"Xia Xia!"
Hearing Sangsang's surprised voice, Lin Yi stood up and ran out of the kitchen. The rain was so loud that Ningxia took off her raincoat under the eaves before being discovered by Sangsang.
"Why didn't you lock the door?" Ningxia readily handed the backpack to Lin Yi.
Lin Yi was stunned and scratched his head. "I took Sangsang out to cut some grass to feed Maomao, but I forgot when I came back..."
"Remember to lock the door next time." Ningxia instructed solemnly.
"I remember, Sister Xia Xia, why did you come back so early today?"
Ningxia took the hot water Sangsang handed her and took a deep swig before collapsing on the sofa. "Isn't the backpack full? I was thinking of coming back early to make some mushroom soup for you guys."
Ningxia was incredibly happy. The wild mushrooms in the pine forest were like free mushrooms. There was no telling how many had grown since the heavy rain. She had only been out for half a day and her backpack was already full, a full 40 pounds. The ecology was truly improved. Even before the disaster, even a day spent wandering the mountains might not have yielded this many.
Lin Yi looked at Ningxia again and again, and only when he was sure that her face looked normal, without any flushing or paleness, did he slowly breathe a sigh of relief.
Ningxia took a short break and then picked up a small pile of mushrooms she had just picked and went to the kitchen, leaving Lin Yi to clean up the rest.
In the kitchen, a large basin of bamboo shoots, peeled and cooked by Lin Yi, was already soaking in cold water, waiting to be drained and dried in the sun after the rain stopped. Ningxia smiled. It was such a great feeling to have a child who was both easy to take care of and sensible.
For Ningxia, wild mushrooms are about eating them with their original taste. She didn't add any other ingredients, just a few cloves of garlic and a handful of chopped green onions, and boiled a big pot of steaming mushroom soup.
“Dinner is ready!”
Sangsang hurried to the dining table and sat down, her little feet swinging constantly. Mushrooms, mushrooms! She could finally taste the flavor of mushrooms!
Lin Yi also cleaned up the mess in the living room, took the mushrooms to the open space in the attic and spread them out to dry before sitting at the dining table.
Sangsang lifted her bowl, took a sip, frowned, and then looked at Lin Yi. Lin Yi, as usual, wolfed down his food, the white mist from the bowl covering his face. Sangsang turned to look at Xia Xia, only to see Ning Xia lift her bowl and take a sip. Her brows relaxed, she sighed, paused for two seconds, and then lifted her bowl again, repeating the cycle. Sangsang looked back and forth between her own bowl and Xia Xia's with suspicion. Unconvinced, she lifted her bowl again and took a small sip. Her delicate eyebrows furrowed again, and she looked at Ning Xia again with wide eyes. Ning Xia still looked as if she was enjoying the food, but Sangsang's suspicion deepened.
The girl's constant scrutiny was too obvious, and Ningxia laughed: "What are you doing? Don't you like drinking?"
"I love... I love drinking... but..." Sangsang frowned.
Ningxia chuckled. This was the first time she'd seen anything Sangsang didn't like. Her two cats—no, including Maomao, there were three of them—were each easier to feed than the last. They'd eat whatever they were given, without even having their own preferences. Lin Yi, for example, had Maomao distinguish between favorite and average-tasting forage. Sangsang was the same, preferring sweet or crunchy foods. Lin Yi, on the other hand, would eat anything he was given, finding everything delicious.
"Then don't eat this. I'll scoop two spoonfuls of jam for you to dip in the pancake later, okay?"
Sangsang's eyes lit up, and he grinned, "Thank you, Xia Xia!"
Even so, she didn't listen to Ningxia's words and put down her bowl. Instead, she drank the soup mouthful after mouthful, then picked up the few mushrooms in it and ate them all. The smooth and tender taste wasn't that unacceptable, but she just didn't like it. Her brother had taught her many times not to waste food, and she remembered it. Besides, this was Xiaxia's hard-earned food, so she was willing to drink it all.
Ningxia watched as the siblings, after dinner, diligently cleared the table and washed the dishes. Even the younger Sangsang helped her brother clean up before sitting on the sofa to play with his dinosaur. Ningxia sat on the sofa, watching the siblings attentively wait on her, her eyes filled with warmth that spread throughout her body.
"Sister Xia Xia! Are you still going out?" It was already evening of the next day. Lin Yi helped pour out the mushrooms from Ningxia's backpack and looked at Ningxia in confusion as she put the mushrooms back into the basket.
Ningxia's eyes lit up: "There are still a lot of them in the woods. I'll carry them back, otherwise they will all get damaged by the rain!" After saying that, without waiting for Lin Yi's reaction, he turned around and rushed into the rain.
Today, she was incredibly lucky. She found a dense patch of mushrooms. Perhaps because the pine needles were thicker, fewer mushrooms had been damaged by the rain. Cluster after cluster of large mushrooms covered the ground. Except for a few inedible ones, Ningxia gathered a large pile without even moving the ground. She ignored her fatigue and only wanted to carry them home quickly.
Lin Yi sighed and sat down to skillfully clean up a pile of mushrooms on the ground. He just saw that Sister Xia Xia's hair was soaked, and he went out without even having time to drink a sip of water.
Sangsang wanted to come over to help, but Lin Yi casually glanced at her homework book. The little girl sat back at the table with a pout, and continued to write lazily with the pen in her hand.
After Lin Yi had sorted most of the mushrooms, Ningxia finally returned home. Not only did she carry a backpack full of mushrooms, she even took off her raincoat and put it in the bag. She looked like she had just been pulled out of the water.
"Sister Xia Xia! Why did you take off your raincoat?"
Ningxia smiled nonchalantly, "It's okay, it's already wet anyway."
Lin Yi quickly went into the house and took out a towel: "Sister Xia Xia, don't do it anymore. Go change your wet clothes. There's hot water in the pot. I'll make you a cup of patchouli tea."
The two children surrounded her worriedly, so Ningxia had to put down the mushrooms in her hand and go to wash them.
She was completely soaked, even the old man's vest was soaked. Ningxia washed herself carelessly. By noon, she was almost soaked. After half a day of rain and squatting to dig mushrooms, she was exhausted. After sneezing several times, Ningxia wiped her hair and went out.
Lin Yi refused to let her help with the cleaning, so Ningxia had no choice but to sit on the sofa, holding a cup of hot water. Sangsang walked around behind her and gently wiped her wet hair. The long-lost comfort on her scalp, coupled with her extreme exhaustion, made Ningxia close her eyes unconsciously and fall into a deep sleep.
"Sister Xia Xia? Sister Xia Xia?"
When she woke up again, it was already late at night. Ningxia was woken up by Lin Yi. A blanket was covered on her without her knowing when. Sangsang was holding a candle. The worry on the faces of the brother and sister could not be hidden.
"Sister Xia Xia, the mushrooms have been sorted and sent upstairs to dry. Drink some hot water and go to bed."
Ningxia shook her dizzy head, took the cup of water and took a big gulp before she came to her senses: "Have you sorted out all these things?" She had brought back more than a hundred pounds today.
Lin Yi nodded, "Sister Xia Xia, let's go back to the room. Go to bed and have a good sleep."
Ningxia nodded, feeling her temples bulging and a little swollen. She thought it would be fine after a good night's sleep.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com