"Xiao Song probably doesn't know the way. I'll take you to Daniu's house. His wife should be at home now." said the village chief's wife.
"Aunt, wait for me! I'm going home! I'll be there soon." Then Song Jinxiu ran straight back home.
"Slow down. There's no rush!" the village chief's wife shouted from behind.
"I understand!" Song Jinxiu answered without stopping.
I ran into the room, picked up a bag of cakes, thought it was a little too little, and took another bag of fruit candies.
Then he hurried back to the village chief's house.
"Aunt, I'm ready, let's go!" Song Jinxiu shouted at the door with something in her hands.
"It's okay for you to get things later, kid." The village chief's wife said with a smile, and then took her to Daniu's house.
"It's my first time visiting you. It would be embarrassing to come empty-handed!" Song Jinxiu laughed.
"I'll take you to Aunt Jinhua's house. She has a son who's married and has two children.
They are twins, chubby and handsome. They are probably sleeping now. You won’t be able to see them even if you go there…” As the aunt walked along, she helped Song Jinxiu introduce the situation of Daniu’s family.
Song Jinxiu nodded aside. She didn't know anyone in the village yet. It would be great if someone was willing to introduce her.
"Your Aunt Jinhua is also very good at making pickles. You can ask her for some advice later." As they were talking, they arrived at Aunt Jinhua's house.
"Jinhua, are you home?" the village head's wife called out as she walked into the house, with Song Jinxiu following closely behind her.
"I'm here. How come you have time to come over?" Aunt Jinhua was sitting in the yard, peeling something in her hands.
"This is Xiao Song, the new resident. He just moved in today and there's not even any food at home.
I knew you had a lot of money at home, so I brought her to your house!" said the village chief's wife.
"Hello, Auntie. I'm sorry to bother you. It's my first time here and I don't know what to bring. Just a little token of my appreciation."
When the other person looked over, Song Jinxiu quickly greeted him and put the things in her hand on the table.
"Oh my, this little girl is so pretty! Why did she bring so many things when she came?
That's not the way to do it. Take everything back with you when you leave. Don't you want to order some food? I have plenty in my fields. I'll have Brother Xiaoniu bring it to you later."
Aunt Jinhua said with a smile.
"Xiao Song not only wants some fresh vegetables for the winter, but also wants to learn how to pickle vegetables from you.
You make the best pickles in the village, so you can’t hide any of them!” the village head’s wife added.
"That's nothing, they're all worthless. I'll ask your brother Xiaoniu to send over a hundred pounds of vegetables later.
As for the pickled vegetables, I'll have you come over in a few days when I'm pickling them! Do you have a pickle jar?" Aunt Jinhua asked.
"No!" Song Jinxiu shook her head. She had nothing now!
"It's okay, I'll go to Old Qiu's house and order a few later. He can't do anything else, but he is good at making this big vat." Aunt Jinhua said.
"No, no, I'll go and order it. I also need to buy a few large water tanks, so I'll go and order them together." Song Jinxiu said quickly.
"That's fine. Let him send it to me directly after it's done." Aunt Jinhua said after thinking for a while.
"Okay, you go ahead and do your thing. I'll take her to visit Old Qiu's house. The kid just moved and needs to pack up everything. I'll come and chat with you when I'm free." Seeing that everything was agreed upon, the village chief's wife was about to take Song Jinxiu away.
"Wait a minute, wait a minute, take the things away quickly. What a nonsense." Aunt Jinhua wiped her hands on her body and was about to take the things on the table.
"No, no! This is a little gift from me. How can I take it back? It's just some cakes and candies, as a snack for the children." Song Jinxiu hurried forward and grabbed Aunt Jinhua.
"These cakes and candies won't go bad even if they are kept for a few more days. Now that Niu and the kids are living at your place, you two should eat more to help them grow." Aunt Jinhua said as she walked towards the table.
Oh, Aunt Jinhua is so strong, I can't hold her anymore. I quickly looked at the village head's wife for help.
"Okay, okay. Just accept Xiao Song's little gift. She is young and doesn't know anything. We just need to help her out more in the future." The village chief's wife patted Aunt Jinhua's hand and said.
"Is that so? Fine then. I'll stay then.
"I heard you brought a little donkey with you. I'll ask your brother Xiaoniu to help you build a donkey shed later," said Aunt Jinhua.
"That's great. Thank you, auntie." Song Jinxiu thanked her quickly. She was just worried about needing a shed.
"Okay, let's go. I'll take Xiao Song to Lao Qiu's house." said the village chief's wife.
"Wait a minute, the little kid just got some raw chestnuts. You can take them back as a snack!" Aunt Jinhua took out a basket, poured a full basket of chestnuts into it and handed it to Song Jinxiu.
"This, this is too much." Song Jinxiu quickly caught it. It's so heavy!
"There are plenty on the mountain. If you like, you can ask them to take you there later. Forget it, forget it. I'll just leave it here. I'll bring it to you later when I bring you the vegetables."
Aunt Jinhua saw Song Jinxiu struggling to carry the basket, so she took it and said.
Song Jinxiu fell into deep thought as she watched Aunt Jinhua lift the basket with ease.
Were they carrying the same basket? This made her doubt her life.
The two said goodbye to Aunt Jinhua and left.
"If you like, you can ask Niu Wazi to take you up the mountain. There are still a lot of mountain products at this time. Hairy chestnuts, pine nuts, mountain potatoes and so on.
There are also various wild fruits, but they are quite sour, so you have to be lucky to find sweet ones." The village head's wife said to Song Jinxiu.
Song Jinxiu's eyes lit up after hearing this. They were all gifts from nature.
The saying "live by the mountain, eat by the mountain" is true. I won't have to worry about going hungry anymore.
"Yeah! But does Niu Wazi know the way?" Song Jinxiu asked doubtfully. Can such a big kid go up the mountain by himself?
"The kids in our village all grew up in the mountains. How could they not know the way?"
But you only know some nearby hills. You can't run around in the deep mountains because there may be tigers there.
You need an experienced hunter to lead you in." said the village chief's wife.
"No, no. I'll just walk around here." Song Jinxiu shook her head like a rattle.
I value my life the most, and I just want to get some mountain products to eat, not tiger meat.
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