The next day when Du Jiang rushed to the pigsty, the news that Huo Yang went to work at the plastics factory had spread throughout the village. Although other people didn't know about it, at least the people in the pigsty were discussing it endlessly.
Du Jiang, who had discussed the matter with Aunt Du yesterday, did not participate. Instead, he went up the mountain to collect grass for pigs as usual. Without Qian Meili, Du Jiang went straight into the mountains.
The crooked hawthorn tree was laden with fruits, and many ripe fruits had fallen under the tree, with red and black fruits hanging on the branches. Du Jiang was really surprised that there were still hawthorns in this month. Looking at Uncle Man's fruits, Du Jiang didn't care about anything else. He quickly put the backpack on the ground, raised the sickle and started reaching for the hawthorns on the tree.
"Pili patta"
With the strike of the sickle, the fruits that were already riper than ever fell to the ground and scattered all over the ground. Seeing this, Du Jiang put away the sickle, squatted down and began to pick. After a while, he harvested half a basket. Although a large part of them were infested with insects and half were even rotten, it was enough to make Du Jiang very happy.
Du Jiang continued to move forward with the basket on his back. He did not forget his purpose of this trip. In addition to collecting grass for pigs, he also went to collect Alpinia officinalis. This medicinal herb prefers a shady, moist and warm climate. It is often found in fertile and loose sandy soil or humus soil. It mostly grows on hillsides and in shady and moist places under forests.
Knowing the preferences of Alpinia officinalis, Du Jiang kept looking in shady and damp places, and she found quite a few. Looking at the root in her hand, which was the same shape as old ginger and black in color, Du Jiang pinched it a few times with her fingernails, revealing the white flesh with oil inside. It was exactly the same as described in the book. The only thing that made Du Jiang feel sorry was that a lot of the book about medicinal materials was burned, and she didn't know if she could find the complete version when she went to the scrap yard in the future.
Although it was a pity, Du Jiang didn't worry about it. After all, there were still a lot left, enough for her to search through the mountains.
Maybe she was lucky today. When Du Jiang came down the mountain, there was a bamboo basket of ginger on her shelf. Looking at the ginger in the bamboo basket with fresh soil on it, Du Jiang's steps jumped a little.
When Du Jiang returned to the educated youth point, it was almost noon. If it were any other day, everyone would have asked about it, but today everyone's attention was on Huo Yang's trip to the plastics factory, and they ignored Du Jiang, but this also made it convenient for Du Jiang.
Du Jiang piled the pig feed in the utility room, and then began to add water to the stone trough in the pig house. Looking at the ten pigs of different sizes grunting and surrounding him, Du Jiang began to imagine the dishes for the New Year. If he was lucky enough to get some pork fat, perhaps it would solve the problem of oil consumption in the coming year.
Speaking of eating oil, Du Jiang immediately thought of soybean oil, but soybeans are needed to extract soybean oil. Although there are people growing beans in the village, they do not occupy farmland to grow them. Instead, they grow them in their own private plots or on the ridges of the fields. They do not take care of them as carefully as they do the wheat and corn in the fields, so the harvest is average.
Thinking of this, Du Jiang remembered the mountain stream he had discovered in the mountains last time. The water flowing on the rocks and the wasteland nearby were a good place to grow things. The most important thing was that it was relatively cheap. If Du Jiang had not walked there several times, he would have gotten dizzy. The best thing was that the place was on the back of a hillside, which was blocked by countless tall evergreen pine trees all year round. Moreover, if you didn't go in, you couldn't find the hidden area under the hillside.
Now that Du Jiang has made a small profit from picking herbs, she no longer focuses all her money-making efforts on picking herbs. Although there are many herbs on the mountain, there are very few expensive ones. Moreover, the amount she picks each time while picking pig grass is not much. If she could grow some of it herself, Du Jiang would feel excited. In addition to growing and collecting herbs, Du Jiang also wants to grow some beans, sesame seeds, etc., which can be exchanged for things and make money. Why not?
Moreover, although he is in communication with Cangzhou, Du Jiang knows that the Du family may not be reliable. After all, they are far away. No matter how much guilt he feels, it will only fade away with the passage of time instead of becoming stronger.
"Du Jiang, do you know that Brother Huo went to work?" Just when Du Jiang was lost in thought, Qian Meili, who was about to go home, came out of the house and saw Du Jiang standing outside the pigpen. She couldn't help but ask.
"Ah, what?" Du Jiang was distracted and didn't hear Qian Meili's question clearly.
"I mean, do you know that Brother Huo went to work in town?" Qian Meili asked again, but after she finished speaking, she looked at Du Jiang's expression seriously, trying to find some flaws in it. Unfortunately, she regretted it. Du Jiang really didn't know. Even if she knew, she didn't intend to tell Qian Meili in detail. After all, this was Huo Yang's private matter.
"Sister Qian, I really don't know about this. I'm with you every day, how could I know about Brother Huo?" Du Jiang knew that Huo Yang's going to work must have made Qian Meili petty again, but she didn't know what to say. After all, jealousy is a normal human emotion. It's just that this cheerful and intimate elder sister in her eyes was not as generous as she imagined.
"Really? It's nothing. I just don't know how Brother Huo found the connections. If he had connections, why would he go to the countryside? Isn't that a hassle? I remember that Brother Huo took good care of you in the past, so I asked you."
When people who didn't know heard this, they would think that Du Jiang and Huo Yang were secretly communicating with each other. Not only Du Jiang, but also the people who were listening in the room frowned.
Yu Chunxiao was a rather aggressive person. Although she didn't communicate much with Du Jiang, they were always in the same group. She was very fond of Du Jiang's attitude of never relying on the old educated youth to cheat or play tricks. She immediately opened the curtain and walked out, "Sister Qian, if others heard what you said, they would think that Sister Jiang and Brother Huo were having some affair. Aren't you ruining Sister Jiang's reputation? Sister Jiang has always been with us. Which eye of yours saw her talking to Brother Huo?"
Qian Meili regretted what she had said just now. She had thought that since Du Jiang was quiet, she could just let it go, but who knew that Yu Chunxiao would pop up again? Listening to Yu Chunxiao's sharp words, Qian Meili was furious and angry, but knowing that she was in the wrong, she could only apologize, "I'm sorry, Du Jiang, I didn't mean that. You know I'm a straightforward person, so please don't be offended."
Uh, speaking directly, what kind of reason is that? Du Jiang curled her lips and said unhappily, "Sister Qian, it's your business if you speak directly, but please don't use my reputation as an excuse. I'm an unmarried girl, and I don't want to be pointed at by others."
Qian Meili's face flushed red, especially when she saw Yu Chunxiao leaning against the door frame with her arms folded over her chest, watching the show. Even though she was indignant at Du Jiang's ridicule, she could only suppress her anger and apologize, "I'm sorry, Du Jiang."
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