On the way home, Xiaoguo met Zhuangzhuang who was herding cattle outside.

Zhuangzhuang saw Xiaoguo from a distance, and then he led the cow and followed Xiaoguo home.

When Zhuangzhuang saw Xiaoguo going up the mountain, he realized that he had just finished reading and Xiaoguo was not at home, so he simply went out to herd cattle as well.

The mother and son went home together. Zhuangzhuang went to tie up the cow, while Xiaoguo came to the well with the basket on his back, drew a large basin of water, poured out the branches in the basket to expose the fish underneath, grabbed them and put them into the water. Although he had been out of water all the way, he still felt quite energetic after returning.

"Mom, do you want fish for lunch?"

Zhuangzhuang came over after tying up the cow. When he saw the big fish in the basin, he thought Xiaoguo was going to make sweet and sour fish for him. He couldn't help licking his lips. He still remembered the taste.

"We'll roast it and eat it the day after tomorrow."

Xiaoguo patted Zhuangzhuang's head and said, "Wash your hands. Mom will go cook."

After lunch, Xiaoguo still has to peel the sticks. He doesn’t know if he can finish it in half a day, as he has other plans for tomorrow.

After dinner, Xiaoguo sat in the yard with a knife in hand and a bunch of sharpened skewers beside him.

"Mom, I'll cut it too."

Xiao Guo didn't stop her movements and continued to sharpen the skewers quickly. "No, the knife is dangerous, and there are thorns on the wood. Be careful not to prick yourself. I can do it myself."

After hearing this, Zhuangzhuang didn't try to peel the apples stubbornly. He just sat next to Xiaoguo and talked to her.

Xiaoguo asked him to go to bed, but he refused and insisted on staying with Xiaoguo.

In his words, even if he couldn't help his mother with the work, he couldn't leave her to work alone.

Xiaoguo was happy to hear that and just followed his lead.

It was a bit tiring to peel the branches alone, so Xiao Guogan took a break from time to time, and finally finished peeling all the sticks before dark.

Xiao Guoteng took out a large basin, threw all the skewers into it, washed them with water first, and asked Zhuangzhuang to go back to the kitchen to boil water because the skewers needed to be boiled again.

Xiaoguo took out the skewer, brought it to the kitchen, opened the lid of the pot, and threw it in.

Just boil it in the water for a while. After Zhuangzhuang turns off the heat, Xiaoguo uses a large sieve to pick out all the skewers to drain the water, then put them aside to dry overnight and you can start skewering them tomorrow.

Before going to bed, Xiaoguo took out all the pillows and quilts from the cupboard, preparing to sunbathe in the sun the next day.

Fortunately, we have extra pillows and quilts at home, otherwise I would have nothing to cover myself with the day after tomorrow.

The next morning, the sun was high in the sky. Xiaoguo and Zhuangzhuang hung the quilt and pillow on a rope to dry, and beat the quilt vigorously with a washing stick to allow the sunlight to fully penetrate the cotton.

Xiaoguo came to the kitchen carrying the marinated mutton and intestines. There were two large basins full of mutton. Xiaoguo estimated that he would have to spend most of the day struggling with the skewers.

Zhuangzhuang asked Xiaoguo for three days off early in the morning, saying that he would not study today, tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow.

Xiaoguo thought about it and agreed. He really didn't have time for these three days. He needed Zhuangzhuang's help today. Tomorrow Qin Anming and Ruyi's group would come over, and he would have even less energy to study. The day after tomorrow Qin Anming and the others would leave, and Zhuangzhuang would have to stick to him, so how could he have the energy to study?

"Zhuangzhuang, I'll teach you how to string them together. Be sure not to prick your hand, understand?"

Seeing Zhuangzhuang nod seriously, Xiaoguo took the skewer and started skewering. Xiaoguo skewered mutton and taught Zhuangzhuang how to skewer vegetables and intestines.

Mutton is not easy to skewer, as it can easily prick your hand. Vegetable and meat intestines are easier to skewer, so you can feel at ease if you let Zhuang Zhuang do it, and it also saves you a lot of time.

After getting up in the morning, Xiaoguo went to the vegetable garden to pick some eggplants, leeks, and peppers. Xiaoguo picked some of everything that could be roasted.

First, have Zhuangzhuang cut out the small fruits, cut the vegetables into thick slices, lay the leeks in a row and stick them on the root skewer, and think of sticking some of the pepper small fruits whole, and cutting the rest into pieces the same size as the mutton, and skewering them crosswise with the mutton, which looks good and tastes good.

Cut the stuffed sausage in the middle to split it in two, because the whole thing is too long to fit on the grill.

When it came time to cut the intestines, Xiao Guo hesitated for a moment, but finally put the intestines aside. He decided not to roast them, but to stew or stir-fry them later.

The mother and son sat together, each guarding a pot of food. They each took a skewer and started to skewer the food. However, Xiaoguo was skewering mutton, while Zhuangzhuang was skewering eggplants.

After just a few seconds, there were knocks on the door and the puppy barked.

Xiaoguo put down the skewer out of curiosity and let Zhuangzhuang continue skewering while she went out to take a look.

When I opened the door, Mrs. Yang appeared before me.

"Xiao Guo, are you going to the market today?"

Tomorrow is Mid-Autumn Festival. Mrs. Yang plans to go to the market to buy some delicious food and come back home to have a good Mid-Autumn Festival.

"I won't go today. I don't have anything to buy."

"Okay! Then I'll go to the village entrance first."

Mrs. Yang was not unhappy either. When she heard that Xiaoguo was not going, she prepared to go to the village entrance to take the bus.

Xiao Guo looked at Sister Yang's back and suddenly remembered something, "Sister-in-law, sister-in-law!"

"What's the matter?"

When Mrs. Yang heard Xiaoguo's voice, she turned around with a puzzled look on her face.

"Sister-in-law, can you ride a donkey cart? If you can, go ahead and ride it."

Xiaoguo suddenly remembered something and needed Mrs. Yang's help. Since he was busy, he could just ask Mrs. Yang for help.

"No, no, I'll just make the car."

How could Mrs. Yang have the nerve to use Xiaoguo's donkey cart? Usually when she went to the market, Xiaoguo would take her there in the cart. They had gone back and forth so many times and Xiaoguo never charged her any money. How could she have the nerve to bother her again this time?

"No, sister-in-law, please do me a favor and buy something for me. I can't leave here."

After hearing this, Mrs. Yang didn't ask why he couldn't leave. She waved her hand to indicate that it was no problem. She thought it was a big deal, just taking some things with him.

"No need, just tell me what you want to buy and I'll bring it back for you."

Xiao Guo smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, you can just drive the donkey cart. I have a lot of things to buy, so I have to go back to the house to write them down for you. If we are late, there won't be any cars going to the county at the entrance of the village. Hurry up."

Xiao Guo said this and pulled Sister Yang towards home. He couldn't help but sigh that Sister Yang came at the perfect time!

There is only a jar of osmanthus wine at home, and no other drinks. If the mutton causes internal heat, you can make a pot of sour plum soup, which is just the right sour and sweet way to clear away heat and reduce internal heat.

But to make sour plum soup, I need to buy medicinal herbs, and I don’t have the time, and it will take a long time to go back and forth. It just so happens that Sister Yang is going to the market, so I can ask her to bring them back for me.

Mrs. Yang thought so too. If she went now, there might be a car, but if she waited a while, she couldn't say for sure. Xiaoguo was not a stranger anyway, so she would just go with the donkey cart.

Xiaoguo went back to her room and used a sturdy brush and paper to write down the herbs needed to make sour plum soup, which were generally available in herbal medicine shops.

Mrs. Yang took it and looked at it carefully. There were mulberries, black plums, tangerine peel, licorice, roselle, hawthorn, and rock sugar.

“That’s the seven, right?”

Mrs. Yang and Xiaoguo confirmed it.

Xiao Guo nodded, "There are only these seven kinds, and most drug stores sell them. You can buy as much rock sugar as you like, and you can buy more. For the others, just buy 50 grams of each."

Anyway, you can't use it all at once, so buy some extra and keep it for later use.

After taking note, Mrs. Yang put the note away and left. Xiao Guo wanted to give her the money first, but Mrs. Yang waved her hand and said let's talk about it when she comes back.