It was a bright spring day, and tourists flocked to the outskirts of Liangjing City, unwilling to miss the beautiful spring scenery. Among the crowd of people flying kites, admiring flowers, painting, and drinking tea, a few figures were particularly eye-catching. They squatted on a small slope with their butts sticking out, desperately pulling out the wild vegetables growing on the ground, as if they would not stop until they had removed all of them.
"Alas, you can't eat this directly!"
Jiang Miao snatched a thin wild vegetable from Pei Mu's hand and threw it into the basket. Pei Mu looked at him blankly, then looked at the wild vegetable on the ground, and suddenly frowned.
"You picked the wrong one. You need to wash it before eating it. It's not clean now." Jiang Miao has been with him for a few days and has been able to read his expression. Pei Mu's eyebrows relaxed and he continued to fight with the wild vegetables on the ground.
Compared to him, Xiao Shitou was much faster. This was something he was used to doing before, and even though he hadn't done it for a long time, it didn't affect him at all. He could even clearly name and taste some wild vegetables that Jiang Miao didn't know very well. Originally, he couldn't participate in this activity, but it happened that Master Yu said yesterday that he had something to do today, so he gave them a day off and said that they would make up for it on the 15th.
Jiang Miao had been craving for wild vegetables before, and now that everything was over, he naturally would not miss this gift from heaven. He got up early in the morning, had breakfast, made some preparations, and was about to take Xiao Shitou out.
The West City Gate was very close to where they lived. After walking four or five miles out of the city gate, there was a small lake with abundant wild vegetables by the lake. Aunt Liu and her friends had come here to pick them in previous years. When Jiang Miao asked about it, she immediately recommended this place. They actually wanted to go there, but it was not convenient for them to go too far away because their children were in school.
As soon as they left the city gate, a familiar carriage caught up with them. It turned out that Pei Che was bringing Pei Mu with him. Before they even entered the city gate, Aunt Liu saw them and pointed in the direction for them to chase.
With a car, the speed was fast, and they arrived at their destination in almost the blink of an eye. Pei Che was very surprised that Jiang Miao was willing to go out for an outing. In his opinion, Jiang Miao's only hobby should be making money.
But soon, he retracted his thoughts. The outing to enjoy the scenery was fake, and the wild vegetables were real. Their squatting posture was really a bit indecent. Pei Che struggled for a long time, but in the end he did not lift up his robe and squat together. Instead, he found a place not far away, asked someone to put a stool, and took out a book to read.
A handsome and elegant young man was sitting by the lake reading a book. The picturesque scenery attracted the attention of all the tourists. No matter the rich lady wearing a veil or the beautiful girl carrying a basket, they couldn't help but blush.
Jiang Miao saw it, sneered, and jealously cursed him as a "flower butterfly". Why don't those girls look at him who is hardworking and simple? There is still room for improvement in their vision! He secretly complained, and then turned around and continued to pull the wild vegetables on the ground.
Perhaps because it was just the beginning of spring, not many people came here yet. The wild vegetables were growing lushly and looked very fresh. They could be easily broken off with the hands, and the juice from the broken parts gave off a grassy scent. For Jiang Miao, who had not eaten much green leafy vegetables all winter, this was undoubtedly a huge temptation.
His hands moved faster and faster, and in less than half an hour, the cloth bag and two baskets he brought were filled with fresh wild vegetables.
"Go call your brother and tell him we are going back!" Jiang Miao said casually without even raising his head. He wanted to go back for lunch and share some with the neighbors in the yard. They must be very happy.
Pei Mu, who was standing by, was stunned for a moment, then actually stood up and walked towards Pei Che who was by the lake.
Pei Che was so absorbed in his book that he didn't notice someone coming over until his sleeves were pulled. Then he realized that Pei Mu was standing in front of him with an expressionless face.
"Mu'er, what's wrong?" Pei Che put down the book and touched his head, with some joy in his eyes. It was rare for Mu'er to take the initiative to do something.
Pei Mu didn't say anything. He turned his head to look at Jiang Miao, then looked at Pei Che. After repeating this three times, Pei Che probably understood what he meant.
"Is it Brother Miao who wants me to come over?" Pei Che asked. Just as he was about to stand up and hold Pei Mu's hand and walk over, he saw Pei Mu nod almost imperceptibly. Pei Che was very excited. Although the action of response was small, it represented great significance.
"Let's go together." They came to Jiang Miao's side, and Pei Che asked, "A Miao, what do you want to talk to me about?"
"We have to go back, otherwise we will miss lunch." Jiang Miao was only thinking about eating wild vegetables, but Pei Che found that Xiao Shitou would raise his head from time to time to look at the various kites in the sky.
"It's a rare opportunity to come out, so let's play for a while longer. I'll ask someone to buy some wine and food, and also buy a few kites to fly to ward off bad luck?" Pei Che suggested. Jiang Miao followed his gaze and noticed Xiao Shitou's actions, realizing that he seemed to have ignored the child's needs.
"Okay, then when you ask someone to buy kites, please bring back some wild vegetables for me. Keep one basket and give the rest to Aunt Liu. Ask her to help distribute them to the neighbors in the yard. Don't buy ready-made vegetables. Ask them to buy some ingredients and we can cook them ourselves. It will be more fun."
After saying that, Jiang Miao looked around cautiously. There shouldn't be a sign like "Smoking in the wild, fined 1,000 yuan" here? He just tried it by the lake, it would definitely not burn!
Pei Che naturally would not disagree. He gave a few instructions, and his men who were following not far away came over, picked up the baskets and wild vegetables, and drove the cart back.
Nothing to do for the moment, Jiang Miao took Xiao Shitou and Pei Mu to the waterside to wash their hands, and casually reminded them: "The waterside is very dangerous, you can't come here to play without an adult, do you understand?"
Little Stone nodded vigorously. There was a river over Jiangjiawan. A child from the village was drowned when he went there to play. The child was called Xiaohuzi. His family loved him very much. After that incident, his mother cried every day at home.
Pei Mu looked at the lake with a stern face, his expression serious, and no one knew what he was thinking.
Pei Che couldn't help laughing. He found that Jiang Miao could always bring happiness to others.
The slightly low laughter was very pleasant to the ear. Jiang Miao looked over and found that this guy seemed to be laughing at him. Comparing poems with him would definitely be a humiliation. Maybe he could even write his own poems. Jiang Miao's eyes rolled around for a few times, and suddenly he squatted down to pick up a piece of gravel, then posed to find a good angle and threw the stone out. Water splashes jumped out of the water one after another, and it did so for seven or eight times before it sank into the water unwillingly.
Jiang Miao's move shocked the other three people, leaving them stunned for a moment.
"How about it? Do you want to compete?" Jiang Miao was smug, looking at Pei Che with ill intentions. He always liked to compare what he was good at with what others were not good at, but this other person only referred to Pei Che.
"You can compete, but I've never played before. What is this?" Pei Che saw through his little thoughts. He was like this the last time they played Gobang. However, the expression of disbelief on his face when he was defeated by him was so funny that Pei Che couldn't help but want to watch it again.
"Skipping stones, since you have never played it before, I will let you practice it first. We can compete when you have mastered it. By the way, whoever loses has to agree to a request from the other person." Jiang Miao said generously. This game cannot be played with the brain but with the cleverness of the hands. He is going to avenge his previous defeat today!
"Okay." Pei Che gladly accepted the challenge. He picked up a small stone, recalled Jiang Miao's actions just now, and then threw it out. The stone sank into the water with a "dong", splashed a small flower, and then disappeared.
“Hahaha…” Jiang Miao, who was teaching Xiao Shitou and Pei Mu, took the time to laugh at him.
Pei Che did not give up and continued to pick up stones and throw them into the water, but for some reason, he could not throw out continuous splashes. He frowned and turned his head to look at Jiang Miao, who was holding a small stone and helping him pose, not noticing that Pei Che was secretly learning from him.
After a while, Jiang Miao asked them to practice on their own. In fact, it was only Little Stone who was practicing. Pei Mu was only busy picking up stones and putting them next to Little Stone.
"You still don't know how to do it? Do you want me to teach you?" As he spoke, a warm body leaned against his back, and Pei Che froze.
"Don't keep your waist so straight, half squat, lean back a little, yes, raise your arms, but not too high, put them down a little, yes, just like that! Use the strength of your arms to throw it out!" Jiang Miao helped him pose while chattering instructing him.
The stone touched the water surface, bounced two or three times, and then fell. Pei Che didn't have time to be happy, and he felt that the heat source behind him disappeared. He couldn't help but feel a little regretful, but he didn't know what he regretted.
"You are quite talented, keep practicing." Jiang Miao clapped his hands, feeling a sense of accomplishment.
After mastering the trick, the progress is visible to the naked eye. After Pei Che succeeded in every shot, the competition between the two began. Jiang Miao picked up a small flat stone and threw it towards the center of the lake. The water splashed up continuously and it bounced twelve times before sinking.
"It's your turn." Jiang Miao said, his burning gaze following Pei Che's hand closely, not missing a single detail.
Pei Che paused, and the moment he threw the stone out, he lost some of his strength almost unnoticeably. "Boom... boom... boom..." The water splashed up continuously, and under Jiang Miao's nervous gaze, it jumped ten times and then stopped.
"Haha, you lost!" Jiang Miao was happy. When he saw Pei Che practicing just now, he thought he was going to lose again. This guy is too smart. Damn it, is he God's own son
"I lost, I have to accept the defeat. Tell me, what do you want me to do?" Pei Che smiled gently, not at all depressed after losing. Jiang Miao rested his chin on his hand and thought for a long time, and found that he couldn't make any request for the time being.
"Save it for now and I'll think of it later. Hey, they're back!" Jiang Miao threw down a sentence and ran towards the carriage.
This subordinate was very reliable. He not only brought back food and kites, but also pots, clean water and firewood. The ground was wet in spring, and if we went to the forest to collect firewood, we might not be able to start a fire.
Pei Che wanted Jiang Miao to come and fly the kite with him, but Jiang Miao said that he just wanted to cook so that he could eat later. Pei Che had no choice but to fly the kite with the two little ones.
After spending more time together, Little Stone was no longer afraid of Pei Che. He picked up an eagle kite and asked, "Brother Che, this bird looks so majestic, is it an eagle?" He had almost only seen sparrows and swallows, and the teacher had told them about the eagle.
"That's right, an eagle soaring in the sky, with sharp claws and a pair of sharp eyes, is exactly what it looks like in this picture." When Pei Che was a child, he went to the grassland with his parents and saw an eagle catching a lamb, which shocked him greatly at the time.
Little Stone looked at the eagle kite with joy and stroked it lovingly: "Brother Che, teach me how to fly a kite. I want my eagle to fly to the sky!"
Pei Che agreed. He lowered his head and saw Pei Mu staring at him, so he touched his head with his hand and said, "Brother, put Mu'er's eagle up in the sky as well."
(End of this chapter)