Chapter 69: Going into the mountains and raiding a rabbit's nest]

Chen Fenghe searched hard in the original owner's memories and found a similar dish. Feeling a little guilty, she tentatively asked, "Hot pot is... 'antique soup'? Or 'bo xia gong'?"

Qin Mengyue suddenly understood and said, "Oh, so that's it. Snowy days are indeed the best time to eat that. Although there's no wild rabbit meat, we still have a lot of wild garlic left from picking it this afternoon. Let's pick some wild vegetables, mushrooms, and fungus as we walk. Even a hot pot of vegetables in the evening will warm our stomachs."

Chen Fenghe smiled and said, "That's right."

This time the temperature suddenly dropped and snow fell, but it was actually still late autumn, so wild vegetables could still be found.

The three little ones also got out of the car and started picking wild vegetables. Along the way, they picked a lot of wild vegetables such as ferns, old mountain celery, and dandelions.

Chen Fenghe also dug up two wild yams and picked a lot of mushrooms, fungus, etc.

While no one was paying attention, Chen Fenghe secretly took out a lot of matsutake mushrooms from the space and put them in with the things he had picked.

Chen Wu and the others did notice that Chen Fenghe and the others were picking wild vegetables. Although they were traveling a little slower, they did not rush them.

Because every time Shen Fenghe made something delicious, as long as there was enough, she would always send some to these officials.

She is a good cook and the dishes she makes are more delicious than those made by the best chef in the Yingke Tower in the capital. The officials under Chen Wu have become very picky these days.

The dried meat and meat jerky that I used to think were delicious, now I think they are dry and hard.

Even when Chen Fenghe brought a bowl of mushrooms and wild vegetables fried in lard, they rushed to grab it like starving ghosts!

Now, seeing that Chen Fenghe's family has started to pick wild vegetables again, I'm afraid they will have a feast tonight. Naturally, Chen Wu turned a blind eye and half-indulged them to go slower.

Chen Fenghe was still a little worried.

Vegetarian dishes are easy to make, but how can hot pot taste good without meat?

Chen Fenghe was somewhat embarrassed.

Although you can also use bacon, fresh meat is naturally the most delicious for hot pot.

She was debating whether to repeat the scene where the hare was so stupid that it accidentally hit the tree stump.

At this time, Yuan Xun came up and asked, "Ms. Shen, what delicious food are you going to make tonight?"

After hearing this, Chen Fenghe smiled a little embarrassedly and said, "This time it's simple. It's just because the weather is cold, so I want to eat some antique soup. It's just a hot pot with plain water. It doesn't count as cooking."

After hearing this, Yuan Xun laughed and said, "You're making my mouth water. Snowy weather like this is perfect for eating antique soup."

Only then did Chen Fenghe say, "It's a pity that we only picked some vegetables, no meat..."

She paused deliberately and said, "Master Yuan, the snow is getting heavier and heavier, and the road is getting muddy and slippery. How about we all take a break for a while? I'll take the opportunity to go up the mountain and take a look. Maybe if I'm lucky, I can catch a rabbit or something..."

Yuan Xun was stunned for a moment and found it a little funny.

This Miss Shen is a bit naive and cute, but how could it be so easy to encounter a wild rabbit?

However, based on his previous experiences, he inexplicably felt that if he followed Chen Fenghe, he might really be lucky enough to catch some wild animals!

"I'll go ask the boss for instructions. The snow is getting heavier. I remember there's a dilapidated temple up ahead. We can take shelter there for a while and continue our journey after the snow stops."

Having said that, he turned around and went to ask Chen Wu for instructions.

After listening to Yuan Xun talking about hot pot, Chen Wu's appetite was aroused. They had money to buy meat, whether pork, mutton or beef, and the most satisfying thing was to buy a two-pound hot pot.

But there is no village nearby and no shop nearby. I am afraid I will have to sleep outdoors tonight. Even if I have money, I can't buy meat.

Chen Wu looked at the snow that was getting heavier and heavier and said, "That's fine. It's snowing so hard that no matter how fast we try, we won't reach any villages or towns by nightfall. Let's stay in this dilapidated temple tonight and get up early tomorrow morning to continue our journey. You guys can go into the mountains and try your luck."

After hearing this, Yuan Xun immediately came over to tell Chen Fenghe, and then told the other prisoners loudly that if anyone was willing to follow him into the mountains, they could go together to try their luck.

Seeing such heavy snow and cold weather, everyone was unwilling to move. Therefore, not many families responded to the call and wanted to go. Zhang Yuan and several other families, both men and women, a total of five or six people followed Yuan Xun and another official into the mountains.

Jiang Shuo saw them from afar and went into the mountains with them.

As it turned out, Yuan Xun's premonition was very accurate.

Chen Fenghe is an expert at tracking wild animals.

It had just snowed, and she could make out traces of wild animals. She quickly followed a trail of footprints and found a rabbit hole!

However, Chen Fenghe did not ask everyone to dig together, but asked them to look carefully in the nearby grass.

As the saying goes, a cunning rabbit has three burrows. If you only have one rabbit hole, even if you dig more, the rabbit in the hole will probably have escaped through other holes.

Therefore, it is best to find all the holes first before starting to catch rabbits.

Sure enough, the others also quickly found several rabbit holes. Everyone followed Chen Fenghe's instructions, each guarding a hole, and then started digging.

When the rabbits in the hole heard the noise, they began to run away in panic. Unfortunately, as soon as they popped their heads out of the hole where they thought they were safe, they were caught by the guards!

"I caught it! I caught the rabbit! It's my first time catching a hare!"

"I caught it too! This rabbit is so fat, it weighs at least three pounds!"

"Another one! Another one! Quick! Don't let it get away!"

Everyone shouted excitedly, sweeping away the gloom and despair after being exiled.

Rabbits reproduce very quickly, typically producing a litter of five or six rabbits every one or two months. Even with predators, if you can find a rabbit burrow, the population is still quite high.

Chen Fenghe and her group of eight or nine people caught more than ten rabbits in a short time. Moreover, each of them was plump and weighed almost two kilograms!

After each family got one, there were about three left.

Everyone agreed to give these three to Chen Fenghe, and they were overjoyed to get one.

After all, if she hadn't been there to guide them, they wouldn't have been able to catch even one rabbit, let alone ten!

Chen Fenghe smiled and said, "This is all thanks to everyone's concerted efforts. However, since everyone is so willing, I won't refuse. Mr. Yuan, take two of these extra rabbits back with you to roast as a snack, and I'll keep the remaining one."

Yuan Xun did not refuse.

Firstly, they were officials, so taking more was only natural. Now that he had taken the initiative to decline, even if his leader didn't say anything, there was no guarantee the other officials wouldn't resent him once they got back down the mountain. If that were the case, the gratitude he should have felt would actually be greatly diminished.

Secondly, although Chen Fenghe had proved her innocence last time, there were still some gossipers who spread some unbearable gossip in private. He couldn't show that he was too partial to Chen Fenghe and leave room for others to talk.

Everyone gained a lot from this trip up the mountain and came down in a happy mood.

On the way down the mountain, Chen Fenghe keenly noticed the footprints and traces left on the ground and trees.

These traces were left very carefully and discreetly, and were very cleverly and secretly kept.

It is precisely because of this that Chen Fenghe can conclude that this was definitely not left behind when they entered the mountains!