Chapter 16: Cutting Grass
“Woof, woof, woof.”
“Croak, croak.”
There were dogs barking in the village.
There were old frogs croaking.
It wasn’t lively; instead, it made one feel a sense of tranquility.
The mountain village at night was very dark.
Occasionally there were sparks of light, but they were faint, flickering on and off.
The village lights seemed less bright than the fireflies before them.
There were no streetlights at this time.
Ordinary families wouldn’t keep candles lit either; it was a waste.
Fortunately, the sky after the rain was very clean; the clouds had all been washed away by the heavy downpour.
The moon hung obediently in the sky.
It wasn’t quite full, but it was close.
It was Jiang Mianmian’s first time staying outside the courtyard at night.
Actually, their courtyard didn’t have high walls; it was just a low wall surrounding it, with a gap in one place, making it easy to climb in.
This tree happened to be planted right by the corner where the gap was, giving a feeling of filling in the wall.
Under the big tree.
Mother brought over another stone stool.
Around the stone stool, a few small stools were placed.
There were also bamboo chairs.
Elder brother Jiang Feng lay on a bamboo chair.
Jiang Yu poured water for everyone.
It was warm water, without any herbs added.
Dinner had already been bitter enough; plain water was just fine.
The cups were also made of bamboo tubes, very natural.
Father was also sitting on a small stool drinking water.
Mother was holding her.
Except for her elder brother, everyone else sat on small stools, and Father seemed particularly tall and handsome.
Especially when the night breeze blew the ends of Father’s long hair, he looked even better.
Jiang Mianmian looked at Father, then stared curiously toward the village again; relying on the moonlight, she could still vaguely see some houses.
The village was shaped like a basin, with a fairly large residence in the very center, several buildings connected together.
The other houses were sparse, scattered here and there.
Some were just small thatched huts; she didn’t know if they were for living in or just temporarily built.
Their house was in a relatively high position, and there were houses not far away, but they weren’t connected in a cluster.
Over there, there were several houses concentrated together, while their house was on its own.
A tree was planted at the entrance, and it seemed as if the territory had expanded, occupying more space, giving a feeling of inexplicable happiness.
The midsummer night, even after the rain, was warm.
Under the big tree, there were occasional flying insects, and mosquitoes too.
Jiang Yu diligently lit a bundle of mugwort powder. There was a faint scent of mugwort in the air; mosquitoes were still there, but they didn’t seem to bite.
Big brother Jiang Feng wasn’t idle while lying down; he was peeling the skin off those little red fruits.
Father had just had them boil the fruit in a pot once before fishing it out.
At this moment, everyone was gathered around the stone stool, manually peeling them.
“This is so bitter and astringent, what can it be used to make?” Jiang Feng asked while peeling.
“I told you not to go out fooling around and to come help me, but you wouldn’t. This is a Red Crow Fruit; the fruit looks like the beak of a red-beaked crow. The skin is bitter and astringent, but the seeds can be used as medicine to treat spleen deficiency and stagnation, and the flesh is sweet and can promote urination and clear stranguria,” Father said slowly while working.
This was the first time Jiang Mianmian felt that her Father was actually quite well-educated.
This was in the realm of Traditional Chinese Medicine, right? She didn’t really understand it.
In ancient times, channels for acquiring knowledge were limited; being able to know all this just by looking at a fruit was not easy.
However, when it came to working efficiently, one had to look to Mother.
In the time it took Father to peel one fruit, Mother could peel five.
Elder sister Jiang Yu could peel three.
Big brother, even without trying hard, could peel two.
Jiang Mianmian… couldn’t even handle one.
She had a fruit in her hand, and fearing it would drop, she gripped it tightly and waved her arms.
As a result, she gripped it too hard, and with a splat, it crushed. Fruit juice splattered everywhere.
She still couldn’t resist her curiosity and brought her hand to her mouth to lick it.
“Wahhh!” A loud cry rang out.
Where was the sweetness? It was so bitter, so bitter! It was more than just astringent; it was a mix of all sorts of flavors. It was so bitter that her liver hurt, her stomach hurt, her little feet hurt…
Seeing her younger sister like this, Jiang Yu, who had been making a bitter face all night, finally couldn’t help but laugh. She laughed heartily. The others couldn’t help but laugh too.
Stars shifted and time passed, the wind blew and the grass swayed.
The mugwort ash was blown away.
A new day.
Big brother, with a diaper tied on his head, actually still had to go out, and he left very early; before dawn, he took that bundle and left.
Father also left for work before dawn. The Father and son left together.
Early in the morning, elder sister Jiang Yu carried her on her back and stood under the big tree, watching the elder brother and Father leave. They stood there for quite a while.
Jiang Mianmian rested her head on her elder sister’s shoulder and watched for quite a while too.
The figures of her elder brother and Father gradually grew smaller and disappeared.
Her sister still wouldn’t go back into the house.
She didn’t know if her elder sister was reluctant to part with Father and Big brother, or if she was reluctant to part with that bundle of clothes and embroidered shoes.
The morning wind was quite strong.
It blew her sister’s hair into a mess.
It brushed against Jiang Mianmian’s face, making it very itchy. So, she boldly peed.
Jiang Yu felt a wave of warmth and wetness on her back and hurriedly ran into the house.
“Mother, Mother…”
Jiang Mianmian took the opportunity to produce a healthy poop. She had another feeding of milk.
Mother intended to put her into her designated wooden basin.
But just as she was being lowered, Jiang Mianmian saw a big ant poking its head out at the bottom of the wooden basin, and its head was even bigger… Wuwu ┭┮﹏┭┮
She grabbed Mother’s clothes with all her might.
Mother let go completely, but she actually grabbed onto Mother’s clothes and hung onto her, refusing to get into the wooden basin.
Who could understand? Being scared to death by a pet she raised herself…
Qin Luoxia had no choice; she thought that because she had left home yesterday, Mianmian was more clingy today, so she simply carried her on her back.
She wanted to go deeper into the mountains today to see if she could hunt something.
Ah Feng had bled so much from his forehead, and that girl Xiao Yu, her ankle was rubbed raw, but she didn’t utter a sound.
If she hadn’t gotten up in the night to check on her daughter and cover her with a quilt, she wouldn’t have discovered it at all; a piece of flesh had been rubbed right off.
Those embroidered shoes were already small, and they were made specifically according to Jiang Wan’s small feet, using a mold; wearing them by force definitely wouldn’t do.
You are what you eat, and to heal like with like, flesh and blood must be replenished with flesh and blood.
Qin Luoxia waited until her husband and Ah Feng had left before pulling a spearhead out from under the bed.
It was covered in rust and hadn’t been used for a long time.
She placed the spearhead on the stone slab in the courtyard to sharpen it.
“Swish, swish, swish…” “Hwoh, hwoh, hwoh…”
Iron and stone collided, making sounds.
Mother always had a sense of strength and rhythm when she worked.
Even when sharpening a spear, the rhythm was perfect, making Jiang Mianmian on her back feel a bit sleepy.
She was a bit curious about what Mother’s maiden family did.
The rusty spearhead was quickly sharpened in Qin Luoxia’s hands, emitting a faint, eerie glow.
Jiang Yu squatted in front of Mother, helping by adding water from time to time.
She knew that Mother was going hunting behind Father’s back.
Elder brother Jiang Feng would be scolded by Father if he went hunting, as Father thought it was dangerous.
“Mother, can I go into the mountains with you?”
“No, you stay home and take care of the baby.” Qin Luoxia refused flatly.
“The mountains are dangerous; if something happens, I won’t be able to look after you.”
A young girl of this age was still a bit rebellious; the more Mother forbade it, the more Jiang Yu wanted to go.
Jiang Mianmian watched her elder sister still puffing out her cheeks and muttering.
Then she heard Mother say:
“Girls are considered beautiful with small feet; you’ve already developed big feet from working with me, and if you go mountain climbing again, your feet will not only be big but also thick, and it won’t be easy to find a suitor in the future.”
Jiang Yu shrank her feet back.
She said unconvinced, “But didn’t Mother also marry Father?” However, she didn’t mention going to the mountains again.
Jiang Mianmian felt that Mother was truly quite formidable; she looked sturdy and strong, but she was very good at grasping the key points when speaking.
Qin Luoxia finished sharpening the spearhead, put it into the basket, and prepared to attach the spear and spearhead together once she went into the mountains.
Jiang Mianmian had another feeding in Mother’s arms before reluctantly switching to her elder sister’s embrace.
She watched Mother button up her clothes, nimbly put on her basket, and walk out the door holding the spear shaft.
As soon as she stepped out the door, Mother ran into some villagers, and they greeted each other.
“Sister-in-law Luo Xia, going to work?”
Mother waved the stick in her hand and said, “Nothing to do, just going to cut some grass.”
