The Lucky Farmgirl-Chapter 1901 - 1876: Together

Bai Shan gave all the fruit to Bai Erlang, rolled up his sleeves, and said, "I’ll pick with you."

Bai Erlang also wanted to climb the tree, so he threw everything into the basket and found another tree to climb. He never just looked at whether the fruit was ripe; if it looked big and pleasing, he’d pick it.

So he picked much faster than Bai Shan and Manbao, who were always comparing the fruits. Mingda handed him a new basket.

Bai Erlang himself couldn’t quite tell if the pears were ripe, let alone Mingda. Seeing Bai Erlang picking so quickly, she even pointed out to him, "There are some over here too."

Bai Erlang hung the basket on a branch, climbed into the leaves, saw the pears she was pointing to, and plucked them. When he tried to throw them back into the basket, he found the leaves were in the way, so he reached down, "Here you go."

And he tossed them toward Mingda.

Mingda couldn’t help but laugh joyfully, reached out to catch them, hugged them to her chest, but one fell. She picked it up and put it in her basket, continuing to happily point out more, "There’s some over here, and here are two especially large ones..."

On the other side, Changyu was also constantly bending down to pick up pears and occasionally caught the pears Manbao and Bai Shan threw down, sometimes pointing out more for them, "There’s some over here, and there’s a particularly large one..."

The three of them darted around in the trees like monkeys, shaking the leaves noisily. The guards and palace attendants stood silently watching, sharp-eyed enough to notice that several small fruits had fallen from the tree.

They all felt a bit sorry for these few wild pear trees.

The five of them, working together, gave these three pear trees a not-so-gentle treatment, filling four baskets. Bai Shan and Manbao jumped down from the tree and saw that Bai Erlang alone had managed to fill two baskets. They couldn’t help picking through his and Mingda’s baskets, asking, "Can this be eaten?"

Bai Erlang confidently said, "They’re all sour anyway. Just close your eyes, take a bite, and eat it. What’s not to eat?"

Bai Shan and Manbao couldn’t help but agree he was right.

Changyu carried her basket forward and said, looking conflicted, "They’re sour."

Mingda happily said, "Who cares if they’re sour or sweet, we had fun just now."

Changyu thought she was right and said, "Then let’s go pick those sweet red fruits, Manbao, what are they called again?"

"Roseleaf bramble," Manbao said, "I know where there are many, let’s go."

Manbao led them down the other side of the mountain. As they descended, they saw a cluster of roseleaf brambles below, dotted with many red berries.

Manbao went forward and saw a very large one, so she picked it, checked to make sure it was bug-free, and handed it to Changyu. Before the palace maids could stop her, Changyu popped it into her mouth.

Then her eyes lit up, and she nodded repeatedly, "It’s really very sweet."

It might not have been very sweet, but picking and eating wild fruits like this was new for her. Even if it was only a little sweet, she tasted it as very sweet.

Mingda cautiously stepped over stones and logs, not knowing which red berries to pick first.

Bai Erlang had already picked several. Seeing her hesitation, he guided her, "Any that look intact can be picked. Feel them as you pick: if they’re firm, they’re good; if they’re soft, check if they’re spoiled. If not, they’re definitely sweet."

This was the shallow experience he had accumulated over the years. Although not entirely accurate, it was about sixty percent reliable, so he thought it was quite right.

Mingda nodded and started picking roseleaf brambles based on his guidance. But after picking many, she didn’t know where to put them.

A palace maid quickly brought a pouch to collect them, but Mingda turned to look at Manbao and the others.

She saw Bai Shan casually pick two large leaves from the other side, gave one to Manbao, and used the other to hold the fruit.

She then turned to look at Bai Erlang and saw him holding them in his hands. If he picked too many, he’d just eat a few bright red ones, and when he had fewer, he’d continue picking.

Mingda: ...

Changyu didn’t care; she just picked and turned, giving the fruits to the palace maids and eunuchs to hold, occasionally popping a few into her own mouth, enjoying the taste.

The five of them picked through this patch of red fruit, leaving only a few scattered ones they hadn’t picked.

Especially in the middle, the bright red ones remained unpicked. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to but found it difficult.

Going in would surely result in their clothes being snagged on the thorns, Manbao said, "We should have worn coarse cloth clothing, then we wouldn’t worry about getting caught."

Although their clothes weren’t particularly fine, they were still of good material and expensive. Not only Manbao but Bai Shan and Bai Erlang were also reluctant to damage them.

Feeling tired, the five of them just sat under a tree, sharing the roseleaf bramble they’d picked, chatting while keeping an eye on the fields below the mountain.

The breeze blew, dispersing a lot of heat. Mingda exhaled deeply and then couldn’t resist taking a deep breath, feeling only comfort between her lungs. Surprisingly, she didn’t have any symptoms of an asthma attack.

Mind you, when she left the palace, she was most afraid of the invisible dust and flying fluff outside. Breathing deeply always made her nose itch and her chest tight.

Mingda touched the bracelet on her wrist, turned, and smiled slightly at Manbao, asking, "Why is the red fruit called roseleaf bramble?"

Manbao scratched her head, "Because its vine has thorns, and the red berries look like bubbles growing on it?"

Hearing this, Bai Shan burst into laughter, "That explanation isn’t wrong. I’ve also heard it called ’hanging hook.’

When it comes to other names, who knows more than Manbao?

Her encyclopedic library included all the recorded names for this thing. She counted on her fingers and recited, "Also called raspberry, raspberry, raspberry, raspberry, wild berries, ceylon gooseberry, rubus parkeri Hance..."

Bai Shan turned his head away, ignoring her.

Changyu was dumbfounded, "How do you know so many names?"

Bai Erlang said, "Otherwise, do you think all those flowers and plants died for nothing? She’s loved digging up plants and catching bugs since she was a child. After catching them, she’d study them, even examining to see if they were male or female. How could she not know a lot?"

Changyu shivered, moving a bit further away from Manbao.

When Manbao saw this, she moved over, sitting right next to her, and reached out her hand, "These hands have touched flowers, grass, trees, insects, fish, birds, and beasts, and even people."

"Outside, the head, hands, feet, and even the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys inside, I’ve touched them all."

Changyu, frightened, pushed her away and jumped up, distancing herself, "Zhou Man, you’re scaring me!"

Manbao laughed loudly and said with pleasure, "You’re only afraid now, aren’t you silly?"

"You’re the silly one! You, you," Changyu, after deliberating, couldn’t think of a good word and just shouted, "Don’t talk about these things anymore, and you, Bai Cheng, if you scare me again, I’ll kick you down the mountain."