As she was leaving the space, Yu Xiaolian checked the time with a watch; it was just past nine.
It's strange, the smartphone couldn't be used, yet the watch worked, and the food in the fridge hadn't thawed. Everything frozen stayed frozen, and even the ice cream was edible.
Yu Xiaolian thought she had been busy in the space for so long that Yu Changhe and Mrs. Sun should have finished their work, so she left the space.
Lying on the kang, Yu Xiaolian couldn't help but miss the nightlife of the city. How nice it would be to watch dramas and play games.
Sigh, people in ancient times went to bed too early!!!
The next morning, when Yu Xiaolian got up, she heard Mrs. Sun chatting with Yu Changhe, saying that Yu Zishu had left and gone to town, but Yu Ziyi didn't go with him. She also said that the only reason Yu Zishu came back was to get money.
Yu Xiaolian glanced outside. It was misty and hardly bright. She couldn't help but marvel that ancient people slept early and got up early.
The reason she woke up so early was because her stomach hurt badly. She figured that last night's dinner was too greasy, and her body, which hadn't touched oil for a long time, was upset.
Yu Xiaolian dressed, stepped into those small torn shoes, and ran to the toilet.
When she returned from the toilet, she saw Yu Changhe sitting on a wooden stool in the corner starting to weave baskets again. She was puzzled why Mrs. Sun hadn't made breakfast, then saw her stuffing something into her pillow. When Mrs. Sun saw her at the door, she was startled, but quickly calmed down and went to the backyard to cook.
Yu Xiaolian dragged the pillow over, reached in, and pulled out a small red triangular cloth pouch.
What is this? Yu Xiaolian was full of curiosity.
Even though Mrs. Sun sewed it very tightly, Yu Xiaolian's intense curiosity drove her to open it.
She pulled a red piece of talisman paper from the pouch. It was called talisman paper because it was covered in scribbles that looked like ghost symbols.
This... should be for warding off evil spirits, right?
Turns out Mrs. Sun had bought red paper in town to guard against her.
Mrs. Sun still felt uneasy about her presence, and thinking of this made Yu Xiaolian feel a bit hurt. She figured the only way to ease Mrs. Sun's mind was for her to have another child.
Remembering the special nature of Yu Xiaolian's blood in the book, she decided to secretly drip a few drops of blood into their daily meals, which might help Mrs. Sun conceive again.
After quickly stuffing the talisman paper and pouch back into the pillow, Yu Xiaolian planned to help Mrs. Sun in the backyard. As she walked out, she bumped into Mrs. Cao, who had a red silk flower in her hair, the one Yu Zishu had given her yesterday. Yu Xiaolian couldn't help but laugh as she saw Mrs. Cao, such an older woman, wearing a red flower thinking she looked splendid, when in fact, she looked out of place.
Seeing Yu Xiaolian look at her, Mrs. Cao seized the opportunity, "Make sure to tell your mother not to forget to fetch water later. You poor folks, I don't know when you'll be able to buy a water urn, always using ours for free, such nerve."
Yu Xiaolian ignored Mrs. Cao and went straight to the backyard. Upon seeing her, Mrs. Sun said, "Go and bring the leftover meat from yesterday, I want to heat it up."
Yu Xiaolian replied, then ran back to the house. She walked to the wooden box, picked up the basin of meat, and was about to leave when she suddenly stopped.
They usually ate porridge, and it wasn't practical to add blood to that. Thinking of this, Yu Xiaolian picked up Mrs. Sun's embroidery needle, gritted her teeth, pricked her finger, squeezed a few drops of blood into the meat, and moved the meat around to cover the blood.
Once she had done all this, she brought the meat to Mrs. Sun.
When Mrs. Sun finished cooking, and the family started eating, Yu Changhe said, "I've already woven twenty baskets. When you have time, sell them in town, okay?"
"Let's weave some more. When the autumn harvest comes, baskets will sell better. Now isn't the time to sell them, and the price won't be good either.
After breakfast, I'll go fetch water at the well, then find Mrs. Feng for work. Lian'er, wash the dishes!"
Mrs. Sun kept her head down as she drank her porridge. Seeing she wouldn't eat the meat, Yu Xiaolian voluntarily gave a piece to both her and Yu Changhe.
"It's hot, and the meat won't last. It's a shame to let it spoil, so let's eat it all up, okay?"
Mrs. Sun looked at the meat in her bowl but didn't refuse, yet she only ate one piece before putting down her chopsticks.
When everyone finished eating, there was still some meat left. Yu Xiaolian sighed. At Yu Laotai's, this food would've been gone in one meal for sure, without leftovers.
She couldn't help but appreciate Yu Changhe and Mrs. Sun's kindness. Why don't good people get rewarded?
This lifetime she was determined to change their unfortunate fate and ensure they all led good lives.
After washing the dishes, Yu Xiaolian picked up a bamboo basket, planning to head to the mountains. She needed to figure out a way to take those goji berries and other things to town to exchange for money.
As she was walking towards the mountains, Yu Xiaolian was racking her brain, thinking of a good excuse.
"Hey, Jiang Lin..." Yu Xiaolian looked up and saw Jiang Lin wandering at the foot of the mountain, so she called out to him.
Just as she was about to ask him if there were any goji trees in the mountains, she noticed Jiang Lin's exposed left hand was bright red, "What happened to your hand?"
Jiang Lin awkwardly withdrew his left hand and, seeing Yu Xiaolian with a basket, said, "Nothing much. Are you going to dig for wild herbs again?"
Yu Xiaolian nodded, "Are there any goji trees in the mountains nearby?"
"Goji berries?" Jiang Lin scratched his head, "The name sounds familiar, I just can't recall what it looks like right now. What does it look like?"
"It has long, thin leaves, covered with small red berries. The leaves are also an herb called Heavenly Essence Grass, its flowers are called Longevity Grass, and the red fruits are goji berries."
"Ah! I get it. You're talking about Digu Zi, right? No wonder it sounded familiar. Why do you city folks call it goji? Isn't it just Digu Zi? Why are you looking for Digu Zi? You're not using it for your father, are you?"
Jiang Lin seemed to understand, "I see, your mother can't conceive, and you want to replenish your father's energy, right? This indeed helps with exhaustion and vitality, your father eating some is fine.
However, Digu Zi like's sunlight, it doesn't grow in the woods. I know where it is, come with me."
Digu Zi is indeed another name for goji, as the root of goji is known as Digu Pi.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Lin really knew about it, saving a lot of effort, Yu Xiaolian happily followed Jiang Lin.
"Then do you know where gold and silver flowers are?"
Afraid Jiang Lin wouldn't know, Yu Xiaolian quickly added, "I mean honeysuckle."
"Honeysuckle and Qianghuo grow behind the forest on our mountain, don't they? Whenever we get cold, don't we boil them in water for treatment?"
Yu Xiaolian chuckled, "Then could you please take me to get some honeysuckle later? I want to dry it and sell it in town for some money."