activa-t Chapter 52 The right to speak
Chapter 52 The right to speak
The three of them returned to Lianglin Village as usual. As soon as they entered the house, Old Lady Zhou called them to wash their hands and eat.
Zhou Mingshu looked at the dishes on the table with a smile on his face. "Oh, uncle, you caught a big fish. It's amazing that you caught so many small fish."
Hearing his niece's praise, Boss Zhou's dark face became hot. "Haha, we are so lucky that we caught two yellow eels. We will make a stew tomorrow. It is a tonic. It will help you, the little ones, to improve your brains and learn to read."
Although Boss Zhou meant well, "replenish your brain" sounded like an insult, and Zhou Mingshu laughed out loud.
Zhu told them everything they had prepared for the day and asked her to take a look at it later and prepare the things before it got dark.
"Yes, I see, mother. I was just thinking of teaching you how to make the ointment. I can't do it when I'm not at home, so you'll have to work hard on this."
"What's the hardship? It's all for this family. Look at this chicken grass. Is it right to do this? Why does it taste so sour?"
Zhou Mingshu picked up a piece of purslane with chopsticks and put it in his mouth and chewed it. This was the taste.
"Don't worry about whether this thing is chicken grass or not. Doctor Chen said that this is called purslane, which is specially used to treat diarrhea. Of course, it can also be eaten as a wild vegetable."
When everyone heard that it was a medicinal herb and could cure diarrhea, they realized how deep their misunderstanding of Purslane was, especially Old Mrs. Zhou.
"Oh, this is such a good medicinal herb. Will Doctor Chen accept it? Let's dig some more and sell them to him."
"Mom, what are you talking about? There are a lot of purslane in the fields and wastelands. Even if people want to use it, they don't need to spend money to collect it. They can just dig a handful from the ground."
"Eat, eat, I am confused."
Realizing that she had said something out of turn, Old Mrs. Zhou chose to silence herself with delicious food.
The fried fish in lard was crunchy. My teeth were not very good, so I took a bite and then tried the purslane.
The sour taste is different from the wild vegetables we usually eat, and it tastes quite fresh when we eat it suddenly.
The braised fish was not as delicious as the one San Ya had made before. It tasted a bit weird and was a bit fishy, but everyone was polite and ate it all.
After dinner, Zhou Mingshu tested them on the few words they had learned yesterday. They had remembered most of them, but they were a little unfamiliar with them. This would not be the case as they had learned more in the future.
Because she was busy with the ointment today, she didn't teach any new words.
"Big sister, second sister, let me tell you and you do it, this way you will remember it better."
Zhou Mingqin and Zhou Mingqi listened very carefully and worked very hard, for fear that they would accidentally mess these things up.
Under the guidance of Zhou Mingshu, the three people steamed this batch of mugwort juice, but because of this, it was already dark.
"Eldest sister, second sister, let's just do this for now, and we'll do the rest tomorrow." Zhou Mingshu paused, and felt that the next steps were very simple, and even if she was not there, the eldest and second sisters would be able to do them well, so she arranged the things to be done next.
"The filter cloth is in my room. Wait a moment and I'll get it."
Zhou Mingshu took out three pieces of filter cloth and asked them to carefully identify the gaps on them and distinguish the thickness of the cloth.
"Wait until the juice is cool enough, which is tomorrow. Use these filter cloths to filter out the residue in the juice. Be sure to pay attention to the residue inside. If it is not filtered clean, filter it a few more times, otherwise the ointment will not be smooth. After filtering, you need to let it sit for a day. Just leave it there and don't move it. If these things solidify tomorrow, you can use the small stove in my room to heat it up."
Zhou Mingshu explained the general process of making the ointment, and after the two sisters had memorized it, they fetched water to wash.
Zhu came out of the room and looked like she had something to say.
"Mother, what's wrong? Why don't you rest?"
"It's okay, I just have something I can't make up my mind about and want to ask you."
"Mother, what's the big deal? Just ask."
"It's the mint we use to make anti-itching cream. If someone eats it, will it kill them?"
Zhu's worried look was so adorable that Zhou Mingshu couldn't help but laugh.
"What are you laughing at, girl? What's so funny?"
"Mother, no, eating mint won't kill you, did you eat it?"
"That's not the case. I just lied to them today and told them that we picked them for cooking. I was afraid that something bad would happen if they ate them."
"Mother, don't worry. This mint is edible. It can be eaten as a wild vegetable and also as a medicinal herb."
After hearing what her daughter said, Zhu finally felt relieved.
"Mother, you can pick more when you have nothing to do. This mint can be dried and boiled into tea. Doctor Chen said it is a good medicine for refreshing the mind and relieving heat. He also said it has a cool taste and tastes good."
After hearing this, Zhu's mouth grinned to her ears. "Okay, I got it. I'll pick more tomorrow and bring some to your grandmother when I have the chance. Maybe your uncle needs it."
"Yeah, okay, then pick more, we have a big family."
"I know, I know. Hurry up and wash up. I'm going back to my room to sleep. You should go to bed early too. You've been tired all day."
Zhu's face was full of smiles, no longer as nervous as when she came.
Zhou Mingshu hung the wrung-out cloth on a bamboo pole, poured the dirty water in the basin into the pit, then closed the doors and windows and climbed onto the bed to rest.
As he moved his hands and feet, he touched a pile of clothes, neatly folded and placed at the head of the bed.
Zhou Mingshu smiled slightly, thinking about what happened today and the medicinal herbs he learned.
I am increasingly convinced that it is a good idea to study with Dr. Chen.
In this way, not only can he make his learning to read legitimately, but he can also lead his whole family to learn to read and write. On the other hand, he will also have more say in food.
There are medicinal herbs everywhere in the countryside and mountains, but farmers only know one of them and not the other, so how can they understand and apply them?
This is also an adverse consequence of the concentration of imperial power, which leads to various resources being controlled by only a few people.
It was very difficult for farmers to get enough food, let alone learn to read and recognize herbs.
Thinking of this, Zhou Mingshu sighed. Her shoulders were too weak. This was a universal phenomenon in the world and had long been deeply rooted. She had racked her brains to change the entire Zhou family, not to mention the entire society. She alone could not change the status quo.
Her goal now is to ensure that the Zhou family has enough food to eat, warm clothes to wear, and slowly lead a sufficient and decent life, and that's all.
If she still has the ability, she will live up to her life and do her best to help others.
The moonlight shone through the window lattice, and the mottled shadows poured onto her face. She closed her eyes, smelled the fragrance of gardenias in the room, and slowly fell asleep.