Chapter 3
After Jiang Jiang finished eating an apple, he took out a rusty sickle, threw it into the bamboo basket, and carried it out the door.
There was little surplus food at home, and Jiang Jiang's situation was special, as she had no father or mother. The production team would subsidize her with some food, but it was just a drop in the bucket, and it couldn't even provide the basic guarantee of not starving to death. She could only find ways to find something to eat in the mountains every day.
There was still some money hidden in the groove of the wall, but it was left to her by her father, who said it was to be saved for her future schooling and should not be taken out unless absolutely necessary.
As usual, Jiang Jiang went around the potato fields where the potatoes had been harvested. If he was lucky, he might be able to pick up one or two small potatoes left in the field.
Jiang Jiang was lucky today and found two fist-sized potatoes in the field.
Jiang Jiang put the potatoes away and carried the basket up the mountain. All the grass nearby had been pulled out. Famine had occurred every year and every household was short of food. Everyone was trying hard to obtain extra resources from nature.
Jiang Jiang had no choice but to go a little deeper, but she didn't dare to go too deep. She heard from the old people that there used to be wild beasts in the mountains. After searching for a long time, she found a handful of wild leeks, a handful of dandelions and half a basket of prickly lettuce.
The basket was filled with wild vegetables, enough for her to have several meals.
After returning home, she blanched the dandelions, chopped them up together with wild leeks and mixed them with salt. It became a delicious cold dish. As for the spinach, there was some taro flour at home. She mixed the taro flour and spinach with water and spread them into thin pancakes. Jiang Jiang started to drool just thinking about it.
Jiang Jiang went out in the morning, and it was almost dark when she came back. She had only eaten one apple that day, and she was so hungry that she couldn't help but quicken her pace.
When Lin Youqing and his wife arrived at Jiang Jiang's house, the door was locked from the outside and no one answered after they called twice.
"It seems that the child is out."
"It's dark now. It's not safe to be outside alone."
When she returned home, she saw Lin Youqing and his wife standing at her door with things in their hands.
"Uncle Lin, Aunt Lin, why are you here?"
Jiang Jiang pushed the door open and invited them in.
The room was pitch black. Jiang Jiang put the wild vegetables next to the well, found a match wrapped in oil paper that had not been used for a long time, and carefully lit the kerosene lamp.
The firelight suddenly illuminated the small earthen kiln. It was the first time for Lin Youqing and He Guijuan to enter the kiln. The last time they came, they just said a few words to Jiang Jiang in the yard and then went back.
Unlike what you see from the outside, the inside is very clean and tidy, without any musty smell, and exudes a warm feeling. There is even a pot of morning glory planted in a broken clay pot next to the window, climbing along the window, tenaciously growing upwards, full of vitality.
While the couple was looking around the house, Jiang Jiang had already washed two apples with well water and brought them in in a bowl.
The apple was given to her by Uncle Lin yesterday, but apart from this, her family had nothing else to treat them with.
"Uncle, aunt, eat apples."
Jiang Jiang is a really thin kid. He has hardly any flesh on his body and his sleeves have long gaps.
He Guijuan sighed. It was really hard to imagine how such a young child lived alone.
"These are the biscuits that uncle bought in the city, and some white flour buns. You must be starving after running in the mountains all day, right?"
Lin Youqing handed her a white flour bun.
"Is this... for me?" Jiang Jiang was stunned when he saw the clean white steamed bun in front of him, his hands frozen in place.
"Of course." He Guijuan brushed off the grass debris on her body and glanced at her hair that was messed up by the branches. "Come, sit down, and I'll comb your hair for you."
Although He Guijuan's movements were not very skillful, they were very careful and gentle, and did not hurt her scalp at all.
The sweet aroma of the white flour steamed bun filled her mouth. As Jiang Jiang took the first bite, her eyes felt sore and she couldn't help but shed tears.
"What's wrong?"
Jiang Jiang shook her head. "It's nothing. It's just that this white flour bun is so delicious. It's the best white flour bun I've ever eaten."
This was the first time someone combed her hair. When she was just born, her mother died of heavy hemorrhage. When she watched Zhou Fugui's wife combing Yinhua's hair at Uncle Fugui's house, Zhou Fugui's wife, who always scolded her, would become gentle. Every time Jiang Jiang watched from the side, she couldn't help but feel envious.
"Silly child."
The little girl's hair was soft and comfortable to touch, but the ends were a little dry and yellow, probably due to long-term malnutrition. He Guijuan glanced at Lin Youqing next to her and tentatively said, "Jiang Jiang, your uncle and I have been married for many years, and we don't have our own children..."
When He Guijuan said this, Lin Youqing was surprised. His wife had never been very enthusiastic about the adoption matter, and he didn't expect that she would be the first to bring it up.
He Guijuan bent down, stretched out her hands and hugged her, "Jiang Jiang, are you willing to be my aunt's daughter?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com