Chapter 31 - 31 20 The End

Words : 1453 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

31: Chapter 20 The End 31: Chapter 20 The End Well, if it’s impossible, then so be it, Manbao decided to do it herself. Hence, she demanded Keke to keep the picture up and clumsily arranged her flower basket just like in the image. When Erya saw her little aunt ruining the flowers, she couldn’t concentrate on learning how to weave bamboo anymore and hurriedly ran over, “Little Aunt, what are you doing?” “I’m arranging a flower basket.” Erya said, “You’re crushing the flowers.” Manbao blinked and decisively threw away the flowers, scooted back a bit, and let Erya take over, “I’ll teach you.” Everyone laughed at that—she could barely arrange flowers herself, yet she was going to teach Erya? But indeed, Manbao did teach Erya. Her hands might not have been skillful, but she had plenty of ideas and guided Erya on how to wrap the flowers around the small bamboo basket. Erya initially didn’t want to do as she was told, but her little aunt was persistent—if you didn’t follow her instructions, she’d keep nagging until you gave in. Without other choices and considering these were just wild flowers abundant on the mountain, Erya thought she could pick more if necessary, or perhaps gather some along the way tomorrow. With this in mind, Erya followed her instructions and, as she was wrapping, noticed the small bamboo basket starting to look different. After finishing the arrangement and placing a few more flowers inside, Erya stared at the rather ugly basket she turned out to be quite stunned. “Oh my god,” Erya exclaimed, “I can’t believe I’m this amazing!” Manbao clapped her little hands joyfully and eagerly took credit, “It’s mainly because of me, I taught you. Of course, Erya, you’re amazing too. You wrapped it exactly as I told you to.” Zhou saw the flower basket as well, and nodded slightly, “It looks alright, but this thing—it’s neither food nor drink. It’s just good to look at. Who would buy it?” Ms. Qian also liked it and said, “If this one isn’t good, we won’t take it to market. Let’s leave it at home for your little aunt to play with.” Erya crisply responded and began to arrange another basket. If the first try was awkward, the second became much easier. Moreover, Manbao had other designs, so by adjusting the wrapping position and method, and changing the color of the flowers, she created a different style of flower basket, which also looked quite nice. Manbao thought she’d have to take Erya along to the county town tomorrow, because if the flower baskets were damaged, they’d need fixing, and Fifth Brother and Sixth Brother didn’t know how to wrap flowers. That’s what she was thinking, so that’s what she told her father. Zhou considered that since the daughter was going out anyway, allowing one more granddaughter to go wouldn’t hurt. However, thinking that Daya was even older than Erya and it wouldn’t be fair for Erya to go while Daya stayed, he decided with a wave, “Take both Daya and Erya with you.” Daya and Erya couldn’t help cheering, while Datou and Second Son looked on with envy and pestered Zhou, “Grandpa, Grandpa, what about us?” “You two stay at home to help your Fourth Uncle reclaim land. Go cut grass, pick stones. So many people going to town can’t avoid eating and drinking, and your dad has to take care of you, no time for that.” Datou immediately said, “We won’t eat cakes, just drinking water is fine, and we don’t need dad to take us. There’s Fifth Uncle and Sixth Uncle.” Zhou firmly refused, “No way, it’s a long journey back and forth. If you get hungry and end up needing medicine, who will pay for it?” Both glanced at their little aunt. Zhou glared at Manbao too. Manbao was particularly aware of the situation. She figured pushing her luck further might result in her losing the privilege to go out, so she quietly comforted Datou and Second Son, “When I’m back, I’ll give you candy. If I make some money this time, next time I’ll definitely take you.” Datou and Second Son could only lower their heads in disappointment, “Alright, little aunt, you’ve got to keep your word.” “Don’t worry, when have I ever gone back on my word?” When the family members returned from the fields for dinner, Zhou and Ms. Qian had already assembled around twenty-five bamboo baskets for them. Manbao, thrilled with delight, set to wrap all the baskets with flowers. Thus, Daya stopped learning bamboo weaving and came over to help Erya. Seeing Dalang and Erlang, Manbao didn’t hesitate to enlist their aid as well, getting them to continue helping with weaving small bamboo baskets. Zhou Dalang and Zhou Erlang thought they were just wasting time and bamboo, but because Manbao insisted, and their parents were also pampering their youngest sister, they had no choice but to help. Soon, the discarded bamboo strips left by Zhou Er had been used up, and Manbao then eyed the intact ones. Zhou sternly said, “Those are your Second Brother’s bamboo strips that haven’t been used yet. You can’t waste them. Besides, you’ve already made fifty; that should be enough.” Actually, if she managed to sell even one, Zhou would consider it a miracle. Manbao had to give up on the idea of further tormenting her Second Brother’s bamboo strips. She joined Erya and Daya in wrapping pretty flowers—of course, she was in charge of giving orders, while Daya and Erya did the actual work. The flowers and grasses they’d picked at noon were quickly used up, but there were still about twenty baskets that hadn’t been adorned. Zhou waved his hand dismissively, “Alright then, go pick more after dinner, sunset is still a long way off.” He added a warning, “Make sure you’re back before sunset; don’t get caught in the dew.” Everyone cheerfully agreed, quickly finished dinner, and headed for the mountain. Naturally, Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang were to tag along. Zhou, seeing the listless appearance of Silang, chastised, “You go too. Your sister is going up the mountain; shouldn’t you, as her brother, go take care of her?” Zhou Silang, who had been exhausted from three straight days of heaviest labor like clearing new land, just didn’t feel like moving once seated. Now scolded by his dad, he slowly heaved himself off the stool and shuffled outside. Zhou, irritated by his attitude, turned to Dalang and the others, “You all need to keep a tight leash on him, I forbid him from going to town for the next two years, if I find out he’s been gambling again, I’ll chop off the hand I gave him.” Dalang, Erlang, and Sanlang all agreed. “Alright, it’s been days since you’ve been angry, better to think about how to save some money to pay off the debts,” Ms. Qian said, “Eldest, while you’re in town tomorrow, see if there’s any work. If so, there’s no need for you to come back. Just take a job there; Fifth and Sixth can bring the kids back home.” Dalang said, “I’m just worried it won’t be easy to find work in town.” “Even if it’s hard, you must look. The family can’t just live off the supplies without working,” Ms. Qian said, “Who knows what next spring will bring? If it’s as peaceful as this year, even if we can’t save money, at least we won’t be short on food or clothing. But if there’s drought or flooding, then it’ll be tough.” Zhou, tapping his smoking pipe, reassured her, “Don’t worry, I’ve already asked Third Uncle, and he said, even if it’s not as good as this year, it won’t be much worse.” Ms. Qian felt relieved upon hearing this. Third Uncle was the most skilled farmer in the village, an old man who had been working the land for years, able to predict the weather for the upcoming half year. Since he said so, the weather for the next year shouldn’t be too bad. Ms. Qian, content, had picked an abundance of various wildflowers and herbs from the mountain, and Manbao also felt satisfied, believing tomorrow would be a beautiful day. The system just watched silently, not uttering a word. However, the next day when Manbao, still a child, got out of bed and went to look at the flower baskets she’d arranged, she found under the dim firelight that the flowers in the baskets below had all bent or wilted.

Chapter 31 - 31 20 The End

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