Chapter 13
Autumn is the season of harvest. Even in late autumn and early winter when everything is about to end, nature still has many gifts.
Yunmian sat on the bench holding her small bowl, sniffing the increasingly strong aroma of mushroom soup in the air and swallowing her saliva again and again.
Yun Jin was amused by her daughter's greedy look. When she stood on tiptoe to climb the stove to see if the soup in the pot was boiling, Yun Jin raised her hand and knocked on her smooth forehead, scolding, "It's not ready yet. These mushrooms must be cooked thoroughly before eating, otherwise they will poison people, do you know?"
Even though her mother told her not to, the greedy little Yun Mianmian still stood on tiptoe and tried to look into the pot, asking from time to time if it was ready, and she never got tired of it.
Yun Jin was helpless with her question, so she simply chased the little girl out of the kitchen, letting her bask in the sun and study outside, and not to go into the kitchen unless she was called to eat.
After being kicked out of the house by her mother, Yunmian heard the system uncle say that he was making some study plans and stopped studying for the time being. She squatted at the gate of the courtyard, bored, watching the ants and other small insects on the ground.
From time to time, villagers passing by would greet her, and Yun Mian would greet them back using the name she remembered and a big smile.
It was not until Zhao Xiaoli came running over panting that Yun Mian asked her in confusion why she was running so fast.
"Mianmian." Zhao Xiaoli stopped calling her sister and frowned while panting as she asked her intermittently, "Did my second brother bully you yesterday?"
Yun Mian almost forgot what happened yesterday morning. When Zhao Xiaoli brought it up, she was stunned for only a second and then shook her head at her.
"No."
"No?"
Zhao Xiaoli looked surprised: "But my second brother just told us that you went to study and stole things yesterday morning and were caught by him, but you pretended to be pitiful and deceived the teacher, and even told Yunbo and the others to help him get revenge the next time they see you."
Zhao Xiaoli realized something was wrong when she heard Zhao Yuntao's angry order. In her childhood memory, Yunmian had never gone to school to steal things. What's more, Teacher He said that Yunmian had not stolen anything, but Zhao Yuntao still held a grudge against Yunmian.
It might not be quite right to say that she holds a grudge, after all, children often have trivial disputes and grudges. What Zhao Xiaoli is concerned about is whether Zhao Yuntao will really fight with Yunmian the next time they see her, after saying that.
You have to know that Yunmian is only 5 years old, and Zhao Yuntao is already 7 years old and will soon be 8 years old. He is more than a head taller than Yunmian, not to mention that there are four boys in the Zhao family!
So after Zhao Xiaoli failed to persuade her second brother, she simply ran all the way to find Yunmian.
"Naughty kids are ruthless when they attack. Mianmian, you should stay away from them in the future, otherwise you will definitely suffer." Zhao Xiaoli warned Yunmian worriedly. Besides being worried, she also felt an adult's annoyance and helplessness towards naughty kids.
She didn't think so when she was a child. When she encountered danger or was bullied, she had four older brothers and sisters at home who could rush out to help her get revenge. This was once a happy thing in her childhood memory.
But now that he has lived a new life and faced Zhao Yuntao's tyranny and unreasonableness, he realized that a child with this kind of personality would be extremely annoying to everyone in a few decades.
In particular, Zhao Yuntao not only slandered Yunmian because of his prejudice, but also asked his brothers at home to attack Yunmian, an innocent person. It is simply unreasonable!
After listening to Zhao Xiaoli's irritable mumbling and instructions, Yun Mian's brows were already furrowed.
It’s not that I’m afraid. After all, in my memory, fighting is a common occurrence.
She was just a little worried that she couldn't beat Zhao Xiaoli's two brothers.
Zhao Xiaoli’s grandfather Zhao Guangcheng has four grandsons, the eldest Zhao Yunhai, the second Zhao Yuntao, the third Zhao Yunjiang, and the fourth Zhao Yunbo.
The oldest two are twins, both 7 and almost 8 years old.
The two youngest, Zhao Yunjiang, are 5 years old and Zhao Yunbo, are 3 years old.
Girls in rural areas are not only not allowed to be named according to generation, but they are also not counted in the age ranking of boys, so Zhao Xiaoli and her sisters do not have the word "cloud" in their names.
Neither the mission host Yun Mian nor the body she uses is afraid of fighting. When they get ruthless, they can fight with a dog or fight two at once, like the two little grandsons of the Zhao family.
But if she ran into Zhao Yunhai and Zhao Yuntao... Yun Mian knew without hesitation that she would definitely be beaten.
While Yunmian was thinking about how to fight four people at once and not be at a disadvantage, Zhao Xiaoli smelled the fragrance wafting from the courtyard. Then she saw the smoke coming out of the chimney and realized that she had come at a bad time.
Yunmian’s meal is almost ready.
Zhao Xiaoli pinched Yunmian's ears out of itchiness, left a sentence "Be careful when you meet them next time" and ran away again.
She did not go in to greet Yunjin because that would make it difficult for Yunjin to decide whether to invite her to dinner. People of that era did not have enough food to be hospitable, not to mention that Yunjin was a woman with a child, and her family was one of the poorest in Zhaojiagou.
Not long after Zhao Xiaoli left, Yun Jin's voice was heard from the kitchen calling for dinner.
Smelling the aroma of mushroom soup in the air, Yun Mian instantly forgot all his worries and ran faster than a rabbit with his short legs, thinking only of eating.
After finishing a meal of delicious mushroom soup noodles, Yunmian licked the bottom of the bowl clean before putting it down.
Yunjin boiled some hot water for her daughter to give her a bath. After cleaning up the debris and leaves that had pricked her head and body, she wrapped the smiling little one in a quilt and put her to bed.
"Mom is going to the county tomorrow. Mianmian, don't run around at home. Remember to lock the door if you go out. We'll have lunch at Grandma Peng's house next door. I've already said hello to her today..."
Before going to bed, Yun Jin hugged her daughter and reminded her carefully about tomorrow's matters. Because she had to go to the county town to help Zhao Xiaoli sell ginseng tomorrow, she explained tomorrow's matters clearly in advance.
In order to prevent Yun Mianmian from forgetting her lessons, Yun Jin specifically reminded Yun Mianmian about the round ball uncle who was not a human before closing the door.
The next second after the instructions were given, the door was ruthlessly closed.
The system that was locked outside the door: “…”
The host's mother is really fierce! Not only does she beat the child, she also looks like she wants to beat the system!
It turns out that when the system goes out to perform tasks, it not only has to look after the children and teach them to read, but also has to handle the relationship with the host's family, and protect itself from getting beaten.
When Yunmian got up at dawn, there was still a small bowl of mushroom soup noodles on the kitchen stove, but her mother was gone.
Yunmian sat at the small table in a daze, holding the bowl of noodles that had already lumped together but were still slightly warm.
The system squatted in front of her, watching the child eating with a few bites, without the enthusiasm to lick the bottom of the bowl like yesterday. It couldn't help but ask curiously: "Mianmian, is it unpalatable?"
Yunmian looked at it listlessly, resting her chin on the table and continuing to be in a daze. She answered slowly like a wandering soul: "Mom is not here, Mianmian doesn't want to eat..."
The meal without mom is not delicious at all!
system:"……"
Our host is simply a mama's girl!
But what can it do? It can only accept its fate and coax the child to eat.
After dinner, Yunmian walked out carrying the small bag that her mother had carried yesterday.
Although her mother told her not to run around, Yunmian also wanted to give her mother a surprise.
Yesterday’s mushroom noodle soup was so delicious that she wanted to go to the mountain today to see if she could pick more mushrooms, so that when her mother comes back, she will have something delicious to eat again!
She first went next door to say hello to Grandma Peng who had just woken up, and then Yunmian ran happily with her bag in her hand.
Uncle System said that the mushrooms found in the mountains in the morning before the sun rises are the freshest. Yunmian can't wait to pick a bag full of mushrooms and take it home to surprise her mother.
Yunmian didn't know that today was the first day after the village primary school was closed for holiday, and it was also the day when Zhao Yuntao and his brothers were going to cause trouble for her.
Zhao Xiaoli knew that Aunt Yunjin would go to the county town today to help dispose of the ginseng, so she had been waiting for Yunmian early in the morning. She was sure that Yunmian would not stay at home obediently.
In fact, her guess was very accurate. Because she left home early, she missed the revenge action of Zhao Yuntao's four brothers. Zhao Xiaoli stopped Yunmian from a distance by herself. When she learned that she was going to the mountains to find mushrooms, she happily followed her.
"I just want to see if I can find something to bring back. Otherwise, my third aunt keeps complaining about me not working." Zhao Xiaoli had only been reborn for four or five days, and she was once again having the worries that only children have.
"Then what are you going to use to pretend?" Yun Mian looked down at her empty hands.
Zhao Xiaoli: "...Wait for me a moment, I'll go back and get the basket!"
After saying that, he ran away and soon disappeared.
Yunmian squatted by the roadside waiting, put the bag aside, and stretched out her little hands to pull the yellow and brittle dead grass in front of her.
The system squatted on the roadside with the host, listening to her muttering about how many mushrooms she would pick today, and imagining that she would be able to eat the delicious mushroom stewed chicken that her mother had mentioned last night for every meal in the future.
However, the appearance of a group of uninvited guests interrupted Yunmian's beautiful fantasy of the future.
Zhao Yuntao and his four brothers approached and surrounded Yunmian, while Zhao Yuntao raised his chin proudly and said fiercely: "I have already said that I will beat you every time I see you in the future. If you dare to appear in front of me again, no one can help you this time!"
The brothers Zhao Yuntao and Zhao Yunhai were too tall, so Yunmian couldn't help but take a small step back.
However, this small step was successfully interpreted by Zhao Yuntao as her fear of showing weakness and wanting to escape. Seeing this, he smiled even more arrogantly and reached out to push Yunmian.
Yun Mian stepped back and evaded the attack, clenching his fists and asking the four people in front of him, "Do you want to fight me?"
"Get it clear, we are the ones beating you together! I must teach you a lesson today. Do you know that Teacher He made me copy four large characters yesterday?!" Zhao Yuntao gritted his teeth when he talked about this. It seemed that he wanted to force Yunmian to help him write a hundred large characters.
When the two sides were confronting each other, the system urged Yunmian anxiously: "Mianmian, don't fight them head-on. You are a child and you can't beat them. Let's admit defeat first and fight back when we have the chance in the future."
The system cannot provide any cheat codes to the host. It has no entity, it is just a round ball. It cannot help even if it wants to.
Yun Mian ignored the anxious voice of the system uncle and stared at the two brothers whom she could not beat. The moment they started to move, she also moved instantly.
Taking advantage of the convenience of taking two steps back, she turned around and pounced on Zhao Yunbo, the youngest and closest to her. Before the fist from behind arrived, she bit him hard on the face.
Along with Zhao Yunbo's crying, there were the curses from the three brothers behind her and the punches and kicks she received.
It hurt so much. Every punch and kick that landed on her made Yun Mian want to cry. She even felt like she might be beaten to death by these older kids.
But she was also ruthless. No matter how the three people behind her beat her, she would hold Zhao Yunbo down tightly, biting, scratching, and hitting him. She pursed her lips tightly, holding back her tears and pain, and retaliated against Zhao Yunbo viciously and madly with all the harm.
They pulled her hair, and she pinched Zhao Yunbo hard.
If they kicked her, she would fight to the death to leave a bloody tooth mark on Zhao Yunbo's body.
Every time they hit her, she would desperately inflict damage on Zhao Yunbo.
Amid the chaotic crying and cursing and countless pains, Yun Mian's tears fell, but her eyes were still red and she said nothing. She stubbornly pressed her knees against Zhao Yunbo's stomach, gritting her teeth and looking so fierce that it seemed as if she would drag him down with her even if she died.
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