Farming Beneath the Changbai Mountains

Xue and Jinghan have been selling thorn buds for eight or nine days, and they can make more than a hundred yuan every day. Until the thorn buds became too old to be sold, they made a total of more than one tael of silver. Every time he came back from town, Mr. Xue would buy some delicious food to take home, and of course Jinghan was the first to eat it. She has no embarrassment at all about this. Isn't it just to eat something good that she works hard? Similarly, Mrs.

Mrs. Chen felt a little distressed when she saw Mrs. Xue and her daughter being so tired all day long. She would prepare meals in advance every day so that they would be able to eat when Jinghan and the others came back. Every time I see Ms. The day is getting hotter and hotter, and the children haven’t even finished their single clothes yet, as last year’s ones are all too small.

"Mom, these thorn sprouts have been sold, and the monkey legs and bracken should be harvested. When the time comes, we can use the money to buy cloth for them to make clothes. The children are growing tall, so they should eat more. Yes, it grows fast," Ms. Xue said to her mother-in-law with a smile.

"You, Jinghan is only eight years old, and she has been following you all over the mountains. No matter what this year, I have to make a new dress for Jinghan. We can't let her just pick up Jingya's old clothes. She is also old, and she should have some I have some new clothes." Mrs. Chen pulled Jinghan over and asked, "Girl, are you tired from going up the mountain all day long?"

Jinghan leaned in her grandma's arms and hugged her neck, "Nay, I'm not tired. I can't even feel it after running all day. You want me to be like my eldest sister, who is bored at home doing needlework all day long. I can't stay here." Come on. Don’t you think I’m a tomboy? It’s fine if I don’t wear new clothes. I always like to go into the woods and wear them. My sister’s clothes are not old either.” It's not that she doesn't like beauty, but she can't stand it when she puts on new clothes and doesn't dare to move anything.

The old lady looked at her little granddaughter in her arms. Her red face and big bright eyes revealed a healthy and beautiful look. "Our Jinghan is so sensible. She knows how to make money at such a young age and doesn't need new clothes. Grandma has made the decision and will definitely make you new clothes this year. Merrill, I will give you money tomorrow and you can go to the town to buy some fabrics. When I come back, I won’t go to the mountains all day long, so I’ll just make clothes for the children at home. Although it’s a bit difficult for our family, we still have to give our children clothes to wear, right?” The old lady loves these grandchildren very much.

Xu Huixin also came out of the house. "Sister-in-law, I'll help you too. I don't have much to do all day, so I can do some sewing." Xu Huixin has been learning to cook from her mother these days. She was originally smart and learned things quickly. Whatever Chen taught her, she would always learn it quickly.

Jinghan glanced at Huixin and said, "Sister-in-law, you seem to be much better these days." She noticed that her sister-in-law's problem seemed to be much better when the weather was warmer. "By the way, grandma, are there any sheep farmers in our village? Let's buy a sheep, milk the goat's milk and give it to my sister-in-law to try. They all say that the stuff is very tonic, and maybe it will be useful to my sister." Medicinal supplements are not as good as food supplements. , Goat milk is really useful.

Mrs. Chen thought for a moment and said, "The old Hu family at the east end of the village raises a lot of sheep. When I go ask, I guess one sheep costs a few taels of silver. If I am really good to your sister-in-law, it will be worth it." Mrs. Chen also heard about the usefulness of goat's milk. She looked at her daughter, gritted her teeth, and decided to buy a goat for her daughter.

"Mom, don't waste that money. I'm much better now." Huixin was reluctant to give up the money.

"Hui Xin, don't worry about the money. You can buy a sheep and raise it. It can give birth to babies in the future, so you won't suffer. Any of the children in the family can go out and cut some grass and it will be enough to feed them. As long as your body can Okay, my sister-in-law can give you the money." Huixin was only four years old when Mrs. Xue married into the Xu family. Mrs. Xue had no children at that time, so she looked at Huixin every day, either on her back or in her arms. Mrs. Xue cared for Huixin like a daughter.

"Sister-in-law, you'd better save more money. Wenhan is already twelve years old. In a few years, we won't be able to talk about marriage in a big way? And Jingya also has to prepare a dowry, which will be tiring for you." Huixin naturally doesn't want to let it go. Xue spent money. She has a good relationship with Mr. Xue, so she plans for Mr. Xue.

Mrs. Chen was very happy to see the sister-in-law and sister-in-law giving in to each other, "It's done, I'll take the money. Meilin, you really need to save some money. Wenhan is not in a hurry to marry a wife, isn't it? Studying? It costs a lot of money. Huixin, you keep the money you earn from sewing. This woman needs to have a private life. Even if she gets married, she won't be controlled by others. She looked at Jinghan and said, "Little girl, if you earn enough money from now on, your mother will leave it alone for you. Jinghan is so capable, so we will have to find a good family in the future."

When Jinghan heard this, she ran out directly, "Nai, I'm still young. When my sister-in-law and eldest sister get married, I won't have time to save money. I won't help you cook, and I'll go see my eldest sister." Then he went back to the east wing. Jingya is still doing needlework in the house. Her embroidery work is really good and she earns several hundred yuan every month. Xue always puts it aside for her to use later.

At this moment, Jingya was holding an embroidery stretcher and embroidering flowers with concentration. Jinghan ran to her sister and took a look at the thing in Jingya's hand, "Ah, eldest sister, are you embroidering peonies?" The peonies were embroidered very realistically, and the color matching and registration were also very good. Jinghan Han couldn't help but admire her sister's craftsmanship. "It's so beautiful. This is embroidering the pillow surface, right? I remember, aren't the pillow surfaces all about mandarin ducks playing in the water? Why are there peonies?"

"Mandarin ducks playing in the water are used by people who are getting married. The rest of the time, they mostly use flowers and the like." Jingya lowered her head and embroidered while answering her sister's question. "Jinghan, didn't you say you wanted to learn needlework? Why did you stop holding needles after two days?" She knew that this Jinghan couldn't sit still at all.

"Sister, the weather is so nice now. If you let me stay at home all day, doing these needlework, why don't you suffocate me to death? Let's wait until winter when we have nothing to do. Anyway, I'm still young, so I'm not in a hurry to learn this. "When Jinghan sees it's sunny outside every day, she can't wait to go up the mountain immediately. There is no way, the original owner's temperament is like this, and she is not a quiet person after that. After pretending for a while, I finally couldn't pretend anymore, so I just stuck with it.

"You, I thought you had changed your gender a while ago? The result is still the same." Jinghan was a little tired, put down the embroidery bag, put everything into a box, covered it with a piece of cloth, and then stretched out A lazy person. "Let's go, I have to go for a walk. It's really hard to be bored at home all day." Jingya took Jinghan's hand and walked outside together.

Jinghan held her sister's hand and clearly felt that her sister's hand was thin, smooth and very soft. But my own hands are a little rough. This is the difference between being at home and going up the mountain all day long. Jingya does needlework every day, especially those exquisite embroidery pieces, which are all made of silk thread. If the hands are too thick, the silk thread will be frizzy, so she pays special attention to the maintenance of her hands. Mr. Xue once specially bought a box of hand grease for Jingya. Jinghan is different. She has to go up the mountain every day to prick buds and other things, and her hands are covered with juice from wild vegetables and dirt. How can she keep her hands smooth and soft?

The two sisters held hands and walked to the edge of the river in front. At dusk, the afterglow of the sun dyed the entire sky red, and even the water of the river was covered with an orange glow. The two of them found a stone and sat down, quietly looking at the scenery in front of them. Fortunately, there weren't too many mosquitoes at this time, otherwise it would have been miserable.

"Sister, you should go out for a walk often. Don't do too much needlework and other things every day, otherwise it will be bad for your eyes. If you don't pay attention now, you will suffer when you get older." Jinghan advised her sister.

"Hey, sister knows, and my mother has said it too." Jingya replied in a low voice.

Two people slowly walked over from a distance. When they entered, they realized that they were Wen Han and Zixuan. "Jingya, Jinghan, why are you two sitting here? Fortunately there are no mosquitoes yet, otherwise I would bite you all." Wenhan hurriedly walked up to the two sisters.

"Brother, I'll take eldest sister out for a walk, otherwise she'll always be holding it in at home. Why did eldest brother come back so late today?" Jinghan felt strange, as she usually would have gone home long ago at this time.

Wen Han smiled and said, "Today Mr. left some questions for us to do, so it was a little late. Tomorrow, during the Mu break, I will discuss with Zixuan to go down a few docks by the river and see if we can get out of there tomorrow morning. The fish are coming. The fish are biting at this time, which is the best time." Wen Han held up several fish docks in his hand to show Jinghan. "We have already landed a few along the way, and there are two or three left. Just wait for me. I'll finish it and let's go back together." After that, he and Zixuan went to the front dock together.

After a while, the two people came back. Zixuan went home, and Wenhan led his two sisters back home. When we got home, we saw that all the food was ready. Mrs. Chen asked everyone to wash their hands and eat quickly. As for the evening meal, there was meat bought by Mrs. Xue and her daughter, so Mrs. Chen picked out the meat and gave it to the children. There's not much meat, it's good if one child can get two pieces of meat, and the children eat it deliciously. When Mrs. Wei saw that there was no meat in the dish, she was a little unwilling to give up, so she rummaged through the plate with chopsticks.

"Second daughter-in-law, what are you doing? Are you going to eat it if you are doing this? There are only a few pieces of meat in total, and your sister-in-law bought it from the town. For such a big person, she is more greedy than a child. What's wrong with eating less? If you want to eat well, you have to earn money yourself. You can just eat what you like. Why are you messing with the dishes here? , just a few words of training. Wei's was not like this in the past. Although he had a larger appetite, he ate everything without being picky at all. What's wrong now? He didn't care about others when he ate, and kept pouring the food into his own bowl.