After the weather warmed up a bit, the children who had been confined all winter came out. Many children liked to run into the mountains. Of course, these children dared not go deep into the mountains, but if it was just the outer edge of the mountains, many children would dare to go.
Mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and wild vegetables from the mountains are good things for many children.
Many people in the village are not well-off and have to live frugally. In the winter, many people can only eat half full every day. Now that there is finally something to eat, many children go to the mountains to look for food.
Chen Xiaocai and Chen Xiaomai were the same; after a winter, both children had grown quite a bit taller, probably because they had matured, and both of them looked much better.
Lu Lin packed some roasted beans for the two of them, then took out a few bamboo baskets and said to Chen Xiaocai with a smile, "Xiaocai! Go find a few people to pick wild berries. A basket of ripe wild berries will cost you three coins."
Chen Xiaocai frowned and said, "Three coins! Isn't three coins too much?"
Lu Lin smiled and said, "Not much."
Chen Xiaocai scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "They don't play with me, and I can't find anyone to play with."
Lu Lin looked down at Chen Xiaocai and said, "Look at you, you're so old, and you can't even handle this little thing. What are we going to do? If you can't find anyone, call Chen Chi and ask him to call a few people for you."
Chen Xiaocai blushed and said, "I...I understand."
Lu Lin handed over a dozen basketball hoops to Chen Xiaocai.
Chen Xiaocai asked suspiciously, "Where did all these baskets come from?"
Each basket is not very big and looks quite exquisite. However, villagers usually do not weave such small baskets, as they are more for show than practical use.
"Five coins each, made by an old man in the village." Labor is really cheap here, which shows that the villagers are still very honest and simple.
Chen Xiaocai gave Lu Lin a strange look and said, "I'm leaving."
Chen Xiaocai felt that it was a waste for Lu Lin to spend five copper coins to weave a basket, but he had gotten used to Lu Lin's extravagant behavior by now, so he didn't say anything more.
Lu Lin waved to Chen Xiaocai and said, "Go ahead."
Chen Xiaocai first went to the Shen family to find Shen Chi. Grandma Shen was very happy to see her grandson playing with Chen Xiaocai and readily agreed.
...
Chen Chi, carrying a bamboo basket, followed behind Chen Xiaocai and asked curiously, "Brother Lin, what do you need wild berries for?"
Chen Xiaocai shook his head and said, "I don't know, maybe it's used for brewing wine."
"Brewing wine!" A hint of reverence flashed in Chen Chi's eyes. In the eyes of the villagers, brewing wine was a very impressive thing.
As the weather gets hotter, the fruits in the forest gradually increase. Wild berries grow in the forest, and the children in the village like to pick them and eat them. They have a sweet and sour taste.
Zhang Dahu sat in a tree picking and eating raspberries, his fingers and lips turning bright red.
When Zhang Dahu saw Chen Xiaocai and Chen Chi approaching with more than a dozen baskets, he suddenly jumped down from the tree and blocked their way.
"What are you two doing with so many baskets? These baskets are way too small," Zhang Dahu asked casually.
Chen Xiaomi made a lot of money last year, and the news spread throughout the village. The village children knew that Chen Xiaomi was capable and had made a lot of money. Seeing Chen Xiaocai and Xiaomai wearing new clothes, they couldn't help but feel a little envious.
Chen Xiaocai held up her basket and said, "My brother asked me to pick wild berries. He'll pay me three coins per basket."
Zhang Dahu rolled his eyes, looking at the basket in Chen Chi's hand, and asked, "Chen Chi, are you going to help him?"
Chen Chi quickly said, "Xiao Cai can't do it all by herself, I'll help pick them. Brother Xiaomi will also give me three coins for each basket."
Zhang Dahu's eyes lit up as he looked at Chen Xiaocai and asked, "If I help your brother pick them, will you pay three coins per basket?"
Chen Xiaocai was just thinking about how to start the conversation when she heard Zhang Dahu take the initiative to ask. She was pleased for a moment, but quickly concealed her feelings. "Sure! But it has to be good and familiar. You can't use inferior food as a substitute."
Zhang Dahu nodded and said, "No problem."
Zhang Dahu was the leader of the kids. Several children who had been watching from the sidelines gathered around and started asking questions as soon as they saw that Zhang Dahu and Chen Xiaocai had reached an agreement.
Chen Xiaocai agreed, and the children all asked Chen Xiaocai for baskets to pick wild berries.
Wild berries grew abundantly in the mountains, and the children busied themselves with them.
There are three main types of wild berries: one type grows on trees, and two types grow on the ground.
The three types of wild berries are about the same size. The wild berries that grow on trees turn purple when ripe, somewhat like mulberries...
There are two kinds of wild berries that grow on the ground. One looks like a strawberry but is much smaller, and the other looks a bit like a cherry.
Chen Xiaocai said she wanted all three types of wild berries, but they had to be packed separately.
Soon everyone had picked a basket full of wild berries.
Zhang Dahu carried two baskets by himself. He was quick and picked both baskets of wild berries, while the slower children didn't even finish one basket.
"Chen Xiaocai, is this enough for a basket?" Zhang Dahu asked.
Chen Xiaocai nodded and hummed in agreement.
“If you send it back to my house now, you can exchange it with my brother for money.”
The children were a little intimidated by Brother Chen Xiaocai, but they couldn't resist the temptation of the coins and thought that they had the upper hand in numbers, so they went to Lu Lin's place together.
Lu Lin was surprised that Chen Xiaocai completed the task so quickly, and he began to look at Chen Xiaocai with new respect.
Chen Xiaocai blushed slightly, feeling both proud and slightly embarrassed, when she saw Lu Lin's seemingly admiring gaze.
Lu Lin inspected the wild berries that the children had picked. There were basically no problems with the berries they had picked, and Lu Lin gave each child three coins.
Lu Lin took out three large bamboo baskets and collected the wild berries that the children had picked.
The children were quite excited when they received the money. Three coins could buy two steamed buns. Earning money was something to be proud of, as the children here usually didn't have much pocket money.
Lu Lin collected all the wild berries that had been delivered and let the children who wanted to earn more money take the empty baskets.
The children who had already received the money, seeing how easy it was to earn copper coins, and seeing that there was still plenty of time, all took empty baskets and went into the woods.
Several children came and went, picking at least five or six baskets of wild berries a day. Some of them picked eight or nine baskets. By the end, the wild berries near the foot of the mountain had been picked until only half-ripe ones remained.
Lu Lin was worried that the children would run off to the deep mountains to earn money, so he said he would stop taking them in for the time being.
Hearing Lu Lin say he wouldn't accept them anymore, the children who had just tasted the sweetness of earning copper coins were somewhat disappointed.
Zhang Dahu said somewhat unwillingly, "Little Cai, if there's another opportunity to make money like this, come find me!"
As soon as Zhang Dahu spoke, several young men surrounded Chen Xiaocai.
"Yes! Little Cai, you should look for us next time!"
Chen Xiaocai was rarely treated so warmly, and for a moment she was at a loss for words.
...
Zhang Dahu returned home with twenty-four coins in his pocket.
"Brother, where did you get so much money?" Zhang Meizi asked.
Zhang Dahu said with some pride, "I'm the one who made the money. I'm the fastest and picked the most."
Zhang Dahu was agile and the best tree climber among all the children. After the wild berries under the tree were almost picked, everyone turned their attention to the tree, but none of them could beat him.
Zhang Meizi blinked and said, "Big brother is really amazing, but how did you earn that money?"
Zhang Dahu said, "Just pick some wild berries and give them to Xiaocai's brother. But it's only for today; he won't be picking any more for a while, which is a real shame." After picking a round of wild berries in the outer mountains today, there aren't many left. If they were to grow back, we'd have to go deep into the mountains, which isn't easy to go to!
"Lu Lin? What does he need so many wild berries for?"
Zhang Dahu shrugged and said, "Who knows? But Chen Xiaomi earned several dozen taels before the New Year. She probably thinks she has too much money."
In those days, there weren't many entertainment options in winter. The fact that Chen Xiaomi made several dozen taels of silver selling gloves was quite a big deal in the village, and it was often mentioned, intentionally or unintentionally.
Zhang Dahu and Zhang Meizi were chatting when Old Man Zhang walked in.
"You actually made money!" Zhang Linsheng patted Zhang Dahu on the shoulder, full of praise, and said, "Good job, kid!"
Zhang Dahu grinned and said, "I earned the most."
Zhang Linsheng nodded and said, "That's quite a lot." As he spoke, Zhang Linsheng put all the copper coins away.
Zhang Dahu frowned and said, "Dad, this is my money."
Zhang Linsheng glared at Zhang Dahu and said, "Dad, would I steal your money? I'll buy you steamed buns next time I go to the market."
Zhang Dahu asked excitedly, "So, Dad, when are you going to the market?"
"What's the rush? We'll go in a couple of days," Zhang Linsheng said dismissively.
Zhang Dahu wrinkled his nose and looked at Zhang Linsheng with resentment in his eyes. Zhang Linsheng felt embarrassed by his son's gaze.
Seeing that the money had been taken away, Zhang Meizi blinked and said, "Brother, it's all gone."
Zhang Dahu smiled and said, "I still have three coins left. I'll buy you some eggs."
Zhang Meizi hadn't expected that Zhang Dahu had hidden a few copper coins beforehand. Seeing the coins, she couldn't help but feel excited.
The same thing happened in other parts of the village.
When the adults in the village go to work in the city, they sometimes only earn a dozen or so coins a day, and there is a high chance that they will come back empty-handed. The fact that a few children could earn more than ten coins a day shocked many villagers. In their shock, the villagers could no longer say anything to tell their children to stay away from the two brothers from the Chen family.
Lu Lin rested his chin on his hand, looking thoughtfully at the bamboo basket in front of him.
Chen Xiaomi looked at Lu Lin and asked, "What's wrong? Is there something wrong with this bamboo basket?"
“One is missing,” Lu Lin said.
Chen Xiaomi asked with some surprise, "Is one missing?" The small bamboo basket was specially made by Lu Lin, costing five copper coins each. The money wasn't a big deal, but it was still strange that one was missing for no reason.
"Let's ask Xiaocai," Chen Xiaomi said.
Lu Lin shook his head and said, "It's rare for a child to have a bit of self-confidence. Let him know that he should think twice about the missing basket. Maybe someone saw how pretty the basket was and forgot to return it. Let it go." It's just a basket; making a big fuss over it wouldn't be good. It's rare for the little devil to play with a few other children. It's not worth making a big fuss over a basket.
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