Just as the sun set, Yue Jiuyue and Lin Chaobei packed up their things and headed home. Lin Chaobei carried a coarse burlap sack filled with medicinal herbs on his back, while Yue Jiuyue carried a basket containing the pair of rabbits.
Before they even reached home, Lin Chaobei loudly called out to Xiaoman, who was sitting on the doorstep:
“Xiaoman, come quick! Your grandmother caught two little rabbits!”
Then, not only did Xiaoman run toward Yue Jiuyue, but a swarm of six- or seven-year-old children also ran toward her, squeezing Xiaoman to the very back.
Xiaoman, feeling wronged, cried out:
“Grandma! Little uncle! I want to see the bunnies!”
It seemed that all mothers had built-in radar. The moment Xiaoman started crying, Liu Shi suddenly darted out of the house and ran anxiously toward her, not even noticing Yue Jiuyue and the others.
Liu Shi hadn’t gone to the mountain that afternoon. Having worked half a day and being unaccustomed to physical labor like Yue Jiuyue, she had fallen asleep while putting Xiaoman down for a nap. When she woke up, the sun was nearly setting, so she simply didn’t go.
“Xiaoman, don’t cry. Mama is here!”
Liu Shi picked up Xiaoman and soothed her softly. She wanted to see what the crowd was gathered for, but when she looked up and saw her mother-in-law, she was so startled that she nearly loosened her grip and dropped Xiaoman.
“Mother, you’re back.”
As she spoke, she moved to set Xiaoman down and take the basket from Yue Jiuyue’s arm.
Yue Jiuyue didn’t refuse and handed the basket to her.
“There’s a pair of rabbits in the basket, one male and one female. Have the three brothers build a rabbit hutch later. You raise them well.”
“All right, Mother! I’ll raise them well!”
Liu Shi’s eyes sparkled with joy.
The family was about to sell medicinal herbs, and now they had two rabbits too. Life was clearly looking up—how could Liu Shi not be happy?
In fact, she was so happy that she even forgot about her child. She carried the basket home on her own, leaving Xiaoman standing there dumbfounded, watching her mother walk farther and farther away until she disappeared.
“Waaah!”
Xiaoman cried—the kind of crying that couldn’t be soothed.
Yue Jiuyue didn’t know how to comfort a child. Lin Chaobei tried to use the rabbits to calm her, but Liu Shi was afraid Xiaoman might accidentally kill them with her rough handling. Besides, Xiaoman only wanted her mother. Even when Liu Shi said she needed to cook dinner, Xiaoman clung tightly to her neck, afraid that if she let go, her mother would disappear again, just like before.
That evening, Lin Chaobei made dinner.
Wild vegetable soup wasn’t complicated—just pick them clean, wash them, and boil them in a pot.
Children from poor families grew up early, and boys, in particular, were mischievous from a young age. They climbed trees to take bird eggs, waded into rivers to catch fish and shrimp, then built simple stoves out of stones and roasted their finds. They could eat things half-raw and still be perfectly happy.
So boiling wild vegetables was a piece of cake for Lin Chaobei and his brothers.
Lin Chaonan came home earlier than the day before, arriving just moments after Lin Chaodong. After dinner, he laid out everything he had learned.
“Mother, big brother, sister-in-law, fourth brother—today at the Li’s Medical Clinic, I learned from Dr. Li how to process medicinal herbs. Of course, mine won’t be as good as his. If the quality isn’t high, the price won’t be high either. But Mother, I want to try it myself.”
After speaking, Lin Chaonan waited for Yue Jiuyue’s answer.
Yue Jiuyue waved her hand decisively.
“Go ahead.”
Lin Chaonan smiled like a complete fool. It took him a while to remember he still had more to say.