Under the blazing sun, the three of them huddled in the shade under the eaves, talking. Su Ruanruan told them interesting stories she had heard in the city, and Sanzhu would chime in with questions when he found something interesting. Xiaoxi, however, just listened attentively with her bright black eyes, without saying a word.
When Liu called them after she had finished cooking, Su Ruanruan stopped talking.
He pulled Xiaoxi and Sanzhu to wash their hands before leading them to the table.
She sat on a low stool, looking at the bowl of coarse grain porridge with hardly any rice and a plate of stir-fried wild vegetables.
I felt quite upset; the food was terrible.
When Liu saw her pout, her expression froze for a moment, then she smiled awkwardly, "Let's make do for now. We'll buy some coarse grains when Da Tie and Er Wang come back from work in a few days."
In a few more days, the crops will be ready for harvest. However, since we have little land, we won't be able to harvest much grain.
"Aunt, thank you for taking care of Xiaoxi these days."
"Not at all, this child is well-behaved, I like him very much too, and he can keep Sanzhu company here."
"But, Xiao Xi is, after all, a grandson of the Su family. If he stays here all the time... won't your grandma have a problem with him? Has she been picking on you?"
Su Ruanruan took a sip of porridge and glanced at Xiao Xi, who was looking at her pitifully with a hint of fear.
"Sister, I don't want to go back..."
Su Ruanruan touched his little face, then looked up at Liu Shi, "The Su family is a den of dragons and tigers. If Xiao Xi goes back, my grandma will probably torment him. I stay in the county town all day, so I can't take care of him. I'm also worried about leaving him there alone."
"I'll figure something out about my grandma."
Liu felt a pang of sadness, "You're a young woman, it must be so hard for you..."
"Auntie, you're too kind. Look at me, I'm doing just fine."
Fearing that Liu would not be able to stop crying, Su Ruanruan glanced at the open courtyard gate and changed the subject.
"Why isn't Uncle back yet?"
Just then, Duan Zhuang rushed back from outside, looking travel-worn.
As soon as he entered, his gaze was fixed on Su Ruanruan. He wanted to ask about being tied up, but Liu waved his hand and shook his head at him.
"Ruan Ruan is back. It's good that the child is back safe and sound. She came from the mountain path, so she got separated from you. Go and brush off the dust and wash your hands before coming to eat."
Duan Zhuang gave a soft "hmm" and then went to tidy himself up.
After the meal, villagers who were feeling unwell arrived one after another.
Duan Zhuang and Liu Shi then realized that Su Ruanruan had been treating the villagers' illnesses all this time, and that she could easily handle simple headaches and fevers.
Watching Su Ruanruan calmly treat others, a sense of relief appeared on his face.
The villagers' illnesses are not serious, and there are many medicinal herbs on the back mountain that can be used.
After seeing them off, Su Ruanruan took Sanzhu and Xiaoxi and went to the back mountain.
The mountains behind the town stretch endlessly, lush and verdant.
Xiaoxi and Sanzhu were chasing squirrels on the mountain, while she was looking for herbs that could be used.
While the two children weren't looking, she buried the ginseng in her arms next to a brightly colored mushroom.
After gathering enough herbs, she sat down and applied medicine to her ankle.
Sure enough, a moment later, Sanzhu's voice came from the other side, "Huh? What's this? I've never seen it before. Xiaoxi, do you know what this is?"
Su Xiaoxi shook his head; this was the first time he had ever seen a radish with such a long beard.
Su Ruanruan smiled slightly and beckoned, "Come here, let your cousin take a look."
Sanzhu ran happily this way, holding a bright red mushroom in one hand and a small ginseng root in the other.
Xiao Xi walked slowly, following behind him.
Su Ruanruan pointed to the red mushroom in his hand and said seriously, "You can't eat this mushroom. The brighter the color of the mushroom, the more poisonous it is. Eating it can be fatal."
Sanzhu quickly threw it away. "I know, except for common mushrooms, my mother doesn't let me touch these. I was just curious and picked them up to play with."
Su Ruanruan breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that the child knew, so she didn't need to teach her again. She then looked at Xiao Xi and said, "Do you know? You can't eat that stuff."
Xiao Xi nodded obediently, "Sister, I understand."
Sanzhu stepped forward again, held up what he was holding in front of Su Ruanruan, and waved it around. "Cousin, do you know what this is?"
Su Ruanruan: ……
Watching the little ginseng being tossed around by him, Su Ruanruan gritted her teeth.
If a few strands of this ginseng are broken, this ginseng will be even less valuable.
She immediately took the small ginseng, examined it carefully, and then showed a surprised and delighted expression.
"Sanzhu, you're so capable! This is ginseng..."
"Ginseng? This is ginseng?"
Sanzhu stood there stunned. He had heard others mention him, but had never seen him before.
"Let's go back quickly and tell your parents this good news."
Sanzhu carefully wrapped the ginseng in his arms, his eyes filled with undisguised joy.
The three of them entered the courtyard one after the other, and he excitedly called out to his parents.
"What's wrong with you, child? Why are you making such a fuss?"
Liu and Duan were having a private conversation inside the house when they heard their son's anxious voice and quickly came out of the house.
They had thought something bad had happened to them in the woods, but seeing the three of them standing safely in the courtyard, they were relieved.
Duan Zhuang asked, "Has something happened?"
"Father, Mother, look what I found."
As he spoke, he took out the small ginseng from his pocket.
Duan Zhuang and Liu looked at his palm and touched it, their faces showing confusion.
Before they could even ask, Sanzhu couldn't contain himself and blurted out, "My cousin said this is ginseng."
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