As dawn broke and the sounds of chickens and dogs filled the air, it seemed as if the darkness had passed and a new day had begun, leaving all the unpleasantness and danger behind in the night.
Lu Yunfeng still went to the chicken and duck coop to check on the poultry first. He went there in the early morning, when the sun came out. He opened the fence gate of the chicken coop, and the chicks, hens, and geese came out of the orchard chattering. Only then did he go into the chicken coop to sweep out the dead leaves and droppings and pile them in the corner of the fence.
The dry leaves that Wang Lan had brought back for backup had gotten wet from the rain these past two days, so she used a rake to spread them out on the ground to dry. They would be almost dry by sunset and could then be put in the chicken coop.
Raindrops pattered lightly through the woods. With this rain, bamboo shoots would sprout rapidly, displaying their unstoppable growth rate. Qin Xiaozhou, Lu Yunxing, and Lu Yan went to dig bamboo shoots together.
The bamboo forest was damp. After the morning chill, raindrops fell from the leaves. Qin Xiaozhou quickly dug up three or five bamboo shoots for breakfast and took the two children home. It would be a loss if they got sick. Bamboo shoots would only become cheaper after the start of spring, and the bamboo shoots wouldn't even cover the medical expenses for the three of them.
Back home, it was still early, not yet time to make lunch. Lu Yunxing carried his hoe to the mountainside to find his brother. The women of the Lu family were all sewing. Lu Yu took out a set of clothes for Lu Yan, "Try it on, if it doesn't fit, Auntie will alter it for you."
Finally, she had new clothes. Lu Yan happily went inside to change and ran over to show Qin Xiaozhou, "Sister-in-law, look!"
The eight-year-old girl was both happy and a little shy. She showed it to everyone and asked, "Is it pretty?"
Qin Xiaozhou pinched the little girl's face. She wasn't fair-skinned, a bit thin, with a pointed chin and bright eyes. However, her face had gained some weight, making her look much healthier than she had been half a month ago. A sense of accomplishment washed over him. "Not bad, it wasn't a waste of half a month of raising you. Eat and sleep well, and you'll gain weight in another two months. Chubby little kids are the cutest."
"Sister-in-law, do you look good even though you're so fat?"
Children don't really understand, and they don't yet have their own independent sense of aesthetics, so they subconsciously ask this question.
This terrified the women of the Lu family, who were afraid of offending Qin Xiaozhou and getting angry and wanting to hit her. Zhao Fen was so frightened that she moved her hand and rushed over to slap Lu Yan on the bottom, saying, "You child, how can you talk nonsense?"
"Don't hit her, don't hit her." Qin Xiaozhou stopped her, but still squatted down to look Lu Yan in the eye. "We shouldn't talk about other people's bodies. As long as people are healthy, that's all that matters."
Lu Yan's eyes were brimming with tears. "I understand, sister-in-law."
Qin Xiaozhou struggled to her feet; squatting was no easy feat, the fat on her stomach making her chest feel constricted. "But for me, being this fat isn't just a matter of looks, it's affecting my health. So, I'm determined to lose weight. I eat on time and in the right amounts every day, and I also need to take medicine to nourish my stomach and spleen. For your health, you also need to eat well and not be picky about food."
The little girl nodded repeatedly, then touched her clothes and became happy again. She was about to run out to play when Wang Lan stopped her, saying, "Don't go. Change into your new clothes so the villagers don't see you."
Lu Yan didn't understand and pouted unhappily. Lu Yu saw that the clothes didn't need any alterations and didn't understand her mother. Which little girl wouldn't want to show off her new clothes? "Mom, let her go. I'll wash them for her if they get dirty."
Lu Yu doesn't like to stay out for too long, but lately, perhaps influenced by Qin Xiaozhou, she's been quite willing to go to the back of the house to wash clothes.
"You child," Wang Lan scolded irritably, sighing at her youngest daughter's naivety. She could only be blunt, "Didn't you hear the noise last night? Xiao Yan is still young. When she goes out in her new clothes, she should be careful not to bump into Zhou Meixiang's house. Try to avoid going near her house these next few days."
Lu Yu's face paled, and she nodded in agreement. Although she didn't know exactly what had happened last night, she had a general feeling that something strange and bad had happened. Having grown up in the village, she had heard all sorts of strange and unusual stories about worshipping ghosts and gods among the villagers.
Qin Xiaozhou had finished cooking, but the Lu brothers hadn't returned yet, so she could only sit under the eaves and wait. It wasn't until the afternoon that the Lu brothers returned carrying a wooden bucket. There was quite a commotion in the bucket. Lu Yan ran over, her eyes crinkling with laughter, "Sister-in-law, look! There are so many loaches!"
Several people gathered around; the bucket was full of loaches and fish of all sizes. Qin Xiaozhou asked curiously, "Where did this come from?"
Lu Yunxing was still young at heart, and his happiness was simple: "There is a pool of water on the hill where the orchard is connected to the west mountain. The fish we caught came from the source of the stream in Qingzhugou. In the summer, we often caught big fish in that stream, but there have been very few these past few days."
Upon hearing this, Wang Lan slapped his arm twice and scolded in a choked voice, "What did I say? You won't go to Xishan, but you won't listen. Are you trying to drive this old woman crazy?"
That pool is about four or five kilometers west of the orchard hill. A couple of years ago, during a drought, wild animals from the deep mountains would often come to that pool to fight for water. Wild boars would often roll around in it. The villagers called it Wild Boar Pool. Wild Boar Pool is where the deep and shallow mountains of the western hill meet. Once you cross that pool, you can no longer see any trace of human activity in the hundred-mile-long mountains.
At noon, Qin Xiaozhou stewed the remaining half of the pig's head meat, took it out and sliced it, then stir-fried chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns in oil, blanched bamboo shoots and made a cold salad together. Lu Yunxing picked up several pieces with his chopsticks, and Wang Lan nagged, "Eryun, have you never eaten meat before? You can't do this outside."
Lu Yunxing quickly swallowed, "Grandma, I would never do this outside. This is the first time I've seen pig's head meat eaten this way, so I'll just have a few more bites."
Qin Xiaozhou took another pair of clean chopsticks and put two pieces of food on the plates of Lu Yan, Zhao Fen, Wang Lan, and Lu Yu. "Eat whatever you want at home, as long as we have it. Eat freely. It's a different story when we're out."
Bamboo baskets woven after the spring rains were hard to sell. In the afternoon, Lu Yunfeng also came to the bamboo forest to dig bamboo shoots. The raindrops on the leaves had dried, and the bamboo shoots grew quickly. The four of them worked together to dig three large baskets. This time, they did not go deep into the bamboo forest, but only dug in the foothills.
Lu Yunfeng was strong and took the responsibility of carrying it home.
There were so many bamboo shoots that they couldn't carry them all to sell. Lu Yunfeng and Qin Xiaozhou carried large baskets, while Lu Yunxing carried half a basket. The next morning, the three of them went out early to sell their bamboo shoots on the street. After the rain, there were many bamboo shoots, and the price was even cheaper. They only earned 210 copper coins for a full 90 jin (45 catties) of bamboo shoots.
There were plenty of bamboo shoots today, but they weren't selling well. The three of them ate noodles on the street at noon and saw people selling chicks. Qin Xiaozhou bought them all and didn't get home until evening.
There were fifty-three chickens in total, all still young, chirping softly. Shen Xiaosi wanted to catch them to play with, but Zhao Fen was afraid he would accidentally kill them, so she wouldn't let him. Shen Xiaosi sat in the yard and started to cry.
Wang Lan felt sorry for him and also for the money. She picked up her grandson and looked at the loaches being raised in the bucket.
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