Wu Chunhua watched them work with a smile, chopping another chicken into palm-sized pieces and putting them into a ceramic pot. She added ginger slices, wild scallions, and the seasonings given by Qin San Niang, along with red dates and goji berries, and slowly stewed it.
Wu Chunhua learned about goji berries from Qin Sanniang, who said they were a medicinal herb that could nourish the spleen and kidneys, and had many benefits. If they weren't in a hurry to get on their way, Wu Chunhua would have liked to pick more and dry them.
Not only Wu Chunhua thought so, but when Qin Sanniang saw the goji berries, she also felt that they should not be wasted. She mobilized the whole family to pick them, but they only managed to pick more than half of them. The rest were either too small or in unsuitable locations and difficult to pick, so they had to give up.
Even so, they still picked quite a lot, a good ten kilograms. After all, these things are too small; they'd be better off picking some wild fruits or digging up some wild vegetables!
She doesn't plan to sell these; she wants to keep the pure, natural wild goji berries for herself.
Liu took out coarse salt and carefully coated the rabbit that Gu Qingshan had skinned with a layer of salt, and then coated it again.
It's hot during the day now, so the pickled vegetables need to be saltier to keep them for longer. Besides, it's not good to leave them out to dry while traveling during the day. If they are seen by someone with ulterior motives or starving refugees, it will cause trouble again.
The only problem was that she used a bit too much salt, which made Liu a little reluctant to part with it. However, considering how many chickens A-Zhi's father had given them, she figured it was nothing for her to pickle some wild rabbit for him. Liu was unwilling to take advantage of others.
"Auntie, the wind has been strong these past few nights. It can dry half of the cotton-padded clothes in one night, and they'll be almost dry in two or three days," Wu Chunhua said. The wind has indeed been quite strong these past few nights, and it looks like the weather is about to change. The cotton-padded clothes need to be made as soon as possible.
Gu Qingshan, who was brewing herbal medicine for his daughter not far away, overheard their conversation. He really wanted to say that it was really unnecessary to go to so much trouble; if they wanted to eat it, he could just go and get some fresh herbs.
If you say that, Liu will definitely object. How can we not have some food stored up? That would make us feel too insecure!
Anyway, for a woman like Liu, who is over fifty, hoarding is a great hobby and a great advantage. Although Qin San Niang does not approve of excessive thrift, she cannot say anything against it.
Dinner's ready!
With a shout from Qin San Niang, the children instantly rushed out from every corner, seemingly in the blink of an eye.
"Mother, will this chicken covered in mud even cook?" Xiao Er was very worried that his mother would give them mud to eat, after all, his grandmother used to dig mud for him to eat. Mud was really disgusting, and it took him a long time to spit out the fishy smell.
"It's definitely edible, second brother. Didn't you see how much seasoning Mother added?" The eldest brother swallowed hard. He knew why his second brother was afraid—he was also forced to eat dirt by Grandma. Back then, Father died, and Mother was constantly in tears, too preoccupied to care for them, so she naturally didn't know about this. Now that Mother was finally better, he didn't want to tell her these things, wanting to cause her unnecessary sadness. What if she became sad and went back to her old self?!
Qin San Niang knew nothing of this; if she did, she would have cursed that old hag to death! How could you bear to mistreat such an adorable child? Don't let me catch you!
Thinking the child was worried about cleanliness, she quickly said, "You won't eat any mud, little one, don't worry. Didn't I wrap it in big leaves? That way the flavor will completely infuse the chicken, making it incredibly delicious! I guarantee you'll want more!"
She was practically drooling just talking about it; it really felt like she hadn't had such delicious chicken in ages!
Without further ado, quickly use a stone to gently break up the clod of earth. Be careful during this step, otherwise you might tear the leaves inside. If mud gets in, you'll really be eating dirt!
Once the outer clod of earth cracked open, the aroma wafted out, and the fresh, fragrant smell of chicken instantly filled everyone's nostrils—it smelled amazing!
The waiter, who was just worried about eating dirt, was now drooling without any regard for his image, which drew a burst of silvery laughter from A-Nan and A-Zhi.
The waiter was a little embarrassed when a young woman from out of town saw him. He quickly wiped away his drool and glared at his sister.
Qin San Niang quickly tried to smooth things over. Although the child was still young, he still had a sense of shame, especially with a beautiful young woman from his maternal family standing opposite them. She couldn't let her son's self-esteem be damaged; what if he didn't want to find a wife in the future?
"Come on, come on, let's start eating. There's plenty of chicken, and your mother will divide it among you. But don't eat too much, because Aunt Chunhua will be making chicken soup later, with lots of good stuff in it. Your grandma has also steamed some rice."
The children had been hungry for quite some time, and they had only been eating better a few days ago. Whenever there was a lot of meat, Qin San Niang didn't dare let them eat too much, otherwise they would get stomach aches.
Just like last time at the inn, she hadn't noticed that Xiao Er had eaten too much braised meat, and his stomach started to feel uncomfortable that night. He groaned and groaned, and Liu Shi got up and massaged him for a long time before he felt better. Only then did she realize that he had been hungry for too long, and eating too much oily meat right away would definitely not be able to handle it. She wouldn't dare to feed the child meat like that again in the future.
Hearing their mother say this, the children quickly nodded. Although they didn't think they would be unable to eat, they were really afraid of getting a stomachache.
As for Azhi, who had just finished drinking the herbal medicine, Qin Sanniang stuffed a chicken wing into her mouth. "Azhi, when you're better, your aunt will make you some meat to eat. You can also have some chicken soup with rice later."
The chicken was brought to her by her father. As for why Miss Azhi couldn't eat meat, Qin Sanniang felt there was nothing she could do, but it was all for her own good.
However, this young lady, Ah Zhi, was clearly a very sensible and precocious woman. "Third Aunt, I'll save these for my brother, younger brother, and younger sister. I'll just have some chicken soup with rice, that's fine too." As she spoke, she put the chicken wings into Ah Nan's wooden bowl.
To be honest, Azhi wasn't really craving meat. These days, she'd been eating nothing but meat with her father. Although he'd occasionally cook porridge for her, their departure from home had been rather sudden, and they didn't have much rice. Even when they had millet, her father's millet porridge wasn't very tasty. She especially longed for her mother's thick, sticky rice porridge.
Gu Qingshan understood his daughter's thoughts to some extent. He quickly went to Wu's place to get some chicken soup and a bowl of rice mixed with millet. He mixed them together and handed them to his daughter.
The others gathered around the fire and started eating. The environment wasn't anything special; they all grabbed chicken and started gnawing on it.
Eating a bite of chicken, drinking a sip of chicken soup, and then eating a bite of rice after finishing the soup—this is truly a heavenly life!
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