Chapter 6: Chapter 6: Planting Trees_1

Translator: 549690339

Yingbao closed her eyes and pretended to sleep, quietly listening to her parents’ whispers.

In the end, her parents underestimated the shamelessness of Chen Changping and his wife.

They didn’t need any dignity, as long as they could achieve their goals.

She descended into the depths of her consciousness, and Yingbao carefully observed the red birthmark on her wrist.

How to remove it without leaving a scar?

As long as the birthmark on her wrist disappeared, no one could prove that she was a child of the Chen Family.

Yingbao squatted by the pool, soaking and scrubbing her arm repeatedly in the icy cold water. She scraped some of the Five Dingzhi juice from the stone wall and applied it onto her wrist, unwilling to give up.

She wanted to try and see if the birthmark could be scrubbed off.

In the story, it mentioned that the Spiritual Spring could wash away impurities and eliminate bodily bruises.

She didn’t know if this water was Spiritual Spring, and whether Five Dingzhi was a treasure, but how would she know if she didn’t try?

…

Four months passed in a blink of an eye.

Yingbao was one year and three months old.

After tireless efforts, she was not only able to run and jump, but her language skills had greatly improved.

Now in the height of summer, she was wearing a sweatshirt and shorts sewn by her mother. Her wrists wrapped in cloth, she was in the corner of the yard, wielding a small shovel to dig a hole, ready to transplant saplings.

The apple seeds in the soil of the cave dwelling had germinated, but unfortunately, the seedlings only grew to the height of chopsticks before they stopped growing. Without a choice, Yingbao decided to transplant them outdoors, planting them at the northwest corner of the yard.

This was their vegetable plot at home. The soil was loose and fertile, suitable for young plants to grow.

“Yingbao, what are you planting?”

With a big belly, Xu Chunniang walked over slowly. Her face was glowing and full, and she looked even more beautiful and tranquil than before.

She was seven months pregnant but looked as if she was already full-term. It was quite difficult for her to move around.

Yingbao planted the sapling, patted some earth over it, then beamed, answering, “Apple tree.”

Xu Family was curious, “Where did Yingbao get an apple tree?”

“From a seed.” Yingbao didn’t hide it. “The apple that Dad gave. There were seeds in it.”

“Really?” Xu Chunniang was surprised.

Apples were rare here. They were only sold in the county town, and in small quantities. They were exotic items brought over by merchant convoys and often bought up by the wealthy as soon as they appeared.

Sister Jiang Yunniang’s family, who ran a business in the county town, had easier access to foreign merchant convoys, so they could bring some home to their parents.

“When did Yingbao plant it?” Chunniang was somewhat incredulous.

She thought her little girl was just playing in the mud in and around the yard every day.

Yingbao stood up. “In the spring.” Then she ran towards the kitchen to get water for irrigation.

Of course, she wasn’t lifting water from the well, but secretly taking it from the cave dwelling when she appeared to be in the kitchen.

“Baobao, you can’t use well water to water the plants. You have to expose it to the sun first,” suggested Xu Chunniang, as a farmer, aware that well water could harm the seedlings.

Yingbao blinked, hesitated for a while, then placed the water scoop on the ground.

Her mother’s words made sense.

Perhaps the reason the seedlings in the cave did not grow was due to the water not being exposed to sunlight.

Seeing how cute her little girl was, Chunniang couldn’t help but touch her head, speaking softly, “When Dad comes back, let’s have him carry river water specifically for watering your trees.”

Chunniang didn’t really have high hopes for Yingbao’s apple tree sapling. After all, no one had seen such a thing before, and fruit seedlings needed to be pruned and grafted by people who understood them before they could bear fruit. Otherwise, even if they grew up, it would be in vain.

Of course, she wouldn’t say these things to disappoint her daughter. All children have their beautiful dreams, right?

At noon in the summer, the heat was extraordinary. The sun baked the earth, and it was scorching hot, as if it could peel off layers of skin.

In the soybean field, Jiang Sanlang was wearing a straw hat, sweating profusely as he weeded with his hoe, finally finishing a plot of land.

Looking up at the high sun and feeling his stomach already singing the song of emptiness, he wiped off his sweat, bent down to pick up the empty water jar, and rushed home with his hoe on his shoulder.

On the way home, he ran into neighbor Uncle Wang and Aunt Wang, greeting them, “Uncle, are you also weeding?”

“Uh-huh.” Uncle Wang, around four decades old, was a bit deaf. He was tall and thin, with a serious hunchback due to years of hard work.

Aunt Wang, on the other hand, was robust and had a quick tongue. Seeing Jiang Sanlang, she asked with a smile, “Sanlang, when is your wife due?”

Jiang Sanlang scratched his head, “It’s still early.”

The midwife told him that his wife’s due date was at the beginning of October, but early delivery wasn’t out of the question.

So, Jiang Sanlang didn’t want to tell others about his family affairs, especially someone like Aunt Wang who loved to gossip.

Seeing that Jiang Sanlang was avoiding the question, Aunt Wang pursed her lips but dropped the topic. She just smiled and said, “Sanlang, your little Yingbao has become quite famous recently.”

Jiang Sanlang knitted his brows, “Aunt, what are you talking about?”

Aunt Wang leaned in, and said in a hushed tone, “Let me tell you. Recently, many people in the village are saying that your Yingbao is the reincarnation of a fairy child who came to earth to send children to people.”

“Aunt, don’t talk nonsense!” The displeased Jiang Sanlang retorted, “What kind of fairy child, who’s spreading such rumors? I should go to their house and have a word. Who talks about a child like this? My Yingbao can’t bear this kind of reputation.”

If Yingbao were their own biological child, it wouldn’t be a big deal, but she was picked up. And now that this rumor was out, who knew if her good-for-nothing biological parents would get any ideas.

Aunt Wang snorted, “Why am I talking nonsense? It’s what people on the outside are saying, I’m just inform you, alright.

And moreover, whether you admit it or not, your wife Chunniang is genuinely pregnant with twins. She hasn’t been pregnant for ten years, and just by coincidence, now she is?”

“Absurd!” Jiang Sanlang scowled, didn’t address Aunt Wang again, and walked off with big steps.

“Humph!” Aunt Wang rolled her eyes.

What does he think he is, a big shot?

I kindly told him and he got a big huff!

It was like feeding meat to a dog! He didn’t appreciate it!

Ugh! Wasn’t his wife barren before they found Yingbao? Now, without Yingbao, wouldn’t his wife still be childless?

In previous years, every day they watched him throw out medicine residue. The small pond behind his house is nearly full. Does he think we’re blind?

Aunt Wang muttered to herself. She caught a glimpse of her husband’s glaring look and barked back, “What are you glaring at? Useless piece of junk! You only know how to bully your wife. Just now when Jiang Sanlang was being all high and mighty, why didn’t you glare at him?”

Uncle Wang shrank his gaze, mumbled a few words unclearly, then turned his head, carrying his hoe hurriedly to walk in front.

As for Jiang Sanlang, he strode towards home. From a distance, he saw his little girl standing at the entrance of the courtyard looking out for him. His heart warmed up instantly.

“Dad’s home!”

Seeing her dad coming home, Yingbao quickly brought a stool for him to sit and then sprinted to the kitchen to scoop water for her dad to wash his face.

Jiang Sanlang entered the kitchen and lifted his daughter off the small stool, lightly tapping her and scolding her with a stern expression, “How can you stand on a stool to scoop water? What if you fell into the barrel?”

Yingbao giggled, “Yingbao won’t fall in.”