Perhaps because they had eaten their fill, even the young lady, Ah Nan, was able to get down and walk quite a distance!
Qin San Niang had originally intended to carry her youngest daughter on her back, but upon weighing the basket, she realized it was heavier than the child, so she decided against it. This also meant that the children needed to be well-nourished, and Liu Shi and she herself were both skin and bones. She didn't even care to look at her own appearance, but with her dark, claw-like hands and her dry, tangled hair, how could she possibly be good-looking?
Qin San Niang really wanted to take a bath, or at least wash her hair...
Oh well, let's just focus on staying alive first.
Along the way, we encountered groups of refugees, all of them like walking corpses, their eyes dull and lifeless. They were all families, probably separated from the main group.
Whenever they encountered refugees, Liu and Da Wa would tense up, quickening their pace to distance themselves as quickly as possible. For one thing, they didn't have an adult male among them, and if those people harbored malicious intentions, it would be disastrous! Da Wa was, after all, just a teenager, no match for an adult man, and besides, due to chronic hunger, he wasn't strong enough!
Inspired by their actions, Qin San Niang quickened her pace. She had heard of cannibalism on the road to escape famine, and her children, though not her own, were her family in this strange world, and she absolutely could not let anything happen to them.
Fortunately, along the way, although some people were watching them, they probably thought they were poorer than their own families, without even a wheelbarrow to transport grain, so what was there to steal from them? Besides, if they got injured and couldn't steal any more grain, it wouldn't be worth it.
Liu, unaware of what those people were thinking, was now seriously considering the donkey cart her eldest daughter had mentioned. Having a cart would not only save them walking effort, but those thugs would also have a harder time catching up. Her own grandson was so young; how could she not feel sorry for him? But they hadn't even had enough food before, so how could she have the mind to think about adding a cart?
They walked for an unknown amount of time, until the sun was almost setting in the west. Finally, Liu said, "This place is nice; let's stay here tonight!"
They were probably traveling on the official road. To their left was a grove of trees, and there were several large rocks by the roadside that could provide shelter from the wind at night and also offer refuge in the woods should anything happen. Not far away was a small hill.
This place was indeed nice. Qin San Niang quickly put down her basket, spread out a straw mat, and let the children and her mother sit and rest for a while. The water in the gourd was almost gone. There should be a stream not far away; she could hear the sound. So she told the children to watch over their younger siblings while she went to fetch water.
The stream flows behind the rocks, and beyond it lies the woods on the other side, which appear close but are actually quite a distance away. The water is crystal clear, and the dappled sunlight of the setting sun casts a beautiful, ethereal glow on its surface.
Qin San Niang had no time to appreciate the scenery. She quickly filled the two large gourds with water and then looked at her reflection in the water. There was really nothing to see, but did she look a bit old? Just now, Liu Shi said that she married into the Wang family at the age of sixteen, and her eldest son was eleven years old this year. In ancient times, people usually had children at seventeen or eighteen, so even so, she was probably twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old now. However, she did resemble her from her previous life. If she raised her up, maybe she would become a beauty. Perhaps?
The stream water was still warm from the sun; she wondered if she could wash her hair later. The smell emanating from her hair was truly unbearable, and it was also a little itchy; she wondered if she had lice…
Just as she turned around after fetching water, Qin San Niang saw a dark shadow swim by. Upon closer inspection, she exclaimed, "Oh my, isn't that a fish?" It was quite large, though she didn't know how to spear it. She could, however, weave a fish basket. She wondered if Liu Shi and the others knew how.
"Mother, Mother, where did this fish come from?"
Wow, this fish is huge!
"Mother, fish may taste fishy, but it's still meat, and I love to eat it."
...
Okay, Mom loves to eat it too. Although she just ate a big meat bun at noon, she walked all afternoon and it's all digested now, okay?
After calming the child down, the older child went to dig some wild vegetables, while Liu had already gathered firewood. These were all hardworking family members.
"Big brother, there are plenty of wild vegetables. Oh, they're all washed! Big brother, you're so great!" He probably washed them by that stream earlier. I wonder if he saw his mother conjure a big fish out of thin air? Probably not, otherwise why would she be smiling so brightly at him?!
Da Wa felt that his mother had changed since she woke up the day before yesterday. For example, she especially liked to praise him, which made him a little shy. However, it felt good to be praised by his mother. He hoped that his mother would smile more. After his father passed away, his mother had hardly smiled anymore. He worked hard just to make his mother happy.
Qin San Niang was unaware of all this, and now she was instructing the waiter to start a fire. A'nan volunteered to add firewood, but she would never admit that it was because her mother had praised her brother that she was a little jealous. In fact, she was a very skilled fire-starter!
Of course, Qin San Niang believed that children deserved praise; after all, compliments cost nothing. So she praised Xiao Er for starting a fire, saying, "Anan did a great job!" In short, the atmosphere was harmonious and joyful.
Seeing this, Liu, who was kneading dough, also smiled, revealing two rows of teeth. She thought to herself, "Could it be that my eldest daughter has received some kind of divine guidance? Even her personality has become more unrestrained than before!"
"Mother, let's make fish soup with this fish. Add some wild vegetables and salt, it'll taste good, and there'll be soup to drink!" Qin San Niang was cleaning the fish; she knew how to do that.
"Okay, I'm planning to make some steamed buns. And Third Sister, the fish intestines are edible too. Just clean them clean, they're delicious!" This fish is so plump and delicious. I wonder if it's thanks to the immortals that food from the fairy realm is good for the body?! We can't waste any of these fish intestines and such.
Qin San Niang naturally wouldn't disobey her mother over this matter, especially since Liu Shi was right. Da Wa'er volunteered to take over the task of processing the fish offal.
Remembering that she had seen wild onions by the stream earlier, she decided to go and find some; she couldn't just buy everything from the supermarket. She instructed the two younger children to watch the water, telling them that their mother was going to dig up some wild onions or garlic by the stream, and not to touch them if they boiled, but to wait for their mother to return or to tell their grandmother.
When she reached the stream, she actually found a clump of wild scallions. Wild scallions stir-fried with eggs are really delicious; she had eaten them at a hotel before, and the taste was different from cultivated scallions. Turning around, she also found a few wild ginger plants, and quickly dug them all up, leaving none behind. After drying them, she could make ginger tea, especially good for preventing colds after catching a chill or getting caught in the rain—much better than fresh ginger.
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