country bumpkin

Xiang Hong arrived at 2 PM. Xiang Yang didn't come with her; he stayed home with his grandmother to feed the rabbits.

A few days ago, his grandfather caught a little rabbit in the field, and they kept it to raise for the child to play with.

When Xiang Hong arrived, she brought a bunch of sweet potato vines. She arrived at Yun Ya's house and called out as soon as she entered the yard, "Yun Ya, I'm here! I brought you something fun."

Hearing her shout, Yunya quickly ran out. When she arrived in the yard, she saw Xiang Hong carrying a large bunch of sweet potato vines.

Yun Ya asked suspiciously, "Xiang Hong, why did you bring so many sweet potato vines? Are they for feeding the sheep and pigs?"

Xiang Hong nodded and then shook her head, saying, "This sweet potato vine can be used as a toy for now. We can feed it to the sheep and pigs later when we're done playing with it."

Yunya then asked, "How do you play this?"

Xiang Hong stopped being mysterious and said directly, "It's about making handmade necklaces from the leaf stalks of sweet potato vines."

This time, Yunya understood what she meant and said, "Great! How come I didn't think of playing this? My older sister and younger sister have definitely never seen this kind of game before."

Xiang Hongcai suddenly remembered that she had seen two girls following them when she arrived this morning.

Yunya also remembered that she hadn't introduced her sisters and Xiang Hong yet!

Yun Ya pulled Xiang Hong to the living room. The two girls were still watching TV in the living room. Yun Ya brought Xiang Hong over to them and began to introduce them.

"Sister, this is my friend Nie Xianghong." She then looked at Nie Xianghong and said, "Xianghong, this is my sister, Sun Limei."

Sun Limei smiled at her and said, "Hello, Xiang Hong."

Xiang Hong looked at the older and heavier woman in front of her and replied, "Hello, Sister Limei."

The two exchanged a smile, which marked the beginning of their acquaintance.

Yun Ya then approached Zhang Haiyan and said, "Haiyan, this is my friend Nie Xianghong."

Zhang Haiyan opened her small mouth, revealing her little tiger teeth, and called out, "Hello, Sister Xiang Hong."

Nie Xianghong nodded and said, "Hello, Haiyan."

She was about the same age as Yunya, but older than Haiyan, so she could be called "little sister" like Yunya, or by her name.

At this moment, Sun Limei noticed what they were holding and asked, "What kind of plant is this? What are you going to do with it?"

Yunya then explained, "Sister, these are sweet potato vines. The leaves can be used to make soup, the thin stems can be cooked with crushed soybeans, and the remaining thick stems can be used to feed pigs or sheep."

Sun Limei exclaimed, "Wow, these are all treasures!"

Yun Ya nodded. "Yes, the stems and leaves are very easy to grow. They can live if you stick them in the soil or soak them in water. And when the roots produce fruit, they become sweet potatoes, which are edible."

Sun Limei said shyly, "I have eaten sweet potatoes, but I have never seen what its stems and leaves look like. Now I have seen them."

Xiang Hong also spoke up, "Yun Ya, let's start playing!"

Yunya happily exclaimed, "Okay! Okay!"

Xiang Hong placed the seedlings on the table, and Yun Ya and she began to pull the leaf stalks down from the large stems.

Then the two of them skillfully began to fold the thin stems, left and right, and soon a chain gradually took shape.

It looks like a necklace, and the leaves on top weren't twisted off; they were left as decorative flower patterns.

Yunya put a necklace with leaves around her neck; it felt cool and comfortable.

She tied a knot at the back of her neck so the "necklace" wouldn't fall off.

She folded another earring and hung it on her ear, smiling as she showed it to her sister, asking, "How is it? Does my new necklace look good?"

Sun Limei and Zhang Haiyan found it novel and stopped watching TV, joining the group to learn how to make "necklaces".

Mu Shuyun had already gotten up. Seeing the children having fun, she didn't disturb them and went to do her housework.

Yunya cut down all the thin stems and used the remaining thick stems to feed the sheep.

After learning for a while, Zhang Haiyan braided a very ugly "necklace" and put it on her ears. A cool sensation seeped into her flesh through her skin, and she squinted her eyes comfortably.

"Wow, it's so cool! It would be even more fun in the summer."

Xiang Hong smiled at her, while Yun Ya said, "It's too hot in summer. We'll warm up after a while. It's more fun now."

Sun Limei didn't say anything, she just focused on making her "necklace" and "earrings".

Once it was finished, I couldn't wait to put it on, and the feeling was truly unique.

She had never played with these things in the city before, and her family also owned farmland.

However, they only grow wheat and corn, and no one grows sweet potatoes or peanuts, so I really liked it when I first came across these things.

Xiang Hong already had three "necklaces" on her neck and two pairs of "earrings" on her ears. Yun Ya made a chain in half, leaving the other half as a thin stem, and stuck it into her braid, saying, "This is my hairpin, like an ancient young lady, holding the tassels and letting them dangle down."

Sun Limei couldn't stop laughing at her silly expression. Xiang Hong also pointed at her and laughed nonstop.

Zhang Haiyan didn't find it funny, but seeing everyone else laughing, she also started laughing along.

Yun Ya cleverly folded another crown, put it on her head, and said, "This is a crown. Ancient emperors all had tassels hanging from their eyebrows, which would swing back and forth when they walked."

Xiang Hong made another bracelet, picked off the leaves from it, and wore it on her wrist; it really looked quite presentable.

Sun Limei thought for a moment, then braided a small one and wore it on her middle finger, saying, "Look, my handmade ring."

Yun Ya praised without reservation, "Sister, your idea is really unique."

She also made a ring to wear on her hand, just like her sister did.

At this moment, Yun Ya's head, ears, forehead, neck, wrists, and fingers are all adorned with decorations.

She walked slowly, mimicking the manner of emperors on television, and said, "My dear minister... rise..."

The three people inside burst into laughter again.

Mu Shuyun finished her work and went into the house to see what the children were laughing about. She saw that Yunya was covered in "decorations".

She said, "Yunya, isn't it heavy and cold to wear so many?"

Yunya slowly shook her head: "It's okay, Grandma, it's not heavy at all, it's a lot of fun."

Mu Shuyun was both amused and exasperated; these kids really knew how to have fun.

Just then, Caixia's voice rang out from outside. She hurried into the living room and found Xiang Hong there as well. She greeted everyone and joined in.

While folding a handmade "necklace," she asked, "How long have you been playing? Why didn't you call me so we could play together?"

Yunya glanced at the clock on the wall and said, "It's been half an hour. Xiang Hong arrived at 2 o'clock."

Caixia said, "Oh, I see. I just woke up and came to play with you guys as soon as I woke up."

Xiang Hong smiled at her: "Haha, I knew you would take a nap and not wake up until after 2 o'clock."

Caixia asked, puzzled, "How did you know how long I slept?"

Xiang Hong smiled mysteriously: "Because I went to see you at 2 a.m. last Sunday, and you were still half asleep."

The girls all looked at Caixia at the same time and burst into laughter again.

Laughter echoed continuously from inside and outside the house and in the courtyard...