bestfiction Chapter 6 It seems we'll have to go into the mountains tomorrow.
Chapter 6 It seems we'll have to go into the mountains tomorrow.
"It's alright. I got two taels of silver today. I'll have your older brother buy some grain tomorrow. There's plenty of time to eat, so let's talk about food first," Song Jiaojiao replied with a smile.
Song Jiaojiao had just finished washing her hands when Mu Qing had already served the noodles. There were four bowls in total, three of which were more than half full, and one bowl contained only a pitiful few noodles.
Song Jiaojiao saw this but didn't say anything. She just called out, "Little sister, bring chopsticks and a soup spoon." Then she carried the large and small bowls of noodles towards the main room.
Wang Hefan was sharpening his machete in the courtyard when Song Jiaojiao saw him and called out, "Hefan, wash your hands and eat first. We need to go to town early tomorrow!"
Seeing that everyone was seated, Song Jiaojiao pushed more than three bowls of noodles toward the three children. Mu Qing looked at her mother in surprise. In the past, she and her sister always ate the least and were never full. They would be so hungry at night that they couldn't sleep and could only curl up to make ends meet. Why was it that her mother took the least portion today?
"What are you standing there for? Eat up! Help yourself to the chicken soup. It's still a bit hot today. We need to finish all the chicken tonight, or it will spoil by tomorrow," Song Jiaojiao said, picking up a piece of chicken.
"Mom, your portion is too small, I can't finish it, let's switch." Mu Qing's voice came with a hint of unease, and she didn't dare to look at Song Jiaojiao. The smallest portion was originally prepared for her, but now her mother ate it, and she was not full at all.
“Big sister, Mom knows what you mean. We had to do this before because of your grandma, but now that we’re all on our own, things won’t be the same as before.” Song Jiaojiao picked up a chicken leg for Mu Qing and said, “Eat it quickly, it won’t taste good when it gets cold.”
"Big sister, eat up! The noodles smell so good today, I almost ate my tongue off!" Mu Xue said to Mu Qing, looking up at her.
Song Jiaojiao put another chicken leg on Mu Xue's plate and said, "Little glutton, eat slowly, there's still plenty left. We'll finish them all tonight." She then turned and put a chicken wing on Wang Hefan's plate.
"Hefan, I'll give you the two taels of silver I got today. Tomorrow, when you move your household registration, secretly slip some money to the censor to make things easier. We can't let Uncle Village Chief spend any more money. With the rest, you can buy some grain and see if you can bring back any seeds, whatever kind. We're out of salt at home, so buy some pork too."
"I understand, Mother."
Song Jiaojiao took a bite of noodles and then quickly drank some soup.
Damn, this is really hard to swallow, even harder than the whole grains I eat on my diet. Song Jiaojiao looked up at the others who were eating happily and silently took a sip of chicken soup.
Thankfully, the chicken soup wasn't bad. This pure, natural, and pollution-free soup is truly exceptional; even without salt, it has its own refreshing aroma.
"He Fan, don't buy coarse grains like black flour tomorrow. Buy cornmeal instead, and some refined flour too. Buy brown rice instead." Song Jiaojiao looked at the bowl of noodles and said after thinking for a moment.
“Mom, even the cheapest dark flour costs three coins a pound, cornmeal costs eight coins, refined flour costs fifteen coins a pound, mixed grains cost five coins a pound, and brown rice costs ten coins. If we buy dark flour and mixed grains, it will be enough for us to eat for a long time.” Wang Hefan suddenly raised his head and looked at Song Jiaojiao in disbelief.
"It's alright, just do as Mother says, and Mother will figure something out later." Song Jiaojiao said calmly, "Tomorrow, my eldest and second sisters will stay home and tidy up, and I'll go down the mountain to take a look."
"Got it, mother."
Song Jiaojiao ate the noodles in the bowl in two or three bites; even if they weren't very tasty, it was better than going hungry.
After clearing away the dishes, everyone went to bed. Song Jiaojiao and her two daughters slept in the inner room, while Wang Hefan slept on a makeshift bed on the floor in the main room. It was only a little past 19-21 PM, and Song Jiaojiao was wide awake; she was still working overtime at this hour in China.
Seeing that the two little girls beside her had fallen asleep, Song Jiaojiao tiptoed out of bed. As soon as she stepped out of the inner room, she heard Wang Hefan's hushed voice.
"mother?"
"I'm sorry to have disturbed you, go back to sleep. I'm going to the outhouse," Song Jiaojiao replied softly.
After saying that, she went into the courtyard. Looking up, she saw the stars twinkling in the sky, like countless lights illuminating the darkness of the universe. This was a sight that Song Jiaojiao, who had lived in a big city for a long time, could never see.
Arriving at a corner of the courtyard, and confirming a spot where Wang Hefan couldn't see her, Song Jiaojiao silently invoked the space in her mind.
When Fei Hu saw Song Jiao Jiao come in, he quickly hid himself. Song Jiao Jiao only glanced at the spot where Fei Hu had just been standing before walking straight towards the yellow earth, taking out a sweet potato she had taken from the kitchen, and burying it directly in the soil.
"Feihu, does the space upgrade happen as soon as you plant a seed, or do you have to wait for it to grow?" Song Jiaojiao looked at the sweet potato she had just planted and the unchanging space.
Fei Hu suddenly appeared in front of Song Jiaojiao and said, "You can gain experience by planting seeds. Each seed can only gain experience once. The rarer the seed, the higher the experience value. Common ingredients like sweet potatoes will give you very little experience."
What specific seeds are there?
“It’s probably something rare or uncommon in your era, like medicinal herbs, rare fruit trees, or flowers,” Flying Tiger said, flapping its wings.
Song Jiaojiao thought for a moment and realized that she would have to go into the mountains again tomorrow to see if she could find any medicinal herbs.
Thinking about it, Song Jiaojiao left the space and went back to her room to sleep. She was used to sleeping alone, and suddenly having several people crammed together, making it impossible to even turn over, really made Song Jiaojiao uncomfortable. As she thought about this, she drifted off to sleep and dawn broke.
A rustling sound reached her ears, and Song Jiaojiao groggily opened her eyes. She saw Mu Qing had just left the inner room. The aftereffects of staying up late and getting up early were inevitable, and the splitting headache felt all too familiar.
Thinking of this, Song Jiaojiao struggled to get up, tidied herself up, and went out of the inner room. Wang Hefan was no longer in the main room. The sky outside was still dimly lit, and the early autumn morning was slightly chilly.
Song Jiaojiao stretched in the yard and then began to fetch water to wash up.
"Mom, you're awake. There was only mixed grains and sweet potatoes left this morning, so I cooked them together."
Mu Qing's pleasant voice came from behind Song Jiaojiao. Song Jiaojiao didn't turn around. "Well, just do it as you see fit. I don't know how to do these things."
"By the way, where's your older brother?" Song Jiaojiao suddenly realized that she hadn't seen Wang Hefan since early this morning.
"Big brother went to Grandpa Village Chief's house." Mu Qing's voice came from the kitchen.
"So early? Is the town far from here?" Song Jiaojiao asked in surprise. Ever since the original owner was rescued by Wang Chi, she had never left the village. Other wives could at least go back to their parents' home, but the original owner had no parents' home to go back to.
"Hmm... I heard from an uncle in the village who went to town that it would take about an hour (two hours) to walk there, and about half an hour (about an hour and a half) to take an oxcart. The village chief's family has an oxcart." Mu Qing thought for a moment and replied.
Because of her temperament, and the fact that she had been rescued by Wang Chi, the old woman from the Wang family was afraid she would run away and waste several meals, so she wouldn't allow her to leave the house. Aside from knowing that she was Wang Chi's wife, the villagers didn't know much else about her.