Chapter 7 This Weed Is Useful
That night, the people of the Southern Wilderness slept well for the first time ever.
On weekdays, I wake up several times at night to drive away mosquitoes. The oil lamp is dim and I can't see where the mosquitoes are. There are even too many of them to drive away. In homes with children, the children basically cry in the first half of the night and fall asleep only in the second half when they are too sleepy.
Those who didn’t have oil lamps could only grit their teeth and endure the pain at night, which was extremely painful.
That night, Madam Liu lit a straw braid, coaxed the child to sleep, and then covered the child's face and legs with the mashed mugwort paste, as these areas were severely bitten by mosquitoes.
The mugwort paste was cool and refreshing. The child breathed a sigh of relief and slept even more soundly.
The room was very quiet. Madam Liu sighed with relief and glanced at the man sitting on the bench in the corner.
"Husband, go take a shower and go to bed. Maybe you can have a good sleep tonight."
Zhao Yancheng looked at the smoking straw braid next to him and said, "You and the child go to sleep first. I'll sit for a while."
Madam Liu washed herself, covered the child's belly, and then went to sleep on the bed opposite. After lying down, she was still confused, wondering whether the straw braid would be as effective as Madam Gu said. But she was so sleepy that she fell asleep after leaning against the pillow for a while.
When she woke up, it was already bright outside. Madam Liu opened her eyes and looked at the brightly lit room. She sat up in disbelief and looked around. It was indeed not a dream. The child and husband were still asleep. She got out of bed quietly and felt refreshed all over. Unlike before, she would feel dizzy and listless when she woke up every day.
She took a look at the burnt grass braids and felt extremely grateful. She tiptoed to the child's bed to check the scars on the child's body. The grass paste had fallen off, and the swelling in the area where it had been applied last night had subsided, and it was obviously much better.
With tears in her eyes, Madam Liu gently kissed the child on the forehead.
Hearing the noise, she turned around and found that Zhao Yancheng was sitting up with a similar expression on his face.
The two looked at each other and smiled happily.
"There's nothing else to do today. Pull some more grass and put it in the sun. Then braid it into a short braid like this in the evening. Burn one of these willow trees every night."
After explaining the matter, Zhao Yancheng continued, "Mrs. Gu just came here, and their land has not yet been reclaimed. I will go help them later."
Madam Liu nodded heavily. "Yes, yes, yes. We should thank Madam Gu very much. She is such a kind person. Although she looks young, she is calmer and smarter than anyone else here."
As for the incident of Miss Gu threatening suicide, it was also glossed over.
Zhao Yancheng got up quickly. Madam Liu heated up a steamed bun made of mixed grains for him. He ate it, drank a glass of warm water, and then picked up his own hoe and went to Madam Gu's house.
As soon as they went out, they found that Qian Fu, the husband of Madam Li next door, was holding a sickle and walking west. They were both stunned, and then they walked together. Then they found that they were not the only ones walking towards Madam Gu's house. Many people were walking west carrying tools, and some were holding things wrapped in cloth in their hands.
Everyone had smiles on their faces, greeted each other, and was in high spirits. As they walked, they shared their experiences of using straw braids last night.
"This grass is amazing! It actually repels mosquitoes. Last night I was lying right in front of it, and the mosquitoes were so dizzy they couldn't even fly. I hit them with every strike!"
"Before I went to sleep, I was thinking, what if this doesn't work? I'm so tired of getting up in the middle of the night to swat mosquitoes, I can't see clearly, I'm bitten to death, and I can't do anything about the mosquitoes, but when I get up again, it's already daybreak!"
"My daughter finally stopped crying last night and was so well behaved this morning!"
“…”
Everyone slept well last night, except for one person.
That is Wang Hu.
After returning home last night, he didn't believe what Gu Xiyue said from the bottom of his heart. Seeing that everyone was picking wild grass, he looked down on them and went back directly. He lived in the east, and after returning home, he ran to Jun Ye and repeated to him what Gu Xiyue said.
After listening to this, Master Wang was silent for a while and said nothing. Master Xu and Master Li acted as if they were listening to a joke.
"Miss Gu, aren't you kidding me? It would be really strange if those weeds were stronger than the black water here!"
Wang Hu agreed with this and amused the three generals. He also took the opportunity to buy black water, hoping that General Xu would sell it to him at a lower price. However, when the topic came up, General Xu just shook his head and waved his hands.
Everything else is easy to deal with, except the things in the store, which cannot be sold for a penny less.
These are all regulations from above.
Wang Hu was disappointed and turned back in shame. On the way back, he cursed his third brother, the military commander, and also cursed Gu Xiyue in his heart.
I wanted to find someone to brag to, but seeing that everyone was busy picking wild vegetables, I just went back to sleep.
I didn't sleep well. I was anxious because of the mosquito bites. When I woke up, I was very hungry. I made some black flour and mixed it directly into the pot. I ate a big bowl of it and then I felt better.
When the sun was setting, other families were braiding their hair with straw, and he even teased a few of them.
I think that thing is definitely useless.
When he couldn't sleep at night because of mosquito bites, he got so angry that he started cursing. After cursing, he listened carefully to the noise next door. Usually at this time, the child of the Xue family next door would cry loudly, and the woman of the Xue family would hold the child and comfort him.
But today there was no movement at all.
He didn't give up and ran out to check, only to find that everyone's home was quiet and there was no sound at all.
I guess that wild grass really can repel mosquitoes, otherwise why can everyone sleep so soundly.
Another possibility is that there is something wrong with the weeds, which makes people feel dizzy, so they sleep so deeply.
After returning to the house and lying down, Wang Hu found that there were many times more mosquitoes today than usual, and they attacked him all over. He was so itchy that he jumped around the house, and the itching was so severe that he had no choice but to take out the tattered winter quilt, wrap himself in it, and roll over on the bed to sleep.
Finally, the mosquitoes couldn't bite him anymore, but he was very hot and the places where he had been bitten were extremely itchy. The heat was almost killing him. In the end, he was so sleepy that he fell asleep in his winter bed.
I woke up the next day feeling sick, with body aches, fever and a runny nose.
***
When Gu Xiyue opened the door in the morning, she was shocked by the scene in front of her.
Many people gathered at the door, some carried hoes, some held sickles, and some carried things wrapped in coarse cloth.
She was so scared that she closed the door again, thinking that these people were here to cause trouble for her.
Could it be that something went wrong with the straw braid last night? Their bodies were different from mine, and they were all poisoned?
That shouldn’t be the case!
She looked out through the crack in the door again and found that everyone looked relaxed and happy.
Zhao Yancheng shouted outside: "Miss Gu, don't be afraid, we are here to thank you!"
Gu Xiyue didn't believe it. Who would come to thank someone carrying a hoe or holding a sickle?
If these things happened to me, I would probably be left with nothing.
And who knows what’s in the cloth bags they are carrying? It’s scary to think about it.
Meixiang waited until the young lady had finished looking, then she peered through the crack in the door herself and said worriedly, "They're so scary!"
After that, Zhao Yancheng's voice rang out again, "Ms. Gu, we really came here to thank you. I know you just arrived here, and the fields on the slope behind you haven't been cleared yet. We came here today with things to help you clear the land."
Gu Xiyue was stunned, her mouth became an O shape, and she suspected that there was something wrong with her ears.
She and Meixiang opened the door together and just walked out when they found that Xiao Heng and Wei Lin from the east room had also come out.
Just as Gu Xiyue was about to speak, Xiao Heng came out and bowed to the people outside with a smile, "Thank you all for your kindness. The military officer gave us three acres of land. Wei Lin and I can go and open up the wasteland. No need to trouble you."
Gu Xiyue never expected that Xiao Heng would come out to stop her. She had a strange feeling in her heart. Could it be that after trying out the power of the grass braid last night, he wanted to thank her, so he took on all the work of clearing the land.
The people outside all turned their eyes to Xiao Heng, looking him up and down.
This was probably the first time they officially met Xiao Heng. During this time, Xiao Heng locked himself in the room most of the time, and when he went to fetch water, he would go to the beach where few people walked.
He was dressed in a green cloth shirt, had a handsome face and a bright smile. Compared with them, they were just mud on the ground, while he was like a fairy who was not tainted by the world.
He has a handsome face, and his smile is as warm as the breeze blowing on the Buddha's face, which makes people unable to take their eyes off him.
It is a waste of resources to exile such a person to the Southern Wilderness!
"You are Miss Gu's man, right? What's your last name?"
Qian Fu said with a smile.
Gu Xiyue and Xiao Heng were both stunned. Gu Xiyue was about to answer, but Xiao Heng took the lead.
He nodded slightly, neither admitting nor denying, and said directly: "My surname is Xiao, you can call me Xiao Sanlang. Everyone should go and take care of your own things first. There is really no need for you to work hard on the land reclamation."
Gu Xiyue turned her head to look at him with a complicated expression. Seeing that he did not deny it directly, she knew that he must have a reason for doing so, so she held back the words that were about to come out.
Zhao Yancheng was the first to disagree with Xiao Heng's statement.
"Xiao Sanlang, your wife has been very kind to us, and we have no way to repay her. Please leave this small task of clearing the wasteland to us. Xiao Sanlang doesn't look like a hardworking person, and I'm afraid he doesn't even know what clearing the wasteland is all about."
Xiao Heng's expression shrank slightly, and Gu Xiyue lowered her head and smiled faintly.
After Zhao Yancheng finished speaking, he turned around and called out to everyone. Everyone agreed that it was right and that they must help Miss Gu to open up the wasteland.
Those who were carrying cloth bags came out one after another and stuffed the bags into Gu Xiyue's arms. After a while, her arms were full, and even Meixiang's arms were full. Finally, they turned around and stuffed the remaining cloth bags into Xiao Heng's arms.
Anyway, in their eyes, Xiao Heng and Miss Gu are a family. Both of them are very good-looking and look very well matched when standing together. Miss Gu is also a good person, and this Xiao Sanlang looks kind. He can help them open up the wasteland. The three acres of land can be handled by each person with a sickle and a hoe.
This is the first time in five years that they have been so excited and willing to spontaneously team up to help others with work.
Gu Xiyue felt everyone's enthusiasm and her heart was warm. She just helped them with a small favor, and they repaid her in this way. Everyone had a pure heart, which was very touching.
She pushed the things back with gratitude, but they refused to take them. In the end, she had no choice but to let Meixiang and Weilin take them into the house.
Seeing everyone's enthusiastic expressions of help, she had an idea.
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