These past few days, Tong Zi had been getting along with this family.
Although he had been thinking about the medical hall, Aunt Li's diligence and thoughtfulness, Uncle Meng's cheerful and righteous personality,
and Aunt Meng's cooking and care, along with the innocence and playfulness of the two children, and more importantly, A Jiu's simplicity and kindness, had all gradually made him fond of this family.
Now, hearing that Grandpa Niu, who had helped them, was also a good person, he felt he couldn't stand by and do nothing.
"Dou zi?"
"Black beans. When they were purchased, they were used as auxiliary ingredients for the Ten-Fullness Elixir. The medical hall has no business now, and they'll just go bad if kept."
Tong Zi said this and counted on his fingers:
"There are also some herb seeds. These were all left by Master Liu when he collected herbs before."
"Oh, that's good. Why don't we plant what we have? We'll get some harvest, no matter how little," Cai Lihua said with a smile.
These black beans were very nutritious. They had a stone mill at home, and they could make tofu pudding, soy milk, or black bean crisps for their daughter. Weren't those good snacks too?
"You're a resident of Nanming City, so entering the city is absolutely no problem. Besides, Jiu'er said today that the riot has been controlled by the authorities. You can go get it tomorrow."
Meng Shaode's eyes were full of joy.
"Alright." For the first time, Tong Zi smiled in a way that matched his age.
"I'll go make dinner. You can eat in a while," Cai Lihua hurried back to the kitchen to continue cooking.
At night, A Jiu tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Aunt Li, holding her two children, was exhausted from lulling them to sleep and was already sound asleep.
A Jiu tiptoed out of bed and out the door.
"Where are you going?"
"Who?" A Jiu was startled and turned around to see her grandmother.
She was as elusive as a ghost. She had just closed the door behind her, and she didn't expect her to be so quick. When had she come out together?
"It's me. Still trying to sneak out to plant spirit fruits? Didn't we agree to call me?"
Wang Shi walked onto the village road ahead of her.
"How could I find you? You didn't even care to live in the room I prepared for you,"
A Jiu mumbled.
"I'm definitely outside the yard. I heard people have died recently. Grandma has to protect you. If anything happens to you, I won't be able to live either."
Wang Shi walked ahead with her hands behind her back as if nothing had happened.
"You just like my spirit spring water. Without me, you'd still be able to live," A Jiu saw right through her.
"You girl, you're just stubborn. If you invest in me, when Grandma becomes powerful in the future, you'll have anything you want. You just don't think it through."
Wang Shi couldn't stand hearing about this. The thought of this girl still wanting to plant rice was irritating.
"Grandma, if I give all the spirit spring water to you, won't we all starve to death?"
A Jiu finally understood why her grandmother's words had seemed reasonable at first but not entirely.
If she was well-fed, her father, mother, and the rest of the family would starve. Thinking about it, Grandma was just selfish.
As soon as A Jiu said this, Wang Shi was stunned and stopped, staring at A Jiu for a long time.
"Fine," Wang Shi turned her head and looked at the foot of the mountain. "Where are you planning to plant it?"
As soon as A Jiu remembered the place she had chosen earlier, she recalled the state of the three corpses. In the middle of the night, even with her grandmother accompanying her, she shivered.
She pointed in another direction, "Let's go there."
A Jiu deliberately avoided the spot and, as usual, pulled out the ox horn knife to dig holes. She took out the seeds of watermelon, pomegranate, and peach that she had saved and buried them.
When she poured the spirit spring water to irrigate, Wang Shi's eyes gleamed.
"Hey... girl, do you need this much spirit spring water to waste on your spirit fruits? These fruits are getting worse with each generation. The spiritual energy is gradually being depleted."
Wang Shi felt that these seeds were at least third-generation, and no amount of effort would allow her to sense any spiritual energy.