CHAPTER 52: CHAPTER 52: THE END OF JUNE

As the days passed, Jiang Hu’s family gained two little piglets. Some people felt envious, which was unavoidable, but more people felt happy.

The simple reason being that with Jiang’s family raising pigs, their household had more manure. So when they go to carry the manure, it won’t be just rainwater!

Although everyone knows that not long after settling in, which family can have such good manure, even if Jiang’s family has manure mixed with rainwater, it’s still better than theirs!

But everyone still hopes things can get even better.

Apart from this, it wasn’t just Jiang Hu; almost everyone in the village noticed that Jiang Hu’s twins, Xiaomi, was more obedient and clever than Tiedan.

Tiedan wasn’t much different from the other children they had seen before. The only thing worth mentioning was that the little guy, who was said to be hard to raise, was now growing well.

But by three or four months old, Xiaomi could understand adults when they spoke, and around five months, she could call mom and dad and express herself simply.

The other people in the village had a noticeably different attitude towards Xiaomi and Tiedan, and each time they saw Jiang Hu and his wife with them, everyone preferred greeting Xiaomi.

Fortunately, this situation didn’t happen in the Jiang family. Whether it was their parents or Dawa and Erni, they treated Xiaomi and Tiedan just as before.

In fact, because Xiaomi was too smart and sensible, everyone worried more about Tiedan, after all, Xiaomi really required very little attention!

And at this time, it was already the end of June, and the land was fully entering the hot summer. Dawa had been thinking about popsicles, and recently started talking about them again.

"Xiaomi, mom and dad said they will take us to town tomorrow. Unfortunately, you and Tiedan are too young and can’t eat them, or you’ll have diarrhea."

Dawa held Xiaomi while Erni watched over Tiedan. The two sat in a row under the thatched shed as their parents continued weeding.

There’s no way around it; with gains come sacrifices. Although the crops grew well, the weeds in the fields kept coming back.

Originally, Dawa was also helping with weeding, but since they were almost done, Dawa was allowed to take a break.

Tiedan was busy rolling in the crib, and Erni was fanning him, looking absolutely blissful.

However, Xiaomi wasn’t one to just lie down quietly, especially since Tiedan constantly leaned towards her for some reason.

Under the scorching heat, just the thought of being clung onto by Tiedan was unbearable. So, when she saw her brother approach, she quickly asked him to hold her, while he sat on the field ridge, she was half-held standing on the ground.

Hearing her brother’s words, Xiaomi quickly looked up, "Taste, taste."

She couldn’t eat it, but tasting a bit wasn’t a problem. At the very least, she could just have a lick. She didn’t even know what popsicles from ancient times tasted like!

Xiaomi was barely getting the hang of speaking, but she could only manage one word at a time, without much clarity or fluency.

Nonetheless, Dawa could understand and shook his head: "No, Xiaomi. Mom said that you and Tiedan are still young. Eating cold stuff will give you diarrhea."

Xiaomi got anxious, stomping her feet, "No, will!"

There’s no way they would get diarrhea! She and Tiedan drank Spiritual Spring water quite regularly, and they were completely healthy!

Erni overheard and turned her head, "No, Xiaomi. Look, even Tiedan isn’t eating it."

Xiaomi glared at Tiedan, "Small!"

Tiedan was still small and didn’t even know what a popsicle was, so of course, he wouldn’t eat it!

However, no matter how anxious Xiaomi got, Dawa and Erni were adamant, firmly stating that no meant no!

Xiaomi, in her frustration, bit down on Dawa’s wrist, but unfortunately, without teeth, Dawa didn’t feel any pain, and instead, he kept telling Xiaomi that it would hurt her mouth.

Sure enough, when Xiaomi applied some pressure, she tearfully gave up. It really hurt too much. Her teeth hadn’t developed yet, and her gums were completely ineffectual!

Dawa sighed like a little adult, "I told you, it really hurts."

Just then, Jiang Hu and Erni’s mother finished their work, each holding a bundle of grass to bring home to feed the pigs and rabbits.

"What are you all talking about? What’s up with Xiaomi? Being bullied?" Erni’s mother asked with a smile, "She looks so pitifully cute."

"Mom!" Xiaomi exclaimed in frustration; her brother bullied her, not letting her have popsicles, and now mom was teasing her too!

Unfortunately, she could only manage to get that one word out.

"Mom, Xiaomi wants to eat a popsicle too. I told her she’d get diarrhea if she ate it, and now she’s unhappy," Dawa quickly reported her mischief.

Biting was let go of since it didn’t hurt, but the popsicle was a definite no!

Xiaomi pouted; her brother was too mean.

Erni’s mother smiled and nodded, "Dawa’s right. Xiaomi, don’t be upset. Mom will make you fish soup tonight."

Xiaomi and Tiedan were already five months old. Although they still couldn’t eat solid food, they could have a bit of crucian carp soup.

Xiaomi was immediately attracted and excitedly kept chanting, "Soup, soup, soup!"

Fish soup with salt and flavor was undoubtedly more appealing than some unknown-tasting popsicles!

As for Tiedan, he was still blissfully practicing rolling over.

Dawa pretended to disdain, "Xiaomi is such a foodie, wanting to eat everything."

Xiaomi rolled her eyes at Dawa. What do you know? Eating fish would make her smarter!

Unfortunately, Dawa completely didn’t understand what Xiaomi meant.

Since they planned to go to town tomorrow, this hot weather required an early start; otherwise, the heat would be unbearable once the sun rose.

So, before it got dark, the family went back, with Erni’s mother cooking dinner, Jiang Hu feeding the pigs, Erni watching the children, and Dawa feeding the rabbits and calling back the chickens still frolicking outside.

Once Erni’s mother started cooking, she also killed two crucian carps. Crucian carp were currently abundant at home, unlike the smaller fish which weren’t as easy to raise. So, every time they caught fish, they would be eaten first.

Tiedan had been busy all afternoon practicing rolling over, or crawling around, and he was already tired, now sound asleep. Xiaomi, for once, had some peace.

She guessed in her mind why Tiedan often liked to move closer to her. It was probably because of the Spiritual Spring.

The Spiritual Spring was within her, and she fed Tiedan Spiritual Spring water every day. The little guy might not be able to talk or know what the Spiritual Spring was but instinctively, he was driven to get close to this sister who could make him healthier.

Xiaomi dozed with her eyes half-closed, contemplating how once they reached their first birthday, she couldn’t secretly feed Tiedan Spiritual Spring water and milk powder anymore.

It’s not that she was stingy, but doing so carried too much risk of being discovered.

However, by then, she would be more nimble and could add some Spiritual Spring water into the household’s water tanks and jugs, and she had the water from her space where she raised fish, which could be used too, by pouring it into their outhouse.