"Let's go get the small tray!" Ningxia pulled Sangsang and walked to a relatively open place nearby.
Sangsang was puzzled and raised her little face to ask eagerly, "Xia Xia, what is a small tray?"
Ningxia smiled and touched her face, "Good stuff!"
Not far from the sound of water were clusters of short bushes covered in fruit. After Sangsang asked, Ningxia turned around and saw them. She exclaimed excitedly, "Ah! Groundberries!"
Ningxia squeezed her arm gently and said, "Don't go over there yet. Wait until I come over and beat you with a stick."
The brother and sister only walked over after Ningxia confirmed that there was no problem.
"You can only eat one now to taste it. Let's pick them and go home to wash them before eating." Ningxia gave instructions while picking the two reddest ones he could see and giving one to each of them.
Lin Yi threw it into his mouth without hesitation. The moment the juice burst into his mouth, his eyes lit up and he looked at Ning Xia, "Sister Xia Xia, so sweet!"
Sangsang picked it up and looked at it carefully. The 'small tray' was an oval made up of small crystal dots placed together, with some barely noticeable small hairs attached to it.
The one in Sangsang's hand is bright red. It is crystal clear and beautiful when held up to the light.
After observing it for a while, Sangsang put it in his mouth and savored it carefully, his face full of surprise. His lips were also stained with juice and shiny, and with those few white teeth showing, he was so cute. "It's sweet, Xia Xia, have some too!"
Ningxia also picked one and put it in her mouth. It was indeed sweet. With such a cluster of fruits, she could pick quite a few.
"Actually, it's called a raspberry, but some of the older people here call it 'small trays.' We should pick them all, otherwise they'll just fall to the ground after the season is over and it'll be a waste."
Sangsang nodded repeatedly. She wished more would grow out so she could pick them. How could she possibly think it was too much?
After Ningxia nodded in agreement, Sangsang and Lin Yi also started picking. Each of them held a large leaf folded into a bowl shape in their arms and picked the fruits one by one very carefully.
Ningxia is really happy. I didn’t expect to find such a field of raspberries. Moreover, they are in season, sweet and juicy. After picking them and making them into jam, they can be eaten for a long time. Sangsang will not be short of fruits to eat in the short term.
It took the three of them almost two hours to finish picking the fruits from this row of bushes. In the later stage, Lin Yi was even faster than Ningxia, and Sangsang was like a little fairy, picking each fruit carefully without breaking any.
After a busy day, the three of them harvested nearly 15 kilograms of fruit. Ningxia looked around. This area was relatively empty, with a thorn bush behind it. She took out her crossbow, intending to teach the brother and sister how to use it right there.
Ningxia was rarely patient. She pulled the brother and sister aside and gave them a lecture. As she finished her words, the wooden arrow on the crossbow flew out with a whoosh and hit the center of a leaf on a tree trunk not far ahead. However, the wooden arrow had limited killing power and fell to the ground after shaking twice.
"Wow!" Sangsang exclaimed in a very respectful manner, and Lin Yi also looked at the crossbow in Ningxia's hand with shining eyes.
The brother and sister are not stupid. After trying twice, they can successfully shoot the arrow, but their accuracy still needs practice.
"Let's go home!" Seeing that the time for today's exercise was almost up, Ningxia returned home with the two children, carrying a backpack that was a little higher than the top.
In fact, it just looks exaggerated. Only the raspberries in the bottom half of the frame are a little heavy. The top is full of big leaves, which makes it protrude a bit because it is too fluffy.
Lin Yi also held a bundle of Kochia scoparia in his hand, which he used to make a broom.
Ningxia had originally planned to make do with palm leaves, but unexpectedly found Kochia scoparia! She decisively gave up on the palm leaves and plucked a small bundle of Kochia scoparia to take home. There was no large patch left!
The two wooden brooms in the house, which were like works of art, were now withered and unusable. God knows how much they needed a broom living in such a well-decorated house.
Going down the mountain is much faster than going up. You don’t have to look to see if there is anything you can bring back, and you don’t have to open a new road. Just focus on getting home.
On the way back, Sangsang finally smelled the scent of lavender as he wished, and shook his head excitedly.
After more than an hour, the three of them arrived at the yard.
The two little ones were a little tired, so they sat under the eaves to avoid the sun when they came back. Ningxia went into the house and poured out three large cups of chrysanthemum tea from the thermos. She finished her own cup before taking the other two cups out.
The brother and sister had just gotten used to the taste of honeysuckle and were not yet accustomed to chrysanthemum, but they drank it all under pressure from Ningxia.
Ningxia put the cup away before sitting down. These dried chrysanthemums were exchanged for dried fish at the trading point. When the wild chrysanthemums ripen in October, there's no need to exchange them at the trading point. There are vast expanses of them on the mountain, free for anyone to pick, and maybe even exchange them for some food.
"Do you two want to take a nap?" Ningxia looked at Sangsang who was obviously tired.
The two shook their heads together, and Lin Yi said, "If we go to bed now, we won't be able to sleep at night. It's better to do more things and go to bed early at night."
Ningxia thought about it and realized that it was already late and it might be dark when she woke up, so she didn't try to persuade him any further.
When they were almost done resting, Ningxia took out two basins from the kitchen and placed them under the eaves. She then brought the backpack over and placed it between them. "Pick the raspberries. Put the reddish ones that aren't bruised over here. Don't pick the leaves off the tails. Put the bruised ones or the ones that aren't very red over here. Pick off the leaves on the tails."
The brother and sister nodded in unison, and Ningxia went about her own business with peace of mind.
First, shake out the Kochia scoparia and dry it in the yard. It will be ready to be used as a broom in two days. The cotton that was dried yesterday can also be collected. The odor is gone and it has become more fluffy.
Ningxia took out the bags that had previously contained cotton and put the cotton that had been dried on the ground into the bags. Winter clothes depended on this cotton.
Oh, and the Lingzhi Ningxia that Sangsang brought back is also drying in the corner. I'll wait until the scorching sun is over and see if I can exchange it for something else. Even the smallest mosquito is still meat. The two people under the eaves have almost finished their selection.
Ningxia walked over, picked up the obviously prettier basin, and brought it into the kitchen. She then scooped out some more from a smaller basin, rinsed it with water from the vat under the eaves, and handed it to Lin Yi. "Share it with Sangsang. Eat the rest tomorrow. I'm afraid you'll have diarrhea."
"Sister Xia Xia, don't you want to eat?"
Ningxia heard this and reached into the small basin to grab a handful of food. Only then did Lin Yi turn around and share it with Sangsang. Sangsang took one and he took one, and they ate happily.
Ningxia finished the raspberries in her palm in a few bites, then washed the other, less attractive pot and brought it to the stove in the yard. She stopped Lin Yi who wanted to get up to help, and said, "Eat yours. I don't want to help you here. Take a rest after you finish eating."
"Xia Xia, what are you going to do?" Sangsang asked curiously. She wanted to go to the stove and cling to Ningxia, but Ningxia didn't let her bask in the sun and only let her sit under the eaves.
Ningxia stood under the former grape trellis, which had been removed. Ningxia and Lin Yi picked up stones and built a rectangular stove that could hold two pots. The remaining small round table served as a chopping board.
"I'll make jam for you and your brother." Ningxia replied to Sangsang without even raising her head.
Sangsang was about to ask what jam was when Lin Yi stuffed a raspberry into her mouth and said, "Don't bother Sister Xia Xia. You'll know when I make it."
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