What should we plant?
The eldest brother and the third brother asked in unison.
Ruan Meng replied, "I went to town today and bought some chili peppers. I also picked some wild millet chili peppers from the mountains..."
"I bought it in the city; it was a bit expensive, enough to buy a jar of salt. There aren't many wild chili peppers on the mountain, so they'll be very useful in the future."
"I'll try them out to see which one tastes better. Once I've decided, it'll be best to grow some myself, since I'll be using a lot of it in the future."
The third brother nodded seriously, and Ruan Meng looked surprised and delighted. "Third brother, you can do it?"
The third brother shook his head decisively, "No way!"
Decisive and efficient.
Ruan Meng sighed in disappointment; how could he be so self-righteous?
Then they pinned their hopes on their eldest brother, even though they felt that their sister-in-law was more likely to know how to grow plants than their brother...
Then the eldest brother stood up and said, "I'm going to visit the Song and Fan families. We discussed it beforehand, so I'll ask about their situations and see if they need any help."
"Little sister, pack some seeds or plants for both kinds of chili peppers. If either of those families knows how to grow them, we can borrow some later and exchange them for something else."
Ruan Meng immediately stood up and, without her eldest brother reminding her, divided the remaining buns into two portions. The third brother took them and said, "I'll go with my eldest brother!"
When the two returned, Ruan Meng was already asleep.
The elder sister-in-law tucked Ruan Meng in and said to her husband with a smile, "It must have been tough for you, little sister, you're exhausted!"
The eldest brother and the third brother both felt sorry for him.
The older sister-in-law reminded her, "My younger sister said we have to fire the first shot! We all have to go tomorrow! Hurry up and wash up and rest!"
"Going to the beach tomorrow morning, I'll be busy!"
Perhaps out of military self-discipline, Ruan Meng no longer needed to wait for the villagers to call her; happiness had already come automatically to her.
As soon as Ruan Meng got up, her sister-in-law also sat up, and her eldest brother woke up her two younger brothers.
All the gloves made by the second brother came in handy, while the eldest brother had several large basins in front of him, which attracted the attention of other villagers.
Although the eldest brother was forced to stay at sea by Ruan Meng, he was not idle.
He was wearing gloves and using a knife to pry open oysters.
The second and third brothers specialize in digging for oysters, while Ruan Meng teaches her sister-in-law how to cut chili peppers into rings and wild millet chili pepper rings.
The eldest sister-in-law got busy and joined the oyster-digging team.
The Song and Fan families lived far apart, and both families would go clamming with nearby villagers. But from a distance, they could see Ruan Qian alone on the shore, bent over, working...
They stopped their beachcombing and each sent one person forward to inquire about the situation.
Song Shiwen, the eldest son of the Song family, approached Ruan Qian.
Seeing him alone, prying open the rough "ugly thing," and noticing that the three Ruan siblings were all gathering seafood, he frowned slightly.
He squatted down and asked Ruan Qian what the oyster in his hand was.
Influenced by their neighbors, they thought oysters were inedible, so they went beachcombing for days without digging for any.
After explaining, Ruan Qian took a piece he had pried out, rinsed it with spring water from the wooden bucket beside him, and handed it to Song Shiwen so that he could taste it.
Although Song Shiwen was surprised, out of trust in Ruan Qian, he took a bite directly, and couldn't help but widen his eyes.
"It's delicious, isn't it?"
Ruan Qian asked with a smile, and Song Shiwen looked at the oysters in the basin and nodded repeatedly.
"My sister said that oysters are warming and nourishing to the body, and very delicious."
Song Shi asked doubtfully, "Are you in a hurry?"
Otherwise, not to mention his younger siblings, Ruan Qian's wife, Xu, couldn't have let Ruan Qian work alone with his back bent over. His body had suffered a lot from the journey.
This is why the Song and Fan families rushed over to check on Ruan Qian when they saw him working alone on the shore.
Fan Zizhong, the eldest son of the Fan family, also tried a piece of oyster meat and showed the same delight.
Ruan Qian briefly explained that Ruan Meng had made some food with oyster meat and wanted to go into town to sell it.
The cooperation hasn't been finalized yet, but the other party gave us an opportunity, with a quantity requirement that it be delivered first thing tomorrow morning, so the whole family pitched in today.
Song Shiwen's voice carried a hint of reproach, "Brother Ruan, you're being too polite! If you need help, you should at least say so. Even if we're not family, I can come and help you out!"
Fan Zizhong also said, "That's right! Don't worry, we'll just do the work and won't ask any questions. You can rest assured!"
Ruan Qian sighed, "It's not that I don't trust you, it's just that I'm afraid of troubling you!"
Song Shi asked, "Wouldn't that be even more formal?"
He immediately turned around and called his family members to come and help: his wife, his second brother and his wife, his younger sister, and his parents to look after his daughter.
Fan Zizhong also went back and asked his family to clear out the wooden bucket. His wife and second brother came over and asked his sister-in-law to help take care of the two children.
Almost everyone was mobilized.
Only after being reminded by her second brother did Ruan Meng realize that there was a large group of people.
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