Chapter 72: Tung Tree
"People feel worthless when they leave their hometown!" Lin Benshu shook his head, sighed as he walked, and walked back to the ox cart to tell his father about the situation.
Butcher Zhao sat down to warm himself by the fire and rubbed his hands. It was much colder at night than during the day. "People who leave their hometown are as cheap as dogs. Everyone wants to bully them when they see them."
Lin Youxiang: "When the old lady eats persimmons, she only picks the soft ones to squeeze."
"Oh, it's too cold, let me sleep. If you have any problem, just shout!" Lin Youcai walked towards his bed with his arms folded, feeling cold, sleepy and tired all over.
Butcher Zhao's thick black eyebrows stretched out in laughter, "This is the first time I've seen someone so talented as to call for a fight, hahahaha..."
"Every day I don't have enough to eat, and I don't sleep well. I sleep in the wild with a dusty face. When we left the village, the weather was scorching hot, and now it's freezing cold. I can't get through the day, and even clay people can get angry!" Tian Daniu rubbed his face, "I'm going to sleep too, because I have to travel again at dawn."
Everyone chatted for a while and then went to bed.
The night watchmen patrolled more carefully and cautiously.
Lin Zisu listened to the voices outside for a while, then turned over and fell asleep again.
I've encountered so many things that my nerves have become dull.
The next day, everyone got up early as usual, packed up and set off.
After they walked for a while, the people in front of Zhangjia Village were already walking on the official road, and some people were packing their luggage on the river bank.
Lin Zisu drove the car with one hand, listening to Old Lady Wang and the others chatting, and interrupted: "The head of that village is too outrageous! Uncle Tao is right, if the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam will be crooked! The son of the head of the village is stealing and the head of the village is protecting him. Tsk tsk..."
Shen Xianglan: "If the forest is big, there will be all kinds of birds; if there are many people, there will be all kinds of people."
"Could it be another bandit village? The four of them are scouting the way again?!" Lin Zisu felt goosebumps all over her body.
This time she was overthinking, those four people were just full of bad intentions. At this moment, he was holding his buttocks, dragging his injured leg, grimacing in pain and hurrying on his way.
Around 3:00 p.m., we took a break.
Lin Zisu got out of the car to stretch her body, and looked up to see small white fruits hanging on the bare branches.
Lin Zisu opened her eyes wide, and hurried to the tree, bending down to look for the fruit that had fallen on the ground. She pushed aside the fallen leaves and picked up a bunch of small fruits, which were indeed the fruits of the Chinese tallow tree.
The Chinese tallow tree is tall and straight, with a canopy-like crown and dark grey bark with deep longitudinal cracks. In winter, the leaves have long fallen off, leaving only bare branches with bunches of small white fruits hanging on them.
In spring and summer, the leaves of the Chinese tallow tree are emerald green and heart-shaped. In autumn, the leaves of the Chinese tallow tree turn bright red or golden yellow, like a gorgeous painting that is pleasing to the eye.
The fruit of the Chinese tallow tree is spherical, green at first, and turns black when ripe. After the black shell falls off, the snow-white fruit looks like a small pearl. In winter, the Chinese tallow fruit will fall from the tree.
The Chinese tallow tree is widely distributed, and can be found in the mountains and along the roadsides. I didn’t expect to see one on the roadside today.
Lin Zisu walked back with the fruit in her hand. Her cousin Lin Xianhe, who was one year younger than her, saw the fruit in her hand and grinned, "Sister, what kind of fruit is this? Is it delicious?"
Lin Zisu: "You can't eat this!"
Lin Xianhe: "Ah... Then why did you pick it up? Oh, I see, you wanted to shoot with the slingshot!"
Lin Zisu raised her left hand, which was still wrapped in gauze, and said, "You can't fight me!" She walked a few steps, but she turned back and warned, "This fruit is poisonous! You can't eat it!"
Lin Xianhe's eyes widened, "It's poisonous!!"
Lin Zisu nodded affirmatively at him. Lin Xianhe was the youngest of the Lin family's children. Although he was only one year younger than Lin Zisu, he was not as tall as her, was thin and small, and looked malnourished.
She herself looked malnourished, not much better. Most people were skinny, and skin and bones were the norm. Every time Lin Zisu took a shower, she would touch the bones on her body to comfort herself, saying that it was okay if she didn't have any flesh, as long as she grew taller.
"Mom, look what I picked up?" Lin Zisu stepped onto the RV and opened her arms to her mother.
Shen Xianglan sat on a straw stool and followed her sisters-in-law to learn how to make winter straw sandals.
There are many styles of straw sandals. Different geographical environments require different grasses for weaving. Different seasons have different styles. Hollow styles in summer and full-cover styles in winter. The wisdom of the ancients in life should not be underestimated.
Shen Xianglan raised her head and took a look. "It's Chinese tallow tree fruit!"
"Su girl has found something delicious again!" Mrs. Lu looked at the white fruit in her hand, "Should I cook it or grind it into pulp before cooking?"
Lin Zisu: "Aunt, you can't eat this, it's poisonous!"
When they heard that it was poisonous, everyone looked up, their faces full of surprise!
"This fruit is used to make..." Shen Xianglan was halfway through her words when a loud shout came from outside the car door.
"You greedy girl, why do you want to eat everything? You pick them up even though you know they are poisonous! Aren't you afraid of getting killed?" Old Mrs. Wang knocked on the car door anxiously.
Lin Zisu quickly turned sideways and opened the car door with her right hand.
The anxious old lady Wang, with her face full of wrinkles, hurried to the car and said, "If something happens to you again, do you want your parents to live?"
Lin Zisu: ????
Old Lady Wang saw the tiny white fruit in Lin Zisu's hand and scolded the wives who were busy making straw sandals, "You elders don't care about her and let her eat whatever she wants!!"
Lin family wives: ????
Shen Xianglan reacted, "Who is eating nonsense? Those fruits are used to make candles!"
Everyone was really dumbfounded at this moment, candles?
Old Lady Wang: "Making candles? Do you think I'm a fool? There's no difference between a small piece of fruit and a candle!"
Feng was suspicious: "Yes, sister-in-law. Pine oil is used to make candles. I have never heard of small fruits being used to make candles!"
Lin Zisu looked at Old Lady Wang, "Grandma, when did I say I wanted to eat this fruit? Did that kid Lin Xianhe tell you something? You must have heard it wrong!"
Old Mrs. Wang stammered in silence.
"I specifically told him not to eat it because the fruit is poisonous! It's really a natural material for making candles! A gift from nature! If you don't believe me, go ask my dad." Lin Zisu was not angry. Although Old Lady Wang's words were unpleasant and she was a bit nagging, she was okay with the women of the Lin family. Compared with other female elders in the village, they were much better.
In an era of inconvenient transportation and lack of information, the natural environment, living habits and skills in each region are different.
People in some places know that the fruit of the Chinese tallow tree can be used to make candles. In Nan County, where there are few Chinese tallow trees, no one knows that they can be used to make candles, or the technology is in the hands of a few people, and ordinary people don't know.
The family of four knew that they had lived in an era of information explosion and stood on the shoulders of giants.
From the perspective of ornamental value, the Chinese tallow tree looks different in all seasons and is very ornamental. From the perspective of economic value, it is a treasure from head to toe. Its wood is hard and can be used to make furniture and farm tools; its seeds can be used to extract oil and used to make candles and soap; its leaves and bark can be used as medicine and have medicinal value.
Lin Zisu pulled Old Lady Wang out of the car and went to find Lin Youcai. She was asking what her father thought.