Because of the large number of people these days, it's not easy to "perform magic tricks," and the chicken, duck, and goose eggs, as well as various kinds of vegetables in the small courtyard are almost overflowing.
"Grandma, let's go collect the eggs!"
Those five words gave the old lady a burst of energy. Looking around, she saw that the other women traveling with her were all three feet away. She quickly carried her granddaughter a few more steps into the woods.
A woman saw this and called out, "Auntie, don't go too far! Be careful of snakes!"
"Okay, I understand," the old lady replied. The woman then stopped worrying about it, as she was busy picking mushrooms and preparing a mushroom soup for dinner to give everyone a change of pace.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Jiayin quickly placed a bunch of eggs, a bunch of chestnuts, and a bunch of dates in the grass.
There were more than 30 eggs, five or six catties of chestnuts, and five or six catties of dates.
She actually wanted to give out more, but the eggs could be attributed to the pheasant, and the chestnuts and dates could be attributed to the diligent squirrel.
As for the rest, bringing out the duck eggs and goose eggs is a complete and utter slap in the face; where would you find ducks and geese in the deep mountains and forests?
There are also fruits and vegetables. Where do the fruit trees come from? Where is the vegetable garden?
Fortunately, she wasn't in a hurry; she took her time and knew there would always be a chance.
She had no intention, nor the ability, to provide food and drink for the entire village.
But if we find an opportunity, it's good to take out some things to improve everyone's meals.
After all, everyone in the Li family eats from the same pot, so there's no chance for them to eat alone...
Fortunately, the old lady was easily satisfied. When she turned her head and saw so many things, she was so happy that she wanted to dance with joy.
She also knew she couldn't be too conspicuous, so she quickly picked up the eggs, took off her outer garment, and wrapped chestnuts and dates in it.
Jiayin lay on the old lady's back and saw that the old lady's hair had turned even whiter. She couldn't help but feel sorry for her, so she quietly asked the old lady to sit down.
She found two honey chicken cakes in the small courtyard.
This was sold at the market in my hometown. It's made with wild mountain honey. It doesn't look very pretty, but it has a traditional flavor. Each one is about the size of my palm, and it's very affordable and sweet.
She bought three jin (1.5 kg) at the market the day before and brought them all here the next day…
The old lady watched as her granddaughter held the strange "snack" and ate it in small bites, her eyes squinting with happiness.
She tentatively took a bite, but before swallowing, she turned to look in the direction of the camp.
Jiayin guessed that she was thinking about her children and grandchildren; she couldn't bear to eat such delicious food all by herself.
"Milk, eat, eat! Tonight, give it to your brother!"
Jiayin tried her best to stuff snacks into the old lady's mouth. The old lady hesitated for a moment, but then ate them in big bites. After finishing, she helped her granddaughter keep watch.
Jiayin then took another big apple and ate most of it with her grandmother.
The grandfather and grandson then carried the eggs, chestnuts, and dates back to the camp.
"Hongying, come quick, look what I found!"
It must be said that the old lady had a real talent for acting. With a shout, she summoned the women and then enthusiastically told them how she found the wild eggs and how she raided the squirrel's nest.
Everyone else was surprised and delighted, but Tao Hongying understood this "standard procedure" all too well.
So she cupped her daughter's face in her hands, gave her a big kiss, and then went back to her work.
Boil half an egg, and give one to each of the little ones to help them get some nutrition.
Uncle Zhao and several other elderly men in poor health, along with the village chief's aunt and Doctor Zhang, each also needed one.
In this way, half of the eggs were used up in one meal.
People felt sorry for him, but his subordinates did not hesitate.
When you're fleeing famine, nothing is more reassuring than the health of your elderly parents and children.
If one of them gets sick, everyone will be worried.
You can leave the dates for a while, boil the chestnuts, peel them and put them in the porridge. This will not only fill your stomach but also save on food.
The mischievous boys followed him around, insisting on getting a handful of chestnuts, which they then threw into the campfire to roast.
Once cooked, the chestnut kernels were soft and sweet, and they were overjoyed.
The first thing Jia'an and Jiaxi did was run to feed their younger sister chestnuts.
The boys weren't very good at cooking; the chestnuts were roasted until they were black and half of them were burnt.
The two brothers broke off one of the pieces and fed it to their sister.
Jiayin didn't mind at all, and happily ate a few bites before stopping.
Jia An and Jia Xi then stuffed the food into their mouths, making it look as if they had grown a black beard around their mouths.
The three siblings stood head to head, their smiling faces drawing envy from the women.
The Li family's children are so sensible. Their naughty son only knows how to play wildly and never takes care of his younger siblings.
While Jiayin was learning to speak from her brothers and trying to make them happy, she was also distracted by steaming buns in her spatial dimension.
After more than a year of training, she has become much more proficient in spatial control.
Harvesting, threshing, and grinding grain is no problem for them, let alone steaming buns.
She couldn't bear to use all white flour, since the grain stored in the small courtyard was limited.
Fortunately, we still had cornmeal. We used half wheat flour and half cornmeal, added yeast, let it ferment, and then put it in a pot and started a fire. By the time we finally finished, it was already past midnight.
The villagers had already eaten, and everyone except those on night duty was asleep.
The Li family put up a tarpaulin outside the shed to keep out the dew. The baby was sleeping inside, and the old lady was holding Jiayin at the door. Outside that were Jia'an, Jiaxi, Tao Hongying, and Zhao Yuru.
As for Jiaren, Jiayi, Jiahuan, and Li Lao Er, they all slept outside the circle with the men in the village, and even while sleeping, they were subtly protecting the elderly, weak, women, and children.
Jiayin gently nudged her grandmother. The old lady, who was already feeling light, thought her granddaughter needed to pee and sat up immediately.
Jiayin quickly hugged her neck and stuffed a hot steamed bun into her hands.
Grandma Li shuddered in surprise. She could vaguely smell the aroma of noodles, and she knew what was going on.
She didn't dare to speak, but excitedly kissed her granddaughter and then gently patted her two grandsons, saying, "Don't speak, open your mouth."
Jiaxi and Jia'an were half asleep, but they were obedient and opened their mouths directly.
The sweet and substantial taste immediately sobered them up.
Steamed bun!
It was still a thin flour steamed bun, but I don't know what was added to it; it had a slightly unique sweetness.
The two boys ate with sparkling eyes, but dared not make a sound.
I just kept eating and chewing, and the burning, sour feeling in my empty stomach gradually disappeared.
It feels so wonderful to be full!
The old lady didn't eat a single bite herself, and only stopped after feeding her grandson two steamed buns. "Go to sleep, and don't tell anyone."
Jiaxi and Jia'an immediately closed their eyes, secretly savoring the lingering sweetness between their teeth, feeling secretly excited, but daring not to utter a sound.
Grandma Li took her granddaughter to find her three grandsons. Jiaren, alert, woke up when he heard the noise.
Grandma Li stuffed three steamed buns into his hand and then gently waved her hand. Jiaren immediately understood and carefully hid the buns in his pocket.
After Grandma carried his younger sister back to bed, and after a while, he called out to Jiayi and Jiahuan, "I need to poop, but I'm a little scared. You two come with me."
Jiayi and Jiahuan immediately got up, and the three brothers took a dozen steps outside.
Tonight, Chief Escort Liu and his men kept watch until the middle of the night. Upon seeing this, he instructed, "Don't go far."
The three brothers quickly nodded and found a place that was out of sight and not far from the camp.
Jiayi unbuckled his belt to relieve himself, but saw that Jiaren hadn't moved. Just as he was about to ask, Jiaren pulled out three steamed buns from his pocket, which shocked Jiayi so much that his eyes almost popped out.
Jia Huan, on the other hand, looked as if he had just realized something; no wonder he had smelled the aroma of noodles earlier…
A moment later, the three brothers returned to the camp together and went back to sleep.
No one knew that they had an extra warm steamed bun in their bellies compared to others.
With this steamed bun underneath, it felt like the cold grass beneath me had warmed up a bit...?
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