Traveling through the mountains and farming

The brother and sister Li Chongle spent the whole morning picking ficus carica fruits on both sides of the river. They picked the fruits first and then processed them together at home.

In this way, they transported the fruits back and forth two or three times, and finally gathered at home to wash, de-seed and dry them.

After preparing the ficus carica, they carried two bamboo tubes of sugar water and went to the village entrance to meet the eldest sister-in-law, because the eldest sister-in-law told them before leaving in the morning that she would be back around noon.

It was noon and the sun was shining brightly.

At this time, the only children who didn't want to go to bed were playing outside in the village, and the adults were taking a nap in the house. They hardly saw any villagers along the way.

As we approached the village entrance, we could hear the sounds of children playing and laughing.

"Saya, doesn't my new skirt look good? My mother made it for me with newly woven linen because she saw that I had grown taller."

Before he got close enough, Li Ke could tell that it was Li Cui showing off her new dress to her cousin.

She really didn't want to meet Li Cui. When she was at home, Li Cui always pretended to be a good sister in front of others, but often secretly bullied her behind her back.

At first she would fight back, but Li Cui would turn around and complain to the adults, and in the end it would always be her who was being unreasonable. Since then, she has tried her best to avoid contact with Li Cui.

Li Ke was just thinking about turning around and leaving, but unexpectedly Li Cui spotted her first and shouted at her with a look of surprise:

"Little sister, you're here just in time. Come back with me later and I'll get you the skirt that's too short for me."

Then Li Cui came running over, pulled her sleeve, and said with a look of disdain:

"Look at what you're wearing. You look like a beggar. These are the clothes I gave you a few years ago."

Li Ke really wanted to roll her eyes at her. She didn't want to wear the clothes she was given, but if she didn't wear them, she would have nothing to wear. She couldn't just let her be naked.

Thinking back to the past, every time she saw Li Cui wearing new clothes, she would feel envious, and then she would ask her stepmother for new clothes to wear, but her stepmother always asked her to wear Li Cui's old clothes that she no longer wore.

The stepmother would also say that every family is like this, the younger sister wears the older sister's clothes, and the younger brother wears the older brother's clothes, but why doesn't Li Chongsong wear the younger brother Li Chongle's clothes, and why doesn't the second brother Li Chongbai wear the eldest brother's clothes?

"No need." Li Ke shook off Li Cui's hand and prepared to walk away to avoid her.

Li Cui wanted to continue to stop them, but was blocked by Li Chongle who came from behind.

"Xiao Ke said no, don't you understand what I'm saying?"

"Li Chongle, I mean well. Which of your clothes isn't left over by us? Why are you being so aloof now? What were you doing before?"

Li Cui would never call Li Chongle "Brother" unless there were elders around. At this moment, she raised her neck, looking as proud as a rooster.

Li Chongle said coldly: "We have already separated. We will not take a single cent from you in the future. Please put away your kindness and don't use it casually to disgust others."

After he finished speaking, he took Li Ke and walked away. He came to a big tree, found a good place for Li Ke to sit down.

Li Cui didn't dare to confront Li Chongle head-on. She turned around and pulled San Ya towards Li Chongle and spat:

"Bah! You guys are being taken for granted. Just keep wearing those tattered clothes."

Then she turned around and continued to show off her new dress, hair ornaments and other things with other little girls in the village.

"Xiao Ke, don't pay attention to Li Cui. She has been showing off all day. She is usually not seen hanging around at this time." Li Tao suddenly came out from behind the tree, squatted in front of Li Ke, and comforted her.

It turned out that Li Tao was annoyed by Li Cui's showing off, so she hid behind a big tree to keep quiet. As a result, she didn't notice Li Ke and his sister coming over.

After sitting down, Li Ke was not so angry anymore, because the young man would help her every time, and now she lived separately from them and didn't have to see Li Cui every day. She felt that her life was much more comfortable than before.

At this moment, her attention had already been attracted by a patch of flowers and plants in front of her left. Wherever she went, she would pay attention to whether there were any beautiful flowers and plants, and be ready to dig them up and plant them at any time.

"I'm fine. I'm going to go over there to dig flowers and plants. Sister Xiao Tao, do you want to come with me?" Li Ke said as she walked towards the flowers and plants in front. Li Chongle naturally followed them, and Li Chongan came later, and they helped dig flowers and plants together.

A quarter of an hour later, the two siblings finally waited for their eldest sister-in-law who had returned from the county town. Li Ke saw her from afar and ran over to greet her, while Li Chongle did not forget to wash his hands in a nearby stream before running over with the bamboo tube in his hand.

The first thing Li Chongle asked his sister-in-law was if she was hungry. He brought some sugar water and asked her to drink some first so that she could eat when she got home because they had already cooked before they went out.

Lin Wan took the sugar water and felt sweet in her heart. All the hard work and running around in the morning seemed worth it.

A double attack from the ancient warm-hearted boy and the sweet girl!

Who can stand it!

Since Lin Wan had bought a lot of belongings, Li Chonghai and Li Chongshan helped deliver them to the yard, and agreed that they would come over tomorrow morning to pick up six buckets of ice jelly.

At the same time, Lin Wan also agreed with others to help bring four buckets of ice jelly to the south gate of the city every day, and then Qinxin Teahouse would send someone with a sign to pick it up.

She didn't let them work in vain, and agreed to give them six cents per bucket as a reward for their hard work.

After Li Chonghai and his companions left, the two siblings asked Lin Wan to sit down and have a good rest, and then they cooperated tacitly to organize the things they had brought back.

Li Chongle was responsible for carrying the large items on the cart, and Li Ke was responsible for sorting out the items in the backpack.

When Li Chongle saw the farm tools, he grinned happily, thinking that he could start tidying up the wasteland behind him tomorrow.

At this time, Li Ke found the peppers in the basket, squatted there, tilted his head and asked:

"Sister-in-law, what is planted in this pot? The fruit on it is bright red. Can it be eaten?"

Lin Wan, who was sitting at the door, took a look and replied, "This is a chili pepper. We will pick it later, take out the seeds, and use the skin for cooking."

When Li Ke heard that it was edible, she immediately became interested and took action immediately after picking it up.

"A-choo~ A-choo~"

At this time, Lin Wan heard Li Ke sneezing. She looked up and found that when she was not paying attention, the little girl had already started to split the peppers with her bare hands to remove the seeds. The peppers made her cry and have snot.

"Quick, stop it, you can't just open it with your hands, go and rinse your hands with water." She quickly got up and ran over, trying to pull Li Ke to the spring. But Li Ke refused, saying that it was the last one left and insisted on taking out all the pepper seeds.

Hey~ This little foodie’s spirit is commendable!

Lin Wan knew the uncomfortable feeling of being burned by spicy food, so she watched her finish and then quickly pulled her to the water to wash.

"Sister-in-law, can this thing be eaten? Why does my hand hurt and burn when it gets on it?" Li Ke asked with red eyes and runny nose, looking silly.

Lin Wan was amused by her reaction. This child was actually concerned about whether she could eat or not, instead of how to make her hands less uncomfortable.

Lin Wan smiled helplessly: "It's edible. I'll fry some small fish for you now. Just rinse your little red hands with cold water."

The brother and sister cooked rice and fried some wild vegetables before going out. Lin Wanxian just fried a small fish and they could start eating.

Lin Wan finally got to eat chili peppers, but the next time she could eat them she would probably have to wait until she planted the chili pepper seeds that had just been dried in the sun.

Before she could remind them to eat the fish first, the two siblings, curious about whether the new food tasted good, had already picked up a piece of chili and put it in their mouths.

The next second, the two of them started coughing due to the spiciness.

Li Chongle quickly put down his bowl and chopsticks and ran out to get some water. When he came back, he did not forget to bring a cup to his younger sister.

After both of them drank some water to relieve themselves, Li Chongle didn't dare to pick up his chopsticks again. However, Li Ke looked at her sister-in-law eating so happily and couldn't help but reach for the bowl of fried fish with peppers again. This time she didn't pick up the peppers but the small fish.

She hesitated for a moment, but still carefully brought it to her lips.

The tip of the tongue gently touched the small piece of food, and a strange and peculiar taste instantly spread in the mouth.

She frowned slightly, seeming a little uncomfortable, but also attracted by this novel feeling.

Then, she mustered up the courage to put the whole piece of fish into her mouth, biting it gently with her teeth, and felt a fire burning in her mouth.

Her eyes suddenly widened and she coughed a few times in her throat, but she still chewed hard.

The burning feeling made her little face gradually turn red, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.

However, as she continued chewing, she slowly tasted some delicious flavor, and she unknowingly picked up the second piece and continued to try.

Lin Wan watched her eating from the side. Seeing that her expression seemed to be able to tolerate the spicy taste, she asked:

"How's it going? Is it delicious?"

"It feels like my mouth is burning." Li Ke replied with a smile and continued to eat the small fish.

"This is called spicy taste. You will like it after eating it a few times. Xiaole, try it too. You will like it more and more." Lin Wan said with a smile, picked up a large chopstick and put it in her mouth.

In fact, there is wild ginger here, but the brother and sister had never eaten meat at home before, and had no chance to eat ginger, so they had never tasted what spicy food tasted like.

Seeing that his elder sister-in-law liked it so much and his younger sister could also accept this pepper, Li Chongle stretched out his chopsticks again, picked up a small piece of fish and tried it a little bit. Gradually, she could accept it. Later, the two siblings became more and more addicted to it.

The three of them had a spicy lunch, which was really exciting and fresh. After the meal, Li Ke took the pot of peppers to the backyard and said that she would take care of it from now on.