Farmhouse Green Plum

After a few words of emotion, Li poked Daya's head vigorously and said, "This damn girl is so reckless. She still wants to help others..."

Daya still didn't speak. She returned to Xinghua Village in silence. Li gave her the tofu and said, "Send it to the Luo family."

Xiaoxiang said quickly: "Grandma Li, I'll go back too. Thank you for the ox cart."

Li waved her hand and told Daya, "Go quickly and come back soon."

After Li and the others walked away, Xiaoxiang whispered, "Daya, did you get the money?"

Daya let out a long breath, trying not to think about Xiaohua, and nodded, "Three cents, one cent each."

"Mine also has one cent?" Xiaoxiang was surprised. The ground tiger she picked was obviously much less than Daya's.

Daya nodded and said, "Let's go find Lai Di first."

At this time, Lai Di's parents were not at home, so the three of them followed Lai Di into the house and closed the door.

Daya took out two copper coins and handed them to the two of them.

"The herbal medicine costs 1 cent for two kilograms. My bag has more than two kilograms. Yours will be counted together at the clinic, so we will all be charged two kilograms.

It's three cents in total. I've already used my cent, so this is for both of you."

Lai Di disagreed: "What about the small vegetable garden? We agreed to share it among four people."

Daya pursed her lips and said, "We sold less this time, so let's just leave it at that for now. You can each give him some food later.

From now on, if the money we earn is enough for 4 cents, we will share it once, and save the rest for next time."

3 cents was indeed hard to divide, and Lai Di did not insist. "Okay, tell the gardener, I'll give it to him when I get a chance to buy candy in the county."

Xiaoxiang was a little worried: "Daya, Lai Di, why don't we tell the adults? I'm afraid my mother will find out and accuse me of hiding something and sell me to a brothel. I don't want to be beaten."

"Why are you so timid?" Lai Di said angrily. She had just earned her first penny and it wasn't even warm in her pocket yet.

After a pause, she looked at Daya in confusion, "What happened today?"

Xiaoxiang is timid, but she just made some money today and is in high spirits, so she shouldn't do that.

Daya lowered her eyes and whispered, "We met Sister Xiaohua. She escaped from the brothel and was caught again."

Xiaoxiang added in horror: "Her hands were covered with wounds. Grandma Li said that there might not be a single piece of healthy skin on her body."

The more she spoke, the more frightened she became. She folded her arms and huddled together, trying her best to suppress the trembling of her body, as if the bruises and scars appeared on her body.

Lai Di's mood became uncontrollably heavy, and the joy of earning her first pot of gold suddenly dimmed.

In silence, Xiaoxiang became even more panicked. She trembled as she recounted the steamed bun incident, revealing another hidden danger: "Filial piety comes first among all virtues. It is unfilial for us to earn money and keep it for ourselves. If this matter were to be exposed, our reputation would be ruined. My mother would definitely beat me to death. No, she might even sell me out in a rage."

Lai Di was also frightened. On weekdays, her parents often scolded her for being a money-loser. Even though she worked hard every day, she was never treated well by them.

If this matter were to be exposed, her parents might be so angry at her ungrateful behavior that they would sell her out.

Thinking of this, Lai Di felt the copper coin in her hand was hot. She swallowed her saliva and said, "Daya, how about we..."

"Today is the first time I've eaten a whole bun," Daya interrupted her before she could finish, "If I didn't earn my own money, I would at most share a bun with my grandma."

Lai Di and Xiao Xiang were still worried: "But..."

"If we can't earn our own money, then in their eyes, every bite of food we eat, every sip of water we drink, every piece of clothing we wear is owed to our families, and we will always be money-losing goods."

"After we tell the adults, we can continue to pick herbs and sell them for money," Xiaoxiang bit her lip, but her eyes sparkled as she spoke, "Yes, we pick herbs to make money to supplement our family income, so we are not eating for free, and we are not losing money!"

She looked at Daya and Lai Di expectantly, "We can make money, and even if we do something wrong, our family won't sell us out!"

Lai Di was also tempted. She had only two daughters in her family and her parents were almost crazy about wanting a son. Ever since her elder sister Zhao Di got married, all the beatings and scoldings from her parents were directed at her. If she handed over the money from selling the medicine, her situation would probably be better.

Daya pursed her lips and said softly, “My ducks, I drive them outside when it’s hot, and cut grass for them to eat in the winter. Except for a few times, I’m the one who takes care of them;

But I have never eaten a whole egg they lay, and the money from selling it is not considered my profit.

If we tell the adults, they will think this is a good way to make money, and they will ask us to collect a certain amount of herbs every day. In the end, just like the duck eggs in my family, the money from the sale is theirs, not ours. "

Lai Di's excitement disappeared instantly, and she came to her senses. She had many such experiences. She was the one who did the work, and the money was earned by her parents. She could only get a temporary good face.

Xiaoxiang burst into tears: "What should I do? My mother will definitely sell me if she finds out."

Daya said quietly, "Sister Xiaohua was sold. Was she hiding the money? Was she disobedient?"

Xiaoxiang's tears flowed even more violently, and Laidi's heart became heavier. Sister Xiaohua was sold just because her brother needed a dowry to marry.

"Gathering herbs is not a difficult thing. We are not the only ones who can do it. Tell our family that even if we gather more herbs and earn more money for the family, if they really run out of money, they will still sell us out."

Seeing Xiaoxiang getting more desperate, Daya said, "Let's save the money we earn. Even if our family wants to sell us out in the future, we can still escape and not be left penniless.

Plus, I love spending my own money.”

Lai Di gritted her teeth and said, "Daya is right. We still can't tell our family!"

She looked at Xiaoxiang: "Xiaoxiang, what's your decision? If you are really scared, then don't participate. If something happens in the future, we won't say that you participated once!"

"I...I..." Xiaoxiang bit her lip, her tearful eyes filled with confusion.

Lai Di urged: "Don't dilly-dally, make a decision quickly, my parents will be back soon, and Daya has to go home as well!"

"Don't rush her," Daya shook her head at Lai Di and looked at Xiao Xiang. "The pine needles haven't been shaved yet. We'll meet at Songlin Slope later. Think about it slowly and make a decision after you've thought it through."

Then he said to Lai Di, "I'm going home first."

After going to the market today, it was already 5 p.m. when Daya returned to the village. After having dinner at home, she met Lai Di and Xiao Xiang at the foot of Songlinpo Mountain.

Seeing her, Lai Di said, "Xiaoxiang has decided to come with us. We have a legitimate reason to avoid others today, why don't we..."

Daya understood what he meant and thought it would be reasonable to carry less pine needles today. She could take this opportunity to pick the ground crickets!

Lai Di and the other two were waiting for her here to avoid running into other girls after going up the mountain.