On their way home, Chen Kai, Xiao Tian, and the others encountered Granny Sun, who was digging for wild vegetables.
When Grandma Sun saw Chen Kai and his group, she smiled and said, "Uncle Chen, are you going home now?"
“The vegetables I grow in my yard don’t grow well, unlike the vegetables your sister-in-law grows. The vegetables I grow are not enough for my family to eat. Since there are many wild vegetables on the mountain now, I’ll dig some up and take them home to eat.”
Chen Kai laughed and said, "Grandma Sun, I don't know how my sister-in-law grows vegetables. I just often see her going to the vegetable garden to water the plants and catch bugs."
Grandma Sun asked, "Uncle Chen, I dug up a lot of shepherd's purse and plantain. Would you like some?"
Chen Kai said, "Grandma Sun, I'll just take a little to taste, thank you!"
Chen Kai thought to himself that his family had stir-fried some shepherd's purse and plantain a few days ago, and it tasted pretty good. But dumplings would be even better. He could try to coax Zhou Shi when he got home that evening and see if he could have dumplings with shepherd's purse and plantain filling.
Shepherd's purse has a delicious flavor and is good for people with high blood pressure. It can also be used to clear heat, remove dampness, and reduce swelling. It has a good therapeutic effect on carbuncles and red eyes.
Plantain seeds have certain conditioning effects on symptoms such as edema, urinary retention, and painful urination. They can also nourish the liver and improve eyesight, alleviating symptoms such as red, swollen, and painful eyes, as well as dark and painful eyes.
When Chen Nong saw Chen Kai take the wild vegetables given by Granny Sun, he asked, "Uncle, if you like them, ask Daya and the others to cut some when they cut pig feed tomorrow."
Chen Kai smiled and said, "Nephew, I just want to try it. I'll only eat it a few times, so there's no need to trouble Da Ya and the others. If I want to eat it, I'll tell them."
"Alright!" Chen Nong nodded in agreement upon hearing Chen Kai's words.
After returning home, Chen Kai first found and put away the small trees and other things he was going to use to make miniature bonsai. Then he went to find Chen Lao Er and begged his second brother to make him a few boxes to hold the bonsai, as well as a few larger wooden buckets to hold the dyes he had made.
After Chen Lao Er agreed, Chen Kai took Xiao Tian to study how to process the harvested grass used for dyeing. Although he had read a lot of information before, he had never done it himself. Moreover, there are many auxiliary tools available now, and he was worried that with only so many materials, the dye he made would have color differences.
After dinner, the yard was piled high with grass that the children had brought to exchange for candy. Although Old Man Chen and the others thought Chen Kai and Xiao Tian were fooling around—how could such common flowers and grasses possibly sell for money?—they had never heard of any grass that could be used for dyeing.
But the Chen family dotes on their child, and if they were to do it themselves, they don’t know how long it would take, so everyone helped them trim the flowers and plants they received.
The next day, Chen Kai asked Zhou for a pot that his family used to cook rice in, which he used to make dye.
Chen Kai tried several methods and used several different kinds of grass to make several different colors of dye, and prepared to test which method of making dye had a stronger coloring ability.
When they saw Chen Kai and Xiao Tian preparing to dye the dried flowers, the Chen family members, who were pruning the flowers and plants they had received yesterday in the yard, all gathered around, curious to see if they could do it.
Even Old Man Chen and Mrs. Zhou curiously gathered around, wanting to know if the dye they made could really be used for dyeing.
Although they knew yesterday that Chen Kai and Xiao Tian had hired the village children to pick flowers, they felt a pang of heartache when they saw so many flowers and plants piled up in the yard at night, and Xiao Tian had even given away a lot of candy.
Today, seeing Chen Kai and Xiao Tian preparing to dye dried flowers, they were also very curious: can it really be used for dyeing? Usually, if they want to dye fabrics or clothes, they can only go to the dye shop in town. Now they're just using some flowers and plants; can they really be used for dyeing?
Chen Kai took some dried flowers he had picked yesterday and threw them into a water made with mountain vine.
Chen Kai asked Daya to go to the wooden tub and help stir it for a while. Then he asked Daya to take out the dried flowers and hang them on the side of the tub to drip water.
Xiao Tian frowned when he saw that the dried flowers had turned vermilion, and said, "The water is bright red, how could it have turned vermilion!"
Chen Kai was also thinking to himself, "Didn't the book say it could be dyed bright red? Is something missing?"
When Da Ya and the others saw that dried flowers could actually be dyed, they asked in surprise, "I wonder if the color will fade after they dry?"
Next, Chen Kai asked Daya to throw some dried flowers into the other buckets. The resulting colors were pink, light green, and light blue, all of which were lighter than the expected colors.
Chen Kai asked Da Ya and the others to dye all the dried flowers they had prepared at home first, to see the effect after they dried.
The village children can help with picking flowers, but the dyeing process must be done by family members to prevent anyone from secretly copying it.
After Daya and the others had finished dyeing the dried flowers and hung them up to dry, Zhou took out an old piece of clothing from the room, wanting to dye it.
Mrs. Zhou said with a smile, "My good son, let me try to dye the clothes first. If it works, I will dye all the clothes in our house. It will be so impressive to wear them out."
As Zhou spoke, she threw the clothes into the bucket of red dye, stirred them for a while, then took the clothes out and hung them up to dry without wringing out the water.
Chen Kai looked with heartache at the half-empty bucket of dye, then at the clothes Zhou Shi had hung on the line, dripping wet. He quickly asked Xiao Tian to bring a basin and place it under the clothes. Chen Kai knew Zhou Shi was worried the clothes wouldn't absorb the color, but this was natural dye; how could it not?
Da Ya and the others were very happy to hear what Zhou said, thinking that their future clothes would have beautiful colors, and their girlfriends would definitely be very envious.
Over the next few days, Chen Kai and Xiao Tian continued to exchange candy for a lot more flowers and plants, and the yard was almost overflowing with them.
Chen Kai and Xiao Tian also tried several other dyes made from flowers and herbs. Some were dark, some were light, and some faded after drying. In the end, Chen Kai selected a few herbs to keep and told the children who were picking the dyes not to use any other flowers and herbs, but only these designated herbs.
The clothes dyed by Zhou did not fade after drying, and they did not fade after washing.
Seeing this, the other members of the Chen family also took out their own clothes and claimed all the dyes that Chen Kai and Xiao Tian had made, wanting to dye their clothes the colors they wanted.
And so, all the dyes were monopolized by the family, and if they wanted to dye the dried flowers, they would have to wait.
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