Old Lady Li thought for a moment and told Wang Sufen, "You take the children here to pick corn first. I'll go find Dongzi's father and borrow a wood-carrying cart or something."
Wang Sufen looked around nervously, looking like she was about to cry: "Mom, what if someone sees us?"
"It's not a coincidence." Old Lady Li comforted her: "This place is flat, there are no wild vegetables or mushrooms. People who often come to the mountain know that we are reclaiming land here. Now is not the harvest season, no one will come here to waste time." Seeing that Wang Sufen was still worried, Old Lady Li thought of another idea for her: "If someone really comes, you can say that we used the medicine your eldest brother sent from the south on our fields, and the crops matured ahead of schedule after two months of sowing."
Wang Sufen looked at Old Lady Li in shock: "Is there such a magical thing?"
"Are you stupid?" Old Lady Li took out her pipe and hit Wang Sufen: "Isn't this just an excuse you made up to fool people? Okay, okay, just stay here and pick the corn. I have to call your husband to come."
Old Lady Li returned to the field, dug some potatoes and put them in a basket. Finally, she took a ragged piece of clothing to cover them and walked down the mountain. Wang Sufen followed Old Lady Li's movements. When she saw Old Lady Li walk about ten meters away, she couldn't help but ask again, "What do you say when you take them home?"
"Just say that your eldest brother asked someone to send it back from Fujian." Old Mrs. Li answered without even turning her head, and her three-inch golden lotus feet actually walked out with a ferocious and powerful posture.
Wang Sufen didn't dare put Zhenzhen on the ground again. After feeding her, she tied her back to her body. While breaking corn, she kept talking to Zhenzhen: "My girl, don't do such scary things in the future. What if someone sees it? It's okay to scare them, but if bad guys come and catch you and run away, where can I find you?"
Zhenzhen was lying on Wang Sufen's back with a depressed look on her face: How do I know I have this ability? I never picked more than two numbers correctly when buying lottery tickets in my previous life. Who knew that after traveling through time, I would inexplicably win such a big prize.
Wang Sufen broke off corns one by one and threw them directly to the open space on the side. Zhenzhen looked around boredly and suddenly saw a bunch of wild blueberries. Zhenzhen silently calculated that she was almost seven months old and should be able to eat some fruits. So when Wang Sufen was not paying attention, she quietly hooked her finger at the blueberries not far away.
A branch with a bunch of blueberries on it suddenly stretched out, and stopped growing until it reached in front of Zhenzhen. Zhenzhen smiled in surprise, and quickly stretched out her little hand to gently pick a blueberry and put it in her mouth, biting it hard with her two little baby teeth that had just emerged a little bit. The sour and sweet blueberry juice flowed into her throat, and Zhenzhen squinted her eyes in satisfaction.
After swallowing the juice, Zhenzhen threw the peel aside and picked another one. After Wang Sufen finished breaking a corn, she walked forward a few steps. The branch with blueberries stretched out half a meter and stopped steadily next to Zhenzhen.
After eating one after another, when Zhenzhen ate the fourth one, Wang Sufen was holding her waist and panting, and suddenly she heard the sound of her daughter eating on her back. Wang Sufen quickly turned around and saw that Zhenzhen's face and hands were covered with purple juice, which immediately scared Wang Sufen: "What did you eat?"
Zhenzhen silently picked a blueberry from behind Wang Sufen's head and handed it to her innocently. Wang Sufen turned around quickly, and when she saw the seven or eight meter long blueberry branch, she was frightened again: "... Is this blueberry a spirit?"
Zhenzhen smiled sweetly, holding Wang Sufen's shoulders with one hand, and tried to climb up twice, trying to pass the blueberries in her hand to Wang Sufen's mouth. Although she knew her daughter had some extraordinary skills, Wang Sufen was still a little shocked by the sudden and long branch. She quickly tiptoed to look around, fearing that someone would see this unusual thing.
The clear chirping of birds came from the forest. Apart from the strange blueberry branch, nothing else seemed unusual. Wang Sufen turned around and wanted to say something to Zhenzhen, but Zhenzhen stuffed a blueberry into her mouth. The sweet and sour taste filled her mouth, and Wang Sufen realized that she had been thirsty for a long time.
Swallowing back the words in her stomach, Wang Sufen untied the baby's sling, held Zhenzhen in her arms, picked a blueberry and put it in Zhenzhen's hand, and ate several in succession herself.
It was the first time for Zhenzhen to eat blueberries in her life. Although they were sweet and sour, she knew that her body was small and she was afraid of getting a stomachache if she ate too much, so she still stuffed the blueberries in her hand into Wang Sufen's mouth.
Wang Sufen ate all the blueberries on the branch in no time. Zhenzhen blinked and the branch shrank back. If it weren't for the bare surface and her mouth full of the fragrance of blueberries, Wang Sufen would have thought she was just dreaming.
***
Old Lady Li walked very fast with her bound feet. As soon as she reached the foot of the mountain, she saw Mingbei coming from the other direction with a basket on his back. Old Lady Li quickly stopped him and asked, "How are you? Where are your sister-in-law and your third brother?"
Mingbei pointed in the direction he came from and said, "There's a large area of mushrooms and wild vegetables over there. I'll carry this basket of vegetables home first, then fill a pot of water and take two vegetable dumplings." As he said that, he raised his leg and was in a hurry to leave.
Old Lady Li quickly grabbed his arm and said, "Why are you running so fast, you bastard? I have something to tell you."
"What's up, grandma? I'm hungry!" Mingbei rubbed his stomach and looked pale. "You gave me a vegetable dumpling this morning. It was full of wild vegetables and not much sweet potato flour. It's not enough to keep me hungry."
When Grandma Li heard her grandson say he was hungry, she couldn't help but think of the scene in her own fields on the mountain. She couldn't help but laugh: "Go do something for grandma, and she will stew meat for you when we get home."
"Really? Grandma, what are you talking about?" Mingbei's eyes lit up instantly, and he quickly walked around behind Grandma Li to see what was under the tattered clothes in her basket.
Old Lady Li quickly slapped his hand away, with an expression of unconcealed joy on her face: "Hurry up and I'll do the work. I'll definitely give you some food."
"Okay, grandma, what's the matter?" In the past six months, not to mention meat, he hasn't even had enough food. Mingbei feels that as long as he can have a bite of meat, he would be willing to try, not to mention running errands, even if he is asked to fly.
Old Lady Li took out her pipe, lit it and took two puffs. She sat on the ground, rubbed her swollen feet and directed her grandson: "Put the basket at home first, then go to the grain store to find your father and ask him to take ten days off. Come home quickly because I have something to tell him."
"What's the matter? I have to take ten days off?" Mingbei was a little confused.
"Don't worry about it. Why would a little kid ask so many questions? Just tell your father like this." Old Lady Li glanced at Mingbei impatiently: "By the way, if your uncle asks, just tell him to guard the grain storage and he doesn't need to worry about anything else."
Grandma is the head of the family. Mingbei saw that Grandma Li was unwilling to say more and did not dare to ask too much. He saw that Grandma Li had no intention of leaving, so he could not help but urge her: "Grandma, I will go home first to put the basket, you go home early to stew the meat."
"Why are you in such a hurry? I'll give you meat to eat." After resting her feet enough, Old Lady Li stood up and moved home step by step, leaning on a thick branch.
Mingbei ran back home as fast as if there was a wolfhound chasing him. He opened the door and threw the basket into the yard. He didn't even bother to lock the door. He just closed the door and ran to the grain store.
There was no work to do today, so neither Li Muwu nor Li Musen was willing to eat the wild vegetable dumplings they brought with them, so they planned to take them back at night. Each of them drank a bellyful of cold water and found a cool place to wait.
Mingbei ran over quickly, grabbed Li Muwu's hand and said breathlessly: "Dad, hurry home, my grandma is looking for you."
"What's wrong?" Seeing Mingbei so anxious, Li Muwu and Li Musen's faces changed color. They quickly stood up and surrounded Mingbei: "Is your grandma feeling uncomfortable?"
"No, no!" Mingbei waved his hands repeatedly: "My grandma is very nimble, she just came down from the mountain." Li Mingbei took a few deep breaths, finally balancing his breath before adding: "Dad, my grandma told you to take ten days off."
"Why do you need ten days off?" Li Muwu asked his son in confusion.
"How would I know?" Li Mingbei couldn't help but roll his eyes. "How can I ask something that my grandma doesn't tell me?"
No matter what my mother told us to do, we have to do it. Li Muwu nodded and walked towards the office. Li Musen wanted to follow him when he saw him. Mingbei remembered what old lady Li told him and hurriedly grabbed Li Musen: "Uncle, my grandma told you to go to work honestly. If the grain is released, we still count on you to buy food for our family." Li Musen sat back on the steps and continued to sigh when he heard it.
Now that the grain store was not busy and did not pay wages, Li Muwu easily took ten days off. The father and son trotted all the way home. When they were almost at the door of their house, they saw the smoke rising from their chimney. Mingbei was immediately happy: "My grandma must be stewing meat."
When he entered the house, he saw a pot of potatoes stewed with rabbit meat emitting a fragrant aroma. Mingbei's mouth was watering. He was not afraid of the heat. He took out his chopsticks, picked up a piece of meat from the pot and started to eat it.
Old Lady Li quickly put the spatula aside, dragged Li Muwu to the east room, and whispered to him, "I want to tell you something. Don't be afraid and don't say anything."
"What's the matter? Why are you talking nonsense?" Li Muwu couldn't help but ask.
Old Lady Li pulled his sleeve, signaling him to lower his voice, and then she told Li Muwu everything that had happened on the mountain.
Li Muwu was the dumbest person in the Li family. He didn't respond for a long time after what Old Lady Li said. Old Lady Li couldn't help but pull him and asked anxiously, "Did you understand what I said? Go to Old Wang's house and borrow his horse-drawn carriage. Let's bring the rags and felt cloth back first. It's not a good idea to leave the food in the mountains."
Li Muwu stared at Old Lady Li in a daze, and suddenly burst into tears: "Mom, what's wrong with you? Why are you so hungry that your brain is damaged?"
The sudden howl scared Mingbei so much that he almost fell into the stove, and also made Old Lady Li so angry that she was fuming. She pulled down the pipe on her waist and beat Li Muwu on the face: "I think you are the one who is starving! Stop talking nonsense to me, go out and borrow a car for me, and keep your mouth shut when you go out. If you dare to say anything nonsense, I will break your legs." Li Muwu immediately held back his tears and ran out in two steps.
Old Mrs. Li went to the kitchen and looked at Mingbei eating rabbit meat with a pancake on his face. She felt disgusted and sad: "Don't squat there to eat. Wait for me to serve it." Then she took out several small basins, leaving one for Li Musen's family, one for Mingdong and Mingxi, one for Mingnan and Guihua, and the last one was prepared to be brought back to Wang Sufen when she went up the mountain.
After Old Lady Li had distributed the food, she served out the remaining food, put a bowl of freshly made pancakes on the table, patted Mingbei's head, and smiled proudly: "Eat as much as you can today."
Li Mingbei was choked by the cornmeal pancake and took two gulps of water to recover. He looked at Old Lady Li suspiciously and thought it was not right: "Grandma, you didn't feel that you couldn't make ends meet, so you mixed some poison into the rabbit meat to kill us, did you?"
Old Lady Li was so angry that she almost choked on her breath. She picked up her pipe and hit Mingbei hard: "You just talk nonsense all day long. If I want to poison you to death, why would I waste the rabbit meat? I can just pry your mouth open and pour the poison into you."
Li Mingbei was beaten so hard that he kept screaming. He hid and couldn't help but defend himself: "That's what my second brother told me last time."
Old Lady Li put away her pipe and could not help but say, "Your second brother likes to talk nonsense to fool idiots, and there is an idiot who believes these brainless things."
Li Mingbei choked again, but he dared not say anything when he saw the pipe that Old Lady Li had placed on the table. He lowered his head and ate the rabbit meat silently without making a sound. Old Lady Li glanced at him and said disdainfully, "After you are full, go up the mountain and call Guihua and Mingnan back for dinner. You don't have to go out in the afternoon. I have work for you to do."
Li Muwu borrowed a carriage and just wanted to eat some rabbit meat in peace, but Old Lady Li sent him away with two cakes: "You'll have something to eat tonight. Hurry up and drive the carriage with me."
Many families in Beicha used such carts to pull wood, so it was not uncommon. Li Muwu drove the cart to the bottom of the mountain. Old Lady Li got off the cart and handed the rice, shoulder pole and basket to Li Muwu: "You go up to deliver the rice and bring the grain down. Remember to cover it with a felt. If you meet someone, tell them you picked wild fruits and don't let anyone see it."
Li Muwu looked at Old Lady Li with some concern. Just as he was about to speak, Old Lady Li immediately raised her pipe. Li Muwu waved his hands again and again: "Don't hit me, don't hit me. I'll go up right away."
Li Muwu walked through the woods with familiarity and after fifteen or sixteen minutes he finally arrived at his own reclaimed farmland. He was stunned by the corn all over the ground, the potatoes dug out from the ground, and the green cabbages.
Wang Sufen was digging potatoes out of the field when she heard a splash. She turned around in shock...
"Dongzi's father, why are you kneeling there?"
“… my legs are weak…”