Chapter 151: Worm Catching
Chapter 151: Worm Catching
Sesame understands the logic of not being bullied by others.
After all, she gained this experience slowly through tears and blood!
Thus, as the Concubine spoke, Sesame nodded obediently, "Okay, Auntie, I'll remember!"
Then, she quickly added, "Thank you, Auntie."
Seeing the child's obedient demeanor, Concubine Ren's hand itched to discipline her.
She thought, "If it's not my own flesh and blood, it must be well-behaved."
She wanted to give her a little tap but was afraid of going too far and making her cry. She wasn't sure how to soothe her if that happened, and the Princess might blame her for it.
With these thoughts, Concubine Ren reluctantly withdrew her hand and instead took off a beautiful ruby ring she was wearing and slipped it into Sesame's purse.
This purse had been given to Sesame by Liu Hemeng earlier, and it only contained a small sachet when she first put it on, emitting a faint herbal fragrance. Now, it held a particularly large ring.
As Concubine Ren stuffed the ring into the purse, she smiled and said, "Here's another gift for our Sesame. May you always shine as brightly as the midday sun. Okay?"
Sesame didn't quite understand these words, but she knew it was a blessing, so she earnestly nodded her thanks.
Seeing Sesame's reaction, Concubine Ren's hand itched again.
She thought to herself, "Children are so amusing."
Unfortunately, Little Five had grown up and was no longer as fun. Besides, she wasn't allowed to play with her anymore.
"Maybe I should have another one?" she thought. But then, remembering the pain of childbirth, she quickly dismissed the idea.
She had no desire to experience that pain again.
Moreover, Little Seven was already seven years old, and with so many people in the Wang Manor, there had been no news of another child on the way.
Perhaps, it was because the Prince was no longer capable.
The problem was that the Prince didn't seem to recognize this reality.
Tsk!
Concubine Ren feared that she might not be able to resist teasing the child further, and if she made her cry, she wasn't sure how to comfort her.
In the end, she could only leave with her attendants, but not before sprinkling another bowl of fish food into the pond.
Everyone: ...
It was clear that Concubine Ren's outing today was primarily to overfeed the fish.
After seeing Concubine Ren off, Sesame and Liu Hemeng continued to admire the fish for a while before moving to another spot to look at the flowers the Princess was tending to.
Only a few were in bloom, but the lush greenery was a pleasant sight, lifting their spirits.
Flowers were more delicate than fish, so the two children dared not touch them and instead squatted to observe them.
As they watched, they spotted a worm in the soil.
Liu Hemeng's eyes lit up instantly, and she exclaimed, "Wow!!!"
Sesame was confused by her reaction, but she followed her sister's lead and clapped her hands excitedly, "Wow!!!"
After a while of exclaiming, Liu Hemeng started digging for the worm, explaining to Sesame as she worked, "This thing is also called a silkworm. It can clear heat, relieve asthma, calm the liver, and promote circulation. It has so many functions, but there are specific methods to collect and process it."
Sesame couldn't understand these words, but she felt that it must be pretty amazing.
So, she showed her enthusiasm by clapping her hands and exclaiming, "Wow, that's so cool!"
Liu Hemeng didn't become proud. Instead, she smiled and said, "Sesame, if you like it, I can teach you how to do this, okay?"
Sesame, who couldn't even recognize letters yet, naturally had a strong thirst for knowledge.
When Liu Hemeng offered to teach her, she obediently nodded, "Okay, okay."
Liu Hemeng skillfully used a small twig to pick out the worm. This creature was very active, and as soon as it was exposed, it began to stretch and bend, scaring Sesame enough to make her step back.
Noticing this, Liu Hemeng couldn't help but laugh, "Don't be afraid. It doesn't bite. Even if it does, it doesn't hurt. Come on, you try to pick it up with this twig. Don't worry, we won't process this one since it's too small, and it's not worth the effort."
Sesame wasn't actually scared. She had caught such worms before to feed the chickens.
The reason she stepped back was that the worm almost crawled onto her shoe, and she unconsciously retreated to avoid dirtying her shoes.
Hearing her sister say, "Don't be afraid," Suisui shook her head. "Sister, I'm not scared. I've caught them with my bare hands before."
She had to catch them to feed the chickens, or else they wouldn't lay eggs.
Grasshoppers, earthworms, and all sorts of insects—anything that could be caught was fair game.
Wouldn't Auntie worry about whether Suisui was afraid?
No one cared about that. They only cared about whether the chickens were well-fed and laying enough eggs.
Hearing Suisui's words, Liu Hemeng paused for a moment, her clever mind deciding not to ask further questions. Instead, she handed Suisui a small twig and said, "Use this to poke it. Don't touch it with your hands, or they'll get dirty and feel uncomfortable."
Suisui obediently took the twig and began to poke at the earthworm.
Poke, and the earthworm moved.
Liu Hemeng clapped her hands and laughed, "Haha, it's moving! It's quite interesting. Try poking its head."
Suisui poked at the earthworm's head as instructed.
Then she poked the middle and the tail end.
The two girls poked and played for a while until they grew tired and decided to continue admiring the flowers.
However, as Suisui looked at the wriggling earthworm, a thought occurred to her, and she asked in a soft voice, "Is this really medicine?"
Hearing her question, Liu Hemeng nodded. "Of course. It's a great ingredient for medicine."
It was a valuable herb.
Would her brother like it? Suisui wasn't sure. She tugged at Liu Hemeng's sleeve and whispered, "Do you think Brother will like this?"
Liu Hemeng wasn't sure about that either.
Her family had a long history of practicing medicine, and they had some knowledge about various medicinal and poisonous insects.
Having grown up around them, she wasn't afraid.
But as for others...
it was hard to say.
However, Liu Hemeng thought that since it was a gift prepared with care by her sister, even if her brother didn't like it, he probably wouldn't dislike it too much. And compared to snakes or mice, earthworms were much less scary, right?
With these thoughts in mind, Liu Hemeng nodded. "I'm not sure, but why don't we give it a try?"
Trying something new took courage.
Suisui, however, had courage in abundance at that moment, so when Liu Hemeng suggested giving it a try, she readily took the twig and began poking at the earthworm again.
But one earthworm didn't seem like enough. Suisui had five brothers, after all, and a sister too.
She couldn't leave her sister out just because she was there with her.
Including her sister, she also had to consider their mother, the beautiful auntie from earlier, their grandfather Liu, and the Prince...
The list of people was growing longer.
Suisui thought to herself that she would just have to see how many she could dig up.
She'd figure it out once she was done digging.
Suisui shared her thoughts with Liu Hemeng.
Although her sister's gift idea was unique, Liu Hemeng felt that it was the thought that counted.
Moreover, who said earthworms weren't precious?
They were valuable medicinal ingredients, and for doctors, they were indeed precious gifts.
Having come to this realization, Liu Hemeng happily helped Suisui.
The two girls spent most of the afternoon digging through the soil in the small garden, essentially turning over every inch of it.
The results were quite satisfactory.
They managed to dig up eight earthworms.
That was all they could find.
The two of them were covered in mud from head to toe, but the outcome made it all worthwhile, and they couldn't help but laugh at each other's mud-smeared faces.
Now that the earthworms had been caught, they needed to find corresponding bottles or boxes to put them in.
They couldn't just hold them in their hands, could they?
Although Aunt Xiang thought that such a gift was quite unique, she wasn't sure if the boys would appreciate it. She wanted to dissuade Suisui but didn't know how, so she decided to seek help.
After all, it was a gift from a child, and Xiang hoped there wouldn't be a problem.
She asked Aunt Peony for help, and soon they had a few empty boxes. They divided the earthworms among the boxes and labeled them.
Once the distribution was complete, Suisui proudly straightened her little flower-smeared face and announced, "They're all packed!"
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
