Chapter 9
This was not only the first time Yunmian saw ginseng, but also the first time she saw how to dig ginseng.
After confirming that the ginseng obtained with her own luck would have nothing to do with that group of utterly superior relatives, Zhao Xiaoli became extremely enthusiastic in digging ginseng!
This is like the concept of spending your own money on yourself and spending it on your family and relatives. There is a huge difference between them. The mentality and emotions towards this ginseng are also completely different.
Yunmian didn’t know how to dig, so he could only squat beside and watch curiously.
Four-year-old Zhao Xiaoli has very small hands. She struggles to hold the sickle, which is longer than her head, and carefully digs up the soil bit by bit. She holds her breath the whole time, for fear of accidentally breaking even a small ginseng root.
Her movements were gentle and slow, and she took a long time to consider each one. Yun Mian, who was watching from the side, also became nervous unconsciously. At one point she even dared not breathe heavily, and she didn't dare to speak to Zhao Xiaoli, for fear of scaring her and the precious ginseng in her hands.
But fortunately, she has a system uncle who can communicate with her without speaking.
All of Yunmian's curiosity about ginseng turned into questions one after another and bombarded the system.
Why is ginseng called ginseng?
How expensive can ginseng be?
Ginseng is actually a medicinal herb. If it is so powerful, then if she had eaten ginseng when she was sick in her previous life, would she have avoided death?
Is there any other ginseng on this mountain?
…………
The system answered each of her questions patiently and in detail. Yun Mian's curiosity was satisfied, and she calmed down, staring at Zhao Xiaoli's movements without blinking.
Yun Mian didn't remember how long she and Zhao Xiaoli had stayed here. She only knew that they came here in the morning, and when Zhao Xiaoli dug out the ginseng intactly, a faint round moon was hanging in the originally bright sky above their heads.
"I'm a little hungry..." Yunmian touched her empty stomach and asked the protagonist eagerly: "Sister Xiaoli, are we still going to pick wild persimmons?"
Zhao Xiaoli carefully held the ginseng wrapped in layers of tung leaves and sighed helplessly, "It's getting dark now. It's dangerous for two kids like us to go into the mountains. Besides, the wild persimmons are not yet ripe. Let's pick them tomorrow and go home today."
What she said made sense. Yun Mian looked up at the moon in the sky and puffed up her cheeks: "Well, we must go pick wild persimmons tomorrow. Liars are dogs!"
"Is it okay to lie to you that I'm a puppy?" Zhao Xiaoli tilted her aching neck and urged, "Let's get down the mountain quickly. It's getting dark. Maybe our family is looking for us."
It turns out that as a pseudo-child who has lived two lives, Zhao Xiaoli's analysis makes sense.
But her analysis was missing one thing: if you come home late, you will be beaten.
This time, neither of the two children escaped and they met two mothers who were looking for their children with sullen faces and holding thin sticks.
The moment Yunmian saw her mother, she felt her skin tense up all over. She turned her head tremblingly and met Zhao Xiaoli's frightened gaze.
"...You swore this morning that you would not spank me!!!" Yun Mian only had time to accuse her with this one sentence before she ran away spinelessly, leaving Zhao Xiaoli's crying behind her to echo throughout Zhaojiagou, and she ran home with a bunch of tung leaves in her arms as if she was being chased by a ghost.
Yun Jin was so angry at this naughty girl that she laughed. She gritted her teeth and swung the stick in her hand, looking at Li Jiaxiu who was teaching Zhao Xiaoli a lesson. The two mothers exchanged a tacit look with each other, and Yun Jin chased in the direction her girl ran.
If I don't teach Yunmian a lesson today, the little girl won't know why the flowers are so red! !
"No, no! Flowers are not only red, there are also white, yellow and purple..." Yunmian jumped to avoid the stick in her mother's hand, and still had the leisure to correct the mistakes in her mother's words.
Little did she know that it was because she was so good at rebutting that Yun Jin hit her four or five more times with the stick in his hand.
After being beaten, the miserable little Yun Mianmian hid in the quilt sobbing. Even the aroma of chicken soup could not soothe her sad mood and the dull pain in her body.
Mom is so cruel...
She had only been in this world for two days, and she had already been beaten three times by her mother.
Sniffing in grievance, Yun Mian pulled the quilt over her eyes. After wiping away her tears, she shrank back again, then lifted a small corner of the quilt and peeked out secretly.
It was still the familiar dim kerosene lamp. My mother was sitting beside the halo, with her head lowered, gently rubbing her temples with the tip of a needle, and then she continued to mend the worn clothes in her hands skillfully and carefully.
On the small table next to my mother, there was a bowl of steaming stewed chicken, a small bowl of chicken noodle soup, and a bright yellow wild persimmon that looked ripe.
Yun Mian pursed her lips, slowly lifted the quilt covering her body, knelt on the rustling straw under the quilt, and moved slowly to the edge of the bed.
Yun Jin heard the noise and tilted her head to look over under the light. She gave him a cold look and said in a cold tone, "Hurry up and eat. If you dawdle any longer, the noodles will clump together."
"Mom, have you eaten?" Yun Mian held the chopsticks and shamelessly moved slowly to sit next to her mother.
Even though she was hurt by being beaten with a stick by her mother just now, Yunmian still likes to do everything close to her mother. The faint scent of her mother makes her feel at ease.
It is the kind of real sense of security that even if the whole world collapses, her mother will hold her in her arms and hold up a small piece of sky for her.
"I won't wait for you. I've already eaten. The chicken is so delicious. I can eat a few more pieces when you're not at home." Yun Jin said unhappily as she stopped the acupuncture, fearing that the restless little guy would move around and get pricked by the needle.
"Mom lied~" Yun Mian puffed up her cheeks, and the next second she restlessly reached out to touch her mother's belly, and then said firmly: "It's all flat, mom lied to the child, you didn't eat much chicken at all!"
Moreover, she had counted them when she was peeking under the quilt just now. There were four persimmons in the pile under the corner, and with the one on the table, there was no less!
"...You are so smart. Hurry up and eat!" Yun Jin casually pierced the needle in her hand into the bobbin, steadyed her daughter who was staggering, and reached out to bring the bowl to her.
Under her mother's gaze, Yunmian knelt on a small stool, mixed the noodles in the bowl with chopsticks, then picked up a piece of noodles and handed it to her mother's mouth with difficulty: "Feed mom first, ah~"
Yun Jin leaned back to avoid it, but she couldn't stand her daughter who was always pushing her too hard. If she retreated a little, Yun Mian would move forward a lot, not giving her any chance to avoid it, and even pursed her lips and threatened her with an expression that looked like she was about to cry.
"If mommy doesn't eat, Mianmian will just be hungry all the time. Anyway, mommy will starve with me..." Yunmian muttered to herself. When the noodles she picked up with chopsticks didn't fall firmly into the bowl, she picked up more to feed him.
Yunjin had no choice but to eat, but the little girl was still not satisfied. She sat upright at the small table, holding the bowl and urging her to cook a bowl of noodles as well.
"I want my mother to eat with me. Eating alone doesn't taste good at all!" Yun Mian held the bowl and said confidently, as if he would continue to starve if she didn't agree.
Yun Jin wanted the little guy to stop making trouble and eat quickly. But if she spoke a little harshly, Yun Mian's eyes would be filled with tears. Under the dim kerosene light, she looked like a poor little girl who had suffered all kinds of grievances and no one loved her.
As a mother, I would never bear to see my daughter look like this.
Even though I knew she might be pretending to be pitiful.
Yun Jin once again helplessly raised the white flag to her daughter. Under the supervision of the housekeeper Yun Mianmian, she lit the fire again and made herself a small bowl of noodles.
"Mom, eat chicken~"
"Mianmian can't eat too much chicken, because what you eat will replenish what you lack. This little chicken is disobedient and bullies other chickens, so Mianmian can't eat too much!"
"Mom, are you drinking chicken soup? Doesn't the soup in Mianmian's bowl taste better?"
"Mom, Xiaoli found some really precious ginseng today. She asked me to bring it back and she wants you to help sell it secretly~"
After Yunmian said her last words, Yunjin no longer had any appetite.
She put down her bowl and chopsticks, looked at the only crumpled tung tree leaf in the corner that her daughter had brought back, and asked with some doubt: "Is that... filled with ginseng?"
Yunmian nodded affirmatively: "Yes! Sister Xiaoli spent a long time digging with her sickle, otherwise I would have gone home long ago!"
She was still thinking about the innocent beating she had just received, and now her butt was still burning with pain as she sat on the stool.
Yun Jin: “…”
She still had some doubts in her heart. After all, Zhao Xiaoli was one year younger than Yunmian. How could such a young child really know what ginseng was?
Maybe it's just two kids playing house and talking nonsense?
Even though she thought so, even if it was based on a 0.1 percent chance, Yun Jin still stood up, picked up the thickly wrapped tung leaf bag and put it on the table.
Yunmian bit her chopsticks and watched her mother remove the leaves.
As you peel away the layers one by one, you can gradually see the slender roots that are illuminated by the oil lamp with a yellowish color.
Yun Jin's originally agile movements gradually slowed down and became lighter. When she peeled off the last layer, she even held her breathing involuntarily.
"Mom, ginseng looks like small white radish. I don't like eating white radish." Yun Mian shook her legs and broke the silence in the room.
Yun Jin glanced at her innocent daughter, and with trembling fingers she closed the tung leaves layer by layer to wrap the fresh ginseng again.
"Mianmian, don't tell anyone about ginseng from now on, okay?" Yun Jin warned her daughter seriously.
Yunmian tilted her head to look at her mother and nodded in confusion: "I know, sister Xiaoli also told me the same thing. We only told you, mom, and Aunt Jiaxiu hasn't told you yet!"
The little girl held her head high and chest high with pride, showing off that only her mother had this special gift.
Yun Jin listened to her daughter's words and thought a lot about what happened next.
The first person that came to my mind was Zhao Xiaoli. Although she was a clever child, she was smart enough to recognize ginseng seedlings at the age of 4, and to dig out the ginseng intact by herself. She also carefully told her daughter not to tell anyone, and finally asked her daughter to give the ginseng to herself to sell secretly...
Is this something a 4-year-old child can do and think of?
Yun Jin was not sure. She knew that there must be many children in this world who were born smart, but Zhao Xiaoli was a child that she and the villagers had watched grow up, and they had never noticed that she was so smart and cautious.
So she asked her daughter: "Mianmian, did Xiaoli say anything else to you?"
Mom asked carefully. Yunmian thought about it carefully and replied, "She also said that she would give this ginseng to me, saying that after I take it home, you won't have to work so hard anymore."
Speaking of this, Yunmian said expectantly: "Mom, I didn't ask for the ginseng. She found it herself. Mianmian won't take her things~"
She raised her face, looked at her mother with sparkling eyes, waiting for a compliment that would make her happy.
Yun Jin did not disappoint her. She hugged Yun Mian without hesitation and said affirmatively, "Mian Mian did a great job! We don't steal or rob. What belongs to us is ours, and what doesn't belong to us, we don't want it no matter what."
I was praised by my mother!
Yunmian suddenly became excited: "Yeah! I told Xiaoli sister everything, and she apologized to me later and said she would never make such a joke again."
Yun Jin touched her daughter's head encouragingly, used a smile to hide the strange and complicated emotions in her heart, and whispered, "Be good, Mian Mian, continue eating. Mom will take care of the rest."
She didn't know what Zhao Xiaoli's current situation was, so she didn't rashly keep her daughter away from her.
Everything will depend on Zhao Xiaoli's arrival tomorrow. She will naturally be able to tell whether this child is a human or a ghost, and whether he is good or evil.
Yun Jin looked at her daughter who was drinking soup under the light, her eyes softened for a moment, and she put a small piece of chicken into her bowl.
This was the first meat Yunmian had eaten in the past two days. Even though she gave half of it to her mother, she still ate the rest until her belly was round. After drinking the fragrant chicken soup in the bowl, she nestled in her mother's arms contentedly, pestering her and acting coquettishly, saying that her butt hurt from being spanked, or that her stomach hurt from being too full. She used all kinds of excuses but just didn't give her mother a chance to pick up the needle and thread.
After Yunjin cleaned up the dishes, Yunmian sat obediently at the small table and opened the brand new book given by Teacher He with her mother.
The moment the notebook and the pages were opened, the smell of ink penetrated into the nostrils of both people.
Yunmian leaned over and sniffed like a puppy, and excitedly shared with her mother: "It's the smell of books and words!"
Yun Jin also laughed, and with even more solemn and gentle movements than when she had just opened the leaves of the ginseng tung tree, she carefully opened the ink-printed textbook, and her eyes turned slightly red as she looked at the neat handwriting on it.
She hugged her daughter tightly and said in a hoarse voice, "Mianmian, no matter what, even if it costs my life, I will definitely send you to school."
Only by studying can one have the opportunity to get out of the impoverished Zhaojiagou and see a wider world.
Instead of living a life like her, whose end can be seen at a glance, and perhaps never stepping out of Zhaojiagou again in her entire life.
Yunmian sniffed the reassuring scent coming from her mother, reached out and gently hugged her mother back, patting her waist with her little hands soothingly.
She will definitely become a very powerful person in the future, and then protect her mother and no longer let her suffer so much.
Yunmian has been extremely certain of this since the moment she came here and learned of the fate of herself and her mother.
Her mother worked hard to send her to school, so she was willing to work hard to grow up to be what her mother wanted her to be.
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