When Aunt Wu heard that someone was trying to steal her vegetables, she rushed out of the door with a hammer in her hand. She angrily looked up and down at Ye Nuan and the kid beside her in front of the courtyard gate.

Ye Nuan took two steps back with the basket in hand and waved her hands in embarrassment: "Auntie, you misunderstood me. I didn't mean to steal the vegetables. I just wanted to see what you have planted so I can plant them when I get back."

Aunt Wu asked, "Did you just enter the village yesterday?"

Ye Nuan nodded.

Aunt Wu's expression softened considerably, but she wore a headscarf that covered her face tightly, and she didn't smile. She said reluctantly, "What can we grow? Just vegetables, garlic, and the like. The soil in the village is not good, so what we grow won't be enough to eat. If we have money, we have to go to the Creation Pavilion to exchange it."

Those who had just been exiled were eager to try their luck, always thinking they could grow good food and be self-sufficient. But as time went on, they gradually lost faith in this scorched earth and gave up hope.

Ye Nuan saw a row of leek roots thrown on the edge of the vegetable patch and asked, "Are those unwanted?"

Aunt Wu's face was filled with pain, and she said unhappily, "It's already dead, what else do you want? It's just taking up space in the ground."

"Can you give it to me?"

Aunt Wu looked at her strangely, wondering why she wanted the dead leek roots, but then she figured it was better for her to take them so she wouldn't have to throw them away. She opened the gate, let Ye Nuan in, and said in a loud voice, "Take it quickly, and leave as soon as you're done."

The attitude is really not good.

Ye Nuan didn't care about these things. She walked quickly into the yard, quickly put the dead leek roots into the basket, thanked him, and took Ye Xiaohu away.

Ye Xiaohu tiptoed into the basket, looking like a curious baby: "Sister, what do you want this for?"

Ye Nuan smiled softly: "Take it back and plant it. When the chives grow, I'll make fried chives, fried chives with eggs, and chive boxes for Xiaohu."

Ye Xiaohu didn't know what those were, but he knew they must be delicious, so he jumped for joy. Hu Ya, who had been walking ahead of them, turned around and looked at the two people with an idiotic look, and kindly reminded them: "I say, are you stupid? The leek roots are all dead, there's no way you can grow them."

Ye Nuan didn't know how to explain, so she changed the subject and said, "Miss San Ya, where are you going to wash your clothes?" Didn't they say that there was a water shortage in the village?

Hu Ya didn't like this name very much and frowned: "What San Ya'er? My last name is Hu and my name is Hu Ya. I am the third child." Then she left without looking back.

Ye Nuan touched his nose and followed closely, pulling Ye Xiaohu along. They followed until they reached a ditch in the south, where a few women were chatting away. Seeing Hu Ya approach, she quickly called out, "San Ya, why are you here so late?" As she asked, she caught sight of Ye Nuan and Ye Xiaohu, whose smiles froze. They looked at each other curiously, then began to whisper to each other.

Although they were whispering, the sound was actually quite loud, at least Ye Nuan could hear it.

For example: Why does this little girl always wear a veil?

Is this little kid her son or her brother?

Why are you coming to the pond for no reason?

Ye Nuan found that Xiao Jinqiu was also there, but she did not go into the water. She just squatted beside and watched her mother wash clothes.

The water in the pond seemed to be living water, and although it didn't look very clear, Ye Nuan was thinking about the possibility of being able to drink it after filtering it.

She pulled Ye Xiaohu towards the pond, leaned over to the water's edge, and held out her hand to scoop up some water. The woman washing clothes nearby thought she wanted to drink it and quickly said, "You can't drink this water. Someone drank it before, and their stomach got bigger and bigger, and they died."

Someone else chimed in, "It's tragic that a whole family died with a big belly."

Drinking water makes your belly bigger?

Could it be that there are blood-sucking worms in the water, and these people got big belly diseases after drinking the water?

Ye Nuan immediately poured the water out and pulled away her brother's hand. Everyone started talking again, "The old well in the village used to be drinkable, but it's now dry. The water in this pond is only good for watering vegetables and washing clothes. Clothes have to be dried in the sun before you wear them, otherwise you'll easily get a potbelly."

Finally, he asked, "Are you from the Ye family?" When he saw Ye Xiaohu next to Ye Nuan, he cheerfully reached out to pinch his cheek, laughing non-stop, "This little kid is so pretty, his eyes are clearer than water."

Ye Xiaohu's face was pinched and pulled outward, instantly turning red. Ye Nuan frowned and quickly moved him behind her. She pointed to a small path beside the pond and asked, "Where does this road lead to?" There was a small path behind the pond, with low shrubs and weeds growing on both sides.

I wonder if I can find some wild vegetables if I walk from here.

Before anyone else could say anything, Xiao Jinqiu said, "That road leads to the back mountain. That's the way to go if you want to pick up stones. There are a lot of snakes in there, and you might encounter wild animals, so it's better not to wander around." Although some people in the village often go hunting, they are men.

Her tone was flat and she seemed extremely reluctant to talk, but Ye Nuan could sense her kindness.

What an awkward girl.

Only with wild beasts can there be food, so she must go this time.

"Let's not go far. Let's just see if there are any wild vegetables nearby." As he said that, he pulled Ye Xiaohu towards the path.

Jin Qiu was a little annoyed. He took two steps forward and shouted, "How come you don't understand what I'm saying?"

Hu Ya, who was standing next to her, pulled her aside and said flatteringly with a smile, "Aqiu, don't mind her. She's just a fool. Earlier, she even asked for the dried leek roots from my house, saying she wanted to plant them and fry them with eggs. Isn't that hilarious?"

A group of women by the pond were dressing and laughing as if they hadn't seen such a funny thing for eight hundred years. They were chattering, "It's hard to grow healthy leeks, so how can you grow leeks with dead roots?"

"This girl has bright eyes, is she really stupid?"

"Yeah, we have to go to the Creation Pavilion every year to exchange seeds. We can't even save seeds from our own garlic after one season. It's probably because the soil is not good. We didn't have to go through so much trouble back home."

"She just arrived and is stubborn. Once she hits a wall, she won't do anything stupid."

Seeing that everyone agreed with her, Hu Ya immediately became proud and leaned close to Jin Qiu and asked quietly, "Aqiu, why haven't I seen your brother in the past few days?"

Jin Qiu looked at her and curled his lips and said, "Why do you like to ask him when you have nothing to do? What's so good about him? He just idles around all day."

"No, just asking." Hu Ya's cheeks flushed. She let go of her hand, squatted down and started beating her clothes.

The water splashed far away, and a drop swept onto Jinqiu's shoes. She frowned and stepped back, but her eyes kept glancing at the path beside the pond.

At the end of the path, Ye Nuan led Ye Xiaohu towards the bushes. Ye Xiaohu picked up a branch and swung it in his hand. His arms and legs were short, and he kept tripping over the weeds. Ye Nuan wanted to carry him, but he wouldn't let her. Children are naturally curious about nature, and if Ye Nuan wasn't holding him, he would have wanted to run wild and dive into the bushes, not wanting to be carried.

After walking a short distance, Ye Nuan squatted down and parted the bushes, searching carefully. There was a lot of tender green grass beneath the bushes, but none of it was edible. Undeterred, she continued her search, inch by inch. Ye Xiaohu dodged around her, occasionally meowing in front of her.

"Xiaohu, don't run around, follow me."

Ye Xiaohu nodded and continued drilling.

She didn't find any wild vegetables, but she did find a Castanopsis sclerotium. Perhaps it was the weather, but the Castanopsis berries were scattered all over the ground. Castanopsis sclerotium is a good thing. Pick it up, dry it, grind it into pulp, and make Castanopsis sclerotium tofu. It's delicious.

While it was still early, she quickened her pace and soon had collected a large basket. When she turned around, she saw her brother squatting in the bushes not far away, motionless.

"Xiao Hu?" Ye Nuan picked up the basket and walked closer. Following Ye Xiaohu's gaze, she saw a snake in an attacking posture staring at the child face to face.

Ye Xiaohu turned around, his big eyes full of curiosity. He opened his mouth and pointed at the snake: "Sister, big earthworm." This thing looked very much like the small earthworm he had dug out before.

The snake seemed startled by his actions, baring its teeth and about to bite his hand. Ye Nuan's pupils shrank sharply, and she dropped the basket, hugged Ye Xiaohu, and turned her back to the snake. She had expected to be bitten, but after waiting for a long time, there was no response. She turned her head in fear, and the snake that had just bared its teeth and was about to bite her now stared at her curiously, turned its head, and quickly scurried away.

Ye Nuan breathed a sigh of relief, hugged the frightened Ye Xiaohu and said, "Xiaohu, that's a snake. If it bites someone, it will kill you. Next time you see one, run away, okay?"

Although he was still a little confused at the age of five, he knew what death was, just like those who were shot to death outside Shentian Pass, those who starved to death on the road, and those who were killed by horse bandits. After death, they could not speak or move, and could only be buried underground and eat mud.

He doesn't want that.

Ye Xiaohu nodded obediently.

Ye Nuan picked up the basket and was about to leave when the little snake that had just run away suddenly ran back, holding a small olive-colored egg in its mouth, and swam back and forth around her ankle.

This is?

Want to give her the egg?

Looks like pheasant eggs.

Ye Nuan retreated defensively. It spat out the pheasant eggs with a "click" sound, twisted its tail and swam forward again, as if waiting for the person behind to catch up.

The scene was so fantastic that she was stunned for a long time. She followed with Ye Xiaohu in her arms and a basket in her arms. She walked around the messy bushes and picked up more than twenty pheasant eggs in a grass nest in the shade.

The little snake seemed to be asking for credit, circling back and forth around her instep. Ye Nuan was no longer afraid, she squatted down and stretched out her hand, and it immediately rubbed against her wrist.

Scenes from the past flashed through her mind. Although Lingquan had become difficult mode, the animals became particularly close to her, such as the wolf she met on the road and this little snake.

Except for wolves and little snakes, do all animals have a good impression of her who carries the spiritual spring?

If so, their chances of survival seem to be higher.

She took off her coat, wrapped the pheasant eggs, and placed them beside the basket. Then, she picked up Ye Xiaohu and walked back. The sun was shining brightly, and after a quarter of an hour's walk, they finally saw the pond again. The woman washing clothes by the pond had disappeared, but Jin Qiu was still standing at the intersection, looking back and forth.

Seeing Ye Nuan coming out, he said unhappily, "I thought you were eaten by wolves. What did you pick up?" He looked into her basket and saw it was full of Castanopsis berries. He frowned slightly and said with disgust, "Why did you pick up this astringent, bitter, and hard stuff? Even dogs wouldn't eat it."

After saying that, he felt like he was cursing, so he quickly added, "I'm telling the truth. My Ah Huang doesn't eat this stuff. The kids in the village pick it up to play slingshots."

Ye Nuan explained, "This thing is called Castanopsis kusnezoffii fruit. Peel off the shell and grind the fruit inside to make tofu."

Jinqiu naturally didn't believe it. Tofu was obviously made from soybeans, so what did it have to do with this bitter fruit?

"San Ya'er is right, you are indeed a fool."

Seeing that she was worried about him, Ye Nuan didn't argue with her and just said, "When I make the bitter tofu, I will definitely give it to you to try."

Bitter tofu?

Jinqiu hates bitter food the most.

She swore that she would never eat it even if she was beaten to death!