Just thinking about the taste made Jiang Yimian's mouth water. These past few days, she had been eating bland porridge and wild mugwort, and her mouth was practically tasteless.
She must eat something fresh today.
Finally, when her basket was overflowing, Jiang Yimian stopped picking bamboo shoots and started cutting bamboo.
Because she hadn't used enough strength, Jiang Yimian collapsed to the ground after cutting down several bamboo stalks, lamenting that her body was too weak.
No, if she keeps eating wild vegetables and drinking thin porridge, she won't be able to recover to her previous state. She'll be out of breath even if she runs a few steps. She needs to eat meat to nourish her body.
Thinking it over, she took out a large piece of pork belly from her spatial storage and stuffed it into her basket, then took out some lard she had collected in town before she stopped.
When she wasn't so tired anymore, she picked up her basket and dragged the bamboo back home.
They traveled on and off, and by the time Jiang Yimian returned, it was almost noon.
Fortunately, we were mostly walking in the woods, where the dense foliage provided shade, so it wasn't too sunny and was actually quite cool.
Seeing her return, Wang Fengqin quickly handed her a bowl of water and said with a smile, "Are you thirsty? Drink some water. Xiao Ye found a puddle ahead with spring water in it, and it's cool and refreshing."
Jiang Yimian took the bowl, wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve, and said, "It's better to boil the water before drinking it, otherwise it's easy to get an upset stomach."
In particular, the two children are physically weak and prone to illness.
Wang Fengqin simply smiled and nodded; she was aware of that.
Although many families in the village didn't care about this, she had heard from the elders that there were some invisible insects in the spring water, and if she drank it, those things would not be able to live peacefully in her stomach.
After drinking some water, she noticed that Xiao Nuan'er and Xiao Ye were not there, so she casually asked, "Where did Xiao Ye and the others go?"
Wang Fengqin pointed to the grove of trees next to the shack, "Gather firewood in that grove."
Jiang Yimian nodded, and seeing Liu Xiaoyun taking care of her husband in the shack, she pulled Wang Fengqin into her own shack.
Seeing her daughter acting mysteriously, Wang Fengqin was only a little curious. But when she saw the basket full of bamboo shoots in the basket, she frowned and said, "Why are you picking so many bamboo shoots? These are very astringent and inedible. You should throw them away."
Just thinking about that astringent taste makes Wang Fengqin's mouth feel numb.
Many people in the village had picked bamboo shoots before, and after eating them, they all said they were unpalatable and inedible. Although she had never picked them herself, she had tried them, and the taste was truly unpalatable. Not only was the flavor strange, but it also had a bitter and numbing sensation.
Jiang Yimian couldn't help but laugh when she saw her mother's strange expression. It was truly rare to see her mother, who wasn't picky about food, make such an expression.
"Mom, don't worry, the bamboo shoots won't be bitter after boiling them in water."
Wang Fengqin was a little skeptical, but she still nodded reluctantly, "Okay, I'll try it in a bit."
Since they don't have much food anyway, it would be good if they could find another edible vegetable, at least they wouldn't starve to death easily.
Just as Wang Fengqin took the bamboo shoots out of the basket, she noticed a large piece of pork belly hidden under half a basket of shepherd's purse. She was quite surprised and looked around before lowering her voice to ask, "Yimian, where did this meat come from?"
She estimated it weighed about ten pounds. Even before fleeing the famine, she had never seen her family buy so much meat, let alone in these chaotic times.
If others find out, it will inevitably cause trouble.
Jiang Yimian coughed lightly and lied in a low voice: "Yesterday I went to town to inquire about news, right? This is what the butcher shop didn't have time to take away. I saw a lot of people searching inside, so I went too. I didn't expect to find such a big piece of pork belly. I didn't dare to make a fuss because I was afraid that people would covet it."
She wasn't lying, after all, she really did go to the butcher shop yesterday, but she just couldn't find it.
Wang Fengqin could only sigh, "Alas, this world is truly in chaos."
Seeing that the other party accepted, Jiang Yimian continued, "Mother, Xiaoye and Xiaonuan are still growing, and you are too thin. You should eat some meat to nourish yourself."
We finally found a reason to take out the meat, so we can't just look at it without being able to eat it.
Wang Fengqin nodded and said with a smile, "Okay, I'll make it for you, you little glutton."
Jiang Yimian touched her nose, a little embarrassed, and took out the shepherd's purse from her basket, revealing the jar of lard. "Mom, I found this in town yesterday. You can add some when you stir-fry your dishes; it will make them a little oily and fragrant."
Wang Fengqin simply responded and quickly took the lard and pork belly and hid them away.
Jiang Yimian went to the woods to find Xiao Ye and Xiao Nuan'er.
Before I even got close, I heard Ono's disgruntled voice, "What are you doing? I'm the one who found this firewood."
Jiang Yimian's expression changed, and she quickly walked over.
Besides Xiao Ye and Xiao Nuan'er, there was also a man in his thirties in the woods.
The man was very thin, with a mole on the corner of his mouth, and his face was full of shrewd calculation; he didn't look like a good person.
This man is Wang Ergou, a notorious lazybones in Xinghua Village, and the one who stole Gousheng's place of lodging yesterday.
Seeing that the person who came was a little girl, Wang Ergou became even more unscrupulous. He picked up a bundle of firewood from the ground and said irritably, "What do you mean 'your'? I clearly picked up this firewood. You little brat, you've learned to lie. Get out of here."
There are many insects in the mountains, and it's cold and damp at night. Without a fire, sleeping on the ground means the cold air seeps straight into your bones. He and his wife almost froze to death last night.
He was forced out to gather firewood early this morning, but he was too lazy to run around and was afraid of encountering danger in the dense forest, so he decided to look around nearby. After searching for a while, he didn't see many pieces of firewood. When he looked around, he found out that the two little devils had picked up all the firewood, which made him so angry that he had to come and steal it.
Seeing that the firewood she had painstakingly gathered was about to be stolen, Xiao Ye was so angry that her eyes turned red. As soon as she saw Jiang Yimian, she cried and said, "Sister, that's the firewood I gathered, it's not his."
Wang Ergou just shrugged in annoyance, "Who says it's theirs? Where are your parents? Oh, I forgot, Old Man Jiang has already abandoned you."
Wang Fengqin, that sickly woman, probably doesn't have time to discipline you, which is why you're lying here in broad daylight, right? Perfect, I, your grandfather, will teach you a lesson on behalf of that sickly woman today.”
As he spoke, he reached out to grab Ono.
Jiang Yimian took only one step forward, picked up a branch from the ground, and slapped it at the outstretched hand.
With a "whoosh," the slender twig left a long, bloody gash on the withered hand. Wang Ergou, in pain, quickly withdrew his hand and glared at Jiang Yimian. "Jiang girl, what are you doing? I'm your elder! How dare you hit me? You're truly a motherless brat! I'll teach you a lesson today!"
As he spoke, he was about to roll up his sleeves and start a fight.
Liu Xiaoyun had just come in to gather firewood when she saw Wang Ergou about to hit someone. She shouted, "Wang Ergou, what do you think you're doing? Are you going to lay a hand on these kids? Have you no shame?"
This shout attracted the attention of many people.
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