After eating pork offal porridge that day, Zhou Chenyu returned home and slept straight until noon the next day.
The midday sun shone through the gauze window and onto Zhou Chenyu's face. Zhou Chenyu, who was sleeping, was so hot that she threw off the covers. She gradually woke up when she heard the sound of a cleaver chopping on a cutting board coming from the yard.
"What time is it now?"
Zhou Chenyu rubbed his eyes and went outside. Li Xiuju was sitting under the eaves in the shade, with two large baskets of washed white radishes piled up beside her. The shredded leaves were drying against the wall, some of them already eaten by chickens.
The cutting board is placed in a winnowing basket, and the radish is cut into eight pieces and then into thin strips. After the basket is full, it is placed in the sun to dry.
Hearing the noise, Li Xiuju didn't turn around, but just smiled and said, "Awake?"
"Hmm, I slept so much my bones feel like they're falling apart." After washing up, Zhou Chenyu picked up a radish and compared it to her arm.
When planted, it was just a seed; a few months later, it had grown thicker than an arm.
These are radishes she grew herself. I wonder how they taste?
"I left you a few sweet potatoes in the pot, but they're probably cold by now. They don't taste good cold. I'll go heat them up for you."
Li Xiuju put down the kitchen knife and stood up, but Zhou Chenyu called out to her, "No need for all that trouble. Lunch will be ready in half an hour. Hey, where's that boy Baoyu?"
Li Xiuju moved the winnowing basket covered with radish strips to the eaves of the low storage room. "Didn't you say last night that you wanted to eat stir-fried water ferns with eggs? He went to pick them himself, but we haven't seen him for a while. I don't know if he can find them."
"Then I'll go find him."
"That's good, let him come back sooner."
"Hey." Zhou Chenyu had just stepped out of the courtyard when a furtive figure quickly hid.
"Who's there?" Zhou Chenyu called out, but no one came out. She bent down, picked up a stone, and tossed it twice in her hand. "If you don't come out, I'm going to hit someone. I won't be responsible if you get hit."
"Sister, no." Zhou Wanqiu slumped out of the dark alley.
"Oh, it's you. You were so quiet in broad daylight, I thought you were a thief." Zhou Chenyu glanced at her, noticing her timid expression and slightly swollen lips. "You came to see me?"
Zhou Wanqiu nervously clutched her clothes and nodded blankly, "I'm sorry, it's my fault that my sister is suffering in prison."
Zhou Chenyu has always been a carefree person. Most of the people she hangs out with are social butterflies, and she has very few introverted and sensitive friends like herself.
“I have received your kind intentions, but I haven’t helped you much. You should thank Baoyu the most.” She smiled with relief, took a few steps, and saw Zhou Wanqiu still standing there helplessly, looking rather pitiful.
Zhou Chenyu couldn't help but turn back and warmly invited her, "I'm going to the river to find Baoyu, and I need someone to accompany me. Would you like to come with me?"
Zhou Wanqiu's eyes lit up with a look of surprise that she could actually go along. "Okay."
Although Zhou Wanqiu agreed to Zhou Chenyu's invitation to go to the river, she didn't dare to speak along the way and followed cautiously behind him.
They walked through the vegetable garden and searched down the ridges by the stream.
The weather was sunny and clear that day, with not a cloud in the sky. The rice seedlings planted before Qingming Festival had already grown into bunches of golden and plump ears of rice, like bunches of grapes hanging upside down in the field. The whole field looked golden and beautiful, like a painting.
Some ripe rice grains fell to the ground, attracting birds to peck at them. Zhou Chenyu and Zhou Wanqiu passed by and flapped their wings and flew away.
"Isn't there water fern here? Where did that brat Zhou Baoyu go?"
Under the blazing sun, Zhou Chenyu was so blinded by the sunlight that she could hardly open her eyes. Just as she was wondering where to look for someone, the bushes in front of her suddenly stirred. Zhou Baoyu made a face and jumped out of the bushes with a fierce expression.
Zhou Chenyu's lips twitched, and even the reserved Zhou Wanqiu was stunned.
Baoyu, lost in his own world, asked in bewilderment, "Sisters, why do you all look like that? Aren't you scared?"
Zhou Chenyu turned to Zhou Wanqiu and asked, "Does he look like a fool?"
Zhou Wanqiu didn't dare look into Baoyu's expectant eyes, and nodded.
Disappointed, Baoyu replied sullenly, "I picked out your favorite bracken for you, and you still call me a fool. I should have known better than to come."
"Are you really that regretful? Then you should just go back. My hand is a little sore, but picking ferns shouldn't be a problem."
Zhou Chenyu rubbed her sore wrists, and Baoyu immediately softened and said with a smile, "Sister, I was just joking with you. The bracken has all been picked and is downstairs."
Zhou Chenyu smiled and said, "That's more like it."
Zhou Wanqiu, who had been standing idly by, finally spoke up, "Baoyu, I'll help you."
"Alright." Baoyu led Zhou Wanqiu back to the valley along the same route to get the bracken.
Zhou Chenyu was on the shore, following their figures. Suddenly, clusters of pink flowers of varying shades came into view, growing along the bank of the stream. Some drooped into the water, shedding a petal or two, which drifted away with the current.
She exclaimed in surprise, "Isn't this a wild rose? It's so beautiful!"
Normally, buying a bouquet of roses would cost tens of dollars, but now that there are ready-made ones, it's nice to pick them and use them as decoration in a bare room.
Zhou Chenyu walked down and picked a few wild roses. Next to the wild roses were some sunflowers and purple morning glories, which she also picked a few and placed in the right spot. "They really do look like they were bought from a flower shop."
Zhou Wanqiu picked the flowers and even the buds closest to her, saying, "Sister Chenyu, here you go."
Looking at the delicate, dewy flower buds, which made Zhou Wanqiu even more beautiful than the flowers, Zhou Chenyu felt less timid. "Yours are even prettier, thank you."
Zhou Wanqiu bit her lip and smiled shyly.
After picking enough roses, the three of them hurried home. When they reached the door, Zhou Wanqiu stopped, thinking about what her parents had done, and hesitated to go in. "Sister Chenyu, Baoyu, it's almost lunchtime, I'll go back first."
“It’s lunchtime, why don’t you eat at our house before you go?” Zhou Chenyu knew what she was worried about, and pulled her into the yard.
Li Xiuju came out of the kitchen and greeted her, "Wanqiu, you're here?"
"Auntie." Zhou Wanqiu called out, standing there awkwardly, unsure of what to do next.
Li Xiuju noticed her unease and said kindly, "Baoyu brought back some bracken today. Why don't you eat some before you leave?"
"Me?" Zhou Wanqiu didn't know how to refuse. Seeing that she had nothing to do, Baoyu pulled her along and ran to the chicken coop to collect eggs.
Zhou Chenyu followed behind Li Xiuju and tentatively asked, "Grandma, I took the liberty of bringing her here. You don't have any objections, do you?"
Li Xiuju busied herself taking out the pot of porridge and setting it aside to cool, then replacing it with a large wok for stir-frying vegetables. "The grudges of adults are between adults, what does it have to do with you children? You saved Wanqiu, and Wanqiu is willing to be close to you and Baoyu. You have another relative, I'm overjoyed, how could I not be happy?"
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