Chapter 69: Brother Nong's Life is Hard
Yang Chunyan took the three people to a tree and watched them do it before she started to work with confidence.
Zhao Huifang looked at the trees that had been stripped of their bark and asked, "Chunyan, can we still strip the bark from the top?"
"I didn't cut the ones I couldn't reach. I cut the ones I could reach first, then I turned the basket over and stepped on them to cut."
"I understand."
After Zhou Huaian picked all the Magnolia officinalis flowers he could reach from the tree, he began to use a sickle to cut the flower buds high up. Soon, quite a few fell to the ground.
Several people continued to harvest silently. When they couldn't reach something, they turned the backpack over and stepped on the bottom of the basket to harvest.
Soon the ground was littered with Magnolia officinalis bark.
After harvesting all the Magnolia officinalis bark that they could reach on the trunk, Li Qiuyue and Zhang Xiuxiang cut some branches, tied sickles to them, and climbed up the tree to pick the Magnolia officinalis flowers.
Yang Chunyan looked around and found that there were many small Magnolia officinalis trees one or two meters high in the forest. She thought of digging them up and planting them next year.
Looking back, I saw Zhao Huifang had also climbed up the tree. She also stepped on the backpack and climbed onto a big tree fork. She sat on the fork and peeled off all the Magnolia bark she could reach.
The sun gradually moves westward, and the Magnolia officinalis leaves appear even greener in the afterglow of the setting sun, while the Magnolia officinalis flowers blooming on the branches are filled with fragrance.
Yang Chunyan shouted to everyone, "The sun is setting, it's time to go home."
"Okay!" Several people agreed one after another.
Everyone in the mountains knew that it was unsafe in the deep forests after dark, so they carefully slid down the trees and, together with Yang Chunyan, collected the Magnolia officinalis bark and flower buds on the ground.
Zhou Huaian stood on the tree, put the sack on the ground, got down from the tree and put the collected Magnolia officinalis bark into the backpack, "Yan'er, we have picked all the flowers we can. Should we send them to Ning'an tomorrow or the day after tomorrow?"
Yang Chunyan took a look and saw that the collected Magnolia officinalis flowers had filled three sacks, and the harvested Magnolia officinalis bark had filled three backpacks and four more sacks.
"I'll make another trip tomorrow while the price is good, and bring some dried herbs to sell as well."
“Yes!”
Worried that the Magnolia officinalis flowers would get spoiled in the sacks, several people poured the Magnolia officinalis flowers into a backpack, placed the sacks containing the Magnolia officinalis flowers on the backpack, tied them up with a hemp rope, carried the basket on their backs, and walked back down the mountain with their medicine hoes.
Li Qiuyue pulled the shoulder strap of the backpack and asked, "Yan'er, how heavy is a sack of Magnolia officinalis flowers?"
Yang Chunyan thought for a moment, "The bag I weighed yesterday weighed 56 kilograms. The sack and basket I used to carry the Magnolia officinalis bark weighed a total of 63 kilograms."
Zhao Huifang said happily: "Then we earned more than a hundred yuan this afternoon!"
Yang Chunyan nodded, "Yes."
Zhang Xiuxiang was excited, "It's so comfortable. These two days are like picking up money."
Zhou Huaian turned around and said, "Sister-in-law, hurry up, it's getting dark, the wild boar and the old bear are coming down the mountain."
"Got it. We can catch up with you."
The few of them hurried on their way. When they reached the last ridge, it was already dark. From time to time, the creepy cries of night owls could be heard from the woods.
Seeing the village below, Zhou Huaian relaxed and said, "I can't do it anymore. Let's stop and rest for a while before going on."
Zhao Huifang hurried forward to help him take the backpack. Everyone put down the backpacks and took a break on the spot.
Li Qiuyue took a breath and kneaded her legs, "I've wanted to rest for a long time. My legs are so sore and shaking."
Zhou Huaian lay on the ground without caring about anything, "I won't do this next time. If this happens a few more times, I will earn money but won't be able to spend it all!"
"Youngest, if you're tired, just take a break and you'll be fine." Zhao Huifang said with a sigh, "Everyone needs money to live in this world. Without money, you can't even stand up straight in the village, and you can't even speak loudly."
Zhang Xiuxiang nodded, "That's right. If you work from dawn to dusk, you can't even pay Xiaoqian's tuition, let alone repair the house."
Zhou Huaian got a headache when he heard this, "Alas! Brother Nong has a hard time!"
Li Qiuyue mocked, "Youngest, who told you to be blind when you reincarnate? Find an old man who is a high-ranking official as soon as possible, so that he can be fed!"
"Third sister-in-law, I didn't say anything to you, why are you talking so harshly?" Zhou Huaian got up angrily, "Let's go, I'm so irritable."
Li Qiuyue's face turned red, and she felt a little embarrassed. She wanted to fight back but was afraid that they would end up quarreling, and Zhou Huaian and his wife would not take her with them tomorrow.
Seeing this, Yang Chunyan stood up to smooth things over, "Huaian, Third Sister-in-law was just joking with you, but you took everything so seriously."
Li Qiuyue nodded, "Yes, I was just joking!"
Zhang Xiuxiang: "Let's go. It's cold in the mountains. If you sweat and then get blown by the cold wind, you'll catch a cold easily."
Zhao Huifang also stood up and said, "I feel a little cold too."
Zhang Xiuxiang also said: "It's time to rest, let's go back!"
Several people carried their backpacks and walked back in the dark, leaning on their medicine hoes. When they reached halfway up the mountain, they saw a flashlight shining in front of them.
"Youngest, Huifang, is that you?" Zhou Huairong's voice came.
"Brother," Zhou Huaian took a deep breath, "Why didn't you come pick us up earlier?"
"We just arrived a while ago. We came to pick you up after washing our face." Zhou Huaishan said as he walked past him and took over Li Qiuyue's backpack.
Zhou Huaian rolled his eyes at him and said, "You are biased. You don't even take a shot when your brother is in front of you."
Zhou Huaishan said with a smile: "As a man, you have the nerve to ask me to carry you!"
Zhao Huifang looked at Yang Chunyan who was breathing heavily and said, "Yan'er, put down the backpack and let your brother carry it!"
Before Yang Chunyan could refuse, Zhou Huaian stepped forward and took her backpack, "Yan'er, let me help you put it down."
"Give it to me!" Zhou Huairong also said.
Yang Chunyan said politely: "Sorry for the trouble, big brother!"
Zhou Huairong smiled naively. After he put on the backpack, Zhou Huaijun also put on Zhang Xiuxiang's backpack.
Several people walked down the mountain step by step with flashlights. When they reached the back door, they saw Zhou's mother waiting there with Zhou Xiaolin on her back.
"Come back earlier next time. It's not safe on the mountain after dark."
"OK!"
Several people came in with baskets on their backs. Grandpa Zhou and Zhou's father were also waiting in the backyard. "You're back? Your mother was worried to death."
"I forgot to check the weather." Yang Chunyan stepped forward with a smile, "Grandpa, I've sold your Poria cocos for you. I got 31.5 yuan!"
Mr. Zhou glanced at Zhou Huaian and said happily, "Well, your mother said you sold a lot today!"
"Yes, I made some money today."
When they arrived at the front yard, Zhou Jiaming and his friends said happily, "Grandma, it's time to eat!"
The children were already drooling in anticipation of the stewed pig's trotters and braised pork intestines for the evening.
"Okay, go get some hot water for your mom and aunt to wash their faces, and grandma, go serve the dishes to the table!"
"Got it!" Several children turned and ran towards the kitchen.
A few people put down their backpacks, and Yang Chunyan led a few people to spread out the Magnolia officinalis flowers and dry them in the sieve to prevent them from being damaged by being placed in the sacks.
After washing up, Zhou's mother and a few children had already brought the food to the table. Everyone ate pig's trotters stewed with small white beans and braised pork intestines.
Zhou Huaian picked up a piece of pig's trotter tip and put it in the old man's bowl, "Grandpa, this is your favorite pig's trotter tip!"
Mr. Zhou smiled with wrinkles all over his face, "Well, our youngest is still the most filial!"
Zhou Jiakang said at the side: "Dad is the best, he buys meat for us to eat every day."
"That's right, it's so comfortable to eat meat every day!"
Zhou's mother said to the others, "Don't tell anyone that we eat Gaga every day. Do you hear me?"
“I heard it!”
After dinner, Yang Chunyan, Zhao Huifang and Zhou's mother cleaned up the dishes and went to the kitchen.
(End of this chapter)
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