Sanyuan wanted to prick the blisters and apply some herbal juice to relieve the pain, but just as she was about to do so, she was almost kicked squarely by Siwang, who was itching uncontrollably:

"Don't move, don't move, or you'll get pricked by the needle!"

Shuangshuang and Yuanyuan were watching from the side, laughing heartily.

Ye Wenxue then took over Sanyuan's work, quickly restraining Siwang's wildly jumping feet, and used a silver needle that had been scalded in boiling water to quickly remove his blisters.

After Sanyuan had seen enough of Siwang's wrinkled face, he turned around with satisfaction and went to pile up the wild chestnuts and kiwis he had picked up yesterday.

As for the mushrooms and wood ear fungus, they had already been sorted and placed in a sunny spot to dry.

They carried a small basket of lichen to the spring to wash it; this stuff is edible, but it uses a lot of water.

If her mother hadn't told her to bring everything edible, she would have preferred to go hungry rather than waste water when water was more expensive than food.

After applying the medicine to Siwang, Ye Wenxue sat under the tree and teased Xiaoyuan, who was placed in a basket.

Little Yuanyuan was nibbling on her little toes again. Ye Wenxue corrected her twice but then stopped bothering her.

Anyway, she washed her feet until they were clean, so she wasn't afraid of eating anything dirty.

"ah?"

Little Yuanyuan lifted her little foot in confusion and generously shared with her mother.

Ye Wenxue suppressed a laugh and refused, "No, no need."

After calming herself down, Ye Wenxue quickly composed herself and decided to go out of the valley again to find mud to build a house.

After being tormented all afternoon yesterday, she made a painful decision and changed her mind—if she couldn't find wet mud, dry soil would do.

She has plenty of spiritual spring water in her space, so mixing it with dry soil shouldn't be a problem.

"Who wants to leave the valley for Mother today?"

Ye Wenxue's gaze swept over the cubs one by one: Dazhuang, Shuangshuang, Sanyuan... Siwang, who was crying with his head buried in pain, and Xiaoyuan, who was crawling on the basket, were excluded.

"I went yesterday, so I won't go today." Shuangshuang shook her head decisively.

Dazhuang frowned: "I still need to deal with the seeds at home."

Sanyuan's eyes lit up with joy, and he subtly moved closer to Ye Wenxue, saying, "Mother, I'll go with you. I'm very strong."

Shuangshuang and Siwang both glanced at Sanyuan with pity.

Silly brother/brother, this is no easy task. They were almost exhausted yesterday.

...Huh?

Shuangshuang suddenly remembered the sour kiwi she had taken a bite of yesterday and decided to share the food with Sanyuan before he left.

whee.

While Ye Wenxue was packing her things, Shuangshuang, with Siwang's permission, each grabbed a wild kiwi and stuffed it into Dazhuang and Sanyuan's hands.

"Big brother, third brother, these were picked by Mother yesterday. They're delicious. You should try some."

Da Zhuang narrowed his eyes, sensing that the two men had ulterior motives: "No, you guys eat. There are plenty more in the cave. How can I take your food?"

"Hey, brother, how can you call that stealing? This was specially saved for you by Siwang and me. It tastes amazing. Sweet..."

Sanyuan was young and hadn't experienced much of the wickedness of human nature, so he ate it.

Then... she grunted an "Mmm" and urged her older brother to eat quickly: "Mother picked them all and ate them. If you don't trust us, how can you not trust Mother?"

Da Zhuang thought to himself, Shuangshuang and Siwang are mischievous, but Sanyuan is honest and not the kind of person who tells lies.

Besides, he saw his mother eat one last night, and her expression seemed perfectly normal at the time.

Half-believing and half-doubting, Dazhuang lowered his head and took a bite.

Feeling the sour and astringent sensation on his tongue, he looked at Sanyuan expressionlessly:

"Well, you've learned bad habits from them too, you've even learned to trick the big brother."

After taking a bite, Sanyuan quickly drank some water to cool down, and now he chuckled, "It tastes pretty good, right, big brother?"

“Yes!” Da Zhuang glared at the three little ones with annoyance, his voice full of resentment.

This kid is hard to take care of.

After packing her things, Ye Wenxue realized that the cautious and steady Dazhuang and Sanyuan had been tricked by the impulsive Shuangshuang and Siwang.

Although Dazhuang actually believed Sanyuan's words, it didn't stop Shuangshuang and Siwang from laughing nonstop, clutching their stomachs.

Ye Wenxue looked at Dazhuang with surprise; he had been looking preoccupied for so many days.

Today I was tricked, and I'm even smiling from ear to ear.

He looked much more relaxed.

As soon as Sanyuan saw Ye Wenxue come out, he immediately grabbed his small hoe, put on his basket, and stood close to her.

"Mother, shall we go to that old forest again today?"

"Well, you can occasionally find some mountain products over there. If you really can't find a lot of wet mud, we'll carry some mountain products and dry mud from the bottom of the stream back."

Amidst the reluctant farewells, the goose munching on grass rolled its eyes.

After Ye Wenxue led Sanyuan out of the valley, she reset the traps according to yesterday's plan.

While she was busy, Sanyuan peeked down the cliff and then shrank back in fear, saying, "Mom, the bottom of the cliff is so deep!"

If I really fell, I definitely wouldn't survive.

Ye Wenxue gave a soft "Mmm": "So you all better not be naughty, or if you really fall, even your mother won't be able to save you."

Sanyuan nodded obediently.

Returning to the old forest, Ye Wenxue found the dried-up streambed she had seen yesterday. She took down two baskets, told Sanyuan not to wander off, and then squatted down by the streambed to dig up the mud.

There wasn't much water in the stream, and the mud was neither hard nor soft, requiring a lot of effort to dig it out.

"Mom, I'll just dig up some wild vegetables and herbs over there."

Sanyuan is much less troublesome than Shuangshuang and Siwang, and obediently didn't go far.

Every now and then, when Ye Wenxue straightened up, she could see Sanyuan squatting by the stream, digging left and right with a small hoe, but he never got far from the stream.

After the two baskets and the burlap sacks they brought were filled with stream mud, Sanyuan also harvested a small pile of wild vegetables.

Just as Ye Wenxue was about to tell Sanyuan to carry the basket back to the valley, she suddenly heard a chaotic crashing sound and a low cry for help.

She instantly became alert, dropped her basket, rushed forward, picked up the bewildered Sanyuan, and quickly climbed up the tree, squatting on the high trunk to look towards the source of the sound.

Sanyuan had never climbed this high before, and he didn't dare look down. He shrank his neck and whispered:

"Mother, what's wrong?"

"There's the roar of a wild boar over there."

Sanyuan stared blankly at it: "Impossible, there's nothing to eat anywhere. If there were wild boars, they would all be hunted and eaten."

Ye Wenxue also hoped that she had misheard.

If wild boars were to run around recklessly, this tree wouldn't be able to withstand much damage.

It's unrealistic to even think about escaping; how can two legs outrun four?

The two did not stay in the tree for long before they saw several trees nearby fall down, and the waist-high weeds were trampled and twisted.

Several wild boars suddenly sprang out, their long tusks gleaming coldly.

At the same time, cries for help came from ahead: "Help!!!"

Neither Ye Wenxue nor Sanyuan were thinking about saving people.

Sanyuan glanced at the firm and chewy wild boar leg and suddenly remembered the fried pork cracklings his mother made that day in Shuixi Village.

He swallowed hard. "Mom, can we raise wild boars?"

We raise geese and rabbits at home, so what's one or two, three or four... wild boars?