While it was still light, the women also started looking for wild vegetables. They had brought a lot of food, but no vegetables, so finding some wild vegetables would be enough to make ends meet.
Tian An thought that since they were all traveling together and the food was all from their family, they might as well cook together, integrate everyone's pots and pans, and divide the work to be more efficient.
Her proposal was unanimously agreed to by everyone. Tian An also asked Chun Xi to take out two strips of bacon to improve everyone's meals.
There was still a lot of bacon left from the Chinese New Year at home. After the earthquake stabilized, Zhao Yiming took people in to take it all out. It was difficult to take it out and cook when he was staying in the mountains with the villagers before, so it was all left over!
Seeing everyone was busy, Tian An asked them to put some mugwort in the fire later to smoke out the mosquitoes. He then told Xiaokang and Xiaoqi not to stray too far, then he packed an empty backpack and dragged Zhao Yiming into the woods, saying they were going to see if they could find something to eat.
Zhao Yiming also brought a bow and arrow, wanting to see if he could catch any prey.
As Tian An walked, he paid attention to the vegetation he encountered on the road. When he saw useful medicinal herbs, he collected them regardless of their value.
When they were a little far away from the crowd, Tian An took out two big red apples from the space and handed one to Zhao Yiming.
"Are all the apples in your area so good?" Zhao Yiming said as he looked at the big, red, fresh apple in his hand that was still dripping with water and felt cool to the touch.
Tian An took a bite of the sweet and juicy apple and said vaguely, "That's about right!"
Zhao Yiming looked at Tian An who was eating with gusto and teased, "You ate that self-heating hot pot yesterday, and you said you were feeling guilty about eating it without telling those two guys. You seem to be enjoying it now."
Tian An took another bite of the apple and chewed it for a few seconds before saying, "I'll bring some back for them later."
Zhao Yiming paused and asked in surprise, "You want to take it back?"
Tian An nodded: "I just saw a wild apple tree over there. We can say we picked them when the time comes."
Zhao Yiming felt that Tian An was taking things for granted: "...How could the wild fruit trees in these mountains grow apples like this? Even the tributes to the royal family might not be of this quality!"
"They don't know what the royal tribute looks like." Tian An said disapprovingly.
"Don't forget Granny Qin and Mr. Han." Zhao Yiming reminded.
Tian An paused. Damn! She had forgotten about this.
After thinking for a while, he took out a smaller green apple from the space and asked Zhao Yiming, "This should be okay, right?"
Zhao Yiming looked at the smaller green apple and nodded, "Well, this one is almost there."
Tian An put down the backpack and took out 20 to 30 apples from the space in one breath. When he wanted to take more, Zhao Yiming stopped him and said, "That's enough. Just share it among us. If you take too much, it will be easy to reveal your identity."
"Oh well!"
Tian An was about to pick up the backpack and continue walking when she felt Zhao Yiming gently pull her. She paused, looked up and saw that Zhao Yiming was drawing the bow.
With a "whoosh", the two men hurried over and picked up a pheasant on the ground.
"I was thinking that if I didn't catch anything, I would take one from the space and bring it back. I didn't expect to be so lucky!" Tian An said happily.
Zhao Yiming was surprised: "You can still take out the chicken?"
"Forget chicken, I have beef too."
If the imperial court had not strictly controlled oxen for farming, and if all the beef that could be sold had not been monopolized by the wealthy families in the county, she would have gone to buy it to satisfy her craving.
After being out for so long, it was already dark, so the two had no choice but to go back carrying the chicken and the apples.
When we arrived, dinner was already ready and we were just waiting for the two of us.
Qiu Shan saw the pheasant Zhao Yiming was carrying and quickly ran over to them. He surrounded the two men and looked at them curiously, saying, "As expected of my Big Brother! You really managed to catch something."
Tian An said proudly, "Of course, you don't even look at who it is. But dinner is ready tonight. We'll stew it tomorrow morning, and everyone can have a bowl of soup." He showed him his backpack and said, "We also picked some apples. We'll each have two to try later."
Qiu Shan leaned closer to the basket and took a look. His eyes lit up. "Where did you pick these? I'll get up early tomorrow and pick some. My mother hasn't been able to eat much lately. Eating some of these sweet and sour fruits should help."
"Then you will be disappointed. We walked a long way to find such a tree, and they have picked all the fruits."
Qiu Shan was a little disappointed, but it was great to be able to pick these. Wild fruits are not so easy to find! What's more, Tian An was willing to share them with them.
Chunxi took over the two people's backpacks and put them away. The two women began to serve rice to everyone. They used the bamboo bowls made from the bamboo joints they had cut in the mountains before, and each person had one.
The meal was cooked with rice and corn kernels. The bacon was mixed with wild vegetables and cooked in a pot. The aroma could be smelled from far away.
There was not much bacon, and each person could only get two slices, so the adults left the meat for the children. After all the ups and downs these days, the children were all skinny.
Tian An and Zhao Yiming also gave the two pieces of meat in their bowls to Xiaoqi and Xiaokang. They could occasionally sneak out to eat, but it was difficult for the two younger brothers to feed them secretly.
The two younger ones were about to return the meat to the two men when Zhao Yiming glanced at them, and they were instantly petrified. "Just eat it if I give it to you. It's not okay for a skinny and small boy to eat it."
...The two little ones ate their food silently.
Chun Xi looked at the meat in her bowl, stood up and put the meat into Tian An's bowl, "Miss, I haven't eaten it yet. It's clean, don't be disgusted."
Seeing this, the other maids were about to stand up. Tian An came to her senses and shouted, "What are you doing? Sit down and eat properly." Then he looked at Chun Xi and said, "Pick it up and put it back."
Chun Xi lowered her head stubbornly and muttered softly, "Girl, I'm already grown up. It's okay not to eat meat. You're still growing. If you don't eat well now, it will delay your growth."
Tian An returned the meat in the bowl to her and said, "It's better to drink soup than to eat meat. There happen to be some wild vegetables I like in the pot. How can I eat wild vegetables when I'm full of meat?"
Two pieces of meat were barely enough to fill the gaps between my teeth, how could they possibly fill my stomach? The girl was just feeling sorry for her.
Before Chunxi could finish feeling touched, she heard Tian An say, "Chunxi, you just called me by the wrong name. You'll have to wash apples for everyone later!"
Chun Xi was stunned and quickly said, "Okay, sir, I accept the punishment."
The wild vegetables cooked in the bacon soup were so fresh and fragrant that everyone wanted to lick the bottom of the pot.
After dinner, Chunxi washed the apples and gave two to each family. There were only ten left when it came to Tian An and the others. Tian An took out four apples and gave one each to Xiaokang and Xiaoqi, and gave two to Grandma Qin and Mr. Han. Finally, the remaining six apples were left for Chunxi and the others to share.
After a day of travel, everyone was exhausted. Tian An and the maids spread insect repellent powder. They also set up a simple tent with oilcloth and made beds. Zhao Yiming arranged for people to take turns to watch the night, and then watched over the three siblings until they slept.
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