TATLC Chapter 40 — Picking Wild Berries

After the weather warmed up a bit, all the kids who had been cooped up for the whole winter ran outside. Many children liked to run into the mountains. They naturally didn’t dare go deep into the mountains, but if it was just the outer areas of the mountains, many kids were brave enough to go there.

The mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and wild vegetables in the mountains were treasures for many children.

Most villagers weren’t very well off and had to live frugally. During winter, many people could only eat half their fill each day. Now that there was finally food available, many kids went to the mountains to look for it.

Chen Xiaocai and Chen Xiaomai were the same. After going through a winter, both kids had grown a lot taller. Maybe because they had grown up, both children looked much better than before.

Lu Lin packed some roasted beans for the two of them and took out several bamboo baskets. He smiled at Chen Xiaocai and said, “Xiaocai! Go find some people to pick wild berries. For one basket of ripe wild berries, I’ll give three wen.”

Chen Xiaocai frowned and said, “Three wen!” Wasn’t three wen too much?

Lu Lin smiled. “It’s not much.”

Chen Xiaocai scratched his head and said somewhat awkwardly, “They don’t play with me. I can’t get anyone to come.”

Lu Lin looked down at him and sighed. “Look at you. You’re so big now, but you can’t even handle such a small thing. What are we going to do? If you can’t get anyone, then call Shen Chi and let Shen Chi help you call some kids.”

Chen Xiaocai’s face turned red as he said, “I… got it.”

Lu Lin handed over a dozen or so baskets to Chen Xiaocai.

Chen Xiaocai looked suspicious and said, “Where did all these baskets come from?”

Each basket wasn’t very big and looked quite delicate. However, villagers usually wouldn’t weave such small baskets since they looked nice but weren’t practical.

“Five wen each. I had the old people in the village weave them.” Labor was really cheap in this place. From this perspective, the villagers were still quite simple and honest.

Chen Xiaocai gave Lu Lin a strange look. “I’m leaving.”

He thought Lu Lin paying five wen to have someone weave a basket was a bit wasteful, but he had already gotten used to Lu Lin’s big spending habits, so he didn’t argue.

Lu Lin waved him off. “Go on.”

Chen Xiaocai first went to the Shen family to find Shen Chi. Grandma Shen was very happy to let her grandson play with Chen Xiaocai and readily agreed.

…

Shen Chi carried a bamboo basket and followed behind Chen Xiaocai. He asked curiously, “What does Brother Lin want the wild berries for?”

Chen Xiaocai shook his head. “I don’t know. Maybe to make wine.”

“Make wine!” A flash of admiration appeared in Shen Chi’s eyes. Making wine was considered very impressive in the villagers’ eyes.

The weather was getting hotter, and the fruits in the forest gradually became much more abundant. Wild berries sprouted everywhere. The village children all liked to pick them to eat since they had a sweet and sour taste.

Zhang Dahu sat on a tree picking berries to eat. His fingers and lips were all red from eating them.

When Zhang Dahu saw Chen Xiaocai and Shen Chi coming over with more than ten baskets, he suddenly jumped down from the tree and blocked their path.

“What are you two doing with so many baskets? And why are they so tiny?” Zhang Dahu asked carelessly.

Chen Xiaomi had made a lot of money last year, and word had spread throughout the village. The village children knew Chen Xiaomi was capable and had made big money. Seeing Chen Xiaocai and Xiaomai wearing new clothes now, they couldn’t help feeling envious.

Chen Xiaocai held up a basket and said, “My brother asked me to come pick wild berries. Three wen for one basket.”

Zhang Dahu’s eyes darted to the basket in Shen Chi’s hands. “Shen Chi, are you helping him?”

Shen Chi quickly nodded. “Xiaocai can’t finish by himself, so I’m helping pick them. Brother Xiaomi also gives three wen per basket.”

Zhang Dahu’s eyes lit up as he looked at Chen Xiaocai. “If I help your brother pick them, will he also give me three wen per basket?”

Chen Xiaocai was just thinking about how to bring this up when he heard Zhang Dahu ask on his own. He felt happy inside but quickly hid his expression. “Sure! But they have to be good ones, ripe ones. You can’t try to pass off bad ones.”

Zhang Dahu nodded and said, “No problem.”

Zhang Dahu was the leader among the kids. Several children who had been watching from the sidelines saw that Zhang Dahu had made a deal with Chen Xiaocai, so they came over one by one and asked about it in a flurry of voices.

Chen Xiaocai agreed to all of them, handing out baskets until every kid had one.

The mountains were full of wild berries, and soon the children got busy.

There were mainly three types of wild berries. One type grew on trees, and two types grew on the ground.

The three types of wild berries were about the same size. The ones that grew on trees turned purple when ripe and looked a bit like mulberries…

Of the two types that grew on the ground, one looked like strawberries but was much smaller than strawberries. The other type looked a bit like cherries.

Chen Xiaocai said he wanted all three types of wild berries, but they had to be packed separately.

Soon everyone had filled their baskets with wild berries.

Zhang Dahu alone took two baskets. He was quick with his hands and feet. After picking two baskets of wild berries, the slower kids hadn’t even finished filling one basket.

“Chen Xiaocai, this much is enough for one basket, right?” Zhang Dahu asked.

Chen Xiaocai nodded and said, “Mm.”

“Let’s take them back to my home now, and you can exchange them with my brother for money.”

The kids were still a bit scared of Chen Xiaocai’s big brother, but in the end they couldn’t resist the temptation of copper coins. Thinking that there were many of them together, they all went to Lu Lin.

Lu Lin didn’t expect Chen Xiaocai to complete the task so quickly and was impressed.

Seeing Lu Lin’s somewhat approving look, Chen Xiaocai felt a bit embarrassed but also a bit proud.

Lu Lin checked the wild berries the kids had picked. There weren’t any problems with what they picked, so he gave each child three wen.

Lu Lin took out three large bamboo baskets and collected all the wild berries the kids had picked, sorting them separately.

The children were excited to receive the money. Three wen could buy two steamed buns. Being able to earn money was also something worth bragging about. The children here usually didn’t have any pocket money.

Lu Lin collected all the wild berries that were brought over and let the kids who wanted to earn more money take the empty baskets.

Seeing how easy it was to make money, the kids who had already been paid eagerly grabbed baskets and dashed back into the woods while there was still daylight.

The kids came and went. In one day, each of them picked at least five or six baskets of wild berries. The quick ones picked eight or nine baskets. By the end, the wild berries near the foot of the mountain had been picked until only the half-ripe ones were left.

Lu Lin was afraid the kids would run into the deep mountains to earn money, so he said he wouldn’t be buying any more for a while.

When they heard Lu Lin say he wasn’t buying anymore, the children who had just tasted the sweetness of earning money were all disappointed.

Zhang Dahu said somewhat unwillingly, “Next time there’s a chance to make money like this, you better come find me!”

As soon as Zhang Dahu spoke up, the other boys crowded around Chen Xiaocai.

“Yeah! Xiaocai, next time you have to find us!”

Chen Xiaocai rarely received such enthusiasm from others. For a moment, he felt a bit at a loss.

…

Zhang Dahu went home with twenty-four wen in his pocket.

“Da-ge, where did all this money come from?” Zhang Meizi asked.

Zhang Dahu puffed out his chest proudly. “Your brother earned it. I was the fastest and picked the most.”

Zhang Dahu was agile and was the best tree climber among all the kids. After the wild berries on the ground were mostly picked, everyone turned their attention to the trees, but none of them could compare to him.

Zhang Meizi blinked. “Da-ge, you’re really amazing, but how did you earn it?”

“Just picked wild berries for Xiaocai’s brother. But it was only for today. He’s not buying anymore. What a shame.” After picking the wild berries on the outer mountain once today, there weren’t many left. If they wanted to wait for more to grow, they’d have to go to the deep mountains, and the deep mountains weren’t easy to go to!

“Lu Lin? What does he want so many wild berries for?”

Zhang Dahu shrugged. “Who knows? But Chen Xiaomi made dozens of taels before New Year. He probably has too much money.”

In this era, there weren’t many entertainment activities during winter. The fact that Chen Xiaomi made dozens of taels selling gloves was quite a big deal in the village and would always be mentioned intentionally or not.

While Zhang Dahu and Zhang Meizi were chatting, their father walked in.

“You really made money!” Zhang Linsheng clapped his son on the shoulder, impressed. “Not bad, you little rascal.”

Zhang Dahu grinned. “I earned the most!”

Zhang Linsheng nodded. “That’s quite a lot.” Then he promptly pocketed all the coins.

Zhang Dahu frowned and said, “Dad, this is my money.”

Zhang Linsheng glared at Zhang Dahu. “You think I’d cheat you out of it? I’ll buy you steamed buns next time I go to the market.”

Zhang Dahu asked excitedly, “When are you going to the market, Dad?”

“What’s the rush? I’ll go in a couple of days.” Zhang Linsheng said dismissively.

Zhang Dahu wrinkled his nose, shooting his father a resentful look until the man coughed awkwardly under his son’s stare.

Zhang Meizi saw the money being taken away and blinked. “Ge, it’s all gone.”

Zhang Dahu smirked. “There are still three coins left. Big brother will buy you eggs to eat.”

Zhang Meizi didn’t expect Zhang Dahu to hide a few copper coins beforehand. Her eyes lit up at the sight of them.

The same thing happened in various places throughout the village.

When adults from the village went to town to work, sometimes they could only earn a dozen or so wen per day, and there was a high chance of coming back empty-handed. Several kids had actually earned more than ten wen in one day, which shocked quite a few villagers. After the villagers got over their shock, they couldn’t bring themselves to tell their own children to stay away from the Chen family’s two little brothers.

Lu Lin rested his chin on his hand as he looked at the bamboo baskets in front of him, lost in thought.

Chen Xiaomi followed his gaze. “What’s wrong? Is there a problem with these bamboo baskets?”

“One is missing.” Lu Lin said.

Chen Xiaomi raised an eyebrow. “Missing?” The small bamboo baskets were specially ordered by Lu Lin at five wen each. The money wasn’t really an issue, but it was strange for one to go missing for no reason.

“Let’s call Xiaocai over to ask.” Chen Xiaomi said.

Lu Lin shook his head. “The kid finally has some confidence. If he finds out a basket is missing, he’ll overthink it. Maybe someone thought the basket looked nice and forgot to return it. Forget it.”

It was just one basket, and making a big deal out of it wouldn’t be good. The little guy rarely got to play with other kids, so it wasn’t worth making a fuss over one basket.