"Ruan Zhiqing, Ruan Zhiqing, we're going up the mountain today, are you coming with us?"
Early in the morning, Ruan Miaomiao had just gotten out of bed when she heard Zhou Taohua's voice coming from outside the door.
Ruan Miaomiao immediately agreed, and carrying her basket, she went up the mountain with them.
Last night, while everyone in the village was asleep late at night, she delivered three meat buns, a serving of pork belly, a meatball and cabbage soup, three servings of rice, a serving of stir-fried green peppers and pork, and a serving of pickled cabbage and pork hock to her parents at the cowshed.
The rabbit she stir-fried was so spicy and numbing that Ruan Miaomiao didn't send it over because she was worried her parents' stomachs wouldn't be able to handle it.
Along the way up the mountain, everyone chatted and laughed. Ruan Miaomiao then learned that every year at this time, the villagers would go up the mountain to pick wild fruits and vegetables, and if they were lucky, they could even dig up some medicinal herbs to supplement their household income.
"Oh my, Ruan Zhiqing, your hair is so long, black and thick, you could definitely get a lot of needles and thread if you traded it for it!"
On the way up the mountain, Er Ya from the village stared at Ruan Miaomiao's hair with envy.
As Er Ya spoke, her hand unconsciously touched her dry, frizzy, yet fine and soft hair, and she couldn't hide her sigh:
“Oh, the needle my mom used to sew the quilt cover broke last year. Every time, she has to borrow one from my second aunt. I was thinking of getting my mom a couple of new needles when my hair grows a little longer.”
I just didn't expect my hair to be so uncooperative!
Hearing this, Zhou Taohua sighed as well: "I also want to grow my hair out to get a new mirror, but my hair just doesn't grow fast. I've been growing it for three years and it still hasn't reached my waist."
"Me too, I was planning to trade my hair for a handkerchief, but..."
A group of girls around thirteen or fourteen years old were chattering about what they wanted to trade their hair for. Although there was a hint of disappointment in their tone, their eyes were full of hope.
Just like this era, it is always full of vibrant hope.
Looking at the group, especially Er Ya, Ruan Miaomiao couldn't help but sigh: They were pale and thin, like bean sprouts. They hadn't even had enough to eat and were too busy gaining weight to grow hair.
At this moment, she couldn't speak up, because anything she said would sound like showing off.
They walked and chatted for over an hour when suddenly, a little girl pointed ahead and exclaimed in surprise:
"Oh my, look! Sticky rice cake!"
Everyone looked in the direction the finger was pointing, and saw clusters of purplish-red, pink, glistening, and watery glutinous rice cakes swaying in the autumn breeze. The girls, who ate potatoes and corn with wild vegetables every day, couldn't stand it anymore, and swarmed towards the glutinous rice cakes, quickly picking them.
Ruan Miaomiao followed, picked a bunch, put it in her mouth, and tasted it. It was sweet and sour, and very delicious.
It is said that this glutinous rice cake can also clear heat, detoxify, relieve cough and headache, and is a very good Chinese medicine.
Although there seemed to be a lot of glutinous rice cakes, there were more than ten girls who came, and each of them picked a little, so they were all distributed quickly.
After tasting a string of glutinous rice cakes, Er Ya put them in a bamboo basket, intending to take them home and share them with her family.
The rest of the people were pretty much the same; no one finished their food on the spot.
Having tasted the sweetness of success, everyone's enthusiasm grew even stronger, and they continued walking into the mountains. Along the way, they dug up a lot of plantain and dandelion, and also picked a lot of wild chrysanthemums.
These items can all be dried and then exchanged for goods at the supply and marketing cooperative.
After walking for another half hour into the mountains, the group came across another grove of prickly pears. Ruan Miaomiao was familiar with prickly pears; they were the king of Vitamin C.
Prickly pear is not demanding in terms of soil, is drought-resistant, and its fruit is easy to store. It can promote metabolism, enhance immunity, prevent colds, fight cancer, and slow aging.
In the apocalypse, this thing would be a treasure.
Of course, it's a treasure now.
Families with limited means would pick prickly pears to eat as snacks or fruit, while those with better means would pick prickly pears, wash and dry them, then soak them in alcohol and enjoy a couple of ounces every now and then.
Ruan Miaomiao had always loved eating prickly pears since the apocalypse, and knowing their high nutritional value, she said to Zhou Taohua and the others who were picking prickly pears:
"I want to get some prickly pears, dry them, and send them back to Haicheng to make medicinal wine for my family. If you pick a lot, you can come and trade with me for rock sugar."
She originally wanted to say she would exchange the tickets for cents, but then she thought that directly trading with money would easily make her look like a speculator, so she changed her approach.
Hearing Ruan Miaomiao's words, Zhou Taohua and the others were overjoyed and picked even more diligently.
They were just waiting to go back and, as Ruan Miaomiao had instructed, remove the seeds and thorns and deliver the food to Ruan Miaomiao in exchange for rock sugar.
******
"Forehead……"
In the sweltering room, Ruan Miaomiao, clutching her stomach in excruciating pain, tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep.
The sweltering heat aggravated her menstrual cramps, soaking her clothes with sweat and making her look like she had just been pulled out of the water.
She never expected that not only would she have transmigrated, but her menstrual cramps would also have come with her.
Some people find that menstrual cramps are relieved by lying down and resting.
However, when Ruan Miaomiao's menstrual cramps became severe, painkillers were no longer effective, and she needed to see a doctor.
At this moment, lying on the wooden bed, watching the moonlight spill onto the floor through the window paper, Ruan Miaomiao, tormented by menstrual cramps, felt inexplicably depressed.
This pain made her instantly understand those women who couldn't bear childbirth and jumped off buildings.
"Bang!"
When the pain became unbearable, Ruan Miaomiao heard a dull thud coming from the courtyard.
Instantly, I realized that this must be my neighbor coming to sell me something again.
She was in so much pain that she couldn't get up, so she grabbed the kitchen knife from under her pillow and smashed it against the wooden door.
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