As we all know, spring bamboo shoots and winter bamboo shoots are the most delicious, while autumn bamboo shoots, no matter how tender they are, are still lacking in flavor.
But... there aren't enough vegetables to eat, so who would complain about how good the bamboo shoots are?
Ye Wenxue grabbed the bamboo shoot tip with one hand, picked up a small hoe and dug down along the root. After shaking it a few times to loosen the soil, she cut off the slender root with one stroke of the hoe.
In order to store the bamboo shoots for a longer period of time, Ye Wenxue did not mind that the bottom of the bamboo shoots was old and left not a single bit of residue, and picked them all with a single hoe.
While she was digging bamboo shoots, the two boys bent down and swept around the area. They dug the ones they could by themselves, and called Ye Wenxue over for the ones they couldn't, determined to take all the bamboo shoots in this area home and store them.
After Ye Wenxue dug up all the bamboo shoots that had sprouted from the ground, she used her wood-type ability to probe underground and found countless bamboo shoots buried deep in the ground.
She then took her child and dug up a few of the more obvious ones.
In the short time it takes to eat a few bowls of rice, the three of them harvested two large sacks and dozens of bamboo shoots the size of two fists.
They had a great harvest as soon as they left the valley, and Shuangshuang and Sanyuan were very happy, skipping and jumping as they walked.
Carrying two large sacks of bamboo shoots made it inconvenient to travel, so Ye Wenxue took advantage of the fact that this bamboo forest was not far from the valley and led the children to transport the bamboo shoots back first, and exchanged two more sacks to continue picking mountain products.
After months of drought, the power of the rain that fell was astonishing.
Along the way, the half-burnt, withered tree trunks were covered with mushrooms, wood ear fungus, and other fungi. Two colors of pine mushrooms also grew under the pine trees. However, chestnut, hawthorn, and persimmon trees were all burned, and the few trees that survived had few fruits hanging on them.
"Mom, there are black fungus on the tree ahead, I'll go pick some!" Shuangshuang said, and quickly climbed up the tree. Sanyuan stood obediently under the tree, waiting to pick up the fungus that Shuangshuang had dropped.
Ye Wenxue put down her carrying pole, rubbed her aching back, and looked at the two large baskets full of mountain produce, her eyes still carrying a hint of worry.
We're used to eating these mountain produce, but there aren't any other vegetables or fruits. What are we going to do when we get tired of them?
She's fine with it, as long as she can eat, but the kids are still small, so we need to change their diet more often.
Ye Wenxue thought for a moment, and when Shuangshuang climbed down the tree and came running over with Sanyuan in high spirits, she said, "It's not far from Doctor Su's bamboo house, shall we go there and take a look?"
Shuangshuang and Sanyuan had no objections. In fact, the mention of bamboo house immediately brought to mind bamboo, and the thought of bamboo naturally led to bamboo shoots. Then they thought... stir-fried cured pork with bamboo shoots seemed like a good idea too.
The two of them were so hungry they were practically drooling. They couldn't resist picking a wild fruit, washing it with water from their water pouches, and feeding it to Ye Wenxue.
Ye Wenxue couldn't tell what the wild fruit was, but it tasted quite good, sweet and sour: "You guys eat some too. Are there any more? We should save a few for your older brother and Siwang as well."
As they ate, they nodded and said, "This stuff grows on cliffs. There isn't much of it, but it's enough for our family."
Nearby, Sanyuan was eating with great relish, nodding and humming in agreement.
Ye Wenxue sensed something was amiss: "Did you know it was edible before you picked it?"
"Won't you know if you eat it?" Her eyes were blank. She had picked one because it looked nice, and after eating it for a while without any poisoning, she picked all of them.
Ye Wenxue pressed her head: "Next time, you can't eat anything you're unsure about. You have to let me see it first before you can eat it."
"Oh." Shuangshuang regretted it for a few moments, but couldn't resist eating another one.
After wiping her hands clean, Ye Wenxue touched her hair, which had become much more moisturized, and suddenly smiled.
When I first saw them, the children were slightly better off than the beggars, their clothes were neat and tidy, but because of the lack of water, their hair and bodies were messy and not very clean.
After a few months of recuperation, not to mention her hair, her overall appearance and spirits have improved significantly.
Even though the two boys looked a bit disheveled today, with dirt and sweat on their faces from climbing trees and crawling through grassy areas to pick mountain produce, they were still cleaner and tidier than when they were in Shanqing Village.
However, this was not entirely due to Ye Wenxue's efforts; it was also thanks to her predecessor and her husband for raising the children so well.
"Mother?" Shuangshuang moved her stiff head, but was reluctant to move it away.
Sanyuan silently moved her head closer to Ye Wenxue's hand.
Ye Wenxue chuckled and patted each of them on the head, saying, "Let's rest a little longer before we go."
The bamboo house where Su stayed was half destroyed by the wildfire, but fortunately the kitchen was a separate building and was not affected.
The herb garden and vegetable patch were also unharmed.
After a round of destruction and reconstruction, only half of the herbs remained in the herb garden, but the vegetable garden, under the cultivation of Baldy and his gang, expanded by more than one or two plots.
When Ye Wenxue carried two baskets of mountain produce and brought her two children inside, she immediately noticed the celery, radishes, lettuce, peas, and other vegetables growing in the garden.
The vegetable garden is lush and green, a vibrant scene to behold.
Sanyuan was taken aback when she saw it. She carried a small basket on her back and a cloth bag on her shoulder and ran to the vegetable garden. She said in amazement, "When Mr. Su and I came here last time, we didn't see so many vegetables."
Not to mention that a band of bandits later broke in, trampling into the vegetable garden and plundering the vegetables without a care in the world. Many vegetables were not just plundered, but trampled to pieces.
Ye Wenxue put down the basket, told the two children to play in the vegetable garden, and then went into the bamboo house.
The last time she came looking for someone, she vaguely saw several jars in the kitchen of the bamboo house. The cabbages in the house were ripe and ready to be pickled.
While their mother went to the kitchen, Shuangshuang and Sanyuan opened the fence of the vegetable garden, looked around, and decided to dig up some vegetables nearby to take home.
"Stir-fried celery with cured pork, stir-fried lettuce with pork, stewed peas with pork..."
Sanyuan: "...Second sister, stop talking, it's making me hungry."
They chuckled, picked two large handfuls of celery and put them aside. Just as they were about to dig up some lettuce, they suddenly heard footsteps that were neither too close nor too far.
She didn't even bother with the dishes, and dragged the bewildered Sanyuan to the kitchen as fast as she could: "Mom, Mom, someone's here!"
Ye Wenxue was torn between bringing back a large jar or carrying back several small jars.
...It wasn't that she didn't want to take care of everything, she just couldn't carry it all.
We have two large baskets of mountain produce. We'll also pick some vegetables here at the bamboo house. We might even have a serendipitous encounter on the way back. Jars are really inconvenient to carry.
Upon hearing that someone was coming, Ye Wenxue immediately put down the jar, grabbed the wood-chopping knife from the bamboo house kitchen, and rushed out.
"Hey, where did these mountain goods come from? Brother Nian, come and see, want some free mountain goods?"
"What do you need mountain produce for? Haven't you had enough after all these days? Go, dig a pond and plant some lotus roots, and also plant some in the vegetable garden..."
As the bald man spoke, he looked up and suddenly saw Ye Wenxue protecting the two children. His face immediately lit up with excitement: "Boss Ye, you've finally arrived!"
Ye Wenxue held onto her wood-chopping axe, frowning as she looked at the bald man and the large group of his underlings carrying what they were doing: "...What are you all doing?"
The bald man gestured that he hadn't brought any weapons, rubbed his hands together, and said, "Since the weather's cleared up today, you might come out looking for food, so I brought the brothers to dig a pond."
The younger brother, carrying several large baskets of lotus roots, immediately stepped forward and placed the lotus roots on the ground nearby.
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