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墨書 Inktalez
Waiting always feels oppressive. Yezhi and Village Uncle sat silently in the empty classroom. When Aunt Ren Er rushed into the candlelit classroom, it felt like a shot of adrenaline injected into Yezhi's heart.
One by one, Aunt Zhou, Aunt Li, Mei Zi, Barefoot Aunt, Xiao Mu's Mother, One Gun Brother, Cart Master, Uncle Zhou... the villagers either stood or sat, filling the classroom to capacity. Everyone was discussing the peach-selling matter, and suddenly, the classroom was bustling like a pot boiling over.
Village Uncle coughed to signal everyone to quiet down. "Regarding the peach-selling matter, Yezhi is in charge. Let her explain it to everyone." Yezhi was taken aback; Village Uncle was quite clever, managing to shift the responsibility onto her with just one sentence. But since she had to speak, she would.
"Fellow villagers, I received fresh peaches from a villager's family yesterday. They said they couldn't finish them and gave them to my little bear as rations. I thought, since we can't eat them all, why not sell them? I’ve already inquired; peaches are selling for six cents a pound in the city! I can buy a big bag of sugar balls for three or four pounds of peaches."
Zhou Xiaomu shouted from outside the window, "Mom, I want candy!" Xiao Mu's Mother laughed and scolded him lightly, "You little rascal, why are you shouting?" This drew laughter from everyone.
Yezhi smiled as she glanced at the kids peeking through the window and continued, "Selling peaches can not only buy candy for the kids but also allow you big brothers and uncles to buy a bottle of good wine to taste; and you aunts can get some nice fabric to make new clothes."
Yezhi's words made the villagers smile with delight. She pressed on, saying, "Fellow villagers, you often envy how people in the city live. But honestly, if they don’t have money in their pockets, their lives aren’t any better than ours. If we sell peaches and make some money, we can fill our pockets!"
The villagers pondered her words thoughtfully. Village Uncle felt warmed by Yezhi's speech! He cleared his throat and said, "Tomorrow, those who want to sell peaches should pick them and bring them to the team for weighing. Da Zhu and Old Accountant will help everyone keep track of the numbers. Boss and Lao Wu will be responsible for transportation. The day after tomorrow, you and I will go into town together to sell peaches." After making these arrangements, Village Uncle announced the meeting was adjourned.
Yezhi and Aunt Zhou returned home from the production team and quickly made Sorghum Cakes along with cucumbers dipped in sauce. Yezhi bit into the crunchy cucumber without stopping; perhaps it was due to the 'energy' stone that she had never tasted such delicious and juicy cucumbers before. Aunt Zhou joined her in eating two cucumbers each without stopping; just as they were about to bite into a third one, she handed one to Black Treasure. Black Treasure was delighted; this little guy was happy as long as he got food and was not picky at all. He had eaten so many peaches without getting tired of them—very easy to take care of!
After finishing her bath, Yezhi suddenly felt an urge to pick a cucumber from the backyard. She sliced it thinly and placed it on her face for a refreshing coolness. Cucumbers are known for restoring skin elasticity and vitality. She tilted her head back while holding a bowl as she walked inside; Aunt Zhou was sewing clothes with new plain fabric under dim candlelight. Seeing Yezhi come in, she nervously tidied up her sewing basket to avoid Yezhi’s nagging about not taking care of her eyes.
Yezhi kicked Black Treasure out of her way; he rolled over playfully on the ground while waving his limbs affectionately. "Mama Bear" needed to feed him a late-night snack; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to sleep.
Aunt Zhou took the bowl from Yezhi's hands and looked curiously at her face covered in cucumber slices. "What are you doing with all those cucumber slices on your face?"
Ignoring Black Treasure, Yezhi stepped over his plump body and sat on the edge of the kang while explaining to Aunt Zhou about cucumber skincare benefits. She insisted that Aunt Zhou try it too; Aunt Zhou laughed heartily as she imitated Yezhi by placing all the cucumber slices on her face.
Black Treasure had gotten used to late-night snacks; seeing "Mama Bear" and "Granny Bear" with food on their faces but no share for him made him pitifully lick his two chubby paws!
Yezhi and Aunt Zhou lay flat on the kang together when Aunt Zhou asked, "Daughter, how long do we need to keep this on?"
"Fifteen minutes, right? Let the skin absorb it!" Aunt Zhou, not understanding what absorption meant, was about to ask when Yezhi interjected, "Aunt, are we selling peaches?"
"Of course we are!" She had to support her daughter's choice.
"Then what about the food for Black Treasure? That little guy eats too much!" Hearing "Mama Bear" call for it, Black Treasure thought it was time for a midnight snack. It straightened its plump body and lay on the edge of the bed, but no one paid attention to it. Feeling dejected, it sat on the ground and continued licking its paws.
"I'll go up the mountain and pick some wild fruits; that should work."
Yezhi thought for a moment and decided that was the only option. After Aunt Zhou took off the cucumber, she carried a bowl to the kitchen. Yezhi grabbed a handful of Smart Beans from a large wooden box for Black Treasure, who then chewed on the Smart Beans before rolling back to its den to sleep.
When Aunt Zhou entered the room, Yezhi had already closed her eyes. She blew out the candle and went to bed.
At that moment, Yezhi was actually calling Xiao Fang to review the new contract sent by Cosmic Mall. After Xiao Fang looked it over and said there were no issues, Yezhi signed the contract and left her handprint. After signing, she was exhausted from a sleepless night and a busy day. After saying goodnight to Xiao Fang, she logged off and went to sleep.
The dazzling sunlight made Yezhi, who was lazily sleeping under a thin blanket, turn over. Aunt Zhou entered the room and slapped her on the backside, "Get up! The sun is shining on your butt!" Yezhi ignored her; let it shine, she thought. After all, she was skilled enough to sleep through anything. Aunt Zhou shook her head and suddenly pulled off the thin blanket while shouting at her, "Get up! The kids are waiting for you to start class!"
This made Yezhi, who was stubbornly lying on the bed, jump up in alarm. Oh no! It was already bright outside! In a hurry, she got dressed and washed up. When she returned to the room, Aunt Zhou had set out Corn and Egg Porridge along with a bowl of pickled cucumber slices. Black Treasure, drinking Corn and Egg Porridge, lifted its round head with a ring of yellow fur around its mouth and wobbled over to Yezhi asking for a hug. Yezhi gave it a perfunctory hug but felt she was reaping what she sowed. Looking at how adorable Black Treasure had been as a baby when she often held it in her arms, now that it had grown bigger and fatter, she could hardly lift it anymore. Black Treasure still wanted to nuzzle against her; no way! Habits were frighteningly hard to break; they needed correcting.
Yezhi sat on the bed with Aunt Zhou to have breakfast but felt that the cucumber wasn't as juicy or sweet as yesterday's. "Aunt, don't you think this cucumber is lacking moisture? It's not as tasty as last night."
Aunt Zhou chuckled and replied, "Girl, your tongue is too sharp! The cucumber slices are leftovers from last night." They hadn't eaten cucumber slices last night; could it be... used for face masks?
"Aunt, this wouldn't be what we put on our faces, would it?" Yezhi pointed at her face and asked.
"If you can eat it, don't waste it! Don't worry; I washed them with clean water; they're not dirty!" Aunt Zhou assured Yezhi. She knew they weren't dirty but still felt a bit uncomfortable about it! After hastily finishing her porridge in a few gulps, she grabbed her textbooks and walked out of the house.
Walking briskly among the green mountains and clear waters, well-rested and well-fed Yezhi felt refreshed. When she reached outside Team's classroom, there was a crowd gathered outside. Big Zhu and Old Accountant were busy as bees; Aunt Ren Er and her husband had also joined in helping with weighing things. As she got closer to take a look, she saw Er Zhu helping with counting too. When Er Zhu noticed the teacher had arrived, he immediately stood up to bow and explained everything. Yezhi thought Er Zhu was becoming more formal by the day. One Egg and his group of kids were also helping by placing weighed peaches into Willow Stick's storage area surrounded by straw.
Seeing everyone so busy made Yezhi want to say that today should be a holiday instead. But when Village Uncle arrived, he sent all the kids off to class. During class time, Yezhi worried about potential distractions among them; however, outside was surprisingly quiet. While the kids practiced with their heads down, looking outside revealed villagers delivering peaches speaking in hushed tones like they were engaged in secretive work alongside Big Zhu and Old Accountant.
"Four is four, ten is ten. To say four correctly, your tongue must touch your teeth. To say ten correctly, your tongue should not be straight. To say both four and ten correctly, practice saying ten and four more."
The kids repeated it over and over, but One Egg's tongue kept getting tangled. He shouted it loudly, causing everyone to get mixed up! Everyone told him to be quieter, but he stubbornly replied, "I am quiet! Teacher Ye can't hear me making mistakes!" Yezhi was both amused and exasperated. The children's thirst for knowledge was very strong. Sometimes, during structured lessons, she would teach them some tongue twisters she remembered to help the kids learn and reinforce their phonetic memory. This particular one about four and ten had stuck with her for twenty years. She realized she was showing signs of early aging: the closer the events were, the easier they were to forget, while the older memories remained vivid! She started feeling this way at 27...!
After struggling with the flat and retroflex sounds, Yezhi announced that class was over. As soon as they heard this, the kids rushed out of the classroom, surrounding Old Accountant and Big Zhu, asking for help. Old Accountant laughed and said, "Go! Go! Go! There's nothing for you to do; go study hard." Big Zhu also chimed in, "All done here; hurry home!"
Disappointed, they returned to the classroom, chattering away with Yezhi about whether they could buy lots of candy or pencils if they sold peaches... They also asked what the city was like. Yezhi suddenly felt a wave of sadness; she truly felt old now. The candies and comic books she had brought from the city were still sitting in a large wooden box!
One Egg pushed through a crowd of smaller kids and exclaimed, "Sister Ye, we're going fishing the day after tomorrow; are you coming?" Yezhi really wanted to knock One Egg on the head; wasn't this just inviting everyone along? With so many kids playing by the water, she couldn't keep an eye on all of them—what if something dangerous happened?
One Egg had no idea what Yezhi was thinking; otherwise, he would have laughed out loud. All the kids in this village grew up playing by the river. The youngest child in the village, Zhou Xiaomu, could splash around in the water before even learning to walk.
Before the kids could shout, "I want to go! I want to go!" Yezhi called them over to her house first to share candies and look at comic books. Instantly, cheers and laughter filled the air...
Aunt Zhou was startled when a swarm of kids suddenly rushed into her yard while she was sorting peaches. After Yezhi brought out Sugar Balls and Comic Books from inside and handed them to Er Zhu for distribution—without needing any reminders since Er Zhu would naturally save some for Zhou Xiaomu and her group of Little Beans.
Er Niu received his candy carefully placed it in his pocket. He didn't want to eat it himself but gave one piece to Black Treasure who was wrestling with the boys.
After the kids left, Yezhi and Aunt Zhou drank the leftover porridge from breakfast. Then they carried two baskets of peaches to Team.
Big Zhu weighed them for her; there were 103 pounds of peaches from her home. Old Accountant recorded this in a small red notebook. Yezhi asked Big Zhu how many families had contributed. Big Zhu happily held up one finger to indicate one family had helped her out. Yezhi felt very pleased; the villagers' trust in her and their unity warmed her heart!
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