Setting aside the sour fruit in her hand, Lin Zaozao turned to look at Uncle Zhang, who had a mischievous smile on his face, and complained.
"Uncle Zhang, how could you deceive me! These fruits are so sour that my front teeth are about to fall off."
"Little girl, you can't blame Uncle. I'm poor, and these fruits are the only thing I can offer you."
Listening to Uncle Zhang's voice, Lin Zaozao immediately felt that she had been too harsh with her words.
This was the ancient times, not the modern era she was accustomed to. Here, both the agricultural techniques and transportation capabilities were not as advanced as in the modern world.
In this season of scarcity, having fruits to eat was considered good conditions for a family. The sour fruit she had just thrown away might have been something Uncle Zhang couldn't bear to eat himself.
"Uncle Zhang, I'm sorry. I spoke out of line just now, I..."
"Little girl, there's no need to apologize. It's just a measly fruit. If you still want to eat it, when you leave, I'll pack a basket for you."
"Ah! A basket?"
"If that's not enough, how about two baskets? My teeth can't handle sour things, so you take them back and enjoy them slowly."
Upon hearing Uncle Zhang's words, Lin Zaozao turned her body to look inside Uncle Zhang's house.
To her surprise, she saw a pile of green fruits stacked up like a small mountain.
She had been too hasty with her thoughts earlier, indeed.
"Little girl, what brings you here?" Uncle Zhang knocked his pipe on the ground while filling it with tobacco, asking as he did so.
"I came to buy some medicine from the veterinarian."
"What kind of poultry are you raising?"
"Two chickens, but one rooster died this morning. And we have two dogs. It was the dog that killed our rooster."
"Little girl, if the chickens are already dead, there's no use in getting medicine."
"It's not for the chickens, it's for them." Lin Zaozao pointed at Lin Wuwu and Lin Wanwan, speaking earnestly.
Lin Zaozao's words made Uncle Zhang's expression freeze. He glanced at the twins, who were also frozen, and asked with some confusion.
"Little girl, a veterinarian can't treat humans, you know!"
"It's fine. These two unlucky boys went to the mountain to dig mushrooms and radishes, and ended up getting injured all over. I want to find a veterinarian to get some medicine for treating external wounds and bandage them up."
"Oh, I see!"
Uncle Zhang held the pipe in his mouth, looked up at Lin Wuwu and Lin Wanwan, and turned to walk into the room.
After a moment, Uncle Zhang came out of the house with a pottery jar. He took out a wooden piece from the jar and scooped out some yellow ointment, addressing Lin Wuwu and Lin Wanwan.
"You little rascals, take off your clothes. I'll apply the medicine to you. This is a medicine for treating external wounds, and it can be used by both humans and animals."
Listening to Uncle Zhang's words, Lin Zaozao looked at the ointment in his hand and asked with a puzzled expression, "Uncle Zhang, are you a veterinarian?"
"Yes! I am a veterinarian."
Uncle Zhang said, grabbing Lin Wuwu's arm and applying the ointment to his body.
"Uncle Zhang, weren't you a cart driver? How did you become a veterinarian?"
"I drive a cart in the morning and evening and work as a veterinarian in my spare time. Is there a problem with that?"
"No, of course not. Having an extra skill means earning an extra income, right?"
Lin Zaozao sat at the doorway until Uncle Zhang finished applying medicine to the twins. Only then did she get up from the ground.
"Uncle Zhang, how much is it? I'll pay you now."
"Ten wen."
"Alright, I'll give it to you now."
After Lin Zaozao paid Uncle Zhang, she looked over at the neighboring house and asked.
"Uncle Zhang, is the person living in the courtyard opposite the hunter from Luoshui Village?"
"Yes! Why? Are you planning to buy meat from him?"
"Yes! I want to buy some wild game to improve our meals. Look at my two little brothers, they're as thin as monkeys. If we don't supplement their nutrition soon, I'm afraid they won't grow taller."
Lin Zaozao patted the heads of Wuwu and Lin Wanwan, sighing.
"If you want to buy meat, I'll call Dashan right away."
After finishing the cigarette in his hand, Uncle Zhang knocked the ashes clean and shouted towards the courtyard across.
"Dashan, someone wants to buy some meat. Come out quickly."
"Uncle, coming!"
Following that rough voice, Lin Zaozao craned her neck and looked at the courtyard opposite.
When she saw the door of the opposite house open and a tall figure walked out, bending over as if a small mountain, Lin Zaozao's mouth immediately formed an "O" shape.
Oh my gosh!
This person, truly lives up to his name!
He really looks like a mountain!
So tall! So big! So strong!
Even when Dashan crossed the courtyard wall and walked up to Lin Zaozao, her mouth remained in the "O" shape.
"Little miss, uh, little fatty, is it you who wants to buy meat?"
"Ah! Yes, I want to buy meat."
Lin Zaozao looked at Dashan before her, and her tone was somewhat stuttering.
Lin Zaozao lifted her head high, looking at this towering mountain standing in front of her.
She looked at Dashan's bare upper body, with solid muscles all over. Coupled with his tall stature and broad shoulders, when Lin Zaozao stood in front of Dashan, she suddenly felt as short as a dwarf in a movie.
"Little fatty, what kind of meat do you want? How many pounds?"
"Anything you have will do."
Lin Zaozao nervously swallowed and said.
As Lin Zaozao looked at Dashan's fierce appearance, she couldn't help but feel a little intimidated.
After all, anyone would feel intimidated standing in front of such a towering person.
"I caught a wild boar yesterday. There's a pig's head and two hind legs left. Do you want them?"
"A pig's head? But I don't know how to handle pig hair! If the pig hair isn't cleaned properly, I won't be able to cook it!"
"Why don't you pay first, and I'll clean it up for you and deliver it this afternoon," Dashan said, scratching his neck in a rough voice.
"Alright, Dashan, how much silver?"
"One tael of silver, no less."
"Okay, I'll pay you the silver now."
After handing over the silver, Lin Zaozao didn't even have the courage to look at what the wild boar's head looked like.
After all, standing in front of her was this towering mountain that truly made her feel immense pressure!
After paying the money, Lin Zaozao bid farewell to Uncle Zhang, who was smoking a dry cigarette, and prepared to leave. However, before Lin Zaozao could take a few steps, Uncle Zhang called out to her.
"Hey, girl, wait a moment. Let me pack some fruits for you."
Saying so, Uncle Zhang didn't wait for Lin Zaozao to refuse and went straight back into the house. In a short while, he returned with a basket full of green fruits and handed it to Lin Zaozao.
"When you finish these fruits, I'll pack more for you."
Lin Zaozao held the fruits, feeling the sourness in her mouth. These fruits were so sour, and Uncle Zhang gave her such a big basket. Could she finish them all?
If she actually ate all these fruits, she could say goodbye to her front teeth.
But when Lin Zaozao met Uncle Zhang's kind gaze, the words of refusal instinctively swallowed back.
Forget it, she thought. When she takes the fruits back, she'll share them with her brothers. Each person will get a small portion, and the fruits won't go to waste.
"Uncle Zhang, thank you! Once I finish eating the fruits, I'll return the basket to you."
"No rush, the basket can wait. Girl, you mustn't waste Uncle's kindness! These fruits were specially prepared for you."
"I won't waste them, how could I!" Lin Zaozao awkwardly smiled.
Looking at the green fruits in the basket, Lin Zaozao swallowed the sourness in her mouth.
To be honest, she really wanted to waste them.
"Girl, the sun is up now, you can go back."
"Uncle Zhang, then I'll take my leave. Goodbye, Dashan!"
"Goodbye."
After bidding farewell to Uncle Zhang and Dashan with a wave of her hand, Lin Zaozao headed back home with her two younger brothers.
Once Lin Zaozao's figure disappeared, Dashan, with a body like a small hill, squatted in front of Uncle Zhang, feeling a bit dejected as he spoke.
"Uncle, Little Fatty is afraid of me!"
"Dashan, you shouldn't call her Little Fatty."
"But I couldn't call her Little Master just now! Uncle, when should we bring Little Fatty back?"
"We can't, let's wait a little longer! The world is getting chaotic, so we should stay by her side for now. Dashan, you mustn't speak recklessly in front of outsiders."
"I understand. But Uncle, I want to stay by Little Fatty's side."
"It's too early! When things go awry outside, it will be your turn to protect her. Take this time to clean up the pig's head and pig trotters for the girl."
"Alright, Uncle. I'll go back and tidy up now."
Watching Dashan's hurried departure, Uncle Zhang took another puff of his dry cigarette, knocked it on the ground, and then turned back into the room.
"Uncle, those fruits are so sour, and you packed so many for Little Fatty. Can she finish them all?" Dashan, who had returned, leaned on Uncle Zhang's doorstep and asked with doubt.
"She can finish them, she can. Good fruits will definitely be eaten."
As Uncle Zhang looked at the fruits piled on the ground, a glimmer of light flashed in his hazy eyes.
They said his little master was chubby and not worthy of her suitors.
Hmph! If it weren't for him recognizing their usefulness to some extent, he would have let that person forcefully place them beside their little master.
Now, who is using whom is still uncertain!
Along the way, Lin Zaozao looked at the basket of green fruits in her hand and couldn't help but take a deep breath.
Oh my goodness! They look so sour!
Lin Zaozao looked at her two younger brothers, whose upper bodies were exposed due to applying medicine, and took out three fruits from the basket, handing one to each of them.
"Lin Wuwu, Lin Wanwan, each of us gets one. By the time we get back home, we must finish eating the fruits in our hands."
Taking the fruit from Lin Zaozao's hand, Lin Wuwu and Lin Wanwan looked at her with confusion. Wasn't she disgusted by these sour fruits? Why does she want to eat them now?
"Don't look at me, hurry up and eat. I'm your older sister, do you think I would harm you?"
As she spoke, Lin Zaozao took a deep breath and bit into the fruit. In the next second, her facial features contorted.
Lin Wuwu and Lin Wanwan looked at Lin Zaozao's distorted face and then at the fruits in their hands. They really couldn't understand what she was trying to do.
