"Hello, Auntie~" Lili cracked her tongue. Luckily, she was still a child, and she could easily charm anyone.
Aunt Wu looked up and glanced at the unfamiliar little girl. She had some impression of her. Shen Jialu had brought her to buy tofu last time. She had heard that the Shen family in Xinghua Village had found the girl and adopted her.
"What's wrong?"
"Excuse me, could you please give that to us?" Shen Jialu asked in a low voice, pointing to a pot of yellowish-brown stuff in the corner of the yard, a little embarrassed.
Aunt Wu looked in the direction he was pointing, and there in the basin were moldy and rotten soybeans.
"Those beans are all rotten, we can't use them." Aunt Wu was a little puzzled, worried that the children might have misremembered the adults' instructions, so she kindly reminded them, "I remember your family always needs three pieces of tofu, right? Is it the same this time?"
Lili shook her head: "Auntie, we just want rotten beans."
"ah?"
Shen Jialu quickly pulled out a few copper coins from his pocket. These were the New Year's money his wife gave him every year. It wasn't much, only five coins a year, and he had been saving them.
I wonder how much this pot of rotten beans costs. Although they're rotten, there's a lot of them, so it's only right that they charge for them.
Shen Jialu didn't care at all that his savings would be spent; supporting his sister's hobby was what he should do!
Although I don't quite understand why my sister's hobby is collecting rotten soybeans, as long as she likes it, that's fine.
"Auntie, we're not joking, we can pay!" Shen Jialu quickly handed over ten coins. "Is this enough?"
Aunt Wu was now certain that the kids weren't joking, but what was the point of having these rotten soybeans? They were already spoiled; she couldn't very well use them for cooking, could she?
Rotten soybeans are meant to be thrown away anyway, but now someone is willing to pay for them. What's the difference between this and a pie falling from the sky?
Aunt Wu quickly smiled broadly: "Oh dear, ten coins? We're all neighbors, and you always patronize my business. Three coins will suffice!"
Shen Jialu thanked her repeatedly and handed over three coins: "Thank you, Auntie!"
"Take that pot back with you, and bring it back to Auntie later."
"Okay!"
Shen Jiahao handed Lili to Shen Jialuo and walked straight to the corner.
The large round basin, one meter in diameter, must have contained at least twenty kilograms of beans, which Shen Jiahao lifted with ease.
"Walk!"
As soon as they left the Wu family's house, Lili tugged at Shen Jialu's sleeve and said, "Thank you, Second Brother!"
Upon receiving a thank you from his sister, Shen Jialu instantly felt that the three coins were nothing; he could spend several more three-coin sums!
Shen Jiahao was holding a basin of rotten soybeans, the sour, rotten smell hitting his nose: "Some of these soybeans are sour, what are you going to do with these rotten soybeans?"
He thought his sister wanted to eat tofu, but he never expected that she came specifically for a bowl of rotten soybeans.
Could this be a little-known hobby of my younger sister?
My sister has such a niche hobby, she likes smelly things!
Pear said mysteriously, "Brother, it's our secret!"
When Shen Jiahao and Shen Jialu stood beside their own field, both Shen Jiahao, who was holding a rotten soybean, and Shen Jialu, who was holding a small dumpling, were completely bewildered.
What's going on? Bringing a bowl of rotten soybeans here to enjoy the scenery?
Pear blinked and clasped her hands together: "Please, please, please, please spill the beans!"
Although his younger sister's pleading expression was quite endearing, Shen Jiahao still hesitated: "Scattering rotten soybeans? I can understand scattering vegetable leaves and eggshells, those are raw and can be 'eaten' by the field, but these rotten soybeans have already fermented, won't they damage the field?"
Shen Jialu was also in a dilemma. Old Man Shen had just finished fertilizing with his sons yesterday and wouldn't be coming anytime soon. But the thought of his father seeing the ground covered in rotten soybeans in ten days made him feel like he would definitely get a beating!
After a moment's thought, Lili realized that it was indeed a bit hard for her brothers to accept doing something like this all at once, since they thought it was just a joke.
"Just a tiny bit, just a tiny bit, okay~" Lili grabbed Shen Jiahao's clothes, her eyes brimming with tears, "Lili wants to see the difference between the sprinkled beans and the vegetables..."
The little dumpling's eyes were red, and her eyes seemed about to overflow with tears. Shen Jialu gave in as if possessed.
"Brother, how about we secretly sow one or two seeds, picking the ones that aren't growing well..."
Seeing his sister's heartbroken expression, Shen Jiahao's heart softened: "Alright! Just two plants, no more!"
"Mmm, my brother loves Pear the most!"
Shen Jiahao quickly grabbed a handful of soybeans and casually scattered them on two rice stalks in the corner, then immediately stopped: "Alright, dump the rest."
Shen Jiahao then poured the bowl of soybeans into the garbage heap next to the field before saying, "Alright, I'll go to Peach Blossom Village to return the bowl. Second brother, you take your sister home first."
"Okay," Shen Jialu replied.
Back home, as soon as she pushed open the door, Shen Jialuo came running over, looking aggrieved, and tugged at her arm, saying, "Where did Li Bao go? She didn't play with her brother at all!"
Shen Lili looked at him for two seconds, then suddenly leaned close to his ear with a sly smile: "Brother, do you want to play a game with Lili secretly?"
"think!"
"Hey, Li Bao, Fifth Brother, where have you been again?" Shen Jialu's voice rang out from behind.
Lili casually replied, "Goodbye, Guoguo!"
Watching the two little ones disappear after leaving the house, Shen Jialu had no choice but to silently accept the fact that he had been 'abandoned' by his younger sister.
"Little sister, where are we going?" Shen Jialuo, who had been pulled out of the house by Lili, was feeling very excited and thrilled.
My sister is playing games with him alone!
Hehe, he just said he's Pear's favorite older brother!
Lili pulled Shen Jialuo to where Shen Jiahao had dumped the soybeans, pointing to the pile of rotten soybeans: "Look, boss, the beans!"
Shen Jialu asked in confusion, "Why are there so many rotten soybeans next to the rice paddy?"
"Hehe." Lili put on her signature mischievous smile again, "Brother, carry some beans!"
"ah?"
Lili rattled off a long explanation to Shen Jialuo, who was still half-understanding: "Transport these rotten soybeans onto the rice paddies!? No way, these soybeans are all rotten and have turned sour, my parents will beat me to death!"
Lili dangled and pulled Shen Jialuo to the two rice stalks in the field where Shen Jiahao had already sprinkled soybeans, pointing them out to him: "Look, Guoguo, that's what Guoguo did!"
Shen Jialuo saw the scattered soybeans in the soil and hesitated slightly: "Did Big Brother scatter them? Big Brother is the most sensible. Since Big Brother scattered them... then it should be fine?"
Lili calmly tried to fool him: "Big Brother doesn't want to play with Lili...and Fifth Brother doesn't want to either..."
The little dumpling poked its two fingers together pitifully, its eyes drooping sadly, looking so pathetic that even the two little tufts on its head seemed lifeless.
"Since I'm not a professional, there might be some inaccuracies in some parts. Please forgive me and feel free to point them out~"
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