A Small Farmer Girl 's Story of Making a Fortune by Farming

26

　It is easy to go up the mountain but difficult to go down. When I was on the mountain, I had already used up most of my strength, and the way down was steep, so my legs were weak every time I took a step.

　　"Yaoyao, come here, let me carry you!" Shen Hongmei squatted down and motioned Shen Yao to lie on her back.

　　Shen Yao didn't dare to let her cousin carry her. She was only eight years old and frail, and they were going down the mountain. If she carried another person and she slipped and fell, she would be unable to be rescued.

　　"Big sister, you don't have to carry me on your back. Just hold my hand."

　　Shen Yao refused to give in, and Shen Hongmei didn't force it either. The two of them walked down the mountain hand in hand, completely ignoring their uncle and aunt behind them.

　　A few people carefully went down the mountain with great difficulty and found that the muddy path at the foot of the mountain had been half dried by the sun, and their mood became much brighter.

　　The sun is warm, the spring breeze is gentle, and even the raised willow branches are gentle.

　　Shen Hongmei asked Shen Lao San to help her break off a lot of willow branches, which were soft and not easy to break in spring. Shen Hongmei wove the branches into a ring, and picked some unknown wild flowers from the roadside to make a hairpin, and then made a ring hat and put it on Shen Yao's head.

　　"It's quite pretty. Hongmei has really skillful hands."

　　"I'll weave one for my third aunt too!" Shen Hongmei asked her third uncle to help her fold willow branches.

　　The uncle and nephew were talking and laughing, playing and joking all the way, and they were so happy. But as soon as they stepped into the courtyard, they heard the voice of Mrs. Wu: "You still remember to come back? I thought you were taken away by a tiger."

　　Knowing that Mrs. Wu was angry, Shen Yao took off the wreath on her head and put it on Mrs. Wu's head: "If I were really taken away by a tiger, wouldn't you be heartbroken?"

　　"Who is happy to feel sorry for you?"

　　"Oh, grandma doesn't feel sorry for Yaoyao, Yaoyao knows." Shen Yao said with a pout, trying hard to hold back tears. She looked as if she had suffered a great injustice.

　　"You look so miserable. Who are you showing off to? Go wash up and have dinner. The food is getting cold!" Mrs. Wu slapped Shen Yao on her little butt.

　　"My milk doesn't hurt anymore, and I have no appetite."

　　Hey, this sentence made Mrs. Wu laugh, and she said, "My goodness, you are not that old, but you have a big temper."

　　Shen Yao remained motionless, showing no intention of going to eat.

　　"Alright, I am an old woman who loves my daughter Yaoyao the most. Go wash your hands. They are all covered in mud and are so dirty."

　　In the end, Mrs. Wu chose to compromise. After getting a satisfactory answer, Shen Yao immediately smiled and followed Shen Hongmei to suck her fingers obediently.

　　After dinner, we started to process the mountain products we brought back.

　　Separate the mushrooms to be cooked and eaten at night and soak them in clean water. Hang the rest with the roots and soil in a basket. It won't be a problem to leave them there for two days. If they get wet, they will definitely rot before tomorrow morning.

　　Mushrooms are easy to handle, but wild bamboo shoots are very difficult to handle. It takes a lot of effort to pull wild bamboo shoots, and it takes a lot of effort to peel them.

　　Unlike large bamboo shoots, you can just make a cut with a knife and peel off the shell in a few seconds.

　　Wild bamboo shoots are only as thick as fingers, so knives are not useful. You have to use your fingernails to peel off the outermost layer of bamboo shoots layer by layer. If you are not careful, the shells will pierce into your fingernails, causing excruciating pain.

　　It took me nearly two hours to peel a basket of bamboo shoots.

　　The bamboo shoot shells piled up into a small hill, and the peeled bamboo shoot core was as tender and white as jade.

　　Fresh bamboo shoots taste slightly bitter and astringent. They need to be boiled in boiling water to remove the bitterness.

　　After blanching, remove the wild bamboo shoots, rinse with cold water, and drain.

　　Dice the wild bamboo shoots, stir-fry with the pickled Chinese mustard greens from last autumn and a few dried chilies. It is delicious and goes well with rice.

　　Add a large amount of oil, sauté garlic cloves, ginger slices and chili peppers until fragrant, then pour in colorful mushrooms and stir-fry together. Just season with a little salt and sprinkle a handful of green garlic leaves before serving. It will be extremely fresh and fragrant.

　　"Speaking of delicacies from the mountains, these mushrooms are the best, they are so fresh!" Old man Shen took a bite of the stir-fried mushrooms and took a sip of wine.

　　“Comfortable!”

　　When Old Man Shen finished his drink, he was about to pour it again, but Old Lady Wu snatched the glass away from him: "Just drink one glass. We still have to plow the fields in the afternoon. Don't delay me."
Mrs. Wu didn't feel bad about the wine. She brewed it herself, originally for the old man to drink. But it was spring ploughing season, and if he drank too much, wouldn't it delay the work in the fields?

　　"One drink, another drink!"

　　Mrs. Wu did not respond.

　　"Just one cup, it won't delay anything." Old man Shen stretched out a finger and begged, not caring that his son, daughter-in-law and granddaughters were sitting next to him.

　　Mrs. Wu still didn't respond, and she didn't even raise her head to look at Old Man Shen. But Shen Yao felt sorry for her grandfather, so she helped to beg, "Grandma, this sorghum wine has a low alcohol content, and drinking another cup won't delay things. Please let Grandpa drink another cup. It's not hard to pick up so many mushrooms, so Grandpa wants to drink a few cups."

　　"What's the matter? Are you still feeling sorry for your grandfather?"

　　When Mrs. Wu heard her granddaughter pleading for the old man, she felt a little jealous and uncomfortable. Even her words sounded a little weird.

　　Shen Yao naturally didn't know that her grandmother was jealous. She was jealous of her. She nodded seriously and said, "Grandpa works hard every day for our family. Yaoyao not only feels sorry for grandpa, but also for grandma. Grandma also works hard inside and outside for our family. She works as hard as grandpa. When I grow up, I will make a lot of money and let grandpa and grandma become the master and mistress of the landlord family, so that they don't have to work anymore!"

　　"You, you only know how to coax people with your mouth!" Mrs. Wu blamed him, but she handed the wine glass back to Old Man Shen.

　　She had lived for most of her life and had worked hard for this family, but her sons and daughters-in-law had never said a word of sympathy for her, not even her old man.

　　She knew that her son and daughter-in-law were filial, but some words, no matter if they were true or false, successful or not, made people feel relieved.

　　After the field was plowed and watered, the rice seeds were sown.

　　Counting the days, it was clear that Xu's sister-in-law was about to give birth. Since the beginning of spring, all the eggs laid by a dozen hens were saved by Mrs. Wu, who was reluctant to sell them.

　　This egg will be saved for my two daughters-in-law to eat during their confinement period.

　　After putting the eggs away, Wu thought about the third daughter-in-law again. She thought that the third daughter-in-law had been married for three months, so she should be pregnant. She didn't know whether she should ask a doctor to check her pulse. Otherwise, with the third daughter-in-law's temper, she wouldn't know even if she was pregnant. She would be so lively and energetic every day. I hope she is really pregnant and something goes wrong.