Chapter 80 Hornet's Nest
Shen Xuewei and Wu Yuhong had already reached the mountain. They picked wild vines from the side and used a machete to cut the fallen firewood into suitable lengths before bundling them together.
Wu Yuhong was stronger, so the firewood she bundled was larger than Shen Xuewei's.
The two of them each packed a bundle and carried the firewood down the mountain.
After taking two breaks, they finally managed to carry the firewood home with great difficulty.
After walking for several days, when they finally reached the top of the mountain for the last time, both Shen Xuewei and Wu Yuhong were exhausted.
Wu Yuhong put her arm around her shoulder and sat down on the ground with her, dreaming:
"If only we could cook without burning firewood in the future. That way we wouldn't have to go up the mountain to chop firewood, and I hate carrying firewood the most."
Shen Xuewei was breathing heavily and lifted her straw hat to fan herself.
"This day will come someday."
Rice cookers and electric frying pans are only used sparingly in the countryside right now. In a few years, they will be widely used.
It wasn't that electricity wasn't available at that time, but people preferred to burn firewood and didn't want to waste money buying it; even if they did buy it, they were reluctant to use electricity...
After resting for a while, Wu Yuhong was the first to rest and started tying firewood to the side.
Seeing that Shen Xuewei was still panting and resting, they simply helped her get tied up as well.
There was also a long, straight tree nearby, about the thickness of a thumb, which caught her eye.
Wu Yuhong swung her machete, cutting the tree in half and whittling it into a long stick.
She brandished the thin wooden stick, twirling it a few times, scratching her cheek and covering her head, then shouted:
"You monster, quickly reveal your true form!"
Shen Xuewei was amused by her appearance and burst into laughter, laughing until tears streamed down her face.
Wu Yuhong brandished her long staff, her face beaming, and asked, "Weiwei, do I look like the Monkey King?"
She would sit in front of the television in the Chen family home, watching Journey to the West the most.
Therefore, my favorite TV series character is Sun Wukong.
After suppressing his true nature for a long time, and after becoming familiar with Shen Xuewei, he would occasionally reveal this childlike and lively appearance in front of Shen Xuewei.
Shen Xuewei clapped her hands and cheered, "It's similar! But Sun Wukong isn't as tall as you, so you're still more amazing!"
Wu Yuhong was pleased by Shen Xuewei's praise and swung the stick a few more times.
I don't know where I hit it, but I knocked something down.
"Huh? What's this?"
Wu Yuhong curiously tried to get closer to take a look, while Shen Xuewei stared at the object and listened to the increasingly loud buzzing sound, her smile freezing on her face.
She jumped up from the ground with a "whoosh" and grabbed Wu Yuhong as they ran.
"Run! You've knocked down the hornet's nest!"
The two abandoned the two bundles of firewood on the ground and rushed down the mountain.
Several angry wasps chased after them, ready to sting them at any moment.
The two ran down the mountain at an unprecedented speed, but even so, they were still stung by wasps a few times.
The two returned to the village and glanced at each other.
Wu Yuhong's left eyelid was swollen, and her chin was also swollen.
Shen Xuewei's eyes and chin weren't swollen, but she had been stung twice on the lips by wasps, and now they were swollen like two sausages.
They looked at each other's disheveled appearance and wanted to laugh.
But even the slightest movement of the face, or even no movement at all, causes intense pain and an itchy sensation that makes one unable to resist scratching.
In the end, the two parted without saying a word, unable to even smile, their faces long and mournful, each going home.
When Grandpa Chen and Grandma Xi returned from a banquet at a relative's house, they saw Shen Xuewei with her lips swollen like sausages.
Grandma Xi wanted to laugh but was also worried. "Weiwei, what happened to your mouth?"
Shen Xuewei repeatedly dipped her lips into the clear water in the bowl.
Upon hearing this, she raised her head to speak, but her voice was very muffled, though the two could barely hear her.
"Today on the mountain, I accidentally disturbed a hornet's nest and got stung twice..."
After she finished speaking, she lowered her head and put her mouth in the water again.
The two men took a closer look and found that the situation wasn't too serious; the wasp's stinger wasn't left in their mouths, and they both breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's alright. Just stay away from wasps next time you see them. You're ten years old now, and this isn't your first time up the mountain, why weren't you watching? Be careful next time, wasp stings really hurt. You'll be in for it this time..."
Shen Xuewei listened to the reprimand with her head down, without bringing up Wu Yuhong.
She didn't do it on purpose; it was just an unintentional mistake.
What's more, she just saw that the Wu family members who had gone to the fields had also gone home...
Right now, Wu Yuhong is probably getting a scolding at home too...
Grandma Xi kept rambling on and on, and every now and then she would take a palm-leaf fan and blow on Shen Xuewei's face.
Grandpa Chen stood aside and watched for a while, then turned around, went to the water vat, picked up the toothpaste from the shelf, and came over.
"Put some toothpaste on her. It's cool, so it won't hurt too much and can relieve the pain."
Grandma Xi put down her palm-leaf fan and took the toothpaste. "By the way, your grandfather's mind is still sharp. How come I didn't think of that before..."
She put some toothpaste on her hand and then gently applied it to Shen Xuewei's lips.
The pain and itching in Shen Xuewei's mouth subsided somewhat, and she inhaled with her mouth slightly open.
Seeing that she was alright, Grandma Xi and Grandpa Chen went to the kitchen, found a few plates, and put the packed food on them.
I picked out some pieces with fewer bones, heated them in a pot, and then served them to Granny Chen.
As for Shen Xuewei?
Her mouth is swollen and she doesn't want to eat meat, let alone drink water.
Fortunately, it was already November, and the weather had cooled down considerably, not as hot as in summer.
The food we packed up can be eaten again tomorrow morning.
The next morning, after getting up, Shen Xuewei looked in the mirror.
My lips are still swollen, but the swelling has gone down a bit compared to yesterday. I estimate that the swelling will completely go down in another two or three days.
At noon, she reheated the dishes that Grandpa Chen and his family had brought back yesterday, and the family ate some with porridge.
Shen Xuewei couldn't open her mouth wide enough for the time being, so she could only eat in small bites.
Grandma Xi put a chicken leg in her bowl. "Weiwei, eat this chicken leg quickly. You're going back to school this afternoon. Apart from you, none of the older folks in our family like to eat this..."
Shen Xuewei smiled and said softly, "Thank you, Grandma."
Actually, it's not that the elderly don't like to eat; it's just that they're used to hardship and don't want to eat it themselves, wanting to save it for the younger generation.
Shen Xuewei ate her food slowly.
Her mouth hurt, and even though Granny Chen, who eats the slowest, had finished, she was still gnawing on a chicken leg.
Dahuang and Mimi, who appeared out of nowhere, stood guard beside Shen Xuewei, their eyes fixed on the chicken bone in her hand.
After finishing her chicken leg, Shen Xuewei glanced at Mimi, who was meowing, and then at Dahuang, who was drooling with longing eyes.
In the end, her heart still leaned towards Big Yellow.
Why is it that Mimi is never home, and Big Yellow is closer to her?
She tossed the chicken bone in her hand in front of Dahuang, and Dahuang opened its mouth to grab it.
Unfortunately, the figure next to him was much faster than Big Yellow.
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