The little ancestor of the family

There was a cool breeze in the mountains, but the situation was not as optimistic as Ye Xinran had imagined.

This place has been almost completely searched by people.

There were some remaining fern roots and wood ear fragments on the ground, and almost all the edible things had been dug away.

Ye Xinran walked up for a while and found nothing useful, so she prepared to go down the mountain.

When she turned her head, a few heart-shaped leaves caught her attention.

The leaf grows on a thin vine, which is wrapped around a small tree and sways lonely in the wind.

"Purple yam?" Ye Xinran recognized it at the first sight.

She really didn't expect to see purple yam here, and she didn't expect that this thing had not been dug up by anyone.

With no tools at hand, Ye Xinran found a wooden stick as thick as a finger, pulled out the purple yam seedlings, and started digging.

The vine is very thin, but the yam underneath is very thick.

It took Ye Xinran a long time before she finally dug out all the broken pieces of purple yam.

The skin and core of purple yam are purple-red, which is somewhat similar to ordinary yam, but its nutritional value and taste are much higher than ordinary yam.

Moreover, purple yam can be eaten raw, has a sweet and crispy taste, and has the effects of nourishing the lungs and kidneys, strengthening the spleen and stopping diarrhea.

These yams were enough for them to eat for several days, but they were too heavy and some of them could not lift them.

Ye Xinran tried to put them into the space, but couldn't.

In desperation, she had to pull up her skirt, put the yam into her skirt, and slowly walk down the mountain.

The two children at the foot of the mountain were very anxious. When they saw Ye Xinran coming out, they all went to greet her.

"Auntie, auntie, you finally came out! We are all going to go in and look for you."

"Aunt, what are you carrying? Why are there so many?"

Ye Xinran was also tired, so she loosened the hem of her skirt and several pieces of yam rolled to the ground.

Changan leaned over to take a look curiously: "What is this? It's purple, can I eat it?"

"Of course it's edible, try it!" Ye Xinran wiped a piece of yam clean with leaves, peeled it, and let Chang'an take a bite.

"Sweet!" Changan squinted his eyes happily.

Changping saw it, and also leaned over to take a bite, showing the same happy expression as Changan.

A few women who were looking for wild vegetables in the mountains were quite far away. When they heard that they had found food, they all came over to see.

When the women saw the large rhizomes on the ground, they all had questions on their faces: "What is this? Can this thing really be eaten?"

"Of course you can eat it! It tastes very good!" Ye Xinran replied.

"Hey, isn't this the newly married eldest daughter of the Xiao family? The eldest daughter also knows about wild vegetables?"

"Who says a young lady can't recognize wild vegetables? Maybe she is more knowledgeable and knows more than us!"

A round-faced woman looked at Ye Xinran with a big smile on her face: "Madam Ye, what is this?"

Ye Xinran did not hide anything and told them openly: "This is purple yam. It can be used in cooking or eaten raw."

"Is it non-toxic?" another woman came up and asked.

"If it's poisonous, would I let the children eat it?" Ye Xinran glanced at her, picked up the purple yam with the children, and walked down the mountain.

"Hey, she is such a person, just ask why she is unhappy."

"You saw the child eating it, and you still asked if it was poisonous. Who would be happy?"

"that is!"

"Okay, stop talking. I didn't expect there are such good things in our mountains. Let's go look for them!"

"Let's go!"

All the women went into the mountains.

On the way back to the village, Chang'an and Changping each held a piece of purple yam. Changping was strong and held the biggest piece.

Ye Xinran was worried at first, but when she saw him leaving so easily, she stopped trying to stop him.

As she walked, she looked at the mountains in the distance, thinking that she would walk further to check next time.

When I was almost at the door of my house, I found a group of people standing in front of me, and I could hear crying coming from the crowd.

Ye Xinran took a few quick steps and saw that the house that everyone was surrounding was not her own, but the house above her.

The one crying was the family's youngest daughter.

"It's Xiaohua!" Chang'an said, pulling Ye Xinran's collar.

"Yes!" Ye Xinran nodded, "Let's send the things back first, and then come out and take a look."

They sent the purple yam home, and when they came out again, they saw a fat woman dressed in yellow-green silk pulling the little girl's hand and dragging her out.

The little girl cried and sat on the ground, looking very resistant.

The woman was tired of mopping and finally let go of her hands. She took out a towel and wiped her face, which was as white as a steamed bun.

"Zhang Dali, your daughter won't leave. If she continues like this, we can't do this deal!

I tell you, two taels of silver is a sky-high price. If your family is not willing, many people will come to me."

"Yes, yes, Mrs. Luo, don't be angry. I will talk to the child."

Zhang Dali had a simple and honest look on his face. He kept rubbing his pants with his hands while talking, looking helpless.

"Xiaohua," Zhang Dali picked up Xiaohua and said with a sob, "Dad doesn't want to sell you, but our family really has no food left.

Dad can't watch you starve to death! This lady said that she can take you to enjoy a good life, with endless white rice and meat!

After you leave, your family will also get two taels of silver. With these two taels of silver, your mother will have money to treat her illness, and your brothers and sisters will not have to starve anymore!"

"Dad, can't Xiaohua eat less? I will only eat one meal in the next two days." Xiaohua stretched out her hand and wiped away the tears from the corners of her father's eyes.

"Dad, I'll go to the mountain to dig more wild vegetables. When the new grain comes down, we'll have food. Can you not sell Xiaohua?" Xiaohua's brothers and sisters also begged.

"Master, please don't sell the child! My disease is incurable!" Xiaohua's mother was in tears.

Looking at everything in front of him, Chang An blinked and looked helpless: "Aunt, Xiaohua is so pitiful, she will never see her parents again!"

"Ok!"

Ye Xinran felt swelling in the corners of her eyes.

She lived in an era of material abundance, and what she could not bear the most was this kind of scene of separation between life and death.

The fat woman was getting impatient and urged:

"Alright, alright, this is a good thing, so stop looking so whiny.

You guys hurry up and talk to the child, and ask her to go with me obediently. If that doesn't work, tie a rope to her hand and I'll lead her all the way back. Don't worry, as long as she has a good life for two days, I guarantee she won't want to come back!"

Seeing that Zhang Dali and Chen were still hesitating, the fat woman gave her servant a look, and the hunched man immediately stepped forward and snatched the person out of Zhang Dali's arms.

"Dad! Mom! I don't want to leave!"

Xiaohua was carried over and screamed in fright.

Chen took two quick steps forward and held her daughter's hand tightly, refusing to let go.

The onlookers shook their heads:

"It's really difficult. Aren't Zhang Dali and his wife quite capable? How did it come to this? Sigh..."

"Didn't his wife get sick last year? These days, illness can kill the whole family!"

"Oh! Life is so hard."

The family of five cried miserably. Ye Xinran couldn't bear to watch. Just as she was about to speak, she heard a steady voice coming from outside the crowd: "You haven't reached the end of your rope yet, why are you selling your child?"