The night was dark.
The chirping of insects and birds is endless.
When she first arrived here, Cheng Wanwan couldn't sleep. She has become accustomed to it these days. She fell asleep peacefully and woke up naturally at dawn.
Early in the morning, Li Zheng called everyone in the village, except the elderly, children and pregnant women, to gather under the big locust tree in the middle of the village.
Many well-informed people already know what is going on.
"I heard that food was found in the mountains."
"It seems to be similar to sweet potatoes. They are called jade bamboo shoots. They can fill your stomach."
"I go up to the mountain three times a day, but why didn't I find this treasure on the mountain?"
Li Zheng stood on the high ground and coughed. Everyone present automatically quieted down. Things related to food were the top priority.
"It's not raining, and there's not much work on the ground. Let's all put down the things in the fields today and follow me up the mountain!" Li Zheng said loudly, "Bring all the things in the house that can hold food, and everything that can be used for work." All the labor force must go together, and the grain must be dug out in the shortest possible time!"
Someone asked: "How to divide the dug-out grain?"
"You will get as much as you dig." Li Zheng said seriously, "But we in Dahe Village are one family. There are some old, weak, women and children in the village who have no labor force, and we cannot just watch them starve to death. All those who participate in digging jade bamboo shoots will get a reward from each family. If you give out ten kilograms, you can collect two hundred kilograms and divide it among them."
When everyone heard this, they felt a little hot in their hearts.
Li Zheng was the most fair and proposed that one family pay ten catties, which meant that each family could dig at least one hundred catties.
These days, a hundred pounds of grain can save lives. A family can tighten their belts and save some food, which can last for a month.
The whole village followed Li Zheng as he marched up the mountain.
Along the way up, the women, aunts and sisters-in-law couldn't help but talk to each other, and some rumors spread.
"I heard that the jade bamboo shoots were discovered by the old Zhao family. As soon as old man Zhao found out, he quickly told Li Zheng."
"But there is a troublemaker in their family. Zhao Youcai's daughter-in-law, Mrs. Sun, secretly sent her girl to Osmanthus Village yesterday to tell her family about the jade bamboo shoots on the mountain."
"When Li Zheng and Old Man Zhao were going up the mountain, more than a dozen members of the Sun family were digging those jade bamboo shoots on the mountain. That's the top of the mountain in our Dahe Village. Why should we let people from Guihua Village dig it away?"
"What happened in the end? Is Yusun coming back?"
"We, Zheng Zheng, have good intentions. Seeing how hungry our grandsons were, we asked them to go back with more than ten kilograms of jade bamboo shoots. Just because Mr. Sun got the news and went out, Li Zheng suddenly summoned the whole village to dig up the mountains. The jade bamboo shoots were poached by the people of Osmanthus Village a little later."
"The people in Osmanthus Village are so disgusting. They used to just set traps on the mountain, but now they dare to come and steal food."
"..."
The crowd's comments made Sun's face full of anger.
The jade bamboo shoots on the mountain were discovered by her daughter. What happened if she asked her mother-in-law to dig some?
If her Chunhua hadn't followed her, how could her sister-in-law, with her temper, tell Li Zheng how these people could be qualified to go up the mountain to dig jade bamboo shoots with them? A group of shameless white-eyed wolves, taking advantage of their Zhao family, and... Scold her in turn!
Mrs. Sun opened her mouth and wanted to refute, but we were from the same village, so we looked up but didn't look down, and the relationship was so bad that she would take the lead in the old lady's favor.
She raised her hand and pinched her little girl Donghua hard. The little girl was only eight years old. She was pinched so hard that she burst into tears.
"When Donghua saw something delicious, she couldn't help but go to her uncle's house to show off. Who would have thought that it would lead to such a trouble?" Mrs. Sun explained to everyone, then lowered her head and cursed, "Don't you dare to open your mouth again?" You talk nonsense everywhere, be careful I tear your mouth apart!"
Donghua was so scared that she didn't dare to breathe.
It was obviously her mother who asked her to go to Osmanthus Village to report the news, so why did she scold her for talking nonsense?
But her mother's expression was so terrifying that she didn't even dare to cry.
Grandma said that when she was still in her mother's belly, her mother thought she was a son, but when she was born a daughter, her mother disliked her very much.
She covered her pinched arm and silently followed the crowd.
The people in the village were a little resentful. If she said a few more words, Donghua would be hung up and beaten.
Cheng Wanwan in the crowd shook his head.
It's understandable that she would like to face her parents' family, but it's also reasonable to offend everyone. If it were her, she might not be able to handle it properly.
But she would never let her children take the blame.
After all, we are still too poor, and we are facing a disaster year. Everyone wants to have enough to eat, and everyone has selfish motives.
After walking for less than half an hour, we finally arrived at our destination.
Three or four acres of dry pond may not seem big, but there are layers of jade bamboo shoots under the soil. You can dig out quite a few with just a shovel.
It's just that the soil here is so dry and hard that it takes a cup of tea to dig out a jade bamboo shoot. If you want to dig it out completely from the mud, it will take even longer.
Cheng Wanwan and her four sons went down and found a place with shade. She warned: "Dig as much as you can. Don't be brave. Be careful not to wear your hands."
Zhao Sanniu patted his chest: "Don't worry, Mom, I have thick skin."
He picked up the shovel and started working enthusiastically. Zhao Dashan and Zhao Ergou were not inferior, and they moved very quickly. Zhao Sidan squatted on the ground and broke off the mud outside the jade bamboo shoots. After breaking it off, he put it into the basket on his back.
Cheng Wanwan was an adult, so she had no intention of being lazy. She resigned herself to her fate and knelt down to work along with him.
After a while, she felt a burning pain in her palm. In just a short time, three big blisters appeared on her palm.
Zhao Dashan said: "Mom, you can go to the side and have a rest. We will dig it out."
Cheng Wanwan frowned: "You four, spread your palms and show me."
These guys are thick-skinned and thick-skinned, but nothing happened to them.
Cheng Wanwan is autistic.
The original body is too lazy and does not work for a long time, and the skin and flesh are thinner than that of a teenage girl.
She got up and walked to the edge to rest.
This is the original person's usual operation, and the people in the village don't think it's anything.
It is better to have more sons. Once the four sons grow up, all of them will be excellent laborers. They deserve the happiness that Sister-in-law Zhao enjoys.
Other people's sons may marry a daughter-in-law and forget their mother, but Sister-in-law Zhao is a ruthless person. Look at what Dashan's daughter-in-law was like after she came in. In the future, the daughter-in-law of the second, third, and fourth child will definitely be the same. She has to set the rules and be filial to her mother-in-law!
Many women in the village turned red with envy.
Especially Mrs. Sun, who had not given birth to a son and was most jealous of those in the village who had many sons. She glanced at the two girls beside her, and the more she looked at them, the more worried she became, and her face suddenly darkened.
The two sisters, Chun Hua and Dong Hua, were too frightened to speak and worked silently. The palms of their hands blistered and bled, and neither sister dared to say a word.
Cheng Wanwan sat in a cool place and rested for a while, preparing to continue working.
She stood up and was about to go to help when a voice sounded in her head.
【Ding! Discover natural wild century-old ginseng! 】
