"Mother, why are you crying? Don't cry. We didn't eat much, just tried a few. Even if this stuff is really poisonous, we're not seriously poisoned." Zhou Erfu panicked when he saw her wiping away tears.
"Mother, Xingxing has eaten. These things are edible and won't cause poisoning, so don't worry." Xingxing used her sleeve to wipe away her tears.
Zhao Guihua hugged Xingxing tightly, took a deep breath, and quickly smiled through her tears. "I was just thinking about your aunt and wondering how she is doing. It's not because of these chestnuts and pine nuts."
"Chestnuts and pine nuts are edible, and they taste delicious when stir-fried. However, you've picked so many that you probably can't finish them all at once. I don't know how to store them properly. Also, these fuzzy balls are hard to peel; they're prickly. It'll probably take quite a bit of effort to shell them."
"Mom, I've tried it, hitting it with a stone makes it easy to peel off the fuzz." Zhou Erfu chuckled.
"Eat first." After serving the children their meals, Zhao Guihua went to the kitchen to get their medicine. Zhou Laoda had already eaten, but hadn't taken his medicine yet.
Zhou Erfu reached for the bowl, but Xingxing called out, "Second Brother, you need to wash your hands before eating. We just came back from the mountain, and our hands are dirty."
Well, ever since Xingxing came to their house, the quintuplets have been required to wash their hands before eating. If anyone doesn't wash their hands, Xingxing will frown and stare at them, making it impossible for them to eat.
Now everyone has gotten used to washing their hands before eating, whether it's a meal or anything else.
After lunch, Xingxing takes a nap. She's used to it; she's taken a nap ever since the first day she came to our house, otherwise she won't have any energy for the whole afternoon.
Zhao Guihua and her quintuplets were peeling chestnuts under the eaves, the six of them throwing stones at them, making a series of "bang bang" sounds, but the two children sleeping inside the room didn't react at all.
After taking his medicine, Zhou Laoda lay down on the bed and fell fast asleep. Xingxing was always very easygoing; once she was asleep, even thunder wouldn't wake her, and she would sleep until she naturally woke up.
Xingxing takes a half-hour nap every day. When she wakes up, all the fuzzy balls of chestnuts have been peeled off. Now Zhao Guihua and the others are peeling pine cones.
Seeing her little girl staggering towards her as she walked out of the room in a daze, Zhao Guihua quickly hugged her and said affectionately, "My sweetie's awake! Are you thirsty? Let Mommy get you some water."
"I want to drink honey water," Xingxing said softly.
"Okay, Mom will go get it for you right away." Zhao Guihua carried Xingxing to the kitchen.
Once inside the kitchen, Xingxing struggled to get down from the floor. She ran to get a bowl, filled it with water to rinse her mouth, and then stood obediently in front of Zhao Guihua, head tilted back, waiting to drink the honey water.
Zhao Guihua thought to herself, "He really is a child from a wealthy family. Although he has lost his memories of the past, he has not forgotten many of the habits of rich families."
She has to rinse her mouth in the morning and evening, wash her hands before meals, and take a bath and change into clean clothes every day before she will go to bed; otherwise, she will whine and whine.
Looking back now, it's really a shame that the child ended up with them. The two of them weren't very capable, and they had to rely on their daughter to make a living. It's embarrassing to think about it.
However, Zhao Guihua didn't have much time to reflect, because the village chief's wife, Zhao Xiu, came to find her.
"The thorn wall at the village entrance was collapsed by refugees last time, but it's been repaired now. However, after discussing it, everyone thinks we should plant more so that it won't be so easy for refugees to climb over," Zhao Xiu said.
Several other skilled hunters suggested setting traps along the way.
It means that each household has to send one person to help. Since Zhou Laoda is injured, he naturally can't go, so Zhao Guihua has to go instead.
Zhao Xiu hesitated for a moment and then said, "I just came to tell you that you can stay home and take care of your man, and I'll go in your place."
“No need, this can’t wait, the sooner it’s done, the better. The child’s father is much better now, and the children can take care of him at home. I’ll go help plant the brambles.” Zhao Xiu goes to the village entrance with the village chief every day to plant brambles and is never idle. Zhao Guihua felt bad about making things difficult for her.
"Guihua, we owe this all to your man, otherwise our Quan-ge would have..." Zhao Xiu held Zhao Guihua's hand and sobbed softly. Why is it so hard to live a peaceful life in this world?
"It's all in the past, and my husband is fine, so don't feel bad about it." Zhao Guihua understood her feelings. To be honest, life wasn't easy for the villagers. They were almost out of food and were surviving on wild vegetable porridge, waiting for the harvest in the second half of the year.
If it weren't for Xingxing, her lucky star, who often finds wild game, her family would still have to tighten their belts and make ends meet.
“Guihua, if you have any difficulties, just tell me. We have some money that we can lend you,” Zhao Xiu always wanted to help, so that Zhou Laoda wouldn’t have saved her husband’s life in vain. “It’s a pity that we don’t dare to go out now, there are too many refugees outside.”
"Alright, stop it. It's really upsetting to watch. I don't need anything right now." After thinking for a moment, Zhao Guihua decided to share today's harvest with Zhao Xiu. The chestnuts and pine cones would need to be picked up on the mountain, and it would be safer to have more people in the forest.
Besides, their family has already stockpiled a lot of dried meat and dried wild fruit, so they don't lack food. But the villagers are having a hard time. If they don't have enough to eat, they won't have the strength to resist when refugees come in. It's better to tell them that there are chestnuts and pine nuts on the mountain that they can pick and eat.
Only by ensuring that all villagers are in good spirits can we safeguard the safety of the village.
"Xiu, come and see these two things. These are chestnuts and pine nuts, both edible. You and your husband can go pick them when you have time." Zhao Xiu found out, and the news spread like wildfire, soon reaching the rest of the village.
Since Zhao Guihua had already told her, she had no intention of hiding it from her.
Zhao Xiu tried one, and said gratefully, "It tastes great, Guihua, thank you for telling me this."
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