Chapter 80: Chapter 80: My Stomach is Telling Me It’s Hungry Chapter 80: Chapter 80: My Stomach is Telling Me It’s Hungry Bai Dan was extremely surprised when he saw Bai Zhi carrying the Chonglou from the mountains. They did exist in the mountains, but they were very rare. To dig up so much at once, it must have been cultivated by someone.
After hearing what the children said, he furrowed his brow and quickly dispersed.
“You guys did great, but you can’t go to the mountains alone in the future, it’s too dangerous. The old man was a good person, so you didn’t encounter any danger, but what if it had been a bad person who lured you into the mountains and kidnapped you?”
Although their place was very remote, it didn’t necessarily mean there were no kidnappers, but if there were, it would be too late for regrets.
But, the old man in shorts and a T-shirt?
The children quickly nodded. It seemed that there was no mistake, but they were still very excited. Twenty yuan per jin meant a lot.
It meant lots of delicious things, it meant a week’s living expenses.
They were truly overjoyed.
As for Bai Fei, she was happy that she could finally earn money. Every child’s eyes sparkled with shining stars, full of anticipation and excitement, except for Bai Zhi, whose gaze was indifferent and seemingly uninterested.
Bai Dan looked at his own Xingxing, satisfied with her composed demeanor. He thought that she must remain stable, not knowing that Bai Zhi was actually thinking about the old man. He easily led them to the Chonglou, wondering if he was the powerful character from the books.
But after a careful comparison, he wasn’t the group pet with a cheat, because that character was a man in his thirties.
Nor was he the male lead’s grandfather, who was said to be a master of traditional Chinese medicine, well-known far and wide, handling all kinds of medicinal herbs.
The group pet found the ginseng and fell into a love-hate relationship with the male lead.
Ginseng, Bai Zhi glanced back at the big mountain behind the village. Did it really exist? Was it a millennium-old ginseng?
It must be from the so-called “space,” but now, with the Jade Pendant in her possession, it was up to her to find the ginseng.
So, without continuously providing high-quality ginseng, could the group pet still stay together with the male lead? She was quite curious.
Thinking to herself, Bai Zhi felt depressed again. Why didn’t the Jade Pendant give her a space just because she was a expendable character?
“Alright, we’re here. Let’s go to Qiying Pharmacy.”
Qiying Pharmacy regularly purchased herbs and offered fair prices. Bai Dan, fearing the children would be swindled, helped them sell their herbs. Thanks to their appealing and fresh appearance, they sold for 25 yuan per jin, totaling ten jins.
Each child received forty yuan, and the remaining ten yuan were used to buy snacks, several bags of long, black spicy strips costing a few yuan each.
One strip costing ten cents, they bought six bags for ten yuan.
The children clutched tightly to their money, each buying some of their favorite things, some bought colored pens, boys bought toys, and Bai Fei saved hers.
It was her first time earning money, and she wanted to save it well.
They were all very happy on the way back, thinking about going digging again. But Bai Zhi didn’t want to dampen their spirits, even though going back would mean not finding anything again, as the place was concealed by a blind eye technique. The old man was truly mysterious.
Back home, each child gave their money to the adults and naturally received praise. It was great to earn money while playing. Of course, some adults thought about going digging again, but they couldn’t find the place anymore.
Bai Zhi and Bai Dan had intestine from the previous night for dinner and cooked rice, then they went to rest early. He felt somewhat sorry for his granddaughter who had walked such a long distance.
Bai Zhi started her daily exercise regime, but never encountered the old man again, as if it had all been just a dream.
The day before market day was for making Green Bean Cakes, and market day itself was for pork tooth potatoes and pan-fried dumplings. A week had passed, and Bai Zhi had already made a few hundred yuan.
Ye Xiu really never came back, and perhaps because of this, Bai Da also forbade Bai Yu and Bai Ye from coming to see Bai Zhi.
Bai Zhi felt that the air had been much better lately, and from time to time, she could follow Bai Fei and the others to the mountains, just like a real child.
Since the mountain pears were ripe, they prepared to go pick and eat them, along with kiwis and walnuts.
Bai Zhi prepared egg pancakes with shredded potatoes, shredded cucumbers, eggs, and shredded preserved meat inside. Even cold, it was delicious.
Taking a bite, the potatoes were crunchy, the preserved meat was fragrant, and the fresh scent of the cucumber made all the greasiness disappear.
If there were sausages, she could have added those too. Bai Zhi also brought some spicy strips because she had forgotten to eat them before.
Those one-yuan black spicy strips, which tasted a bit spicy and had a hint of monosodium glutamate in her mouth, didn’t know what that flavor was as a child, but thought it was damn delicious.
Bai Zhi hadn’t eaten them for many years and was actually quite looking forward to it.
Bai Fei later came to enjoy being with Bai Zhi. Apart from anything else, eating was a pleasure, as she was a little foodie. The only thing that frustrated her was that her face had already grown rounder. She guessed that by the time her brother returned, he might not recognize her.
The place with the mountain pears was between two mountains. There used to be a river here, which later disappeared, but it left behind a large area of small stones, forming a riverbed.
From the riverbed, one could look up and see the walnut trees on both sides of the two mountains and the mountain pears. If lucky, one could also find August melons and kiwis.
Wild kiwis were not big, about the size of an egg. They could not be eaten right after being picked but needed to be stored with soybeans and mountain pears. After some time, they would soften and then could be eaten.
Halfway through the walk, Bai Fei ran out of energy and started to sit on a rock and sulk.
“I’m hungry, I’m hungry, I’m hungry.”
Bai Zhi felt a bit helpless, seemingly before they set off, her cousin had just eaten an egg and a large bun.
Her aunt had prepared it and had also prepared one for her too. Bai Zhi didn’t hold back. Her aunt had been very kind to her during this period, and she had gotten used to it, and of course, she would be good to her cousin too.
Perhaps because it had been so long since she’d felt warmth, her cousin and aunt made her feel especially warm.
And then there was Wu Wa, who unconditionally believed in her. The little girl said she would come to see her but had not come for a long time. Had her Mommy stopped her?
“Cousin, you’re not hungry. If we don’t move on, soon we’ll just be looking at empty trees.”
The village children had been eager to pick mountain pears, so the two of them thought about setting off early.
However, her cousin walked intermittently, and Bai Zhi could only resign herself to looking after this somewhat big and somewhat sulky child.
“I’m hungry, I’m hungry, my stomach is telling me it’s hungry, listen…”
Bai Fei pouted, pointing to her stomach and looking pitifully at Bai Zhi. Who made Bai Zhi’s egg pancake smell so good? She felt so hungry.
She wanted to eat, she had to eat. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t have the energy to walk. Even just a bite would do.
“Your mouth is telling you that you can’t eat any more. If you eat now, what will we eat for lunch?”