Chapter 8： Shepherd's purse

Chapter 8 Shepherd’s Purse

“What are you doing!” A roar sounded in the distance.

The paddy field owner has already rushed over in anger.

“Run!” Dani picked up her shoes with one hand and ran away holding Yingbao with the other.

Yuanbao followed closely behind, and the three children ran away in an instant.

“Look at you coming here again, I’ll knock your legs off! You little bastard!”

The landowner didn't really pursue them, he just wanted to drive these naughty kids away.

How many monkeys in and outside the village don’t cross the border several times a day? How can you beat him every time you catch him?

They are all the children of fellow villagers, and there are not many troublemakers in any of them.

Yingbao ran home with her cousin and got a small handful of water chestnuts.

With her eyebrows curled with joy, she secretly sent a few into the space to be used as seeds, and gave the rest to her mother-in-law.

Chunniang reluctantly took it and scolded: "Why did you go to the paddy field? What if someone tramples on the seedlings?"

Yingbao said proudly: "It was not trampled."

Chunniang sighed, took the water chestnuts and washed them, picking away the black, rotten and shriveled ones, leaving only a dozen or so that were fresh and edible.

By now, Dani and Yuanbao had returned home with their trophies. Yingbao divided a dozen small water chestnuts into three parts, one for her father, one for her mother, and one for herself.

It is impossible for Chun Niang to ask for her daughter’s snacks. She just refuses to say that she doesn’t like it and lets her keep it for herself.

Yingbao didn't force herself. After eating one of the sweet treats, she brought the rest into the room and placed it on the bed.

Tick off your shoes and climb onto the kang, close your eyes, and enter the cave with your consciousness.

I saw a pile of dirt piled next to the pool. There were a lot of earthworms crawling outside the pile, and they were all heading towards the pool. It looked scary.

What's going on?

Why do the earthworms in the dirt pile run into the pond? It would be terrible if the water is polluted.

Ying Bao quickly picked up two tree sticks, picked up earthworms, and put them into a half-broken clay pot.

She picked this thing up from outside. Although it was broken, it was still useful and she put it into the cave.

I originally expected to use it to scoop water, but now it comes in handy.

Soon after the earthworms were picked up, Yingbao shoveled a little more soil and pressed it into the pot to prevent them from escaping.

After thinking for a while, he pulled out another earthworm, picked out a little Wudingzhi from the stone wall, crushed it and smeared it on the body of the earthworm.

For a long time, the earthworm showed no reaction and no struggle.

It can be seen that this thing is not poisonous, but I don’t know if people can eat it.

Maybe you might as well take some out for the hens to try tomorrow.

A while ago, she only gave the hens water to drink from the pool. She did not feed Wudingzhi, but threw them some shepherd's purse that grew in the cave.

She picked the shepherd's purse seeds from outside and sprinkled them on the black soil. Unexpectedly, within a few days, a large patch of shepherd's purse sprouted out, green and tender, each one bigger than her head.

Seeing that the shepherd's purse was almost filling up the black soil beside the pond, she had no choice but to shovel some out and secretly feed them to the chickens.

Judging from the recent egg-laying frequency of hens, the vegetables produced in the black soil should be good.

So she always likes to sneak out alone when she has nothing to do, and when she comes back, she brings half a basket of shepherd's purses and gives it to her mother-in-law.

Chunniang was surprised at first, why her daughter could always find such fresh and plump wild vegetables.

You know, it's summer now. Most shepherd's purses are blooming and setting seeds, and their stems and leaves are too old to bite, so they can't be eaten at all.

And my daughter brings back half a basket of fat and tender shepherd's purse every time, which is really impressive.

Fortunately, Chun Niang didn't think too deeply, and she didn't know that there was a golden finger in the secret cave in the world. She just thought that her daughter was smart and clever, and had better luck than other children.

Inspired by shepherd's purse, Yingbao focused on the rocky clearing beside the pool.

She will spread the soil here and plant various vegetables.

Although perennial fruit trees do not grow very large, this one-and-a-half-year green leafy vegetable can grow normally and the growth rate is quite fast.

When the vegetables grow and people can’t finish them all, they can be used to feed chickens, sheep and pigs.

In the spring of next year, she will let the hens at home hatch some chicks and feed them with Dongfu crops.

In this way, the younger brother will have a lot of eggs to eat when he grows up. If he cannot finish eating, he can take them to the market to exchange for money.

So she collects all kinds of things these days.

Like shepherd's purse seeds, horsefly seeds, dandelion seeds, mustard seeds, etc., we would not reject anyone who came, so we collected some of them and put them on the broken pottery she picked up for later use.

It’s a pity that there are so few vegetable varieties in small mountain villages. The villagers’ vegetable fields have nothing but amaranth, greens, winter melons, kohlrabi, etc. Unlike in Fucheng, the tables of wealthy families have a wide variety of vegetables. In some farms of aristocratic families, there are also varieties from foreign countries.

The crops in those foreign countries are rare and precious, and ordinary people have no access to them. Yingbao can only think about it in his heart.

Ying Bao squatted down and shoveled a few shepherd's purses. She estimated that there would be enough for the family at noon tomorrow, so Ying Bao stopped.

He also sprinkled the newly collected small water chestnuts on a piece of black soil and poured enough water.

Feeling a little tired now, Ying Bao quickly left the cave and fell into sleep.

When I woke up, my father was already back. Aniang had just made dinner and was about to call her.

“Bao’er, get up and eat.”

Yingbao turned over and sat up, rubbed her eyes, turned around and slid down the earthen bed.

Put on your shoes yourself, reach out your hand to hold A Niang, and walk out of the house with her.

At the moment, the sun is in the west, and there is a breeze outside, which is much cooler than inside.

The dinner table was placed in the center of the courtyard. There was a large pot of amaranth and corn porridge on the table, as well as a stack of black flour pancakes and a plate of pickled shredded kohlrabi.

 Jiang Sanlang finished washing his hands and face, hung the sweat towel on the drying line, walked to the table and sat down.

The family of three sat around and started eating.

“Sanlang, are you going to **** the fields tomorrow?” Chun Niang asked.

Jiang Sanlang shook his head, "Our family's bean field has been hoeed. The eldest brother's family still has two farmhouses, but he doesn't need my help."

The three brothers of the Jiang family are not divided into households, and the fields are planted, but because their father and mother are still there, the second old Yongye Tian and the mouth are under the name of Jiang Dalang. Therefore, when the farmers are busy, the brothers will help.

Jiang Sanlang drank vegetable porridge from a pottery bowl larger than his head, grunted and took a few mouthfuls, then stuffed a few pickles into his mouth and chewed slowly, "I'm going to Beishan tomorrow. I think I can cut ramie."

 Ramie is harvested three times a year, and the end of July is the time for the second harvest, so we can’t delay.

"There is a lot of hemp grown in Beishan. Can you do it alone? Why don't you ask your eldest and second brothers to help?" Chun Niang felt that her husband was working too hard, but she couldn't do anything to help, and she was a little worried.

Jiang Sanlang shook his head, "No need to invite them. I will do it alone. It will be done in just a few days."

Yingbao blinked at her father and suddenly said: "Dad, I will go tomorrow too."

There are many wild fruit trees in Beishan. Even if those fruit trees cannot bear good fruit, she has black soil. She can cultivate them first and then move them out to try.

Jiang Sanlang stretched out his hand to pinch her little nose and said with a smile: "What are you going to do? Dad has to do some work, so he can't take you with him."

Ying Bao wrinkled her nose and muttered: "Bao'er wants to go. Bao'er doesn't need dad to take care of him."

“Hey! You’ve got the patience.” The father rubbed his daughter’s little head, “Be obedient, and I’ll bring you some apricots when I come back.”

After finishing the meal, he put away the dishes and chopsticks, and Jiang Sanlang boiled water for the family to wash. By the time they were all done, it was already dark.

Jiang Sanlang used a cattail leaf fan to drive away the mosquitoes in the linen tent, put down the tent door, and the family of three went to the kang to rest.

Yingbao slept in the innermost room, close to her mother-in-law, dozing off with her eyes closed but her ears erect, listening to the whispers of her parents.

There is nothing I can do. I slept for a long time in the afternoon. I was a little excited at night and couldn't sleep.

“Is Bao’er asleep?” Father Jiang asked.

Yingbao made no sound while pretending to be asleep.

She knew that whenever her father asked this question, he just wanted to tell her something that he didn't want her to hear.

In the darkness, Aniang touched her eyes with her hands.

"Asleep." Chun Niang said: "She is probably tired today. She and Dani went to the paddy field to pick up water chestnuts at noon, and she said she would leave them for you. After dinner, she played with her two apple seedlings, watered them and cultivated the soil. I was afraid that the chickens would peck me, so I looked around for a basket to cover it.”

Jiang Sanlang chuckled twice and asked, "Where did you get the apple seedlings?"

"It's the apple you brought back last time. Bao'er kept the seeds. Tsk, I don't know how she planted it, but two seedlings sprouted."

Chunniang sighed: "You said she is so young, but she knows how to leave a seed for seed, and she actually planted it."

Jiang Sanlang was silent for a long time before he said: "Chun Niang, don't say these words to others in the future."

Chun Niang sensed something was wrong in her husband’s tone and hurriedly asked, “What’s wrong? Did anyone say anything?”

"Yeah." Jiang Sanlang said, "I met Aunt Wang today. She said that people in the village say that Yingbao is a gift boy. I'm afraid that some people have unscrupulous intentions."

How can a child at such a young age bear such titles? If the news becomes more and more outrageous, they will not be able to protect their daughter based on their status as a couple.

Chunniang also fell silent.

(End of this chapter)