Chapter 185: I spent a long time choosing this gift, and I don’t know if you like it…
Lin Xiaopu slipped away when the two were being affectionate.
Sister A'er and Brother A'ye really treated her less and less as an outsider. She was a grown-up person right in front of them, but they were saying embarrassing love words and exchanging glances in front of her. It was really unbearable to watch.
Guessing the two were almost done with each other, Lin Xiaopu, who had found the locust tree on the back hill first, called out, "Sister, Brother Aye, come here quickly! I can't reach you! It's so high—"
Hearing the voice, Zhou Ye let go of Lin Shu, took her hand instead, and went to the place where Lin Xiaopu was calling.
Lin Shu shook his big hand back, followed his strength and moved forward, smiling.
In the woods.
Although the locust tree in front of him was not as sturdy as the old locust tree in the village, the lowest part of its branches was beyond the reach of a kid like Lin Xiaopu. Even if Lin Shu jumped up, she could only touch the edge of the leaves.
Seeing Lin Xiaopu laughing at the side, Lin Shu didn't get angry. She immediately turned to Zhou Ye and said, "Aye, I want to ride on your shoulders to pick it."
The smile on Lin Xiaopu's face gradually froze, and he felt numb.
Come again?
Zhou Ye glanced at Lin Xiaopu.
Lin Xiaopu thought he was embarrassed, but after taking a look, Brother Zhou Ye squatted down in front of her, squatted down...
Lin Xiaopu sighed.
How could she expect Brother Aye to refute her sister? When had he ever refuted her?
Oh, there are times when I don’t take care of myself.
Lin Shu giggled and rode on Zhou Ye's neck like a child, and was held up steadily by him.
Aye was very strong, and his body was as solid as steel. She was not afraid of crushing him, so she rode on his neck, holding his head with one hand and reaching for the locust beans with the other hand. Relying on Aye's height and strength, she could easily pick a bunch at a time.
"Xiao Pu, use the backpack to catch them." Lin Shu called out, and then directed Zhou Ye to move forward, backward, left and right, picking a bunch and throwing it into the backpack held by Lin Xiaopu. After slowly picking all the fruits she could reach, she patted Zhou Ye's shoulder with satisfaction, "Aye, we're done."
Zhou Ye didn't move for a long time, as if he was distracted.
Only after Lin Shu pulled his earlobe with evil intentions did he nod, squat down, and let Lin Shu get off his neck.
In just a short while, the backpack was nearly half full. Lin Xiaopu was so happy that she grinned and didn't care about her elder sister and future brother-in-law showing off their love to her.
"Look how happy you are. The locust beans are picked with the branches. It just looks like there are a lot. When we dry the locust beans, we must pull them all off. Once the branches are removed, there won't be much left."
Lin Shu thought of something and warned, "The locust beans are not easy to pick. If you and Wang Yingen and the other kids can't climb trees, don't try to be brave. Instead of picking the beans, you can wait until the flowers bloom. Then, hold the trunk and shake it, and you'll be able to shake the petals off to the ground. Don't worry if they get mixed with mud, just sift them with a bamboo sieve."
"Sister, I know everything, don't worry. Oh, by the way, sister..." Lin Xiaopu thought of something and said with her chest puffed out, "I don't plan to do the iron hooks and wires you mentioned. I have my own way. Hehe, I don't need your help with the rest."
Hearing this, Lin Shu looked at Zhou Ye and said with a smile, "You don't want it, but I do. Ah Ye, I want the iron wire. With the iron wire, we can reinforce the bamboo pipes of the fish pond and the mountain spring water."
Zhou Ye nodded, "Ashu is right, using iron wire is indeed more secure."
Lin Xiaopu: ...
Haha, in Brother Aye’s eyes, what my sister said was always wrong.
A few people briefly experienced picking locust beans, and spent the rest of the time looking for cicada shells.
The most common sounds in the forest in midsummer are the chirping of cicadas and the croaking of frogs, and there are also the most common cicada shells in the forest.
Kids like Wang Yingen usually liked to pick up cicada shells for fun, but Lin Xiaopu wasn't interested and had never picked one up before. Of course, that was all in the past. Nowadays, Lin Xiaopu carries a bamboo basket in one hand, and soon he has already thrown several cicada shells into it.
Cicada sloughs are the shells left behind after a cicada sheds its outer shell. They are similar in shape to an insect, appearing yellow or amber in color. They are translucent and beautiful when viewed in the sun. They are most common on tree trunks, where cicadas prefer to shed their shells.
Lin Xiaopu tilted her head back. Although this was her first time picking up cicada sloughs, she was clearly not completely inexperienced. Cicada sloughs instinctively avoid human gaze, but she even knew to look behind trees, which actually helped her find quite a few.
As for Lin Shu, she was playing while searching. She picked a palm leaf and weaved a small basket. After a long time, there were only three or four cicada shells lying in it.
Zhou Ye reached over and placed a handful in her small basket, causing her to chuckle. "When did you find this? How come you can find so many just by looking for them? This makes me look like a loser, okay?"
Zhou Ye pushed away a branch that was blocking her path and said, "I can see from a high place, there are some places you haven't noticed."
Lin Shu glanced at him and snorted, "You are tall, but even in the capital, there are few men as tall and strong as you."
Zhou Ye tilted his head to look at her, "Are you angry? Wouldn't it be better if I were taller and stronger?"
He distractedly glanced at Lin Xiaopu, who was absorbed in finding cicada sloughs, and lowered his voice, "I'm strong and can easily carry you."
Lin Shu immediately glared at him, but the glare had no deterrent effect. "You scoundrel, what nonsense are you talking about? Xiao Pu is still here."
Zhou Ye stopped talking, but his slightly raised eyebrows revealed his good mood at the moment.
Ah Shu is always like this. There are some things she can say that others cannot, and they will feel embarrassed and angry if they say them.
But Ah Shu didn't know how beautiful she looked when she was embarrassed and angry. He loved to watch it, and sometimes he couldn't help but want to provoke her.
Lin Xiaopu was busy looking for cicada shells and didn't pay any attention to what the two adults behind her were whispering. When it was getting late and she had to go back, she still felt a little reluctant to leave.
When it comes to picking cicada shells, no one can match Wang Yingen. When she announces this good news during her lecture tomorrow, this guy will definitely be overjoyed.
As expected, in the next few days, Wang Yingen and his group of little kids were full of energy. After finishing Lin Xiaopu's small class every day, they picked up their tools and ran away.
Especially Wang Yingen, who was like a loach and Li Chunmiao couldn't catch him.
Li Chunmiao laughed and scolded: "Why are you running so fast, you bastard? I was telling you to be careful on the road!"
Wang Yingen yelled, "I'm going to make money, so of course I have to run fast. If I run too slowly, the cicada shells will all be picked up by others! Just wait, Mom, I'm going to pick up the most cicada shells. I'll use the money I get to buy you some sweets!"
"You little brat, how old are you and you're already thinking about making money? The right thing for you is to learn a few more words from Xiao Pu!" Although he said this, a rare bright smile appeared on Li Chunmiao's face.
On the 26th of the month, after a busy day, Lin Xiaopu had a considerable amount of dried locust beans and flowers in the yard. She used her own savings to buy a scale and weighed them. The dried locust beans weighed two kilograms. The flowers were very light after drying, so although they looked heavy, they were only two kilograms.
As for the cicada slough, which is essentially a shell, she found over 200 of them, but they only weighed two taels. However, Lin Xiaopu wasn't counting on this to make money; she was just setting an example for Wang Yingen and the others.
When Wang Yingen and his companions arrived at the agreed time, Lin Xiaopu weighed the locust beans, cicada shells, and other items they had saved one by one and recorded them in a book. After everyone confirmed that everything was correct, everything was put together in an orderly manner.
There is strength in numbers, and the combined weight of these little kids is quite a lot. Not to mention the locust seeds and flowers, there aren't many locust trees in the village to begin with, just the cicada shells alone, they weigh more than a pound.
At a glance, there are thousands of densely packed cicada shells!
Wang Yingen held his head high and chest out. He picked up the most cicada shells, more than 800 by himself.
"Brother Aye and I will go to the county early tomorrow morning. If things go well, all our hard work these days can be exchanged for copper coins. I will share the money with you then!" said Lin Xiaopu.
Wang Yingen scratched his head. "Aren't Brother Aye and Sister Ashu getting married the day after tomorrow? Why is he going out tomorrow?"
Lin Xiaopu said unhappily, "It's because you're always dragging your feet. You said the locust beans at home weren't dried yet, and asked me to come a day or two later. Otherwise, I would have left the day before yesterday."
Of course, it's not just that, but she had to say this so that she could take the opportunity to cure Wang Yingen's procrastination.
Wang Yingen chuckled guiltily, "Then you should leave early tomorrow. Don't delay Brother Aye's important matter."
"You don't need me to tell you that. Next time, just listen to me. I'll tell you the deadline, and none of you can delay, understand?"
A group of people, including Wang Yingen, all responded obediently.
The little kids were very excited to think that these things could really be exchanged for money.
"Boss, we are waiting for your good news!" Sun Lai Fu, Feng Shitou and others shouted especially loudly.
They didn't know how much money they could get, but even if it was only three or five copper coins, this was the first money they had earned with their own hands!
Two copper coins could buy a piece of malt candy, hehe. They were not as rich as Wang Yingen's family, who could eat candy from time to time.
At this time, the kids didn't know what kind of shock Lin Xiaopu would bring to them. Until the evening of the next day, Zhou Ye and Lin Xiaopu rushed back to Tianshui Village in the sunset. Zhou Ye didn't look tired at all. Although Lin Xiaopu was exhausted after this trip, his eyes were bright and he looked in good spirits.
He Guixiang had already prepared dinner and told Lin Dashan to eat first while she and Lin Shu continued to wait. Finally seeing someone, she and Lin Shu hurriedly heated up the rice and served it, scolding him as they prepared. "Aye, I'm not saying anything to you. It's okay for Xiao Pu to act like a fool, but why are you following her? You're getting married tomorrow, and yet you're running around outside?"
Zhou Ye subconsciously glanced at Lin Shu, and seeing that she didn't look unhappy, he explained, "Aunt, it's not that I'm indulging Xiao Pu. I went to the county to order something, and it's only available today, so I went to the county to pick it up."
When these words came out, Lin Shu didn't look at him, but the corners of her mouth secretly raised.
She had guessed long ago that A Ye would not go to the county for no reason, he must be going there to do something.
She didn't know what they were going to buy in the county when they were about to get married, but it was most likely related to her.
Sure enough, after dinner, the family washed up. Zhou Ye found an opportunity to pull Lin Shu to the fish pond behind the house, and then mysteriously took out something wrapped in silk cloth from his arms.
"Ah Shu, I've been choosing this for a long time, and I don't know if you like it."
The silk cloth was opened, revealing a silver-gilt phoenix hairpin of exquisite workmanship.
Under the starlight, the light reflected from the hairpin flashed Lin Shu's eyes.
She stared at the phoenix-head hairpin for a long time and couldn't help but smile, "Aye, this phoenix-head hairpin is really beautiful. I like it very much. I will wear it for you to see tomorrow."
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