"Brother Qi, it's just a black nightshade seedling, how can it be related to good fortune?" Fu Xinci asked him as she walked beside Qi He, tilting her small head.
"Of course it's because of your good fortune, Sister Fu. We've been looking along the roadside the whole way, just hoping to find a black nightshade to satisfy our cravings."
Fu Xinci finally understood why this person always ran into the wild.
"But even if we see a black nightshade seedling, it's either withered and yellow or so small it's about to die from drought. Unlike the one you found today, Sister Fu, which if picked, would be enough for us to eat well."
Qi He became happier as he spoke, carrying the black nightshade seedling as if it were a great trophy. He chattered endlessly to Fu Xinci along the way.
Seeing the enthusiastic young man before her, Fu Xinci's mood was also lifted. As they walked back with high spirits, Yu'er leaped over with a cry and pointed at the black nightshade seedling on Qi He's shoulder with his little finger, exclaiming, "Brother Qi, black nightshade."
"Yes, this excellent black nightshade was found by Sister Fu," Qi He quickly said, taking credit for Sister Fu.
"Black nightshade," Qi Ren also recognized it and shouted excitedly with Yu'er.
Meng Qingping was also surprised to see such a large black nightshade seedling. However, he didn't expect that children like Qi Ren, who grew up in the Duke's mansion, would also recognize black nightshade.
Meng Qingping didn't know that the courtyard where Meng Qinghuai's family lived was the most secluded, and the wild vegetables and weeds by the courtyard could cover the path.
The only two nannies serving in their courtyard were from the village farms. They had no other skills but were adept at identifying these wild vegetables.
Not far away, Nianzi's eyes lit up when he saw Qi He carrying such a large black nightshade seedling back. "Damn it, I've forgotten what other food tastes like these days. Qi He, you have to give me some of your black nightshade."
"Alright, Brother Nianzi, hurry up, let's split it in half."
Nianzi was delighted to hear Qi He say they would split it in half. He immediately stopped bothering to give water to the Meng clan members, handed the dipper to the Guan Hu brothers, and ran towards where Qi He was.
As Nianzi ran, he still instructed the Guan Hu brothers, "Brother Guan Hu, you guys distribute the water, I'll be right back."
Seeing him run so fast, Guan Hu playfully teased him, "Brother Nianzi, our mouths are also tasteless, you must remember your brothers."
"Hey, brothers, just rest assured, each of us brothers will get a bite." Nianzi was quick on his feet and shouted as he reached Qi He.
However, when he clearly saw the dark green black nightshade seedling on Qi He's shoulder, he was also surprised. "My heavens, this is the first time I've seen a black nightshade seedling grow this big. Tsk tsk, this black nightshade is growing so well, a perfectly sized head, it's really rare."
"This is the first time I've seen it too." Qi He's eyes were sparkling, his excited little face tilted upwards, wishing he could chat with Nianzi again.
Nianzi, however, thought differently and just wanted to quickly share the black nightshade and satisfy his cravings.
The cunning Qi He, of course, could see Nianzi's thoughts and immediately said with a smile, "Brother Nianzi, this black nightshade seedling looks like a small tree. Come, let's brothers pull it apart."
"Alright." Nianzi loved to hear this and immediately smiled and got to work.
Nianzi was only fifteen this year, the youngest among these constables. He had only taken over his father's job at the yamen after the Lunar New Year.
Originally, given his age and experience, he should have just run errands and done odd jobs at the yamen, and escorting prisoners would not have been his turn.
However, this time, escorting the Meng clan members to Liaodong was a difficult task that all the old hands at the yamen knew about and tried to avoid through various connections.
In the end, the task unsurprisingly fell to Leader Jiang, and those who accompanied Leader Jiang were all people who had received his care. Nianzi was one of them.
As a newborn calf unafraid of a tiger, Nianzi was much happier than the others throughout the journey.
The reason was simple: this was Nianzi's first escort mission, and there were people older than him at the yamen still listening to orders in the hallway.
Every time he thought of this, Nianzi's eyes were filled with joy.
Even now, his heaving chest, combined with his squinting eyes, worked together with Qi He.
They soon divided the large black nightshade seedling into two.
Nianzi walked back with his half of the black nightshade seedling, marveling, "My heavens, these large black nightshades will be so satisfying to eat."
Qi He ignored him and, with Yu'er drooling beside him, rushed back to the shade and began to distribute the black nightshade in bunches to everyone.
"This bunch for Yu'er, this bunch for Qi Ren, this bunch for Sister Fu, this bunch for... hehe."
Seeing the young man busy and forgetting himself, Fu Xinci smiled, picked a few bunches of black nightshade, and handed them to him.
The young man looked at the black nightshades sent by Sister Fu, smiled with a "hmm," and felt warm inside.
Yu'er was now ignoring everything else, leaning his small body against his grandfather's legs, happily picking black nightshades and eating them one by one. He occasionally muttered, "These black nightshades are so big, and they taste good. They're all black, not a single red-eyed one."
Seeing Yu'er like this, Qi Ren also followed Yu'er's example, leaning against his second uncle's legs and eating with a smacking sound.
He had a deep memory of black nightshades; every summer and autumn, black nightshades were the most common snack for him and his sister.
Meng Qi Mountain and his sister were also starving. Now that they had a few bunches of black nightshades, they ate them with great珍惜, as if they were the most exquisite delicacies in the world.
Meng Qingping also did not expect that ordinary things from the wild would become rare items in a year of severe drought. He ate a few black nightshades while staring blankly at the remaining ones in his hand.
Having lived for over fifty years, this was also the first time he had seen such large black nightshades, which was quite unusual.
After eating a few, Qi Shan and Xiao He both looked towards where their parents were.
Meng Qingping knew their thoughts and said, "You don't need to worry, you'll be able to eat soon. Also, without you guys around, their food won't be snatched away."
Thinking that their parents always had to look out for them and feared they would be beaten, thus having their food snatched away, Qi Shan and his brother clenched their fists tightly.
"Alright, you don't need to worry about them." He didn't say the latter part aloud: if two adults can't take care of themselves, they are useless.
"Yes, we can take care of ourselves." Qi Ren swallowed the black nightshade in his mouth and echoed his second uncle's words.
Nowadays, Qi Shan and his sister trusted their second uncle the most, and they believed everything he said.