You are my golden finger

After Lin Xijin packed up her things, she rolled up her sleeves and started preparing dinner. Her younger brother, sister, and Aunt Qi also helped.

I cooked white rice in the old iron pot, took out the new pot, cleaned it, and stewed the bones in it. I told my brother and sister-in-law to watch the fire, and then I went to wash the pork belly and prepare a braised pork.

Grandma Qi was helping to wash the wild vegetables that Lin Xijin had picked that morning. Soon, the big bone soup gave off a rich aroma, and the two children were drooling. Lin Xijin added a handful of wild vegetables and a little salt. She knew that with the spiritual spring of space, the soup would taste good without adding any seasoning. After pouring out the soup and setting it up, she started to cook the braised pork.

She first fried the pork belly until both sides were golden brown, then added a handful of sugar to make it caramel-colored, and then put the meat and various seasonings in to simmer. Soon, the aroma of the braised pork wafted through the simple kitchen, making her younger brothers and sisters drool.

The food was placed on the table. Everyone was hungry, and the food tasted so good that they had no time to talk and just started eating.

Grandma Qi couldn't help but praise: "Jin girl, you are really capable. The food you cook is so delicious."

Lin Xijin said, "Grandma Qi, if it tastes good, you can eat more. If you eat well, you will be healthy. Hui'er, Jiajia is counting on you to help take care of her."

Grandma Qi happily said, "Okay, okay, Grandma Qi has nothing to do anyway, so I'll just look after Hui'er and Jiajia."

After dinner, Qi Po went back to the land temple.

They took out the new clothes they bought today and helped their younger brother and sister take a bath and put them on. The two little kids were so happy that they didn't know how to express themselves. They just jumped around in circles in the room. After Lin Xijin finished taking a bath and changed into new clothes, they came over and sat down next to each other.

It is said that clothes make the man, and after being washed and put on new clothes, the two children, although still thin and dark, look much more energetic, and their delicate facial features can be clearly seen.

The two of them said to Lin Xijin happily: "Sister, you are so beautiful!"

He stroked their heads and said to them happily, "Our Hui'er and Jiajia are also beautiful."

The two little ones clamored to go to the back mountain with her tomorrow morning to pick wild vegetables and herbs to help their sister support the family.

Lin Xijin thought that children from poor families have to grow up early, and their younger brothers and sisters have already helped with housework. It would be good to take them with her, and she could also exercise with them, so she agreed.

However, he still told them to follow him closely when they went to the back mountain to avoid encountering danger from large wild beasts. His younger brothers and sisters readily agreed.

He remembered the two pheasants he caught in the morning, grabbed two handfuls of coarse grains and a bowl of water, and took the two of them to feed the chickens.

Xihui asked: "Sister, should we keep them? We don't have that much food to feed them!"

Lin Xijin thought that there was plenty of food, but pheasants were difficult to raise, so if they were to be raised, they would have to change the breed. So she said to her brother and sister, "Don't raise them now, but raise them later when we have money to buy food. Let's see what we can catch tomorrow and sell them in town for money."

They both agreed and looked forward to catching another pheasant tomorrow.

The setting sun completely sank into the horizon, and dusk had fallen. Lin Xijin could only take her brother and sister back to the house. Accustomed to the brightly lit modern life, Lin Xijin was not used to the dark nights of ancient times. Although she was not afraid, she was helpless.

Lin Xijin went back to her room, lit the oil lamp, and lay down on the bed with her brother and sister. Thinking that these two children had no parents, it was her responsibility to teach them. So she said to them, "I'll tell you a story."

When they heard their sister was going to tell a story, they hurriedly leaned on Lin Xijin.

So she began to tell them the story of "The Monkey King's Birth" in Journey to the West. After she finished, the two children were still not satisfied, but Lin Xijin said, "We have to get up early to go up the mountain tomorrow. If you go, go to bed early. I will teach you how to read later, and then you can read the storybook by yourself."

The two happily agreed.

After a while, when Lin Xijin thought they were about to fall asleep, Xihui suddenly asked, "Sister, why do you suddenly know so much today?"

Lin Xijin secretly sighed in her heart: "Wow, this little brat has some brains and can think. He is not easy to fool!"

So he thought for a while and said, "After my sister passed out yesterday, she was rescued by an old immortal who was passing by. The old immortal said that you two are still young and need your sister's care, and that your sister cannot die yet, so he took your sister to heaven to learn skills. One day on earth is a hundred years in heaven. During the time I was in a coma, more than ten years had passed in heaven. I learned a lot of skills from the old immortal in heaven. When the old immortal saw me, my grandmother wanted to push me into the river, and was afraid that my physical body would be in danger, so he let me come back."

As I said this, I felt guilty, thinking that I was a big liar and wondered if I could fool these two kids.

Just as I was feeling anxious, I heard my brother say, "Sister, it would be great if I could meet an old immortal someday. When I learn the skills, I will make a lot of money and buy new clothes for you and your sister."

Lin Xijin said in his heart: "Yes, boy, you are very lucky. You have no regrets. Your old immortal is eating, drinking and sleeping with you!"

But I'm still very happy to meet such a little fan.

As the night passed, the moonlight shone in through the holes in the roof, adding a layer of cool frosty color to the house.

Soon, the snoring of her younger brother and sister came to her ears. Lin Xijin's consciousness sneaked into the space, harvested some ripe Chinese herbs, grains, fruits and melons, and then fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, when the sky just started to turn pale, the siblings got up. After washing up, Lin Xijin put on a backpack and a hoe, and the younger brother and sister also put on small backpacks and started walking towards the back mountain.

Although Xihui and Xijia were young, they could still keep up. When they reached the flat ground at the bottom of the mountain, Lin Xijin sat down with them and began to teach them how to sit and breathe. After practicing for about half an hour, Lin Xijin asked them to do horse stance and he himself did two sets of boxing before starting today's foraging.

Lin Xijin taught the two kids to pick weeds and herbs in the valley, and used the carrots and backpacks in the space to set up traps, hoping to attract wild rabbits. Then she ran to another exit behind the valley to look for traces of wild boars, and took out a shovel from the space to dig a trap, throwing a few space-brand sweet potatoes, fruits and vegetables into the trap.

After doing all this, he picked a few handfuls of herbs and put some inconspicuous fruits into the basket before going back to find his younger brothers and sisters.

The orange-red sun had risen above the horizon, casting a layer of gold on the earth, and it was another bright and sunny day.

Xihui and Xijia saw their sister coming back and rushed over. Lin Xijin took the siblings to see the trap set up in the backpack and found that it actually covered two gray rabbits, one of which had a bulging belly, and was a female rabbit about to give birth.

The little brother and sister clapped their hands and shouted happily: "We caught a rabbit! We caught a rabbit!" Lin Xijin tied up the rabbit, and the three siblings packed up their things, carried their backpacks and went home.