Xiao Jiu stared at the lump in Su Xiaotian’s hand for a long time and chuckled, "Isn't it just a dirt clod?"
Although Su Xiaotian couldn't tell what it was, she just felt it definitely wasn't a dirt clod.
However, her heart was set on mushrooms, so she didn't put too much thought into the hard lump. She casually placed it at the bottom of her small basket and continued to pick mushrooms, her bottom sticking up.
The two little ones happily picked mushrooms in the woods near their brothers.
Soon, the small basket was full.
She looked around and indeed saw Su Ciliang not far away.
"Second brother, second brother, what should I do if my basket is full?"
Su Xiaotian's soft and sweet voice reached Su Ciliang's ears.
Su Ciliang looked back. Sure enough, Tiantian's small basket was overflowing with mushrooms.
When did so many mushrooms grow on the mountain?
When he was cutting grass, why didn't he see a single mushroom?
Mushrooms were a delicacy in the village. Usually, finding a few to cook in soup was good enough. How could they find so many?
"Tiantian, you're so lucky. How did you find so many so quickly?"
"Second brother, I've discovered that wherever Tiantian goes, mushrooms grow!" Xiao Jiu said with some frustration.
He had only found less than five mushrooms in the whole basket, and the rest were found by Tiantian.
Su Ciliang burst into laughter, "Xiao Jiu, you're so funny. Does Tiantian's feet sprout mushrooms?"
"If you don't believe me, see for yourself, second brother. I'm telling the truth," Xiao Jiu pouted.
"I believe you, I believe you!" Although he didn't dote on Xiao Jiu as much as Tiantian, he was still his brother, so Su Ciliang didn't discourage him.
"That's more like it!"
"You two continue picking mushrooms. If you find any, pile them up. After we finish cutting pig feed, we'll put them on top of the baskets and take them back together." Su Ciliang thought for a moment, arranged for the two little ones to continue picking mushrooms (playing), and busied himself with cutting pig feed!
However, when he quickly filled a basket with pig feed, he was surprised to find that the two little ones had managed to gather a pile of mushrooms.
He stared at the pile of mushrooms in surprise, blinking frantically, thoroughly suspecting he was mistaken.
But even after blinking many times, the mushrooms were still neatly piled on the ground.
"Brother, what's wrong with your eyes?" Xiao Jiu couldn't help but ask when he saw his brother blinking desperately.
"Xiao Jiu, these, these are all mushrooms you picked? Did you fall into a mushroom patch?"
"I already told you, wherever Tiantian goes, mushrooms grow, and always in large clusters..." Xiao Jiu was even more dejected.
They were walking together, but he couldn't see them. Every time it was Tiantian who spotted the mushroom clusters, making him doubt his own eyes!
"Second brother, look how amazing my brother and I are!" Su Xiaotian deliberately put on a show of seeking praise, "I'm the luckiest child!"
Su Ciliang took a while to process it before mechanically nodding, "Tiantian is the luckiest child!"
If she weren't lucky, how could she have found so many mushrooms?
These mushrooms, once dried, would be enough for his whole family to eat for several meals.
He wondered how surprised Grandpa and Grandma would be when he brought them home.
Wait, how were they going to carry so many mushrooms back?
Su Ciliang, being quick-witted, quickly called out to the distance, "Xiao Si, Xiao Wu, come here quickly. I have something for you to do."
The two brothers quickly ran over at Su Ciliang's call. When they saw the pile of mushrooms, their jaws almost dropped in astonishment.
They also often went up the mountain to pick mushrooms, but they had never seen anyone pick so many at once.
Who was so capable?
Why hadn't they noticed before?
"Where are your baskets? Bring them over, each fill half a basket with mushrooms, then cover them with grass and carry them home," Su Ciliang instructed.
The two brothers looked at Su Ciliang blankly as he emptied the grass from their baskets, then filled them with mushrooms, and gently covered them with a layer of grass. They hadn't yet realized what was happening.
"Second brother, am I seeing things?" Su Wu Rang couldn't help but ask.
But Su Ciliang flicked his forehead.
"Are you stupid? They're all in the baskets, how can you be seeing things? Our Tiantian is capable and found so many," Su Ciliang's mouth was almost split to his ears.
Mushrooms were a treasure, and they were rare. Today, they were truly lucky.
Watching Xiao Si and Xiao Wu happily head down the mountain with the mushrooms, Su Ciliang patted Su Xiaotian's little pigtail and said, "Tiantian, you're so capable!"
At this moment, Su Xiaotian said again, "Second brother, there's a small patch of wild strawberries in the gully ahead."
"Piao'er" was a type of wild strawberry, and people in their area habitually called them "piao'er"!
They were sweet and sour, a rare delicacy for children.
However, they grew sparsely on the mountain. Even though the Su family's boys often ran around on the mountain, they rarely saw them.
"Piao'er? Really?" Su Ciliang asked, his eyes sparkling.
He had run on this mountain countless times, how come he didn't know there were piao'er nearby?
Besides, even if there were, someone would have picked them long ago, wouldn't they have waited for them?
Su Xiaotian said solemnly, "Of course it's true. I saw them earlier. Let's pick them after you finish cutting grass!"
"Okay, it's still early. I'll cut a bit more grass, and you and Xiao Jiu play. Don't go too far," Su Ciliang cautioned and started cutting grass again.
He had sent Xiao Si and Xiao Wu down the mountain, and their tasks weren't finished yet, so he had to help them.
When Xiao Si and Xiao Wu returned, Su Xiaotian found some more mushrooms. Fortunately, there weren't many, and they could be hidden in the basket to be taken down.
But what surprised them was that they had also picked a small pile of piao'er.
"Second brother, where did you find them?" Xiao Si asked.
"Not far ahead. We picked all the ripe ones. In a couple of days, the rest will grow, and we'll come back then," Su Ciliang said with a big smile.
"Fourth brother, brother, try one. They're so sweet!" Su Xiaotian's fair little hands held the piao'er and offered them to her two brothers.
In this era of material scarcity, fruits were almost nonexistent, and wild fruits were the greatest happiness for children.
The two boys took the bright red piao'er from their sister's hand, looking at them left and right, their mouths watering, but still reluctant to eat them.
"Tiantian, you eat. Brother won't eat!" In the end, Su Wu Rang decided not to eat and saved it for his sister.
"I've already eaten. You and fourth brother try them first, and take the rest home to eat with Grandpa, Grandma, and Uncle," Su Xiaotian said with a smile, her beautiful eyes shining with a brilliant light.
Su Wu Rang felt that this was the sweetest wild fruit he had ever eaten in his life. Even many years later, when he reminisced about the taste of wild strawberries that year, the memory was still vivid.