Transmigrated as My Aunt in the 70s
Chapter 42 Picking Wild Mushrooms

Chapter 42: 42 Picking Wild Mushrooms

Zhong Yuying glared resentfully at Tian Sisi, not expecting that after Tian Zhaodi’s bout of illness, her mind seemed to have become sharper, impervious to persuasion, completely unlike the previously gullible and easily coaxed Zhaodi. No, she must find a way to regain control over Tian Sisi, because without Sisi as a friend, Daddy surely won’t let her continue studying. She refuses to be like her older and younger sisters, toiling all day with her face towards the soil and back to the sky, keeping company with those filthy men.

She must persist with her studies, for only through education could she have the chance to leave this small mountain village and also have the opportunity to marry an outstanding man. She absolutely did not want to stay in this small mountain village and become an illiterate peasant woman, nor did she wish to be like most of the village girls, marrying crass and dirty rural men.

"Sisi, you have so many misunderstandings about me. I’ll come to find you again next time, I’ll take my leave first." Zhong Yuying awkwardly found an excuse to leave, turned around, and hurried away. The current Zhong Yuying did not have the thick skin and tactics she had in her past life when she was a mistress, thus when faced with just a few words from Tian Sisi and Donghua Jianguo, she could not keep up appearances.

Tian Sisi couldn’t care less about Zhong Yuying. The person she is now is not the same one from her past life. Moreover, her status is much higher than Zhong Yuying’s, so she does not really need to take Zhong Yuying too seriously. She closed the yard gate and then took a bunch of little tykes towards the back mountain.

When Jingzhe arrived, all things revived. The trees on the mountain all sprouted tender green buds, and the wild greens poked their heads out of the ground. Tian Sisi was delighted to find a wild peach tree that had even sprouted pale pink buds, with a few flowers half open as if bashful young maids—if only she had a camera to capture this beautiful moment!

The desire to earn money grew increasingly strong in Tian Sisi. No, tonight she would seek out Brother Xinhua and discuss the brewing business with him first. Once the spring plowing was over, they could get started.

"Sisi, we can start picking shepherd’s purse now! And there’s malan head, and lots of mushrooms. Let’s pick more and take them back for Granny to dry, so we can keep them for eating during New Year," Jianguo said like a little adult, having even planned what to eat for New Year.

Tian Sisi came back to her senses, saw the little ones had already started picking wild greens, and realized she was the oldest one still standing idle, blushing, she hastily crouched down to join Jianguo and the others in foraging. As it was still early spring, the shepherd’s purse and malan head were just sprouting, so they picked only a small basketful and decided to wait for the plants to grow bigger before picking more.

There were plenty of wild mushrooms—white, brown, and tan ones, all mushrooming up like little umbrellas. Tian Sisi knew that brightly colored mushrooms were poisonous, so she focused on picking the paler and plumper ones. When she saw Little Baoguo sometimes choosing beautiful mushrooms to put in the basket, she would pick them out and throw them away.

While the little ones were busy picking wild veggies, Tian Sisi took the chance to hide about a dozen eggs in a nearby bush, intentionally directing Jianguo towards them. Sure enough, before long, Jianguo’s cries of joy could be heard as he excitedly filled his basket with about a dozen eggs, his little face filled with surprise.

"Jianguo is really amazing, finding so many wild eggs. Tonight, Granny can stir-fry mushrooms with eggs for us," praised Tian Sisi, and this was indeed her deliberate action. Jianguo, the little fellow, always felt that they were freeloading here with their three brothers, not daring to take more food during meals, and being busy all the time, like a spinning top. Now that he had found eggs, maybe he’d feel like he was also contributing to the family.

Everyone else was also very happy, each offering ideas on how to eat the eggs. Jianguo clung tightly to the basket, his mood extremely excited, feeling that now he could also earn food for Granny’s house. He wanted to frequent the mountain often in the future, to see if he could find more wild eggs, so he and his brothers wouldn’t be freeloading anymore.

Tian Sisi saw that the baskets were almost full and called the little ones to head home. Now she was like a children’s king, as she gave them tasty treats every day, the little ones were especially obedient to Tian Sisi’s words. Although they still wanted to play on the mountain, they obediently followed behind Tian Sisi down the mountain.

On the way back, they actually ran into Zhong Yuying and some other unfamiliar girls, all around ten years old, among them was Zhong Meiying, but she walked far behind, not very close to the people in front, Zhong Yuying was chatting and laughing with a girl beside her. Seeing Tian Sisi coming down the mountain, her expression stiffened. She wanted to greet her, but feared that Tian Sisi would make her lose face. Now people in Zhongjia Bay still didn’t know that Tian Sisi had fallen out with her.

"Yu Ying, isn’t that Tian Zhaodi? Why don’t you greet her?" The speaker was Zhong Anmei, Zhong Yubai’s youngest daughter, who was thirteen this year. Usually she couldn’t stand Zhong Yuying’s affectedness and now she deliberately called out loudly.

"An Mei, you got it wrong. Tian Zhaodi is now called Tian Sisi. Didn’t Mei Ying specially go door-to-door to say so last time?" Another girl chuckled and reminded Zhong Anmei. She was Zhong Lanying, who had recently made a snowman with Tian Sisi. These girls were all from Zhongjia Bay and Zhong Lianying and Zhong Juying were also there; they had agreed to come up the mountain to pick mushrooms together.

Zhong Anmei uttered an "oh," patted her head, and gave Tian Sisi an apologetic smile. She was a very dazzling girl, tall and with particularly bright eyes that seemed to burn like fire. Tian Sisi instantly took a liking to the girl; she felt that someone with such eyes couldn’t possibly be the deceitful sort.

Zhong Yuying gave an awkward smile, seething with anger inside. That Zhong Anmei really was a busybody, like a dog trying to catch mice. Tian Sisi ignored Zhong Yuying, walking straight up to Zhong Anmei with a smile, greeted Zhong Lanying and the others, and pointed in the direction she had just come from, "There are lots of mushrooms over there; you can go take a look."

Zhong Anmei and the others were somewhat flattered. Tian Sisi had never greeted them, people of bad social standing, before. And today she was so amiable? The sun must have risen from the west. Moreover, wasn’t she close friends with Zhong Yuying? Why did Tian Sisi not even bother with Zhong Yuying?

Since Zhong Lanying and the others had established a friendship while making snowmen a few days earlier, they weren’t too surprised. They even thanked Tian Sisi, who just smiled without saying much. Seeing the ragged Zhong Juying, Tian Sisi felt a prickle in her heart. Although she knew this Zhong Juying wasn’t her mother from a previous life, she couldn’t help but want to pay attention to her.

Perhaps her mother also suffered like this when she was young? Tian Sisi made up her mind to help Zhong Juying. Not for any other reason but because she shared the same name and experiences as her mother. Helping her was a small effort for herself, but it would make it much less hard for Zhong Juying.

Tian Sisi also greeted Zhong Meiying, thanking her for spreading her new name. Zhong Meiying smiled sheepishly, having received two beautiful head ornaments just for running errands. She didn’t think it was worth thanking for. Tian Sisi liked Zhong Meiying’s simplicity and invited her over to visit when she had time.

Zhong Meiying nodded excitedly. Due to her grandfather, the Tian Family was Yuequan Village’s holy land. Ordinary people couldn’t even step over the Tian Family’s threshold. In the eyes of these ordinary villagers, the Tian Family stood tall at the foot of Yuequan Mountain, as if from a different world. So, being a guest at the Tian Family was a great honor, and even chatting in the village was a way to add luster to one’s own face.

Zhong Yuying glared at Zhong Meiying with hatred. She knew Tian Sisi wouldn’t break off their friendship without reason; it was all due to that wretched girl Zhong Meiying. It seemed Daddy was right, appearances are deceiving. Zhong Meiying, like her father Zhong Shancai, seemed honest but was cunning at heart. Otherwise, how could her family have been classified as middle farmers while the Meiying’s were considered poor farmers? Despite the small difference in terms, the statuses between her and Zhong Meiying were worlds apart. If it weren’t for her own sweetness and sociability, she would have been despised like Zhong Juying.

"Zhong Yuying, is Tian Sisi upset with you? Why else would she ignore you?" Zhong Anmei teased Zhong Yuying with a giggling smirk.

Zhong Yuying pretended not to hear and hurried ahead, crouching down to start picking mushrooms by herself. Zhong Anmei snorted coldly and went to the other side to pick as well. Daddy and Mommy loved fresh mushrooms, and she wanted to gather more to give them some nourishment.

The others also remembered that Tian Sisi had greeted everyone present except for Zhong Yuying, including those of the rich peasant class like Zhong Anmei. The group exchanged glances; it seemed Anmei was right, Tian Sisi had taken a dislike to Zhong Yuying. They all felt a little schadenfreude. Zhong Yuying, relying on her friendship with the little Princess Tian Sisi, always acted superior when dealing with them. Now, without Tian Sisi’s protection, let’s see what airs Zhong Yuying can put on?

PS: Once again, thank you to my dear friends, I love myself XX, and Fat Girl 0915! Thanks, Old Yang has really been too busy these days, barely managing two updates per day. Sorry, my dear readers!

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