Shen Dalang breathed a sigh of relief. He untied the rope and put Chen Xiaosang down. He picked up the snake from the ground and wrapped it around his waist three times. Then, he tied the snake's head and tail together with a rope. He slung the bow and arrow over his shoulder and held the rest of the snake.
Chen Xiaosang fell into deep thought as she looked at the snake wrapped around his waist.
In her memory, when the pit viper was frightened, it would curl its body into a circle and wait for a long time before attacking its prey. Why was it so eager to attack her today?
Chen Xiaosang rubbed her smooth chin with her small hand for a moment. When she thought of a possibility, her eyes lit up. She wandered around Shen Dalang. When she saw a big nest surrounded by hay, she ran toward it.
Snake eggs! Eighteen of them!
She bent down and picked up the snake eggs one by one into her pocket, pressing them on the honeysuckles.
Snake eggs could also be used as medicine. Their value was not low. She could also take them to the medicine shop to sell and earn a sum of money.
The snake was hunted by Shen Dalang, so it naturally belonged to him. She was the one who found the snake eggs, so she would keep them without hesitation.
Chen Xiaosang happily ran back to Shen Dalang after picking up the snake eggs. As she walked back with him, she nagged at him, "If you sell this snake in a medicine shop, you can earn a lot of money. Don't take it to a restaurant. The weather is too hot, don't let it stink… Sigh, are you listening to me? Hello..."
The veins on Shen Dalang's forehead bulged, and his strides became much bigger.
Chen Xiaosang trotted along with her short legs, nagging as she ran behind the young man.
Aiya, after all, he was only a ten-year-old child. She should not let him spoil such a good snake.
Chen Xiaosang was worried. The more she talked, the faster he moved. Eventually, she was out of breath and could not speak anymore.
Shen Dalang looked at her short legs and could not bear letting her suffer any further, so he slowed down so that she could keep up with him.
"Your archery is very accurate. Who did you learn it from?"
Shen Dalang: "..."
"Do you go hunting in the mountains every day?"
Shen Dalang: "..."
Chen Xiaosang thought to herself that this person was indeed cold on the outside but warm on the inside.
Shen Dalang thought silently in his heart. Why was the child of the Chen family so talkative at such a young age?
If Chen Xiaosang knew what he was thinking, she would definitely vomit blood!
Shen Dalang's house was near the foot of the mountain. When they arrived at the Shen family's house, he opened the door and put down his harvest today. He was going to send Chen Xiaosang home.
On the way, Chen Xiaosang said to him again, "You can't tell my family that I went to the foot of the mountain or they'll be angry.""
Shen Dalang frowned, but he still replied with one word, "Alright."
Chen Xiaosang was relieved. She was sent to the door of her courtyard. She stared at Shen Dalang sincerely. "You're really a good person! Thank you for saving me. Do you want to come in and sit for a while?"
Shen Dalang replied coldly, "No need."
After saying that, he turned around and strode away.
Watching him leave, Chen Xiaosang sighed, "He looks good even when he walks."
As soon as she finished speaking, Shen Dalang took even bigger steps.
After a while, he turned to the corner and disappeared.
"He ran so fast. Are there ghosts chasing him? Seriously!" Chen Xiaosang scratched her head.
After hiding the snake eggs, Chen Xiaosang took the honeysuckles to the kitchen and saw her mother washing the pot with her head lowered.
She quickly walked over and smiled at Mrs. Li. "Mom, I want to stir-fry flowers."
Mrs. Li came back to her senses and thought that her daughter wanted to play house. They only had one precious daughter at home. What else could she do if she did not spoil her?
Hence, she agreed. After washing the pot clean, she sat in front of the stove and lit the fire.
Chen Xiaosang stepped on a stool and waited for the pot to heat up. She poured the honeysuckle into the pot and quickly stir-fried them with a spatula. She also reminded Mrs. Li to turn down the fire.
Mrs. Li agreed absent-mindedly and casually pulled out a piece of firewood.
This was the first time that Chen Xiaosang had used such simple equipment to process herbs. She was a little nervous and stared at the pot until the honeysuckles in the pot were fried to a golden color. She was relieved when she scooped them out.
Even though she had not worked for four years, her skills were still there.
Chen Xiaosang was quite happy with the result. She poured the remaining flowers into the pot and waved the spatula. Sensing that something was wrong, she immediately said, "Mom, the fire is running out!"
Only then did Mrs. Li react and hurriedly stuffed more firewood into the stove.
"Mom, what's wrong?" Chen Xiaosang asked with concern.
Consort Li saw her daughter looking at her nervously and squeezed out a smile. "Your big brothers have gone to work in the county. Mom is afraid that they will be tired."
"I'll go to the market with Dad tomorrow. We'll sell the processed honeysuckles. Then we'll have money to pay the taxes." Chen Xiaosang comforted Mrs. Li.
Mrs. Li's originally bitter face could not help but laugh when she heard her daughter's words.
"You want to go to town to play, don't you?"
This girl was addicted to playing house and was actually planning to go to town to sell flowers. Who would spend money to buy a bunch of mushy wildflowers?
However, it was true that her daughter was a caring little girl.
"I'm going to earn money," Chen Xiaosang said seriously. "Mom, wake me up tomorrow morning."
Mrs. Li was amused by her daughter's serious look. "Your father has to go to town before dawn. You won't wake up."
Chen Xiaosang could tell that her mother did not take her words seriously. She scooped up the honeysuckles in the pot and rushed to Mrs. Li. She hugged her neck. "Mom, let me go to town."
Mrs. Li was amused by her daughter and could not stop laughing. "Fine, fine, fine. I'll wake you up tomorrow morning. If you don't wake up, don't blame me."
Would she not wake up?
Of course… would...
Before dawn the next day, Mrs. Li helped her wash her face and teeth, but she was still drowsy and half-asleep.
"Why did you wake her up so early in the morning? She was just rambling. Let her sleep." Old Chen said to his wife as he tidied up his bag and pole.
Chen Xiaosang shook her body and quickly raised her hand. "I'm awake. I'm going to the market!"
She quickly picked up her small basket full of honeysuckles and put the hidden snake eggs into the basket. She grabbed the honeysuckles and covered them. She ran to Old Chen's side and said spiritedly, "Let's go."
Old Chen kept glancing at her basket full of fried wildflowers and reminded her, "It's a 25-minute walk to town. You should just stay at home and play."
"No, I want to go to town to earn money," said Chen Xiaosang seriously.
Old Chen shook his head repeatedly. His daughter would probably end up crying the way back in the afternoon.
Chen Xiaosang firmly carried the small basket her father had woven for her and followed Old Chen and Chen Wushu, who were carrying poles with bags.
In order to show her determination, she firmly refused when Old Chen asked her three times if she wanted to sit on the bags.
When they arrived in town, it was already 25 minutes later. Chen Xiaosang was so tired that she sat on the ground and did not want to move. When all the shops nearby were open, Chen Xiaosang got up and went to the medicinal store with her basket.
Old Chen did not dare to let her run around alone, so he told Wushu to look after the stall. He took Chen Xiaosang to the only medicine shop in town.
The shopkeeper was wiping the counter with a rag when he heard a young voice ask, "Shopkeeper, do you accept honeysuckle?"
The shopkeeper turned around and saw a face full of wrinkles. He was shocked and thought to himself: This old man's voice actually sounded like a child's! What a strange person!