Jiang Mianmian had a headache from his nagging but could only agree, "Fine, fine, stop nagging. I’ll draw it for you when I have a moment."
"Oh, great, thank you, Jiang Mianmian. I’ll go and get my comic book right away," Wang Li said and, leaving his homework behind, dashed home at full speed.
Finally enjoying some peace and quiet, Jiang Mianmian breathed a sigh of relief. She saw Li Lan sitting there, concentrating on her homework, and she, too, immersed herself in designing the drawing.
After having drawn for most of the day, Jiang Mianmian finally finished three design drafts. She had just stretched and was about to take a break when she saw Wang Li with his comic book, blinking expectantly at her.
Jiang Mianmian sighed and stretched out her hand, "Give it here, I’ll draw it for you now."
"That’s great, thank you for drawing this," Wang Li said, pointing at the impressive Sun Wukong causing havoc in the heavenly palace depicted in the comic.
After finishing the drawing for Wang Li, Jiang Mianmian even used colored pencils to quickly add some color, which made the kid’s eyes shine.
Wang Li, holding the freshly drawn Sun Wukong, was so enamored with it he couldn’t put it down, and he began to view Jiang Mianmian much more favorably.
Imitating what he had seen on television, he thumped his chest with his fists, making a loud thudding sound, "Mianmian, I’ve got your back at school from now on. If anyone dares to bully you, I’ll go beat them up!"
Jiang Mianmian didn’t even look up, "Oh, I’ll thank you for that then."
After finishing ten sets of design drawings, she went to the post office and mailed the thick stack of designs to Capital City.
On Sunday, since the weather had been very clear that week, Jiang Changhai got up early just past four in the morning.
"Hm? Brother Hai, are you leaving already?" Su Wanyu, barely awake, noticed the movement next to her and asked groggily.
"Yeah, it’s fine, you keep sleeping. I might be back late, don’t wait for me for dinner," Jiang Changhai patted Su Wanyu and said gently.
"Okay, take all your things and be safe," Su Wanyu told him, still concerned.
Jiang Changhai got dressed, slung his military bag over his shoulder, and packed it with the dozen large buns he had bought the day before, three bottles of soda, and a military water flask filled with water before heading to Stone Bridge Village.
By the time Jiang Changhai reached the foot of the mountain, dawn was just breaking. From a distance, he saw two figures loitering at the foot of the mountain. By their stature, they looked like it could be his second and third brothers.
"Big brother, is that you?" Jiang Changtao called out in a hushed voice upon seeing the approacher.
"It’s me," Jiang Changhai walked over briskly, taking out what was in his pocket and handing it to them.
"You haven’t had breakfast yet, have you? Let’s eat something first; we need a full belly for good work," Jiang Changhai whispered.
"Thank you, big brother." The two took the buns and started eating heartily.
The three brothers, after eating their fill at the foot of the mountain, took up the sticks and hunting rifle that Jiang Changhe had brought and entered the mountain.
"Second brother, did Zhaodi mention where exactly the old ginseng is?" Jiang Changtao explored the path ahead with the stick in his hand, asking.
Jiang Changhe answered in a muffled voice, "No, Zhaodi only mentioned that the mountainside to the north has ginseng, but he didn’t specify the location."
After all, Immortal busied himself all day; he couldn’t be too detailed.
Unsatisfied with the answer, Jiang Changtao complained, "Couldn’t you have made Zhaodi clarify a bit more? The northern side is so vast, how long will it take us to find it!"
Jiang Changhai, however, was unhurried, "Laosan, don’t be too greedy. The ginseng isn’t going anywhere on the mountain; we can take our time searching. Immortal can’t spoon-feed you directly into your mouth either."
Jiang Changtao closed his mouth. Since he was a child, he felt a bit intimidated by his eldest brother, and it had turned into reverence over time.