Chapter 59: Scraping the Pine Needles
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Mother Zhen handed over the basket. “Sister-in-law, this is the mung bean cake made by my mother. Try it!”
“Thank you, Mother Zhen, but…” Madam Heng sighed and pulled Mother Zhen aside. “We went to West Mountain Village today. Heng Yi is engaged to the Han family. Mother Zhen, you didn’t see that. That vixen has bewitched Heng Yi.
He’s staying in her house and helping out.”
II II
Mother Zhen’s heart ached.
She couldn’t keep the smile on her face anymore. “Sister-in-law, since Heng Yi is engaged to someone else, don’t talk about him to me in the future. I don’t want to trouble him.”
“Sigh, we like you more, Mother Zhen!” Heng sister-in-law sighed.
…..
She then said, “however, Mother Zhen, don’t be discouraged. There might be another way.”
“Then does the Han family’s ex-husband’s family know that she’s engaged?” Mother Zhen said.
Big Sister-in-law Heng’s eyes instantly lit up.
That’s right, how could she forget about the Sun family?
If the Sun family stepped out and said that the Han family was promiscuous and colluded with Heng Yi, it would ruin the Han family’s reputation.
Everyone’s mouths were flickering. They didn’t believe that the two of them could still persist.
The Han family could still let the two of them be together.
“Mother Zhen is right. I’ll go and tell granny!”
Mother Zhen smiled. “Then I’ll go back first, Sister-in-law.”
“Alright, take care.”
Heng eldest sister-in-law sent Zhen Niang away and immediately went into the main house to talk to Heng old woman about this matter.
“This is feasible.”
Back then, Old Lady Sun had been harmed by Han Qiao, so she definitely hated Han Qiao.
With such a huge weakness, she did not believe that the Sun family would not be tempted.
Old Lady Sun was not tempted.
However, they had to discuss this matter. They couldn’t let others know that the Heng family had done it, in case Heng Yi made a scene.
“Old man, what do you think?” Old Woman Heng asked.
Old Man Heng was silent for a while before saying, “that’s possible!”
Taking advantage of the darkness, Old Man Heng sneaked out to Sun Ji’s grocery store.
The Sun Family also knew that Heng Yi had gone to the Han Family today to propose marriage.
Old Mrs. Sun had been scolding Han Qiao for the whole day, and her throat was hoarse. Sun Yixi didn’t say anything, but he hated Han Qiao in his heart.
If she hadn’t caused such a scene, the Sun family’s reputation wouldn’t have been ruined, and the grocery store’s business wouldn’t have plummeted.
Now, there was no business at all.
The newly opened grocery store was cheaper than Sun’s, so many customers went there.
The more he thought about it, the more he hated it.
When Old Man Heng came over, Sun Yixi hesitated for a moment, but still went to see him.
The two of them discussed for a while before Old Man Heng left, satisfied.
Sun Yixi looked at Old Man Heng’s back and spat.
In fact, everyone knew that Heng Yi and Han Qiao wouldn’t have had an affair.
However, this was the most direct way to ruin their reputation and make them unable to raise their heads in front of others.
August 3rd, Xishan Village, Han Qiao’s house
In the morning, Han Qiao got up and cooked breakfast. She boiled medicine for Heng Yi and changed his medicine.
Looking at the wound, Han Qiao’s heart tightened.
“After you take the medicine, have a good rest. I’ll bring Xiu and the others to dig some dry pine needles from behind the mountain to start the fire.”
“I’ve filled the teapot with water for you. If you’re thirsty, pour it yourself.”
Han Qiao told Heng Yi in a gentle voice.
Heng Yi nodded.
“I actually want to go with you guys.”
“It’s hot and humid in the mountains. You can’t sweat now. Rest well at home. When you recover, bring us into the mountains to take a look. Autumn is here. There are many good things in the mountains.” As Han Qiao spoke, she told the three children to prepare their backpacks and take the bamboo rake out.
Heng Yi was bored at home alone.
All these years, he had never had a good rest.
He thought he couldn’t sleep, but he soon fell asleep.
Han Qiao and her mother entered the back of the mountain and began to dig up the pine needles and put them into their backpacks.
This thing was light and very fast.
Sun Xiu and Sun Yi hadn’t done this kind of work before, but they had recently learned it from Han Qiao.
Children could endure hardships and were tough.
“Mother, are we still digging for herbs?” Sun Xiu asked.
“I dug it, but I have to wait until it’s a little cooler. We’ll go into the mountains in the morning to dig up pine needles and cut firewood. We’ll make wallets at home in the afternoon. When those wallets are ready and sold, we’ll have a sum of income.”
‘Til give you some money after I sell my purse. You can save it for yourself or buy things you like!”
The three sisters were delighted.
“Mother, can I buy anything?”
“Of course!”
On the way home with the dried pine needles on her back, Han Qiao looked at the West Mountain Village surrounded by mountains and pursed her lips.
It was still early when they returned home, so they went into the back mountain to dig again.
Then, he returned to the corner of the woodshed and piled it up high.
Han Qiao didn’t expect that Heng Yi had already filled the water tank and was boiling water in the kitchen. The water in the pot was already bubbling. It must have been boiling for a while.
Han Qiao stood at the door.
“You’re back. I thought you’d want hot water to wash up, so 1 boiled some water for you.”
“You’re injured, so you don’t have to do this. It won’t take long for us to boil water!”
Han Qiao reached out to support Heng Yi. “Go back to your room and lie down. Your wounds will heal slowly, and it won’t be worth it!”
She forcefully helped him back into the house and asked Heng Yi, “do you want to make noodles for lunch?”
“Good!”
Han Qiao turned around and returned to the kitchen.
The three children had already washed up and changed into clean clothes.
“Xiu, scoop some flour and noodles. We’ll have noodles for lunch.”
“Good!”
Sun Xiu kneaded the dough nimbly and did it very well.
Han Qiao fetched some water to wash her hair, bathe, and change into clean clothes.
Sun Yi immediately came over and carried it to the stream to wash the clothes.
“Mom, let’s go catch fish in the afternoon!”
“Alright, let’s go catch some fish in the afternoon. We’ll fry more small fish, and if there’s less, we’ll make fish soup.” Han Qiaowen smiled.
“Then do you want to make pumpkin buns? Pumpkin Mantou is delicious!” Sun Ke raised her head and asked.
…..
After raising her for these few days, the little girl had become much bolder.
They knew how to make requests.
“I’ll cook it after lunch. Then, I’ll cook some white rice porridge at night.”
“Alright, alright.”
Han Qiao smiled.
There was still too little food at home.
The mother and daughter split the work. Han Qiao fried the egg skin, then fried the bacon into pig fat residue and scooped it up together with the oil.
She sliced the pumpkin and stir-fried it. She poured in boiling water and simmered it for a while. Then, she put the cut surface down. After it was cooked, she sprinkled some green onions into the bowl. Then, she poured bacon oil and pig oil residue on it. The fragrance was so fragrant that the three children swallowed their saliva.
“Bring it over to eat.”
Heng Yi had a big appetite, so Han Qiao cooked more.
After finishing the pot of noodle soup, he was stuffed.
After lunch, they rested for a while. The weather was too hot, so they cut cloth in the central room.
“I’ve told Mother to help me find out if there are any puppies. Let’s raise two dogs.”
Sun Xiu, Sun Yi, and Sun Ke all looked at Han Qiao.
Their eyes were filled with hope and joy.
They really wanted to raise a small animal.
Heng Yi nodded. “You decide. If you like it, we can get another cat.”
“That’s fine too. If you raise a cat, it can catch mice.” Han Qiao said.
There were a lot of rats in the countryside, so it was good to have a cat..