountain villagers to finally come out, it was obvious that the village Wenren Shuangshuang and the others had come to was not one of those.

The houses in this mountain village were quite run-down, and they were all old-style buildings. From a distance they had a certain antique charm, but actually living in them was nowhere near as comfortable as they looked.

The rooms were narrow and dark, and the toilets in particular were pit-style latrines, tiny and dry, with a heavy stench. Flies buzzed around inside, and every now and then you could see a gecko crawl past right in front of you.

On the first day, when she went to the toilet, a gecko fell from above and landed on Su Jie’s body, scaring her into a scream. After that she was like a frightened bird, utterly refusing to go to the toilet again.

When Su Jinjiang saw what a state Su Jie was in, she was even more adamant that she would never in her life use that kind of pit latrine. She made such a fuss that the staff had to prepare a chamber pot for her before she finally calmed down.

Director Zhang Huijuan, as usual, let everyone rest in the village for a day before officially starting to shoot on the second day.

Since it was still early and she had nothing to do, Wenren Shuangshuang asked Su Jie to go out for a walk with her.

Sticking to her principle of not wasting anything, Zhang Huijuan had the cameramen follow along as well. So Wenren Shuangshuang and Su Jie headed out with two cameramen behind them, four people in total.

After spending this period of time together, Wenren Shuangshuang had found that Su Jie had a very good temper and was very easy to get along with. Su Jie also really liked staying by Wenren Shuangshuang’s side.

Su Jie admired Wenren Shuangshuang immensely, always feeling that there was nothing in the world that could stump her. The two of them were friends now, and Su Jie had started calling Wenren Shuangshuang "Sister Shuangshuang."

Every time Su Jie called her Sister Shuangshuang, Wenren Shuangshuang would space out a little. She had gone through so many lifetimes; there had been many people who called her Sister Shuangshuang, and every one of them was someone she cherished.

Yet in the end, all of those people had slipped away one by one in the river of time, leaving only her alone, transcending one world after another, hacking her way through thorns and forging ahead by herself.

Always facing human hearts of mortals, always reincarnating under the influence of the Demon Thought, Shuangshuang often felt lost. She kept moving forward like this, constantly gaining and losing—what meaning did it have, even if she lived for tens of millions of years?

But these frail thoughts were only ever fleeting. She would always remember that she had parents who loved her most, and her parents were strong enough to accompany her for tens of millions of years, to keep walking together.

She also had dear friends who walked the road with her. Even though she and Chang Ge were now at opposite ends of the world, one day they would meet again and continue to walk hand in hand. On this endless Main God road, she had never truly walked alone.

This mountain village was built right on the mountain; the houses were constructed along the slopes, and the whole village followed the contours of the mountain. For many households, not far outside their front door there was a cliff edge.

Outside the door of the house where Wenren Shuangshuang and Su Jie were staying there was just such a low cliff, and below it lay a shallow little river more than ten meters wide. The river water was crystal clear, and you could see lots of pretty pebbles at the bottom.

Wenren Shuangshuang and Su Jie found a place where they could climb down the cliff to the riverside. They rolled up their pant legs and waded into the water, picking out pretty pebbles to take back as keepsakes.

After choosing a few small and pretty pebbles, the two of them stopped; pebbles were heavy, and they wouldn’t be able to carry too many.

Next, they started walking aimlessly along the river. The place was truly beautiful; you could say that with every step they took, what they saw was all scenery.

At the end of the little river was a small path leading up the mountain. Once they went up, they saw that there was actually another crystal-clear mountain stream up there.

The two of them followed the stream, and after only a few steps Wenren Shuangshuang’s eyes lit up. She had spotted a rock in the stream covered with lots of creek snails.

Wenren Shuangshuang quickly walked over and carefully picked these creek snails—about the length and size of sunflower seeds—off the rock. She casually plucked a leaf and placed the snails on it.

Su Jie, beside her, asked in puzzlement, "Sister Shuangshuang, these field snails are so small, there’s hardly any meat. What are you gathering them for?"

Wenren Shuangshuang smiled and beckoned the cameramen behind her to shoot a close-up of the creek snails, then explained to Su Jie, "These aren’t field snails; they’re much cleaner than field snails.

These are creek snails; this is their natural size. Creek snails are good stuff. They’re extremely picky about their living environment: the water has to be running and it has to be a pure, unpolluted mountain stream, otherwise they can’t survive.

Even the tiniest bit of pollution and creek snails won’t be able to live there. And the meat of creek snails is incredibly delicious. You’ll know once I cook them—guaranteed you won’t be able to stop eating.

Since there are so many creek snails here, it shows that this place isn’t polluted at all. It really is a great place to live."

"Such tiny little creek snails, and they have so many requirements. I always thought things like field snails grew up eating mud, filthy as anything. I never expected there to be such picky, clean-loving creek snails."

Su Jie looked at the creek snails on the leaf in Wenren Shuangshuang’s hand, very surprised. But once she heard Wenren Shuangshuang say they were tasty, she immediately bent down and began searching all around for more creek snails.

Good ingredients plus Wenren Shuangshuang’s good cooking—just thinking about it made Su Jie’s mouth water. These creek snails were tiny to begin with, and the amount in Wenren Shuangshuang’s hand wouldn’t even be enough to fill the gap between her teeth.

That night, Wenren Shuangshuang cooked a big basin of stir-fried creek snails. The spicy, rich aroma was so pungent that Su Jie and Xi Shuang, who insisted on watching, couldn’t stop coughing, yet the smell was so enticing that neither of them could bear to leave.

Creek snails are really a snack: put a plate on the table, use a needle to pick out the meat, and they’re perfect for whiling away the time.