Ordinary observers in fast time travel

Chapter 1214 Basket and Transformation

Twenty catties of potatoes, three baskets of yams, ten bamboo rats, a bunch of mushrooms and wild vegetables—the food wasn't much, but it was enough for Shi Jia to live on for a while.

So after bringing the yam back from the yam field the next day, Shi Jia didn't go up the mountain to look for food again.

She cleans the yard, repairs the house, and tidies up the vegetable garden every day, hoping to plant some fast-growing vegetables while the weather is still warm and before winter arrives.

During this time, she also went to town with the villagers and bought some oil and salt. As a result, two-quarters of her four yuan savings were gone.

Therefore, she had to think about making money.

Weaving bamboo baskets was a good idea she came up with. Over the past few days, she had woven all sorts of beautiful and exquisite bamboo baskets. In a few days, at the town market, she could take them there to exchange for some oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar. If possible, she would also like to exchange them for some cotton.

Besides weaving bamboo baskets, Shi Jia also goes to collect herbs every day. Valuable herbs are hard to find, but herbs that are used in large quantities and have many uses are easy to obtain.

On the newly made shelves in the yard, there are winnowing baskets filled with various medicinal herbs.

Honeysuckle, Panax notoginseng, Polygonatum sibiricum, Bupleurum chinense, etc.

At this time, Shi Jia's courtyard had completely changed. Directly opposite the main gate was a vegetable garden surrounded by a fence, and a pebble path turned a corner in front of the vegetable garden and led directly to the main gate of the three houses.

On the other side of the pebble path was the drying and processing area. Near the wall of the house, Shi Jia had set up a shelf where she displayed all sorts of beautiful bamboo baskets and crates that she had just made.

Further out, there were rows of bamboo racks, on which were placed large, round winnowing trays. Various medicinal herbs were drying inside.

"Knock knock~" There was a knock on the courtyard gate. Shi Jia, who was weaving a bamboo basket, casually called out, "Come in, the gate isn't locked!"

"Xiaohua, I've come to get the bamboo basket." A woman came in; her skin was naturally dark, but she had a good spirit and looked like she had no worries about food or clothing.

“Auntie Xi.” Shi Jia put down the bamboo basket in her hand, walked to the place where the bamboo baskets were piled up, and picked up two large baskets. “Take a look.”

Aunt Xi, the village chief's wife, is named Mu Xiniang. Her son is getting married soon; his bride is a young woman from the city who has come to the countryside. In Xinghua Village, weddings require a carrying pole and baskets. These are used to transport the dowry and also carry auspicious meanings.

Some time ago, Mu Xiniang learned from Granny Wu that she had the skill of weaving bamboo baskets, so she asked her to help her weave two baskets and two winnowing baskets.

Mu Xiniang turned her gaze away from the rows of drying racks. "Xiao Hua, do you recognize medicinal herbs?"

“Yes, I knew him from my grandfather before,” Shi Jia said casually.

Mu Xiniang nodded, completely captivated by the exquisite basket before her. The basket was intricately woven; not only were the joints between the bamboo strips invisible, but every single strip was smooth, without a single splinter!
What's even more ingenious is that Shi Jia also used the different colors of the green and yellow sides of the bamboo strips to weave a "double happiness" character!
"Tsk tsk, your craftsmanship is superb." Mu Xiniang gave a thumbs up. "If you ask me, none of those old bamboo craftsmen can compare to you."

Shi Jia quickly waved his hand, "You flatter me. I'm just a little too meticulous, nothing more."

Mu Xiniang smiled. "Xiao Hua, how much?"

“I asked the price outside, and these big baskets usually cost 3 yuan each, but I only need 2.5 yuan. Consider these two winnowing baskets as my wedding gift to Brother Daze,” Shi Jia said. “You only need to give me 5 yuan.”

Mu Xiniang nodded; that was the price outside too. "Okay." She took out 5 yuan and handed it to Shi Jia.

"Thank you, Auntie Xi." Shi Jia smiled. "Please wait a moment, I'll go get you the carrying pole."

The bamboo used to make carrying poles and the bamboo used to weave baskets are not the same type of bamboo; the bamboo used for carrying poles is much stronger. After processing, it can last for decades.

Shi Jia searched for a long time on the bamboo mountain before finding a bamboo suitable for making a carrying pole.

The carrying pole made by Shi Jia was also very smooth, so even the most delicate skin wouldn't be pricked. Mu Xiniang took the carrying pole and nodded in satisfaction, "Xiao Hua, you've worked hard. Your brother Daze is getting married in a few days, so come over for dinner."

"Okay." Shi Jia saw Mu Xiniang to the door.

"Oh, Sister-in-law Xi Niang, what's this?" Wu Manfang walked over at this moment. She had just seen Mu Xi Niang coming this way.

"Oh, Manfang, I asked Xiaohua to make two baskets a few days ago, and I'm here to pick them up today," Muxiniang said with a smile.

Wu Manfang gave her a "you're kidding me" look. "You want her to make baskets?"

Mu Xiniang smiled but didn't explain. "I can't chat with you anymore. I have a lot of things to do at home. Daze is getting married in a few days, come over for dinner."

"Okay, okay." Wu Manfang nodded hurriedly, watched Mu Xiniang leave, and then turned around to cause trouble for Shi Jia.

"Bang!" Shi Jia glanced at her and slammed the door shut.

"Li Xiaohua, you little bitch, open the door!" Wu Manfang was furious and pounded on the door.

Shi Jia pretended not to hear and continued working.

Wu Manfang knocked for a while, then got tired and left, grumbling.

Wu Manfang returned home furious and berated her daughter-in-law and youngest daughter. When she saw her husband return, she went over to Li Xiaohua and cursed her for being ungrateful and disloyal.

Mu Jiashu was getting a headache from her noise. "Shut up."

"Mu Jiashu, what do you mean! Are you favoring that little bitch?!" Wu Manfang said sharply.

"Are you trying to pay another four yuan?" Mu Jiashu said. "She's your niece, after all. Can't you stand to see her doing well?"

Wu Manfang was startled. "Mu Jiashu, what do you mean? Didn't you say before..."

"Shut up, don't say another word!" Mu Jiashu frowned. "From today onwards, I don't want to hear anything about Li Xiaohua anymore."

He turned and left after speaking, leaving Wu Manfang alone, full of doubt. "Didn't he say before that Li Xiaohua, a girl, should obediently work for us? Giving her a bite to eat is already considered a great act of kindness on our part?"

How could things change so quickly?
In the end what happened?
Yes, what happened?

This story begins two days ago. As usual, Shi Jia went up the mountain early in the morning to collect herbs. Although it was already late autumn, there were still quite a few snakes, insects, rodents, and ants on the mountain.

Shi Jia's herbal medicine gathering often involved venturing deep into the mountains and forests. Therefore, encountering wild animals was quite common for him.

However, wild beasts are not a danger to Shi Jia; on the contrary, they are an extra meal.

Sure enough, Shi Jia encountered another wild animal, a plump weasel. She captured the little beast with ease.

Just then, two people jumped out of the woods. Shi Jia knew them very well; they were Li Xiaohua's two uncles.

Clearly, these two uncles weren't there to reminisce. They were there for the little wild animal in Shi Jia's arms.

Of course, how could Shi Jia possibly give up the prey he had finally obtained? There was no reason for that.

So she gave her two uncles a good talk and explained the "reasoning" to them.