Chapter 9： Rumors start

Chapter 9 Rumors arise

After a long time, Jiang Sanlang spoke again: "Chun Niang, how did Ying Bao know that you had a brother in your belly at that time?"

Chun Niang paused and said: "I heard from the old man that children have spirituality since they were young. When they grow up, those spiritualities gradually dissipate. This is not surprising.

They also say that the younger the child, the easier it is to tell whether there is a boy or a girl in the mother's belly. I estimate that the baby I am carrying must be a boy. "

Jiang Sanlang chuckled, "It's true, my mother asked Yuan Bao last time: Is your third aunt carrying a brother or a sister? Hehe, I hope it is a son and a daughter. Ying Bao will have a younger brother to protect her and a younger sister in the future. keep company."

The two chatted for a while and gradually fell asleep.

Ying Bao didn't sleep, blinking in the darkness.

The rumors still started.

It is estimated that the family will hear the news soon.

Ying Bao sank her consciousness into the cave and lowered her head to check her wrist.

I don’t know if it’s an illusion, but the color of the birthmark seems to be lighter, but it’s still clearly distinguishable.

The size of a copper coin and the shape of a plum blossom, it is very strange and unforgettable.

Yingbao is worried.

I have been scrubbing it for several months, but the birthmark has not changed much. It can be seen that it cannot be washed away with Wudingzhi and pool water.

Then there are only two other methods to use, either cutting with a knife or burning with fire.

Seeing that his younger brother is about to be born, he will soon become the focus of the entire village, so he can't delay it any longer.

Can…

The cuts and burns were very painful, and she was afraid that she would not be able to do it.

But if you are afraid of this pain, you will only have more pain waiting for you.

It’s the kind of pain that hurts all over your body.

Otherwise, wait until the weather is cold before doing anything. That way, the wound will be less infected.

The next day, Ying Bao got up early, dressed and washed herself, still wrapping her wrists with a cloth band.

Go and water the saplings first, then continue to cover them with wicker baskets.

Go to the chicken coop to pick up two more eggs and put them into the egg basket.

Then he picked up a small basket with a small shovel in it and took the two hens out for a walk.

Not going far, just wandering around home.

"Hey, it's Yingbao." Second Aunt Wang was carrying the toilet and was going to wash it by the river. When she saw the little baby in shorts and a jacket, she asked with a smile: "Why are you going so early?"

Yingbao blinked her eyes, raised her head and said with a milky voice: "Second mother-in-law, I'm going to dig earthworms to feed the chickens."

“Oh, what a good boy.”

Aunt Wang’s eyes rolled around Yingbao’s body, and her eyes stopped on Wazi’s wrists, “Huh? Why are both wrists wrapped with cloth? Are they injured?”

"No." Ying Bao said seriously: "It looks good when worn."

In order to coax her daughter into not taking off her wristbands, Chun Niang also embroidered the two strips of cloth with plum blossoms and branches.

In fact, Chun Niang didn't know that even if she didn't coax or embroider the strip of cloth, Ying Bao would still be wearing it to prevent others from discovering the birthmark.

In her previous life, Ying Bao was still a naive and ordinary child. She didn't know what her mother meant by wearing a wristband on her, and she didn't follow her instructions seriously, which led to attracting that family.

Second Aunt Wang smiled and asked in a low voice: "Ying Bao'er, tell second mother-in-law, did your father or mother ever beat you? Did they deny you food?"

Yingbao secretly rolled her eyes and said tenderly: "My parents like Yingbao the most, so they don't beat me. They also leave the best food to Yingbao. My parents say that Yingbao is their favorite. Who dares to bully me?" Just hit her!"

Aunt Wang's face darkened, and the corners of her mouth twitched. "Hey, this little talker can really talk." She turned around and walked away.

Ying Bao stuck out his tongue at her back and took the two hens to Xiaohan Ditch.

Seeing that there was no one around, he took out the jar of earthworms from the cave and knocked it over.

The earthworm that had been smeared with Wudingzhi was also taken out, cut into sections with a shovel, and fed to the hens.

Two hens rushed over with a cooing sound and quickly ate up a few earthworms.

Then his head tilted from left to right, and he kept looking at the owner, as if he still wanted it.

The earthworms poured out of the jar were crawling around, but were ignored by the two chickens.

Even if the little master cut off a few of them and pushed them forward, the hen would just take a few steps back and ignore them.

 Ying Bao was thoughtful, then picked out a handful of Wudingzhi from the stone wall of the cave and handed it to the hen.

The hen was very excited. She stretched her neck and pecked at the baby quickly. She also pecked the baby's fingers back and forth. The force was very light, which made her giggle.

Subsequently, Yingbao spent the whole day observing the two hens. Seeing that there was nothing strange about them, I felt relieved.

A few days later, Jiang Sanlang finished harvesting Beishan ramie, carried it to the pond behind the house, threw the bundles into the water, and started retting the ramie.

These ramies need to be soaked for several days before being peeled, so Jiang Sanlang finally has a few days to relax.

“Yingbao, do you want to go to Beishan?”

Jiang Sanlang still remembered that his daughter was going to Beishan, and today he was going to fulfill her little wish.

“Think! Think!” Ying Bao raised her little hand, happily letting her dad hug her.

Jiang Sanlang laughed loudly and brought a basket over, "Ying Bao'er will sit in the basket, and dad will carry it easily."

“Yeah!” Of course Ying Bao had no objection and happily stood in the basket.

Beishan is about three or four miles away from Dongchen Village, and the vegetation is denser than that of Xiaonanshan.

Jiang Sanlang pointed to a piece of mountain forest and said to his daughter: "This is our family's land, and next to it is your eldest uncle's and second uncle's family. Your grandfather's land is close to Xichen Village, which is a bit far away from here."

Last year, he went to the old man’s field to pick cherries. When he passed by a graveyard, he heard the cry of a baby.

So he ran over to check and saw a little swaddle in the grass. The swaddling clothes were covered with ants and they were biting the baby's face.

The baby shook his little head helplessly and cried loudly, which was very pitiful.

Jiang Sanlang couldn't help but feel heartbroken when he thought about the scene that day.

Fortunately, the little baby's recovery ability is amazing. Within a few days after being brought back, the redness and swelling on the little face subsided and no scars were left.

“Let’s go, daddy will take you to see our mulberry tree.” Jiang Sanlang carried his daughter on his back and walked to a mulberry field.

Although the villagers in Chuanhe Town are not good at raising silkworms, every household has planted some mulberry trees.

This is a rigid rule of the imperial court, which not only requires each household to plant a certain number of mulberry and elm trees, but also plants trees that are easy to grow into timber, otherwise the fine will be doubled.

Jiang Sanlang stood on tiptoe, pulled out a handful of mulberry branches and handed them to his daughter, with several purple mulberries hanging on them.

Yingbao narrowed her eyes with a smile, picked the largest and most purple mulberry fruit and stuffed it into her father's mouth, "Dad, eat it."

Jiang Sanlang accepted it and found a few more trees. He broke off a large number of branches with mulberries and put them into his basket. He told his daughter, "Don't be greedy. Let's take them back and give them to your mother to taste."

Eating less of this stuff can stop diarrhea, but eating too much will cause diarrhea, so Jiang Sanlang doesn't let his daughter be greedy.

“Hmm, take it back to mother.”

Ying Bao said as he said, he still picked a few ripe ones and secretly took them into the cave to keep seeds.

Hehe, she has more fruit saplings.

Father and daughter walked around in the forest and found many wild fruit trees, such as chestnuts, wild mountain peaches, and wild mountain pears.

The fruits produced by these wild fruit trees are not only small, but the pulp tastes bad, so the villagers are not very interested. Only children occasionally visit them once or twice.

Jiang Sanlang took his daughter around for a long time before he found a few ripe yellow apricots. When he opened them, he found that there were worms in the yellow apricots.

Shaked his head and asked his daughter: "Can we go home now?"

Yingbao couldn't bear to leave. She wanted to see if there were any mulberry ears here, which were the snow fungus that grew on the mulberry trees.

That thing is valuable. If it is dried, it can be sold for twenty taels of silver per catty in a big drug store in Fucheng.

Suddenly, two short-tailed deer emerged from behind a clump of trees, blinking at them.

“Dad, deer! Deer!”

Ying Bao excitedly tugged on her father's collar, pointed to the side and reminded him softly.

Jiang Sanlang also saw it and was even more excited than his daughter. "Dad saw it. Well, let's go home quickly and hunt with your uncle and uncle."

Speaking, he turned around and left.

The mountain deer were alert and had already fled into the woods and disappeared.

Jiang Sanlang hurried back home, handed his daughter to Chun Niang, took his bow, arrows and rope and went out.

I haven’t been to mountain deer in Beishan for several years. I didn’t expect a group of them to come this year.

The wife at home is about to give birth, and she is worried that she has no money to make preparations. Unexpectedly, she encountered a God-given opportunity today.

Jiang Sanlang went to the old house to join his eldest and second brothers. The three of them took water bags and a few cakes, carried bows and arrows on their backs, and quietly left the village.

Mountain deer are not easy to hunt. They are very clever. They will disappear into the woods before you can fully draw the bow. Therefore, you must first drive them to an open area and then hunt them.

This hunting requires a lot of effort. Searching, driving, and rounding up take at least a day or two.

Some hunters go into the mountains for ten days and a half just to hunt down one or two big animals, such as deer or bears.

(End of this chapter)