The Farm Girl and the Executioner (Rebirth) 77p2

Chapter 77: Everyone Is the Same p2

The next morning, just as the two of them had woken up, Ping’er came to their room, skipping.

Lin Shuang was just holding Jiang Huaizhen in a tender moment. Hearing the little girl’s light footsteps, she reluctantly withdrew her hand from her waist and said softly, “We have to close the door when we sleep next time, so this little girl doesn’t just barge in before it’s even light.”

Jiang Huaizhen didn’t say anything and slowly sat up from the bed.

Her long, black hair was gently brushed, and it fell over her left shoulder. Her unique fragrance wafted out with this movement.

Lin Shuang loved this smell, but she didn’t want to seem too infatuated. She squinted her eyes and sniffed nonchalantly.

Ping’er had already poked her head in from the door. Seeing Jiang Huaizhen sitting on the bed, she smiled. “Big sister is awake. Is Auntie awake?”

Jiang Huaizhen replied, “She’s awake. Come in.”

Ping’er skipped into the room, ran to the bed, lifted the mosquito net, and poked her little head in. She said to Lin Shuang, “Auntie, get up. Let’s go and wash up together.”

Lin Shuang helplessly propped herself up. “You little rascal. Why are you up so early? Auntie wanted to sleep a little longer.”

“It’s not early. The sun is already up.”

Jiang Huaizhen hadn’t gotten out of bed yet. Lin Shuang drowsily leaned back against her, looking listless.

But she didn’t know that when she leaned over, her soft chest also pressed against Jiang Huaizhen’s back.

Feeling the person in front of her stiffen, she bit her lip slightly and had no intention of moving away. Instead, she moved closer, and when she reached out to pat Ping’er’s little head, she brushed against her softly.

Jiang Huaizhen cleared her throat, moved her body slightly, and said, “I’m up.”

With that, she moved forward and got out of bed.

Lin Shuang looked at her as if she were fleeing and the corners of her mouth curled up.

“Let’s go, little Ping’er. Let’s get up and wash up. We still have to go up the mountain later.”

Old Madam Jiang was also up and was washing the rice to make porridge.

It was hot, and a large pot of porridge would last for a day.

Lin Shuang didn’t know when she would be back, so she washed her hands and kneaded some dough before she went to wash up.

After she had finished, she took Ping’er to the vegetable garden to pick vegetables. Ping’er now knew which vegetables the rabbits could also eat and picked a large handful.

Of the litter of rabbits they had brought down from the mountain, they had kept a pair of males and females to breed, and the others had been eaten. There were still six small ones left, which Jiang Huaizhen would not let them eat. Now they were fed until they were white and plump, each weighing eight or nine catties.

And this batch of rabbits had also started to breed. There were three female rabbits, two of which had each had a litter, and one was still pregnant. Plus the large female rabbit from before, which had had three litters a year, with six or seven in each litter, there were now thirty little rabbits.

For this reason, Jiang Huaizhen had made two more large cages to separate them.

Old Madam Jiang had been annoyed for years that she couldn’t raise small animals. Now, seeing this one litter of rabbits after another, she was first overjoyed, and as they had more and more, she finally began to worry.

They were too prolific!

Just cutting grass for them to eat every day took a lot of effort.

Seeing the two of them come back with vegetable leaves, the old woman couldn’t help but nag, “In another two months, there will be a dozen more. As soon as you open your eyes every day, there will be fifty mouths waiting to eat grass. They eat more than pigs. Every day you have to sweep up the droppings. It’s so smelly.”

Lin Shuang smiled. “Why don’t we discuss it with Huaizhen again and sell a few?”

Jiang Huaizhen had just come out and, hearing this, silently took the vegetable leaves from her hand, carried them to the rabbit cage, and dropped them in, bit by bit.

Seeing this, Old Madam Jiang said, “Stubborn donkey. There’s no talking to her.”

Lin Shuang, of course, knew why Jiang Huaizhen was reluctant to sell these rabbits. In her youth, whatever she raised would die. To be able to raise so many small animals now had barely made up for the regrets of the past. Of course, she was reluctant.

Seeing the old woman turn and go back to her room, she moved closer to Jiang Huaizhen. “Let’s build a shed by the stable later to raise the rabbits, so they don’t take up this space. We can plant some more vegetables then, and it will be enough to feed them.”

Jiang Huaizhen glanced at her. “Don’t say you don’t have designs on them.”

Lin Shuang laughed dryly. “Although the few rabbit dishes we made last time were very good with rice, how can I have designs on your beloved things?”

Seeing her eyes sparkle and her face radiant, Jiang Huaizhen softened her tone. “When this litter grows up, you can do whatever you want with them.”

Lin Shuang smiled. “I’ll listen to you.”

After breakfast, Lin Shuang made a few flatbreads, took them as dry rations, filled a bamboo tube with water, and then set off with Jiang Huaizhen with their baskets on their backs.

Lin Shuang had been to the back mountain many times, and she had explored almost all the nearby places. She had a rough idea of what grew where.

Ever since she had had the idea of planting a medicine field, the medicinal herbs that had been too small and unsuitable before had now entered her eyes. After leaving a mark in a few important places, she led Jiang Huaizhen deeper into the mountains.

With this skill, it was destined that Lin Shuang would not return empty-handed. But to find precious medicinal herbs, she still needed a little luck.

But today’s luck did not come from her, but from Jiang Huaizhen.

At noon, when the two of them were sitting down to eat their flatbreads, Jiang Huaizhen ate quickly and, when she was full, she wandered around the area. Lin Shuang heard her call her name from the other end and walked over, drinking water from her bamboo tube.

She saw the other pointing to a few things with umbrellas under a dead tree. “Look, there are a few mushrooms here. Do you see if they’re poisonous? Can we eat them?”

When Lin Shuang saw the things clearly, she couldn’t even hold the bamboo tube steady. She knelt down on the ground, her hands carefully reaching for the few lingzhi mushrooms. After confirming that she was not mistaken, she turned to look at her beloved. “What did you say… mushrooms?”

“Aren’t they? They have umbrellas. If they’re not mushrooms, then what are they?” Jiang Huaizhen said.

“Ignorant,” Lin Shuang shot her a mock-reproachful look. “This is lingzhi, and the rarest red lingzhi at that.”

Hearing this, Jiang Huaizhen’s eyes widened. “This is the legendary lingzhi?”

“Yes. It’s a pity that it’s a little small, and not old enough.”

“Is it more valuable the older it is?”

Lin Shuang shook her head. “Lingzhi of four to six years is the best. Lingzhi of over seven years becomes more and more like wood and is not as good. Some medicine merchants especially praise hundred-year-old lingzhi, saying that its medicinal properties are mellow, but in fact, it’s just a gimmick. In fact, their medicinal effects may not even be as good as new lingzhi.”

“How old is this one?”

“Less than a year. Four or five months.”

“Then should we pick it?” Jiang Huaizhen’s two moist eyes looked at her.

Lin Shuang loved her look at this moment. She leaned over and gave her a light kiss on the cheek. “I want to wait until our medicine field is ready and transplant it to our home… but I’m also worried that it won’t grow well after transplanting… what do you think?”

She had some experience with planting other medicinal herbs, and since she could know the composition of the soil, she was not too worried. But this red lingzhi was precious, and this was the first time she had seen a living one, so she was a little unconfident.

Jiang Huaizhen was caught off guard by her kiss outside. Although there was no one around, her ears still burned slightly. She thought for a moment and said, “Anyway, there are four here. Why don’t we transplant two? In case they don’t grow, we won’t have lost everything.”

Hearing this, Lin Shuang smiled. “That’s a good idea. But not now. We’ll wait until we’ve dealt with the things below. We have to make a mark, so we don’t get lost next time we come. And it can’t be too obvious. In case someone comes into the mountains and sees it, it will be a waste of effort.”

Jiang Huaizhen said, “No need to make a mark. I can remember this place.”

Lin Shuang naturally believed in Jiang Huaizhen. This person never fought a battle she was not sure of winning.

“Then you’d better remember it. If you can’t, I’ll have to punish you.”

The word “punish,” between lovers, had a slightly different meaning. Jiang Huaizhen’s ears turned red, and she stood up, looking around, as if to firmly imprint this terrain in her mind.

Lin Shuang looked at her back and smiled. “But this time you’ve found such a precious medicinal herb. I’ll have to reward you well.”

Jiang Huaizhen turned her head. “What will you reward me with?”

“A cured pork trotter.”

After dealing with the few small lingzhi mushrooms, the two of them continued to search the surrounding area until their two baskets were full, and only then did they go down the mountain.