Pei Yichen took the wooden bucket she had brought, filled it with some river water, and had Pei Yao pour the shrimp into it.
Shrimp are different from snails. Snails won't die as quickly if they're put in a basket without water, but shrimp will die in a short time if they're put in a basket without water.
Full of confidence after this experience, Pei Yao took the winnowing basket and went to another patch of grass to continue what she had been doing.
However, there are also cases where the enemy is not caught or only a few are caught. In these cases, Pei Yao changes to another place to continue catching.
Before long, Pei Yao noticed that they had scooped up almost half a bucket, so she stopped, as she couldn't possibly eat that much in one meal.
Pei Yao straightened her aching back, looked up, closed her eyes, and took a breather.
"That's enough, let's find a place to rest." Pei Yao said and walked towards the big banyan tree on the shore.
The banyan tree has large, dense leaves that completely block out the sun.
Pei Yao tore off a banana leaf from the side and sat down with Pei Yichen by the river under the banyan tree, their legs dangling in the water.
The river water was cool and refreshing, and Pei Yao closed her eyes to enjoy the relaxation. Pei Xuan and Shen Cong, who were not far away, saw that the two of them had come ashore and wanted to come over, but they remembered what their older sister had told them not to leave, so they dared not move.
She glanced at Shen Cong, who was a little older than her, and saw that the other was squatting nearby catching small shrimp, so she could only call her "elder sister."
"Sister, sister, cousin..."
Pei Yao and Pei Yichen turned their heads at the same time and saw the little girl waving her little hand and calling to them.
Seeing the two looking over, the little girl quickly said, "Cousin, I want to go too."
Pei Yichen stood up, dusted himself off, and walked over: "Okay."
After seeing someone go to pick up Pei Xuan, Pei Yao continued to enjoy the coolness of the river water with her eyes closed.
When the breeze blows, unlike the wind blowing across the hillside which carries waves of heat, the wind by the river carries a hint of coolness from the river water.
Ah, it feels so good. It reminds Pei Yao of the carefree days in her previous life when she ate iced watermelon while enjoying the breeze from a fan.
"Big sister, look how many wild fruits I picked!" A child's innocent voice rang in her ears, and Pei Yao opened her eyes.
Then they saw Pei Yichen standing to the side with Pei Xuan and Shen Cong. Pei Xuan was holding a bunch of small fruits in her hands, and they were some distance apart.
Pei Yao felt that the fruit in Pei Xuan's hand looked familiar, no, it looked very familiar!
Pei Yao quickly stood up and walked to Xiao Xuan'er's side. Pei Xuan saw her coming over and holding up the fruit she had just picked from the big tree by the river.
"Sister, look at the wild berries."
Pei Yao reached out and took the fruit, examining it closely in her hand.
Thunder Fruit!
Three words flashed through Pei Yao's mind: the fruit in front of her was called Thunder Fruit, also known in some places as Wooden Bun, Wooden Lotus Fruit, and Ice Powder Fruit.
Pili fruit comes in female and male varieties. The seeds inside the fruit from the female tree can be dried and used to make jelly. The male fruit, being seedless, is a medicinal herb that is beneficial to men and can also be used to make soup for postpartum women to promote lactation.
The Thunder Fruit that Pei Yao is holding has a raised tip at the tail, which is the shape of a female fruit with many seeds and a lot of gelatinous substance.
This indicates that all the trees in this tree bear female fruit.
"Xuan'er, where did you pick this?" Pei Yao squatted down, holding the Thunder Fruit in her hand, and asked Xiao Xuan'er excitedly.
Seeing her older sister's excited expression, Pei Xuan pointed to the large banyan tree they had passed on their way here.
Pei Yichen, recalling the fruit he had just broken open, looked puzzled: "Cousin, is this fruit edible? I just opened one and looked inside; it was full of seeds and didn't smell like anything..."
They don't look appetizing at all.
Pei Yao nodded and asked them to take her there.
When the group arrived at the large banyan tree, Pei Yao looked up at it. The vines of the Thunder Fruit had covered the entire tree, and because it was the fruiting season, the tree was laden with fruit, with many ripe ones lying on the ground.
Pei Yao's eyes lit up as she looked at it.
We're rich! We're rich! We're rich!
The fruit tree of the Pili fruit is an evergreen shrub or small tree. It usually grows as a shrub along the riverbank, but if there are other trees nearby, the Pili fruit tree will also climb up the trees and grow in the shape of a vine.
The fruit of the Pili fruit generally ripens from May to October, with the best harvest season being from June to August.
The Thunder Fruit tree that Pei Yao and her group discovered was entirely covered in female fruits. The vines climbed to the top of the banyan tree and then hung down one by one along the branches at the top.
She put down the fish basket and began picking the pitai fruit hanging down from the vine. As soon as she picked the pitai fruit, white sap would ooze out from the wound.
Pei Yichen also helped pick the fruit. Pei Xuan and Shen Cong couldn't reach the fruit on the tree, so they could only pick up some of the fallen fruit from the ground.
Pei Yichen: "Cousin, can we eat this fruit directly?"
Pei Yao shook her head and said sincerely, "No..."
Although it can't be eaten directly, it can be made into jelly!
However, explaining the underlying principles was too complicated, so Pei Yao didn't want to go into too much detail. She simply said, "We'll pick them later and make them into something delicious for you, then you'll understand."
Hearing about the delicious food, Pei Xuan's eyes lit up, and she picked up the Thunder Fruits faster.
Looking at Shen Cong beside her, she said in a childish voice, "Brother Cong, when my older sister makes something delicious, will you come to my house to eat too?"
Shen Cong nodded and continued picking up the Thunder Fruits without saying a word.
After picking the thunderfruit, they gathered the fruit on an open ground nearby. Since they hadn't brought anything to put it in, they could only leave it there for the time being.
Pei Yichen thought that this place wasn't too far from home, so he told Pei Yao and went back to get the basket to hold the Thunder Fruit.
......
There is a small path along the river, which is occasionally passed by villagers when they go up the mountain to cut firewood or dig for wild vegetables.
Just then, some villagers happened to pass by. It was Aunt Fang from the village entrance and her daughter, Li Juhua. They had been delivering seafood to the Pei family frequently lately, so they all knew the Pei sisters and that young man from the Shen family. Although he was young and didn't like to talk, he was undeniably handsome.
I saw these children picking the thunder fruit from the big banyan tree by the river, and there was a lot of the fruit they had picked on the ground.
Aunt Fang frowned and thought back for a moment. Apart from Pei Yichen, the only boy in the Pei family, she hadn't seen any other men, let alone a pregnant woman. If there were none of them, why would they pick so many Thunder Fruits?
"Xiao Yao, what are you doing picking so many Thunder Fruits?" asked Aunt Zhengfang.
Pei Yao, who was perched on a tree, glanced down at her and politely greeted her, "Auntie."
Pei Xuan'er picked up a Thunder Fruit and looked at Aunt Fang, explaining sweetly, "Auntie, let's pick this fruit to eat."
"Is this fruit edible?"
Eat it? Can you eat this fruit?
Aunt Fang said she had never heard of this thunder fruit being edible.
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