Once outside the main courtyard, Li's steps were unsteady, her face was pale, and her mouth tasted bitter.
“Sangsang, now that the family has separated, how are we going to live? You shouldn’t have acted so impulsively. With your uncle looking after us, our lives will always be easier.”
Li was a good mother, but she was a bit clueless.
Gu Sang had no choice but to break things down and explain to her: "Mother, in the past, Father sent money to Uncle for the household expenses, and we still lived a very hard life. After Father disappeared, Uncle became even more despicable. Selling me is a small matter, but to keep sucking our blood for his own benefit, is this what an uncle should do!"
"Besides, even mountains can crumble; we have to stand on our own two feet and make a good life for ourselves!"
Looking into her daughter's bright eyes, Li was speechless.
I don't know if my daughter's stubbornness and self-reliance are a good thing or a bad thing.
She sighed, but accepted the fact that the family was splitting up.
Back home, Gu Sang told her eldest brother, second brother, third brother, and fourth sister about the family division and that they were moving soon. To her surprise, her younger siblings were overjoyed!
The eldest child, who was already seven years old, asked sensibly, "Mom, sister, now that we've moved, does that mean we don't have to do chores for Grandpa and Grandma anymore?"
After he finished speaking, the remaining babies stared nervously at Gu Sang.
Gu Sang felt heartbroken. Her younger siblings were all quite young; in modern times, they would all be little princesses and darlings.
But in the Gu family, she was used to doing farm work.
"No need!" Gu Sang patted the baby's head and smiled.
If grandparents are heartless, why should they still be blindly filial?!
The children cheered.
Because of Gu Dekang's request, Gu Sang's family had to move to the thatched house today. Gu Sang and Li Shi packed their things in the room, while Da Wa led the remaining three children to the thatched house to clean it.
As Gu Sang and Li were tidying up, they suddenly noticed the exquisite little box in her hand, which stood out conspicuously among a pile of rags.
"Mother, what is this box?" Gu Sang asked curiously.
Li stroked the box tenderly, took out the contents, and sighed, "This is the hairpin your uncle wanted."
A delicate and beautiful silver hairpin appeared before Gu Sang, its exquisite butterfly and flower design captivating her gaze.
No wonder my uncle wanted my mother to hand over this silver hairpin; it must be worth a lot of money.
The price is probably far more than just a few dozen taels!
But her mother's family was just an ordinary farming family, so how could they have such valuable things?
Gu Sang suppressed her suspicions and, together with Li Shi, tidied up the house and moved it to a thatched house at the foot of the mountain.
When the two arrived, in front of the thatched hut, the eldest brother and the second brother were sweeping up the weeds around the hut.
The two little bundles of joy looked like they were struggling to pull the weeds, their faces almost turning red.
Despite her young age, Si Ya obediently gathered firewood, a rare sight of a thin layer of sweat appearing on her pretty little face.
Only the third child was nowhere to be seen.
"Big brother, where's third brother?" Gu Sang asked, patting the big brother's head.
The one who answered her was Siya: "Sister, Sanwa went to pick fruit!"
Gu Sang was taken aback. What kind of fruit should be picked at this time of year?
Besides, this mountain is barren; even the village chief couldn't sell it for thirty strings of cash back then.
Gu Sang was puzzled, so she asked Siya to lead her to take a look. Not long after walking into the forest, in a place overgrown with wild trees, Sanwa, a little boy, was tiptoeing and picking a few red fruits from the trees.
Gu Sang glanced at it and was taken aback.
Winterberry?
Others may not know, but Gu Sang's family is a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, so naturally they know a lot about things like frostberries.
Wild berries are a type of wild fruit and also a traditional Chinese medicine. The roots and leaves can be used to stop bleeding, detoxify, reduce swelling, and relieve pain. What's rare is that the fruit is sweet and sour, making it very delicious.
Gu Sang's eyes lit up. The stems and leaves of this thing can be dried and made into medicinal powder, and the fruit can be used to make wine or eaten directly. It is truly a treasure from head to toe!
We're short on funds right now, so selling some wild berries to tide us over isn't a bad idea!
Seeing that the little boy Sanwa was still tiptoeing and struggling to pick the fruit, Gu Sang took the small basket from his hand and put all the winter strawberries, leaves and fruit, into it.
"Big sister?" Sanwa asked, puzzled, watching her roughly picking the fruit. "Why are you even picking the leaves, big sister?"
The third child looked so adorable with his innocent expression. Gu Sang pinched his little cheek and smiled, "Because they are all treasures, our third child has a discerning eye."
Sanwa smiled, a hint of shyness on his face.
She squatted down and wrapped the fruit in a large leaf: "Sanwa, Siya, you two take the fruit you picked back and share it with your brothers. I'll pick the rest and then go back."
It's getting dark, and there are many insects and ants around; it's not good for children to stay there too long.
Sanwa and Siya, always obedient, happily carried the wild fruit home.
Gu Sang quickly gathered the wild strawberries into her basket. As she ventured deeper into the area where the wild strawberries grew, she took a few more steps. Hidden by vegetation, the place became increasingly secluded. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew against her.
Gu Sang was taken aback.
Where did the wind come from?
She swept her eyes in the direction the wind had blown, and a dim light was hidden in the tall, withered trees...
Gu Sang picked up a branch and parted the bushes, and a hole gradually appeared in front of her.
Gu Sang felt inexplicably excited, like opening a blind box; she had no idea what was inside the cave!
Without a second thought, she walked into the cave.
The cave walls were free of snakes and insects, probably due to the growth of some insect-repelling herbs. Apart from being exceptionally cold, they were not much different from the outside world.
After walking in the cave for about fifteen minutes, the light gradually brightened, and Gu Sang crawled out of the exit. When she saw the scene in front of her, Gu Sang was so shocked that she couldn't speak!
This is probably a secluded basin in the mountains, where the temperature is obviously much warmer than outside.
In the lotus pond, which is several acres in size, most of the lotus flowers have withered, but the lotus leaves are still growing in patches, and you can still vaguely see big crucian carp and lotus roots buried in the mud.
Beside the lotus pond was a large expanse of land overgrown with weeds. The soil was very fertile at first glance, and various wild fruit trees grew intertwined along the edges of the land.
Looking at everything before her, Gu Sang couldn't help but feel excited.
After the family separated, Gu Sang's family had no land, which always made her somewhat uneasy.
Although land can be bought, she currently has no money, so buying land is a pipe dream!
But if this barren field in front of them could be cultivated, the Gu family would have land!
With this matter on her mind, Gu Sang only picked some lotus roots and caught a crucian carp before heading down the mountain.
However, to her surprise, when she returned home, her younger siblings were gathered together, and in the center, a boy was pursing his lips, head down, silently making love to the bed...
When she saw her return, Siya ran over excitedly and pulled her to look: "Sister, Brother Rong said he's going to make us a big wooden bed."
Upon hearing this, Li Rong didn't even raise her head, continuing to finish up the wooden bed.
It must be said that Li Rongsheng is really good-looking, with delicate and handsome features. It's just a pity that there seems to be a layer of melancholy in his eyes, which gives off a gloomy and indifferent feeling.
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