After breakfast, Li Dazhu took the sugar-roasted chestnuts that had been stir-fried the night before to Qingshui Town. This time, the brothers Li Zhiming and Li Zhihao had picked over a hundred catties of raw chestnuts; after they were roasted last night, Li Menglan watched with her own eyes as her father, Li Dazhu, weighed them. There was a total of over one hundred and thirty catties.
Li Menglan estimated that after these sugar-roasted chestnuts were sold, the family would have enough money to build a house. As for those persimmons... well, they could probably serve as the family's reserve fund, and also be used to make furniture.
Zhang Yuniang and Lin Sanniang—the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law—were sitting in the courtyard making clothes and shoes for the old and young of the Li family, while the brothers Li Zhiming and Li Zhihao were honestly pressing persimmons.
Li Fujin was also someone who couldn't sit still or remain idle. Carrying a basket, Li Fujin went to the vegetable patch in the backyard. Li Menglan had said that the family would eat dumplings tonight, so Li Fujin went to cut chives.
"Mother, Grandma, Eldest Brother, Second Brother—I'm going out." Li Menglan was wearing the new clothes that Zhang Yuniang had rushed to finish the previous night. The new white skirt with blue flowers was on her body; although it was only ordinary local printed cloth, Zhang Yuniang's needlework was the best in the entire Shangliang Village.
Not to mention, the skirt was in a style designed by Li Menglan herself, which Zhang Yuniang had cut and sewn stitch by stitch. It was a white pleated skirt with blue flowers, and on top was a small autumn jacket with a symmetrical front in the same pattern. This outfit looked especially pretty and charming on Li Menglan, who was still a young girl.
"Daughter, where are you going at this hour?" Zhang Yuniang was startled and asked somewhat nervously. "You're still holding a basket and a bag, daughter—you wouldn't be going up the mountain, would you?"
Seeing what Li Menglan was holding in her hands, Zhang Yuniang suddenly grew nervous.
"Mother, don't get all flustered." Seeing her mother's cute reaction, Li Menglan couldn't help but laugh softly. "Hehe... Mother, I'm not going up the mountain. The weather looks nice, so I'm planning to pick some wild chrysanthemums to bring home."
Li Menglan had no intention of hiding anything from her family and openly told them her plans.
Since Zhang Yuniang couldn't get anything more out of her, she stopped dwelling on the issue. Anyway, as long as her daughter wasn't secretly going up the mountain, that was fine. Instead, she asked what Li Menglan was going to use the wild chrysanthemums for.
Li Menglan looked at Zhang Yuniang with a smile and replied that once dried, they could be steeped in water and used as tea. Alternatively, they could be used to stuff pillow cores, which would be very nice too—at the very least, the fragrance smelled quite good.
"Mother! All the pillows at home are stiff, and the stuffing inside has gone bad. If we use dried wild chrysanthemums as pillow filling... then sleeping on them would definitely be very comfortable." Li Menglan said softly, her face showing a bit of embarrassment.
Zhang Yuniang didn't know whether wild chrysanthemums could actually be used for pillows or not. Anyway, as long as it was something Li Menglan said, she basically wouldn't object. Instead, she nodded in agreement. "Then, daughter, you should pick more! Make one for me, your father, your grandfather, your grandmother, and your two brothers."
Since her own daughter said it was good, Zhang Yuniang simply had Li Menglan make one for everyone in the family. Li Menglan nodded and agreed.
Even the two brothers, Li Zhiming and Li Zhihao, spoke up after hearing this. "Sister, you go pick the wild chrysanthemums first; Eldest Brother will come help you after I finish pressing the persimmons," said Li Zhiming with a smile.
Li Zhihao laughed carefreely. "Sister, go to the meadow! There are especially many wild chrysanthemums there, blooming exuberantly!"
"Mm... I got it. Eldest Brother, Second Brother, I'm off!" Li Menglan waved with a smile.
A turn to the left in front of the Li family home, and a narrow, flat dirt path led to the famous meadow of Shangliang Village. On both sides of the path, the grass was covered with clusters of small, golden wild chrysanthemums, wantonly blooming, lively and flamboyant, bursting with vitality. Though they lacked the luxurious magnificence of flowers grown at home, they appeared even more thriving, and the air was filled with a faint, delicate fragrance.
Li Menglan took several deep breaths of the fragrant, sweet air, feeling as though her very soul had been cleansed. The gloom and blockage that had been weighing on her heart also felt much better.
Perhaps this kind of life wasn't so hard to endure? Actually, it was really not bad. Although they were a bit poor, things would get better and better in the future. At the very least... right now was a brand new beginning. Not having enough to eat or wear was fine—take it slowly, and one day, there would be bread, and there would be a house....
As long as she remained firm in her goals, she could strive even harder. Go for it, Li Menglan!
Li Menglan waved her fist to cheer herself on.
The autumn sky was clear and azure, high and sparsely clouded. Though the tail of the autumn tiger still lingered, Li Menglan didn't feel the slightest stuffiness; instead, she felt the crisp, refreshing air of autumn.
The meadow referred to a large stretch of grassland near the Yun River. On one side of the grassland was the Yun River... and on the other side were the crop fields.
Li Menglan busied herself in the meadow like a joyful sprite. Her hands nimbly fluttered up and down as she pinched off fresh, bright wild chrysanthemums from beneath their calyxes. Those that had already bloomed were placed separately in the bag—to be dried and used as pillow filling later—while the other half-opened or unopened wild chrysanthemums and buds were placed in the basket. These were perfect for making chrysanthemum tea.
Looking at the vast sea of golden flowers brilliant as sunset clouds, Li Menglan smiled with curved brows and eyes. Hehe... such a large sea of wild chrysanthemums. If all of it were picked clean... it should be enough for pillow filling, right?!
In the distance, when the two brothers Li Zhiming and Li Zhihao walked over, they just happened to see their younger sister smiling like a fairy.
"Eldest Brother, don't you feel that ever since our sister recovered from her illness, she seems to be getting more and more beautiful?" Li Zhihao tugged on Li Zhiming's arm and said softly.
"You brat, what nonsense!" Li Zhiming reached out and rapped Li Zhihao on the head with slight displeasure. "Second Brother, what foolish talk is that? Our sister has always been good-looking. Come on... can't you see our sister is terribly busy? What are you standing there dumbfounded for? Hurry up and help."
"Oh, I got it." Li Zhihao bared his teeth at his eldest brother. "Eldest Brother, don't always hit my head; you'll turn me into an idiot."
"Hmph..." Li Zhiming glared lightly at Li Zhihao, then said loudly to Li Menglan with a smile, "Sister, Eldest Brother and Second Brother have come to help you. Tell Eldest Brother how to pick these wild chrysanthemums."
"Eldest Brother, Second Brother, how did you get here so fast? Are you done with the work at home?" Li Menglan lifted her head to glance at the two brothers, Li Zhiming and Li Zhihao, who were approaching against the light.
"Mm... all done. Mother told us to come help our little sister." Li Zhiming watched Li Menglan's hand gestures as she picked the wild chrysanthemums and followed along. "Sister, is it like this?"
Li Menglan looked at her eldest brother, who was doing it quite properly, and nodded with a smile. "Yes, just like that. Eldest Brother, remember: put the buds and half-opened flowers in the basket. After these are dried, they're used for making tea. Put the fully bloomed wild chrysanthemums in the bag. These are for pillow filling later. Make sure you don't mix them up."
Li Menglan knew that boys tended to be rather careless and couldn't help but remind her two brothers.
"Got it, Sister." Li Zhiming nodded.
Li Zhihao simply rolled his eyes. "Sister, just you watch! Second Brother isn't an idiot."
"Good, then let's pick faster. After we bring these wild chrysanthemums back, they still need to be washed. After washing, they must be steamed in a pot, and only then can they be dried for later use." Li Menglan smiled brilliantly at her two brothers.
"Okay."