Chapter 38 Picking Kochia scoparia
As Jiang Zhi moved swiftly through the kitchen, outside, everyone could smell waves of delicious aroma wafting from the small kitchen.
But there was nothing in front of him, so he could only silently endure the rumbling in his stomach while smelling the increasingly strong aromas that tempted his appetite.
In layman's terms, it means "only responsible for starting a fire, not for putting it out!"
You Yi was the first to give in. Although he had eaten quite a full lunch, as a robust young man, the aroma made him realize that he might not have eaten that much at all.
That's right, he's hungry again!
*
As the aroma wafted out from the tightly closed kitchen door, wave after wave, he silently carried a stool and went outside.
The only good thing is that this time he didn't forget that he has a younger sister, and he also took the hand of the little twisted dough stick who was reading diligently next to him.
Then, after a short while, he found his own amusement and went to listen to the gossip of the elderly men and women under the big willow tree outside.
Gu Yuan felt utterly helpless watching the person who was having so much fun that they didn't care about having a younger sister. He sighed and simply pulled Xiao Mahua and Zuo Tianyuan out together, taking them to the playground where they used to be. He watched the two children play by themselves.
Pei Ye was the only one among the adults who was still somewhat proper. He gently opened the kitchen door and saw the figure fluttering up and down like a butterfly. He spoke softly.
"Boss Jiang, do you need my help?"
Jiang Zhi turned around and immediately saw him, her eyebrows curving upwards:
"Come on! Hurry up and help me scoop it out!"
*
After Jiang Zhi and Pei Ye served the braised roast duck, they looked up and found the main room completely empty.
A rare look of bewilderment crossed Jiang Zhi's face for a moment, and she looked up at Pei Ye with a hint of confusion.
For a moment, Pei Ye even felt that he could understand her thoughts:
Where are they?
He felt completely overwhelmed by how cute it was.
After all, they'd been brothers for years, so Pei Ye naturally knew where those two guys were. However, he still coughed twice, cleared his throat, and chuckled:
"Judging from their expressions before they came in, they were probably already drooling over the roast duck. They probably wanted to avoid the smell so they could grab the duck from the pot, so they went out to escape the aroma beforehand."
"Since the food is ready, why don't we go out and look for it together?"
He extended the invitation with a smile.
*
So when Jiang Zhi saw Xiao Mahua again, she was horrified to find that the little girl she had painstakingly raised these past few days was picking grass to eat.
Jiang Zhi emitted a sharp, explosive sound.
Little Twist was dumbfounded.
In that first instant, she seemed to hear Sister Jiang scream in terror.
Before she could react, she felt a dull pain on the back of her hand.
With a sharp "snap," the pain caused her to instantly release her grip, scattering the freshly picked Kochia scoparia leaves all over the ground.
Little Twist cried, feeling wronged.
Xiao Mahua has always been a serious person, which is one of the reasons why You Yi asked Jiang Zhi for help. Xiao Mahua usually doesn't pay much attention to his own brother, let alone others.
But Jiang Zhi is indeed a rare person who can cause Xiao Mahua's emotions to fluctuate.
Although Jiang Zhi sometimes uses Xiao Mahua to help with math, she doesn't care because Xiao Mahua really likes her older sister.
So, when the excited little twisted dough stick was about to pick the sunflower to make steamed egg custard for Sister Jiang, she was immediately slapped on the hand by Sister Jiang.
Little Twist cried quietly.
*
Little Twist was different from other children in many ways, and this was even more obvious at this moment.
When she cried, she didn't wail like a child like Zuo Tianyuan; instead, her tears fell drop by drop.
As the snowflakes grazed her cheek and finally landed on the damp, muddy ground, her eyes remained wide open, and her expression was almost identical to T's original blank face.
A kind of crying that might seem a little frightening to onlookers!
However, Jiang Zhi felt a little sorry for her.
She already felt a little pain when she slapped him.
After all, she was the little girl he had cherished since he transmigrated, so even if she had to dig dirt to eat, he had to be more tolerant.
She struggled to convince herself, and her anger subsided somewhat.
*
At this moment, Gu Yuan finally saw Jiang Zhi and was about to greet her with a smile when he suddenly noticed her expression.
Gu Yuan felt a silent shiver run down his spine.
When Boss Jiang has a stern face, he looks so scary!
She silently took a few steps back, but then she saw the expression on Xiao Mahua's face opposite Jiang Zhi.
The instant she looked over, almost by coincidence, Xiao Mahua's first tear gently fell from her face, landing on the ground, and also in Gu Yuan's and Jiang Zhi's hearts.
The two of them felt a sudden tremor in their hearts.
Moved by that single tear, Gu Yuan disregarded Boss Jiang's sullen expression and stormed forward, pulling Xiao Mahua behind him and coldly snorting:
"Boss Jiang, Xiao Mahua is a little girl whom we all usually pamper. I wonder what has caused you to be so angry today?"
*
"Gu Yuan, no matter how messed up You Yi's life is, you can't let his own sister eat grass, can you? It's not that bad, is it?"
Jiang Zhi was also pushed to the limit. She stopped being as gentle and charming as before and started questioning him angrily.
While questioning him, she quickly bypassed Gu Yuan, pulled Xiao Mahua up, and gently patted her hands to clean off the yellow dirt that was still sticking to them.
Then he took out an embroidered handkerchief from his sleeve and carefully wiped the little girl's hands clean, one stroke at a time.
Gu Yuan was initially taken aback by these words.
Eating grass? What kind of grass?
For a moment, she wondered if You Yi was rolling around in the mud every day, and then one day when she wasn't looking, he took Xiao Mahua with him, and the two of them squatted on the ground eating grass together.
Just imagining it like that, even Gu Yuan, a girl who wasn't usually particular about such things, couldn't help but feel a chill.
But in an instant, she realized what was happening.
She glanced at the spot where the little twisted flower was looking with teary eyes, and sure enough, she saw some scattered Kochia scoparia on the ground.
Just then, a gust of wind blew by, and the Kochia scoparia that Little Twist had been painstakingly pulling up began to gradually roll off the ground. As Little Twist's tears fell in large drops, Gu Yuan took off his coat and rolled the Kochia scoparia into it.
As she did this, she said to Jiang Zhi:
"Boss Jiang, you've misunderstood Little Twist!"
"I need to apologize to Little Twist properly later!"
"This thing is a rare delicacy here. It's called ground sunflower. It's delicious eaten raw or in a salad. Adding some minced garlic and sesame oil is already quite satisfying, but I guess Little Twist wants to pick some for you to take back and make steamed egg custard."
"That taste was absolutely divine!"
Jiang Zhi was stunned, and then she met Xiao Mahua's gaze.
Little Twist's eyes were still brimming with tears, yet they were exceptionally dark and bright, probably because Gu Yuan had managed to calm her down with just a few words. Her eyes also held a hint of grievance.
Meeting those eyes, Jiang Zhi felt a little guilty, which was uncommon for her.
*
Jiang Zhi coughed lightly twice, finally covering the slight blush on my face, before solemnly squatting down to be at eye level with Xiao Mahua.
Once she was sure that Xiao Mahua had noticed her and their eyes met, she took out the handkerchief from her sleeve and gently wiped away the tears that were still streaming down Xiao Mahua's face.
He began to speak.
"Little Lingling, Lingling!"
While calling the little girl by her name repeatedly, Jiang Zhi also made some small hand ornaments with her fingers and made some funny faces. Gradually, she finally managed to attract the little girl's stubborn attention.
Jiang Zhi glanced at the little girl and saw that she was no longer so angry after being teased. She immediately picked the little girl up and put her face to face with her eyes. Her voice was unusually serious as she spoke.
"You Ling, I was really wrong this time. I don't really recognize this wild vegetable called ground sunflower. That's why I started to misunderstand Xiao Lingling..."
As she spoke, Jiang Zhi picked some ground ivy, put a leaf in her mouth, and chewed it a couple of times.
It did indeed have the unique fresh aroma of wild vegetables, and, um, a lingering bitterness...
Jiang Zhi chewed a couple of times, and while the refreshing aroma spread in her mouth, the bitterness also swelled up and wouldn't dissipate.
She silently spat the unchewed vegetable leaves onto the ground beside her, took out her water bag, and gulped down two mouthfuls to barely get rid of the bitter taste.
The little twisted dough stick, held in Jiang Zhi's arms, was also affected by Jiang Zhi's series of actions. Her previous grievances and tears vanished instantly, and she smiled gently.
Jiang Zhi's eyes lit up as she looked at the little girl, gently rubbing her soft little face, and said with a smile.
"So, will our adorable little twisted dough stick forgive Sister Jiang Zhi?"
...
*
After this farce was over, the group finally prepared to go home for dinner.
Gu Yuan, carrying the kochia scoparia he had just rolled up in his clothes, chatted freely with Jiang Zhi, ordering the dishes he wanted to eat that morning. Jiang Zhi, who was holding a small twisted dough stick beside him, raised her eyebrows from time to time, but still agreed to everything.
There's nothing I can do about it; this guy was the perfect savior during our earlier argument!
Only Pei Ye followed behind, looking somewhat aggrieved, holding Zuo Tianyuan's hand in one hand and carrying You Yi, who was keen on listening to gossip, in the other.
Zuo Tianyuan was still engrossed in playing and wanted to continue, while You Yi was still absorbed in the gossip he hadn't finished hearing under the shade of the tree.
Only Pei Ye, who was only interested in doing nothing, silently carried the two people away...
*
As soon as they got home, Yan Mo brought out the stuffed steamed buns from lunch and the roast duck from earlier, and handed towels to each of the group who had returned from outside, looking dusty and dirty.
After tidying themselves up a bit, everyone took their seats at the table one by one.
As soon as the food was served, the group saw a huge bowl of braised roast duck and instantly realized their stomachs had been rumbling for a long time.
I was extremely hungry.
Little Twist stopped replaying Jiang Zhi's apology video in his mind, Zuo Tianyuan stopped thinking about the swing he hadn't finished playing on, and they could even forget about the gossip You Yi hadn't finished listening to.
When the fragrant braised roast duck was served, the mingled aromas wafted into everyone's nostrils, and everyone at the table had only one thought in mind:
Hurry up and start eating!
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The author says: Have any of you ever eaten this kind of wild vegetable? I tried it once, and it left a deep impression on me!
P.S.: Why is the number of favorites increasing so slowly? I can't even add an extra chapter when I get 200 favorites. Can I please add this to my favorites again? [Please][Please][Please]
The bonus chapter before the VIP chapter is currently only available for chapters added to 50 favorites.
As for the rules after V...
I'll think about it after I become a paid seller! [heart eyes][heart eyes][heart eyes]
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