Joyful Motherhood in a Rural Family - Chapter 29
Chapter 29: Chapter 27: Pine Forest Slope
When Liu Sisi returned home with the wooden basin, the originally clear sky suddenly started to rain. Fortunately, she ran fast, but her skirt hem still got wet.
She didn’t have time for anything else and hurried into the room to check on YingEr, who was still sound asleep.
Turning her head and walking out of the room, she was surprised to find Di Xuan hiding in the corner of the wall, using a wooden stick to write something on the ground.
“Xuan’er, what are you writing? Let mom have a look.”
“I won’t let you see!”
Di Xuan abruptly lifted his foot and quickly destroyed the drawings on the ground.
Although it was only a glimpse, Liu Sisi could vaguely recognize that the little guy had written the two characters “Di Xuan”!
“You want to learn how to write your name? I can teach you that!”
“You?”
Facing Di Xuan’s obviously incredulous expression, Liu Sisi couldn’t help but laugh!
After thinking for a moment, she went into the kitchen again, picked up a piece of charcoal, and neatly wrote the two characters “Di Xuan” on the ground. She secretly marveled at herself, thinking that she was lucky to have a strong interest in ancient Chinese during college, which had cost her a lot of time to study other courses. Otherwise, she might not be able to handle these traditional characters.
Di Xuan next to her was stunned at the complete and neat characters on the ground.
He looked at the words on the ground with his mouth wide open, then looked up at Liu Sisi, who had a calm face. Afterward, his eyes turned into little stars.
Although Di Xuan didn’t speak, he amused Liu Sisi! It didn’t matter if he didn’t speak, as long as he didn’t go against her!
She picked up the charcoal again and started writing and chanting on the ground, “Di YeLei! Di Ying! Have you remembered how I wrote it? Look, the strokes are written this way, a slant, a dot, a horizontal, a vertical… If you want to practice writing, you have to practice these simple strokes first. Only when you practice the strokes well, and make horizontals horizontal and verticals vertical, can you write characters well. Just like sharpening a knife does not waste time when chopping wood… Come! Take this charcoal and practice the strokes yourself!”
Looking at Di Xuan with his mouth open wide enough that it could fit a goose egg, Liu Sisi wanted to burst out laughing in her heart!
Little guy, I’m a college graduate of elementary school education after all, cough cough! Although I often skipped classes, didn’t pay attention during class, and barely passed exams with low scores… But as long as a child is willing to work hard, any teacher would love them!
After Liu Sisi had hung up her clothes on the eaves, she looked at the still incessant heavy rain, turned around to enter the kitchen, and cooked a pot of porridge, only to hear the sound of Di Ying waking up in the room.
“Mom, YingEr missed you.”
Just awakened YingEr was especially clingy, wrapping herself around Liu Sisi with her hands and feet, and refused to let go.
“YingEr, be good. Let mom put clothes on you.”
It took some effort to finally dress Di Ying and take her out of the room, only to find that Di Xuan was still focused in the corner, holding the charcoal in his hand, earnestly trying to imitate the strokes.
This is a good seedling indeed!
However, considering the heavy debt in their home and the high education gift required to send Di Xuan to school, it would be a significant problem!
After some thought, she wouldn’t mind teaching Di Xuan the basics if it were feasible, but she was afraid that her textbooks would differ too much from modern learning content. If that were the case, it would harm the child for a lifetime.
At dusk, Liu Sisi took out the wild pheasant and chopped it into small pieces to make soup. In addition, she cooked a plate of Manchurian wild rice she had picked and ate it with rice porridge, making her full.
She didn’t know when the rain stopped outside. Looking at the evening sky under the sunset, Liu Sisi’s thoughts wandered far. She thought of Di Yelei, her nominal husband, and wondered if he took shelter from the rain during the storm? Then she thought of that heavy debt…Liu Sisi couldn’t help but frown.
Right, with such rain and sun in the summertime, there should be a lot of wild mushrooms on the mountain!
Thinking of this, Liu Sisi smiled!
Early the next day, Liu Sisi had an early breakfast and took the two children up to the mountain.
Of course, she didn’t go to the deep mountains but to the pine forest slope. The slope had few trees and weeds, and the ground was covered with slippery moss, making it an ideal place for wild mushrooms to grow.
Liu Sisi carried a long bamboo stick, always hitting the bushes around her before taking a few steps. It wasn’t because she was timid, but because she couldn’t take the risk! Poisonous snakes and wasps were most frequent on the mountain at this time of year. If she got bitten, it would be disastrous!
Without going far, Liu Sisi picked some red mushrooms and put them in her basket.
As for edible wild mushrooms, red mushrooms, nameko, bamboo mushrooms, lime charcoal, saffron milk cap, moss fungus…Liu Sisi had picked a lot in her previous life in the countryside. Not only did she pick a lot, but she also ate more wild mushrooms! Of course, this was also thanks to her grandpa, who taught her how to pick them when she was a child.
Di Ying, squatting in the big basket on Liu Sisi’s back, couldn’t help but talk to her, “Mom, don’t be afraid! Dad has brought my brother and me here before! Mom, look ahead, there’s a Chinese toon tree there. Dad picked Chinese toon for us to eat just last month.”
Liu Sisi looked in the direction that Di Ying was pointing and saw the Chinese toon tree with its tender buds growing on it.
“YingEr, you really talk too much!”
Di Xuan, who was walking behind them, couldn’t help but scold his sister, who had clearly switched sides.
However, seeing Liu Sisi’s gaze, Di Xuan added with a sophisticated tone, “That tree…it’s so tall, better not pick it… ” As he spoke, he lowered his head, picked up the bamboo stick in his hand, and imitated Liu Sisi’s by hitting the nearby bushes.
“Alright, we won’t pick it. Let’s save it for your dad to pick when it grows more,” Liu Sisi agreed.
She mainly wanted to try picking mushrooms today to see if they could earn some money. As for the Chinese toon, it wouldn’t be a big deal to pick them another day!
It turned out that the good living environment and the recent thunderstorms in the afternoon benefited the growth of the mushrooms a lot. Liu Sisi quickly found several edible mushrooms. Every time she found one, she picked it and explained to Di Xuan which ones could be eaten and which ones couldn’t, the differences between them, and how to distinguish them. Regardless of whether Di Xuan was willing to listen, she would say it all at once.
Although Di Xuan, the awkward child, seemed not to listen attentively, his shining eyes betrayed him as he tried to distinguish the differences between the mushrooms.
“YingEr, has your father brought you all to these mountains and forests before?”
Di Yelei could bring the children here, indicating that at least the nearby area was safe and there would be no major wild beasts.
Di Ying nodded heavily, “Yes, mom, dad has brought my brother and me here many times, and also to the mountain top over there. Dad took us to see my mom… Oh, not you, mom, I mean my mom, not… YingEr is saying…”
“So, YingEr’s birth mother lies on that mountain?” With a casual comment, Liu Sisi solved the mystery, “YingEr, be a good girl. Although I am your mother, there is only one birth mother who gave birth to you, and she lies on that mountain. Remember that, okay?”
