Chapter 13
I don’t know how long it took, but Chu Jiujiu was tired of crying and finally fell asleep in Chu Shao’s arms. Chu Shao put her down. She closed her eyes and was still sobbing unconsciously. She looked very pitiful.
She was actually not that sad. After all, she was a child with simple emotions. She could not understand or accept overly complicated emotions.
The reason why she cried so sincerely was because she was angry.
I was angry at the Zhang family's abominations, and also at my own weakness. I was bullied, but I could only watch helplessly, unable to fight back.
Chu Shao coaxed her to sleep, and then he sat with his eyes open for most of the night until the moon was at its zenith, then he fell into a deep sleep with a lot of thoughts in his mind.
The next morning, Chu Shao left again. If nothing unexpected happened, today would be the last day for picking lotus seeds. Men would be responsible for picking lotus pods, while women would be responsible for peeling the skin and removing all the white lotus seeds. After peeling, all the lotus seeds would be handed over and sent to the county town.
The farmers who have been busy for a long time will finally get work points, and by the end of the year, these work points will be turned into grains of food.
The villagers were not left without any lotus seeds to eat. After the picking was over, there were still many lotus seeds left in the pond. Some had not developed well, and some were too small and would only grow up in a few days. The production teams had given up on them and no longer wanted them, so men, women, young and old could come and pick them.
In the hot summer, eating a few lotus seeds with the fragrance of lotus leaves is a rare enjoyment.
While Chu Shao was busy, Chu Jiujiu was not idle either. She finally began to integrate into this simple rural life and learned to go up the mountain to dig wild vegetables and pick mushrooms with her third aunt.
Third Aunt had two children, both boys. She wanted a daughter, but unfortunately she never had one. The first time she saw Chu Jiujiu, she liked her from the bottom of her heart. Later, seeing how miserable her life was, she took the initiative to take her to the mountains to pick mushrooms.
The mountain that Qingzhu Village sits on has many trees on the sunny side and bamboo on the shady side. Because of this favorable ecological environment, moss and mushrooms are almost always growing. The day before Chu Jiujiu arrived, Qingzhu Village had experienced heavy rain, and after several consecutive sunny days, the mushrooms had stopped growing. Coincidentally, it had drizzled again this morning, so Third Aunt arranged to go up the mountain after lunch.
Third Aunt's original intention was to treat her to lunch, but Chu Jiujiu now realized how important food was here. Even the richest family in the village couldn't eat fine grains for every meal, so they still had to eat coarse food and fine food, and be frugal.
So, Chu Jiujiu was very considerate and waited until lunch time before coming to her third aunt's house.
Third Aunt looked at her distressedly, "Auntie doesn't need this meal, but you look so thin. If you skip a few more meals, you'll look unrecognizable."
Chu Jiujiu smiled: "It's okay, Third Aunt, I've eaten."
Aunt San didn't believe what she said and firmly believed that she was just showing off.
Chu Jiujiu: ...
She really had eaten. Brother Shengyi didn't sleep last night and spent the whole night catching eels in the rice fields. He gave her two today, which she ate with some fruit and half a steamed bun left over from the morning. She was so full.
Chu Jiujiu stuck out her tongue and stopped explaining. When she was leaving with her aunt, an old lady happened to walk in. It was the gossipy old lady Chu Jiujiu met when she first came here.
At that time, Chu Jiujiu didn't know that she was talking about the Chu Shao family, nor did she know that the old lady was her third aunt's mother-in-law, known as Wang Pozi.
Although the old lady was gossipy, she had no bad intentions. When she saw Chu Jiujiu, she smiled and did not stop her daughter-in-law from getting close to her.
After saying goodbye to Mrs. Wang, Third Aunt led her and explained to her the complicated interpersonal relationships in the village.
Qingzhu Village boasts a long history and a prime location, maintaining its unwavering popularity for centuries. Originally built along a river, the village expanded to the foot of the mountain as the population grew. This is a common pattern among several nearby villages. The river that sustains this vast mountain village was originally called the Jinshi River. A few years ago, officials felt the name smacked of capitalist extravagance, so they decisively changed it to the Qingshi River.
Qingzhu Village is located upstream of the Qingshi River, directly occupying an area with the best water quality.
Originally, there was only one family named Chen in Qingzhu Village. Later, people from other families gradually moved in. Until now, the Chen family still accounts for half of the village's population. The rest, whether they are surnamed Wang or Zhang, are all from other families.
Therefore, the Chen family has the highest status in Qingzhu Village, and the team leader is a member of the Chen family.
When talking about the Chen family, Third Aunt talked endlessly. After all, there are so many members of the Chen family that if she introduced them one by one, she could talk about them for a whole day.
Chu Jiujiu could barely keep up with what she heard before, but when she heard these extremely similar names of the Chen family, she was completely confused.
Chen Daming, Chen Dazhuang, Chen Yuanfeng, and Chen Yuanxue, she only listened carefully to two of them and then gave up.
Forget it, just listen to it like this. It doesn’t matter if it’s messy. After she goes back, she will go over it in her memory a few more times and slowly it will become clear.
…
When they got to the mountain, Aunt San taught her how to distinguish edible mushrooms from inedible ones. There were two principles: don't eat the ones you don't recognize, and cook the ones you do recognize before eating.
Chu Jiujiu had read in a book before that all brightly colored mushrooms were poisonous and could not be eaten. Only those that looked particularly ugly and ordinary could be eaten.
But Aunt San overturned this impression.
Mushrooms that turn into the limited edition blue-green hell color when you break them open are edible, but ordinary mushrooms that look almost like light-colored shiitake mushrooms are not edible.
Chu Jiujiu finally realized one thing: mushrooms grow at will and without any rules. You must never use the characteristics of one mushroom to apply to another, otherwise you will pay a bloody price.
…
Chu Jiujiu studied very seriously, and Aunt San gradually discovered that she had a very good memory. No matter what kind of mushroom it was, she would remember it after being taught only once, and would never make a mistake in the future.
The two of them rummaged around under the damp tree roots and in the thick fallen leaves, finally harvesting a basket full of fresh mushrooms. Chu Jiujiu put all the mushrooms she had picked into Aunt San's basket, then said softly to her, "Aunt San, thank you for teaching me. I'll give all these mushrooms to you and to Grandma Wang. That day when Grandma denied that Zhang Fulai had beaten me, it was Grandma Wang who testified on my behalf. I've always wanted to thank her, and now I finally have the chance."
Aunt San was so moved that she burst into tears. What a kind and grateful child!
Doesn't she know her mother-in-law's character? She must have just been watching the fun and yelling when she was happy. Only the silly child Jiujiu could regard this as a favor and remember it to this day.
Third Aunt's eyes welled up with tears: "Third Aunt knows Jiujiu's kindness. You can take the mushrooms, take them all. Third Aunt's house has plenty of them. Grandma Wang is tired of eating them!"
She spoke with great pride, completely forgetting what Mrs. Wang had said to her last night, saying that she hadn't had mushroom soup for a long time.
Chu Jiujiu rubbed the corner of her clothes for a while, then raised her head in embarrassment: "But...but I don't have a pot, I can't cook it if I take it back."
So, that night, Chu Shao and Chu Jiujiu were invited to the Wang family to drink mushroom soup.
…
When the mushrooms are cooked, they can taste like meat or seafood. Chu Jiujiu was so delicious that she couldn't even eat the lotus pods that Chu Shao brought back. Before going to bed, she was still thinking that she must go pick mushrooms again tomorrow.
Chu Jiujiu did what she said. The next day, she grabbed three lotus pods that were bigger than her face and skipped to find Han Shengyi. When Niu Ailing saw her running out of the yard with so many lotus pods in her hands, her eyes widened.
She held out her hand: "Where are you taking the lotus pod? Give it to me, don't try to keep it all by yourself."
In response to this, Chu Jiujiu rolled her eyes.
Niu Ailing was angry and was about to scold her, but she had already run away. Looking at Chu Jiujiu's cheerful back, Niu Ailing stomped her feet and went back to the house with gritted teeth.
Zhao Shiliu leaned against the door of the main room and took in the entire scene.
Mrs. Zhang asked her to come home to cook breakfast. Because the new home was far away, she had to get up half an hour earlier every day. When she got here, her parents-in-law and the eldest son's family started eating when she was halfway through. When she finished cleaning up and came back, the dishes on the table were gone, and even the steamed bread left for her was the smallest.
That’s not all. After she finished eating her own steamed bun, she still had to wash the dishes and pots. Her sister-in-law Niu Ailing was so lazy that she didn’t help her at all.
The eldest son's family is the most favored. Zhao Shiliu is angry, but she can do nothing about it. There is no way. Now her mother-in-law is in charge. If she quarrels with her eldest sister-in-law, her mother-in-law will dare to beat her.
Fortunately, they had already moved out. Although Zhang Fengjuan's house was a bit dilapidated, the foundation was well laid, making it sturdy. It also had a good orientation, keeping it warm in winter and cool in summer. The yard was also large enough to grow some vegetables and raise chickens without any problem.
The most important thing is that it is far away from the Zhang family. You can hear Mrs. Zhang's scolding without opening your eyes or closing them. It is really wonderful.
That's why she wants to hold on to this house tightly in her hands, and no one can even think of taking her house.
Looking at Niu Ailing walking towards him angrily, Zhao Shiliu smiled and stopped Niu Ailing from entering the house.
Niu Ailing looked at the arm she was holding and asked in a bad tone, "What are you doing?"
Zhao Shiliu pulled a bamboo stool over and asked Niu Ailing to sit down. "Sister-in-law, have you heard that someone in Baiquan Village downstream has made a fortune?"
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