Chapter 9: The Foolish Boy Obsessed with Money

After a while, Father Zhu could no longer stand it. In his simple way of thinking, boys should not be messing around with flowers and plants. They should either be studying to earn a scholarly title or honestly farming at home; picking flowers and weeds was not the behavior of a good man.

"Alright, the harvest is decent enough for today. Let's head down the mountain." Father Zhu stopped his two sons, who were picking flowers with their bottoms in the air, to prevent them from going astray. "We need to get down before the sun sets; the mountain paths are difficult and unsafe to navigate once it gets dark."

Seeing that his small basket was filled to the brim with honeysuckle, Zhu Ping'an gently pressed the flowers down. Seeing that there was truly no more room, he reluctantly clapped his hands and followed his father down the mountain.

On the way back, Father Zhu took them to the place where he had set traps for rabbits before they arrived.

The first trap was empty; there was no harvest. Zhu Ping'an felt a bit disappointed.

However, he became excited again, as the next two traps each contained a fat rabbit, and they were still alive.

Father Zhu tied the rabbits' legs with wild grass and let Zhu Ping'an pet them to his heart's content before placing them into the basket.

This was his first time entering the mountains, and they had harvested wild chickens, rabbits, fish, bamboo shoots, mountain mushrooms, and honeysuckle. Zhu Ping'an was full of anticipation for future trips, and even the unbearable soreness in his calves didn't seem like much anymore.

"Oh, Second Brother is back!"

As soon as they entered the door, Fourth Aunt Zhao rushed over in a single stride. Her demeanor was like a wolf that had been starving for days, her eyes glowing green.

Even Chen, who had been waiting at the door for her husband and children for half the day, hadn't reacted yet before the Fourth Aunt had already gone to snatch the basket from Zhu Shouyi's back.

Anyone who didn't know better would have thought the Fourth Aunt was the one waiting for her own husband and children.

Zhu Ping'an stared, dumbfounded, at the unusually enthusiastic Fourth Aunt.

"Oh, Second Brother even caught two fat rabbits and two wild chickens! Ah, and so many fish! Mother, Mother, come quickly..."

At this moment, the Fourth Aunt transformed into an airport security officer, shrieking as she began rummaging through the basket. She let out a cry at every single item she saw, terrified that others wouldn't know what they had.

Father Zhu Shouyi looked at Chen with an embarrassed expression, so flustered by the Fourth Aunt's commotion that he didn't know where to put his hands.

Chen looked at the Fourth Aunt with an expression of utter disdain!

*Honestly, do you think everyone is like you and the Fourth Brother, hiding things away and being so stingy?*

As the Fourth Aunt shrieked, the grandmother walked over with brisk, agile steps. She didn't ask if her son and grandsons were tired from their time in the mountains or if they had encountered any danger; instead, she immediately asked, "Is this all you caught? Did you leave any behind somewhere else?"

*Huh?*

*Suspecting them of hiding things?*

"No, Mother, this is all we caught. With the two of them helping to pick wood ear mushrooms, mountain mushrooms, and bamboo shoots, the harvest is much better than the last time I went into the mountains alone," Zhu Shouyi replied honestly, as if he hadn't caught the hidden meaning behind Grandmother Zhu's words, even taking the opportunity to claim credit for his sons.

Grandmother Zhu knew her second son was honest; as long as things didn't pass through the second daughter-in-law's hands, there would be no hiding of goods. Furthermore, the fourth daughter-in-law was supervising, so she felt relieved.

However, when her eyes swept over the small basket on Zhu Ping'an's back, Grandmother Zhu rubbed her eyes. Why did it look like her little grandson was carrying wild flowers?

Grandmother Zhu reached into Zhu Ping'an's small basket and rummaged through it; it really was just wild flowers.

"You silly child, why are you carrying so many flowers?" Grandmother Zhu wondered if her grandson's head wasn't quite right. It would be one thing for a girl, but why would a boy carry so many flowers!

"To sell for money!" Zhu Ping'an answered crisply and clearly.

The afterglow of the setting sun shone on Zhu Ping'an, reflecting off his little white teeth until they looked golden. He looked exactly like a silly boy who had fallen into a money pit.

*Pfft.*

The Fourth Aunt, standing to the side, laughed so hard she couldn't straighten her back, coughing repeatedly. "Hehehe, what Little Zhi said is hilarious. These wild flowers can be sold for money? Hehehe, Second Sister-in-law, you didn't tell him that, did you?"

Hearing this, Grandmother Zhu turned her eyes toward Chen.

Chen wished she could slap that smiling face of the Fourth Aunt crooked! *Stirring up trouble and causing mischief. This Fourth household can't stay quiet for a single moment!*

"Mother didn't tell me; I just think they can be sold for money," Zhu Ping'an said quickly before Chen could get angry.

Grandmother Zhu was right there; if his mother got into a fight with the Fourth Aunt, it certainly wouldn't end well.

"Hehehe, Little Zhi must have been tired silly on the mountain. If wild flowers could be sold for money, then everyone in our village would be a millionaire. If you can sell those for money, the sun would have to rise in the west."

The Fourth Aunt could be said to have no virtue in her speech; her mouth was poisonous and her heart was bitter. She was two-faced, smiling to your face while tripping you up behind your back—a fire in the open and a knife in the dark.

"How are you talking? Do you even know how to speak? You're the one who's tired silly!"

Chen immediately wouldn't have it. She could scold her own precious, well-behaved son, but she wouldn't let anyone else say a single word! It was one thing for the old lady to talk about her son, but for her to join in! Although she also felt that her youngest son's behavior of picking a basket of wild flowers was a bit... strange, she wouldn't allow others to criticize him!

"Alright, stop arguing. All of you, go help the Second one put the things away." Grandmother only had eyes for the goods. She waved her hand to have Chen and the Fourth Aunt follow Zhu Shouyi to store the items. As for the wild flowers in Zhu Ping'an's basket, Grandmother didn't care at all. What use could a few wild flowers have? Even the pigs wouldn't eat them. "Let Little Zhi keep his wild flowers to play with."

It seemed that no one in the village could discover the value of honeysuckle, which meant it would be his gain.

Honeysuckle could be said to be the easiest medicinal herb to process, bar none. You just spread the flower buds out on a reed mat or a bluestone slab and let them dry for a day or two. The only thing to note is not to turn them while drying, or the pistils would easily break.

A reed mat was impossible; Grandmother wouldn't give him one, so he would just have to find a place to dry them. The courtyard floor was also out of the question, as he worried the chickens would cause trouble. *Hmm, then I'll put them on the small shed over the pigsty.*

Zhu Ping'an moved his short legs, stepped on a small stool, and successfully laid the honeysuckle out to dry on top of the pigsty.

Looking at the spread-out honeysuckle, Zhu Ping'an felt as if he saw copper coins running toward him.

This was hope!

It was Mother Chen's turn to cook dinner, and Zhu Ping'an followed her to tend the fire, refusing to leave even when she tried to shoo him away. He had heard Grandmother order fish soup for dinner. Although they had eaten fish on the mountain at noon, the seasonings were incomplete and the cooking method was crude, failing to truly bring out the deliciousness of the fish.

Chen was an expert at cooking fish. She removed the scales, gills, and internal organs, rinsed the whole fish clean with water, and then placed it into the pot with water. She added the bamboo shoots and dried mushrooms they had gathered, lit the fire, and let it simmer slowly. Slow work yields fine results; she turned the high heat to low, and before long, the pot began to emit a fragrant aroma.

Chen looked at her second son, who was watching the pot with eager eyes, and couldn't help but smile. "Look at that greedy look on your face. Come, taste the fish soup and tell me if it needs more salt." As she spoke, she picked out a piece of fish and carefully removed the bones in a bowl.

She said it was to taste the salt, but in reality, she was giving Zhu Ping'an a special treat.

"Mm, then I'll taste it." Zhu Ping'an washed his hands in the water basin nearby and waved his chubby paws with a reluctant expression, but the way his drool was almost flowing out made Chen laugh heartily.

The soup was fresh and delicious. His mother's cooking was a hundred times better than what his father had made at noon; it was so good he felt like he could swallow his tongue, and it was so delicious he almost wanted to cry.