Shocking! A three-year-old brings his aloof mother to their door.

She just learned from her grandma that money equals ice cream, and it equals lots of delicious things!

"Tongtong wants to go too! Tongtong wants to earn money too!" The little one immediately perked up, forgetting all about ice cream, and raised her little hand to ask to join.

Zhang Xiuying looked at the little boy, who was about the same height as her legs, and hesitated.

Although steps have been built on the road into the mountains, it is still not close for children, and the mountains are hot and humid in the summer with many mosquitoes.

"Tongtong, the road is a bit far, and it's hot and humid in the mountains, you..."

"Great-Grandma, take Tongtong with you! Tongtong wants to earn money! Tongtong will help Great-Grandma!"

Tongtong immediately switched to her coquettish mode, tilting her little face up, her big eyes filled with longing and anticipation, her gaze moist, making it hard for anyone to resist.

Mo Ye and He Wanqing exchanged a smile.

Mo Ye said, "Grandma, let's take her with us. Let her experience it and know that things aren't easy to come by. We'll go with her; it's fine."

He Wanqing nodded in agreement: "Yes, Grandma, it's good for her to do some work."

Seeing that her grandson and granddaughter-in-law both said so, and looking at Tongtong's expectant little face, Zhang Xiuying's heart softened, and she smiled and agreed:

"Okay, then Tongtong will go with Great-Grandma. Don't complain about being tired."

"Yay! Yay! Yay!" Tongtong jumped up and down several times with joy, almost throwing the ice cream in her hand away.

Mo Ye handed the rooster to Jiang Hui:

"Mom, take this chicken back and deal with it first. We'll go up the mountain with Grandma."

Jiang Hui took the chicken and instructed:

"Okay, be careful and come back soon. I'll go back and start stewing the chicken, so Tongtong can have clay pot chicken when she gets back."

After saying goodbye to Jiang Hui, the group headed into the mountains.

The road leading into the mountains has been paved with smooth cement steps, winding upwards.

As He Wanqing walked and observed, she discovered that not only were the steps neat, but surveillance cameras were also installed at some key locations and intersections along the way.

"How come there are surveillance cameras in these mountains?" She was somewhat surprised.

Mo Ye explained:

"Our area used to be quite remote, with many mountains. In the past, there were indeed cases of child traffickers abducting children."

My grandfather once saved a child who was almost kidnapped.

Later, when the village conditions improved, safety became everyone's first priority.

These surveillance cameras and streetlights were among the first public facilities installed.

Now, not only the village, but also the main routes in and out of the mountains are basically under surveillance.

The unfamiliar vehicle was being watched from the moment it entered. Nothing like that has happened in all these years.

He Wanqing nodded after hearing this, feeling much more at ease.

Since having Tongtong, she has become even more disgusted with human traffickers. Hearing that Mo Ye values ​​safety so much, her goodwill towards him has increased even more.

At first, Tongtong was full of energy and climbed dozens of steps by herself.

But the little legs couldn't keep up with the adults, and soon he started panting heavily, his little chest rising and falling, and his steps became slower and slower.

"Great...Great-Grandma..." She stopped, put her little hands on her hips, looked up at her sweaty little face, and asked pitifully.

"How much further do we have to go? Tongtong can't walk anymore!"

Zhang Xiuying looked back at her pitiful appearance, feeling both sorry for her and amused:

"There's still a long way to go. Come on, Xiao Mo, let me hug Tongtong. Don't tire our little darling out."

Mo Ye had wanted to hug her for a long time, but she had insisted on being strong before.

He bent down, scooped his daughter up, and let her comfortably rest on his broad shoulders.

Tongtong immediately hugged her father's neck like a koala, pressed her sweaty little face against it, and let out a long sigh of relief.

After walking for another twenty minutes or so, we finally arrived at the area where Zhang Xiuying often came to pick zongzi leaves.

The villagers had already picked most of the easy-to-reach zongzi leaves on the outskirts of the mountain, so they had to walk deeper into the forest to find more. The group walked for a while longer.

"This is it." Zhang Xiuying stopped in front of a relatively dense bamboo grove.

She told He Wanqing that in the past, everyone was struggling financially. Anything in the mountains that could be exchanged for money, such as bamboo leaves, bamboo shoots, and herbs, would be picked clean before they even grew up.

Now most villagers work in tea factories and have stable incomes, no longer relying on these mountain products, and the resources in these mountains are slowly recovering.

But she herself had endured hardship. Back then, when she was so hungry that she dug for wild vegetables and ate tree bark, even the fillings of bamboo leaves that could be eaten were considered delicacies.

She has always cherished the gifts of the mountains and fields and earned her living through hard work.

"You all wait here in the shade, I'll go pick them, it'll be quick."

Zhang Xiuying put down her basket, took out a thin bamboo stick, and carefully tapped the grass and bamboo roots in front of her to drive away any snakes that might be hiding there.

Then, she deftly began picking the large, bright green, and high-quality fresh bamboo leaves, her movements skillful, fast, and precise.

Mo Ye said to He Wanqing, "Wanqing, you stay here and rest with Tongtong. I'll go help. The bamboo in the mountains is quite tall, so picking it is a bit troublesome."

After saying that, he rolled up his sleeves and walked into the bamboo grove, picking bamboo just like his grandmother.

He Wanqing nodded and found a clean, large rock to sit down.

After being put down by her father, Tongtong saw that her great-grandmother and father were both busy, and she became anxious.

She ran to a clump of bamboo, stood on tiptoe, and stretched out her chubby little hands to try to reach the drooping leaf, but she couldn't reach it no matter what she did. She jumped up and down twice, but she was still a bit short.

She pouted, looking a little dejected. She wanted to help, and she wanted to earn money too!

Mo Ye caught a glimpse of his daughter's anxious expression and felt a surge of joy, having come up with an idea.

He picked a few bamboo leaves and came back, saying to Tongtong:

"Tongtong, Daddy needs a little helper. Look, these leaves are all different sizes. Can you help Daddy separate them?"

Put the big ones on one side, the small ones on the other, and arrange them neatly. This is very important!

Upon hearing that she would have an "important job," Tongtong's eyes lit up immediately, and she nodded vigorously: "Yes! Tongtong will help Daddy! Tongtong knows the difference between big and small!"

Mo Ye handed her a few leaves, then picked up a medium-sized one to demonstrate: "Those bigger than this one, put them here; those smaller, put them over there. Can Tongtong tell the difference?"

"Yes!" Tongtong said confidently, taking the leaves and starting to carefully compare and classify them on a flat stone on the ground.

The mountain forest is dense, with tall trees blocking out the sun and poor air circulation, making it quite stuffy.

Before long, fine beads of sweat appeared on Tongtong's forehead and the tip of her nose, and her little face was flushed.

She raised her arm and casually wiped her forehead with her sleeve, seemingly unconcerned, and continued fiddling with her leaves, muttering to herself, "This one's big...this one's small..."

He Wanqing sat to the side, watching her daughter's focused and even hardworking little face, and her heart melted.

I originally thought that letting her come was just for fun, but I didn't expect the little one to take it so seriously and be so engrossed in it.

Feeling embarrassed to sit there any longer, she got up, walked over to Tongtong, and squatted down beside her: "Tongtong, let Mommy help you tidy up, okay?"

......