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The next day, the entire Ye family woke up full of energy.
Last night, they were afraid they might be poisoned in the middle of the night, but they woke up safely, filled with both shock and joy.
Thinking about the vast fields of cassava, they couldn’t help but feel anxious and excited.
After a quick wash-up, except for Wei Shi and Ye Yinhua, who stayed at home to cook, the rest of the family strapped baskets on their backs and carried large baskets as they rushed out the door.
Along the way, they met many villagers.
When they saw the large group from the Ye family, some were surprised.
“Daquan, where are you all going with so much stuff? Did your wheat ripen early? Hahaha!” said the villager Ye Xiniu, holding a hoe, joking.
Such large preparations were usually only seen during harvest time.
Ye Daquan kept walking without stopping: “We’re going up the mountain to see if we can dig up something to eat.”
Ye Xiniu laughed: “The grass on the mountain’s already been pulled out by everyone; with so many baskets, the only thing you can fill them with is poisonous roots.”
“Haha, right, right, we’re just collecting poisonous roots,” Ye Daquan replied, and with that, he hurried on with his family.
Ye Xiniu was puzzled and wanted to say something more, but the family had already walked far away, so he just assumed Ye Daquan was joking.
Along the way, there were many villagers like Ye Xiniu.
Ye Youtian and the others just gave vague responses here and there.
Before long, the family arrived at the cassava field, breathless.
The Ye family members’ eyes all lit up; this was all food!
Ye Caiping said, “Be careful when digging. Unprocessed cassava is toxic all over the plant, so don’t let it touch your mouth.”
“After we cut it down, don’t peel it. We’ll take it back home first.”
“Hehehe, don’t worry,” Ye Daquan said as he put down his carrying pole and picked up his hoe.
With a grunt, he started digging.
Ye Youtian and Ye Erquan were not far behind, also swinging their hoes to dig.
The three Ye brothers, under the guidance of Ye Youtian, dragged and pulled, and soon a whole cassava plant was pulled out.
Looking at the large, fruit-laden cassavas, each weighing around 20 to 30 pounds, the Ye family couldn’t help but stop and admire them with joyful faces.
“Continue!” Ye Youtian urged excitedly.
Ye Daquan saw that beads of sweat had formed on Ye Caiping’s forehead and felt sorry for her: “Little sister, are you tired? Why don’t you sit down and rest for a while?”
Ye Caiping glared at him: “I’m not made of paper, I’m not that weak.”
Seeing that she was still full of energy, Ye Daquan didn’t press further.
The men of the Ye family were in charge of digging and pulling, while the women chopped the cassavas and packed them into baskets and crates.
They worked energetically, sweating as if they had endless strength.
When they were focused on their work, time passed quickly.
Before they knew it, it was noon.
Wei Shi and Ye Yinhua brought up the lunch boxes and saw Ye Caiping and the others chopping cassavas and filling baskets. When they saw the baskets full of cassavas, their eyes lit up.
“We’ve dug up this much in just one morning?” Wei Shi said. “This must be at least 60 to 70 pounds!”
Du Shi tossed a large, fat cassava into a basket and wiped the sweat from her brow. “Yes, it’s exhausting, but no complaints at all, we’re all so happy.”
“Grandpa, Father, it’s time for lunch!” Ye Yinhua cupped her little hands around her mouth and shouted toward the cassava field.
Ye Youtian and the others reluctantly put down their hoes.
Ye Daquan, wiping the sweat from his neck with a towel, walked over.
The family washed their hands at the mountain stream and then sat down on the ground to eat, holding rough ceramic bowls.
Today’s lunch was hearty, not the usual porridge, but a bowl of dry rice.
The rice was mixed with a little radish and topped with slices of steamed cassava. There was also some pickled vegetables and salted mustard greens.
This meal was prepared by Ye Youtian, and with so much cassava, they didn’t have to worry about hunger, so he asked Wei Shi to cook a dry meal to reward the family.
Although there was no meat, the family hadn’t eaten so well in a long time and devoured their meal eagerly.
“It’s been so long since we’ve had dry rice,” Ye Erquan licked his lips, still savoring the taste.
Ye Caiping said, “In the afternoon, let’s not dig new ones. There’s still plenty of broken cassava underground, let’s dig those up.”
Everyone agreed and put down their bowls to continue working.
Wei Shi and Ye Yinhua didn’t return home either; they stayed to help.
An hour later, the broken cassavas underground were all dug up.
The family packed up the cassavas, putting them into baskets and carrying baskets, totaling over 800 pounds.
Ye Daquan and Ye Erquan grunted as they each carried two large baskets. Both were strong laborers, and each one was carrying a full 200 pounds.
Ye Caiping said, “Big brother, second brother, don’t carry so much. Share some with us.”
Ye Daquan laughed, “What’s this? 200 pounds is nothing. When we go outside, we carry big bundles, each time more than 300 pounds.”
Ye Youtian, seeing that Ye Caiping was concerned for them, felt greatly comforted: “They’re used to it.”
For the remaining 400 or so pounds, the family divided it into smaller baskets. Each person carried about 30 pounds, which was an easy task for a farming family.
When they reached the foot of the mountain, the Ye family sat down to rest.
“Heave!” Ye Daquan and his brothers put down the several hundred pounds of cassava.
Du Shi and the others didn’t show any signs of exhaustion, even Ye Jin’er and Huan’er seemed relaxed, but only Ye Caiping was out of breath.
Ow, this broken body!
Ye Caiping cursed inwardly. The original owner had been spoiled since childhood and never did heavy labor.
After marriage, she only did housework. When her two daughters grew up, the household chores mostly fell on them. So, her body became weak and frail.
“Mom, let me carry some,” Ye Jin’er, noticing that Ye Caiping couldn’t handle heavy labor, stepped forward and took two cassavas from her basket and put them into her own.
Ye Caiping’s face turned slightly red. “It’s fine, I can carry it.”
Ye Peng stepped forward: “Little aunt, you’re still recovering from your injury, let us handle it!”
With that, he quickly transferred half of Ye Caiping’s cassavas into his basket.
Ye Daquan laughed and transferred the rest into Ye Yong’s basket.
Ye Caiping felt a bit speechless. Well, it’s true that this body is a bit weak, it needs some training to get better.
Du Shi and Ye Jinhua were already used to this; they rolled their eyes but pretended not to see.
After a short rest, they continued on their way.
Ye Youtian and Ye Yong took the carrying poles from Ye Daquan and his brothers and lifted the four baskets of cassava.
Ye Daquan and his brothers took over their backpacks.
With enough hands at home, there was no need to overwork just one or two people, so they alternated the load.
The Ye family, 14 people in total, walked down the village road with their baskets full of cassavas. It was quite a sight, attracting the attention of many villagers who frequently looked back.
“Oh my, what’s this?” A few women, holding baskets of clothes, stared in astonishment as the Ye family passed by.
“This… This looks like poisonous roots! Oh my God! Are they carrying poisonous roots?”
“Uncle Tian, why are you digging so many poisonous roots?”
But Ye Youtian and the others had already quickly walked away, leaving no time for answers. This only made people more curious to get to the bottom of it.
The Ye family, carrying hundreds of pounds of poisonous roots, couldn’t hide it. Soon, the news spread throughout the entire village.
Why was the old Ye family digging so many poisonous roots?
Were they so hungry they couldn’t resist eating poisonous roots?
How desperate could they be?
When they finally arrived home and set the cassavas down, before they could even sit down, they saw some villagers gathered outside the yard.
Ye Lijing and Ye Ershu entered the house, both looking shocked as they saw the entire floor covered in cassavas. Their jaws nearly dropped.
Ye Ershu, looking terrified, stared at Ye Youtian. “This… this really is poisonous roots! Big Brother, what are you doing with so many poisonous roots?”
Ye Youtian wiped his sweat and laughed. “Of course, we’re going to eat them!”
“Heavens, he’s gone mad!” There were gasps from outside the fence.
At some point, a circle of villagers had gathered outside, and now, each of them was looking at the Ye family as if they were crazy.
Ye Ershu, at a loss for words, asked, “Is this for the rats? Are you planning to poison the rats?”
Ye Youtian wiped his face with the cloth around his neck and chuckled, “You’re the one poisoning the rats. Caiping figured out a way to remove the toxins from these roots. Once the poison is handled properly, they can be used as food.”
He said this with great pride.
The villagers, who had been eavesdropping, started whispering and chattering among themselves.
“These poisonous roots can be detoxified and used as food?”
“No way!” A thin, dark woman in her thirties pushed through the crowd, a familiar figure—Heigou’s mother. “Just a few days ago, my Heigou ate these things and got poisoned!”
“Ugh! Ugh!” Heigou, , started to gag as soon as he saw the cassava. He remembered the terrible feeling of having his mouth full of dung, gagged some more, and dashed out of the crowd.
“Heigou! Oh, Heigou!” Heigou’s mother rushed after him.
The villagers watched this scene and burst into laughter.
Note:
Characters
Other Characters:
Heigou – Ate poisonous roots
Heigou’s mother
Doctor Zhao
Zhao Facai – Neighbor
Village Head Ye- Sometime Ye Lizheng (Lizheng is a title that refers to Village Head/Chief)
Ye Bajin – Village Head’s Son
Fubao – Village Head’s Grandson
Places:
Qinghe Village: FL’s Village
Li Family Village
Great Zhou Dynasty