Flower Basket

The Zhou family never allowed Manbao to approach the river, so this was the first time she had such intimate contact with it. She happily put her hands in the water and played with it.

Turning her head, she saw Er Ya busy washing clothes. She also picked up a piece of clothing, copied her, and then placed it in the water. She stirred it, just like everyone else, trying to wring it dry.

Er Ya watched silently as Manbao finished washing. Afterward, she took the clothes and washed them again. After quickly washing the clothes, she took her little sister back home, prepared to face a beating.

Manbao was still excited. "The river water is so cool and refreshing." Er Ya said, "I will always come with you to wash clothes in the future."

"No, little sister, you can't wash clothes properly." If Auntie finds out, I will be beaten. "You should stay at home and play with Er Tou."

"No, I want to play in the water," Manbao said. "I have already talked to my sister-in-law." I will teach you how to read, and in return, you will have to take me to do the laundry.

"Really?" Er Ya hesitated. "Did my mother agree?"

"Of course," Manbao said proudly. "I begged her for a long time."

Er Ya was half-believing and half-doubting. When she returned home, she dragged her little sister to the kitchen to find her mother.

Feng was making breakfast and asked Er Ya to come and help with the fire. She told Manbao to leave the kitchen because the smoke was bothering her.

Er Ya went to make the fire and asked, "Mother, did you agree to let me learn to read?"

Feng looked at her with pride and then glanced at Manbao. She coaxed, "Yes, as long as you can earn money by reading, I will agree."

When Er Ya heard about this condition, her face turned bitter.

Manbao saw that she was about to cry and couldn't help but pull her away, saying to Feng, "Sister-in-law, Er Ya hasn't finished drying the clothes yet." I will go with her to dry the clothes.

"Hey," Feng shouted once before Manbao quickly dragged Er Ya far away.

Feng was helpless and had to go back to making the fire.

Manbao dragged Er Ya into the yard and said in a low voice, "Are you silly? I told you that you can earn money by reading, so if you don't learn to read, how can you earn money?"

Er Ya blinked her eyes, and after realizing what she meant, she asked, "Can I really do that?"

"Of course, my sister-in-law agreed to it."

Er Ya thought about it and felt a little unsure. "But what if I study for a while and still can't earn money?" What if my mother doesn't let me study anymore?

Manbao said seriously, "That's because you didn't study well enough or deeply enough, so you couldn't earn money." "So, in order to earn money, you have to keep studying."

Er Ya nodded thoughtfully. "Little sister, I think you're right."

Er Ya became happy again and went to hang the clothes.

Manbao, who was short, handed her the clothes.

Er Tou, who was sweating profusely, ran in from outside and saw Manbao standing under the clothesline. He ran up to her and asked, "Little sister, where did you go?" "You made it hard for me to find you."

"You're so silly." "I was just by the river."

Er Tou said, "Oh," and then remembered something. He jumped up and said, "Auntie didn't want you to go to the river." Okay, Er Ya, you... wuwuwu.

Er Ya covered his mouth as Manbao threatened him, "If you dare to shout, I won't give you any candy anymore."

Er Tou felt very wronged. "If you don't let me say it, then don't tell me!"

Er Tou's eyes were filled with tears, but he changed his words, "Little sister, I found your manuscript." Please go back and read it.

Manbao said, "Don't worry. We'll go pick wildflowers." "I've already figured out how to make money."

Er Tou and Er Ya felt that it was not reliable, but what could they do? This was their little sister's request, and Feng also said, "After breakfast, you should go with your little sister to clear the land and take care of her."

So, everyone happily ran to the foot of the mountain, leaving Zhou Si Lang to continue clearing the land. The land at the foot of the mountain significantly improved after two days of clearing.

It was probably about an acre, and most of the weeds had been cut, but the vines were difficult to remove. Some roots were too deep, and Zhou Si Lang couldn't dig out three in a day.

At that moment, his hands were covered in scratches, and he was crouched on the ground, gazing at a stubborn root he couldn't unearth.

Manbao also squatted down to look. "Is it so difficult to dig out?"

Zhou Si Lang looked at her with red eyes. "Why did you ask me to clear the land?"

Manbao was speechless. "Who told you to gamble?"

Zhou Si Lang was speechless and continued to lower his head in distress. "The hoe is dull, and I can't dig with it at all."

"It must be that you haven't found the right method," Manbao said with a hum, dragging him to the side and instructing Wu Ge and Liu Ge to dig.

Zhou Wu Lang held the hoe and asked, "Should I dig this deep?"

Manbao waved her hand boldly. "Listen to me!"

Zhou Wu Lang could only listen to her. He moved the soil to the side and slowly dug a large hole towards the root. Liu Lang then exerted force to pull out the root.

Everyone was silent.

Manbao hummed proudly as he watched Zhou Si Lang continue to dig the roots, and then went with Da Tou to find beautiful flowers on the mountain.

She also mentioned her plan, "Let Er Ge help us make some beautiful baskets." We will decorate the baskets with flowers as we did yesterday and then sell them.

"But isn't that just selling baskets?" "Er Tou asked." "The baskets are made by my father, so the money from selling them will definitely go to him." "He won't give it to us."

"It's not those big baskets." "It's the small baskets that Er Ge made for me."

"But those small baskets can't hold anything." "No one will buy them."

"When Er Ge made them for me, didn't you all like them?"

The children were entangled, "We liked them, but adults won't buy them."

"Children don't have money."

"Then we'll go find children who have money."

Manbao finally mentioned her ultimate goal, "When we sell the baskets, we'll put candy in them."

When they heard that there would be candy in the baskets, everyone felt a little more confident and followed her to find wildflowers.

Although it was autumn, there were still many wildflowers on the mountain. In a short time, everyone had a handful of flowers. With Manbao there, Da Tou and Da Ya's courage also grew. They left the three brothers who were still working hard and happily went home.

Zhou Wu Lang and Zhou Liu Lang looked at them enviously, but they also felt much better. At least they could go to the county town tomorrow, while Zhou Si Lang still had to come to clear the land.

Manbao ran home to find Zhou Er Lang, but he discovered that both Zhou Er Lang and Zhou Da Lang had gone to the fields.

The busy farming season was over, but the land still needed to be prepared. It would take half a year to prepare the land, and it would be ready for planting next spring.

Zhou Er Lang wasn't there, so Manbao could only find her father. "Dad, can you make small baskets for me, just like the ones Er Ge made for me?"