Chapter 9: Digging for Wild Vegetables

Cui Ju followed Bai An, while Da Zhuang, walking beside her, tried to reach out to hold Bai An’s hand but was immediately stopped by Cui Ju.

“Da Zhuang, what are you doing?”

Da Zhuang scratched his head awkwardly and said, “I just wanted to hold Bai An’s hand. I’ve never seen anyone so fair, and I just wanted to feel it.”

Bai An heard what Da Zhuang said and looked at her hand in confusion.

“Ah~ No shame, no shame! You’re so grown, yet you still want to hold a girl’s hand. No shame at all.”

Cui Ju circled around Da Zhuang, teasing him playfully. Bai An noticed that Da Zhuang’s face had turned red. She stepped forward and took his hand, explaining, “Da Zhuang, our hands are the same, there’s no difference.”

Cui Ju saw this and shouted, “I want to hold hands too, I want to hold hands too!”

It turned into a playful game, with each of them holding hands, taking turns.

“I think Bai An’s hand is the softest.”

“I agree.”

Bai An watched as their eyes gleamed with excitement.

“How about we go dig for wild vegetables?” Bai An said as she counted on her fingers. “We can dig up wild leeks, spring shoots, water celery, and lamb’s ear. Once we find these, we can ask Mom to stir-fry them. They’re so delicious.”

Da Zhuang’s eyes widened, and he proudly raised his hand, saying, “I know! My grandma took me to dig wild vegetables before. My favorite is lamb’s ear.”

Cui Ju, who had been listening, looked at Bai An curiously. “But I’ve never gone with my grandma to dig wild vegetables. I don’t know which ones are edible.”

Bai An, like Da Zhuang, raised her hand, volunteering, “I can teach you how to recognize wild vegetables. Da Zhuang can help too.”

Da Zhuang quickly nodded in agreement.

“Then let’s go,” Bai An pointed toward a nearby forest. “Everyone, be careful and follow me.”

“Let’s go!” The kids were full of energy, laughing and teasing as they followed Bai An.

Bai An stepped carefully on the soft earth, the smell of fresh soil filling her nostrils. She looked down at the ground, careful not to miss any wild vegetables.

“Bai An, Bai An!” Cui Ju called as she ran up holding something that looked like a weed. “Can we eat this? I think I’ve seen my grandma give it to me before.”

The wavy leaves were connected, one after another.

Bai An took it from her and sniffed it. It had been over a decade since the last time she collected wild vegetables, so she couldn’t be completely sure whether it was edible.

“It’s edible,” Da Zhuang said, taking the wild vegetable from Bai An. “My grandma told me this is the lamb’s ear Bai An just mentioned.”

“Really? I found some over there too! And there are plenty!” Cui Ju pointed to a patch of land not far away.

Sure enough, when they looked, the area was full of lamb’s ear.

Excitedly, they ran over to pick the wild vegetables, laughing and grabbing them from the ground.

Looking at the field of wild plants, Bai An couldn’t help but marvel, “It’s so nice to live in an environment without industrial pollution. Even the wild vegetables grow so well.”

Da Zhuang, holding a basket full of vegetables, grinned widely. “Mom will definitely praise me when I get home.”

Cui Ju, also happily picking the wild vegetables, added, “My mom will praise me too.”

Bai An glanced up at Cui Ju and softly said, “Cui Ju, there’s something on that tree behind you that looks like flowers. You can eat that too.”

Cui Ju turned around and saw it, then looked down at her basket, which was nearly full.

“I don’t think I can fit any more in.”

“Cui Ju, don’t you have an older brother at home? Why not ask him to come help?”

Cui Ju’s grandfather had once been the landlord in this area, but he had been suppressed and his family had a bad reputation. When she was younger, the other children in the village wouldn’t play with her. Her family had been one of the poorest in the village, second only to Bai An’s family. Bai An couldn’t stand seeing this, so whenever she went out to play, she always insisted on taking Cui Ju along.

Bai An had met Cui Ju’s older brother before. He was a few years older than them, around the same age as Lu Jin’an, but for some reason, every time he saw Bai An, he would stare at her, as if deep in thought.

Cui Ju hadn’t always been called Cui Ju. Her birth name was Lin Baiwei.

When she was a child, her health wasn’t good. Her mother had heard from someone that a humble name was easier to raise, but she couldn’t bear to give her daughter a name like “Dog Egg.” After much deliberation, she chose a name related to nature.

“Brother…” Cui Ju thought for a moment. “He’s always at home. After working, he just sits with a few books and reads.”

Her voice lowered, “The books at home are almost all burned. There are only a few left, and he keeps reading them over and over. I don’t know what he’s reading.”

Bai An furrowed her brows in confusion and asked, “If he loves reading so much, why did they burn the books?”

When Bai An asked, Da Zhuang suddenly grew unusually quiet.

Burning books was something nearly everyone in the village had participated in.

As for the reason, Da Zhuang couldn’t say much about it.

Seeing his reaction, Bai An more or less understood.

“Cui Ju, my dad has a lot of books. I’ll ask him next time if I can lend some to your brother,” Bai An gently said while holding Cui Ju’s hand. “Loving books is a good thing.”

Cui Ju knew that reading was a good thing and nodded, “Brother will be very happy.”

Da Zhuang, who had been listening, leaned in and added, “Reading books? Our school doesn’t teach us to read anymore.”

Bai An frowned, “If you’re not learning to read, then what are you doing in school?”

“Work.” Da Zhuang raised the wild vegetables in his hand. “It’s what the adults call labor.”

“Oh, right.” Da Zhuang squatted beside Bai An and curiously asked, “Why don’t you go to school?”

Bai An hadn’t understood why her brother had advised her not to go to school before, but hearing Da Zhuang’s question, she realized it wouldn’t do any good.

However, she couldn’t say that to Da Zhuang.

“My health isn’t very good, so I’ll start school a few years later,” Bai An said, feeling a bit guilty as she spoke.

Da Zhuang patted Bai An’s shoulder. “Since your health isn’t well, it’s fine to start school later. I’ll carry your basket.”

Cui Ju bounced over to Da Zhuang, “You can carry mine too.”

Da Zhuang turned around and ignored her, a little annoyed, “I’m only carrying Bai An’s basket because she’s not well. Why should I carry yours?”

Cui Ju didn’t mind his attitude. She placed her basket in his arms and cheerfully grabbed Bai An’s hand, running ahead. She called to Da Zhuang as she ran, “We’ll wait for you up ahead!”

Da Zhuang, left behind, looked at their retreating figures, the scent of wild vegetables still lingering in his nose.

“Cui Ju! You’re always like this!”

Bai An was too tired to keep running, so she held onto Cui Ju’s hand and weakly said, “Let’s wait here for Da Zhuang.”

Still full of energy, Cui Ju looked at Bai An, who was leaning against a tree and panting.

“Sigh, Bai An, you need to exercise more. We’ve barely run, and you’re already this tired.”

Cui Ju grabbed Bai An’s hand and slowly walked through the woods.

“With your stamina, how will you do the farm work at home?”