With bedwetting stopped, Xu Dazhu's self-esteem returned.
Even if I can't walk, I can still sit or lie down to scrape hemp and learn to spin and weave.
Although these are things that women usually do, Xu Dazhu doesn't mind.
He had thought it through. Not only did he need to survive, but he also needed to support his wife and children. So he decided to do more work, anything at all.
Jiang Zhi was quite satisfied with Xu Dazhu's recovery: "We'll use this prescription for now, and switch to other medications when the weather gets cold and we can no longer catch crabs in the ditch."
Xu Dazhu said gratefully, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Auntie!"
Beside her, Chunfeng held Xu Dazhu's hand, her eyes filled with joy.
These days, she has also been learning from Xiaoman to massage Xu Dazhu. Seeing her husband getting better day by day fills her with happiness.
After a moment, Chunfeng moved her body and said shyly to Jiang Zhi, "Auntie, are you going to pick mushrooms again tomorrow? Can you take me with you?"
There isn't that much farm work now, so she can't stay home all day and just sit around doing nothing with Xu Dazhu.
Having a helper would be good, and Jiang Zhi readily agreed when she heard that Chunfeng wanted to go with her.
Now is the time to gather all kinds of food, because they will be gone in winter.
Some time ago, from the time Qiaoyun became pregnant until she was in postpartum confinement, someone had to stay at home to take care of her at all times. Jiangzhi went to the mountains alone to dig for medicinal herbs and pick mushrooms, since she could only bring a limited amount of things with her.
Moreover, Chunfeng is not lazy; she goes with everyone if she can.
The next morning, Chunfeng came over with a basket on her back to wait for Jiangzhi: "Auntie! Where are we going today?"
Jiang Zhi put down her chopsticks and said to Xu Errui, who was drinking porridge, "Errui, don't go out today. Stay home and dry the wheat. Once it's dry, we'll divide it between the two families!"
Although Grandpa Xiaoman didn't mention what to do when the wheat ripened, Jiang Zhi understood that this was a joint crop grown by two families. They would harvest it, dry it, and then divide it to avoid any potential rifts arising from storing it for too long.
Drying over 200 jin of wheat is too much for Qiaoyun to handle alone if there's a downpour; she needs a man by her side.
While eating, Xu Errui nodded in agreement, saying he also needed to tidy up the house.
Jiang Zhi finished getting ready to go out, but when she turned around and saw Chunfeng's open trouser legs and loose sleeves, she shook her head: "Chunfeng, you can't dress like that!"
Chunfeng was wearing clothes that Xu Dazhu had worn before. She couldn't bear to cut them up, so she wore them loosely.
When walking in the mountains, you need to tighten your trouser legs, collar and cuffs, and wrap a headscarf around your head.
Jiang Zhi herself did this, and Xiao Man and Xu Errui did it too.
The mountains are full of snakes, insects and ants. You might accidentally step on one and get bitten. Tightening your trouser legs can prevent you from being bitten.
There are also insects like centipedes on the tree. When people walk under it, it is possible for an insect to be startled and fall into their collar.
Having no experience, Chunfeng quickly followed Jiangzhi's advice and wrapped herself up tightly.
The two were looking for termite mushrooms again, and of course, they didn't have a moment to rest while walking, putting whatever they saw into their baskets.
Various herbs, and prickly pears that have turned golden and are covered in thorns. Scrape off the thorns, take a bite, and your mouth will water from the sourness.
Prickly pears can be eaten raw, soaked in water or boiled in water. They can beautify the skin, aid digestion, and lower blood pressure.
As Jiang Zhi spoke to Chun Feng, she used a knife to cut off the yellowed prickly pears, took them back, sliced them, dried them in the sun, and stored them.
Chunfeng only knew that this was for children to eat and play with; she never imagined it could also beautify the skin.
Everyone loves beauty, but she touched her sunken cheeks and said, "Now that everyone is struggling to get enough to eat, I don't think anyone needs to aid digestion or use beauty products!"
Jiang Zhi said, "Rich people have money wherever they go. They can't bear to eat less, yet they keep saying they want to lose weight. That's what they love."
Chunfeng thought about it and agreed: "I heard from others that people in the city eat white flour every day and can eat meat every few days. They might need this medicine to aid digestion."
Jiang Zhi nodded: "Yes, we can sell these in the city to exchange for flour and meat!"
After eating diet meals for several months, Jiang Zhi now craves carb-heavy foods. She'll get angry if anyone mentions healthy food from now on, and she won't mind eating white rice, white flour, or meat and fish anymore.
Could we exchange it for white rice and white flour? Chunfeng couldn't help but swallow.
With hope comes motivation. The two were not afraid of the thorny wild fruits that would prick them, and quickly picked them, as if they could already see the white, plump fruit in front of them.
Busy until noon, the two sat down to rest. Jiang Zhi took out the vegetable pancakes she had brought and shared them with the two of them. They were still made of oak powder mixed with vegetable leaves.
Having eaten new wheat once, she found it difficult to swallow these things.
Chunfeng was clearly enjoying her meal, biting into the vegetable pancake with relish: "Auntie is really different from before!"
She had been in the Xu family for more than two years, and especially with Xiaoman around, she was very clear about how the original owner had abused Xiaotian.
Back then, Aunt Jiang treated everyone like they owed her money, always with a long face and piercing eyes, so people didn't dare to talk to her.
It would be impossible to work and eat together like we do now.
Upon hearing that she was different from the original owner of the body, Jiang Zhi put down the vegetable pancake in her hand.
Chunfeng is not Xu Errui's foolish son, nor is she as naive as Qiaoyun and Xiaoman, nor is she as tolerant as Xiaoman's grandparents who are old and forgiving.
As a woman, she is sensitive and has experienced the harsh realities of society; it's impossible for her not to notice the dramatic changes in herself.
But Jiang Zhi knew that this kind of person was also capable of empathy.
So he sighed and said, "I was so tired back then. When you're physically tired, you get annoyed. Nothing I saw was pleasing to the eye. I had to let it all out to feel better, otherwise I felt suffocated."
In this world, no suffering is greater than the bitterness of feeling wronged.
Sure enough, Chunfeng slowed down her chewing and her tone became sympathetic: "I've heard people say that not only does your aunt have to manage the family's crops, but she also has to be wary of her family members."
She couldn't continue. She heard that when Aunt Jiang's mother-in-law was still alive, she would often secretly cook eggs for Xiao Tian while Aunt Jiang was working in the fields. Her own grandson, Xu Errui, and her eldest child, who had died young, could only watch.
Looking back now, Aunt Jiang must have felt wronged, having to farm to support her family and still being called mean.
The whole family is wary of her, and they can't reason with her no matter what.
After her mother-in-law and husband died, she simply intensified her abuse, harboring resentment in her heart. She would beat and scold Xiaotian constantly, and treat him like an animal when he was working. The child immediately suffered terribly.
Who can we blame for this?
Now that things had come to this point, Jiang Zhi also asked her about her remarriage and escape.
On the day Chunfeng returned, Jiangzhi noticed many scars while scrubbing her back.
Although Xu Errui had mentioned that Chunfeng had married an abusive man, Jiang Zhi still wanted to show concern and foster some friendship between the women.
When Chunfeng talked about remarrying, tears streamed down her face.
When she learned that she had been tricked into going back to the Xu family, she fell ill. Her illness became very serious, and her family was afraid that she would die at home, so they accepted the betrothal gifts and married her off.
Chunfeng, who was ill, was unable to resist. Not only was she forced to go through the wedding ceremony, but she was also forced to have sex with someone that night.
Unexpectedly, her second husband was an alcoholic who would beat people when drunk. He said that Chunfeng was a jinx who brought bad luck to her husbands, and that she always had a long face and was full of bad luck. He also said that she was still thinking about her paralyzed husband and children from her first marriage and that she was an ungrateful wretch.
My mother-in-law said that since we spent money to buy someone with a treacherous heart, they deserve to be beaten to death.
When she got to the heartbreaking part, Chunfeng burst into tears: "Auntie, why is it so hard for us women? Brother Dazhu is injured, and I don't want to leave."
I'm not afraid of how tiring or difficult the work is; I'm content as long as someone knows and understands my hardships!
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