Meng Yan's Transformation

Zhan Mengyan was too busy this summer vacation. She got up early every day and went to the fields to dig wild vegetables and pick grass for pigs. (Picking grass for pigs in the north is different from that in the south. In the north, people go to the fields and ditches and pull a kind of chicken claw grass with their hands. As the name suggests, "chicken claw grass" is a kind of grass that looks like a chicken claw. "Chicken claw grass" is a wild plant with short plants and generally three leaves. The middle one is longer and the two sides are shorter. It looks like a chicken claw. The volume of the leaves is larger than its stems and branches. The leaves are fresh and tender, and the juice in the stems is sweet. Pigs, cows, and sheep all love to eat it.) The fresh wild vegetables that pigs can't eat are put into large earthenware jars and piled up. When it rains and it is too rainy to go out to dig wild vegetables, they are fished out of the large earthenware jars to feed the pigs. The fresh and tender chicken claw grass that pigs can't eat is dried and sent to the processing plant. It is ground into grass powder and kept until winter. The grass powder and cornmeal are mixed together with hot water to feed the pigs. You can also take the grass powder to the market and sell it. A sack of grass powder can be sold for 8 cents.

In order to pick more chicken feet grass, dry it, grind it into powder and sell it to earn some tuition fees, Zhan Mengyan's hands were rubbed with blisters and both hands were dyed green by the chicken feet grass.

"Aunt Mengyan, why are your hands getting greener and greener recently? They look dirty. Can you wash them clean before teaching me to write?" Zhan Jiaojiao said, looking at Zhan Mengyan's pair of green hands.

"Jiaojiao, auntie has washed her hands many times. The green juice of the chicken claw grass seems to have soaked into my flesh and can't be washed off. Can auntie put on gloves and then teach you to write?" Zhan Mengyan said embarrassedly and went to find gloves.

"Aunt Mengyan, why are you wearing gloves in such hot weather? You just came back from digging vegetables and cutting grass in the fields. You are already tired enough. You didn't have time to rest but you have to tutor the three of us. How can we make it difficult for your aunt to wear gloves in such hot weather? Zhan Jiaojiao, if you insist on acting like a spoiled child, no one will tolerate you here. If you have any more trouble, just leave quickly and go where it's cooler!" Zhan Zhuozhuo said angrily.

"Zhan Zhuozhuo, it was my aunt who said she wanted to wear gloves to teach me to write. It wasn't me who said that. Why are you angry with me?" Zhan Jiaojiao said aggrievedly.

"I don't know who said it to Zhan Jiaojiao just now, 'Aunt Mengyan, why are your hands becoming more and more green and look dirty?' Aren't you just disliking Aunt Mengyan? Aren't you forcing Aunt Mengyan to wear gloves? If you are willing to learn, then learn. If you don't want to learn, then get out!" Zhan Zhuozhuo said righteously.

"Sister Qiqi, listen to Zhan Zhuozhuo. She bullied me, why didn't you help me?" Zhan Jiaojiao said angrily.

"You two stop arguing. I haven't finished the math homework that Aunt Mengyan assigned to me. It's messed up my train of thought." Zhan Qiqi said impatiently.

"Sister Mengyan, have your three nieces finished the homework you assigned to them today? You can't wash your hands anymore. The blisters on your hands are broken. You need to keep your hands dry, otherwise they will be infected with bacteria and fester. If you want to get rid of the green on your hands, stop pulling the chicken claw grass with your hands. After a few days, the green will fade away without any trace. Tomorrow you can help me take care of the children, and your sister-in-law will help you cut the chicken claw grass. We will switch jobs. Besides, green and tender hands are pretty good-looking." Guihua came home from outside and said to Zhan Mengyan who was washing her hands.

When Zhan Zhuozhu heard Guihua's voice, he hurried to Guihua and said, "Zhan Jiaojiao dislikes that Aunt Mengyan's green hands are dirty, so she doesn't want Aunt Mengyan to teach her how to write..."

"Zhan Zhuozhuo, what nonsense are you talking about? I didn't say that I dislike Aunt Mengyan..." Zhan Jiaojiao said angrily.

"Zhan Zhuozhuo, you must have heard it wrong. It is impossible for our Jiaojiao to despise Aunt Mengyan's green, glorious hands from labor..." Seeing that Zhan Jiaojiao was about to cry, Guihua hurriedly tried to smooth things over.