"I know where to find mugwort. It's down here, next to the big rock, near the river." Tong Wenyao couldn't help but praise her when she saw how well behaved she was. "You're so good! What's your name?"
She raised her eyes and took a look. The little girl in front of her had delicate features and a chubby face, just like the door dolls her family used to put up during the Spring Festival. "Qiu Zhen." Tong Wen Yao thought about it and silently said Qiu Zhen in her heart, then remembered the little girl's name. She raised her hand and waved to her. "Thank you, Qiu Zhen." In fact, Qiu Zhen and Tong Wen Yao were the same age, but she was not as tall as Tong Wen Yao. This might be related to not having enough to eat all year round!
Tong Wenyao followed the path she pointed to, heading for the river. The forest was covered in fallen leaves in late autumn, and she leaned on dry branches to support herself as she made her way down. Even so, just as she was about to reach the bottom, the ground slipped and she slid right in. "Ugh." She stood up and turned to look at her bottom. The fabric was stained with mud, and she couldn't help but regret it. She should have taken a shortcut and gotten down right there. Now, she was in such a mess.
After brushing off the fallen leaves, she headed toward the mugwort bushes. The mugwort was already old in late autumn, some of it had already turned yellow. She could only pick the top half. The forest was filled with the constant chirping of birds and the occasional call of pheasants. When she had almost finished, Tong Wenyao bundled up the vines and carried them back.
After falling down there just now, she didn't dare to take shortcuts anymore and walked towards the stone road. Although it was a bit slow, it was more stable. This road was made of flat stones. Tong Wenyao guessed that the villagers might have brought stones from the river to build the road.
Qian's mother looked out from the kitchen and saw her daughter carrying mugwort towards the house. Seeing her daughter in such a dishevel, she couldn't help feeling distressed. She opened the door and went out to help her bring it back. If she hadn't been pregnant, there would be no need for her daughter to look for mosquito repellent grass.
After walking for so long, her hands were red from being pinched by the vines. She finally made it to the gate, but the vines couldn't hold her back anymore and broke apart. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Should she say she had good control of her strength, making it all the way to the door, or should she say the vines were ungrateful, breaking even at the door.
Cui's mother was washing basins in the yard when she heard a noise behind her. She quickly turned to see Yao'er standing at the door, confused, her hair disheveled and covered in leaves. She bent down to pick up the mugwort, and her butt was covered in yellow mud. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so she quickly got up and went out to help her move it in.
"Yao'er, why don't you ask me to go with you." Mother Cui had long arms and she hugged all the mugwort in one go. Tong Wenyao hurriedly followed her into the yard.
"Second Aunt, I saw you were all busy. I heard Qiu Zhen say there were some by the river, and it's close to here, so I went straight to pick some and brought them back. Mother, please stay away."
"Oh, Qiuzhen? She's the daughter of Deputy General Wu. I saw her going into the mountains at noon." Seeing that she was dirty, Cui's mother frowned and said, "You don't even have two thick clothes. Now this one is dirty. How about I give you Wen Jiang's clothes to wear first?" Tong Wen Yao shook her head after hearing this. Fortunately, she bought a set of clothes for everyone when she was in the county. She looked at her second aunt and asked, "Second aunt, where did my brother put the cloth bags he moved earlier?" Cui's mother pointed to the middle room and said, "It's in that room. We'll sleep in that room tonight." Now there are only three rooms: one for the kitchen, one for my second uncle and his brothers to sleep in, and one for them to sleep in.
Tong Wenyao pushed open the door. Inside was a wooden bed covered with straw. In the corner were the packages she had brought back from the county, unopened. She went over, opened the bag of clothes, and took out her set of clothes.
The dress was light yellow and had a small snake embroidered on it. She had fallen in love with the snake when she bought it. Now it was hibernating in her space, and she hadn't called it out.
"Second Aunt, Mom, come in quickly." Mother Qian had originally planned to go back to the kitchen to cook, but when she heard her daughter's cry from inside the house, she turned around and went back to the room. Tong Wenyao saw that it was her mother who came in first, and directly took out the clothes she bought for her mother from the bag. "Yao'er, why did you buy clothes?"
"Mom, this is what I bought for you. Not only you, but everyone has clothes." Qian's mother looked worried and worried. She couldn't help but ask, "Yao'er, tell me honestly where did the money come from?"
When she took out the Portuguese tarts to sell, she had already thought of an excuse, "Mom, I saved a passing merchant in town, and he gave me this as a thank you." Qian's mother looked skeptical, but her daughter had never lied before. But wasn't this thank you too much? Cui's mother also came in at this time. Seeing these clothes, she couldn't help but look surprised, and she just expressed Qian's mother's doubts, "Yao'er, isn't his thank you gift too much?"
After hearing this, she shook her head and said embarrassedly, "He originally offered more, and I refused some of it." Qian's mother originally wanted to pull her over to ask how she was saved, but when she saw that she was covered in stains, she immediately said, "Go change your clothes first, and then tell us how you treated her." Cui's mother was in a hurry, and immediately went to the kitchen to get hot water after hearing this.
When Tong Wenyao was in the county, she asked for a bathtub, but it was too expensive, costing five hundred wen each, equivalent to half a liang. Unable to afford it, she had to settle for two wooden barrels and a wooden basin. Even so, it still cost a lot of money, and now she only had a little over twenty liang of silver left. The bulk of it was spent on clothes and food.
It was cold, so Cui's mother brought her a wooden bucket to fetch water and washed her in the kitchen. The thatch was covered with compacted earth, but even so, it was still a bit crude. The bucket of warm water was still next to the stove. Cui's mother was quite careful, and she placed it in this position so that the bath would not be too cold.
Tong Wenyao felt a little embarrassed and asked Cui's mother to go out and call her in after she finished washing. Cui's mother knew that little girls were shy, so she smiled and went out, closing the wooden door.
After locking the door, she immediately took her clothes and ran to the space to take a shower. She was worried that someone would come in, so she washed quickly. Almost the moment she left the space, Cui's mother's voice rang out at the door, "Xin'er, you child, why did you fall into the field!"
Tong Wenyao was secretly glad that she had come out early. Seeing the bucket of untouched water, she thought, why not call Xin'er to come in and wash it? Since she hadn't touched it anyway, and it was cold now, it would take a long time to boil a pot. Thinking of this, she opened the door slightly and called to Xin'er, "Xin'er, come and wash with me." Xin'er, who had been crying in the yard, stopped crying immediately when she heard her sister's call and ran into the kitchen.
"Sister, the fat guy bullied me and pushed me into the fields." She looked at Xin'er's clothes covered in mud, and while manually pulling her clothes, she asked her, "What's going on? Tell me."
Xin'er's voice was intermittent with sobs, but she could hear clearly that it was the son of the landlord Wu. Fortunately, Xin'er was not seriously injured.
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