Chapter 309

"Why are you asking this?" Gu Chenghuai turned his head upon hearing this, his eyebrows slightly raised, with a probing expression.

Lin Zhao's lips curved into a soft arc, her voice full of light laughter, "Curious. This mountain is different from the one in my hometown. You know, I like to hear all kinds of strange stories about mountains."

I believe you.

Gu Chenghuai smiled meaningfully, was silent for a few moments, and pulled Lin Zhao to sit under a tree.

"Sit and rest for a while," he handed over the unscrewed water bottle, "Drink some water."

Lin Zhao drank two sips and shouted to Xiang Yubao and little Han Shuang who were digging bamboo shoots happily, "... You two rest for a while too, drink some water, don't get heatstroke."

Xiang Yubao wiped his sweat, a black mark appeared on his little face, "I'm not tired, and I'm not thirsty, I'll drink in a while."

After answering his mother's words, he turned his head to look at his new friend, "Little Juan'er, if you're thirsty, go drink water, just find my mom, don't be shy."

Little Han Shuang's eyebrows curved into crescents, soft and sticky, "I know."

She met such a boy who knew how to take care of people for the first time. Xiang Yubao is really careful.

Hearing that the two children wouldn't drink, Lin Zhao didn't force them and handed the water bottle back to Gu Chenghuai.

The man met his wife's clear black eyes, packed the water bottle, and without waiting for her to urge him, began to tell the story of this mountain.

"This mountain really has something to say. It is said that before, probably twenty years ago, before the founding of the country, someone went up the mountain to cut firewood and saw a thick white snake. The snake was more than ten meters long and thicker than an adult man's thigh. After the news spread, no one dared to go to the deep mountains again..."

These were even more exaggerated than the legends of the mountains in her hometown.

Lin Zhao listened with great interest and asked with a smile, "Was it Comrade Sun who told you this again?"

"It really wasn't," Gu Chenghuai denied and said, "I heard it from the villagers."

"You actually listen to this?" Lin Zhao was quite surprised.

"When hunting wild boars before, I was forced to listen," Gu Chenghuai said, "Entering the mountain requires a fellow villager to lead the way, otherwise it's easy to get lost. That fellow villager talked a lot and kept talking all the way, so I know."

Lin Zhao suddenly realized.

"Battalion Commander Gu, so you have entered the deep mountains, what is it like inside, are there any valuable things, such as mineral resources..." She didn't dare to ask too obviously, so she could only inquire indirectly.

"No," Gu Chenghuai said directly.

"It's just an ordinary mountain, the road is very difficult to walk, winding and winding, the ditches are very deep, you can't see the bottom, the vegetation is lush, and there are many small animals."

His slender fingers tapped the tip of Lin Zhao's nose, with a smile in his eyes, "As for the mineral resources you mentioned..."

Gu Chenghuai smiled, "Don't think about it, no minerals have been discovered in this mountain."

He didn't find it strange about Lin Zhao's jumping questions. Zhao Zhao is like this, saying whatever she thinks of.

"Alright," Lin Zhao smiled.

The doubt that had been suppressed to the bottom of her heart emerged again.

Then what was just detected?

Her curiosity was fully aroused.

Just at this moment, Gu Chenghuai looked fiercely at a tree several feet thick on the left, his voice cold and stern, "Come out!"

"?" Lin Zhao looked over.

What's the situation?

A little girl in rags appeared from behind the tree.

She was very thin, her body couldn't hold any meat, timid, and didn't even dare to raise her head.

She carried high firewood on her back, and her yellow, rough hair was as messy as a chicken coop.

She looked at Gu Chenghuai and Lin Zhao with fear, hurriedly lowered her head, and said in a very small voice, "I was here first."

Xiang Yubao put down the things in his hand and walked over, "Have you been here the whole time?"

The little girl looked at him, pulled her patched top in a cramped manner, her voice like a mosquito, "Mm, I fell asleep."

Afraid that these strangers would misunderstand her, she explained nervously.

Little Han Shuang sized up the little girl. She had grown up so big and had never seen such a thin child who wore such shabby clothes.

"You sleep here?" she asked.

The little girl's face turned pale, she nodded, and said with a crying tone, "I was sleepy, I just wanted to rest for a while, didn't expect to fall asleep. Can you not tell anyone? My grandma will scold me."

"Don't cry, we won't tell, we won't tell anyone," Xiang Yubao promised, looked at the tree, frowned, and said, "How dangerous it is for you to sleep here. If wild beasts come down the mountain, you will be in danger."

Lin Zhao took out a handkerchief to wipe her son's face, "Look how dirty your face is."

Xiang Yubao gave a hehe smile, took the handkerchief, and wiped it himself, "I'll wipe it myself, I'll wipe it myself."

Lin Zhao took out a new handkerchief and handed it to little Han Shuang, "Little Juan'er, you wipe your sweat too."

"Thank you, Lin Shengshen," little Han Shuang thanked with a smile.

The handkerchief Lin Zhao took out was brand new, as white as snow, with patterns on it, very exquisite.

The little girl who saw her wiping someone's face with a clean handkerchief was stunned in place.

She didn't even have a handkerchief. The towel she used to wipe her face was a rotten cloth strip, used for several years. For Lin Zhao's move, the little girl felt heartache subconsciously.

Wiping her face with such a beautiful handkerchief, can the mud on it be washed clean?!

Can't you go to the river to wash it before wiping? What a waste of things.

These words turned around in the little girl's heart, but she didn't dare to say a word, only lowering her head, not knowing what she was thinking.

Lin Zhao's gaze fell on the little girl, took off the firewood that crushed her shoulders, and said warmly, "We're not in a hurry to travel now, put down the firewood first. It's so heavy, be careful it will stop you from growing."

The little girl didn't struggle, like a little puppet, blankly following Lin Zhao's movements, looked at her, and lowered her head again.

"... Thank you," she thanked uncomfortably.

"You're welcome." Seeing that this child was well-behaved, Lin Zhao stuffed two candies into her hand.

The little girl's hands were black and thin, like little chicken claws, and she hurriedly shrank back uncomfortably, trying to hide her hands.

But she was really curious about the things in her palm, opened her palm, and saw the things in her palm. The outside was beautiful candy paper, and the inside was hard.

It was something she had never seen before.

"What is this?" she asked.

Xiang Yubao replied, "Candy, haven't you eaten candy? That's orange-flavored hard candy, sweet, and has an orange flavor, it's delicious!"

His attitude was polite, and there was no annoying attribute of a bear child at all, which was very attractive to little girls. Toward Xiang Yubao, the little girl who picked firewood was not very afraid, and dared to look up at him a few times.

"What is an orange?"

Xiang Yubao didn't expect that this child hadn't even eaten an orange, "You haven't eaten an orange either."

The little girl picked at her fingers, "Haven't eaten."

After speaking, she took two wild fruits out of her pants pocket.

She stuffed them to Xiang Yubao, "I won't take advantage of you, these are wild fruits I picked, eat them."

Afraid of being disliked, she hurriedly said, "This fruit is sweet, not astringent."

Xiang Yubao looked at Lin Zhao, and after seeing his mother nod, he accepted it, "Thank you, what's your name? Is your home in the village?"

"My name is Gouzi, my home is in the village," the little girl said.

Lin Zhao: "..."

Han Shuang: "??"

Xiang Yubao didn't make fun of other people's nicknames, but asked, "... Gouzi is your nickname, right? What is your big name?"

"What big name or small name, I only have one name, Gouzi," the little girl said without understanding.

Little Han Shuang said, "How can anyone be called Gouzi? Everyone has two names, a big name used for school, and a nickname used by family members. For example, me, my big name is Han Shuang, and my nickname is Juan'er."

"He..." she pointed to Xiang Yubao, "His nickname is Xiang Yubao, and his big name is Gu Zhiyu."

Gouzi was stunned for a moment, her black and thin little face wrinkled, "I don't know, I'll ask my grandma when I go back."

"Alright, you ask, it's best to use your big name when introducing yourself to the outside world, nicknames are too easy to collide with," Xiang Yubao said seriously.

"Mm, it's easy to collide with names. There are three Gouzis in our village, but I am the only girl called Gouzi," the little girl called Gouzi said.

She didn't seem to have low self-esteem about this name.

Lin Zhao found that when she mentioned her family, there was no fear in her eyes, and it seemed that her situation was okay.

Only after asking Gu Chenghuai did she know that the soil in this village was not fertile, and the grain yield was very low. It was a famous poor place in the ten miles and eight villages, and every household was like this.

Lin Zhao said in surprise, "That makes no sense. Along the way, I saw many medicinal materials. So many medicinal materials, if processed, would be a considerable income."

"Medicinal materials?" Gu Chenghuai didn't know many medicinal materials and was very confused.

"Yes, medicinal materials. I see there are quite a few types, and some are quite precious," Lin Zhao said.

The reason she recognized those medicinal materials was entirely because she had an older brother who studied medicine, and she consciously looked for various medical classics and would flip through them when she was bored.

It just so happened.

She had a good memory and remembered quite a few.

Lin Zhao's words were heard by Gouzi, and she suddenly raised her head, "Sister, you mean there are medicinal materials in our village? And they can be sold for money? Is this true?"

This "sister" made Lin Zhao feel radiant.

"So that's how it is; not protecting your own wife but protecting an outsider, what kind of thing is that? Those who don't know would think they have an affair."

"Sister-in-law Zhang is indeed not easy; when Chou Ding was born, his cry was as weak as a kitten... he almost didn't make it..."

"Sister-in-law Bai is indeed a bit too fond of crying."

Someone had seen Bai Taohua's lack of simplicity long ago and snorted coldly, "It's also strange; when Sister-in-law Bai has something to do, she doesn't call those young people, but insists on calling men with families. Is it that the young people can't be called? If they can't be called, we have to report it upward. The leaders said they want to build a harmonious and loving military environment; such indifference won't do..."

"They can be called!" A sister-in-law who had received help from young soldiers couldn't help but say, "Those young people are agile and diligent. If we have anything we need help with, who doesn't take the initiative to help?"

"That's right, that's right. When I first came to follow the army, the child's father was on a mission and wasn't there; it was two young people who helped us."

Young soldiers were all enthusiastic, so where was the problem?

Thus, everyone's gaze toward Bai Taohua was no longer heavy.

Bai Taohua knew her reputation was ruined; her heart kept sinking, staring at Lin Zhao with resentment.

Gu Chenghuai was so sharp; his cold eyes shot over, and Bai Taohua hurriedly lowered her head, all her thoughts gone.

This scene was also taken in by the people around.

One of the sisters-in-law punched the man beside her hard, scolding: "Look! Knowing how to protect your own wife is a real man! You even criticized me because of Bai Taohua before; you heartless man, Chen Shimei!"

Her man smiled pleadingly, lowering his voice: "How did I know she was like that? Didn't I listen to you and stay far away from people? Give your man some face."

"Hmph, you'll wash the clothes for half a month from now on." The woman took the opportunity to make a request.

"Deal."

Bai Taohua had lost all face and left when no one was paying attention.

Zhang Ping glanced at her, just pretending not to see.

Tearing off Bai Taohua's disguise today, the anger stuck in her chest felt a bit smoother.

Her red eyes looked at Lin Zhao, her words envious, "Sister Lin, you are the one with good fortune; Battalion Commander Gu is a clear-headed person; you didn't marry the wrong person."

Lin Zhao smiled: "Sister-in-law's days will also get better and better."

After today, the man with shit in his brain should be a bit more sober, right?

Zhang Ping smiled bitterly, not mentioning her own man, only saying: "Yes, the eldest and second are grown up and know how to care for me, their mother. With them here, my days have hope."

She almost denied the value of her own man.

The unclear man was completely broken, "Zhang Ping, what do you mean?"

He sneered, "So I have no contribution to this family, right?"

Zhang Ping ignored him.

The anger gathered in the man's chest grew higher and higher, letting out a violent roar, "Speak! What do you mean by not speaking! If we can live, we live; if we can't, forget it!"

Gu Chenghuai turned sideways to cover his wife's ears, his expression displeased, "Keep your voice down; you're disturbing my wife! This is outside, not in your house."

Zhang Ping's man choked, "..."

Angry, he turned and left.

Gu Chenghuai thought he was unclear, but he also thought Gu Chenghuai was full of women and had no heroic spirit.

Lin Zhao pulled down Gu Chenghuai's hand, poked the man with her arm, and praised: "That was a beautiful retort!"

Gu Chenghuai thought to himself, he truly felt that person was noisy and a bit brain-damaged. By the way, the word "brain-damaged" was learned from Zhao Zhao; he understood it as having a brain disease.

Very fitting.

The matter here also reached Qian Guiying's ears. She said to her man with a complaining tone: "I said we shouldn't have let her stay; it would cause trouble. Look, how many things has she stirred up?"

Qian Guiying felt that Bai Taohua's eyes were too active the first time she saw her; she wasn't a settled person, and later it was proven to be so.

But the person had already been kept, and she couldn't send her away without a proper reason. It was truly worrying. Today's matter... perhaps it was an opportunity? ===== CHAPTER 302 =====

She felt that the problem was not big. Her older brother had this idea long ago, but he hadn't found a suitable planting address.

This place is very suitable.

It is not far from the military region, and planting medicinal materials at the foot of the mountain does not affect the crops in the fields. How good it is.

"If Gouzi recognizes medicinal materials, she can pick medicinal materials to make money, and then she can buy new clothes," little Han Shuang said happily for the child she just saw.

Xiang Yubao's eyebrows were proud, "There is nothing my mother wants to do that can't be done. Our hometown relies on growing mushrooms to make money, and this brigade can also rely on medicinal materials to make money."

"Dad, is my mom great?" he said to Gu Chenghuai.

"Great! Especially great!" Gu Chenghuai gave Lin Zhao a thumbs up.

Lin Zhao: "..."

When Gouzi returned home, the old lady saw her carrying so many firewood back again, walked over with small feet, and while taking it, patted her back gently.

"Carrying so much again, I told you you're still young, carry less, you'll be crushed to death, you don't listen, you're pissing me off."

Gouzi gave a shy smile, arranged the firewood neatly, and told her grandma about the encounter on the mountain.

"There are medicinal materials here? And quite a few? Who told you?"

Gouzi said, "The... auntie from the army."

She still wanted to call her sister in her heart. She is so young, calling her auntie made her look old.

Hearing that it was from the army, Gouzi's grandma became serious.

"What did they say, tell me."

Gouzi had a good memory and told her grandma everything Lin Zhao said.

The old lady's cloudy eyes radiated light. She didn't say anything, returned to the room, took out a cotton handkerchief from a corner, opened it with trembling hands, and inside was loose money: five cents, one cent, two cents, one cent... Every cent was blood and sweat money.

"Grandma, what are you taking money for?"

Gouzi's grandma said, "Doesn't it cost money to buy books? I don't know if this money is enough..."