At 3:30 a.m., it was still pitch black outside, with twinkling stars dotting the inky sky and a crescent moon on the horizon.
Hearing rustling sounds from the kitchen, Li Xiangdong groggily opened his eyes, sat up, pulled back a corner of the curtain, and looked at the sky. In this era, there was no pollution, and the sky was so pure.
In the kitchen, the fourth sister, Li Zhen, and Zhao Sufang had finished tidying up, and steam was rising from the iron pot. The fifth sister, Li Ping, had also gotten up.
"Fifth Sister, why are you up so early?"
Li Xiangdong used a gourd ladle to scoop water into a basin and washed his face haphazardly.
“I heard what you said yesterday, and I want to go dig up rehmannia too. I can help you. Today is Saturday, and I happen to have the day off.”
"You're too young. Stay home and get some sleep. You won't grow tall if you don't sleep."
Li Xiangdong affectionately patted his fifth sister's head. This younger sister had been obedient and sensible since she was a child, and even as she grew up, she remained the kindest-hearted.
"No, I'm going. I'll sell the rehmannia root and buy meat to eat," Li Ping said firmly.
"Okay, you go there and see how we dig. Also, you must keep it a secret."
The mother and her three children wrapped four flatbreads in a blue cloth, added some pickled vegetable strips, and ate them for breakfast.
Some carried wicker baskets, some carried bamboo baskets, while Li Ping carried a small bamboo basket and four small shovels. The group set off in a grand procession.
By the time we reached the riverbank, it was already slightly light.
Li Xiangdong first demonstrated by digging up a robust Rehmannia glutinosa plant. "Mother, Fourth Sister, Fifth Sister, look, Rehmannia glutinosa is a perennial plant. Try to choose the larger ones to dig up. Be careful not to break the roots when you dig."
Both mother and son were skilled at farm work, so they learned quickly and soon separated to start digging.
As the Jade Rabbit disappeared in the west and the Golden Crow rose in the east, Li Xiangdong glanced at the basket beside him; it was already more than half full. Estimating it was past seven, he quickly stood up to call for his mother.
"Mom, you should go home first. It's time to go to work soon."
Zhao Sufang walked over carrying a wicker basket, inside which were thick, plump, and intact rehmannia roots.
Everyone poured the rehmannia root they had dug into Zhao Sufang's basket and covered it with weeds.
Zhao Sufang was carrying a heavy basket home when she ran into Aunt Niu, who was going out to empty her dirty water.
"Sufang, you're up so early to cut pig feed?"
"Yes, Sister-in-law Niu, let's cut some while we're not at work."
"You're really diligent!"
Watching Zhao Sufang walk away, Aunt Niu curled her lip. What's the use of being diligent? The wife of the brigade leader is so timid and useless every day. All the money she earns is taken away by her mother-in-law.
Li Zhen and her two siblings found a flat, open space to rest and take out their breakfast to eat.
Taking a bite of a sorghum pancake with pickled vegetables, Li Ping frowned his handsome little eyebrows. "Second brother, it would be great if there was meat to eat too."
"You little glutton, you want to eat meat every day?" Li Zhen teased.
"Yeah, I want to eat candy, canned food, eggs, orange soda, and malted milk powder every day!"
"Haha, Fifth Sister, just wait, Second Brother will help you fulfill your wish soon."
The three siblings chatted and laughed, and finished their breakfast in no time.
"Alright, we've dug up most of the large rehmannia roots around here. Let's walk a bit further out and see what's going on," Li Zhen said to her younger brother and sister-in-law as she stood up.
"Fourth Sister, you all walk eastward, I'll go take a look in the middle of the river."
Li Xiangdong suddenly felt a strong urge to go and see it; it was as if something was calling to him.
"What are you going to do in the middle of the river? The water is so deep. It's just a high earthen slope, what's there to see?"
"I'll go take a look, I might as well see if there are any fish in the river."
Li Xiangdong took off his shirt, grabbed a basket of thorns, and jumped into the water.
Children in the countryside would secretly go swimming in the river from a young age. Li Xiangdong was a good swimmer; he could dive, float on his back, and doggy paddle. So Li Zhen stopped bothering him and took Li Ping and walked a distance to the east to continue digging for Rehmannia glutinosa.
Li Xiangdong swam ashore, shook the water off his hair, took off his underwear, wrung it out, and put it back on.
This high earthen slope is a narrow, elongated island in the middle of the river, more than 100 meters wide, more than 300 meters high, and about 500 meters long.
This small island has only a few wild grasses and vegetables and a few trees.
Because the terrain is uneven and the area is small, it is not convenient to grow crops. So apart from some children playing in the water who occasionally come up, no one else will wade across the water to cut pig feed.
Li Xiangdong remembered coming to this island after swimming in his previous life. A group of children ran around on the island for a long time but found nothing.
Now that we've swum this far, let's see if we can find any Rehmannia glutinosa. Li Xiangdong picked up a small shovel and started digging. Perhaps because no one tramples on it here, the Rehmannia glutinosa is growing better than on the other side. Each one is plump and big, which is particularly pleasing.
As they walked, they soon reached the highest point of the island, where Li Xiangdong sat down to rest under a maple tree.
This sweetgum tree is the only one Li Xiangdong saw in Huichuan County. Who planted it here?
Perhaps birds ate the seeds of the sweetgum tree and left the seeds and droppings here, or perhaps they were washed here by the great flood of more than ten years ago.
Regardless of how it came to be, this sweetgum tree has taken root and grown steadily here, and when autumn comes, it turns into a tree full of fiery red.
The line "Stopping the carriage to admire the maple forest at dusk, the frosted leaves are redder than February flowers" perfectly describes this place.
Li Xiangdong picked up a dry twig and started brushing aside the lush green weeds when suddenly, a splash of red caught his eye.
"Huh? What is that? It's red and looks like a mushroom."
Li Xiangdong leaned closer to take a closer look.
Huichuan County has no mountains, so it doesn't have the abundant mushroom resources of northeastern Sichuan. However, if there is a lot of rain in the summer, wood ear fungus will grow on rotten wood, and a kind of small white mushroom with a thin stem and a thin cap will grow in places with thatch. The locals call it "Mao Mao".
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