Spring is here, flowers are blooming, and all things are coming back to life.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled patterns on the ground.
Li Xiyue carried a basket on her back, wore a straw hat on her head, and led Xiaobai through the mountains and forests.
Gathering herbs, picking mushrooms, and collecting firewood along the way.
After a busy morning, his basket was full, and he was also carrying two bundles of firewood in his hands.
She walked with ease, and the sound of Little White calling could be heard in the distance.
Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a wild fruit grove, with bright red bayberries and wild grapes hanging heavily on the branches.
It smelled sour, so I didn't dare to taste it.
However, I still picked some and put them in my basket, then brought them back to the village.
Just as I was finishing work, I ran into Huang Xinrui who was returning home. "I picked some wild fruit on the mountain. Do you want some?"
"Yes!" Huang Xinrui had a big appetite and loved anything that tasted good. She rummaged through the basket on her back and exclaimed, "Oh, it's bayberries and grapes!"
She took a bayberry and put it in her mouth. The next moment, she frowned, squinted, and said, "...It's sour."
"Then give it to Aunt Xiulan. She's pregnant and craves sour foods," Li Xiyue said, her eyes crinkling with a smile.
Huang Xinrui was unwilling to give up, so she picked up some grapes again. The green ones were so sour they made her teeth ache, while the purple ones were a little sweet, but still too sour. She pouted and said, "Wild fruits are just not tasty."
"What a pity, such a large patch of wild fruit. If no one wants to eat it, it will just fall to the ground, which is quite a waste... By the way, I heard that fruit, like grain, can be used to make wine. I wish we knew how to make wine."
Fruit wine, if brewed well, can be very delicious.
"I can!" Huang Xinrui's eyes lit up.
"You can brew wine?"
She said with pride, "Of course, my mom taught me."
“Okay, once it’s brewed, we can take it to… sell it.” Li Xiyue whispered two words in her ear.
Huang Xinrui looked around and asked in a low voice, "Do we dare to go to that place?"
“There are certain risks,” Li Xiyue said.
But for now, this is the only place to make money.
Huang Xinrui thought of something and leaned close to her ear and said, "My husband said that Zhou Zhiqing often sneaks out at night and doesn't come back until late at night. He might be going to that place to sell things."
Since Zhou Yunxia recovered from her illness, she has been able to hunt game in the mountains frequently, and the lives of the brother and sister have visibly improved recently.
Nine times out of ten, they're just taking their prey to the black market to exchange for money.
Li Xiyue was aware of this matter, but it was not appropriate to say it outright.
"Maybe... but don't think that far ahead. The most important thing right now is to brew the wine. If it tastes good, I'll buy it, and we won't need to go there."
She has tried medicinal wine, baijiu, red wine, and spirits, but she has never tried fruit wine before, and she is really looking forward to it.
Huang Xinrui was overjoyed. "Then let's go to the mountain to pick fruit whenever we have time."
"Let Xiaobai take you there, I don't have time." Li Xiyue was just suggesting a money-making idea; they would have to do the actual work themselves, she wouldn't get involved.
Huang Xinrui, brimming with enthusiasm, exclaimed, "Done!"
Back at the educated youth settlement, Huang Xinrui told Wang Jiaxing about brewing fruit wine, and Wang Jiaxing wholeheartedly agreed.
So, after finishing work at noon, Huang Xinrui and Wang Jiaxing didn't take a nap. Instead, they carried baskets on their backs and ran up the mountain, carrying back basket after basket of wild fruits.
But there were many people at the educated youth settlement, and they were afraid of being discovered, so the two of them borrowed the backyard of the clinic to store their belongings.
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