Chapter 120:
Seeing her panic, Luo Zhi’er said, “Miaomiao, don’t be afraid, lift your foot and let it go!”
The sound of rushing water came from the mountain hollow, along with the young maid’s crisp voice like a lark mixed with a sobbing tone,
“But Mom, this frog has bumps on its body, but it’s so big and fat. Miaomiao is afraid that if she lifts her foot, it will slip away!”
Luo Zhi’er was amused yet helpless, “Silly girl, it’s not a frog, it’s a toad. If you step on it again, it will spray poisonous slime, and then you’ll get warts and won’t be pretty anymore!”
“Ah!”
Miaomiao quickly lifted her foot and even picked up a dry branch from the ground to shoo it away!
“Go, hurry up and go, toad, I didn’t mean to step on you, don’t spray poisonous slime on Miaomiao! Miaomiao doesn’t want to become ugly!”
Her little face was solemn and adorably silly. Seeing the toad kick its legs and jump into the grass, disappearing from sight.
When she smiled prettily with curved eyebrows and eyes, Luo Zhi’er felt her treasure was truly adorable!
This girl’s cheeks were getting rounder and rounder, she couldn’t help but sigh!
After this little interlude, Luo Zhi’er picked up the wooden bucket with a slightly heavy mood, and the mother and daughter walked one behind the other toward the depths of the gully!
Along the way, they caught a few crabs from the mud holes in the ditch, and also pulled out an old yellowish eel.
This scene stunned Li Ergou’s Wife who was following them. Ju Hua Shen hid in the bushes and secretly thought: “Frog?”
“What’s this Luo Zhi’er doing catching frogs for no reason? Could she really be starving? Eel, frog? Crab? Can those things be eaten?”
“Pah pah pah! Truly poor and sour, gone mad from hunger!”
If it was the wild game meat that Li Sanmao hunted, that was delicious, and she truly had nothing to say.
She, Yang Juhua, looked down on these little things. The crab shells had those two hard pincers that could wear out teeth, and there was barely any meat inside, not to mention the eel.
That thing was slippery like a snake, so long when she pulled it out earlier, it scared her to death, who would dare eat that?
A snake bite could take a life, don’t poison her to death.
Bullfrog? She also thought of the toad, that thing croaks and jumps around in the paddy field every year, laying eggs, can it be eaten?
Tsk! Tsk! She saw that Luo Zhi’er and her daughter were really starving mad! No matter how poor her family was, they never ate such terrifying things.
She couldn’t help but shiver all over!!!
But earlier Li Erdan had her break corn cobs, she was truly jealous beyond measure.
Luo Zhi’er was so proud as not to eat or break them, sigh, why didn’t anyone let her break corn cobs for free?
This Li Erdan was also a ghostly mill-pusher, usually always picking on her, never giving her a good look!
Miaomiao had indeed gained some weight recently, looking closely, she was fair and clean, fatter by five or six pounds than two months ago!
Seeing the mother and daughter walk far away, Ju Hua Shen cursed Li Erdan for being stingy in her heart while tailing Luo Zhi’er and her daughter, quickly scheming little thoughts.
Luo Zhi’er and Miaomiao walked for about a quarter of an hour to that cornfield, observing, Uncle Erdan’s corn was indeed growing well.
The corn cobs could be broken off and taken home to dry in a while, and radish seeds were densely scattered in the field, but the radishes weren’t growing well, with leaves eaten by bugs.
The red-skinned radishes exposed in the soil weren’t big!
These little radishes, besides feeding pigs, making pickled radish or sweet radish strips, were also quite tasty!
Radish leaves could be used to make sour vegetable dish. People here were a bit like modern northerners, usually making pickled mustard greens for a treat, and it could stimulate appetite when short of food!
Just like Zhou Shi, to save grain, one meal pickled mustard greens, the next also couldn’t do without pickled mustard greens!
The other side of the cornfield also had Chinese cabbage planted.
Luo Zhi’er led Miaomiao carefully shuttling through the field, afraid of stepping on the radishes, thinking maybe she should also plant some radishes, make radish jerky, preserved mustard tuber, and sell them!
Or plant garlic to make sweet garlic to sell?
It wasn’t impossible, she shook her head, anyway, her mind was full of money-making ideas.
“Mom, come quick, there’s one under this radish leaf!”
“Miaomiao, be good! Mom is coming!”
The big and small figures bustled through the field, the mother and daughter catching until noon.
Roughly caught thirty or forty frogs, almost half a bucket!
After catching enough in the field, she led Miaomiao deeper inside.
Inside was almost at the foot of the mountain, going in was a forest, where the outside couldn’t be seen.
When the two figures disappeared into the depths of the dense forest,
Li Ergou’s Wife hurriedly ran into Li Erdan’s house cornfield and randomly broke a bunch, picking the biggest ones, breaking over a hundred at once.
Because she came in a hurry in the morning and didn’t bring belongings, she could only take off her outer clothing to wrap them up, pick them up, and hurriedly leave the field.
Like something was chasing her from behind, she crazily took the shortcut, running toward home on the small path no one usually took!
When Luo Zhi’er and her daughter returned, they didn’t notice the situation in the cornfield. Ju Hua wasn’t stupid, she broke them deep in the corn grove, so it couldn’t be seen from the road outside.
When they reached the village, everyone was already having lunch!
Because the gully they went to was called Tuqiao Gully, they had to pass by Zheng Da Niang, Li Daniu’s house in front of the village.
These families were having lunch, some villagers liked to carry their rice bowls to the roadside to chat gossip.
Li Daniu saw her carrying the wooden bucket passing by with Miaomiao, and he greeted her with a silly smile, his wooden expression seeming to carry a hint of shyness!
Luo Zhi’er felt it strange, suppressed the slight displeasure in her chest, slightly tugged the corner of her mouth, and nodded slightly to him.
Li Erniu limped in the yard drooling, seeing Miaomiao wearing a pink floral skirt with flower bags tied on her head, he grinned silly.
He bared a mouth of missing front tooth big yellow teeth at Miaomiao, still stained black,
“Hey! Flo, flower girl.”
As he spoke, he prepared to walk toward Miaomiao, with a gap in his front teeth, not knowing where he fell!
Before finishing his words, he buried his head in the bowl and took a bite of corn paste, his face smeared all over.
Scared Miaomiao kept hiding behind her. “Mom, Miaomiao is scared!”
Luo Zhi’er touched her head, blocking her. “Don’t be afraid, he’s just like that weird-looking.”
Looking into the main hall, it was dark inside, behind the main hall door frame, a person was lying stiffly on the ground.
Face covered in black grime, clothes black too, whole body crusted over, she was hissing, sounding like a woman!
Luo Zhi’er had an idea, this was probably Li Daniu’s Mother’s daughter!
The hissing sound was extremely terrifying, like something vomiting, wailing! Occasionally shrill screams!
Probably wanted to say something but couldn’t, mouth blocked! Eyes bulging red!
“Coming, coming, what’s the rush? Oh my! What sin has this old woman committed, encountering you life-taking ghosts? Eat, truly starving ghosts reborn in the wrong body!”
Just went to find the runaway Li Erniu back, now the third child was hungry and calling loudly!
“Truly some debt-collecting ghosts!”
Li Daniu’s Mother came from the kitchen, trying to hand the bowl of meal in her hand to the person on the ground.
But that woman’s palms were hard like chicken claws, couldn’t hold it properly, anxious dry cries!
Drool flowed from the corner of her mouth all over the ground!
“Alright, Mom knows, I’ll feed you. Heavens! Why doesn’t this old woman die! Old lady bustled all morning without a sip of water!”
“Sigh, when can Daniu bring back a wife for me, let me relax a bit!”
“Third Child! Didn’t Mom tell you before going out? Stay in the backyard, why crawl to the front room?”
If seen by neighbors, how bad! Probably gossip about her behind her back again!
Say she’s disturbing everyone! Humph! These people just bully her as a widow with orphans!
As she spoke, she reproachfully glanced at the family’s only pillar Li Daniu outside the door, hating iron for not becoming steel!
“Good-for-nothing rice-eater, grew such a big body for nothing! Hurry and find an daughter-in-law for old lady, so I can enjoy a couple days of fortune!”
Raising her eyes, she saw Luo Zhi’er and her daughter passing by, a hint of longing suddenly in her eyes.
“Hehe, San Mao’s Wife!”
“Yo! How did you come to our house? Come on then, why carry things?”
Li Daniu’s mother sized her up a few times, immediately raised her voice, ran out to greet her! As if afraid the surrounding neighbors wouldn’t hear.
Luo Zhi’er frowned, also raised her voice gruffly, “Hehe, Li Daniu’s Mother just having lunch? Um, you might have misunderstood, Miaomiao and I are just passing by.”
Li Daniu’s Mother showed a trace of displeasure, snorted coldly, “Is that so? I thought you carried things to thank our Daniu?”
“After all, our Daniu saved you from the river last time and carried you back, turns out not?”
“Li Daniu’s Mother, Daniu saved me, I’m very grateful, but although I was drowning then, I was still somewhat conscious, it wasn’t Daniu who carried me back, it was villagers who carried me back!”
“Thanking is proper, after all Daniu helped me a lot, but you know my family had some issues recently, when Sanmao returns, I’ll definitely have him come thank you!”
“Today I have things to do, so Miaomiao and I will go first!”
Luo Zhi’er hurriedly pulled Miaomiao and ran off like escaping!
Humph! Return? Your man is in jail, can return a ghost! Look at that manner, still disdain her family’s Daniu?
In this situation, look at her fat and clumsy look, if she could be Daniu’s wife, give her family a few boys to continue the line, that would be her burning incense!
“Hehe! Daniu’s Mother lost big face, right? You wanted her to bring gifts to thank you, bet you got the cold shoulder!”
Her thoughts were interrupted by Zheng Da Niang who was holding a rice bowl nearby watching the fun.
Zheng Da Niang teased!
“Heh! Surnamed Zheng, what do you mean, look down on this old woman, huh? Dare to mock me?”
“Oh, calm down, I didn’t mean that, just casual talk, alright, I’m off to feed the pigs!”
Zheng Da Niang didn’t say more to her, this Li old woman wasn’t a good person anyway.
Her family like that should be pitied, but the pitiful must have detestable traits, being neighbors for so many years, didn’t she know her?
Always wanting to take small advantages, this time exactly wanting to empty-handed wolf, ruin San Mao’s Wife’s reputation and pick up a wife for free?
Li Daniu’s Mother saw Zheng Da Niang turn back to her yard without paying her any mind, carrying the pig feed basin to feed the pigs,
“Having a couple silvers makes you great, can’t afford to raise a pig? Ass up to the sky! Tomorrow I’ll have Daniu sell those acorns at home and buy a piglet!”
So angry her heart kept feeling uncomfortable, sour water rising from her stomach.
