The Little Lucky Girl

It was finally the day off again. Zheng Huan and the others were all sleeping in, but Ming Youyou was urged by the system to get up and go out to bask in the sun.

She half-closed her eyes and looked at the path along the river. A ox cart appeared on the road, slowly getting closer and closer, and finally stopped in front of their yard.

It wasn't until two people jumped out of the car that her mind started to work a little. "Good morning, Sister Yuxiang, Brother Yanhan." She stretched out her little paws and greeted them lazily, "How early did you get down the mountain?"

Yuxiang smiled and didn't feel comfortable saying that the two of them set off before dawn.

Going down the mountain once every ten days was something she looked forward to very much. She didn't sleep at all last night.

The old man tied up the ox, came over and patted her head, "Why are your eyes so swollen from sleeping? Go wash your face with cold water."

"Hey, Grandpa Village Chief, why are you here?"

Village Chief Shi laughed and said, "What a coincidence. I was resting on the side of the road when I saw these two kids carrying a lot of things, so I took the opportunity to deliver them to them."

Ming Youyou looked up and stared at him. Although one has to pass Dafeng Village to get here from the village, the road is several miles away from the village entrance. Why are you going there to rest so early in the morning?

Village Chief Shi was thick-skinned and was not embarrassed to be discovered. He glanced at Yuxiang and the other person who were busy unloading the goods, and simply sat next to her and whispered, "You said, it's hard for them to live in the mountains, why don't they think of moving down?"

"They have been cheated before, so they are wary of outsiders." Ming Youyou yawned, "Why are you asking this all of a sudden?"

"It's because there are not many people in our village," the village chief sighed, "It's too late to expect everyone to have more children, so I thought it would be nice to merge the villages."

He pointed at Yan Han, who was lifting a large vat with ease, "Look at that boy, he's strong. He's as strong as three of your fathers."

When Yuxiang and the others went down the mountain for the first time, they didn't know where Ming Youyou lived. They thought she was with Ming's father, so they went to Dafeng Village first.

On the way, they happened to meet Village Chief Shi driving a ox cart forward. The ox stepped on something and went mad in pain, then pulled the cart behind into the ditch.

Village Chief Shi was terrified and was about to shout for help when Yan Han rushed over and pulled the car back to the road effortlessly. Seeing that Village Chief Shi was a little dazed and worried that he was injured, Yan Han picked him up and ran to take him home.

Ming Youyou understood that the village chief was trying to get close to people.

She shook her head. "It's up to the leaders to decide whether to go down the mountain, but I don't think they are willing to do so. Sister Yuxiang and the other young people can't make a decision yet, so please let them go."

"What are you saying? How can I cheat them?" The village chief stared at me. "Yan Han at least saved my life."

"Life in the mountains is not so easy. When we were escaping, we hid in the Daqing Mountains for a while. It was really..." He said in a difficult way.

"If they really have this idea, I will definitely not let them suffer any loss. You don't know the people in our village. They are very warm and friendly."

"This is a matter that benefits both you and me, and everyone else. You have a close relationship with them, so try to persuade them more when you have time." The old man stood up and stretched. "Okay, I have to go back soon. I got up too early, so I need to go back and catch up on some sleep."

Seeing the village chief was leaving, Yuxiang hurried over to say goodbye. She watched the ox cart going further and further away and sighed, "You villagers are really nice, but you know my father, he's very stubborn."

"It's alright, let's not talk about this anymore, let's get to work first." Ming Youyou said with a smile. She turned her head to look at what they brought and was shocked. "These few pieces of cloth are fine, but why did you bring two large vats?"

Speaking of this, Yuxiang's eyes lit up. "I went back and tried the method you taught me last time. I really dyed various patterns. The people in the village were so happy. If you were not on leave, they would have wanted me to come to you the next day."

Ming Youyou had told her about the tie-dyeing method before. The simplest way was to tie one or several knots on a piece of white cloth. After soaking, the knotted part would show its original color because it was not dyed.

Because everyone has a different knotting technique, the white cloth will absorb some of the dye, so the pattern on each piece of cloth is different.

However, this pattern is quite casual, and Ming Youyou wants to teach Yuxiang a more detailed method.

Yuxiang blushed and said, "I thought about the batik method you mentioned last time, but I still didn't dare to try it alone, so I brought all the things here. Let's do it together. I can feel more at ease with you watching by my side."

It's really strange. I didn't feel anything special when I saw this child a few years ago, but when I saw her this year, I felt that she was suddenly different. It was even more obvious in the past few times. She changed completely in just ten days.

He spoke very eloquently, which made her standing beside him feel in awe and sometimes she didn't even dare to speak loudly.

This is the benefit of studying, Yuxiang was very envious.

Ming Youyou opened a jar and saw a pool of blue paste inside. She asked curiously, "Is this indigo mud?"

Yuxiang nodded, "Yes, add quicklime water to the water that has been soaked with Polygonum tinctorius or Isatis indigotica, and the sediment that precipitates is this."

Ming Youyou dug out a little bit with her hand, and her fingers were immediately dyed blue. She thought of the green Captain Jin and smiled foolishly in her heart.

Zheng Huan and the others had already gotten up. Seeing Yan Han packing things, they immediately came over to help.

Feng Xu sniffed, "Why do I smell alcohol?"

Yan Han patted his shoulder and laughed, "Yes, I brought a large jar here. After I mix the dye, I'll give you the rest."

Feng Xu grimaced in pain. He rubbed his shoulders and felt for the first time how fragile he was. But he was still very happy to hear that there was wine to drink, especially the homemade wine in the village, which was particularly sweet.

So he said earnestly: "If you need any help, leave it to me, brother."

"I really have something to trouble you with," Yuxiang said with a smile, "We need to soak the ash left over from burning bean stalks in water, but I don't know where to find bean stalks here."

"Leave it to me." Feng Xu patted his chest and ran away.

Add an equal amount of rice wine to the indigo mud, stir and pour into warm water, then add wood ash water and filter it to get the dye.

If you want a better color, seal the dye vat and wait for about a week.

Ming Youyou felt it was amazing as she followed along. She wondered how many attempts and years their ancestors, as well as the ancestors at the research institute, had spent to figure out these things.

Our ancestors were truly amazing.