Chapter 512: Chapter 264 Locust Blossoms and Elm Seeds_2
"These are locust blossoms, you can eat them, and they taste very sweet," Lian Manman told Shen Qian, and then she plucked a few locust blossoms and put them in her mouth.
"Mmm, mmm, I believe you," Shen Qian said, looking at Lian Manman’s mouth.
Lian Manman smiled, carefully picked some more locust blossoms from the cluster, made a small bundle, and handed them to Shen Qian. He took them, and first tried one by placing it in his mouth.
Once the locust blossoms were in his mouth, they were fresh and moist, spreading a light sweet fragrance on his taste buds.
"They really are tasty," Shen Qian said, nodding his chubby chin, and then he put the whole bunch of locust blossoms into his mouth.
There weren’t many locust blossoms in two clusters, and Shen Qian finished them, feeling somewhat unsatisfied. Moreover, Lian Manman had only eaten a little, while Wu Lang and Xiao Qi hadn’t eaten any at all.
Shen Qian looked up and saw that there seemed to be a few more clusters of locust blossoms on the higher branches.
"There aren’t many locust blossoms now, but in a couple of days, there will be so many you won’t be able to finish them," Lian Manman said to Shen Qian, "You can’t eat too many of these, and you should not tell anyone when you go back."
Despite still wanting to eat locust blossoms, Shen Qian sat back in the cart.
"I understand, I won’t tell anyone," Shen Qian said.
Fatty was very obedient. Looking back and seeing that the people following them hadn’t caught up yet, Lian Manman decided to let Shen Qian try something fresh.
Not far ahead, there was an elm tree with a few clusters of elm seeds hanging from its branches. Like the locust blossoms, it wasn’t the time when elm seeds were plentiful.
The branches with the elm seeds were high, even the tallest, Wu Lang, standing on the ox-cart couldn’t reach them. Normally, they could knock the seeds down with a branch. But now, with the seeds so few, knocking them down would mean some would be lost, and besides, eating them off the ground wouldn’t be suitable for Shen Qian.
Wu Lang jumped off the cart and, after a short run-up, quickly climbed up the trunk; he grabbed the tree securely with hands and feet and shimmied up in no time.
Climbing trees was almost an innate skill of children from tenant farmer families. Of course, climbing trees is tough on shoes, and to avoid being scolded by adults, children would usually take off their shoes before climbing. But today was an unusual day, and Wu Lang didn’t remove his shoes. In fact, he’d climb more deftly barefoot than with shoes on.
Shen Qian was flabbergasted watching him, while Lian Manman was very calm, and Xiao Qi’s eyes sparkled with excitement. Their big brother, who climbed the tree so skillfully—if it weren’t for Wu Lang’s ability, they wouldn’t have had so many bird eggs to eat in the summertime.
After picking the elm seeds, Wu Lang threw them to Lian Manman.
Lian Manman caught the clusters of elm seeds steadily in her hands.
By this time, the people following Shen Qian had turned the corner and appeared. Wu Lang got back onto the cart, and they drove the ox-cart slowly forward, with Lian Manman, Shen Qian, and Xiao Qi leaning together, backs toward the rear, sitting side by side on the cart.
This way, they could block the view of the four men behind them.
"These are elm seeds, not as sweet as the locust blossoms, but still quite tasty," Lian Manman handed a cluster of elm seeds to Shen Qian, and she and Xiao Qi shared the other two clusters. Wu Lang said he was busy driving the cart and didn’t want any.
The elm seeds were the most eye-pleasing tender green, very fresh and delicate, and when eaten, they released a light and refreshing fragrance.
To avoid being discovered by the people following them, the three children lowered their voices, minimized their movements, and sneakily ate the elm seeds.
"...Elm seeds mixed with dough to make cakes are so delicious.... You shouldn’t underestimate these. My mother said, in lean years, everyone survived on these," Lian Manman shared some knowledge about elm seeds with Shen Qian.
What was common knowledge to the children of tenant farmers was unheard of for a young master like Shen Qian.
Lian Manman watched as Shen Qian looked intrigued and attentive, and she thought it was a pity that there were no chives or wheat sprouts available at the moment; otherwise, she could have shown him a live comedy scene.
No, on second thought, Lian Manman felt such a scene was unlikely to happen with Shen Qian because he surely didn’t recognize wheat sprouts, and it was also quite likely he didn’t know chives.
Lian Manman couldn’t help but smile to herself at the thought, while Shen Qian had no idea what she was thinking. He was having a great time and laughed along with her.
Little Yellow Ox plodded along, its tail sweeping behind its backside.
Lian Manman, Shen Qian, and Xiao Qi were sitting side by side, with Shen Qian in the middle, right behind the ox’s backside. They were sitting rather forward, so the tip of the ox’s tail brushed across Shen Qian’s nose.
Shen Qian, finding it amusing, even reached out to grab the tail.
The tip of the ox’s tail, curling outward, flicked to the side, and with a plop, it excreted a steaming pile of dung.
Shen Qian was stunned, his mouth forming an O shape.
Lian Manman and Xiao Qi each turned their faces away, shaking with laughter.
When they got back to the food shop, people sent by Shen Liu had arrived to pick up Shen Qian. Shen Qian didn’t want to leave, but he was still lifted onto the cart.
"Manman, I’ll come find you again tomorrow to play," Shen Qian said, clinging to the kite exchanged with Lian Manman, reluctant to leave.
Lian Manman had asked the people picking up Shen Qian and knew that Shen Liu and Shen Qian were going back to Prefecture City the next day.
"I’ll come see you tomorrow morning; you haven’t tried our family’s buns yet," Lian Manman said to Shen Qian.
"Yeah!" Shen Qian immediately cheered up, "Manman, you have to keep your word; I’ll wait for you."
"Mmm," Lian Manman nodded.
After sending Shen Qian away, Lian Manman immediately discussed with Lady Zhang.
"Mother, let’s prepare more buns early tomorrow; I want to send some to Master Shen Liu and the others," she said.
"That’s proper," Lady Zhang immediately agreed, "They’ve been so good to us, and our family hasn’t got much to offer but these buns, which are not bad; we should definitely send some."
***...***
Posting the second update, asking for pink, all kinds of tickets.
Some book friends said the theme of this book is "My Bun’s Dad and Mom and the JP Relatives," but actually, it should also include "Picking Flowers at Dusk." (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to qidian.com to vote for recommendation tickets, monthly tickets, and your support is my greatest motivation.)
