The third brother looked up at the two towering trees, full of energy.
Not far away, Ruan Meng spotted some wild mushrooms and filled half a basket. She then focused her attention on finding Sichuan peppercorns, wild onions, wild garlic, and wild chili peppers.
For seafood to be delicious, the freshness of the seafood accounts for half, and the other half is the seasoning.
After trying it at noon, Ruan Meng found that the chili peppers she bought in the city were far inferior to wild millet chili peppers in both aroma and spiciness.
If she wants to deliver the goods smoothly tomorrow morning, she will have to use chili peppers bought in the city unless she can find a large quantity of different sizes of chili peppers.
The third brother was worried about Ruan Meng going too far, so he put down Tie Dongqing, carried the tree bark that was already full, and walked into the deep mountains with Ruan Meng.
Ruan Meng was overjoyed. This time, she discovered wild Sichuan peppercorns. Thinking of boiled fish and spicy fish, Ruan Meng's taste buds began to react.
"Third Brother, hurry! Go back and empty the basket, come quickly!"
The third brother hesitated for a moment, then quickly ran down the mountain.
Ruan Meng chopped down the wild peppercorns and threw them on the ground so that her third brother could put them in the basket later.
The light on the mountain gradually dimmed, and Ruan Meng wondered if it was just her imagination, but she seemed to see something moving among the branches and leaves of the wild pepper.
Ruan Meng didn't start easily, worried about who it might be, so she covered the empty bamboo basket with it!
Through the raised gap, we discovered two frogs!
Ruan Meng looked to the side and indeed found a damp mountain stream with spring water under the rocks. The dampness above nourished these "mountain spirits".
The stone frog, king of frogs, can be used in medicine and has extremely high nutritional value. Recognizing it, and looking at the wild Sichuan peppercorns beside it, Ruan Meng couldn't think of anything else.
She's determined to eat this stone frog tonight!
She put down her bamboo basket, walked to the stream, waited for a while, and caught three more.
Ruan Meng was overjoyed. She threw the food into her basket, covered it with wild pepper branches, and put the lid on.
The third brother quickly returned and put the wild peppercorns that Ruan Meng had cut down into a basket.
It filled two baskets.
Continuing on, Ruan Meng picked some mint and mugwort, and found a small clump of wild scallions, but there were no wild chili peppers left.
Worried that his elder brother and sister-in-law were hungry, the two went down the mountain, just as his second brother returned.
The third brother took the basket from his sister's back and poured out the medicinal herbs and food.
Ruan Meng forgot to remind him that just as the second brother tied up the donkey cart, he saw several frog-like creatures hopping to his feet.
He exclaimed "Ah!" and fled into the room.
Ruan Meng then remembered that the stone frog was in the basket.
My third brother and I were in a flurry of activity, catching stone frogs everywhere.
After all the stone frogs were put back into the bamboo basket, the second son, too afraid to throw them out, asked from inside the house:
"Little sister! Why are you catching frogs? You scared your second brother to death!"
Before Ruan Meng could answer, the third brother laughed, "Second brother, you're afraid of far too many things!"
The eldest sister-in-law poured a bowl of mint water for Ruan Meng and the third brother, inviting them to come in and rest.
The second son sipped his water and muttered softly, "What can I do? It's just that I'm naturally afraid of these things; I can't control myself..."
The eldest sister-in-law comforted him, "Perhaps among you, only the second brother is like a mother."
The group looked over and heard the eldest sister-in-law say with a smile, "I've only ever heard Father mention it casually, but Mother has been very timid since she was a child."
"She's afraid to step on swarms of ants. A mouse in the house can scare her so much she jumps onto the bed. She's terrified of thunder; even a cat jumping onto the beam can give her a false alarm..."
"Father said that whenever it thundered and rained, he would always worry about Mother when he was in the palace, worried that she would be so frightened that she would clutch her chest..."
When my sister-in-law talked about these things, her voice was full of tenderness.
Although she had never met her parents-in-law, she felt a strong sense of familiarity from her father-in-law's rare descriptions.
In her heart, her mother-in-law was an innocent, romantic, gentle, and affectionate person.
Although her husband was not as easily startled as her mother-in-law and second son, he had a gentle and tolerant personality, which she attributed to her mother-in-law.
Of course, beneath her gentle nature lies a resolute and upright character, revealing the profound influence of her father-in-law.
Upon hearing the description of their mother, the four siblings fell silent for a moment.
The eldest brother suddenly laughed heartily, "That's fine too. All Mother has ever experienced is Father's love."
There was no later misfortune, no confiscation of property and exile, nor did she have to experience her father's death.
Ruan Meng suddenly exclaimed, "I'm hungry!"
She smiled slyly and teased her second brother, "Second brother, can you do me a favor?"
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