Chapter 17: Good Luck
They filled two sacks with mushrooms, tied the sacks, and Hu Ling could carry them like a load.
There were a lot of wild bamboos in the wild, so they broke off some bamboo shoots. Not many, about twenty pounds, but enough for the family to eat for at least three days.
Zhao Liya saw wild mint and perilla in the mountains, so she carefully dug up a lot of them, carefully wrapped the roots with large tree leaves, and put them in a backpack, preparing to take them home and plant them in the corner of the wall in the yard.
Aunt Li Shiyi saw three shrubs laden with bright red fruits and said happily, "I'll pick some fishing rod bubbles and bring them back for Xiang, Lin, and the others. Children love this!"
Zhao Liya took a look and found that it was a raspberry. It was taller than a person, with a trunk as thick as two thumbs, about 1.67 meters long and hanging down in a curve, just like a fishing rod.
The three trees they saw had lush branches and leaves, and their fruits were full and numerous. Each fruit was almost the size of a thumb, shaped like a strawberry, bright red, and very attractive.
But there are many thorns on both the branches and leaves.
Zhao Liya hurriedly said, "Aunt Eleven, be careful of the thorns."
Aunt Li Shiyi said with a smile, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. We country people are used to it. Why should we be afraid of it? Hey, don't come over here. You should be careful!"
As she picked some and wrapped them in large leaves, she added, "It's a pity you came at the wrong time. March is over. When there were more, there were really more! At the foot of some mountains and in the valleys, there were huge patches of them. They were incredibly sweet!"
Zhao Liya laughed: "Really? Then we will have a treat next year!"
Aunt Li Shiyi promised generously, "Of course! I'll take you to pick them when the time comes. Children love them the most!"
"That's great, thank you Aunt Eleven!"
"Haha, no need to thank me, no need to thank me. You are so polite and courteous, worthy of being a daughter of an official family. I love people like you. It makes people admire you just by looking at you."
Hu Ling was originally listening to their gossip with a smile on his face, but when he heard this his expression changed slightly. He coughed, and quickly called out Aunt Li Shiyi loudly, changing the subject.
Zhao Liya curled her lips slightly and naturally dropped the topic.
She actually didn't care about it, after all, she wasn't the daughter of an official family before. But Hu Ling meant well, so she accepted it.
The three of them returned with a full load and arrived back to the village around three in the afternoon.
Unfortunately, I ran into Mrs. Gu San at the village entrance.
Mrs. Gu couldn't help but glance at their backpacks and the two sacks. "Wow, where are they going? They're lucky."
At times like these, Aunt Li Shiyi's strengths as a local native came to the fore. She smiled and said, "It's not bad, it's not bad. I picked some mushrooms and bamboo shoots. There's nothing else I can do. The vegetable garden is bare and there's nothing to eat. I'm going to think of something else!"
How could Mrs. Gu San say anything else?
The family has no vegetables to eat, and these are for emergency use. Do you want some too? Then why not give them some vegetables from your garden?
The most important thing is that even if she asked, Aunt Li Shiyi would definitely refuse with confidence. She dared to be arrogant with the Zhao family, but she didn't dare to do the same to Aunt Li Shiyi.
The local people are tough and the villages and hamlets are very united. If they really start to compete with each other, even the county magistrate will have to give in.
Mrs. Gu snorted and walked away with an unhappy look on her face.
Aunt Li Shiyi frowned as she watched, "In Yan Village, your family is the best. Some families are really in a mess!"
Zhao Liya smiled and said sweetly, "Our family is the luckiest. Otherwise, we wouldn't have met Aunt Eleven, Aunt Sanniang, and Uncle Ruan Gui."
Aunt Li Shiyi laughed heartily.
When the three of them returned home, Zhao Liya saw that her parents had obviously relaxed. She then stepped forward with a smile and took their things. "I'll do it, I'll do it. Are you tired? Go wash your hands and face and drink some cold tea to cool down. I've saved some food for you. Are you hungry? Come and eat."
Zhao Liya felt warm in her heart and agreed with a smile, saying, "We didn't go too far. We were lucky today and picked a lot of mushrooms. Aunt Eleven said they were all very delicious. We can spread them out to dry if we can't finish them. We also brought back a lot of bamboo shoots."
"That's good, that's good."
Zhao Xiang and Deng were also happy to hear her lively and relaxed speech.
After washing her hands, Aunt Li Shiyi took out the fishing rod she had brought back and soaked it for the two children.
The two children looked at the bright red, plump little fruits and thought they were really beautiful. A faint sweet smell entered their noses. They both felt greedy, but did not ask for them immediately. Instead, they looked at Deng eagerly.
The adults took in their expressions and couldn't help laughing.
Aunt Li Shiyi was so happy that she boasted, "Oh, you are so cute! Don't be shy about what I give you. Take it and eat it quickly. It's so sweet."
Mrs. Deng also smiled and said, "Take it. Now quickly thank Aunt Eleven. Sister-in-law Eleven, thank you so much!"
"You're welcome, you're welcome!" Aunt Li Shiyi waved her hand with a smile. Zhao Liya asked her to eat, so she went.
Mrs. Deng wanted to heat up the food for them, but Zhao Liya didn't let her, saying she would do it herself.
Zhao Lixiang and Zhao Lin happily devoured the fishing rod soup. The refreshing sweetness filled their mouths. They smiled with satisfaction and hurried to feed Zhao Xiang and Deng. "It's really sweet. Dad and Mom, you should try it too!"
Zhao Xiang and Deng tasted them with a smile, praising them and the wild fruits. The whole family was full of laughter and joy.
After Zhao Liya and the others had their meal, they hurriedly poured out the fir mushrooms and red mushrooms, intending to pick out the intact and plump ones and spread them out in a winnowing basket to dry in the sun, and eat the ones that didn't look so good.
Anyway, it doesn’t affect the taste if it doesn’t look good, but when drying goods, of course you have to choose the best ones.
Don’t peel the bamboo shoots for now, put them in the storage room next to the kitchen with the shells.
Just stack them in the corner.
The corner of the wall is grounded and has a low temperature, so the bamboo shoots in the shell will not go bad even if left for three or four days.
While everyone was sorting mushrooms, Hu Ling took a fishing net and three bamboo cages for catching fish and planned to go to the river to try his luck.
With any luck, we can have more dishes tonight.
You can imagine how attractive fishing is to children.
Zhao Lixiang and Zhao Lin's eyes immediately lit up.
"Dad, Mom, I want to go too!"
"I want to, too!"
Mrs. Deng was startled. "No, no! The river is too deep and dangerous. You are still young, you can't go near the river."
The two children were very disappointed.
Zhao Liya thought for a moment, then stood up and said with a smile, "Mom, I'll go too. I'll look after Xiang'er and Lin'er, don't worry!"
"Oh! That's great!" The two children couldn't wait to cheer.
Deng frowned: "But——"
"Let them go," Zhao Xiang said with a smile, "A Ling and Ya Er will take good care of them. Besides, they are not young anymore. They are sensible and know what they can and cannot do."
Deng moved her lips and smiled helplessly: "Okay, then you guys be careful!"
The two children cheered and agreed in unison, and couldn't wait to pull their brother and sister to urge them to go, looking extremely anxious.
After watching them leave, Zhao Xiangfang said gently, "Don't control them too strictly. They should get used to everything here."
Mrs. Deng nodded and smiled softly: "I understand, Master."
(End of this chapter)
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