Qinhua didn't realize how beautiful Langya Mountain was, but she saw many villagers digging wild vegetables on the road.
There is not much green in winter, and most of the edible ones are the roots of plants left in the ground.
Several villagers were carrying baskets filled with dark brown roots, like kudzu.
In years when the harvest is bad, kudzu root is considered a good food. It is dry and hard to swallow, but at least it fills your stomach.
This year's grain harvest in the southeast is not good, with droughts and floods, but the government seems to have heard little news. It is not difficult to imagine that those officials may have used the method of squeezing the people to collect all the tax revenue.
At noon, the team stopped in a small town to have a meal and refresh themselves.
Jingzhe had something to report to the prince, and Qin Hua went upstairs alone. It was rare to get some sunshine today, so she lay by the window on the second floor of the restaurant to bask in the sun.
"Xiaobao, you eat this piece."
"Oh, it's so sweet, sister, eat it."
A sweet smell drifted into her nose, and two young voices came. Qinhua looked over and saw two siblings, one big and one little brother, sitting in the corner of the restaurant in a deserted place, sharing a piece of roasted sweet potato.
The sweet potato was completely burnt black when roasted, and there were many places inside that were carbonized after peeling it off, but the two siblings ate it with gusto.
There were many new patches on the clothes of the two of them, and they looked like they were children from poor families. However, the clothes were washed very clean and the patches were neat. It was obvious that they had a very attentive mother.
Seeing the two children eating happily, Qin Hua's appetite was rarely aroused. She rolled her eyes and suddenly thought of something fun.
She took off the purse from her waist and deliberately threw it towards them.
Sure enough, the two children saw it. The older girl picked up her purse and looked up. She saw the smiling Qin Hua. Her little face, which was darkened by the roasted sweet potatoes, showed surprise. She said shyly: "Sister,
Is this your purse?"
Qin Hua nodded: "It's mine. I accidentally dropped it. Could you please help me bring it up to you?"
The little girl looked at her brother hesitantly, walked over, held his hand, and went up the stairs.
When I walked to the door and saw Yu Zheng, who was wearing high-quality clothes, she suddenly felt a little cautious: "Sister, there is a sister who has lost her purse... Let us bring it to her."
Yuzheng was told to wait here and opened the door with a smile: "You guys go in."
When they went into the house, they saw an incomparably beautiful woman dressed in brocade and with a gold hairpin in her head. The two of them were so frightened that they didn't know where to put their hands and feet.
"Sister...your purse..."
The little girl handed over the purse, and then she discovered that the gorgeous and beautiful purse had several black fingerprints on it, which were obviously made by her fingers.
She had never seen such a beautiful purse, and it was stained by her. She couldn't afford to pay for it, and she was so scared that she cried.
"I'm sorry sister, I... my hands are dirty... I made them dirty..."
The little boy originally huddled behind the little girl, but when he saw his sister crying, he quickly stepped forward, pulled her sleeves, and put his feet up to comfort her.
Qin Hua took the purse and did not dislike it: "Thank you for picking it up for me. Don't cry. Just wash it if it's dirty. Actually, I have something else to trouble you."
Qin Hua took a handkerchief and wiped the little girl's tears: "The sweet potatoes you just ate smell so delicious. Did you bake them yourself?"
Xiaobao held the little girl's arm and looked at Qin Hua timidly, his eyes full of wariness and fear.
While crying, the little girl did not forget to comfort her brother and patted his head before replying: "We baked it ourselves. Dad went to work and mother went to help others wash clothes. We were hungry, but there was nothing else."
As for food, I can only bake two sweet potatoes to eat."
Qin Hua fell in love with this sensible little girl more and more: "Do you have any sweet potatoes at home? I think they are very fragrant and I want to buy some from you."
The little girl shook her head: "We can't sell it, we kept it for the New Year."
Yuzheng chuckled: "This little girl is really honest."
Qin Hua just asked without forcing it. Just as the waiter brought the food, Qin Hua pointed at the chicken and steamed buns: "Yuzheng, wrap these two up."
Qin Hua handed a pack of chicken and a pack of steamed buns to the little girl along with the purse.
"Little girl, I'm not a bad person, but don't trust others too easily in the future. Take this to eat, keep it in your wallet, and keep it if you like it. If we are destined to meet again, I can use it as a token to help you.
"
"Yuzheng, send them back."
The little girl was confused and didn't understand how she could encounter such a good thing, but the next moment she firmly pushed the thing back.
"We can't take it. Mom said we can't take other people's things."
The little girl is quite principled.
Qin Hua raised her eyebrows: "Really not?"
Her identity is inconspicuous in God, but she is more than enough to help such a little girl. She is in a good mood today, but she didn't expect that she couldn't send it out?
The little girl's eyes were clear and sincere, and she shook her head firmly: "I can't do it. Thank you sister. I'm sorry if my purse got dirty."
The little girl took her brother and left without taking anything.
Yuzheng couldn't help but shake her head: "This girl doesn't even know what she's missing."
The current Crown Princess is probably the most noble person this little girl can meet in her life, but she still refuses the opportunity presented to her.
Qin Hua didn't think so, but sighed: "Her mother taught her very well."
Know how to take care of your younger brother, be kind, not cowardly, and not greedy.
Such a poor family cannot bloom rich peonies, but like a stubborn grass, it is perseverant and will always bloom with its own fragrance in the spring.
A very good child.
——
When the prince went upstairs, Qin Hua had already started to eat. She washed her hands and sat down: "You seem to be in a good mood. What good things have happened to you?"
Qin Hua didn't hide it either: "I met an interesting little girl."
The prince raised his eyebrows: "If you like a little girl so much, why not give birth to one yourself."
The topic changed unexpectedly.
Qin Hua's expression was stagnant, but she suddenly remembered that she had consummated her marriage with the prince, and she hadn't drank the Bizi soup. She couldn't really be pregnant, right?
She doesn't want to become a mother so soon.
Seeing that Qin Hua's expression was dull and she was picking up the rice mechanically, the prince's expression also darkened: "You are so unwilling to give birth to an orphan child?"
Qin Hua turned her head stiffly, her head a little confused, but it didn't stop her from replying: "I just never thought about being a mother."
When Lin Manyue was pregnant, she knew she was going to be an aunt. She was very happy at that time, but being an aunt and having a baby were two different concepts.
She doesn't want to be a mother, and the identity of mother is not a good person for her. She doesn't like mother, and she doesn't want to be someone else's mother.
She didn't feel like she had maternal love for her children.
The prince was well aware of Qin Hua's relationship with the Guan family, and could understand why she rejected her. Although she was still a little dissatisfied, she didn't mention it again. Let nature take its course, and things would eventually work out.