Shen Jiumei was speechless.

"I took Qiu Bao to look around to see if I could dig up wild vegetables. Throwing down the words, she led Shen Qiubao to the back of the temple.

"I'm going to go out and look for money. This time, the little monkey didn't stop anyone, and said to their backs, "Don't go too far." Remember to come back before the sun turns west. Also, I'm really not going to give you any money. ”

Behind the temple is a barren slope overgrown with weeds. Under the eaves, there are half-human-high weeds.

"Ninth sister, what are these weeds used for?" Shen Qiubao could see that the weeds were deliberately piled up here.

"When you go to bed at night, give someone a bunk. Shen Jiumei thought for a while and replied.

Apart from these weeds, there is nothing else behind the temple.

"Let's go up the slope and have a look. "Since you said that you came out to look for wild vegetables, how can you not go up the slope?

"Oh. ”

The slope is not high, and there is a path about a foot wide in the weeds that leads to the top of the slope. The siblings followed the trail and soon reached the top of the slope.

"Ninth sister, there is a well here!" Shen Qiubao saw an old well a few steps away at a glance.

It seems that the people in the temple are all drawing water from this well. In the surrounding open space, there are few dead branches and leaves. The bluestone slabs by the well were polished to a bright finish.

Shen Jiumei nodded: "Go over and take a look." ”

As soon as the words fell, Shen Qiubao had already let go of her hand, ran to the well, lay on a bluestone slab, reached out to scoop up the water, stretched out her tongue, and licked it carefully.

Immediately, he turned his head away, and his little face wrinkled: "Bah, bah...... Bitter!" I was glad in my heart - it was common sense that the water from the bitter well could not be drunk. Fortunately, these days, he has learned a lot of skills from his eldest sister, but he has only dipped it a little.

Shen Jiumei walked over quickly, squatted down, and scratched his nose helplessly: "Just your hands!"

"I also have to learn to recognize water. The ninth sister has already taught me. "Hmm, my nose is so sour!" Shen Qiubao wrinkled his nose and snorted.

"Well, you've just learned well. Shen Jiumei smiled, "No wonder the little monkey wants to ask us for water to drink." But she smiled bitterly in her heart - along the way, she saw no other water source. The little monkey didn't lie before, and here, you have to pay for saliva to drink. It seems that it is not easy to take root in Shixiu County.

"Ninth Sister, do we really want to give money to Lord Miaogong?" asked Shen Qiubao seriously.

Shen Jiumei glanced around alertly. After making sure that the little monkey was not following and that there was no one else around, she whispered, "Let's prepare the money first." However, we are not the first to give. If everyone else gives, we give it. ”

"Are you afraid that someone will rob us of our money?" Shen Qiubao twisted his eyebrows, "Earlier, Brother Little Monkey wanted to rob me of my wild vegetable cakes. He was scared by you, so he didn't do anything. ”

"Hmm. That's it. Shen Jiumei touched his head approvingly, "You look very carefully." I can't beat everyone in the temple, so we must not show any money. ”

"yes, I see. I won't say. Shen Qiubao nodded vigorously.

After confessing, Shen Jiumei took out a white cloth bag from her arms. My aunt and cousin gave them a total of two packets of money. This is one of those packs. Eat a trench, grow a wisdom, she has been hiding two small bags close to her.

After taking out four big coins, she thought for a while and said, "Qiu Bao, in the future, our money will be yours." ”

"No, I don't. Shen Qiubao was so frightened that he waved his hand again and again, "I'm afraid of losing it." "The little monkey said so many things, and none of them were not talking about the importance of money. He heard it, if they lost the money, they wouldn't be able to survive in Shixiu City at all, let alone go to the Qingyun Martial Arts Hall to learn martial arts.

However, Shen Jiumei insisted and said in a deep voice: "The little monkey has already guessed that we have money. He's having his eye on me. I don't know what his idea was. If you put money with me, it's easier to lose it. ”

"He's a bad guy!" Shen Qiubao was anxious, "Let's ignore him anymore!" Uncle Hong, they are good people!

"Others may be even worse! At least he is afraid of me, and he doesn't dare to rob me openly. Also, I can see that he is a man who eats alone. Until the money is won, he will protect us from being taken advantage of. Shen Jiumei knelt on one knee, squatted on the ground, and said, "We must go to the Qingyun Martial Arts Pavilion." Money, you must hide it well. Without my voice, you must not reveal even the slightest tone to outsiders, understand?"

Woo woo, the people here, good or bad! Shen Qiubao couldn't accept it at once.

"The little monkey must have thought the money was on me. I'll take a little money too. When the money is paid, I will pay for it, you don't care. Shen Jiumei explained softly, "He will be more sure that he won't think about you." ”

"Ninth sister, will he harm you?" Shen Qiubao was extremely worried, "I'm so scared." ”

Shen Jiumei paused in her hand, raised her head, and said with a smile: "What are you afraid of? He is not as tall as me, not as big as me, he can't outrun me, and he can't beat me." As she spoke, she had already counted ten large coins. Carefully hiding the ten big coins in her belt, she took out another white cloth bag from her arms, and gave the two small bags to Qiu Bao, "Hide them." ”

"Hmm!" Shen Qiubao took it and said, "Ninth sister, I'll hide them in two places, is it okay?"

"That's a good idea!" Shen Jiumei looked at him, smiling with crooked eyebrows.

has been affirmed, Shen Qiubao's heart is happy. As he thought, he hid one bag in his arms, and the other in his belt.

After hiding it, he pressed it outside, looked up and grinned: "Whoever asks me, I won't say." ”

In fact, the money could only be hidden in these two places. Shen Jiumei waited for him to hide, and also reached out and pressed it, making sure that he was very tight, got up and touched his head, and praised: "Qiu Bao is really capable!" Then, she said with a straight face, "Qiu Bao, in this world, there are good people, and there must be many bad people." Dad often said that we mountain people stand up to the sky, walk right, and sit upright. We don't harm people and don't do bad things, but we can't do without the heart of guarding against people. When interacting with outsiders, we all have to be more mindful, and don't be bullied by bad people as fools. ”

"yes, I see. ”

After hiding the money, the siblings began to look for wild vegetables. Qiu Bao won't lie, there are really only two wild vegetable cakes left on them. And where is this ration enough for them to eat for a day? Therefore, the first priority is to find some wild vegetables and something to eat.

There are so many rules in Shixiu County, digging some wild vegetables in the field or something, shouldn't you have to protect it?

Well, then, the siblings were dismayed to find that the slope was full of dug traces, and there were basically no edible wild vegetables and fruits.

Also. As the little monkey said, if there were so many poor people living in the temple, the wild vegetables in the vicinity must have been dug up long ago—how hungry the people here must be. Wild vegetables are all cut down by the roots. And in the mountains, if it is not for the famine year, there is really no food, everyone picks wild vegetables, except for those who eat roots, they only pick stems and leaves. Because you keep the roots, you can grow more wild vegetables.

There was no way, the sister and brother had to climb up the mountain and continue to search.

In the end, the hard work pays off. They searched as they climbed the mountain, and when they reached the top of the mountain, they finally picked two handfuls of gray cabbage and three bunches of yellow berries.

Well, for this little result, they still relied on the sharp eyes of the mountain people to rummage in a few remote places that were not eye-catching.

Shen Jiumei sighed again, it is not easy to make a living in Shixiu County.

They chose a leeward place, still cooked half a tube of wild vegetable soup in a large bamboo tube, and ate two wild vegetable cakes - if they were accustomed and experienced in the past, they would have kept one and eaten it tomorrow. However, when they thought of so many hungry people in the temple, the two sisters and brothers felt from the bottom of their hearts that wild vegetable cakes or something were the safest to eat in their stomachs.