Chapter 28

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

She had a headache.

Therefore, Song Xi admired the children of this era very much. Looking at the two children in front of her, her heart ached. Then, her eyes lit up. “Xiao Shu, do you know about conches?”

It was summer now, the season for drinking beer and eating crayfish and conch. At the thought of this, Song Xi could not help but drool. She really wanted to eat it!

Her supermarket’s aquatic area also had river snails, clams, crayfish, and other seafood. It was just that she could not eat such heavy-flavored food now, but this did not stop her from helping these two children within her ability!

“Aunt, that’s not delicious,” Zhou Xiao Shu said hurriedly, thinking that Song Xi wanted to eat conch.

“Xiao Shu, I’ll give you money for conch. A cent for five catties. I’ll buy as much as you pick. How about that? But you have to wash the mud clean and remove the water, okay?” She couldn’t eat it now. She could eat it when she was better!

Although she had it in the supermarket, the food in the supermarket was not inexhaustible. One day, she would finish it. She could not import it from the modern era, but it would be good if she could find a ‘supplier’ in this era!

At the thought of this, Song Xi could not help but laugh wildly in her heart. She was really too smart. By doing this, she could help Xiao Shu and Xiao Hua improve their lives and buy what she wanted at the lowest price.

It was simply perfect.

Hearing the words “A cent for five catties”, Zhou Xiao Shu stood up in shock and looked at Song Xi in disbelief. Although the children in the village did not have the chance to touch money, everyone was especially sensitive to money because they knew that only money could buy food, necessities, and clothes.

“Little Aunt, there are many conches in the paddy field. No one eats them at all. If you want to eat them, I can help you pick up a basket of conches. A cent for five catties is too expensive. The coarse grain outside only costs a few cents a catty!” Food was such a precious thing. It was only sold for a few cents outside, but for the conch that no one ate, Little Aunt actually offered a cent for five catties?

Was Little Aunt a little stupid or did she really not understand?

Song Xi reached out to pull the agitated Zhou Xiao Shu back. “Xiao Shu, if you’re unwilling to help with such a small favor, then don’t come to see me again. Even if you come, I won’t care about you.”

Hearing this, Zhou Xiao Hua was so afraid that her eyes turned red. She had no friends and no one liked her. This new aunt from the village did not despise her and even gave her candy and sugar water to drink, making her have a good impression of this aunt. She was really afraid that Little Aunt would really ignore her.

“Little Aunt, I’m willing to help, but I’m afraid that you’re taking a loss.” Seeing that Song Xi had misunderstood him, Zhou Xiao Shu hurriedly explained. Although he didn’t have money to study, he was a ten-year-old child that was a little sensible.

“I don’t think I’m taking a loss. Not only can I eat the conch, but I can also befriend the two of you. I think I’ve profited!” Song Xi reached out and ruffled Zhou Xiaohua’s hair before continuing, “Then let’s make a deal. In the future, help me pick up conch when you’re free. Wash it clean and remove the water. Then, send it over when it’s dark. Don’t tell anyone, understand? Little Xiao Hua, can you keep a secret too?”

“Yes,” the two children agreed crisply.

With money, they could buy food and fill their stomachs. They were young but not stupid. How could they tell others? What if they told others and harmed Little Aunt?

The snails were in the paddy field, and the water in the paddy field could at most drown their ankles, so she was relieved to let the two children pick them up. As for things like crayfish and river snails, most of them were in the river. She did not dare to let the children go, or she would feel guilty if anything happened. Therefore, she would put the crayfish and snails aside for the time being! When she recovered, she would use the lobster net to go catch them in the river.

In any case, crayfish could be eaten until October. After October, they could eat crabs again, and river snails could be found all year round. conches were different. When winter came, they hid in the mud and were not easy to find.

“Then Aunt will thank you here first!” Song Xi gave the two children two White Rabbit Milk Candies each.

Typical families favored boys over girls. Boys were pampered and domineering. Everything entered the boys’ mouths. Girls could not eat anything good, but these two children did not fight. It could be seen that the two children had a deep relationship.

The two children accompanied Song Xi under the osmanthus tree for a while before leaving. The two of them still had a lot of things to do when they returned home. Otherwise, their father, who loved to hit people, would not be polite to them.

Even if their father liked to hit people, they had nowhere to go and could only stay here. They did not know where their mother was or if she would come back to pick them up. However, she probably would not. Even if a woman remarried, her life would not be easy. How could her in-laws agree to her fetching the children of her ex-husband?

Now that Little Aunt had given them a way out, they all wanted to grasp it well.

Zhou Yi returned with a basket of mushrooms on his back. The moment he entered the courtyard and saw Song Xi lying under the osmanthus tree, he panicked. He hurriedly walked over and shook her shoulder worriedly. “Wife, wife, wife…”

“Brother Yi, you’re back?” Song Xi opened her eyes in a daze and saw the worried handsome face that appeared in front of her. She reached out to cover her mouth and yawned heavily. “I’m sorry, I’m a little sleepy.”

“If you’re tired, why don’t you go back to your room to rest?” Zhou Yi picked Song Xi up from the bamboo chair and sent her back to her room to rest. He had been scared to death just now. He thought that his wife had fainted there.

After sending Song Xi into the room, Zhou Yi came out to tidy up the mushrooms and prepare the food for dinner. The rest was placed in the winnow basket, he planned to dry them and save them for later.

The sun was very bright in this season. As long as they were exposed to the sun for a few hours, it would not be a problem to preserve them for a few months.

“Wife, are you hungry? Come and eat if you’re hungry.” Just as Song Xi woke up and sat on the bed to clear up, she heard Zhou Yi’s voice. She turned to look at the door and met his sincere and concerned eyes. She felt very warm.

“Okay, I’ll be there in a while.” Song Xi straightened her two braids and tidied up her clothes before going out for dinner. Zhou Yi had already brought dinner to the table under the osmanthus tree. Not only did he scoop rice for Song Xi, but he also made her a cup of malt milk. He knew that she did not like to drink anything too sweet, so he put half a spoonful of malt powder. It should be nutritious!

There were two dishes for dinner. One was mushroom egg soup, and the other was cured meat stir-fried with sweet potato stems. That day, under Song Xi’s guidance, Zhou Yi realized that the sweet potato stems were quite fresh and delicious, so he stir-fried a little more tonight.

It was delicious, but it was too troublesome to deal with because the skin had to be peeled off one by one. Actually, no one in the village ate this. It was only after the sweet potatoes were harvested that the sweet potato vines and stems were all cow feed.