In a daze, Xu Han fell asleep again, but Lu Chuan beside her couldn't sleep at all! Looking at the person in his arms, he sighed helplessly...

When she woke up again, it was already mid-morning. Xu Han put on her clothes, got out of bed, and saw that it was still drizzling outside the window.

Upon entering the kitchen, they saw Lu Chuan processing a pheasant, which must have been hunted by Hei Feng and Hei Dian.

"You're awake! There's rice in the pot, still warm!"

"Okay, I'll go wash up first."

After washing up, Xu Han went to the kitchen. Lately, they had been eating in the kitchen, which saved them the trouble of carrying food back and forth.

"I was eating eggs!" Xu Han suddenly said, "There are about three pounds of beef left in the space. Let's make dumplings! It's been so long since we've had them!"

"Sure! You take it out, I'll chop the filling!"

Xu Han gave the beef to Lu Chuan, who then took it to wash.

First, I'll briefly soak the vegetables to remove the blood. While they're soaking, I'll prepare some side dishes. Unfortunately, I don't have any celery; the ones I grow at home are still very small, barely bigger than a sprig of cilantro. So, I'll have to make beef and cabbage dumplings!

There's not much cabbage left; once we finish eating it, there won't be any left.

Wash the remaining cabbage thoroughly, and then wash and drain the scallions and ginger.

Lu Chuan started chopping the meat filling. First, he chopped the meat into minced meat, then added chopped green onions, ginger, and cabbage, and continued chopping until it became a sticky dumpling filling!

After Xu Han finished breakfast, she started kneading the dough. After kneading the dough, she let it rest for a while so that the dumpling wrappers would be more elastic.

Turn around and start preparing the minced meat. Add salt, chicken essence, Sichuan peppercorn powder, thirteen-spice powder, MSG, pepper and other seasonings. Add a little water to soften the minced meat. Then add plenty of sesame oil, and the aroma of the minced meat will come out instantly.

Xu Han smelled it and nodded in satisfaction.

Then take out the dough, divide it into a small half, knead it, and turn it into a flatbread. Cut a hole in the middle, turn it, and it becomes a large collar.

Tear it off, roll it into a long strip, cut it into even pieces, roll out a few dumpling wrappers, and teach Lu Chuan how to make dumplings.

Finally, Lu Chuan rolled out the dumpling wrappers, and Xu Han was in charge of wrapping the dumplings. Lu Chuan's dumplings were really ugly!

Place the wrapped dumplings on parchment paper! Once the paper is spread out, store them away!

With so much filling, it's enough to make dumplings for the two of us for many meals!

It took the two of them two whole hours to finish wrapping the dough, and Xu Han even kneaded the dough again in the middle!

When there was a little dough left, Xu Han simply had Lu Chuan roll it into noodles and put it in her spatial dimension!

Lu Chuan also cooked dumplings for lunch. It has to be said that after so much practice, Lu Chuan's cooking skills have not improved much. He can still cook things without any problem, but stir-frying is out of the question!

Seeing the bamboo rack piled high with dumplings, I ignored my aching arms and was still very happy!

After finishing making dumplings, Xu Han continued to make a new set of clothes, while Lu Chuan used the remaining bamboo at home to weave a few baskets.

This way, we can use them to pick mushrooms after the rain stops! Before, our baskets weren't enough! And dumping them in the house took up too much space!

We'll weave a few more baskets this time, they'll be more convenient to use!

By dinnertime, Xu Han had already finished making the new clothes! Now she had two sets of clothes to change into.

Next, we'll continue making shoes for two people. Shoes wear out faster, so we'll make more whenever we have time!

The sun was out the next morning! The rain these past two days hadn't been heavy, but it had lasted a long time, so the ground was still quite wet!

Going to pick mushrooms in the mountains now is difficult; the roads are muddy and the terrain is poor. It just rained, so we can't clear the land. We can only rest at home for another day.

Xu Han continued making shoes, aiming to finish two pairs today, one pair for each of them. Lu Chuan, following Xu Han's request, was also making a bamboo frame for the house to use in the storeroom.

Make a shoe rack and put it by the door. That way, when you come back from outside, you can change your dirty shoes before coming inside, and you won't make a mess of the house with mud everywhere! It's also easier to clean up afterward.

The two were busy with their own things, which made it seem quite warm and cozy! Since arriving here, Xu Han has never had a moment's rest. She always has endless things to do and her days are very fulfilling.

Unlike in modern times, when people either go to and from get off work or lie at home, and when they can't lie down anymore, they get up and do some handicrafts to pass the time!

There's never a moment of boredom here! Even on rainy days, you have to think about making clothes and shoes, otherwise you won't have anything to wear.

No wonder I often hear my grandma say that people used to be busy all year round! Busy with clothes, shelter, and transportation! All just to make their families live a better life.

Isn't that exactly how it is now? You have to do everything yourself, there's never a moment to relax!

Another day passed, and Xu Han successfully made two pairs of shoes. From then on, she no longer needed to rush her needlework every night!

The next morning, after breakfast, the two went up the mountain early to pick mushrooms.

We went to the same place as last time and picked up the mushrooms here first.

I don't plan to go any further to pick mushrooms anytime soon. I need to finish clearing the land first, and then pick mushrooms. If I pick a lot, I'll take it to the county town to exchange for money and buy some daily necessities.

When the time comes, we can dry more bamboo shoots and exchange them for silver to buy some fruit and other things to store in our space.

The space doesn't have all kinds of fruit; it only has some fruits that are suitable for winter. I'll buy more different kinds of fruit in the county town later to change things up.

The rain lasted a long time this time, and the mushrooms grew very plump after being nourished for a long time. The two of them picked eight baskets of mushrooms in just one morning!

After a quick lunch, we moved to another spot and continued our hunt, picking one fruit after another. We just couldn't stop; it was as if some kind of magic was constantly drawing us in to pick them.

After the sun set, the two returned home laden with their harvest. Looking at the ten large baskets full of mushrooms and the piles of mushrooms on the ground, they were tired but happy.

After picking mushrooms for two days, by mid-afternoon, there were no more mushrooms left nearby, so the two decided to head back early!

This time we picked about a third more mushrooms than last time. Last time, the dried mushrooms weighed only about 50 jin (25 kg), but this time we can dry about 70 jin (35 catties) of mushrooms.

On the way back, I took a detour to the bamboo forest. It's almost mid-March now, and I wanted to see if the bamboo shoots had sprouted yet.

The two arrived at the bamboo forest and, sure enough, saw the bamboo shoots sprouting small tips, though they weren't very big yet, looking like they had only just emerged.

Judging from the current size of the bamboo shoots, I estimate that we can come and dig them up in a couple of days.

So the two returned home, planning to go dig for bamboo shoots again later to make dried bamboo shoots!