On the second day of the new house, vegetables were planted in the backyard and the front yard was tidied up.
Xie Jiaojiao felt that the sugar cane could not be delayed any longer. After getting the sugar cane during this period, it would be time to dig sweet potatoes in the fields next month, and there would be no time by then.
Early that morning, Xie Jiaojiao said to Duan Honglan, "Mom, there is something I want to discuss with you."
Sun Ruhua looked at her with a smile: "What's going on?"
Xie Jiaojiao said: "I went up the mountain with Zhiyi and the others and found a large piece of sugar cane. I want to get it back."
What? Sun Ruhua was a little shocked: "There is sugar cane in our mountain?" She had heard of sugar cane before.
Xie Zhiyi still doesn’t know what sugar cane is: “Mom, what is sugar cane?”
Sun Ruhua didn't know that she was so old. She had heard of it but never seen it.
Xie Jiaojiao said: "It's the one I gave you to eat on the mountain that day."
Xie Zhiyi said, Oh, so that’s sugar cane.
Xie Jiaojiao thought Sun Ruhua didn't know about the sugar cane, but it turned out that Sun Ruhua also knew about it.
Sun Ruhua looked at Xie Jiaojiao: "Daughter, how do you know that it is sugar cane? I only heard your grandfather mention this sugar cane when I was a child. I have never seen it."
Xie Jiaojiao didn't want to explain these things. Xie Jiaojiao shook her head and said: "I don't know either, but I only know that it is sugar cane, and mother, I don't know why, this head hit the wall, this disease is cured, There are many other things that come to my mind, and I can't explain them clearly in a sentence or two, but mother, I know that what I found on the mountain must be sugar cane."
After saying that, Xie Jiaojiao turned around and asked Xie Zhiyi: "Zhiyi, was the sugar cane very sweet last time?"
Xie Zhiyi nodded: "Mom, it's as sweet as honey."
Xie Jiaojiao continued: "Mom, the sugar cane is already sweet, which means it is mature. What I want is that we get it back as soon as possible to prevent it from rotting in the soil."
Sun Ruhua shook her head: "Even if this is sugar cane, we can't finish this large area."
Xie Jiaojiao felt that Sun Ruhua still didn't understand: "Mom, this sugar cane can be boiled into brown sugar, didn't you know?"
ah? Sun Ruhua's face was full of shock: "What did you say?"
Xie Jiaojiao thought that communication in ancient times was simply underdeveloped.
"I said this sugar cane can be boiled into brown sugar! Let's get it back and boil it into brown sugar and sell it in the town."
"You mean this brown sugar is made from sugar cane?"
Xie Jiaojiao thought to herself, that's not all. Most brown sugar has honey added in it. She saw her grandmother go through it when she was a child, but the price of pure sugar cane brown sugar is more expensive than ordinary brown sugar.
"Mom, anyway, I have a way to make sugar cane into brown sugar."
Sun Ruhua couldn't wait any longer and immediately put down the bowl and chopsticks.
"Then what are you waiting for! Let's go up the mountain and get this sugar cane back now."
Xie Jiaojiao stopped her: "But mother, there is something else I want to tell you."
Sun Ruhua looked at her: "What else?"
"Our pot is too small to boil brown sugar. We may need to buy a big iron pot."
Sun Ruhua nodded. She originally planned to go to town to buy a wok.
Seeing that Sun Ruhua agreed, Xie Jiaojiao breathed a sigh of relief. She was afraid that Sun Ruhua would not be willing to spend the money from selling the pot.
Xie Jiaojiao continued: "Mom, don't tell anyone else about this matter, not even Zhiyi, do you understand?"
Xie Zhiyi looked at Xie Jiaojiao: "Brother Niu, can't you say it too?"
"cannot."
Sun Ruhua nodded: "Don't worry, mother knows. Fortunately, we have moved to the foot of the mountain now, and we are not afraid of attracting other people's attention."
But no, if not for this, would Xie Jiaojiao find a way to break off the relationship? After all, it was because I had already thought of a way out.
"Hurry up then. Zhiyi, you are at home and clear the open space next to the vegetables in the backyard. My mother and I will go up the mountain to cut sugar cane."
Xie Zhiyi made a fuss about going with him.
Xie Jiaojiao said: "We are dividing the work and cooperating. When the sugar cane is sold for money, I will buy you new clothes."
Xie Zhiyi then agreed to stay at home.
Xie Jiaojiao took Sun Ruhua up the mountain, and the mother and daughter talked and laughed along the way.
When they arrived at the place, Sun Ruha looked at the thing that looked like corn stalks and reeds and asked, "Is this sugar cane?"
Xie Jiaojiao nodded, lowered her head and chopped off one, peeled it, and handed half of it to Sun Ruhua: "Mom, have a taste, just chew it until the water comes out, and spit out the rest."
Sun Ruhua took two bites and said, "Oh mom, why is it so sweet?"
Xie Jiaojiao smiled and said: "The brown sugar cooked here is more delicious than the brown sugar sold in the town."
Sun Ruhua was very surprised: "I didn't expect there is such a thing on our mountain."
If Xie Jiaojiao hadn't known that this was sugar cane, they would have thought it was a thicker reed when they went up the mountain and saw it!
"Perhaps someone passing by threw a piece here. This thing is very capable of growing. One piece can grow a lot."
"Daughter, how do you know so much?"
"Mom, didn't I tell you? The time I hit my head, there were a lot of things in my head."
Sun Ruhua didn't ask any further questions. It was her daughter anyway, and Sun Ruhua couldn't bear to eat more, for fear that she would ruin such a good thing.
Put the rest aside and start drying.
Xie Jiaojiao looked at this large field of sugar cane and thought that it was all money, so she worked extra hard.
Seeing that almost half of it had been chopped, Xie Jiaojiao called to Sun Ruhua: "Mom, stop chopping. Let's get this thing back first, otherwise I'm afraid we won't be able to finish moving it all today."
Sun Ruhua felt that what Xie Jiaojiao said made sense, so she quickly grabbed the grass next to her and gathered a few strands of straw rope, tying the things together. The chopped pieces were tied into dozens of bundles.
Xie Jiaojiao felt pain in her shoulders when she thought of transporting so much back and forth.
But there is no other way. If you want to make money, you have to work hard, right?
He and Sun Ruhua carried a bundle and walked down the mountain. Xie Jiaojiao was worried about meeting people from the village along the way, but luckily, she didn't meet anyone.
Seeing that they were almost home, Xie Jiaojiao was exhausted and sweating profusely, and Sun Ruhua was almost the same. After all, she was getting older and her body was not as good as when she was young.
The two carried the sugar cane to their home, and Xie Zhiyi had already cleaned up the backyard.
Xie Jiaojiao breathed a sigh of relief after putting down the sugar cane. Thinking that there were still so many on the mountain, she felt tired.
Xie Zhiyi used a bowl to bring each of them a bowl of hot water.
"Mom, sister, drink some water."
Xie Jiaojiao drank water and felt that some of her strength had returned.
Sun Ruhua also panted tiredly.
Xie Jiaojiao smiled and said, "It's not easy to make this kind of money!"
Sun Ruhua gasped and said, "It's never easy to make money!"
The two mother and daughter looked at each other and smiled.
In the next few days, Xie Jiaojiao and Sun Ruhua were busy moving all the sugar cane back.
Sun Ruhua was worried at first, so she took them all back at once and put them in the yard so they wouldn't go bad.
Xie Jiaojiao dispelled her worries with one sentence: "Mom, sugar cane looks strange. It has a layer of skin on the outside and knots in each section. It won't go bad if you keep it for a long time."
Sun Ruhua was relieved.
When all the sugar cane was recovered, there was a huge pile in the backyard.
Sun Ruhua was in trouble again: "There are so many! How can we make brown sugar?"
Xie Jiaojiao smiled and said: "Don't worry, mother, I have a way!"
After the sugar cane was moved back, Xie Jiaojiao rested at home for several days and felt that the skin on her shoulders had fallen off.
Sun Ruhua was actually tired, but she recovered quickly because she had been used to farm work all her life.
Taking the clothes to the river to wash them, people on the road looked at Sun Ruhua with sympathy on their faces.
Mrs. Wang saw her from afar and waved to her.
Sun Ruhua carried the basin over and muttered: "Why do people in the village have such expressions when they see me today?"
Mrs. Wang said with a smile: "You have suffered such a great injustice. Everyone sympathizes with you."
Sun Ruhua frowned: "What wronged me?"
Mrs. Wang said in a low voice: "It's not about your eldest and second child breaking off their relationship."
In the past few days, she has spread the word about this matter in the village!
Sun Ruhua has been busy with sugar cane these days, so she has no time to think about this. Looking back now, she doesn't seem to feel very sad.
"It's all over. From now on, I will live a good life with Jiaojiao and Zhiyi. They are both filial and sensible, and their lives will not be too bad in the future."
After hearing what she said, Mrs. Wang smiled and said: "It's good if you think like this. Let's not think about those unhappy people. Think about it, we are all so old and half of our body bones are in the soil. It’s useless to think so much!”
"That's right!"
Mrs. Wang changed the subject: "Are you used to living in that house during this period?"
"I'm used to it, peasants. There's nothing I'm not used to. In the first few days, I tossed and turned and couldn't sleep. After these few days, I fell asleep every day on the bed."
Mrs. Wang laughed a few times.
"Just get used to it, get used to it!"
The two of them talked and laughed while washing clothes.
On the other side, the people at the Xie family's old house were not so happy.
