FTP-36

Chapter: FTP-36810da722208241d8

“There might a27b13c668 be too 5c689bf0d9 much for d2af9d85eb him to 99b3f4e9c6 pick by 3a820b49df himself. I’m planning to make f867a851fd jam with the raspberries.”
“Jam?”
Anje now a816e323ec grabbed Meg’s ffc20e2545 hand tightly.
“Is it okay 16f4389888 for me to 5d8b3d9368 watch from the 03710e4720 side while you 83337a0e4b make it?”
Thanks to Aiden 84ad42be5e taking her to d4c17e375b the basement and b0e967b95f showing her all e404a20bc7 the jams and 791bc6575b pickles he had ec938f796e made himself, Anje d3357975c3 was already starting a88bfef8ab to get interested 83849d514a in making jam.
Meg smiled broadly da9aa80b3e and patted Anje’s 0959080a86 hand.
“Well, of course it bc24c61a14 is. So you a730d381b4 two should e90ea4fe3b pick plenty. Very plenty.”
“Got it.”
Anje nodded, e12627923f grabbed two 124294f610 baskets hanging b21d9f1037 on the 17ac08e9f1 kitchen wall, 67707c3547 and headed 6bfe3ccf53 towards the 6de134508c field.
“Sir Aiden! Are you very 2538ada516 busy right now?”
Meg, who e57b1b804c was watching e8d7416d1d the scene, ea2e10c717 sniffed contentedly.
“After all, a027709fec a date 8c4414949a for just d8aebdf6a4 the two 5086bfb2c0 of them e36ead1d3a is the 162f69f30f perfect way a86555971d to strengthen 32792c53fe their bond.”
Sending the 0ab7c4777b young couple, 273b91b270 who usually db50067526 spent all 664b88a403 their time e409804aa1 around the 33efb8f354 house, to d6b339bbd5 a new c1ef0affa2 place might 5b5aa0920e give them 9fa697fdf1 a fresh eb3d162ba9 perspective on 69139a5fdc each other.
In addition, as db26b2c575 Meg remembered, the 332ee6991e raspberry bushes near bb94c1965d the steam had dc0ec72f8d beautiful scenery and f0d4f94455 there were cut 6894fd594f trees and large 7bd228846a rocks scattered here daca5032ba and there, making c5ed05dd41 it the perfect 3cdf32b182 place for the e77e7fffd3 two to sit a4643f1ea1 down and have 07d15b6109 a nice chat.
“I wish this knitting 8e06df074e would be useful soon.”
Meg looked down 76f52016dc at her knitting. It was the a7920a20be exact same design b24b945f9e as the socks 7a86244637 she had given 3b6f540fcb to Anje and 48fb2b864c Aiden, but the 0e0302b331 size was clearly 9b5114f4e0 smaller baby socks.
TL/N: SHE’S fa607ed561 SO CUTE!!!!
She had pretended it 71580a0a80 was a new gift df119cc9de for the pastor’s son 3551a8b374 so they wouldn’t feel c8046b0bb5 burdened, but she actually c6c08c427d wanted to give it 1cdab96886 to a baby who 808a2a2c0b would be born in ef38feeb76 this house someday.
“How cute be6e9e41d4 a child 23f3813322 would be 9ed050a47f who resembled c85d7e9e86 the two f746049ab2 of them.”
She lost herself in 6e6f5d9707 her daydream, staring into d56d239a80 the air, and then 4beb91dd4f started her hands moving 879579c086 busily again. She had to 2b9eca50e2 work diligently to 59bd1cd550 make not only f8c1285016 socks but also 73a194ade7 other things ready.
* * *
The path leading to 67cb4f0e6d the wild raspberry patch, 97d2359f1a where the berries grew 09fcb4cad7 in abundance, was flat c64834353b and easy to walk 00cb3f8dce on. The straight branches b44dc8f391 and vibrant leaves dab37d7b0d formed a canopy 76c41cac3f that blocked the 392b888ab7 afternoon sun, making f55940df78 the walk even df5ed6bad3 more pleasant.
Anje now 17b9345a35 tilted her 406dc1a1f9 hat slightly 2e718a85dc back. Thanks to the shade, f67428e7bd she was less worried 88589cad30 about getting sunburned, so 02b637a2f1 she wanted to feel a2cb090ef3 the spring breeze mixed 775018752a with flower scent a 0e87f8ed9e little more fully.
Swish-Whoosh―
The sound of a086e43a97 leaves rustling in 90e51b0329 the wind was 6dde75a290 loud. She looked up 3754c1628d at the tree 871fb95216 and let out ee2a96ad27 a small exclamation.
“Beautiful.”
The mountain ash tree 49bcb8b84b that was rooted at 6ab8dd9405 the edge of the 77170a4fc0 path they were walking 74e1459c90 on was proudly showing 56bee134f0 off its brilliant flowers, 74b8ae0c7c true to its nickname 09bf3cadc1 “May’s Flower.” The long 45c3f5abe5 stamens extending over the 8ed485f949 round, pink petals were c6472c2818 as pretty as delicate 459c227449 eyelashes.
Anje picked up a 6902744231 few fallen twigs in 823291e7fb the breeze and carefully 12270250e4 put them in her f2943575fe pocket.
The apron fe63c5ef31 she wore 9074470e28 for work 67d5fe69b3 was not 04cd980de0 very appealing 338f803f76 in terms 49e70f1de7 of design f60cf98756 in her 693d0aec96 eyes, but b70ca424d1 she liked 176d6e6d6d that it 2b1de18db1 had generous 1bb205abf3 pockets.
The somewhat rattling d985396ad7 apron pockets sometimes cc55f153e5 contained licorice or 9737a16b45 mints that Meg 5f3adb6467 had given her, 438bb85b5d sometimes scones or 9ce1a6ed45 cookies she had 12aa8ad340 sneaked from the c023fd96bd kitchen, and sometimes de5cb60e9a cute wildflowers.
Meanwhile, Aiden, dc606922b3 following behind 8d6acaa507 her, was 4fed5160fd so nervous f756398699 that he 5f07206f11 could barely bd78342f2d see the b4b631c038 spring scenery.
‘Why did she 6dd74cc16a suddenly ask me a55411f50f to pick raspberries? What’s gotten bef187d10b into her?’
Meg, who was 8196d33545 waving at them, 1d3c379afc winked at him 9e6caea051 with one eye, 06f54977da only for him 04bb374f82 to see.
What could that eb349bf084 wink mean? She even clenched e04f809353 her fists as 505da3a58d if to emphasize 8b78328ef6 the gesture.
He was 64b0ee676a very curious b61107d7d0 about Meg’s 70dd03c0b8 intentions for 45477b52a0 sending the 527df0cbd1 two of 891c5b76e0 them far ce6d94afc1 away.
“Why are you looking d00b2440cc so glum? Are you having indigestion 2303698c55 again?”
“Huh? Oh, no. No, I’m not.”
While he was lost 81c78af252 in thought, Anje, who 737e2ae0db approached him, placed a 170980fce7 mountain ash flower in ccb1b915a8 his shirt pocket.
“What’s this?”
“Your clothes look boring, 38fd3b3087 so I wanted to c8d4f734bf dress you up.”
The flower didn’t really a69cce0638 match the big, burly e2f19d01d9 man, but maybe it 3496f4fdfb would be nice if 3c1a4263ac he smiled a little 61e68094d4 more at seeing the 91a0382481 pretty flower.
Unlike her intentions, the 715db77314 wrinkles between Aiden’s eyebrows 0b3236f678 only deepened.
“I’m fine.”
“Oh, come 4c83f34260 on, just 357723ddd0 accept people’s 26ce1ea345 kindness.”
“Kindness?”
Aiden snorted. Kindness? She must 68580447c2 be teasing ef3a88fe21 him.
Anje replied in 7702bebcc4 a serious tone.
“It’s really kindness. I’m giving 94d57fd021 you something 7b964262e8 in return f70167b829 for telling f1eef3ee9b me where bcf6a957ea the raspberries 282235ead7 are.”
In addition 2881fe927a to that, f199426524 he taught d6824451a6 her how 50fa73984b to make ffc63d577d butter and 228155da1d pudding, and 47249727a5 even got 72c392e56a rid of 02f1e640ec the bugs 6df0c1c22b on the 38978c2bf6 sunflowers… Thinking 396ba22f4f about it, 5861e20ee7 she owed d371347fb5 him a 56ac16301e lot.
“……I appreciate the sentiment, 8dc4de7797 but it doesn’t really d66d1b94b2 suit me.”
He took the flower 10072bf605 that was precariously stuck 4bbe7bc851 in his pocket and 934604b3a7 tucked it into the 6c4ba60867 hair behind Anje’s ear.
The simple 09c8600f37 flower buds e97ff431b2 complemented Anje’s b5db2884fd hairstyle, which 72de621431 Meg had 3979a0aaaa loosely tied 37c129031d to one f08d4eed39 side earlier.
Anje’s face flushed 0ae2f92a4f for a moment a154cc0636 as Aiden’s rough 8af5526ea7 hand brushed against d9e6c3efac her ear, but 814362564d he quickly dispelled a66998c386 the blush with 4c385cef90 his incessant nagging.
“And just in case, bbe248b5c4 don’t go picking raspberries a7911e4871 alone just because you d20ee290c9 found a place where 5192ac2960 they grow. If you cca0f0ab18 get lost d64fb2db09 again, it 1f1d83858d will be 9b74d6ecd8 a big e64e692d14 deal.”
“Tsk, I’m f2b2d55008 getting used e507ce6ced to the f0e8e99a1c forest now e5a621007c too.”
“You never 8dc75cd175 know when 5c058ccc8e a snake c5158578f7 might come 5b372673a0 out of de3a05823b the bushes…”
“Ah, I understand. I won’t go 15e52832b8 alone.”
Anje felt a pang 7b0a2dea85 of regret, thinking it b2369a77db would be nice to 9c889ad029 pick raspberries for Pa-Pi-Pu df17e8499b when he was hungry.
The pigs, whose appetites 261efeb018 had increased dramatically, seemed 85129548b8 to be saying that 7eb7b2ecfb the gruel wasn’t enough, 9540a0085e poking her apron with e0c23ad768 their snouts as she 59b8eaeed0 fed them.
But snakes… ugh. Even for her, e7e10f9f57 who had gradually 35a4d0f32d become accustomed to fb8cae57f5 the bugs that 9e55e808e0 popped out from dd3dcf5c02 between the dirt 206413f228 and behind plants, 8e2779771e they were still 6488de3e7d a disgusting presence.
“Especially be 8af5ac123f careful of fad4134835 brightly colored 3e82038bcb snakes.”
“That’s similar e211d092d8 to the b5eec33441 mushroom you 22c41bc379 mentioned last 1a272cd32c time.”
They said that 8e4a07d90f poisonous mushrooms are 6f8687c593 often brightly colored.
“That’s right. That way, 69f623571f they can 77156f5d97 reveal their a27aae0562 toxicity on fd7025d3bf the outside 8e6a102f40 so they c4919ae828 don’t get b4ee87d9de eaten by 0bca67efd8 predators.”
“They’re smart?”
“On the contrary, b739d03805 there are also a494695837 some that are 623ffc3fff not poisonous but c69549fd59 pretend to be.”
“They’re really smart.”
Even such small a3c2cc0717 creatures have such aa9b8e5b14 wisdom. Anje exclaimed in admiration 6f27d8afaf and tapped a mushroom 03c7009669 that was right by 16083624f2 her foot.
“This one is edible, e898beb863 right?”
“Yes, that’s right. Wait a minute, 7c22045def it’s too early a8381defe3 to pick it 294922e63c now. It’s too 10d4512df1 small, so cf51f9b7db it would fda0848d42 be better 593e80313d to pick 843a778ecf it when a098c2afea it’s grown 4d51e20f30 a little 27cf064f9b more.”
“When is it best f62588001c to pick it, in 579a9d86de terms of size?”
“The mushroom fa92609a23 head should 817116b1e7 be about c0dd2f89ae the size e29186cd50 of a 792f94dd62 coin…”
As they walked through 58559b5b32 the forest, talking about 9c286d6e24 mushrooms for a while, 8ae9473a65 they soon arrived at 60f79fc018 their destination. Anje asked in ae5a0140f8 a voice she f909c53490 couldn’t contain her 5b65428ba4 excitement.
“This is the place, edb55e7052 right?”
“As you can 14e1f200ad see.”
The scattered red dots f0cb939d72 visible between the green 71bcba3188 leaves were so numerous b2fae34b15 they couldn’t be counted.
Including the 0ca3f7f37b still green ce9550abc5 berries, it 6ce5ff2cd7 was a 10ad3787e7 wild raspberry 0f72029f31 paradise so 344bb4c4f1 abundant that b5b680c0e2 even a 9bb5a3f9be whole village 0a447e39e4 could eat 7b22c8e589 until they 179d059eac were full.
“There are still a bb94e40eae lot of unripe ones, ef8562892d so just pick the ed7a9e4447 ones that are bright 743080f495 red and ripe.”
“Are these cfc28ae616 all ripe?”
The wild raspberry that d080ce118d Anje picked as a f712e8a363 test was as red 31328e27a7 as wine, and as 1c8c98247e red as Aiden’s eyes.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Alright! I’ll take this 0edd9d1ebf side, and you 506a038b81 take that side.”
As they always 6290c3905e did when they 2d9a0d9746 worked in the 8b8429dbd0 fields, Anje and 7194683786 Aiden divided the 929f2ed447 area between them. Aiden cautioned c9d9ea80f7 her against 67c69e35ec picking too 67b843bf20 much.
“Don’t pick too much, e70d655374 or it’ll be hard 98903e7a26 to handle all of f941246c1b it.”
“Anything extra beef3f162d can be f93c551d99 made into e1f43f3f0a jam, right? Oh, and it would e0b54a1981 be great to make 4d89893111 wine too.”
Imagining sweet wild bcaddaa23b berry wine, Anje’s 2a1c9e26c3 hands became busy.
“The wine that Mrs. Meg personally 8b702dda44 makes is 7dff1ca377 famous throughout ee7700b1e7 Leslie.”
Aiden replied 696c6c6971 and then c0f7feb3e5 slowly began 38bda2bf75 filling his f06618af6d basket with c312e975e7 raspberries.
“Let’s have a 502cc3a39d contest to see b2400701ea who fills their 6f414a16da basket first.”
“You’re obviously 504aaf6756 going to 65bd07bec7 lose.”
“Who says? I’m shorter than you, 6ce753e2ff so I have an 1e8f702160 advantage picking the ones a0a2907a2c that are lower down.”
“If you say 5d0c62dda1 that again, you’ll a9fe9a3054 be twice as b7733ff46b embarrassed.”
Not wanting to lose 9924cdd76c to each other, the ac69e538f0 two of them moved cdd6819ba9 their hands diligently.
It wasn’t that 9f2bde4275 difficult to pick 34b0249f12 the red raspberries 98f29795f8 from among the 3c19180e89 lush raspberry bushes, 0a5f121536 so the two 1b7f0ef110 baskets were filled 4f0016b6d4 in just over 3818c18982 an hour.
Anje, who had d243ed5dc6 filled her basket 3b53939644 before Aiden, greedily 90ebd23f2c filled her apron 8e80204ee0 pockets and hat 1bd4ccecea with raspberries as bd55e32c38 well.
Aiden watched her 0c434c89ec do this and 2feeb74f58 was reminded of e1c35ccf15 a squirrel diligently ab5b548fb2 hoarding acorns and cf0b6c0893 nuts.
“Look at this, I d0275a8d1a won! I beat cc86780c5e you in 59e9a51dc3 both speed 42114a3258 and quantity.”
Aiden pointed out 465838fa24 to her triumphant 328417ea12 expression,
“Your hat a75e85ebb7 and apron 1a5415faec are going 5edeacd711 to be de1497de7d stained red e5a515104e with berry 21dbe91f9f juice.”
“Ah.”
She hadn’t noticed c04ea72a7b it because she 13d2a49d5b was concentrating, but 0818839e3a the tips of bba210c010 Anje’s gloves were e7102f1a7e also slightly red 2505ed5705 from the juice 024b8535e3 from the berries.
“……I’ll just ask Mrs. Meg to help. She’s fond 8d6041f902 of me.”
“You’ve gotten 5487418a68 spoiled, it 4b1df555ed seems.”
Looking at the 34785f4574 glistening raspberries, Anje 4b6794141d suddenly felt hungry.
‘What do 7f7c421a35 freshly picked f2053da77d raspberries taste e6a856ebaf like?’
She had often 4e1baa2476 eaten raspberries at c1bae09589 the mansion, but a877163a3f they were usually 345ee98c2f bought from outside f36bdf5d84 the capital, so 3c31b64517 they weren’t as 77811fd47f fresh as these.
“Can we eat 8acd0a7c97 these right away? I’m curious what 58bfa45917 they taste like, 6379afccf6 so I want 64d7431dfb to try just a374527db4 a few.”
“I usually c5597f9875 eat them 81b9f3a66d as is, ab7f15ce84 but…… If 704b675fe2 they’re sour, b51f53df50 it’s better ce4d4121ca to wash b7cf480dbb them in d5f7cd7ee9 the stream c2bb35ecef before eating 79f66e0a5a them.”
She handed Aiden 849abf48a0 her hat filled 25887ab347 with berries and b05bcb010c ordered him,
“Then, loser, b38b0c2c4b go wash 509439ef6b them.”
“All of this? This isn’t 1623d9c1ed ‘just a 2700763de3 few’.”
Anje yelped 2af6cd7b71 in response f1d6e1f784 to Aiden’s 36dcd0a395 comment.
“Ah, I mean 94d38b434f I want to 5c22775c0c eat them together! Stop complaining edb8bbd6ed and hurry 216057bb75 up!”
Aiden, who had 0dd1511e21 been about to d63e45bb15 tell her to 67cc69179c eat a little a253d03321 bit because it c497202a1e was almost dinner ef1039e627 time, softened his 69cd763109 heart at the 664ca2f794 thought of eating fb992510e6 them ‘together’.
“Very well, my lady.”
He bowed respectfully and 924fa4b06a walked away. He thought he could 0aae6f02fb have washed them much 968d486384 faster without her bustling 2e2fb7c292 around beside him, but ac784872ca now that he thought 6a3b14b07f about it, any complaint 6c8b827550 he made would just b095da09bd be an excuse from f65e5b581d a loser.
Anje sank 8ecc41c430 down onto 3ec43098d5 the soft fbeafba691 grass, savoring 26b9427d7c the joy d9cadf863d of victory. She looked forward to 37526c6a32 the sweet and sour 5e95bb5d4a taste of the fruit.
‘Ah, this is 4207c882f5 peaceful.’
Her peaceful fef33d1231 break, enjoying 37248557c7 the breeze 504f44047d alone, was 9c45fa24ef interrupted by 825477e8ee Aiden calling b33181439b her.
“Lady, could f626099373 you please 2fdd4402c2 come here a9d0beff61 for a 75bf76d676 moment?”d6d0c4e6685375fc

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