Chapter 125 Xiaoqiu, who must work hard
Around three o'clock in the afternoon, Shi Qiu Shui woke up from her nap and regained her energy. She didn't know where she got a small backpack from. She climbed onto the kang with the small backpack, and pushed Shi Yue, who was still sleeping, with her little hands and shouted.
"Dad, Dad, don't sleep any more. The sun is almost setting. You should get up!"
Shi Yue was woken up by Shi Qiushui and opened his eyes drowsily: "Ah? What time is it now?"
Shi Qiushui pointed to the old-fashioned wall clock and said, "It's past three o'clock!"
Shi Yue plopped back down on the bed, closed his eyes, and said lazily, "I thought it was some other time, but it's only a little after three, it's still early."
Seeing Shi Yue close his eyes and about to fall asleep again, Shi Qiushui anxiously stepped forward and nudged him again: "Hey, Dad, don't sleep!"
She said anxiously, "It's already three o'clock, it's not early at all. If it's any later, the sun will set and we won't be able to go up the mountain! Didn't we agree to go to the mountain to pick chestnuts today?"
Shi Qiu Shui has been looking forward to the chestnut picking activity for a long time!
Shi Yue raised his arms and placed his hands behind his head. He glanced lazily at Shi Qiushui and said, "If we can't go today, then we can go tomorrow. We're not leaving so early tomorrow anyway."
Shi Qiushui shook his head: "No! Tomorrow has plans for tomorrow!"
She said crisply, "Zhao Ran and I have agreed that we will go apple picking tomorrow!"
Shi Yue said, "Hey," and said, "You've packed your schedule pretty tight, huh?"
"So, Dad, get up quickly!" Shi Qiu Shui pulled Shi Yue's arm, trying to pull Shi Yue out of the bed.
Of course, her little strength was not enough to pull up Shi Yue, a tall and strong man, but Shi Yue cooperated and sat up.
Shi Yue: "Okay, okay, okay, I'll get up now and go up the mountain with you, okay?"
Seeing Shi Yue get up, Shi Qiushui cheered happily and walked out of the house happily. As she walked, she shouted: "Grandma Lu, Grandma Zhao, my dad is hungry. My dad is finally up. We can get ready to go!"
Shi Yue: ...
Shi Qiu Shui skipped out to call for help. Shi Yue got down from the kang a little later than her. By the time Shi Yue put on his shoes, tidied himself up, and came out of the guest room, everyone in the courtyard was already ready to go up the mountain.
Seeing Uncle Zhao and Aunt Zhao wearing gloves and carrying backpacks, fully prepared to go up the mountain, Shi Yue felt a little embarrassed. He strode forward and asked, "Uncle Zhao, is there anything I can help you with? Is there anything else you need? Let me get it for you."
Master Zhao waved his hand: "No, no, Shi Yue, please stop working. There is nothing else to take."
If he went up the mountain to work by himself, he would have to take some tools with him, but today he was taking Shi Yue and the others to play in the mountain, so there was no need to bring those things.
Seeing that there was nothing else to take, Shi Yue's eyes fell on the backpack on Mr. Zhao Erye: "Then let me help you carry this."
As he said this, he was about to take the backpack off Mr. Zhao.
Master Zhao: "No, no, this thing isn't that heavy, I can carry it myself."
Shi Yue: "Let me carry it for you."
"Oh, no, no, really." Mr. Zhao refused for a long time, but when he saw that he couldn't refuse, he could only take the backpack off his shoulders and give it to Shi Yue.
"Hey, you're really... it's just a backpack, it's really not heavy, it doesn't matter who carries it up the mountain..."
Mr. Zhao kept muttering. Aunt Zhao, who was standing by, heard him and elbowed him: "You're the one who talks too much, aren't you? When they were little, they were willing to help you carry your things up the mountain. Isn't that a good thing? Why do you keep mumbling? If you have the energy to nag, why don't you just take the basket from me? You're empty-handed, but I still have something in my hand."
Mr. Zhao smiled ingratiatingly at his wife and quickly took the basket from her hand.
"Hey, I'll take it. Old lady, let me help you."
Aunt Zhao glanced at Mr. Zhao and said to the people in the courtyard who were already prepared, "Let's go!"
After saying that, she took the lead and led everyone out of the yard.
Uncle Zhao and Aunt Zhao, plus Old Man Zhao's family of five, and Shi Yue and Shi Qiu Shui, father and daughter, made a total of nine people. It was quite conspicuous for nine people to go out to the mountains together. On the way, they met several people from Uncle Zhao's village. They all asked curiously what the family was going to do.
After knowing that Mr. Zhao was going to take his relatives from the city to the mountains to pick chestnuts for fun, everyone didn't say anything but was grumbling in their hearts.
These city people are really strange. There are so many fun things to do in the city, but they come to their country for the sake of picking chestnuts? What's so fun about picking chestnuts?
Little did they know that for Shi Qiu Shui and Zhao Ran, who had never been to the countryside, picking chestnuts in the mountains was simply too much fun!
On the way up the mountain, Shi Qiu Shui hummed "The Little Girl Picking Mushrooms" while looking at the plants on both sides of the road with bright eyes and curiosity.
She would occasionally ask Shi Yue questions.
"Dad, what is this? Can I eat it? The fruit on it looks like grapes. It seems delicious."
"Dad, Dad, what is this? What is this? Why does it have thorns?"
"Oh, Daddy, Daddy, there are bugs! There are bugs! Bugs are flying towards me!"
Shi Yue: "My girl, wait and don't move. Daddy will help you kill the bugs."
Shi Qiushui pouted and cried, "Uh-huh, Dad, please help me get rid of it."
She closed her eyes, raised the hand where the insect landed, and waited for Shi Yue's move.
Shi Yue held his breath and approached Shi Qiu Shui little by little. He raised his hand and slapped the big bug on Shi Qiu Shui's arm.
"Okay, okay, the bug is dead. Don't be afraid, Xiaoqiu."
Shi Qiushui raised one eyelid and asked uncertainly, "Dad, are the bugs killed?"
Shi Yue: "Beat him to death."
"call--"
Shi Qiu Shui let out a long sigh of relief.
Shi Yue looked at her like this and said with a smile: "How about it, do you still think going up the mountain is fun?"
Shi Qiushui thought about it and nodded: "It's fun."
Although insects are annoying, the mountain is still fun. As she walked up, she saw many plants that she had never heard of before!
Shi Qiu Shui was only indifferent for a short while because the insects wilted, but when she reached the mountain and Mr. Zhao announced that they had arrived, she became excited again.
She dragged Zhao Ran along, like a puppy out of a cage, and rushed to the base of a lush chestnut tree. She raised her head and stared at the fruit at the end of the chestnut tree branch. She was stunned for a moment, then her eyes widened and she said in shock, "This, this is a chestnut tree?"
Shi Yue stood aside with his arms folded and said, "Yes, this is the chestnut tree."
Shi Qiushui: "Dad, you didn't lie to me, okay?"
Shi Yue sneered and said, "Why would I lie to you about this?"
Shi Qiushui frowned: "But, I don't see where Li Zi is?"
Shi Yue stretched out a hand, pointed at the green fruit covered with thorns like a hedgehog hanging at the end of the branch, and said, "Look, isn't the chestnut right here?"
Shi Qiushui: "Is this a chestnut?!"
She stared, gesturing with her hands and said, "But the chestnuts I ate before didn't look like this. The chestnuts I ate before were only about this big, round, brown, and had a slippery skin."
"Hahaha." Hearing Shi Qiu Shui's words, Master Zhao laughed and picked a thorny little ball of hair from the tree with his gloved hands. He threw the ball of hair to the ground, stepped on the shell with his feet, and a large and plump chestnut was squeezed out.
Shi Qiushui: "Wow! It's chestnuts!"
She was so surprised that she stared at Mr. Zhao with her big round eyes and said in shock, "So chestnuts grow in here."
Master Zhao: "Hahaha, yes, chestnuts grow in here."
Before she knew the small balls of hair on the tree were chestnuts, Shi Qiushui thought they were scary because of their numerous and sharp thorns. But after she knew they were chestnuts, she looked at these small balls of hair and thought they were pretty and charming.
They are so cute, one by one, green and lush.
She no longer found the little spikes scary.
Those thorns are to protect the chestnut fruits inside from being stolen by other animals, but they are so prickly!
Shi Qiushui stared at the little ball of fur for a while, then said to Mr. Zhao with great interest, "Grandpa Zhao, I want to pick chestnuts too, is that okay?"
Mr. Zhao: "Picking chestnuts from the tree?"
"Hmm!" Shi Qiushui looked at Mr. Zhao with anticipation.
Master Zhao: "Oh, you can't pick it then."
He was afraid that Shi Qiushui would misunderstand, so he explained, "It's not that I don't want you to pick them, it's just that the chestnuts on this tree aren't fully ripe yet, so they're hard to pick. If I hadn't wanted to show you that these were chestnuts, I wouldn't have picked them from the tree. We either cut them with pruning shears, take them home to dry, and then peel them, or we just pick up the ones that have fallen on the ground."
As he spoke, he picked up a slightly yellowed ball of hair from the ground, and broke it apart along the crack in the middle of the ball. He broke open the outer shell of the ball, and the chestnut fruit inside leaked out.
Shi Qiushui: "That's right!"
Shi Yue tapped Shi Qiushui's forehead and said, "My dear, now you know why everyone says we're picking chestnuts instead of picking them, right?"
Shi Qiushui nodded heavily and said, "I understand!"
She raised her arms and said, "Let's go pick chestnuts now! Go ahead, pick chestnuts!"
Since she can't pick chestnuts, she might as well pick chestnuts!
Shi Qiu Shui kicked her legs and was about to pick up chestnuts, but before she could rush out, she was grabbed by Shi Yue.
Shi Yue: "Wait a minute, are you wearing gloves? You're going to pick chestnuts. You're not afraid of pricking your hands, are you? Don't think your Grandpa Zhao just made it easy. The thorns on the outside of the chestnut shells are really painful. Even your delicate hands would be unbearable if they were pricked."
"Hehe." Shi Qiu Shui blinked her eyes and returned to Shi Yue obediently. She actually forgot to wear gloves.
Shi Yue: "Wait here. I'll go find Mr. Zhao and ask him if he has extra gloves."
Shi Qiu Shui nodded and stood there waiting obediently.
Mr. Zhao had made all the necessary preparations before going up the mountain. He brought extra gloves, of course. He took out a pile of thread gloves and said, "Anyone who wants to pick chestnuts, come and get some."
Shi Qiushui was the first to raise her hand. She jumped up and shouted, "Me! I want gloves, Grandpa Zhao, Grandpa Zhao, I want gloves."
Shi Yue: "Okay, girl, stop yelling. I'll get you some gloves."
Shi Qiushui: "Hey, thank you, Dad~"
She thanked him sweetly, put on her gloves, and pounced on the fur-covered ground to start picking chestnuts.
I demonstrated with my strength what it means to use it and then throw it away.
Shi Yue: ...
He smiled, put on gloves, and joined the group of people picking chestnuts.
Zhao Ran also took a pair of gloves from Mr. Zhao Er and joined the father and daughter's team.
Although he still had no expression on his face as usual, everyone present could see that Zhao Ran was very interested in the activity of picking chestnuts.
Aunt Lu was stunned. She had never seen her grandson so interested in anything.
She stroked her chin and pondered. Could it be that her grandson was not uninterested in anything, but that she had always lived in the city and therefore had not discovered his interests and hobbies?
So should she send her grandson to live in the countryside for a while?
What if you can develop other interests and hobbies?
But she changed her mind and gave up the idea. After all, Zhao Ran was still in school. She couldn't let him drop out of school and come to the countryside to farm, right?
Aunt Lu shook her head, feeling that she was just desperate and trying every possible means.
"Old woman, old woman!"
At this time, Uncle Zhao called out to Aunt Lu, which actually called Aunt Lu out of her thoughts. She looked at Uncle Zhao and said, "What's the matter, old man? Why did you call me?"
Uncle Zhao came to Aunt Lu with a handful of bright red fruits in his hands, and said with a treasure: "Look what I found! Mountain red!"
He picked up one and put it into his wife's mouth, saying, "I just tasted one. This mountain red is sour and sweet. It's delicious. You should try it too."
Shanlihong is actually hawthorn, which is sold in the market. Old Zhao has bought it several times because he heard in the newspaper that eating it can prevent cardiovascular disease. But he has had bad luck. The first few times he bought it, it tasted sour and burnt, making it inedible. Today, he finally found one that was just right, and he immediately brought it to his wife with eager eyes.
Aunt Lu sighed and said, "I thought it was nothing, just some mountain sorrel. Why are you so..."
She paused, smacked her lips, and said, "Hey, you know what, this hawthorn is quite delicious, sour and sweet, with a hawthorn flavor."
Old Zhao: "Yeah, I said it was delicious."
Aunt Lu: "Not bad, give me a few more so I can try them and see if they all taste the same."
Old Zhao poured all the hawthorns in his hand to her and said, "If you want to eat them, just say you want to eat them. Why bother asking about tasting them?"
Aunt Lu pursed her lips, her anger already building. Old Zhao's desire to survive took over, and he rubbed the back of his head and said, "Well, you eat this first, and I'll pick some more for you."
After saying that, he slipped away with a flick of the slippery surface, and when he slipped away, he also took Zhao Hui with him. His excuse was that he was old, his arms and legs were not flexible, and it was not easy for him to pick mountain reds, so he had to let Zhao Hui go with him to help.
Zhao Hui, who was originally happily peeling chestnuts with his wife: ...
Dad, you made my wife run away because of you, why are you pulling me? I am doing fine with my wife!
After a busy day, Shi Qiushui and Zhao Ran had both collected a full basket of chestnuts. Old Zhao and Zhao Hui also brought in a large bag of hawthorns. Seeing that everyone had a good harvest, Mr. Zhao stood up and said, "That's enough. If we get more, we won't be able to carry it back."
Shi Qiushui took off his gloves, wiped the sweat from his head, and looked at Aunt Zhao's backpack next to him. It wasn't very full, mainly because the adults knew that too much stuff would make it difficult to get down the mountain, so they didn't work as hard as the two children. The backpack was only half full.
But these are not too few. After all, the backpacks carried by Mr. Zhao and Mrs. Zhao are both large backpacks half a person's height.
So everyone had no objection to Master Zhao's invitation to go down the mountain.
Mr. Zhao: "Okay, let's go down the mountain."
"Let's go, let's go down the mountain, let's go down."
There is only one way to go up and down the mountain. Because they took that road when they came, when they went down the mountain, Mr. Zhao did not walk in front to lead the way like he did when he came. Instead, he carried a backpack and prepared to walk down the mountain slowly by himself.
Zhao Hui saw his movements and hurriedly said, "Uncle, this backpack is quite heavy. Don't carry it. Shi Yue and I will carry it back."
Shi Yue stepped forward and said, "Well, Second Master, Zhao Hui and I will carry it back."
With his previous experience, Mr. Zhao knew he couldn't outsmart Shi Yue, so he didn't refuse too much. He nodded and agreed: "Okay, then you guys carry it."
He himself walked down the mountain carrying the half-filled basket.
Although Shi Yue and Zhao Hui are both young men in their thirties, there is still a big gap between those who do physical work regularly and those who don't. Mr. Zhao Er was carrying a backpack, which was a bit difficult, and it almost crushed Shi Yue and Zhao Hui.
After using all their strength, Shi Yue and Zhao Hui finally moved the chestnuts back to Mr. Zhao's house.
As soon as they got home, the two brothers were so tired that they couldn't even stand up.
When Mr. Zhao saw them like this, he frowned and went into the kitchen and stewed a pot of wolfberry and mutton soup for the two brothers.
When the soup appeared on the dinner table that night, Shi Yue said to Zhao Hui: ...
Does Mr. Zhao think they are weak?
Shi Yue wanted to stand up and shout that he was not in vain.
But he has no face.
After all, Mr. Zhao was just breathing heavily as he came down the mountain carrying the half-full basket.
But he and Zhao Hui were both exhausted from carrying the full basket down the mountain.
Shi Yue could only silently fill a small half bowl of mutton soup and then drink it in silence.
Zhao Hui next to him did the same thing.
Shi Qiu Shui, who didn't understand why, thought the mutton soup stewed by his second grandfather was delicious. He grabbed the bowl and drank two big bowls in one gulp. He had a nosebleed when he woke up the next morning.
The next morning, Mr. Zhao led a group of people up the mountain again, but it was not the same mountain they went to the day before.
This time they climbed another mountain, one planted with apple trees.
The apples have not yet fully reached maturity, but there are already some early-ripening fruits in the orchard. They are all bright red and hanging on the trees, which is quite festive.
Shi Qiu Shui once again experienced the joy of picking apples.
It’s really happy!
The bright red apples taste even better than they look. The crispy and sweet flesh bursts with honey-like juice when you bite into it. After chewing and swallowing, the sweet aroma of the apple can still be retained in your mouth. It is so happy!
However, Shi Yue and Zhao Hui worked hard again. When they went down the mountain, they acted as porters and carried the apples picked by Shi Qiu Shui and the others down the mountain.
Because they had worked so hard twice, when they left, Mr. Zhao gave them a lot of food, including sugar-roasted chestnuts, free-range chickens, big red apples, autumn vegetables freshly picked from the fields, and chestnut cakes and apple jam made by Aunt Zhao...
There were scattered things in two large sacks.
After carrying these two large sacks back to the compound, brothers Shi Yue and Zhao Hui were so exhausted that they could barely lift their backs.
The hardship was borne by both of them, and all that was left for Shi Qiu Shui was happiness.
Delicious chestnut cake, delicious applesauce, delicious free-range chicken... With all these, she is simply the happiest little girl in the world!
However, Shi Qiu Shui's happiness did not last long. As soon as she arrived at school the next day, she heard from Teacher Cai something that made it difficult for her to be happy.
That's it.
The midterm exam is coming.
Teacher Xiao Cai announced that the school will have a midterm exam in the next week, so they have to speed up the teaching progress this week.
Shi Qiushui was struck by a bolt from the blue. Hadn't she just started school? How could her midterm exams only be two weeks away?!
She is not yet ready for the midterm exam!
"Okay, I'm about to start my lecture. Students, take out your books and turn to page 30. Today we're going to talk about..."
Teacher Cai did not give Shi Qiu Shui time to be shocked and quickly started today's class.
Shi Qiu Shui could only put aside the midterm exam and listen to the lecture carefully, but she became listless after the get out of class.
"Why is the midterm exam coming up soon? Why is the midterm exam coming up soon? What if I don't do well? Wuwuwu..."
She lay on the table and muttered to herself.
In fact, Shi Yue didn't have very high expectations for Shi Qiu Shui's grades, but Shi Qiu Shui had high expectations for himself.
She is a child who is very concerned about being an idol. She feels that after becoming the class monitor, she must be the best in all aspects, otherwise she will not live up to the title of class monitor.
Of course you have to get first place in the exam.
But, Shi Qiu Shui looked back and realized that she didn't seem to study seriously in the past half month.
Thinking of this, Shi Qiu Shui felt a little guilty. As the class monitor, she didn't even study well. No, she couldn't go on like this!
She must work hard, she must stand up, and study hard!
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