Chapter 5: Going to the Market

Liu Zhimo saw a large pieces of mushrooms that were watery, and all his exhaustion was swept away. He walked to Li Qingling and asked her which hair nests can be eaten?

Li Qingling squatted down and taught him how to identify mushrooms. Some mushrooms are very similar, but they are poisonous and cannot be eaten. Be sure to look carefully.

There are a lot of mushrooms here, and it didn't take much time for the two of them to fill their baskets.

Looking at these mushrooms, Li Qingling carried the basket on her back and turned to ask Liu Zhimo if he would come tomorrow? She wants to come pick some tomorrow and go home to dry them. She can eat them whenever she wants, not to worry that they will go bad.

"Tomorrow is the market day. I'm going to the town." His book has been copied, he will take it back to the shopkeeper Xing.

"Going to the market?" Li Qingling's eyes flashed, she also wante to go to the town to see if there was anything that could make money. She had no money at home, she can't even buy oil even if she wanted to, "Can you call me when you go tomorrow? I want to go to town too."

Liu Zhimo nodded, "Okay, but I have to walk, so I have to go earlier." His family is in difficulty, so in order to save the two wen for the ox cart money, he can only choose to walk.

He still remember the first time he walked to the town, he walked for three hours, and blisters formed on the soles of his feet. After he got used to it, his speed became much faster.

Li Qingling said that there is no problem with walking. Even if she wants to take the cart, she has no money!

She now has a deep understanding of the sentence that 'a penny forced a big man to death'. Life really can't be without money.

"It's good if you're okay with that!" Liu Zhimo adjusted the straps of the basket, "Let's go, go back."

When he came here, he was very tired with an empty basket on his back, and now as he going back with such a heavy basket on his back, he was very worried.

Li Qingling obviously also took this into consideration, so on the way back, she walked very slowly, stopping from time to time to take a rest. Liu Zhimo's heart was warmed by her thoughtfulness.

He remembered that his father asked him before his death, if he would like to marry Li Qingling.

At that time, he guessed what his father meant, nothing more than to help them the three siblings find a backer.

So he didn't have much opinion, and immediately nodded. It's just that he has watched his parents live a loving and sweet life since he was a child, so he also thought about marrying a literate wife in the future. But the reality is not like that, so inevitably there was some regrets in the bottom of his heart.

But now, at this moment, there is no such regret in his heart. He feels that it is also very good to have a wife who can support each other and be considerate to him!

"Huh..." Li Qingling suddenly put down the basket, ran to a tree and squatted down. Liu Zhimo didn't know what she wanted to do and ask her what's wrong?

She didn't answer him, and digged the soil with her hands. He couldn't, so he had to walk up to her and saw that she was digging a weed.

He also squatted down. He wanted to help her, but she stopped him, "Hey, don't move, I'll do it. This is a good thing, it'll worth money after digging it."

Hearing this, Liu Zhimo had no choice but to withdraw his hand and stay on the side to watch her dig carefully. It took a quarter of an hour before she excitedly dug out the weeds.

"Look, it's a wild ginseng." She held the ginseng in front of him to show him, "I'm lucky today."

Although it is only more than 20 years old, it is worth some money. She will go to the market tomorrow and sell it in the town. With the money, she can buy some oil and some rice to eat at home.

It is indeed ginseng. When his parents were sick, he bought it for them to eat, but...

"How did you know it?"

Li Qingling carefully put the wild ginseng into the basket before answering, "I used to go hunting with my father in the mountains, he taught me." After saying that, she picked up some pine and willow leaves to covere her basket with. She also covered Liu Zhimo's back basket, so when people see it, they'll only thought they were carrying pine and willow leaves, and would never think that there is mushrooms inside the back basket.

Liu Zhimo was very convinced by Li Qingling's words. Uncle Li was indeed a good hunter. He often goes up the mountain, so it is not surprising that he knows some herbs.

The two went back on the road, stopped and walked, and when they reached the shallow forest, they happened to meet Lin Shi who was going up the mountain to pick up firewood. She saw Li Qingling carrying a basket on her back, and immediately came over, "Xiao Ling, what are you carrying?"

Disgust flashed in Li Qingling's eyes, she called out aunt, and avoided her probing hand, "I picked up some pine leaves."

Lin Shi showed her dissatisfaction. She stretched out her head and glanced at it. It was indeed pine leaves. Pursed her lips, and with the corner of her eyes, she glanced at Liu Zhimo with ambiguous eyes, "It's different when Xiao Ling is betrothed. Picking up pine needles and leaves together."

Li Qingling hates Lin Shi's gossip face the most. She is the one who likes to gossip everywhere in the village. Now that she saw her with Liu Zhimo, when she go back, her shameless gossip will be spread everywhere in the village.

Although she didn't care much about those words, but Zhao Shi cares.

"He's my fiance, and he should do some work for my family." Li Qingling replied generously with a smile. "By the way, auntie, when will Sister Baozhu get engaged? Didn't they meet each other a few days ago? Is it done?"

Li Baozhu is her cousin-sister (paternal uncle' daughter). She is fat, lazy, and eats a lot. She lives up to the name of her treasure 'pig'. She is fifteen years old this year, and she has not gotten married yet. Every time people come to see her, see her as fat as a pig, they won't come back agian.

This matter has become a headache for Lin Shi. Li Qingling provoked her sore spot so carelessly, which made her face turned ugly.

"What kind of young people look at each other, don't be foolish, you will ruin Baozhu' reputation." Lin Shi scolded Li Qingling loudly.

"Isn't it? I clearly heard my grandmother say, the village next door..."

"You heard it wrong, there is nothing." Lin Shi interrupted Li Qingling loudly again, she turned around and picked up a load of firewood and walked down the mountain quickly.

After this encounter, she think that Lin she would not speak ill of her anymore.

Li Qingling turned to Liu Zhimo who smiling and looking at her, shrugged her shoulders, and said innocently, "You have to do this to someone like her, otherwise, she won't know the pain."

Liu Zhimo said with a smile that he had learned.

Li Qingling "…"

Back home, as soon as Li Qingling saw Zhao Shi, she pulled her into the house, pulled open the pine leaves apart, and carefully took out the wild ginseng.

"Mother, look, I dug up a wild ginseng, and I plan to take it to the town tomorrow with Mo ge to sell it, so that I can buy some rice to bring back."

After eating mushrooms for several days in a row, she was a little scared to eat it, and urgently needed some rice to change the taste.

She glanced at Zhao Shi's belly. If she could sell it, she would buy some meat back to supplement the nutrition for the child in her belly.

Zhao Shi looked at the wild ginseng and then at Li Qingling in surprise, "You girl has a good luck. You have dug this up, since you dug it up, you can decide by yourself!"

"Wow, sister, you are really amazing." Li Qingfeng raised his head and looked at Li Qingling with admiration, "Sister, are you really going to town tomorrow?"

There was a desire in his eyes that he wanted to go too. When his father was still there, he took him there twice. He remembered that the town was very lively and many things were sold. He doesn't buy anything, just go and have a look.

The desire in Li Qingfeng's eyes was so obvious, Li Qingling couldn't see it, she thought about it, tomorrow, in addition to selling the wild ginseng, she will go to the town to see if there is any work that can make money, so it should be no problem to bring him and satisfied him, "If you can get up tomorrow morning, I will take you there."

As soon as the words fell, Li Qingfeng rushed over with joy and hugged her neck tightly, "Sister, thank you, I will definitely wake up early."

Zhao Shi was a little worried, "Why don't you not go there, Xiao Feng, there are many people in the town, and it's quite messy."

Li Qingfeng's face suddenly collapsed. He was afraid that Li Qingling would listen to Zhao Shi words and not take him, so he quickly said, "Sister, I will follow you obediently, I promise not to run around, just take me there!"

"I didn't say I wouldn't take you there!" Li Qingling glanced at him and raised her head to appease Zhao Shi, "Mother, don't worry, Brother Mo and I will tightly protect Xiao Feng."

"Mother..." Li Qingfeng took Zhao Shi's hand again and called her coquettishly.

Zhao Shi thought that Liu Zhimo was there, so she nodded, and Li Qingfeng was happy again.

He was so happy that he kept talking all night, but Li Qingling threatened him to go to bed quickly or she would not take him with her if he didn't sleep, so he obediently closed his mouth and went to sleep. When it was Yin Shi (3-5 AM), he woke up automatically, and pushed Li Qingling to wake up.

Li Qingling almost threw this grinder out, she looked at the still dark sky, gritted her teeth and asked him why he got up so early?

He blinked and said that Father used to get up so early to go to the market.

She took a breath, put her hands over his eyes, let him continue to sleep and wake up when Brother Mo calls him.

"But…"

"I won't take you if you don't sleep." Li Qingling could only use this trick to threaten him. She is still very sleepy now and really has no energy to deal with him.

Li Qingfeng flattened his mouth in grievance, "Alright then!"

She didn't feel like she slept for a long time when Liu Zhimo came to her house to call her. She was still vague, but Li Qingfeng got up quickly, answered loudly, and then stretched out his hand to push Li Qingling.

"Sister, sister, Brother Zhimo is here, get up quickly."

This bear boy...

Li Qingling sighed and got up resignedly. It's not easy to get up in the middle of the night to go to town.

She combed her hair and ran out to wash up quickly, then wrapped the wild ginseng in a handkerchief, tucked it into her sleeves. After carrying the basket, she was reminded again by Zhao Shi who woke up, before she took Li Qingfeng with her and follow Liu Zhimo to the town.

Li Qingfeng was very excited at the beginning asking Liu Zhimo east and west, but after walking for two hours, he was exhausted. He grabbed Li Qingling's hand and kept calling her sister.

It's good enough to be able to hold on for two hours. Li Qingling didn't force him anymore, let him go into the back basket, and she carried him away.

Seeing Li Qingling's small body, Liu Zhimo proposed that he carry Li Qingfeng on his back. This time, Li Qingling refused, "It's okay, I'll just carry him on my back, he's very light."

When he saw her insistence, he didn't force it. He only asked her to let him carry him if she was tired.

Li Qingling hummed, but she never said she was tired along the way. Liu Zhimo was afraid that she would be brave and wanted to change with her, but she said no.

Don't look at her small size, she is used to doing farm work since she was a child. Li Qingfeng's weight is really not a problem for her.

Arriving at the entrance of Mao An Town, Li Qingling put down the basket and shook Li Qingfeng, who had been sleeping for an hour, "Xiao Feng, wake up, we are in town."