"Xiaoli, come out quickly, look what I brought you!"
Mo Yunxiao returned from chopping firewood on the mountain and called out to his younger sister as soon as he entered the door.
When Xiaoli came out of the room, she saw the mountain hawthorns in her brother's hand. They were a bunch of bright red ones. She didn't know where Mo Yunxiao had found them. A small branch was full of fruit.
Some people call this wild berry a "March berry," and it's sweet and sour with a great taste. In the countryside, children don't have many snacks, so these wild fruits are their favorite.
"And what else? Look what this is!"
Mo Yunxiao took out a small twig from behind his back, and Xiaoli smiled as soon as she saw it: "Red fruit! I like this the most, thank you, brother!"
Mo Yunxiao smiled indulgently: "Go wash up and eat. Leave a few for Mom. I don't like them. They're so sour they'll make my teeth fall out."
After saying that, he went to tidy up the firewood.
Xiao Li carefully picked the small fruits one by one with a small bowl. She didn't throw away the twigs after she finished picking them; she put them in her spatial storage, confident they would survive, and she'd have plenty of wild fruits to eat later. How delightful!
He drew water from the well in the yard to wash himself clean, and chatted with his older brother while eating: "Brother, after the spring plowing is over, will you go back to the academy to study?"
Mo Yunxiao paused for a moment, seemed to be thinking, and shook his head: "I don't want to go."
"Why? Your parents hope you'll pass the imperial examination and bring honor to the family in the future."
Xiao Li said in confusion, "If I hadn't caught a cold, you should be at the academy right now. Now that we're not short of money, you can focus on your studies."
Just as Mo Yunxiao was about to explain in detail, Mo Qingshan and Yun Yuniang pushed open the door and returned.
"The weather's been good this year, we're sure to have a good harvest." The couple said, glancing at their two children.
"What's wrong? Why do you look so worried?"
Xiao Li looked at her brother, waiting for Mo Yunxiao's answer.
"I don't want to go to the academy anymore, Father, Mother. I'm not cut out for studying, so don't waste money on it."
Mo Qingshan and his wife looked at each other in bewilderment. Yun Yuniang put down the basket in her hand and walked over: "Xiao'er, have you thought it through? You really don't want to go?"
“Okay, I won’t go.” Mo Yunxiao nodded emphatically.
Mo Qingshan sighed and patted Mo Yunxiao on the shoulder. Yun Yuniang also spoke up, "It's fine if you don't want to go. We sent you to school in the first place so you could learn more characters. Now that you don't want to study anymore, it's your choice. But you need to think carefully about your future. Farming is hard work. You're still young, so think it over."
Mo Yunxiao was a little excited. He thought his parents would definitely try to dissuade him, but they agreed instead.
"Father, Mother, I've made up my mind. The镖局 (security escort agency) in town is recruiting apprentices. I want to go and check it out. If I learn a skill, I can go to the capital in the future. When I make money, I'll buy a house in town, and you and my little sister can..."
'Bang bang bang' Mo Yunxiao covered his head and ran away like a rat.
"You brat, do you think you can go to a security escort agency? You want to learn skills? Every year, those who retire from security escort agencies are missing limbs. If you don't study, you can stay at home and raise rabbits. Don't even think about going to a security escort agency. If you dare to go, don't say you're my son, Mo Qingshan."
Mo Qingshan was furious, but Yun Yu Niang quickly pulled him back to prevent him from being beaten again: "Xiao'er, you can't have that thought anymore. I don't agree with you going to the escort agency either. When your fourth uncle comes back from town, I'll ask him to help you find a master. You can decide whether to become a carpenter's apprentice or a masonry apprentice. These days, you can help Xiao Li cut grass and raise rabbits."
For a country boy like Mo Yunxiao, this was the only way out. Learning a trade was better than farming, so he had no choice but to suppress his martial arts dreams and accept his parents' arrangement.
★
After the family finished dinner and tidied up, Xiaoli left.
"Father, Mother, there's been some talk going on in the village lately. I don't know if you've heard it?"
"What are you saying?" Yun Yu Niang carefully washed her hands and began to embroider flowers with needle and thread. Xiao Li also sat down to help her separate the threads.
"It's just that our food has improved recently, and now some people are getting jealous."
"Is it because of the rabbits? No wonder Mo Laowu was so hostile towards me when I went out today."
Mo Qingshan kept working, snorting, "Just because we're lazy doesn't mean we can't be diligent!"
Mo Yunxiao also sat down and picked up a machete to chop bamboo strips. While busy working, he said worriedly, "Recently, when we were cutting grass, some people started making sarcastic remarks. If this continues, the villagers will become estranged from our family."
"This can't go on. I have an idea. I'd like to hear from you all, Father, Mother, and Brother, and see if it works." Xiaoli slowly explained the idea she had come up with that day.
In fact, most of the people in Mojia Village are related by blood, but there are always a few troublemakers everywhere. People's hearts can't be easily stirred up, and they all make a fuss over nothing.
If Mo Qingshan's family wants to live a peaceful life in the village, they will inevitably have to deal with the villagers, and the days of being ostracized will not be easy.
Xiao Li's idea was to get the villagers involved in raising rabbits. After all, rabbits aren't easy to raise, and without Xiao Li's special skills, in this era without vaccines, the rabbits would easily die if they weren't careful. Then the villagers would only have themselves to blame for not raising rabbits properly.
The whole family thought it was a good idea and weren't in a hurry to spread the news. Xiao Li believed that once they saw Daya's family raising rabbits, the villagers would soon be restless.
Sure enough, when Mo Ergou's wife, Liu, saw that Da Ya had taken the rabbit home and kept it, she got a little ulterior motive. She asked Mo Xiao Ya and said that Xiao Li had given her the rabbit, so she went to Mo Qingshan's house to borrow it.
Along the way, they also invited several like-minded families, and the group arrived at Mo Qingshan's house in a grand procession.
"Is the Qingshan family member home?"
When Yun Yuniang came out of the house, she was completely bewildered to see a large group of people in the courtyard.
"What's going on? Why are you all here?"
Liu's face beamed with joy: "Qingshan's family, didn't we hear you have rabbits? We've all wanted to raise them. Since we're all neighbors, why don't you give us two? We'll send you two back when they have baby rabbits."
Liu had made up her mind: if the rabbits were raised well, she would return the baby rabbits; if they weren't raised well, she could still eat meat, so having more meat and vegetables wouldn't be a loss.
Yun Yu Niang was almost laughing in anger: "So you think we owe you something? You want two? How can you be so naive? Five coins a rabbit, pay up if you want them."
Liu objected: "What? Da Ya didn't pay, so why should we pay for the rabbit? Besides, we'll return the rabbit to you after it has babies. We're all neighbors, what are you afraid of us not returning it?"
Xiao Li came out of the house and quietly asked her brother to call the village chief. She stood next to Yun Yuniang.
“Auntie, Daya is my best friend. I would be willing to give her two rabbits. Besides, Daya didn’t get those rabbits for free. She traded them with mushrooms and bamboo shoots she picked from the mountain. If you don’t have money, you can trade with her too.” Xiaoli pointed to the mushrooms and bamboo shoots drying in the yard.
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