An orphan girl from a farming family: Everyday farming in the mountains during natural disasters

Chapter 162 Daily Life in the Valley (2)

Xia Qingyue could not see any sadness, anger, hatred or other emotions from Han Zhibai. He was picking peaches with a smile as warm as the breeze on his face, and his emotions were as stable as the calm surface of a lake.

It's so calm, how can you say it so calmly?

Her hands clenched tightly involuntarily, her eyes fixed on his face, trying to see something through the details.

"My father found me in the mountains, that's how I got my name."

"Ah? Could it be that it was picked up near the cypress tree?" she asked speculatively.

“I found it under a cypress tree on the edge of a cliff. He also hoped that I could grow up to be as strong and upright as the cypress tree, and be healthy and safe.

Since then, I have been living in the mountains." He said with a smile, and the smile in his eyes was like spring rain, gentle and silent.

"You two must have a very good relationship," she said sincerely.

Han Zhibai's smile spread wider, "He likes to drink. When he got old, he often cheated in order to get a drink. He became like a child instead."

Hearing this, Xia Qingyue's stiff body relaxed. Fortunately, those memories of Han Zhibai were not full of pain, but surrounded by warm love.

There was envy in her eyes, and she could imagine some fragments of their daily life, which were warm, beautiful and interesting.

As she opened her mouth, she stared into space, her eyes devoid of emotion. "I had a few dreams before, and each time I dreamed that I grew up in a family where my parents abandoned me, and when I grew up, they kept asking me for money."

The expression on Han Zhibai's face froze, and his hand that was picking peaches dropped. He looked at her with a frown.

She talked lightly about the things that her original family had done to her in her previous life.

"Qingyue..." Han Zhibai felt a little flustered. When he heard her say those words, he felt like he was in her shoes and felt heartbroken.

Xia Qingyue smiled and said bitterly: "You all said it was a dream. I didn't tell you that my family originally lived in Xiushui Village at the foot of the mountain and was a neighbor of my uncle and aunt.

Now, I am an orphan like you, without parents. They passed away a few years ago."

After saying this, she actually felt much more relaxed, as if all the negative emotions that she had usually tried hard to ignore and accumulated in her heart were emptied out.

While she was secretly surprised, Han Zhibai looked at her silently, his eyes full of heartache.

In his memory, from the first time he saw her, she was with Heihei. Later, with the addition of people like Chen Yuzhen, he was curious about her family affairs, but he didn't expect the truth to be like this.

How hard must it be for her to be alone in the mountains for so long?

Han Zhibai's eyes were red, and his eyes were sore and bitter. He clenched his fists and said solemnly: "Whether it's you or me, our future will be better and better!"

"You're very far-sighted. It's just what I thought. Hahaha." She laughed happily.

"As a human being, you have to look forward. Your thoughts determine how you live, and you have your hands to create. You don't have to worry about not having good days ahead."

The clear voice fell into Han Zhibai's ears, and he stared at her smiling face in a trance, with tenderness in his eyes.

The two of them picked several buckets of good quality plums and peaches and took them back.

There was a well in the front yard. Han Zhibai was washing fruits by the well. He didn't let Xia Qingyue do such heavy work and asked her to go to the pen to look after the ewes.

She was still very curious about the ewes, so she went to the sheep pen. There was an adult sheep inside whose abdomen was a little more saggy than the other sheep, and the part that secreted goat milk was also more swollen.

The sheep are very docile. When they see people coming, they will come forward and bleat. Their eyes are clear, especially the lambs, which are so cute and look like lamb skewers.

She couldn't help but raised her hand and touched them one by one. They were soft to the touch. "They are so warm. I wonder how comfortable it would be to make a blanket out of wool in winter."

Seeing some green grass on the ground nearby, she picked it up and threw it into the pen for them to eat.

After watching them eat grass for a while, Xia Qingyue found Han Zhibai in the kitchen. He was using a knife to split open the washed plums and remove the cores.

The peaches needed to be peeled, which was a delicate job, so she found a knife and helped with the process.

Fortunately, both of them were patient and sat down to prepare several buckets of fruit.

"Hey, Han Zhibai, I forgot to ask, how much sugar do you have at home? Or honey?"

"I'll go find it." Han Zhibai went to the utility room.

Xia Qingyue sat in front of the stove and lit the fire, then placed an iron pot on the stove and scooped a few scoops of water from the water tank and poured it in. She then had to find the containers, such as ceramic jars, and boil them twice to sterilize them.

She looked towards the utility room and was about to ask Han Zhibai to find the pottery jar when she saw him coming over with some things in his arms.

"The dark jars contain honey, and the light ones contain brown and white sugar. I'll go find some empty jars."

In two loads he carried several jars and placed them all on the kitchen counter.

Xia Qingyue walked over, opened the jar and took a look. Wow, there were quite a lot.

Four cans of honey, weighing about sixty to seventy kilograms.

Five cans of brown sugar, more than 80 kilograms.

There is a little less white sugar, only one jar.

"How can he have so much candy?"

In ancient times, sugar, like salt, was also very precious.

Moreover, judging from their quality and color, they are all good, and accordingly, their prices are quite high.

Han Zhibai found several jars of different sizes and walked over with them, placing them in the empty space in the kitchen cabinet. "Qingyue, which one do you think is more suitable?"

After looking around, she pointed to two jars in the middle that were neither too big nor too small and said, "This size is just right. It depends on how many of these you have at home. There are a lot of fruits, so you should be able to make about ten jars."

"That's enough, come with me."

Han Zhibai brought Xia Qingyue to a row of wooden shelves at the innermost side of the utility room.

Jars of various shapes and sizes are neatly displayed on the three-layer shelves.

"So many." She exclaimed in surprise.

He pointed to the front and said, "These are the ones I fired. There are slightly larger pots on a row of shelves in the back."

She looked in the direction of his finger and saw those pots, which reminded her of the simmered sweet and sour pot she had worked so hard to make at the end of last year.

In comparison, her work was simply shoddy, while Han Zhibai's work was very delicate and of better quality and style than any pottery on the market.

"You are so amazing, how come you can do everything?"

Han Zhibai's face flushed when he received the compliment, his heart beat like a drum, the corners of his mouth curled up, and he said modestly: "Most of them were taught to me by my father."

Xia Qingyue couldn't help but become curious about Han Zhibai's father. If she guessed correctly, Lin Zi's formation should be related to him.

And Han Zhibai, why did he run to the mountains alone when he was a child, and what kind of life did he live before that?

When she thought of this, many other thoughts emerged like tree roots deeply rooted in the ground, growing wildly and extending, taking root deeply in her mind.

"Qingyue, Qingyue?"

Han Zhibai saw her staring into space in a daze and called out to her a few times.

Xia Qingyue came back to her senses and said with a smile: "It's okay, let's go and work."

She picked out three jars and held them in her arms.

Han Zhibai took four and followed her, "Qingyue, are those candies and honey enough?"