Chapter 19: Temp Worker
Before her lay a flat mountain valley, roughly about two or three acres in size. The environment was very serene, with vibrant flowers everywhere dazzling the eyes. Yiyi even spotted various rare flowers among them, such as cymbidium, ink orchids, peonies, and begonias.
Seeing this, Yiyi couldn’t help but gape in astonishment.
She really hadn’t expected there to be so many rare flowers in this small mountain valley. She then looked elsewhere, and with one glance, she couldn’t look away. On a patch of land to the left, she saw herbs, some she knew, some she didn’t. "It seems that indeed there are precious herbs in Songshan, only they haven’t been discovered by anyone till now. Fortunate for me, I get them all to myself."
As Yiyi spoke, she happily ran forward, touching the nearest Huang Jing with an excited face. Then she took a small shovel from her basket and began to dig for herbs.
Even though the herbs were only growing on a small patch of land, somehow there were quite a variety, including even a Chinese knotweed at least seventy or eighty years old.
Gazing at the mature Chinese knotweed in front of her, Yiyi’s eyes gleamed as she dug it out.
Even though digging for herbs could get tiring, she was grinning from ear to ear as she admired the perfect specimens of the herbs. Counted them one by one, she found she had gathered over a dozen varieties, and her heart blossomed with joy, "This is great, I can certainly sell these for a good amount."
However, Yiyi was somewhat reluctant to sell these herbs, especially with the aged Chinese knotweed, which wasn’t easy to find usually.
After some thought, Yiyi decided to sell the more common varieties and store the rest in her secret space.
She looked at the mist hovering above and at the secluded, empty surroundings before carrying a pile of herbs into the space. To her surprise, once inside, the herbs orderly surrounded a half-man-high tree, then took root around it on their own.
Yiyi found it all a little magical but was delighted at the same time as it saved her a lot of work. Once out of the space, she headed straight for the remaining herbs. Since putting them into the space didn’t require planting them one by one, she could just move them all in.
After finishing all this, she set her sights on the flowers.
Yet to Yiyi’s surprise, the flowers couldn’t enter the space.
"What’s going on?"
Yiyi pondered in puzzlement but quickly reacted, "Could it be that only medicinal plants can enter the space?"
Thinking of this, Yiyi looked at the cymbidium among the flowers, recalling its medicinal properties for clearing heat and relieving cough.
Having formed a hypothesis, Yiyi swiftly began digging up the cymbidium. Once she moved it into the space, her hypothesis was confirmed. However, since most other flowers lacked medicinal properties, Yiyi stopped digging after putting a honeysuckle into the space.
Wiping the fine sweat off her forehead, Yiyi looked around and decided to head back quickly; otherwise, her mother and the others would worry.
After searching for an hour, Yiyi finally found an inconspicuous narrow path in a corner.
But thinking about her reluctance to sell the herbs, Yiyi glanced at the flower patch, eventually digging up a multi-petal orchid and a peony. These blooms, which should have different flowering times, were all in bloom together in this small valley, much to Yiyi’s amazement.
Carrying the two flowers over the narrow path, she finally saw the familiar scenery, lifting her spirits. However, when she turned back, the narrow path had disappeared.
Seeing this, Yiyi couldn’t help but frown.
She initially thought about returning to the valley soon, but it seemed she needed another opportunity to find it again.
"Yiyi, you’re finally back."
Seeing her daughter return, Ding Yuejun sighed in relief and couldn’t help but pat her on the back, "Why were you gone so long? You even missed lunch. I was worried you’d get lost in the mountains."
"Is it that late already?"
Beside them, Mo Xiaohong, holding Shanshan, couldn’t help but say, "Yiyi, it’s already two in the afternoon. You’ve been on the mountain for hours now."
Yiyi didn’t realize it had gotten so late, and as she relaxed, she indeed felt hungry.
"Mom, is there any food left? I’m starving."
Ding Yuejun’s face filled with concern, "Yes, yes, I kept some for you." She said as she headed to the kitchen.
"Yiyi, put that basket down and wash your hands for dinner." Mo Xiaohong glanced at her sister, telling her to wash up.
Truely hungry, Yiyi didn’t say much, washed her hands, and started eating heartily.
Seeing her daughter eating so fast, Ding Yuejun hurriedly said, "Slow down, no one’s going to take it from you."
"Yes, Auntie, we’ve all eaten." Mo Shan added softly from the side.
Hearing this, Yiyi smiled sweetly at Mo Shan and said, "Alright, I’ll listen to Shanshan."
After finishing her meal, Yiyi took out the flowers from her basket, "Mom, sister, I found some orchids and peonies on the mountain. When we go to town, let’s see if anyone wants to buy them. If we meet someone knowledgeable, these two flowers could fetch a good price."
Ding Yuejun looked puzzled.
"Can flowers be sold for money?"
Yiyi quickly nodded with a smile, "Of course they can. As long as they are rare flowers, someone will pay for them."
Ding Yuejun was skeptical since no one in the village spent money on flowers, but seeing her daughter’s enthusiasm, she said nothing.
After Yiyi finished speaking, Mo Xiaohong also shared her plans with Liu Xiu Feng.
"Mom, Yiyi, once Sister Liu informs me tomorrow, I’ll go straight to work. Once I start earning money, we can improve our lives, and dad won’t have anything to say about it."
Hearing this, Yiyi was still a bit worried, "Sister, are you really just going to the town?"
"Of course, I’ve already settled it with Sister Liu. If you don’t believe me, you can come with me and see for yourself. You might as well look around in town and see if anyone wants to buy flowers."
Without a second thought, Yiyi agreed.
"Okay, I’ll go with you and have a look."
The next day, Liu Xiu Feng indeed came by, "Xiaohong, I’ve arranged it for you. Tomorrow, you can start at the town’s food factory. Although it’s only a temporary job, the pay isn’t too bad."
Hearing this, Mo Xiaohong was full of gratitude, "Sister Liu, thank you."
"No need to thank me, just do your job well in the future."
Even Yiyi felt a bit surprised. She didn’t expect Liu Xiu Feng to find her sister a job at the food factory. It was a position many struggled to get.