Chapter 9 Grabbing wild vegetables...

The next day, Da Ni remembered the wild vegetables that Mi Ya had mentioned in the mountains the night before, and excitedly went up the mountain early in the morning to find something to eat.

After having breakfast at the canteen, the four of them excitedly headed towards the summit.

That's right, Erni, who has always disliked Miya, was among them. She believed she was there to keep an eye on Miya and prevent her from continuing to bewitch her family.

At first, Miya would stiffen up because of the hostile looks Erni would occasionally give her, but as she saw more and more wild vegetables, she had no time to care about anything else.

Not only her, but all four people present were shocked by the abundance of wild vegetables in this small southwestern border town in early spring.

"Wow! There are so many wild vegetables here, they're so plump and long, we'll never have to worry about not having enough to eat." The eldest son casually grabbed a handful and stuffed it into the cloth bag he had brought.

Upon hearing this, Da Ni nodded in agreement.

Their hometown is located in the Central Plains, a vast land capable of supporting many people, but it was also one of the hardest-hit areas by drought. When they were on the verge of starvation, even the thought of going up the mountain to find some tree bark was a luxury.

If it were in Myanmar, so many people wouldn't have starved to death like they did back home.

"Gather more to take back. Even if we can't finish them all, we can dry them and eat them when there are few vegetables left in winter."

Da Ni habitually applied her past life experiences to the areas where the troops were stationed, and besides, for people nowadays, nothing is not precious.

She picked the vegetables faster, and the wild vegetables she put into the bag were more intact and cleaner.

Miya, who was following along, also learned a lot about edible wild vegetables from Da Ni. She used to pick them randomly, and this was the first time she knew that wild vegetables had so many names.

The bags were almost overflowing with all sorts of vegetables, such as noodle greens, lamb's quarters, and shepherd's purse.

Miya turned around and looked back, only to see a flat area that looked like a goose had plucked its feathers, with all the edible wild vegetables picked clean.

Looking into the distance, the mountains at their feet and the opposite mountains are all lush and green, and there are plenty of wild vegetables waiting for them.

Faced with something edible, the four of them were reluctant to leave.

If the sun hadn't gradually risen to mid-heaven and it hadn't been lunchtime, the group probably wouldn't have been willing to come down from the mountain.

Because of Ren Qingsong's instructions this morning, Miya did not stay to cook when passing by the new house, and it is not right to give the people who help her wild vegetable soup every day.

The four of them walked down the mountain with their bountiful harvest, attracting the attention of many people as they passed by other houses.

Some of the people who looked familiar or were curiously asking for information first greeted him, "If I'm not mistaken, you're from the Zhou family of the First Regiment, right?"

Da Ni never refuses to answer questions, and immediately nodded, "Does Auntie know my dad?"

"I only glanced at it yesterday; my husband told me about it. Your family and I were delivered in the same car, but we didn't get to talk in the car."

Ma Guifen smiled and waved her hand, not forgetting her purpose, and changed the subject, asking:

"Nizi, the wild vegetables you're holding look so fresh and tender. Where did you pick them?"

Upon hearing this, Erni immediately felt alarmed. In an era when food was precious, telling outsiders where to pick the fruit was no different from letting herself go hungry.

She instinctively wanted to stop her older sister from speaking and quickly stepped forward, but she couldn't keep up with Da Ni's speaking speed.

"Right on the mountaintop where we live, the wild vegetables here in early spring are so tender, they look delicious."

As she spoke, Da Ni subconsciously raised the simple wicker basket she had casually woven, the bright green wild vegetables inside standing out prominently.

Many people saw this and silently decided that they would also go up the mountain to pick some.

But to everyone's surprise, the moment the wicker basket fell from Da Ni's hands, a pair of rough, thin, and dark hands suddenly appeared on the side.

At the same time, a shameless, arrogant, and shrill voice rang in my ears.

"There are so many wild vegetables, you girls can't possibly finish them all. They're perfect for Tianbao."

As he spoke, the newcomer unceremoniously snatched the wicker basket from Da Ni's hands.

As if by reflex, Erni, who was standing to the side, snatched the wicker basket that was about to be taken away. The already flimsy basket fell apart during the struggle between the two.

In an instant, the two of them each held a vine in their hands, and their feet were covered with fresh, tender green wild vegetables.

Those present were completely stunned and couldn't believe that someone was blatantly snatching a child's belongings.

Miya, who was lagging behind, immediately recognized the old woman's voice. She recognized it as exactly like her former husband's mother-in-law, who would berate the women in the family so incessantly that people would be too scared to stand up straight.

She overheard it yesterday when she passed by; it sounded like someone scolding the girl in the house for not doing any work.

The familiar tone and manner of speaking frightened Miya so much that she dared not breathe too loudly, fearing that she would be scolded by her elders.

Just when she thought the matter would end with Dani backing down, as she remembered,

Seeing Erni's hard work from the morning ruined, her eyes blazed with heartache, and she shoved the old man opposite her.

"I never thought I'd run into a robber after coming to the army! You old bastard, how dare you steal my things! Pay up!"

When Grandma Zhang heard the word "robber," she was so frightened that her body trembled. But when she heard that she had to pay compensation, her anger instantly suppressed her fear.

How dare some young girl insult her! If she doesn't teach her parents a lesson today, she'll be utterly shameless!

"You good-for-nothing! How dare you curse me? I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget!"

As he spoke, he raised his mud-covered black fingernails and lunged at Erni's face, determined not to stop until he had disfigured her.

Erni isn't even afraid of her own grandmother, let alone an old woman she doesn't know who wants to steal her things.

He decisively threw down the bag in his hand and went to meet them aggressively.

As Miya looked at the ever-changing scene before her, a string in her mind suddenly snapped, and the bag of wild vegetables in her hand involuntarily fell to the ground.

When she regained her sight, she saw that her hands were tightly gripping the old woman who had just snatched the things, preventing her from moving her left hand, while her other hand was being held tightly by her eldest son.

Across from them, Da Ni was holding Er Ni's waist, stopping her from continuing her attack.

The onlookers were bewildered by how the fight started and stood there, unsure of what to do.

Ma Guifen's husband was an employee of Old Mrs. Zhang's son. Seeing that his opponent was at a disadvantage, he quickly shouted loudly:

"Quickly! Separate them from each other, don't hurt them."

Upon hearing this, the bewildered onlookers seemed to have found a pillar of support and helped separate the two sides.

Miya and Dawa were separated by the surging crowd and slowly approached Da Ni and the other two, forming a subtle confrontation with the old lady Zhang opposite them.

Miya didn't know why she started doing this. She raised her hands, which were swollen and white from clenching them, and couldn't believe for a long time that the person who had just been there was herself.

Seeing that she had finally escaped, Old Mrs. Zhang pushed away the people who were helping her, collapsed onto the ground, and vigorously patted the ground with both hands, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Your Honor! Someone is bullying this old woman! Such a person will be punished by Heaven."

"My legs are so badly injured I can't move them. Who will stand up for me and get justice?"

His performance of singing, recitation, acting, and acrobatics drew disdain from those around him, and even Ma Guifen was starting to lose interest.

Before she could even pull the person up from the ground, Old Mrs. Zhang started again.

Upon hearing this, those present couldn't help but laugh out loud, not because they were laughing at the other person for insulting Erni, but because they were amused by how someone could be so muddle-headed.

Seeing that her mother-in-law had not taken the moral high ground and instead appeared timid, Ma Dahua reluctantly walked out of the yard.

She raised her apologetic face, pushed through the crowd, quickly went to her mother-in-law's side, and whispered in her ear:

"Mom, we are military families, not martyrs' families... ptooey, ptooey, military families."

At this moment, Grandma Zhang realized something was wrong. When she looked up and met Erni's mocking gaze, she almost vomited blood from anger.

This old woman had been a tough nut to crack for decades, and this was the first time she had encountered one that she couldn't get through. How could she give up?

She immediately clutched her waist and wailed pitifully, "Damn it, that good-for-nothing pushed me and twisted my back! Go find the leaders in the army to get justice!"

“If an old woman like me gets hurt by being pushed, I won’t get up from the ground today unless you pay me fifty yuan.”

Grandma Zhang's shameless behavior once again refreshed everyone's understanding, and Miya also thought that she was even more difficult to deal with than her previous mother-in-law.

Erni never expected that instead of getting the money she wanted, she would be extorted. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she pointed at the other person fiercely, saying:

"Fine, I'll go! I don't believe the army leaders are unreasonable. If you don't compensate my sister for the wild vegetables today, you'll be sorry!"