There are endless good things to be found in Wuling Mountain. Jiang Henian usually goes down the mountain and goes home before nine in the morning to tend to the vegetable garden, feed the poultry, and turn over and dry the herbs in the yard.
In response to her strong request, He Jinshan reclaimed two vegetable plots in the backyard. After Jiang Henian sought advice from Aunt Ma, he planted cabbage, spinach and radish, which have now grown into tender seedlings one finger high.
There is also a row of wild onions dug from the mountain.
Jiang Henian squats in the vegetable garden every day to observe, water, and pull weeds. He is a very dedicated vegetable farmer.
Next to the vegetable garden are a chicken coop and a pigpen that have been newly renovated with a bamboo fence. There are already three chickens and a duck in the chicken coop, a little wild boar in the pigpen, and a lamb tied to a wooden post next to it.
The thatched shed on the right side of the backyard was surrounded by wooden boards and covered with an old gray-black cloth. It was the nest of Dewang and Meiqiu. Usually, if someone came, they would not be seen unless they pulled the door open.
In the front yard, He Jinshan made three wooden racks for drying medicine, and Jiang Henian asked the Lin brothers and sisters to make nine large bamboo baskets with shallow mouths that were an arm's length wide.
Afraid that the brother and sister would work day and night to rush her to finish the work, Jiang Henian specifically told them not to rush, just make one and use it as it comes, take their time, and it wouldn't be a problem even if they waited for ten days or half a month.
But the two children finished it on the fourth day. It was very strong and light, and was carefully polished.
Jiang Henian noticed that Shuangxi's fingers were covered with small cuts, and he was so angry that he scolded Lin Shi.
The half-grown boy lowered his head and dared not speak, hiding behind his back with his hands clenched, but was grabbed by Jiang Henian and his hands were pried open.
Well! These brother and sister are really hardworking. They even hurt themselves.
Jiang Henian took a feather duster and spanked each of them twice on the buttocks. Lin Shuangxi looked up at her and smiled after being spanked, calling her "sister" obediently. Afraid that she would not feel satisfied, she turned around and stuck out her buttocks.
The little girl had gained some weight compared to the first time I met her. She was not so skinny anymore. Her complexion looked much better and she seemed more lively.
Jiang Henian reached out and slapped her on the butt again in annoyance, "I told you not to listen, I won't let you do it next time."
Lin Shi blushed, scratched his head and apologized, then took his sister with him and repeatedly assured her that he would never do that again.
Jiang Henian finally calmed down a bit and paid the money.
Lin Shi looked at the extra dollar and tried to refuse, but Jiang Henian glared at him and he dared not say anything.
"Overtime pay. If you don't know me, you'll think I'm Zhou Paopi. Take it, and send Shuangxi to school next spring."
"Okay, go back to sleep quickly. Look at the two people with dark circles under their eyes."
The brother and sister were kicked out of the door, each holding a piece of chocolate stuffed by Jiang Henian.
The three medicine drying racks are now filled with more than a dozen kinds of herbs.
The medicine decoction stove in the corner had been used for a while and had a black bottom.
Jiang Henian hurriedly prepared twenty tonic pills, wrapped them in rice paper, and asked He Jinshan to carry them with him. Although he would rush back every night, there was no guarantee that something unexpected would happen.
The pills are an old recipe that Jiang Henian found in the collection of books given by Lao Ma Liu. It uses two pieces of 30-year-old wild ginseng, ganoderma lucidum and various qi-invigorating herbs with compatible medicinal properties. Jiang Henian named it "Bazhen Buqi Pills".
Fortunately, a week later, both of them had stable health and the pills were no longer needed.
After a simple lunch at noon, Dewang and Meiqiu stayed at home while Jiang Henian carried a small bamboo basket and took his books to study with Lao Ma Liu, or chatted with Aunt Ma and learned how to cook and make noodles.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, I go to work.
Nowadays, the working time during the slack season is also short, and most of the time, people are busy tending the fields and repairing canals.
Most of the people who stayed in the village were women, underage children, the elderly or men with mobility problems. They were not too busy in the fields and finished their work while chatting and laughing.
That afternoon, the sun came out brightly and the chill of late autumn dissipated a little.
Everyone sat in the fields to bask in the sun and rest. The topic was all about the man from their family who was building a bridge thirty kilometers away. Naturally, they couldn't help but talk about the only exception who came back every day - He Jinshan.
Everyone kept glancing at Jiang Henian, some with envy, some with jealousy, and some saying that she was shameless and clingy, and that she was cruel and wanted to tire her man to death.
Jiang Henian was used to it and pretended not to hear.
At first she tried to fit in, but later she found that the women in this village were very mean-spirited and loved to gossip about other people.
The daughters-in-law gather together to talk about the mothers-in-law, and the mothers-in-law gather together to scold the daughters-in-law.
When you are miserable, everyone feels sympathy and pity for you, saying that you have many good qualities; when you are proud, they become sarcastic and wish you bad things.
There are also those who complain every day that their men are dirty, smelly, and like to hit people, and they can't tolerate others saying a word. Yesterday, someone had a fight in the field over this.
Jiang Henian had a bamboo basket in front of him, and was concentrating on picking herbs he had picked from the wild field nearby.
Wang Yuenniu nudged her arm with her elbow. "Hey, Henian, your man comes home every night, and it makes these wives who are alone at home jealous to death."
She was just teasing casually, but when she noticed Jiang Henian's neck, her eyes widened and she immediately reached out to flip down her collar, which was buttoned to the top.
“Wow~~!”
Jiang Henian was startled, slapped her dirty hands away, and whispered: "What are you doing!"
Wang Yuenniu hugged Jiang Henian's arm, a smile of excitement on her face: "Last night was very intense, it was really intense, if those women saw it, they would make up stories about you being a vixen, especially that widow Zhao."
Jiang Henian poked her with his elbow, puzzled, "What nonsense are you talking about?"
"You, weren't you kissed by someone else?"
Wang Yuenniu poked the red spot on the side of Jiang Henian's neck and said, "He Jinshan is really strong. He does such heavy work every day and rides a bicycle for sixty miles back and forth, and he can still do it..."
Wang Yuenniu's smile was so vulgar that even married wives were not as bold as her.
Jiang Henian grabbed a handful of mint leaves and stuffed them into her mouth, saying unhappily, "Are you ashamed? I was bitten by a poisonous mosquito!"
There are a lot of mosquitoes in the mountains. Jiang Henian forgot to spray mosquito repellent when he went up the mountain this morning, so he was bitten and got several red and swollen bumps. He applied ointment at noon and the swelling went down.
Wang Yuenniu was very disappointed. She chewed the broken lotus leaf in her mouth like a cow. She saw someone coming in front of her out of the corner of her eye and quickly bent her elbow to nudge Jiang Henian.
"My dear sister, my happiness depends on you!"
"What?"
Jiang Henian looked back and saw that the guy who was sitting next to him and making dirty jokes just now, biting a handful of green leaves in his mouth, suddenly rolled his eyes and fell down!
Jiang Henian: ????!
"Yuenniu! Yuenniu, what's wrong with you?"
Jiang Henian quickly reached out to push her away, then pulled out the green leaf to confirm that it was indeed a mint leaf, not some poisonous weed!
People nearby heard the noise and leaned over to ask, "What's going on?"
Jiang Henian squatted down and checked her breathing, then fluttered her eyelids and checked her pulse again. His brows furrowed tighter and tighter.
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