Chapter 12 Wild Crabs

Chen Yongnian returned carrying a bundle of tree branches, raising a layer of dust as he put it down.

There was moss on the branches, so they looked wet. A dry bundle of firewood was already heavy, but a wet one would be even heavier!

Having seen so many men who couldn't lift a finger, Wan Qiqi looked at Chen Yongnian with a hint of delight.

People in the countryside are indeed very strong!

Chen Yongliang returned at this time, with a few wild vegetables on his back. He looked a little dejected: "There are too many people digging for wild vegetables, and there are not many wild vegetables. In a few days, there may be no wild vegetables left!"

Wan Qiqi frowned slightly and said, "I'll go up the mountain with you later."

The two brothers looked somewhat surprised. Wan Qiqi had never done any work before, but today she took the initiative to go up the mountain to dig for wild vegetables.

Seeing the strange expressions on their faces, Wan Qiqi calmly explained, "Didn't I say yesterday? I've thought it through. This is our home, so naturally we need to do our part."

Chen Yongnian was very pleased; his wife had become sensible!

But my wife has delicate skin, and if she bumps or bruises herself while going up the mountain, she'll complain when she gets back.

He glanced at Pingping and An'an and said, "Wife, you stay with the children. My third brother and I will go!"

Wan Qiqi is looking forward to going up the mountain to dig up more wild vegetables to solve the family's food and clothing problem. How can we not let her go?

“It’s alright. Pingping and An’an are at home with their mother. I’ll go up the mountain with you. More people means more help.” She looked at the sky and continued, “The sun is blazing today. Let’s leave our mother at home. I’ll go with you and get to know them better so I can help with the household chores in the future.”

The two brothers listened and thought it made sense. Of all virtues, filial piety is the most important, so it's best to let their mother rest at home.

Seeing that the two did not object, Wan Qiqi hurriedly started the meal.

The villagers like to get up early, just as the saying goes, "The early bird catches the worm."

The sun had quietly climbed above the treetops, the morning mist had dissipated, and a slight breeze had arisen. It woke the birds in their nests, and clear chirps echoed from the branches.

Wan Qiqi carried a bamboo basket and followed the two brothers up the mountain.

The grove of trees behind the house is half bathed in sunlight, while the other half awaits its warmth, seemingly completely separated. Looking out at the distant, hazy, rolling mountains, the view is unobstructed, like a painting.

As you walk up the mountain, you can see women with children searching through the fallen leaves from time to time, and men chopping wood with machetes.

Since most of the wild vegetables at the foot of the mountain had been dug up, everyone started to walk uphill.

[Ding! Natural purslane found!]

Although it is already September, the weather is still hot, and purslane is very resilient and can still be seen everywhere by the roadside.

The three walked up the mountain for a while. The vegetation was lush and the area was still humid and hot, even though a month had passed since the flood.

[Ding! Wild mitten crabs spotted!]

[Ding! Wild stone crab spotted!]

The crab marked by the system was not far from Wan Qiqi, and her eyes lit up when she saw it!

Wow! I'm rich!

Although she didn't know how much she could sell them for, the price of wild crabs would definitely not be lower than that of wild vegetables!

Chen Yongliang frowned when he noticed Wan Qiqi's slower pace.

Sure enough, bringing my sister-in-law meant we could only get a spot halfway up the mountain!

Seeing that Wan Qiqi couldn't move, Chen Yongnian said to her, "Wife, you stay here and keep looking. My third brother and I will continue searching." There will definitely be more and more supplies up there, but there will also be more and more mosquitoes, snakes, and ants. As a husband, he should consider this for his wife.

He was also worried that Wan Qiqi's body wouldn't be able to handle it, since she had just woken up yesterday and being too tired wouldn't be good for her health.

Wan Qiqi nodded, glancing at the sun hanging on the treetops. "When the sun is overhead, we'll go down the mountain together."

There were no clocks in this era, so she couldn't even tell the time properly and could only roughly estimate it by looking at the sun overhead.

“Okay,” Chen Yongnian replied.

Chen Yongliang glanced at it, responded briefly, and said nothing more.

The woman he knew would definitely find a shady spot to sit and rest, waiting for them to come back from picking.

Even so, he couldn't say anything, after all, she was his sister-in-law, not just anyone.