Daily life of farming and supporting a family on the ancient Loess Plateau

Ji Yongzhou looked aggrieved: "You still say that? I wear your hand-me-downs. These pants are so small and short that they get stuck in the ditch after a few steps. If I don't pick them out, it's so uncomfortable that I can't walk."

Ji Yongning glared at her younger brother and said, "Whose clothes aren't hand-me-downs? You're lucky if you have anything to wear! These clothes of mine were worn by my older brother. Look at these trouser legs, Mom had to patch them up with scraps of cloth, otherwise they could have been worn as underwear."

The two brothers talked as they walked to the western bank of the ditch.

Ji Yongzhou pointed to a grove of trees not far away and said, "Brother, look, there are still some clusters of white locust flowers over there."

Ji Yongning sniffed and said, "It smells so good, but there are only some left at the top of the tree. It looks like they will be very difficult to pick."

"Of course, the easy ones down there have already been picked clean. In any case, it's still a lifesaver."

Ji Yongning took three steps at a time and walked to the grove of locust trees, looking around to figure out how to climb up.

Because this area is covered with locust trees, which are full of sharp thorns, climbing them would not only prick your hands and feet, but also tear your clothes.

Ji Yongning felt a little sorry for the clothes, but finally gritted his teeth and said, "I'll climb the tree to pick them. You stay down here and try to hook down any branches you can."

After saying that, Ji Yongning nimbly climbed the tree with the bag, but soon his hands and ankles were covered in cuts. This pain was nothing to tough village kids like him; he quickly picked bunches of locust flowers and put them into the bag hanging around his neck.

Ji Yongzhou also found a forked, withered branch, tiptoed, hooked it onto a flowering locust tree branch, and laboriously and gently plucked the locust blossoms from the treetop.

Seeing that his pockets were almost full, Ji Yongning, who was in the tree, hugged the trunk and prepared to climb down. However, whether it was because he used too much force or because his clothes were of poor quality, there was a "rip" sound, and a long tear appeared in the back of his pants, exposing his white buttocks.

Ji Yongzhou, standing under the tree, couldn't even laugh. Staring at his brother's white, bare bottom, he said, "Oh no, brother. Your pants are ripped open! Mom's going to beat you when we get home! Your other pants aren't even patched yet, now you're going to have no pants to wear!"

Ji Yongning slid down the tree in a few strides, took the bag off his neck, tugged at the back of his pants, looked back and forth, feeling both sad and ashamed, and said, "Wait until you walk behind me and cover me up a bit. Let's go back first and talk about it later."

Ji Yongzhou hurriedly picked up the bag of locust flowers from the ground, nodded, and followed behind his brother.

While the two were out picking locust flowers, Huo Zhiyuan was chatting enthusiastically with Ji Manqing and Ji Manchuan in his courtyard.

Huo Zhiyuan said somewhat embarrassedly, "When I first came to Ningping County, I didn't understand some of the local dialect words very well. Once, when I was out with my dad, a dog walked by, and I said, 'Look how brave this dog is.' The people next to us stared at the dog's crotch for a long time and said, 'Aren't all dog crotches this big?'"

"Hahaha, you're really funny, kid. Come on, let me teach you some authentic Ningping dialect. This is the armpit, this is the neck, this is the arm, and this is the heel." Ji Manqing laughed and pointed to the parts of his body while teaching earnestly.

Huo Zhiyuan also looked like he was studying very seriously.

Ji Yongling, standing to the side, genuinely hoped that Huo Zhiyuan would leave quickly. Her family had never entertained such distinguished guests before, and entertaining such wealthy people was exhausting.

But Huo Zhiyuan just sat there motionless in the courtyard and refused to leave.

He and Ji Manqing started chatting in their local dialect and then it turned into a conversation about how the city gate had collapsed. He said his hip was punctured, Huo Zhiyuan said his father was there on business, and Ji Manqing said his father was in charge.

The main theme is that everyone is talking about their own thing, their words are irrelevant, and they are completely unrelated.

Ji Yongling wanted to go help in the kitchen, but Huo Zhiyuan stopped her: "Miss Ji, are there any other causes of sepsis?"

Ji Yongling reluctantly recounted several cases of sepsis. Unexpectedly, not only Huo Zhiyuan listened with fascination, but Ji Manchuan and the others also listened with great interest. Ji Yongling was left to become the storyteller.

Huo Zhiyuan laughed and commented, "This is too bizarre! He was trying to hit his wife with an awl, and it accidentally fell and pierced his own toe, causing him to die of sepsis. This...this...I really don't know what to say."

Ji Manchuan chuckled and chimed in, "It is quite strange. But it's also interesting that the one who stole the cart, ran downhill too fast, crashed into a stone wall, and killed himself."

Ji Manqing nodded and said, "Both are interesting, but I still think the funniest thing is squatting in the toilet and pooping in the latrine, and arguing with someone and getting so angry that you die. Who hasn't squatted in the toilet or argued before? I don't want to die in the future and people be holding their noses and saying behind my back that I died in a pile of shit."

Huo Zhiyuan urged, "Tell me a few more. These are much more meaningful than the ghost stories told by storytellers."

Helpless, Ji Yongling could only continue like a storyteller: "There was a rich man who loved dogs dearly. He kept more than a dozen dogs at home and fed and pampered them every day. One time, he took his two favorite dogs to the mountains for a stroll. You know, there are sometimes monkeys in the mountains to the south. When the rich man's dogs encountered the wild monkeys, they immediately barked loudly, taking advantage of their master's power."

"The wild monkey was unhappy. Being the king of the mountain, he roared and summoned a troop of his monkey minions. And so, the monkeys and the little dog started fighting. The rich man, fiercely protective of his dog, couldn't bear to watch it be beaten, so he tried to break up the fight, only to be bitten to death by the monkeys!"

The people present all sighed in dismay.

Ji Yongling laughed and said, "The key is that this rich man was extremely wealthy. After his death, all sorts of evil spirits and demons came out. He had many relatives, and his wives and concubines had given him many sons. He also had several illegitimate children with his mistresses. This triggered a protracted battle for the family property."

Ji Manqing listened intently, his eyes shining, and he chuckled, "These are all incredibly bizarre deaths! Ling'er, I didn't know you had such a talent for storytelling. This story is really interesting. Did you make it up? Or did your master, Granny Liu, tell it to you? Are there really such ways to die in this world?"

Ji Yongling smiled, thinking that there were many inexplicable ways people could die.

The examples she gave were all from her past experiences in the emergency room. The one who was bitten to death by a monkey had gone to the zoo to feed the monkeys and ended up dying of sepsis. The one who stole the bicycle was actually stealing an electric scooter and crashing into a wall. The one who died while squatting and the one who died while arguing were both actually dying from brain hemorrhages. The one who argued even appeared on a legal program, and the other party paid a large sum of money in compensation.

However, she made some minor modifications to fit the era.