activa-t Chapter 50 Mint
Chapter 50 Mint
Everything was normal for Zhou Mingshu. In less than a day, he became very close to the girl and boy from Chen's family.
On weekdays, Chen Banxia looks after the shop in Baicaotang and often greets strangers. Therefore, he is cheerful and lively and easy to get along with. He has his own style in dealing with people and things, and he and Zhou Mingshu get along very well.
Although Chen Gansong is younger, he is very friendly.
Zhou Mingshu could recognize words quickly after being taught, but it was not so easy for her to recognize medicinal herbs, so Chen Banxia had to remind her often.
She was busy in Baicaotang, sweating profusely. Recognizing words and medicinal herbs was the easiest part. There were all kinds of people who came to see the doctor, some were respectful and some were hateful. When Doctor Chen treated immobile patients, she had to help. Every moment of her life was very fulfilling.
Although she was not at home to take care of things, the Zhou family was familiar with the raw materials for making the anti-itching ointment and were already preparing everything. They had added bamboo baskets to their home, so it didn't matter if they brought back more lemongrass, wormwood and mint.
Early in the morning, Old Mrs. Zhou assigned work to everyone in the family.
"San Ya is busy in the town, so we have to prepare for the mint and wormwood picking work in advance. Old family, you take Da Ya and Er Ya to cut lemongrass, and the rest of the wormwood and mint will be left to the three of us."
"Oh, Dazhi and Xiaojie, go to the mountains and pick up some firewood or mushrooms. Don't take advantage of the situation. Everyone at home is busy, so you should do your best."
A group of young ones nodded in agreement, picked up their backpacks and sickles and went out to work.
She and Feng washed all the dishes and chopsticks, and they had to boil the lard first.
Old Mrs. Zhou thought over all the tasks carefully in her mind. After she found nothing missing, she poured the water from washing the pot into the sink in the chicken coop.
There were some corn crusts in the water used to wash the pot, and the chicks were pecking at them happily.
"Mom, San Ya told me that the chicken grass we usually feed the chickens is edible. She asked Chen Sheng and he said it's also a medicinal herb. Eating more is good for the body. How about I dig some later and we make some to try?"
Zhu wiped her hands and came over to ask her mother-in-law for her opinion.
Old Mrs. Zhou looked at the remaining chicken grass roots in the chicken coop. The chickens had eaten the chicken grass until only a few muddy roots were left. It seemed that the chickens loved to eat them.
"Okay, let's dig some and try it out. Just follow the same method we used to make Viola yedoensis. If it tastes good, we'll dig some more."
When Zhu saw that her mother-in-law agreed, she turned around and picked up the basket to go to the fields.
The chicken grass is very rich and delicious. Whether it is for chickens or people to eat, she will pick some good ones.
After digging out enough for the chicks to eat, she dug out some more fresh and tender ones, intending to try cooking them at home.
When I got home, Mrs. Zhou had already cut the fat and put it into the pot. The pot was sizzling and there were already some oil spots.
"Old Third, you can go with Second Sister-in-law to pick some mugwort leaves and mint. You don't have to watch over the stove."
"Hey~"
Feng took a basket and went out with her second sister-in-law to pick mint at the village entrance.
At this time, most people in the village had gone to the fields, leaving only a few old ladies beating clothes by the river.
When fellow villagers meet, they can't help but talk.
"Mingyuan's mother, what are you picking grass for?" The person who spoke was Shagang's mother's neighbor across the street. Everyone called her Chunxia's mother.
"Sister-in-law, my brother and sister-in-law and I picked some mint leaves and brought them home. The mint tastes good when fried with eggs. The children at home like to eat it."
After hearing what she said, the women said a few words and then stopped asking her.
They all knew about the situation of the Zhou family. They owed so much foreign debt and were very poor. A while ago, they heard that they were eating sheep dung snails from the river, and now they were picking leaves of these grasses to eat. Just thinking about it made them feel sad.
No one would feel comfortable with such suffering, so after saying hello, they didn't ask any more questions, otherwise it would be bad to hurt others.
Zhu made up a random lie to get by, but then she thought about how she had become like her daughter, and every word she spoke could not stop talking about food.
Lemongrass can be put into dishes, and mugwort is also a good thing, but she really doesn’t know if mint is edible.
She felt ashamed and angry that she had lied for her own selfish desires. What if it was something that could not be eaten, and everyone followed her example after hearing what she said, and what if they got sick from eating it?
Thinking of this, Zhu couldn't help but feel scared, and hurried to discuss it with her brother and sister-in-law.
After listening to the concerns of the second sister-in-law, Feng smiled slightly, "Second sister-in-law, you don't have to worry, these things should be non-toxic, otherwise San Ya would not have added this mint to the anti-itching ointment, it must be a good medicinal material, and they don't really believe what you said, don't let your imagination run wild."
Zhu looked at the large patch of green mint in front of her and put aside the mixed thoughts in her mind.
My sister-in-law said that if they wanted to eat such a large piece, they would have eaten it long ago. There was no need to keep it until now.
No one was paying attention to them, so they kept working. Plus, the mint leaves were big and thick, so the basket couldn't hold all the mint leaves until they moved around.
"Sister-in-law, I'm afraid these mints are not enough. Let's come back later."
"Forget it, let's come back later. Let's go pick some mugwort first. Even though they don't want it, we're picking so much at once. I feel like a thief and feel guilty."
When Feng heard her second sister-in-law say this, she laughed. In fact, she had the same concern. Her family had finally got a recipe for making anti-itching ointment. If the villagers saw it and learned it, wouldn't it cut off their own source of income?
"Yeah, what Second Sister-in-law said is right. We still have to avoid people."
The two sisters-in-law spread the mint leaves they picked on a bamboo basket and went out to pick mugwort.
This time they walked a little further away. The mugwort in the village had already been plucked out by the villagers, and only some stalks and old leaves were left on the ground. There was nothing to pick.
There were many farmers in the fields, so they had to come to the wasteland at the foot of the mountain. The weeds in the wasteland were growing wildly, and the tallest ones were as high as their waists.
"No matter how much farmyard manure we put on this land, the crops won't grow well. There's nothing on this wasteland, but the grass just keeps growing. I don't understand why the crops don't grow as fast as the grass. If that were the case, the yield would be much higher. Would we still have to starve?"
"Yes, there are always endless weeds to pull out every day. Sister-in-law, please watch your feet, in case there are insects or snakes."
"Yeah, it's okay. Usually there won't be so many insects and snakes where mugwort grows."
The two sisters-in-law were picking mugwort while talking. This place was far from their home, so they brought backpacks with them and did not return until noon.
Liu and her daughter went back and forth to cut lemongrass twice, and got a total of six baskets, all of which were spread out on the ground to dry.