Jiayin was playing with a pretty pheasant feather. The feather brushed against her face and tickled her a little, making her laugh and shake her head.
Grandma Li's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly hugged her granddaughter and kissed her hard.
"Don't tell anyone else, this is all good luck brought by our lucky girl! Go and prepare all the rabbits, stew one tonight, and smoke the rest to eat in winter."
She whispered to her son, "Save the eggs for Hongying. No one is allowed to touch them. We must not let Fu Niu go hungry."
Li Laosi was about to leave when Li Laotai suddenly asked a question.
"Where did Wu Ergou go? I haven't seen him for the past two days. Remember to find an excuse to get rid of him!"
"Mother, didn't Second Sister-in-law tell you? Wu Er found a job as a casino employee and went to the county town early this morning," Tao Hongying said while drying mushrooms.
Grandma Li frowned; casinos were no good places, but she quickly breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's best if he leaves. He's not family, so there's no need to worry about him."
After saying that, she picked Jiayin up upright, patted her gently, and said with great affection, "Instead of wasting time on this, you should spend more time with my little Fu Niu'er."
Jiayin giggled, wanting to take a good look at her own yard, but unfortunately her neck was too weak, so she could only lean on her grandmother's shoulder and continue drawing her drool map...
The next day, when Li Laosi was about to go out, Jiayin repeated the same routine as the day before.
As soon as Li Laosi put his daughter down, she cried; when he picked her up, she laughed, and in the process, she smeared her father's face with glistening drool.
Li Laosi exclaimed with a mixture of helplessness and joy, “Mom, look, my daughter kissed me!”
"Don't make a fuss. My granddaughter kisses me every day."
Grandma Li couldn't stand her son's smug look. She glared at him and said sourly.
"Mom, I'm taking Fu Niu'er and Lao Si up the mountain today to see if we can pick some mushrooms or something."
Tao Hongying quickly helped Zhao Yuru clear the table and said.
Yesterday, Tao Hongying wove a new willow basket, smoothing out the rough edges and then lining it with a soft blanket.
This way, Jiayin can lie inside, and she can also free up both hands to work.
"Grandma, I want to go too!"
"Me too, me too!"
Jia An and Jia Xi, as if joining in the fun, jumped up and down, shouting to go up the mountain together.
Grandma Li looked at her two cheerful grandsons and smiled in agreement.
"Okay, go if you want, but don't run around wildly. Take good care of Fu Niu'er."
Jiayin lay in a willow basket with a small shade over it, so she couldn't get any sun. Tao Hongying carried her up the mountain, making her feel sway.
She was figuring out how to get the sweet potatoes out of the space when she arrived at the mountain. Tao Hongying was busy and gave the willow basket to Jia An and Jia Xi.
Jia'an and Jiaxi were teasing their younger sister by the basket, their two mischievous, smiling faces making Jiayin laugh too.
Jia'an carefully picked up the willow basket, hung the two cloth straps on his shoulders, and held it in front of his chest like a backpack. He could see his little sister's face when he looked down.
Jia'an carried Jiayin around aimlessly, which created a good opportunity for Jiayin.
She carefully planned the location, moved the half-acre of sweet potatoes she had planted in the backyard of the space, and chose a spot in the grass to hide them.
Sure enough, a little while later, Tao Hongying walked past, engrossed in picking mushrooms.
When she parted the grass and saw the dense, half-yellow sweet potato vines, she was also startled.
Looking around, there were no traces of anyone else besides the footprints left by their family.
This was clearly not planted secretly by someone...
She quickly squatted down and began digging sweet potatoes.
The soil was soft, and in no time we dug out two sweet potatoes that were bigger than our palms!
Tao Hongying could no longer contain her excitement and quickly called Li Laosi over.
Li Laosi was overjoyed, and the couple squatted on the ground and started digging.
Before long, their baskets were overflowing.
Li Laosi wanted to go home, but he was afraid that his wife and children were not safe in the woods, so he called out to Jia An and Jia Xi.
"You all hurry home, and don't linger on the way. Tell your grandma to turn all the bags out of the house, and then have someone from the family come over quietly to take the sweet potatoes. Remember not to tell anyone! In winter, we'll roast sweet potatoes for you; they'll be sweet and juicy."
Jia'an and Jiaxi were really craving it, so they quickly agreed, "We definitely won't tell!"
The two boys ran home as fast as they could, and once they got home, they told Grandma Li about the sweet potatoes.
Grandma Li thought of her granddaughter who had gone up the mountain with her, and she understood perfectly well what was going on.
She quickly called to Zhao Yuru to bring out all the bags and baskets, and then called to Li Lao Er, Li Lao San, Jia Ren, and Jia Yi, and they all went up the mountain together.
She also kept a watchful eye on things and had Zhao Yuru find a reason to send Wu Cuihua away early on.
Lunch was about to be prepared, but Wu Cuihua, unwilling to do any work, happily left.
The family secretly went up the mountain, avoiding being seen by anyone.
When they saw the large patch of sweet potato vines and the pile of big sweet potatoes that Li Laosi and Tao Hongying had dug up, everyone was dumbfounded.
This should yield seven or eight hundred catties of sweet potatoes, enough to feed the family for half the winter.
"Mom, brother, sister-in-law, hurry up and put it in the bag, be careful someone doesn't bump into it!"
Li Laosi quickly grabbed a bag and started packing, urging everyone on.
Once everyone came to their senses, before they could even express their joy, they quickly started working, some holding up bags, others picking up sweet potatoes, all busily engaged in the activity.
In the end, all the sweet potatoes were dug up and filled more than twenty bags and baskets.
The whole family made two trips back and forth before they were finally able to move everything home.
Grandma Li looked at the mountain of sweet potatoes piled up in the warehouse, her mouth stretching almost to her ears in a wide grin.
With these sweet potatoes, his family wouldn't have to worry about going hungry in winter. They could just cut off a couple and throw them into the porridge pot; it tasted good and was very filling!
With such good fortune, Jiayin no longer needed to fawn over them or cry. Li Laosi and Tian Hongying started taking their daughter up the mountain every day, and they went deeper and deeper into the mountains.
We found quite a few red pine trees and a walnut tree.
The couple wanted to pick some so they could make some snacks for their children.
Li Laosi climbed the tree to knock down pine cones, and Tao Hongying was a little worried, so she stayed below to watch over him.
Then I saw my daughter pointing at the tree hole in front of me and making noises. She was curious and pulled away the straw stuffing the tree hole.
The tree hollow was stuffed full of chestnuts. She tentatively reached in and took a handful, and the chestnuts flowed out like water, and there was no end to it.
She filled one basket, but it wasn't enough, so she ended up filling a cloth bag as well.
I have no idea how so many chestnuts could be hidden in such a small tree hole.
Jiayin lay obediently in the willow basket, spitting out bubbles as she continued searching for a suitable spot, and placed two more nests of eggs inside.
The small courtyard housed fourteen or fifteen hens, and they could collect ten eggs every day, which would accumulate to a considerable number in three to five days.
Sure enough, Tao Hongying soon discovered the nest of eggs behind the tree, and she was overjoyed.
That wasn't the biggest surprise, until Li Laosi called out from afar.
"Wife, come quick! Look what good stuff I've found!"
Tao Hongying rushed over and saw a pile of bright red apples and dates, as well as a fist-sized yellow pear, at Li Laosi's feet.
Even without taking a bite, just by smelling the faint sweet aroma, one can guess that this fruit must be incredibly delicious.
"Where did you find this? It looks absolutely amazing!"
Tao Hongying cherished them, stroking each one with delight.
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