Farmhouse Green Plum

Daya groaned and slowly sorted out her thoughts: "Problems need to be solved one by one.

The only time we work together is in the afternoon. The sun is strong and we can dry the herbs, so we have to pick herbs in the afternoon.

Today we went to pick herbs early, and then went to the pine forest slope to find a spot on the edge to dry them. So, we had to go there early in the afternoon to occupy a spot and keep others away from the drying area.

Today was the first time, and they saw me. You could also say that I was just bored and was playing with the weeds;

Later, we gradually distanced ourselves from them. Sister Xiaocui and the others were older and should be strong enough to chop wood, so we tried to guide them to chop wood, so naturally they would not chop wood together.

As for the two sisters Daxia and Erxia who are younger than us, we can only stay away from them when shaving the pine needles.

But they are young after all, so it should be easy to fool them."

After her analysis, Lai Di felt that the feasibility was very high and the future was bright, so she clenched her fist and said with excitement: "Let's do it!"

"You hurry up and work. I'll go call Xiaoxiang over, and then we'll go dig up ground tigers together. In addition to my Wanwan field, I remember there are a lot of them over at Qinggang Bay."

Lai Di didn't even think about it and blurted out, "She's down there in the field. I can just yell at her."

Daya was speechless: "If you yell, what else can we hide?"

"I was so excited that I forgot." Lai Di stuck out her tongue embarrassedly.

Soon, Daya brought Xiaoxiang back here, and they rushed to Qinggang Bay carrying backpacks and sickles.

Xu Yulan and her family knew that they had only picked one plant last night, and they would probably go again today. In order to avoid a run-in, Daya carefully chose Qinggang Bay, even though it was farther away from here.

Although she had heard Daya talk about it before, looking at the lush green plants in the low-lying pit, Lai Di couldn't help but wonder: "Is this wild grass really a medicine?"

Xiaoxiang also hesitated and said, "Daya, are you mistaken? This weed is everywhere and tastes terrible. Even cows hate it."

"That's right, this is the ground-grabbing tiger. Uncle Xu applied it last night and he got better very quickly. Aunt Chen also said that she would pick more for him to boil in water today, and he can drink it for external application and internal consumption."

"But..." Xiaoxiang still hesitated.

Daya interrupted her, "Since we are here, let's pick them and dry them first. Even if we really make a mistake in the end, we will have worked for nothing these few days. We can just pick the right ones next time.

She paused, then continued, "And I am very sure that I am not mistaken. This is the ground-grabbing tiger."

Thinking of Daya's memory, Lai Di decided to trust her, "Listen to Daya and pick them first!"

The three girls moved quickly and filled three baskets with the fruits. They carried them to a creek to wash them, then carried them to the pine forest slope and hid them in the bushes.

It was already noon, and they hurried home to cook.

Lunch was much later than usual, so naturally Li couldn't avoid complaints. Daya didn't say a word, finished her meal silently, washed the dishes, put on the backpack, picked up the rake, and called Song Yuan to go out.

"Didn't you go out with a backpack this morning?" Li suddenly spoke up and stopped Daya.

Daya froze, her heart pounding as if it was about to jump out of her chest. She blinked slowly, suppressed her panic, and tried to look natural.

At the same time, he was thinking of a countermeasure in his mind: "I think the grass in the curved field is quite tender. I want to carry it back for the cows to eat. I will use a backpack..."

Glancing at Song Yuan beside her, she suddenly had an idea, "My little brother threw the backpack into a puddle, and it's very heavy to put the grass in it, so I'll put it on the ground to dry in the sun. After I bring back the pine needles in the afternoon, I'll go and fetch the grass back."

Li's face darkened and she scolded, "Don't you know to carry it back to dry in the sun? An empty basket is so heavy that it kills you? If you lose the basket today, you will know what stir-fried bamboo shoots and meat taste like!"

Daya shrank her neck and ran out of the house. She stopped after walking a long way and said to Song Yuan, "Pretend to be thirsty and go back to drink some water. When grandma isn't paying attention, go get the navy blue bag from the cupboard."

After what happened to Li, Daya realized that there was still something missing in their plan. How could they secretly take the dried ground tiger back home, and where should they hide it?

There is also the subsequent issue of how to avoid people going to the county to sell, which needs to be resolved.

The afternoon's drying of the medicine went smoothly. The daily repetitive scraping of pine needles was boring. The girls had no suspicion that Daya and the other two had chosen the marginal area, and did not notice the 'weeds' drying outside the pine forest at all.

Daya and the other two felt relieved and hesitated until most of the girls had left before they dared to collect the tiger.

The autumn sun is very strong. After a day of exposure to the sun, the ground tiger has become crispy, very similar to the one the medicine boy took out that day. The backpack is full of ground tiger, which can be put into a cloth bag after drying.

When they were almost at the entrance of the village, Daya suddenly heard Yang's voice.

She pushed aside the branches and looked over, only to see a group of women resting under the paulownia tree at the entrance of the village. Yang and Lai Di Niang were among them.

Lai Di also saw the situation over there and became worried: "What should we do now? Hide?"

Daya was also a little worried, but Lai Di and Xiaoxiang were both in a panic, so she had to pretend to be calm.

Looking back at the villagers who were walking towards this side in the distance, she lowered her voice and said, "There are many people returning to the village now. We have been seen by others. If we hide secretly, isn't it telling others that we are up to something?

Don’t be afraid, we carry pine needles back home every day, and no one will turn over our baskets.”

As she spoke, she took the lead and was the first to walk towards the village entrance.

Lai Di took a deep breath and followed her towards the village.

Xiaoxiang was timid and kept comforting herself that she was not coming back from the market and no one would rummage through their backpacks.

She prepared herself mentally, gritted her teeth, and followed suit.

After turning the corner, the old village chief was the first to see them. He smiled and said, "The big girls are back too."

Daya politely called out the village chief as a greeting, and walked to the paulownia tree as usual, tiptoed and placed the backpack on the broken stone platform.

The village chief looked at Daya's pile of pine needles and said to Yang, "Your niece is very capable. The peddlers who passed by Shengli Village praised her a few days ago. You two are really good at educating your children."

Yang's eyes flashed with a smile, but she complained: "It's not easy to raise these three kids. Song Tian, that short-lived kid, gets into trouble every other day. I've beaten him, scolded him, but he never changes his ways!"

Daya sighed imperceptibly: Here it comes again.

As soon as she finished sighing, Yang said, "Da Ya is obedient, but we, as her aunt, are not her biological mother after all, so we cannot scold or hit her. From childhood to adulthood, I have never touched her.

Just like that, two days ago, her grandmother suspected that I was going to sell her.”

"That's what Old Lady Li did wrong. Everyone in the village knows that you treat Daya like your own daughter and teach her well. When Daya is mentioned in the surrounding villages, everyone gives her a thumbs up."