An eight-year-old kid emptied his scumbag father's warehouse and followed his grandparents into

"What is this? Where did you buy it?" Jing Chunxi finally stopped, his cheeks slightly flushed with excitement, his eyebrows curved, and his eyes filled with curiosity and joy.

Holding the ball, she said with certainty, "I'm going to buy it for Pu Ge'er to play with, and also buy one for all the children in Qingshan Villa." She was worried about not being able to find a suitable gift. Although this black ball was not good-looking, it bounced so much fun that the children would surely love it.

She recalled the cloth balls she and Pu'er used to play with. They were made by Mammy Mi and the two aunts using scraps of cloth, stuffed with cotton or rags. They were colorful, but they could only be tossed around, unlike this black ball, which bounced high with a tap. The embroidered balls the aunts made were indeed delicate, but they would deflate with the slightest drop, making them far less playable.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but toss the black ball again, watching it bounce high, the smile on her lips deepened. Although this thing is black and looks like a big pill, it's fun, so what does it matter if it's ugly?

Seeing that their older brothers and sisters liked the things they played with, the children's eyes suddenly lit up, and sparkling little stars were reflected in their pupils.

Xu Zize's reaction was immediate. He grabbed the marble, squeezing it with his bony fingers until his fingertips turned slightly white. He even tugged at it with both hands, pinching its ends between his thumb and index finger and stretching them outwards, trying to see if the seemingly hard black ball would give way, and even more curious to discover what magical material it was made of.

Seeing this, the children did not rush to ask for it back. Instead, they gathered in a circle and watched their reactions curiously.

The child who looked about six or seven years old and was called Da Niu had a few mud marks on his face. He suddenly stretched out his strong arms towards Sanniu, snatched the mud-stained ball from Sanniu's hand, rubbed it on his clothes with nimble movements, and then solemnly handed it to Xiaoman who was standing beside him.

"Let this brother play with it too." Da Niu smiled with a missing front tooth as he spoke, and the sunlight shone on his tanned face.

Sanniu wasn't stingy at all. He tilted his chubby face up, grinning, revealing a few uneven white teeth. Saliva dripped from the corners of his mouth onto his chin. He said in a baby voice, "It's fun! Brother, play!" He jumped around as he spoke, his bare feet leaving tiny footprints in the mud.

"We didn't buy it, we cooked it ourselves." Only then did Brother Kuan remember to answer Jing Chunxi's question. He puffed out his thin chest, his tone full of pride. He wiped his nose with the back of his hand, leaving a trail of dust.

Kuan Ge's words surprised everyone, and the air seemed to freeze for a moment. Jing Chunxi and Xu Zize exchanged surprised glances, and even Xiao Man, who was standing nearby, widened her eyes slightly.

"Burned?" Xu Zize's voice rose an octave. He gripped the marble in his slender fingers, turning it repeatedly in the sunlight, observing it. Sunlight filtered through the black sphere, casting a hazy halo on the ground. Suddenly, Xu Zize tossed the marble high into the air, high enough to reach above his head, and it traced a graceful arc through the air.

He caught it firmly, then held it up to his eyes and examined it for a moment, his brow furrowed slightly, a look of suspicion and inquiry in his eyes. His gaze swept over the minute bumps and indentations on the sphere's surface, and he scraped it gently with his fingernail, as if testing its hardness. But aside from a bit of dust, he couldn't scrape off any of the material.

"What are you using to cook it?" Xu Zize's question stunned the three younger ones. They looked at each other with confusion in their eyes.

Finally, the three children looked at Da Niu and Kuan Ge in unison, as if they regarded them as the backbone.

Daniu's face flushed, spreading from his cheeks to his ears. He nervously scratched his messy hair, which was still clogged with a few strands of hay. "It's tree pulp, the same kind my dad uses for carpentry."

After saying this, he seemed to suddenly think of something and hurriedly added: "It wasn't stolen from Daddy. I took them to cut it back." His voice became smaller and smaller, and the last few words almost became a mumble. His eyes were erratic, for fear of being mistaken for a thief.

"We didn't go up the mountain. We just cut down the trees at the foot of the mountain." Kuan, perhaps afraid of being scolded by the adults, blurted out this sentence. He spoke quickly and gestured with his hands. "The ones next to the old locust tree. We really didn't go into the mountain!" His eyes were nervous, obviously worried about being misunderstood as taking his younger siblings up the mountain.

Xu Zize looked into the distance. It was too far away, and the tree they were talking about couldn't be seen clearly. But he nodded thoughtfully: "Is it the kind of tree that oozes white sap when cut down? Aren't you afraid it's poisonous?"

There was a hint of seriousness in his voice, and his eyes darted back and forth among the children. He was slightly relieved when he noticed that there were indeed no scars on their hands.

Erniu was also a little panicked. He rubbed the corner of his clothes to help explain: "We use a clay pot to put it in. When it's full, we take it back. It won't hurt if it doesn't touch your hands." As he talked about the scene at that time, he said, "I secretly took the clay pot from the kitchen. It's the one my mother used to pickle pickles." At this point, he shrank his neck guiltily, "When I got home, I poured it directly into the fire. When it was cooked, I scooped it out and rolled it into a ball."

Afraid that they wouldn't believe him, Da Niu quickly took over the conversation: "Daddy used a heated blade to dip the tree pulp, and then poured it into the joints and mortise and tenon joints of the woodworking." He imitated his father's movements as he spoke, "They are all tightly glued and will not fall off. They are stronger than glutinous rice paste and will not be infested with insects!" After speaking, he nodded vigorously, as if to add credibility to his words.

Hearing this, not only Xu Zize and Jing Chunxi, but also Xiaoman, Chuyi and Zhengyue were stunned.

Jing Chunxi's lips opened slightly, revealing an expression of disbelief; Xu Zize's eyes narrowed, flashing with thought; Xiaoman leaned forward unconsciously; Chuyi and Zhengyue looked at each other, and saw surprise in each other's eyes.

Could this poisonous tree have such an effect? ​​Jing Chunxi pondered this discovery over and over in her mind. Her eyes fell on the inconspicuous little black ball, and she suddenly felt that it became extremely precious.

Xu Zize's eyes suddenly lit up, like two small flames. He turned sharply to the side and said quickly, "Chuyi, quickly go find the general and Uncle Sijiu and bring him to my courtyard." His voice trembled slightly with excitement, and his fingers tapped his thigh unconsciously.