Chapter 41 The Fragrance of Grasshoppers
Xiao Dingkun saw Nie Dazhuang leave and handed the grasshopper to Fubao: "Here."
Fubao took the grasshopper and looked at it carefully. Half of the grasshopper's wings were broken, and it looked pitiful.
She had indeed originally wanted to eat roasted grasshoppers because they looked fat, but when she thought about how the grasshopper had been bullied by Nie Dazhuang and was now disabled, she couldn't bear to eat it.
She touched the grasshopper and whispered, "Go away, grasshopper. I won't eat you. Go home. Maybe if you take care of yourself, your wings will grow back."
Then she asked Xiao Dingkun, "Brother Dingkun, can we take this grasshopper home?"
Xiao Dingkun really had no interest in a grasshopper: "Whatever you want."
With Xiao Dingkun's permission, Fubao put the grasshopper on the grass by the river. At first, the grasshopper looked at Fubao and Xiao Dingkun cautiously, jumped a few times tentatively, and when it found that they were not chasing it, it quickly jumped away and soon disappeared into the grass.
Xiao Dingkun looked at Fubao, her legs rolled up, covered in mud and grass, her shoes missing. He shook his head, then picked up her shoes and tossed them to her: "Have you been running up the mountain a lot lately?"
As an educated youth, he also needed to go up the mountain to collect firewood, and occasionally saw her a few times.
Fubao wiped his calves with hay before putting on his shoes. He nodded repeatedly after hearing what Xiao Dingkun said. "Yes, yes, my family caught a piglet, so we have to feed it. Brother Shengtian and I will be responsible for cutting grass to feed the piglet!"
I didn't expect to meet Xiao Dingkun today. I haven't seen him for a few days and I miss him so much.
Xiao Dingkun sat on the grass nearby and asked, "How are the piglets?"
When Fu Bao mentioned the piglet, he immediately became excited: "My piglet is so fat. My brother Shengtian and I cut grass for it every day. The piglet eats it with great enthusiasm. It is now much heavier than when I first brought it home. Its fur is shiny and looks fresh. It is better than other piglets!"
This is not Fubao bragging, she heard it from others. Others all said that your pig is really good-looking and is obviously much stronger than the pig in Old Nie's family.
Xiao Dingkun couldn't help but laugh when he saw Xiao Fubao's proud look when he mentioned the fat pig.
He looked at her, small and could not help asking, "Besides mowing the pigs, what else do you do at home? Do you work often?"
Fubao thought: "I just cut grass for the pigs, that's all. Actually, cutting grass for the pigs is quite fun. There are so many delicious things in the mountains. Every day I dig wild vegetables and look for sour fruits in the mountains. It's more fun than staying at home!"
Xiao Dingkun was helpless: "You are just a greedy little cat, all you do is eat."
Fubao felt a little aggrieved when Xiao Dingkun said that. She whispered, "I'm still young. Didn't you miss eating when you were little? Children are always greedy. Weren't you greedy before?"
The black and white eyes blinked like that, looking innocent and aggrieved, as if saying, "I'm a child, I'm greedy, and that's what I deserve."
However, Xiao Dingkun said: "I was not greedy when I was a child."
Fubao suddenly felt embarrassed. She knew she ate more than others, but it was enough to know it in her heart. Why should she say it out loud? It would be so embarrassing to say it out loud. She was just a little girl. She couldn't let everyone know that she loved to eat, right?
She snorted and said deliberately: "If you say that to me again, I won't play with you anymore!"
This is her magic weapon for success. If Gu Shengtian is unhappy with her one day, she will just say this, and Gu Shengtian will definitely surrender immediately. She has tried it twice and it works both times.
She intuitively thought that her method could also be used on Xiao Dingkun.
Xiao Dingkun listened to her childish words, which were just like children playing house. He finally couldn't help laughing and said hurriedly: "Xiao Fubao, I'm going to give you something delicious, so there's no need to ignore me."
Fubao originally wanted to show that he also has a temper, but when he heard about delicious food, his eyes suddenly lit up. He no longer cared about his temper or face, and couldn't help asking: "Really? You want to give me fried noodles?"
She still remembers the taste of fried noodles, it was delicious.
Xiao Dingkun looked at Fubao's eyes, which were shining with anticipation, and took something out of his backpack: "Do you like this?"
Fubao looked over and saw a pair of big hands spread out, with a peach in the palm.
The wild peach is not very big, but it is very ripe. The tip of the peach is red, as if the sweet peach juice will overflow with a slight poke.
Fubao was so surprised that he couldn't believe it: "Where did this come from? Why are there peaches in this season?"
Generally, peach blossoms bloom in March, and then peaches slowly ripen. This is February, and you can occasionally see peach blossoms blooming in the sun, but it is impossible to see peaches.
Xiao Dingkun looked at Fubao's happy face and asked, "Do you like to eat?"
Of course he wouldn't tell her that this was a wild peach tree he had found hidden in a valley in the mountains. He had been eyeing the peaches on it for a long time, just waiting for them to ripen so that he could pick them and give them to her.
Fubao wanted to eat, but felt a little embarrassed. After hesitating for a moment, he bit his lip and nodded slightly.
Xiao Dingkun had naturally anticipated this. He stood up and walked to the stream, scooped up water from the source, washed the peach, and then handed it to Fubao.
Fubao took it shyly at first, then couldn't wait to take a big bite, targeting the moistest part of the tip of the peach.
When you take a bite, it's as if there is a silent popping sound, the peach tip breaks open, and the sweet juice inside overflows into your mouth, moist and sweet.
It’s really delicious.
As Fubao ate the peach, her bright eyes kept looking at Xiao Dingkun. After taking a bite, she picked it up and handed it to Xiao Dingkun: "Brother Dingkun, you have one too."
Xiao Dingkun shook his head: "You eat it."
The wild peach tree only produced five small peaches. I had to wait for several days before this one was ripe. Wild peaches are very small.
Fubao refused and said softly, "No, Brother Dingkun, if you want to eat, how about we each have a bite?"
Xiao Dingkun hesitated for a moment, took it, and took a small bite.
A very small bite.
Fubao looked at him and herself eating together and immediately smiled. She took the peach, taking a bite for herself and Xiao Dingkun a bite, and the two of them ate the whole peach.
In the end, Fubao was reluctant to throw away the peach pit, and held it in his little mouth, gently smacking the peach fragrance.
Looking at Xiao Fubao sucking the peach pits greedily, Xiao Dingkun suddenly wished he had a basket of peaches so that she could eat as much as she wanted.
This Pingxi Production Brigade was so poor that even a little bit of delicious food was considered a good thing. He frowned, thought for a moment, and said, "I'll give you peaches in a few days."
Fubao blinked his eyes: "Brother Dingkun, are you a god?"
Xiao Dingkun: "I look like a god?"
Fubao nodded obediently and said in confusion, "How come you have everything? Fried noodles and peaches, it's like a magic trick."
She frowned, looking both well-behaved and puzzled, which was so cute and adorable that Xiao Dingkun couldn't help but chuckle.
He looked up at the sky and said deliberately, "Yes, I am a god. I can perform magic tricks. Fubao, be good. I will make you something delicious next time."
This made Fubao laugh: "The nuns in the nunnery once told me that there are no gods in this world, they are all lies. They worship Buddha every day, but have never seen what Buddha looks like."
Xiao Dingkun looked at her doubtfully: "Really? What else did the nuns in the nunnery say?"
Fubao thought about it and felt something was wrong.
She was less than a year old when she was in the nunnery, how could she remember so many things? If she said this now, wouldn't it be a revelation?
She held it back for a moment, her face flushed, not knowing what to say next. Would Brother Dingkun think she was lying to him?
Xiao Dingkun: "Why don't you say anything?"
Fubao held it in for a long time before finally saying, "I...I forgot too. I was very young at that time..."
She is not very good at lying and blushes when she tells a lie.
But after saying this, he secretly looked at Xiao Dingkun again. He didn't doubt himself, but just lowered his head and frowned, as if he was thinking about something.
Fubao felt a little nervous and whispered, "Brother Dingkun, I, I should go find my brother Shengtian first. He's waiting for me!"
Xiao Dingkun nodded: "Okay, then I have to get busy too."
——
After separating from Xiao Dingkun, Fubao thought about what he had said and still felt a little uneasy.
She had never told anyone that she had been able to understand what people around her said and what was happening around her since she was a child, but now she actually told it to Brother Dingkun. She didn't know if Brother Dingkun would think she was a monster and would hate her?
Fubao is afraid that others will dislike him. If he is disliked, he may be beaten and scolded, or even kicked out.
But she thought, Brother Dingkun is a good man, he shouldn't think too much about it, right?
Just as he was thinking about it, Gu Shengtian ran over: "Fubao, Fubao, look what I caught!"
As he spoke, Gu Shengtian proudly showed Fubao what he had in his hand.
Fubao was overjoyed when he saw it: "So many grasshoppers!"
Gu Shengtian was holding a long string of dogtail grass in his hand, and each string of dogtail grass was strung with several big fat grasshoppers.
Gu Shengtian raised his eyebrows proudly: "Let's make some fire and roast some grasshoppers, okay? We can also have some roasted sweet potatoes."
Fubao was puzzled: "Did you bring sweet potatoes?"
In rural areas, sweet potatoes are not rare. They have high yields and every household has a lot of them. They are usually dried, ground into powder and then used as food, but they are not tasty as food.
Of course, the family will also keep some raw sweet potatoes in the cellar behind the house, which can be preserved for a long time.
Gu Shengtian chuckled, a very cunning laugh, and then slowly took out a sweet potato from his backpack: "Look!"
Fubao was so happy that he held Gu Shengtian's hand and laughed, "Brother is so awesome!"
She loves to eat roasted sweet potatoes and roasted grasshoppers. The sweet potatoes are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, while the grasshoppers are burnt on the outside and golden on the inside when peeled. The little bit of deliciousness that comes out from the charcoal and burnt smell seems to be particularly fragrant and delicious, and tastes better than the proper meals at home.
Gu Shengtian was so delighted by Fubao's praise that he immediately got to work. The two little guys, one collecting firewood and the other building a rack, started to make a fire and roast when everything was ready.
Xiao Dingkun, who was not far away, watched this scene. In the curling smoke, he saw two children happily roasting grasshoppers. In the backward mountain village where food was so scarce, even the grasshoppers had precious protein. When the protein was roasted black by the fire and was taken out, the two children peeled it open and ate it happily. Their faces and mouths were covered with black soot, but they were still happy.
He sighed for the first time and suddenly wanted to go and see when the other peaches on the tree would be ripe.
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