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

Upon hearing this, Ji Yongning glanced furtively at the long staff in Ji Manqing's hand, his body trembled slightly, and he finally stammered, "I...I...it's just that some of the kids in the school are sick, and I said...my dad is...a doctor, and then...he gave them some medicine..."

"When did your father become a doctor?" Ji Manchuan glared at Ji Manqing and asked.

Ji Manqing raised the stick in his hand and roared at Ji Yongning, "What kind of medicine did you give that kid? Tell me right now! You can't just take any medicine you want! What if someone dies from it!"

Ji Yongning shuddered in fright and quickly hid behind Ji Manchuan, saying, "I didn't give the child any medicine, it would never kill anyone! What I gave him... wasn't medicine... it was sheep dung beans I picked up from the ditch..."

Ji Yongning's voice gradually faded, becoming as soft as a mosquito's hum, but Ji Manqing still heard it clearly.

"What? You're feeding sheep dung beans to that child? Are you going to school every day to study or to disgrace your ancestors?" Ji Manqing's forehead was blazing with anger as he roared, "That's it? Just for this? The teacher called me to school? Tell me honestly, is there anything else you haven't told me?"

Ji Yongning shrank back in fright, lowered his head, and dared not utter another sound.

"Hey, I'll teach you a lesson—" Ji Manqing was about to hit Ji Yongning.

At this moment, Hu Xirong, dragging Ji Yongzhou by the ear, stepped over the threshold and came in.

"It hurts, it hurts, Mother, it really hurts!" Ji Yongzhou cried out as he struggled.

Hu Xirong sneered, "So you do feel pain! I thought your ears were made of iron and you didn't feel pain! Didn't you say you two are brothers and wouldn't betray each other? Didn't you refuse to say what your brother did? Then keep quiet! It'll hurt!"

Hu Xirong increased the pressure on his hand, causing Ji Yongzhou to scream in pain.

"Ahhh, Your Majesty—I'll talk! I'll talk! I'll talk, okay?!"

Ji Yongzhou cried out, “Brother, I’m so sorry! I’ve let down our ancestors and you! To save my ears and avoid becoming a one-eared dragon, I have no choice but to tell the truth! But we’ve always been good brothers!”

Wow, he's small in stature but has a strong sense of loyalty!

Ji Yongling could only laugh when she heard Ji Yongzhou's words.

It seems that boys' mischievousness knows no bounds, whether ancient or modern, Chinese or foreign; and the loyalty between men transcends time and age.

Ji Yongzhou sobbed as he said, "My brother said a while ago that he had mastered unparalleled martial arts, and that he could catch flies with a flick of his chopsticks. Then he swatted a few flies, caught them with his chopsticks, and said that he had caught them himself."

He coaxed the children in the school, saying he'd close their eye sockets and feed them meat, and then... he stuffed flies into their mouths! Only after the children swallowed them did he say they were flies, which made the children so angry they went to the ash-filled circle and vomited up their bile!

"Heavenly God, I sent you to the school to study! But what you've done is practice your fly-catching skills!" Ji Manqing roared, his stick about to fall.

Ji Yongzhou raised his hand, trembling, and said, "There...there's more..."

"Hey, hey—" Ji Manchuan stopped Ji Manqing with one hand and said, "Yongzhou hasn't finished speaking yet. It's not too late to hit him after he finishes!"

Ji Manqing glared at Ji Yongning, then turned to Ji Yongzhou and said, "Anything else? Keep going, tell me everything at once!"

Ji Yongzhou glanced at Ji Yongning meekly, stammered a couple of times, and said, "And back in the summer, the bee pupae you roasted for us were brought to the school to eat. Then Zheng Xiding asked me what I ate. My brother said they were maggots that crawled out of the outhouse in the county town, and then all the kids in the school knew, including the adults in Zhangjiapan, who all knew that our family was so poor that we ate maggots every day!"

Ji Yongling found it both funny and speechless.

These dolls are really unconventional! So abstract and so funny?

"Are you done? Is there anything else?" Ji Manqing asked through gritted teeth, his face trembling.

Ji Yongzhou shivered, glanced cautiously at Ji Yongning, and said, "No...nothing!"

Hu Xirong reached out and twisted Ji Yongzhou's ear again, with even more force than before, causing Ji Yongzhou to howl like a pig being slaughtered in pain.

"My head may be cut off, my blood may flow, I would rather die than surrender!" Ji Yongzhou cried out in pain, clutching his ears, but he remained stubborn and refused to admit defeat.

Seeing that Hu Xirong was about to intensify her punishment, Jia Ronghua stepped forward and quickly pulled Hu Xirong away.

"Fourth Aunt, let go first and let the child talk properly! The child is in so much pain that she can't breathe, how can she talk! Children don't tell the truth the more you hit them."

When Hu Xirong saw Jia Ronghua trying to pull her away, she let go, glared at Ji Yongzhou, and roared, "Hmph! Keep talking!"

Seeing this, Ji Yongning raised his head, looking as if he were ready to die, and said, "Yongzhou, you say it! At worst, I'll just get a beating! After the beating, I'll be a hero again! I'm not afraid!"

Ji Yongzhou was instantly encouraged and nodded with emotion, his neck stiff with excitement as he said, "Actually, my brother didn't do too many bad things. A few days ago, we were picking castor beans, and the triangular grass in the ditch had fruited. They looked nice, so we picked them to play with."

But my sister Ling'er said this thing is called Aristolochia, and it's poisonous. Eating too much of it will damage your kidneys. And then...and then..."

Is it related to Ji Yongling?

Upon hearing Ji Yongzhou's words, Ji Manchuan and the others all looked at Ji Yongling.

Ji Yongling blinked her aggrieved eyes. This had nothing to do with her! This was slander, blatant slander!

She's too busy working in the fields to have any time to deal with these naughty kids causing trouble at school!

Although she did tell the children in the village that aristolochic acid has medicinal value, it is also highly toxic and contains aristolochic acid, a potent carcinogen, which can cause aristolochic acid nephropathy.

This type of kidney damage is difficult to detect in a short period of time, but by the time it is discovered, it is already too late.

In this day and age, if you damage your kidneys, there's really no hope of recovery!

She said that to prevent the children from picking and eating the food indiscriminately, which could lead to poisoning.

But how could Ji Yongning's affairs at the school be related to her?

She didn't know why, and she didn't dare to ask!

She's innocent!

"Go on!" Hu Xirong roared fiercely, making not only Ji Yongzhou tremble, but also the two little ones, Ji Yongru and Ji Yong'an, who were standing next to him.

"Then, there was a boy named Pengwa from Zhangjiapan in the school. Pengwa said that he had been coughing a lot lately, so his mother picked some aristolochic acid for him to eat, saying that this medicine could stop coughing and relieve asthma. As a result, my brother went around telling people that Pengwa's kidneys must have collapsed because of the aristolochic acid, and that his family would soon have a funeral."

"My brother even made a whole bunch of clay dolls of boys and girls and put them in Pengwa's desk, saying they'd be used to accompany Pengwa in his funeral! Pengwa was so scared that he cried every day and couldn't sleep at all, always feeling like he wouldn't live to see tomorrow!" Ji Yongzhou said with a pitiful look on his face.

"Ji Yongning! I'll skin you alive today!" Ji Manqing glared at Ji Yongning with eyes blazing with anger, gritting his teeth as he squeezed out the words.