Ye Wenxue glanced back at the two children following behind, then looked around at the surroundings, and comforted them:
"We'll be there soon. Are you hungry? Shall we have some wild vegetable buns?"
Both of them, carrying baskets on their backs, wiped away their sweat and shook their heads: "Mom, I'm not hungry yet."
That's true. It's hot, sunny, and tiring; I really have no appetite.
Siwang gave a listless "hmm".
Ye Wenxue wasn't very good at showing concern for others, and only said, "Drink some water, don't get heatstroke."
Shuangshuang and Siwang nodded obediently.
After another bowl of rice, the three arrived at the outskirts of the old forest.
Siwang almost stepped on a snake here before, and he's still a little scared. He sticks close to Ye Wenxue as he walks forward, not daring to stay alone for long.
Ye Wenxue, holding a wood-chopping knife, cleared a path through the grass ahead, and had the children cover their heads with cloth and follow behind.
Once inside the old forest, the exhausted Shuangshuang quickly recovered, her eyes wide open as she looked around, trying to find something to eat.
Hmm... Dead wood? Can't eat it.
Moss growing on trees? No, Mother said you can't eat this kind of moss, it'll poison you.
Reluctantly, they looked away, tugging at Ye Wenxue's clothes as they peered forward, tiptoeing to survey their surroundings.
Not long after, Shuangshuang tugged at Ye Wenxue's clothes, her voice filled with ecstatic joy: "Mother, look! There are some fruits growing there!"
Ye Wenxue listened to her words and went over to take a look. It was a pile of kiwis that were not fully ripe and had brown skin.
In her hometown, it's also called kiwifruit.
The old forest was poorly lit, and filled with withered leaves and rotten wood, so she didn't notice it at first.
Ye Wenxue put down her basket and called to Shuangshuang and Siwang to help:
"Wrap your hands in cloth to pick them, be careful not to get pricked by the fuzz. These aren't fully ripe yet, they taste sour and astringent, but they have a unique flavor. They'll taste even better if we take them home and store them in the cave for a few days!"
Shuangshuang and Siwang had never been to the old forest before. At most, they had been to the small hill behind Shanqing Village, where only wild vegetables and weeds grew.
Occasionally, hunters in town would gather some mountain produce to sell, but their families weren't wealthy, so where would they get the money to buy such things?
Upon hearing Ye Wenxue's words, Shuangshuang and Siwang, without even asking where their mother had heard it, eagerly picked a kiwi fruit, clumsily peeled off its fuzzy skin, and took a small bite close to their teeth.
Before the fruit even reached their throats, both kids' faces scrunched up.
Sour, really sour.
It was just sour, which was barely edible, but it was both sour and astringent, making my tongue tremble as I ate it.
Siwang couldn't help but spit a few times, his hand holding the wild kiwi trembling.
Both of them were more refined and cherished what they could eat even more, pursing their lips and forcing themselves to swallow the little bit of fruit.
Hmm, what's that saying again... "If you don't listen to your mother, you'll suffer the consequences."
She looked at Ye Wenxue, who was covering her mouth and laughing slyly, with a pained expression: "Mother, I was wrong..."
You shouldn't have disobeyed your mother and wanted to eat everything you saw!
Ye Wenxue smiled and shook her head: "You're still young, it's normal to be curious, there's nothing wrong with that. If you really can't get used to it, give it to your mother, don't waste it."
Shuangshuang and Siwang looked at each other and shook their heads in unison.
They decided to save this for their eldest brother and Sanyuan, so that they could also taste it!
Ye Wenxue was unaware that the two children were plotting against their brother after being taken advantage of. Seeing them carefully put away the half-eaten wild kiwi, she assumed they were planning to save it for later.
She glanced around and gave him some instructions:
"You guys pick them here, and I'll go next door to get some chestnuts."
The last time Dazhuang picked up chestnuts, he gave them all to Shuangshuang, Sanyuan, and Siwang, and he didn't get any for himself.
Now that they've run into each other, Ye Wenxue naturally doesn't want to let it go.
Siwang was a little afraid that a snake might suddenly crawl out. He followed his mother for a few steps, but then worried that it wouldn't be safe for Shuangshuang to pick the snakes alone, so he stayed where he was.
The wild chestnuts were ripe by then. Ye Wenxue stood under the big tree, looked around, and put down her basket, instructing:
"Shuangshuang, take Siwang a little further away. I'll go up the tree and knock the chestnuts down. Be careful not to hit your head."
Wood-based abilities should be used sparingly and avoided if possible.
Both of them responded and quickly led Siwang aside.
She was never hit on the head by a chestnut, but she was hit by a persimmon that fell from the persimmon tree at the entrance of the village.
It hurts so much.
Thank goodness they were ripe red persimmons; if a green persimmon had hit me on the head, I'd probably be mentally impaired.
Ye Wenxue found a long tree branch, tied a wood-chopping knife to it, and nimbly climbed up the tree.
After avoiding the area where the two children were standing, Ye Wenxue focused her attacks on the areas with more chestnuts. A series of rustling sounds rang out as many chestnuts fell to the ground.
Ye Wenxue kept an eye on the number of chestnuts falling below, and when she felt that it was about enough, she simply stopped and climbed down the tree.
Shuangshuang quickly finished picking the wild kiwis and walked over with Siwang. Her mother assigned her a good task:
“You guys pick up the chestnuts carefully, don’t just pick them up with your hands, use two branches to pick them up. I think I saw some green leaves over there when I was up there, I’ll go take a look and see if they’re edible.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he left like a gust of wind.
Neither of them had a chance to call out to her.
"Ouch! That hurts..."
Hearing Siwang's voice, Shuangshuang quickly turned around and looked, then burst into laughter and tears: "Didn't Mother say that this thing is prickly and you have to use a branch to pick it up?"
Siwang looked at his second sister with teary eyes, stubbornly remaining silent.
Having suffered two setbacks in a row, Siwang felt that today was really unlucky.
Shuangshuang could tell from his expression that Siwang was unhappy.
She picked up a few suitable twigs and, taking advantage of being the older sister, forcefully urged Siwang to join in: "Otherwise, with so many, how long would it take me to collect them?"
Siwang snorted, covered his mouth, and buried his head in picking up thorny chestnuts.
The thorny chestnuts they collected were all put into Shuangshuang's basket, and the small portion that couldn't fit were put into the basket left by Ye Wenxue.
After picking most of the chestnuts, Shuangshuang and Siwang took a breather and were about to go find their mother when Ye Wenxue rushed back with a smile, holding a plant with roots still covered in soil in one hand:
"Look, what's this?"
Shuangshuang and Siwang stroked their chins and looked closely for a long time, then shook their heads in unison: "We don't recognize it."
Ye Wenxue looked thoughtful on the surface, but secretly chuckled to herself. Sweet potatoes and corn hadn't even appeared in this dynasty yet, so of course you wouldn't recognize them.
Indeed, what she held in her hand were sweet potatoes that had sprouted and corn seedlings that had been stimulated by her wood-type supernatural abilities.
She put the sweet potatoes and corn seedlings into her close-fitting cloth bag, her smile never fading.
"It looks like it's edible. Let's plant some and see. There are a few more over there. Come with Mom and dig them up."
Shuangshuang had no objections; after all, they had come out of the valley to find something to fill their stomachs.
Since Mom says this stuff is edible, she must have her reasons. There's no harm in trying it.
Seeing Siwang suddenly perk up and run towards the place his mother pointed out, she quickly slung her basket over her shoulder, picked up her small hoe, and followed behind.
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