Medicine Girl Jingjing

Chapter 9

Li Jingjing said dejectedly: "Only a few plants survived."

Her eldest brother has become calm since he went to Taiqingguan, and he also knows how to show compassion for elders and love younger siblings.

She took his two hands and looked at them. Calluses had grown on the palms and fingers.

Li Yunqing stroked the little girl's hair and patiently explained to her how to grow the five herbs.

When Qu went into the kitchen, he saw a piece of bacon about a catty beside the stove, picked it up and put it under his nose to sniff, and said happily, "Qing Yazi, is this piece of smoked dog meat given to your father by the Taoist temple?"

There are two kinds of Taoist priests in China, one can get married if they eat meat, and the other can’t get married if they eat vegetarian.The Taoist priests of Taiqing Temple are the former.

Li Yunqing shook his head and said, "Grandma, I bought this from the town for you to eat."

Qu Shi was very pleased, and said with a smile, "Don't waste your money recklessly."

Li Yunqing bought six catties of flour in the town, excluding the steamed moon cakes, enough for He's two meals of noodles, and also bought a copy of "The Book of Songs" for Li Qubing who likes to study.

Qushi was busy making lunch in the kitchen.He shi was kneading the noodles and preparing to steam the mooncakes in the afternoon.

The rain is getting heavier and heavier, and the rain is washing every corner of the world.

In Li's yard, three trees full of bright green oranges and one tree full of large yellow pears were whipped mercilessly by the rain, and in a short while more than [-] fruits fell.

The oranges are not yet ripe, and the fruit is sour and bitter and cannot be picked.The tall pear tree is waiting for Li Laoshi to come back and pick it from the tree.The heavy rain came at the wrong time. Not only was it impossible to enjoy the moon at night, but it also knocked down many fruits from the fruit trees in Liuyang County.

Li Yunxiao kept stamping his feet in front of the main room, and shouted angrily: "If it rains again, all my pears will be knocked down by the rain."

Li Yunqing put on a coir raincoat and ran to the yard with a wooden basin, and quickly picked the fallen fruits in the rain, picking up oranges and pears in the basin.

Li Yunxiao clapped his hands excitedly and shouted: "Brother is so kind, I have pears to eat."

Li Jingjing ran out of the bedroom, pinched Li Yunxiao's buttocks, and reprimanded: "Next time, don't ask elder brother to pick things up in the heavy rain."

Li Yunxiao reached out to hit Li Jingjing, but she grabbed her wrist and said angrily, "I didn't ask my elder brother to pick him up, he went by himself."

Li Qubing was sitting by the door of the main room, reading "The Book of Songs" by light, raised his head and said, "Xiao Yazi, if you hadn't made a noise just now, your elder brother wouldn't have picked fruit."

He Shi poked his head out of the kitchen door to take a look, and immediately shouted: "Young boy, don't choose, there is thunder hidden in the rain, go back to the house."

Li Yunqing ran into the main room with half a basin of fruit, took off his coir raincoat and threw it on the ground, his hair, face and shoes were all wet, he still smiled and said, "Sister Jing, Xiaoyazi, do you want to eat pears?"

Li Yunxiao hugged Li Yunqing's thigh aggrievedly and said, "Brother, sister Jing bullied me."

Li Jingjing put her hands on her hips and raised her eyebrows, "I'm teaching you a lesson."

Li Yunxiao is very naughty, and loves to cry a lot. Ever since he could speak, he was taught by Li Jingjing.

Qu's cheerful cry in the kitchen overwhelmed the sound of the heavy rain. Li Yunxiao heard that there was going to be a meal, especially at noon today, so he stopped making trouble, with a smile on his face, and took advantage of Li Jingjing's inattention, He kissed the tip of her nose so hard that it almost crooked her nose.

Li Yunqing smiled and said: "Xiao Yazi is naughty, but he doesn't hold grudges."

Soon there were six dishes on the table, fried smoked dog meat with green garlic sprouts, fried small dried fish with chili, steamed meat with rice flour, fried screw meat with spicy sauce, stewed pumpkin, loofah egg soup, all of which were delicious in color, flavor and taste. It was a delicious meal for the whole family.

In the afternoon, the rain stopped, the sun drove away the dark clouds, and the sky and the earth became clear and bright. The air in Qujia Village was filled with the faint scent of sweet-scented osmanthus, and every household was preparing for the formal feast at night.

Every year on the [-]th day of the twelfth lunar month, the Li family has a reunion dinner at their own house, and spends the Mid-Autumn Festival at Qu Kuaishou's house.This year was no exception, Qu Shi took Li Qubing and the two younger ones to go first, He Shi steamed the mooncakes, and carried them over with Li Yunqing.

Qu Kuaishou's loud laughter was heard outside the gate, "The new emperor decreed that the imperial examination will be held next spring."

He's complexion changed slightly, he stopped, his eyes dimmed, as if he was recalling the past.

Li Yunqing turned around and asked, "Mom, what's wrong with you?"

He Shi reached out to touch his eyes, and said softly, "I got sand in my eyes, just rub it."

Qu Kuaishou's home is a rare courtyard house in the village. There are seven or six main rooms, five east and west wing rooms, and four east and west kitchen rooms. The courtyard in the middle is large enough to hold twenty tables of banquets.

When Qu Kuaishou was building a house, he deliberately built more rooms in order to have more children and grandchildren.

He imitated the rich and noble families in the county, and instead of planting affordable fruit trees in the yard, he planted two laurel trees, four gardenias, and three magnolia trees. There are a few red carps in the tank, and the newcomers thought they had entered Mr. Academy's house without knowing it.

When He's mother and son entered the courtyard, the fragrance of flowers mingled with the smell of fresh rainwater, Lin's wearing a plum blossom gold hairpin and a sapphire blue long coat came out from the main room.

He Shi nodded slightly and called, "Sister-in-law."

Consciously or unintentionally, Mrs. Lin caressed the plum blossom gold hairpin she wore in her hair, raised her eyebrows and said in a higher voice than usual: "Hey, younger brothers and sisters, Qing Yazi, come here as soon as they come, why don't you bring something valuable."

Lin is the guest of Qu Kuaishou's son Qu Changjiu. She is 33 years old. During childbirth, she suffered a blood collapse and almost died.

Once drunk, Qu Changjiu once praised He's youth and beauty, envied Li Laoshi's beauty and happiness, and said that He's sons and daughters were destined to give birth to dragon and phoenix twins, and envied Li Laoshi's complete children.

Since then, Lin has been jealous of He, and his words are often barbed.

Li Yunqing glanced at the fish-shaped wooden hairpin inlaid with silver on He Shi's hair, and lowered his head to the kitchen with the mooncake in his hand.

He Shi said with a blank expression: "This is just some mooncakes I made, with five kernels and some fruit fillings. It's not expensive. Let's try it together tonight."

Although she and Lin are relatives, they don't live under the same roof, and they don't have much contact with each other, so there is no need to hurt the peace with a few words.

Lin exaggerated and said loudly: "I also made moon cakes. They ate some just now and they all said they were delicious."

Mrs. He nodded slightly and was about to enter the main room, but Mrs. Lin stood in front of her and said in a low voice: "Hey, Changsheng won't come back to accompany you for the festival this year?"

Qu's came one step ahead of He's, and had already said that Li Laoshi would not go home.What Lin said was simply nonsense.

He Shi said: "There are so many festivals in Guanli, he can't leave."

Lin snorted contemptuously through her nose, raised her unnaturally curved eyebrows that had been excessively modified with eyebrow powder, and said, "Isn't it just to settle accounts, a three-year-old can do it, and he is still needed."

He Shi said slowly: "So you always thought that the people who work in Taiqing Temple are less intelligent than three-year-old puppies."

(End of this chapter)