Jiang Tangtang's eldest, second, and third brothers each had three sons.
The Jiang family has many sons, so it's not unusual for them to have many sons. All the sons are named using the same characters, such as "a few cents".
Jiang Damao, the oldest of the group, is thirteen years old this year. He is the tallest and most agile among the children.
Jiang Tangtang pointed to the tallest tree and said, "Da Mao, do you see that? There's a bird's nest in that branch. Can you climb up and get the eggs? Listen to me, when we boil the eggs later, I'll give each of you five."
“Auntie, don’t lie to us just because we’re young. If you give each of us five bird eggs, that’s forty-five bird eggs. We used to run around in the forest for months and still couldn’t find that many bird eggs.”
The youngest, Jiang Jiumao, looked at Jiang Tangtang with a cute expression.
"Little guy, you're pretty good at math!" Jiang Tangtang raised her hand and tapped his unusually large head, laughing:
“You haven’t been able to collect this many bird eggs in months, that’s because you’re incompetent. I’m not incompetent like you. If you listen to me today, I’ll fill this basket to the brim. Do you believe me?”
The children were astonished when they heard that her basket was filled to the brim.
Jiang Tangtang goaded her, "Aren't you going to give it a try? Are you that timid?"
Jiang Damao said, "Okay, we'll all listen to you today, but you have to keep your word."
"If I go back on my word, I'm a dog, okay?" Jiang Tangtang knew that the original owner had left a bad impression on the children. After she finished speaking, she took out some wild fruits that she had kept in her space but couldn't bear to eat and said, "How about I pay you with some wild fruits as payment?"
Jiang Damao didn't take the wild fruit she offered, and instead turned around and nimbly climbed up the tree.
He moved quickly and climbed halfway up the tree in no time.
Jiang Tangtang marveled at how nimble the child was, and said, "The bird's nest is on the branch on the left. Be careful when you take the eggs down, don't crush them."
Jiang Damao quickly and successfully retrieved the bird eggs.
Seeing that Jiang Damao had actually found the bird eggs following Jiang Tangtang's instructions, Jiang Jiumao was very curious. "Auntie, the tree is so tall, and you can't see it, how did you know the bird's nest was on the left branch?"
Jiang Tangtang smiled and nodded at his head, saying, "Because the gods opened my third eye, so I can see farther than you guys."
Her explanation was so farcical that the children didn't really believe it. But Jiang Damao listened to her and did find the bird eggs. They all wanted a share of the eggs, so they listened to Jiang Tangtang and climbed trees or went into the woods when she told them to.
At first, they were somewhat skeptical of Jiang Tangtang's words. But as time went on, nest after nest of bird eggs were found. They no longer had any doubts, only excitement.
Jiang Tangtang used the system to guide the children to find bird eggs, and she wasn't idle either.
She found many mushrooms under some shady trees, so she took a stick and picked them up.
With the system around, she didn't need to search around; she could just use the system to search. She carried the stick mainly to tap the grass and avoid snakes.
Whether it's bird eggs or mushrooms, Jiang Tangtang can pinpoint their location precisely, making her extremely efficient.
In just over half an hour, Jiang Tangtang's basket was full. Although half of it was filled with mushrooms, it was enough to shock the Jiang family.
Cai Chunrong, in particular, thought Jiang Tangtang was just fooling around again. Little did she know that Jiang Tangtang had actually taken the children to collect bird eggs, and had actually collected so many.
If the face in front of her hadn't remained unchanged, she would have doubted that the person standing in front of her wasn't her lazy and good-for-nothing sister-in-law.
Seeing that her older brothers would need some time to make their sedan chairs, Jiang Tangtang took the children to the ditch to wash bird eggs and mushrooms.
"Auntie, can we really each get five bird eggs later?" Jiang Jiumao swallowed hard as she looked at the bird eggs in the basket.
He hadn't eaten eggs for a very long time, but just looking at the bird eggs in the basket, he could almost smell their aroma.
"Five isn't enough! Let's give each person ten!"
Eggs are difficult to carry, and with so many people watching, it's inconvenient for her to put them into her spatial storage.
The key issue is that the Jiang family members all look malnourished, so she plans to cook all the bird eggs she found today and share them with everyone.
"Hurry up and wash, we'll make another pot of mushroom soup later."
The Jiang family had a difficult journey to escape into the forest, but they didn't throw away any of their belongings.
Besides an iron pot, the Jiang family also had a double-boiled pot. One was used to boil bird eggs, and the other to boil mushroom soup—perfect.
The children were incredibly excited when they heard there was food. The Jiang family's sisters-in-law, having finished their chores, also came to help.
Soon, Lu Shiyan returned. Besides catching two pheasants, he had also caught several bamboo rats on his hunting trip.
Seeing that Lu Shiyan had returned with so much game after only a short time, the Jiang family members all marveled at Lu Shiyan's competence and how lucky Jiang Tangtang was.
After discussing it quietly with Lu Shiyan, Jiang Tangtang gave several bamboo rats and two pheasants to Wang Shi, saying, "Mother, these are for Fourth Sister-in-law to nourish her body."
Without a second thought, Wang replied, "How can that be? My son-in-law went through a lot of trouble to catch this on the mountain. How can we give it to us? Don't worry, your fourth sister-in-law has food. Didn't she stew a chicken that she hasn't eaten yet?"
"Mother, this is a gift for Fourth Sister-in-law's one-month celebration. Please don't refuse it."
Originally, full moon gifts were given by relatives when a child turned one month old, during the full moon celebration.
In their local area, when a woman gives birth, relatives will send her food as a gift in advance after they hear the news.
This custom arose because families were not wealthy. Sending the baby over early would help the new mother get some nutrition.
Jiang Tangtang remembered that when the original owner was pregnant with Lu Chenyan, it was still a long time before the due date. Wang Shi led several of her daughters-in-law to the Lu family several times, each time bringing them flour and minced meat.
Later, after the original owner gave birth, Wang came to deliver gifts several more times. These were either eggs or old hens.
Those things were all saved up by the Jiang family over time.
Jiang Tangtang felt that since she had taken over the original owner's body, she should repay this debt of gratitude.
Only then did Madam Wang accept the gift, wiping away her tears as she said, "You are so sensible."
Jiang Tangtang comforted her, "Mother, don't cry. I will take care of you and make sure you live a good life."
"Mother is happy because my daughter has grown up."
Wang wiped away her tears and instructed her daughters-in-law to cook the chicken soup that she had previously stewed for her fourth daughter-in-law to nourish her body, along with mushrooms, and then distribute it to everyone.
This time, Jiang Tangtang didn't try to persuade her again.
Cooking mushrooms in chicken broth definitely makes them much more fragrant. And the rest of the Jiang family should also get some more nourishment.
As for what Fourth Sister-in-law needs to eat during her postpartum period, we can get it later.
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