Chapter 8
When they got home, Yun Mian cleverly pulled Zhao Xiaoli and ran out while her mother was still stunned and speechless by the books she brought back.
While running, he shouted, "Mom, let's go to the mountain over there to pick persimmons~"
Zhao Xiaoli ran all the way to the foot of the mountain, panting hard. She held Yun Mian's arm and breathed heavily: "Why are you running? Aunt Yun Jin doesn't eat people..."
Yunmian put her hands on her hips and said, "My mother doesn't eat people, but she beats children!"
Zhao Xiaoli: “…”
Well, it's time to run quickly.
"Let's rest for a while before going up the mountain. I can't walk anymore." She pulled Yunmian forcefully and made her sit down in a pile of hay. Her butt sat down, startling many jumping grasshoppers and springtails.
The two kids sat there with their legs spread out, chatting about random things.
"I just saw Aunt Yunjin plucking chicken feathers. Is there a good day for your family today?" Zhao Xiaoli tilted her head and asked Yunmian, her tone revealing curiosity.
She was still a little greedy. After all, she hadn't even had an egg to eat since she was reborn. All the meat and eggs, distributed by her grandmother, belonged to the men and boys in the family. There was no share for a debt collector like her.
Yun Mian subconsciously covered her ears when she heard this, and then said guiltily: "I don't know, maybe mom is too hungry~"
Zhao Xiaoli looked at her speechlessly, with the same words written all over her face: Do you think I believe it?
Yun Mian silently looked away and learned to change the subject without any instruction: "Have you rested well? Let's go up the mountain!"
Therefore, Zhao Xiaoli became even more certain that the death of the chicken was most likely 80 to 90 percent related to Yunmian.
Maybe Yunmian was greedy and kept pestering and begging Aunt Yunjin to kill the chicken!
Thinking of this, Zhao Xiaoli couldn't help but feel a little more envious of Yun Mian.
"It's great that you are the only child in your family..." She held her chubby cheeks with her small hands, puffing her cheeks with envy and melancholy in her eyes.
Yunmian looked back at her in surprise: "What are you talking about? What will happen to my mother if there is another child?"
It was already very hard for her mother to raise her alone, Yunmian was reluctant to let her mother raise another child, although this was not something she could decide...
"I'm wrong." Zhao Xiaoli shook her head and said again: "I should envy you for not having any brothers or sisters. This way, there is no preference for boys over girls. That's great!"
In her previous life, even though her parents separated from the entire family, and even though her parents still loved her very much, but... it would have been better if they hadn't risked their lives to give her a younger brother.
When it comes to favoring boys over girls, Yunmian has some understanding of it.
She leaned close to Zhao Xiaoli's ear and whispered in a low voice: "I went to school today and found that all the students in the class were boys, not a single girl. It's so strange!"
Maybe it was because of the whispering atmosphere that Yunmian had unintentionally created, but Zhao Xiaoli also lowered her voice and answered, "Because they only like boys and don't like girls. They think girls are all money-losing goods and will get married when they grow up. They are not considered family members."
"My mother doesn't think so." Yunmian raised her chin proudly: "My mother said that I am her treasure! No matter how much money I give, I can't be replaced!"
Zhao Xiaoli looked at Yunmian's boasting and raised her chin angrily: "My mother loves me too! I am also my mother's baby!!"
Yun Mian found a big rock to step on, trying to be taller than Zhao Xiaoli, then put her hands on her hips and announced: "My mom saved money to send me to school! I will definitely become a very powerful person in the future, not a money-loser!"
Zhao Xiaoli was not convinced and climbed up the stone with both hands and feet. She also stood with her hands on her hips in the same aggressive manner: "My mother will also let me go to school! I will become an amazing person in the future. No one can compare to me, not even my own brother!!"
Yun Mian tilted her head in confusion: "But you don't have a brother?"
The only person on Yunmian's list of people to fight was her cousin Zhao Yunhai.
The momentum that Zhao Xiaoli had been building up with great difficulty was interrupted by her. After holding it in for a long time, she glared at her angrily and said, "You don't understand. Anyway, I will definitely have an annoying brother in the future!"
"How do you know that?"
Yun Mian was extremely curious. Even though Zhao Xiaoli didn't want to talk to her anymore, she couldn't help but ask again and again during the rest of the climb.
"What's your brother's name?"
"Why is he so annoying? Did he secretly eat your eggs? Or did he secretly crush your chickens to death?"
"Doesn't your mother beat him? My mother pulled my ears and said she would break my legs!"
"Xiao Li Xiao Li, do you know who my brother is? You have a brother, so I should have one too, right?"
"Little Li, are all the little brothers in the world annoying? Then why do people have little brothers?"
Zhao Xiaoli: “…”
Is the village tyrant actually a spirit of One Hundred Thousand Whys? !
She almost doesn’t recognize the word “brother” anymore!!
Also, Yun Mianmian, did you accidentally reveal something strange? Is this the reason why your chicken died? Your mother is so kind that she didn't tear your ears or break your legs!!!
Fortunately, after all the noise along the way, we finally arrived at the place where we encountered ginseng yesterday.
It is still growing there, as if it had always taken root here since it was a seed.
But Zhao Xiaoli knew very well that in her previous life, she had never encountered this ginseng on this mountain.
Even though she was young and didn't know it at that time, after she brought a ginseng back home, everyone in Zhaojiagou wanted to see if they could dig up another ginseng. They searched almost all the nearby hills. If this ginseng was really here, it would not have been ignored in its previous life.
"Sister Xiaoli, why are you in a daze again?" Yun Mian stretched out his hand and waved it in front of her eyes.
When Zhao Xiaoli came to her senses and squatted down to carefully dig the soil with a sickle, Yun Mian curiously asked the system squatting on her shoulder: "Uncle, why is the protagonist's sister always in a daze? She doesn't seem very happy."
Ginseng is obviously edible, so why does the protagonist's sister have such a strange expression?
Yun Mian couldn't figure out what Zhao Xiaoli's complex expression represented, but she was sure that among all those expressions, happiness was not one of them.
Instead, it was more like... the fear I had when I accidentally crushed a chicken to death in the morning and was afraid that my mother would hit me with a stick and break its legs.
The system was surprised at Yunmian's sharpness. After flying around Zhao Xiaoli, it answered its host: "Perhaps this ginseng is not what she wants."
After all, it is something that is obtained by consuming one's own luck. Luck is difficult to increase. One point consumed means one point less. I'm afraid no one would be too happy after knowing the truth, right?
But after getting the answer, Yun Mian became even more confused. She simply squatted in front of the silent Zhao Xiaoli and reached out to grab the other's wrist holding the sickle.
The excavation was stopped, and Zhao Xiaoli looked up at Yunmian in a daze.
Yun Mian looked at the dazed Zhao Xiaoli and couldn't help but frown like Teacher He. Then she asked Zhao Xiaoli, "If you don't want it, why did you dig it? It makes you so unhappy."
Zhao Xiaoli looked at Yunmian with a strange look, and after a long while she asked her in a tone that sounded like she was crying and laughing: "Do you know what ginseng is?"
Yunmian shook his head honestly.
Zhao Xiaoli said, "Ginseng is very, very expensive, so expensive that even if we sell it, we can't afford it. If I take it back and sell it, I will have a lot of money, so I can go to school, eat eggs every day, and buy many things that I couldn't afford before."
As she described, Yunmian was gradually stunned. After a while, she asked her in a daze: "Then why are you still unhappy?"
She felt that the inconspicuous green seedling at her feet was glowing brightly. If she also had a ginseng, she would be so happy that she would grow wings and fly!
"…What are you happy about?" Zhao Xiaoli's eyes looked mature, unlike a child. She laughed sarcastically, "Using my luck to support more than a dozen people in my family? Do you think I should be happy?"
Yun Mian didn’t understand what the concept of wasting luck meant, but when she thought about it carefully, she also became distressed.
This ginseng was discovered by Zhao Xiaoli. It can be exchanged for a lot of money, but with so much money, it won't be much if more than a dozen people share it.
"Uncle System, I think this seems a bit unfair." Yun Mian couldn't help but worry about Zhao Xiaoli.
The system was silent for a while before asking her, "Don't you think you're thinking too far? This is ginseng, don't you want it?"
Coincidentally, Zhao Xiaoli was also asking Yunmian in an inexplicable tone: "How about I give this ginseng to you? You can take it back to Aunt Yunjin, so that she doesn't have to work so hard every day."
The two voices rang out at almost the same time. The strangely identical arguments were like the devil's seductive whispers, luring greedy people step by step into the trap of falling into the abyss.
But the tempted Yun Mian only looked at Zhao Xiaoli and the system as if they were fools.
"What are you talking about?!" She was even a little angry, frowning and saying in a very serious tone: "This is something you found, I don't even know ginseng! What will you do if you give it to me? Don't you want to go to school? Don't want to eat eggs every day, so go buy what you want?!"
If conditions allowed, Yun Mian would even want to recommend Zhao Xiaoli to go to the psychiatric department of the hospital in her previous life to have her brain checked out.
"Don't you want it? Your mother works so hard every day..."
"My mother won't take it either!" Yun Mian interrupted Zhao Xiaoli angrily: "My mother won't take things from other children. Even if I take the ginseng back, she will make me give it back to you and even spank me!"
Yunmian started to feel aggrieved as she spoke. She covered her butt with tears in her eyes and glared at the dumbfounded Zhao Xiaoli in an accusing manner: "You are so mean! You deliberately caused me to get beaten! You are as mean as Zhao Yuntao. I don't want you to accompany me to pick persimmons. I don't want to play with you anymore in the future!!"
After saying this in a wronged and fierce manner, Yun Mian stood up and left without even looking back.
The system almost didn't catch up with her, and finally landed on her shoulder, but the angry little girl turned her head away and ignored it.
Zhao Xiaoli didn't bother to dig ginseng anymore. She dropped her sickle and chased after them, grabbing Yun Mian's hand and forcing her to stop.
Yun Mian wiped away her tears with her other hand and continued to be angry while sniffing.
Zhao Xiaoli shook her arm weakly and said softly, "Don't be angry, I was just joking with you~"
“……” Yun Mian pushed her away sullenly.
The next second, she was grabbed again. Zhao Xiaoli turned in front of her and looked up at her pitifully: "Sister Mianmian, I was wrong. Don't be angry. I will never play this kind of joke on you again, okay?"
"..." Yun Mian stared at her for two seconds and said in a crying voice: "Swear!"
Zhao Xiaoli immediately raised her hands and swore solemnly: "I swear, I will never joke around again and cause Sister Mianmian to be spanked by Aunt Yunjin! Really, otherwise I will be a puppy!"
Yun Mian felt her sincerity and after hesitating for a second, she burst into laughter: "Okay! I forgive you!"
"Then am I not as bad as Zhao Yuntao?" Zhao Xiaoli asked her hesitantly.
Yunmian continued to nod: "Zhao Yuntao is the worst, I won't compare myself to him!"
"Yeah!" Zhao Xiaoli breathed a sigh of relief, smiled widely, and slandered her second brother without hesitation: "Zhao Yuntao is a big bad guy, we don't play with him. If he bullies you again in the future, I will help you file a complaint and get revenge!!"
With a common enemy, the two children who were just arguing successfully reconciled and went back to squat in front of the ginseng seedling to think hard.
"How about we hide it?" Yun Mian suggested to Zhao Xiaoli: "Hide it somewhere no one knows, so your grandma won't take it and sell it for money."
"...No, if we don't sell it for money, it's useless for us to dig it up now." Zhao Xiaoli actually wanted to say that there would be natural disasters and famine in the future. If there was not enough money and food, she and her parents might starve to death due to her grandmother's harsh treatment.
"Then what should we do? Can't your father just give this to your grandmother? He seems a little stupid!" Yun Mian complained bluntly.
Zhao Xiaoli smiled bitterly: "Yes, he is stupid. Otherwise, why would he work like a slave for that group of people for so many years, and let my mother and I suffer for them?"
Yunmian doesn’t have a father, but seeing Zhao Xiaoli like this, she feels a little fortunate that she doesn’t have a father.
A stupid father will make Mom and Mianmian unhappy and feel wronged.
I don’t even dare to bring such precious ginseng home…
"Why don't I ask my mom to help sell it?" Yun Mian suddenly thought of a good idea: "Mom is an adult, she can do a lot of things that we kids can't do. She will give you the money after she sells the ginseng, and you can give it to your mom and let her hide it secretly, so no one will know!"
The more Yun Mian spoke, the brighter Zhao Xiaoli's eyes became, and in the end she fully realized how feasible this matter was.
She knew very well that given Aunt Yunjin's character, she would never secretly take the ginseng out of greed.
Because before Aunt Yunjin died in her previous life, many gossips said that she was a widow, and that she pretended to make money by sewing clothes, but in fact, she had stolen from many people behind her back. Otherwise, how could she have raised Yunmian to such a big age by herself?
But Aunt Yunjin has never had a quarrel with the villagers. Zhao Xiaoli didn’t understand it before, but after living a lifetime and living it again, she now understood it. Yunjin didn’t refute or argue with those people because of Yunmian.
Yunmian is Yunjin's weak spot and the reason for her tolerance. She doesn't want to get into a fight with anyone, because if the matter gets out of hand, Yunmian will be criticized just like her. She hopes that Yunmian can be an upright person instead of living under the strange and contemptuous eyes of the villagers.
Besides... there are always troubles around a widow. It is not easy for her to support Yunmian alone. If she quarrels with these people with the surname Zhao in Zhaojiagou, she will naturally be at a disadvantage. She can risk everything to quarrel, but what about Yunmian?
Rather than saying that Zhao Xiaoli believed in Yun Jin's character, it would be better to say that Zhao Xiaoli believed that Yun Jin would not rashly provoke someone with the surname Zhao.
What's more, Yunjin plays with Yunmian, and based on her love for Yunmian, she will also show some preference to her daughter's good friend.
Thinking of this, Zhao Xiaoli couldn't help but hug Yunmian in front of her, patted her on the back, and said softly: "Your mother is a very good person, don't worry, I won't let her help in vain!"
Not to mention whether Yunjin's fate of death in two years can be improved, just for now, if Yunjin can help sell the ginseng, Zhao Xiaoli will never let her bear the trouble behind it in vain, and there is reason to give her a commission fee to improve the difficult living standards of Yunjin and her daughter.
It has to be said that Yunmian’s brilliant idea perfectly solved the troubles of both parties, and it can be called a “win-win” situation.
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