Spring is in full bloom, and it's May in the blink of an eye. Silkworms were raised in every family.

It is only a little more than a month for silkworms to go up the mountain to form cocoons, but it is a very busy business. Feed five or six times a day, including once at night.

Zhao Yuzhen didn't even go to the market recently, and concentrated on serving silkworms at home. Don't underestimate these small plaques of silkworms, they can be sold for a lot of money when they pick the cocoons, which is another big source of income for rural people in addition to raising pigs.

Put the silkworm baby is the long, long, wide and wide plaque, the plaque is breathable gauze, in order to disinfect and sterilize to ensure the temperature, it is generally necessary to spread some lime on the silkworm plaque and then spread a layer of white paper, and then evenly sprinkle mulberry leaves when feeding the silkworm baby every day. The sound of silkworms "rustling" eating mulberry leaves can be heard clearly.

Picking mulberry leaves is an annoying job, whether it is heavy or not, you have to pick a few baskets every day, and the more you pick later.

At first, the mulberry leaves are cut into slender strips for the little silkworm babies to eat, and after a few days, the silkworms grow bigger and bigger, and the mulberry leaves have to be sprinkled on top of the whole piece.

Generally, farmers will plant a row of mulberry trees on the field stems, and some people directly plant a few mulberry trees for silkworm raising.

The Zhou family is the latter kind, four or five rows of mulberry trees are not used up every year, and there are often villagers and neighbors who come to borrow mulberry leaves. In fact, it's just to pick this kind of loan, how can I pay it back, but fortunately, it's not a valuable thing, and no one will say anything to pick mulberry leaves at anyone's house.

Zhou Xiaoyun carries a basket to pick mulberry leaves every day after school, and she can't carry a full basket, it doesn't matter, isn't there a big treasure with great strength at home, and the strength of the whole body is not in vain.

Dabao was used to being commanded by his sister, so he heard Zhou Xiaoyun tell him to carry the basket and walk behind, so he naturally did so. I didn't have the idea of refuting at all, and I didn't react so neatly when I heard Zhao Yuzhen's words!

When the brother and sister arrived in the mulberry field, the sun was still high. You can see many people picking mulberry leaves in the nearby mulberry fields.

Mulberry leaves are about the size of the palm of your hand, and they are tender and easy to pick. Most of the mulberry trees are more than one meter high, and Zhou Xiaoyun can basically reach them except for the highest ones.

Her dexterous digging and picking mulberry leaves is very fast, and Dabao people are looking for high places to pick, and the two of them cooperate very well, and the two baskets they brought will be full in a while.

Next door is the land of the uncle's house, and Shen Huafeng is also picking mulberry leaves, she heard Zhou Xiaoyun and Dabao talking, and she came over to see. I was quite surprised at this look: "Big girl, big treasure, are you two here to pick mulberry leaves?" Where's your mother? ”

Zhou Xiaoyun replied: "My mother still has to bring her younger brothers and sisters at home, and she doesn't have time to pick mulberry leaves, so my brother and I came." ”

Shen Huafeng couldn't help but sigh when he looked at Zhou Xiaoyun's neat movements and Dabao's hard work: Look at the children of the second family, they all know that they have come to do the work in the field for adults.

Zhou Xiaoyun has always been an obedient and capable person, needless to say, even Dabao knows to help.

In contrast, his two children know that playing is too bad all day long, Haizi is not too old, Xiaoxia is eleven years old, and he still thinks about playing without knowing anything, which is far worse than his brothers and sisters.

Zhou Guofu made furniture at home, and only Shen Huafeng came to the mulberry field alone, and his movements couldn't help but be slower, and the two baskets were just half loaded.

Zhou Xiaoyun motioned to Dabao to go over with him to help, and Dabao immediately understood Zhou Xiaoyun's eyes, and the brother and sister still had a tacit understanding.

The two picked a basket of mulberry leaves for Shen Huafeng, and didn't stop until they were full.

Shen Huafeng carried two baskets and walked home with Dabao Zhou Xiaoyun, on the way Zhou Xiaoyun wanted to carry a basket but Dabao refused: "I can carry two baskets by myself, you go behind me." ”

Dabao walked in front of his sister like an adult, and Zhou Xiaoyun received the care of his brother's simple words and followed silently.

Shen Huafeng chatted with the two of them without a match, and when he got home and saw Zhao Yuzhen feeding the pigs in front of the door, he couldn't help but praise Zhou Xiaoyun and his sisters:

"His second aunt, your family's big treasure and big girl are really capable, I was picking mulberry leaves in the field today and heard the sound of talking in your field, I thought it was you at first. As a result, when I looked over, I realized that it was two children picking mulberry leaves! actually picked a basket of mulberry leaves for me, which really makes me not know how to praise it. ”

Zhao Yuzhen couldn't say anything comfortable when she heard this, and pretended to complain: "I'm really busy at home." The child's father is busy collecting pigs all day long, and I have to take care of two small chickens, ducks and pigs in a yard by myself, and then serve silkworms, how can I have time to pick mulberry leaves in the field! To tell you the truth, since the silkworm baby was brought home, this mulberry leaf has always been picked by the big girl and the big treasure! ”

Hearing this, Shen Huafeng immediately felt uncomfortable.

This is obviously a boast, but it is understandable that other people's children are sensible and so exaggerated, which immediately made Shen Huafeng feel that his children were a little worse than others.

After greeting Zhao Yuzhen for a few words, Shen Huafeng went home and reprimanded Zhou Zhihai and Zhou Xiaoxia:

"Your sister and brother play all day or watch TV, you look at the eldest girl and the big treasure of the second aunt's family, and go to help the family pick mulberry leaves every day. Tomorrow you will go with them, both of them are such old children, I will see if you can do this well. ”

So, at noon the next day, Zhou Xiaoxia, who had finished eating, took Zhou Zhihai to find Zhou Xiaoyun and Dabao and wanted to pick mulberry leaves with them.

The mulberry fields of the two families are next to each other, and it is very convenient to go together, Dabao and Zhou Zhihai ran away in front, and Zhou Xiaoxia and Zhou Xiaoyun couldn't catch up in the back, so they walked forward slowly.

Zhao Yuzhen was secretly funny at home, this Shen Huafeng, the sweet heart and eyes are smaller than a needle, everything is stronger, and even the children are compared.

However, Zhao Yuzhen thought proudly that the number of children in her family alone is also a big advantage, not to mention the level of ability. Zhou Zhihai and Dabao are as naughty as each other, and there is nothing to compare, but Zhou Xiaoxia is not at all like a rural girl, how can she compare to a big girl?