They've all separated, so what does it matter to me if they get poorer and poorer?

Chapter 87 Taking the Child Home

Liang Chunfen led Xu Zhichun through the dense forest with ease, their footsteps crunching through the bushes and grass.

They first arrived at a shady, recessed area on a sloping slope. Liang Chunfen pointed to a spot hidden by waist-high thatch and shrubs and said, "Sister-in-law Zhichun, look, there are konjac taro there!"

Xu Zhichun parted the weeds and bushes to look over and saw a clump of about ten large and small konjac plants. He nodded and smiled, saying, "Not bad, let's dig them up and take them back."

"Hey, good!"

Liang Chunfen dragged his hoe forward and, as Xu Zhichun had instructed, drew the machete tied to his back and chopped off all the konjac leaves about two inches above the ground before digging them up. He only needed the tubers to plant back home.

The soil in the shady spot was more moist, and Liang Chunfen was strong, so she quickly dug up all the konjac twigs. Xu Zhichun followed behind her, picking them up one by one, wiping off the dirt, and putting them into a large sack.

Konjac tubers store enough nutrients to survive even if they are left at home for several days before being planted, without needing to be covered in soil.

It would be too heavy if it had soil on it.

“Sister-in-law Zhichun, let’s go somewhere else. Look over there,” she pointed to a spot about thirty meters up the opposite slope, “there’s one there too!”

"it is good!"

Xu Zhichun has nothing to do with this; she just needs to follow Liang Chunfen.

The two arrived at the spot Liang Chunfen had pointed out, and then harvested six konjac plants of varying sizes.

Continuing onward, on the back side of this small hill, there is a deep ditch more than a meter wide, hidden by lush vegetation on both sides, which is impossible to spot without getting close.

Liang Chunfen said with a smile, "If you walk along this ditch, there are four places where you can find konjac."

Xu Zhichun smiled and agreed, following her.

There are indeed four, not far apart, but they are scattered and hidden. You wouldn't notice them at all if you didn't look carefully.

After walking down a ditch, I dug up another thirty-one or thirty-two trees of various sizes.

Xu Zhichun couldn't help but feel a little puzzled. "Spring Equinox, didn't you find any large fields of konjac? Even small pieces would be fine."

Fortunately, they're digging up konjac growing in a continuous area; if they had to search for it all like this, it would be incredibly difficult. They'd definitely need two people specifically assigned to dig konjac at home.

Liang Chunfen nodded: "Yes, yes, there's a place where lots of konjac grow together, but it's a bit far. You have to go out from here, then cross two mountains, and then go through a bamboo forest and a valley. Just keep walking and you'll see it! Also, there are several mountains to cross from the pine slope west of the village, and many places to cross from the mountain behind the village. It's just far. Sister-in-law Zhichun, you said you wanted to find a place closer, so I brought you here. Sister-in-law Zhichun, did I do something wrong?"

Liang Chunfen couldn't help but feel a little nervous, and looked at Xu Zhichun with a pitiful expression.

She knew she wasn't very smart and often made mistakes. Her sister-in-law used to get angry and call her stupid, saying she was a waste of all her strength. Fortunately, her sister-in-law hasn't scolded her for a long time now.

"No, no, you did very well," Xu Zhichun said, somewhat amused and exasperated by her sudden nervousness and fear. She didn't seem that fierce, did she?
"Yes, yes, it was my sister-in-law who said to dig nearby, so let's dig like this! Where else can we find any nearby? Let's dig a little longer."

"Yes! It's up ahead, on the slope. I remember it, but the slope is a bit steep, and there's a lot of grass and trees."

"Let's go and see."

"it is good!"

Liang Chunfen slung the half-bag of konjac over her shoulder and happily led the way again.

She also carried the hoe, refusing to let Xu Zhichun take it.

Hidden under the dense trees on that hillside, there were two clumps, totaling fifteen or sixteen trees of varying sizes, making it a very fruitful spot for today's digging trip.

The terrain was indeed steep, and Xu Zhichun stumbled and struggled to keep up.

"Spring Equinox, why didn't you dig up these konjac plants nearby before? Where did you dig them for Uncle Yang Ming and the others?"

As Liang Chunfen wielded her hoe and dug, she said, "It's... it's behind several mountains, by the water. There's a patch that hasn't been dug up yet. My mother told me to start digging from the farthest point and then dig the closest one last. Sister-in-law Zhichun, my mother was right, wasn't she?"

Xu Zhichun was stunned for a moment; his aunt had really put a lot of thought into the Spring Equinox.

“Your mother is right, just listen to her.”

Liang Chunfen became smug: "My mother even said that I should listen to Sister-in-law Zhichun!" Xu Zhichun couldn't help but laugh, thought for a moment and nodded: "Okay, then you should listen to Sister-in-law Zhichun too."

"Okay, hehe!"

Xu Zhichun laughed too. "Sigh, this silly girl, really, I can't ignore her anymore." But why is it that she's so willing to do it?

Looking up at the sky, Xu Zhichun estimated that it was about time, so he called Liang Chunfen to go home together.

She still has to go into the city to pick up her son, Mingxuan.

She tried her best to keep herself occupied that day and not think about the children's examination, but now she couldn't avoid it. Concern made her anxious and nervous.

When the two returned home, Xu Zhichun told Liang Chunfen to take the konjac to Uncle Yang Ming's house and then go straight home without coming over.

Not long after, Zeng Xiaoyan and Liang Mingliang arrived in an oxcart.

"Sister-in-law Zhichun, let's go into town."

"it is good."

Liang Mingliang whipped the carriage, while Zeng Xiaoyan and Xu Zhichun sat in the back.

Not only was Xu Zhichun nervous, but Zeng Xiaoyan and Liang Mingliang also seemed nervous.

Liang Mingliang: "Will the little prodigy pass the exam?"

"Pah, pah, pah, don't make wild guesses. Of course it is! How could a little prodigy not pass the exam, right, Sister-in-law Zhichun?"

"Well, since Mingxuan is so confident, there shouldn't be any problem."

"Definitely no problem!"

Upon arriving in town, Liang Mingliang said, "I'll tie up the oxcart first, then we'll go together."

There will definitely be a lot of people, and they'll be jostling around. What if they get bumped into? And what if they run into the Zeng family and get beaten up by them?
It will be difficult for Liang Mingliang to get rid of this psychological trauma in the short term.

The three of them could see from afar that the examination hall was teeming with people.

The vendors flocked to wherever there were crowds, not minding the jostling at all, carrying baskets and loudly hawking their wares.

"Is it coming out soon?"

"I don't know, it should be soon."

Who in your family took the exam? How did it go?

"Everyone is working so hard, they're sure to get in."

"Yes, yes, yes, we'll all win! We'll all win! Amitabha, may the Bodhisattva protect us, may our ancestors protect us, we must win!"

It's hard to say how the students inside the exam hall felt, but their families outside were all anxious.

"Hey, it's out! It's out!"

"Hurry up!"

Suddenly, a commotion broke out at the entrance of the examination hall. Everyone got excited and pushed forward.

Xu Zhichun thought that he was someone who had gone through the middle school entrance exam, the college entrance exam, and various certificate exams. He was not to say that he was an old hand, but he was experienced and quite calm. Unexpectedly, he was just as excited, nervous, and couldn't help but rush in with the crowd.

While others were calling out "Husband!", "Second Brother!", and "Third Young Master!", the three of them couldn't help but shout "Mingxuan!" and "Little Prodigy!"

Liang Mingliang and his wife shouted "Little prodigy!" a few times, which made everyone who heard it turn their heads and look at them with dissatisfaction: Why is your family a little prodigy?

So everyone started competing: "Has our family's prodigy emerged yet?!" "Our young master will definitely win first place!" "My eldest son is the most outstanding; my eldest son will pass the imperial examination!"

(End of this chapter)