Zhou Xiaoyun’s Happy Life

Chapter 74 Mulberry

 The silkworms grew very quickly, and soon the silkworm plaques turned from one to two, and two to four, and finally they were piled eight high.

The silkworm plaque is placed in the small hall outside Zhou Xiaoyun's room. Zhou Xiaoyun can't help but see it when he comes in or out.

 The silkworm babies were quite cute when they were young, but when they grew up, their white and squirming bodies became a bit scary. Zhou Xiaoyun was most afraid of long molluscs in his life.

Snakes, earthworms, loaches, and caterpillars should all be kept at a distance.

The silkworms are better, but I can’t say I like them. Every time Zhou Xiaoyun helps scatter mulberry leaves, Zhou Xiaoyun goes there bravely.

 When the silkworms are about to spin silk and form cocoons, the family gets busy again tying wheat straw.

This job is quite light and easy to learn. It is just a matter of pulling some wheat straws from the haystack at home and tying them into a bunch with white plastic rope. Put them on the silkworm plaque, and the silkworm babies will automatically climb up and spin cocoons on it. It is euphemistically called "going up the mountain".

Zhao Yuzhen was too busy alone, and Zhou Guoqiang also stayed at home and did not go out to work together. Seeing that the silkworm babies are about to enter the dormant period, they have to move faster.

Zhou Xiaoyun is naturally a good helper, even Dabao and Xiaobao are helping.

 When all the silkworm babies went up the "mountain", the family felt a little more relaxed.

 After a few days, the wheat stalks were covered with thick white silkworm cocoons. The harvest, like a crop field, was very gratifying. Zhao Yuzhen and Zhou Guoqiang's faces were beaming with joy when picking silkworm cocoons.

The whole family, young and old, put the plucked cocoons into baskets and then put them into their mouths to sell.

 Carry several large bags full on a tricycle to the cocoon station where cocoons are collected and sell them. It’s really a big income!

Of course, there are also people who come to buy them at home, and the price is slightly lower than that at the Cocoon Station. Zhou Guoqiang would rather travel more than ten miles because of his tricycle. After calculation, he sold it for more than ten yuan.

After selling the cocoons, there are still some bad ones at home that cannot be sold, so I simply peel them open and cook the black cocoons to eat. It is a rare and delicious meal!

Zhou Guoqiang loves this the most, so he specially prepared a bottle of Erguotou to eat and drink at the same time. Dabao and Xiaobao also ate deliciously. Zhou Xiaoyun lost any appetite after seeing this kind of food and didn't even eat a bite.

The mulberry leaves are basically used up. At this time, the mulberry trees bear small green fruits, which are cute and cute in bunches. They will mature when the color changes to purple-red. It tastes sour and sweet when you take a bite.

This fruit is a mulberry, and rural people like to call it mulberry jujube.

Children love to go to the mulberry fields to look for mulberry dates and eat them. They often pick and eat the half-green and half-red ones before they are ripe, and their teeth are so sore that they almost fall out.

When the mulberry dates mature, the taste will be different. They are very sweet and delicious, as good as any other fruit.

The best thing is that every family has mulberry trees and mulberry dates are everywhere. You can pick as much as you want.

Dabao started eating the mulberry dates when they were not yet ripe, and kept eating them until the mulberry dates turned red and his teeth were all red. Xiaobao and Dabao are similar. The two brothers go out with Zhou Zhihai next door every day and come back only when they are satisfied with their food.

 When the mulberry dates are completely ripe, they will automatically fall down without waiting for anyone to pick them. It is a pity that they are all over the ground.

Zhou Xiaoyun mobilized Dabao and Xiaobao to help her pick up mulberry dates. After picking up a basket full of mulberry dates, they sold it to someone who came to collect mulberry dates. The vendors who harvest mulberry dates come to their village at fixed times every day.

 The price is not high, a basket of mulberry dates only costs a few cents.

 However, this amount of money is not too small for a child.

It would be great to use your free time to pick up a basket and a half of these and sell them for three to five cents, and use the money from the sales to buy some snacks or gadgets that you like!

 So, at this time of year, many children are carrying baskets around, picking mulberry trees or picking up mulberry leaves on the ground. The baskets can be filled in half an hour at most.

Unfortunately, the beautiful time was too short. In just ten days, the mulberry dates were completely ripe and fell to the ground before anyone could pick them, and began to rot.

Zhou Xiaoyun happily counted the few dollars in his pocket. What an unexpected windfall!

 She did not forget that Dabao and Xiaobao contributed to this, and specially bought some snacks for Dabao and Xiaobao to eat. The two brothers ate happily. No one thought of asking Zhou Xiaoyun to share some money.

Zhou Xiaoyun already had money. She only spent three yuan on watercolor pens and crayons. She usually spent more on her pocket money, but she still had eight or nine yuan left. This time, she also had income from selling mulberry dates. , the pocket is bulging again.

Zhou Xiaoyun specially bought a piggy bank at the market. It was as fat as a fat pig. It was made of white plaster and had a coin slot on it. It would be troublesome to put money in and then take it out. The money can only be taken out if the piggy bank is broken.

Zhou Xiaoyun threw all the money he had on him in, leaving only one or two yuan for pocket money.

 Zhao Yuzhen gave very little pocket money, and she could only get the money unless she needed to buy notebooks, pencils and erasers.

Zhou Xiaoyun understands Zhao Yuzhen's frugal nature very well. Except for buying stationery, she rarely asks for money. Fortunately, she is not a greedy person and can hold back even if she eats less snacks.

Dabao is not good enough, and he keeps asking his mother for money in different ways all day long. Today the pen is gone, tomorrow I need to buy a ruler, and the day after tomorrow I need to buy an eraser. The reasons for asking for money are different every day, and the reasons are all very good. Sometimes I really want to buy it, and sometimes I just use it to fill my greedy mouth.

Zhao Yuzhen knew that there was nothing Dabao could do, so she couldn't beat him and scold him every day for two or three cents!

 Fortunately, Dabao was also quite knowledgeable, so the amount he asked for was not large and was within Zhao Yuzhen's acceptable range. Just kidding, if you ask for too much, you will be beaten. Dabao knows this very well.

 Zhao Yuzhen personally buys whatever Xiaobao and Erya want at home all day long, so the chance of using the money is zero.

Zhou Xiaoyun has a "small treasury" of his own, and he doesn't open his mouth much.

 Sometimes Zhao Yuzhen feels puzzled when she sees Dabao chasing her for money every day while Zhou Xiaoyun, who is also a student, refuses to ask for money every day. Take the initiative to ask Zhou Xiaoyun: "Da Ya, have you run out of pencils?"

 Zhou Xiaoyun replied: "There is still a section left, which can be used for two more days."

 Zhao Yuzhen couldn't help but give Dabao a look. Dabao's pencils were basically one every two days, and he used them as fiercely as if he was eating.

Zhao Yuzhen took the initiative and gave Zhou Xiaoyun 50 cents pocket money, making Dabao shout "unfair".

Zhao Yuzhen scolded her: "You don't need money every day. How different is your sister. If you don't need money for a week, I will give it to you."

Dabao immediately fell silent.

 (End of this chapter)