After breakfast, Xiaoguo dried the spices she had picked in the sun and dried more than half of the mushrooms. She asked Zhuangzhuang to soak the rest of the mushrooms in a basin of water to make mushroom soup.

There happened to be two large pots at home. After filling the pots with water, Xiaoguo threw all the remaining bones in, put the spices in a bag and threw them into the pot, added a little salt and simmered them slowly over low heat. Next, he washed the mushrooms and threw the whole root into another pot without adding any spices. Chicken shiitake mushrooms have a special smell, and they taste like chicken oil when heated. Matsutake mushrooms are even more delicious, so just add a little salt.

After Xiaoguo prepared the soup base, she thought about how to get to the market tomorrow. She remembered that there was a family in the village that had a donkey cart. Xiaoguo took twenty cents and wondered if she could borrow it. When she arrived at the door of the family, Xiaoguo cleared her throat and called into the house, "Sister-in-law, is Sister-in-law Li here?"

After a while, a woman came out of the room. She had a sallow face and not a lick of flesh on her body. Her cheeks were sunken and full of wrinkles. She looked at the door with her blurry eyes, trying to see who was coming. "Are you from the Jiang family?" After seeing who was coming, she quickly walked to the door and opened it, tripping on the way.

Seeing her trembling, Xiaoguo was afraid that she would trip again, so he quickly explained the reason for his visit, "Sister-in-law, I want to borrow your donkey cart."

Mrs. Li looked at Xiaoguo and wondered why someone she didn't usually contact came suddenly. Xiaoguo told her the reason and then took Xiaoguo to the shed of Maolu Dai. "Here it is." She said with a bit of embarrassment on her face, rubbing her arms with her hands and said awkwardly, "I don't have time to cut grass for it, so it's a bit..."

Hmm… Xiaoguo looked at the donkey in front of her, which was so thin that even its bones were clearly visible. She couldn't help but feel a little worried. Can it carry a pot? After thinking about it, she decided to borrow it. Otherwise, she would not be able to go to the market, and people in the village would not pull a big pot. "How about this, sister-in-law, I will lend you your donkey cart and give you twenty cents."

Sister Li looked at Xiao Guo in disbelief. Twenty cents? Really? "Is it true?" You have to know that the family had been struggling to make ends meet for a long time, even grass roots were gone. These twenty cents could support the family of three for several months.

Xiao Guo nodded, took out the money and handed it to her. When she took it with trembling hands, she couldn't help but ask the question she wanted to know, "Sister-in-law, since we can't even afford to eat at home, why don't you kill the donkey?"

"The animals we raise at home cannot be slaughtered. They are all psychic. Besides, this donkey was left by my husband. I cannot eat it for any reason." After saying that, she sighed and looked at the donkey guiltily, "It has suffered a lot following me." She was busy taking care of the two children at home. She had no money and no food. She had to take care of the children and find food at the same time. The food she found was not enough for the two children. She could only drink water to fill herself up. She was so hungry that she even fell asleep when she walked every day. She had no energy to cut grass for the donkey.

Xiao Guo didn't say anything, but nodded in understanding. The ancients said that domesticated horses, cattle, donkeys and dogs are humane if they are not killed. Mrs. Li's husband was also captured and became a soldier. He died in battle not long after being captured. The money was gone. "Then I'll take the donkey away first and bring it back tomorrow afternoon."

Mrs. Li hurriedly said that there was no rush and that it would be fine to borrow it for a longer period of time and there was no need to return it in a hurry.

Xiaoguo turned around, said hello, and then led the donkey away. Mrs. Li looked in the direction she left with gratitude. When there was no one around, she ran back into the house excitedly, calling out to her children loudly, saying, "You don't have to worry about food, you won't be hungry anymore," and she said this with guilt while hugging her skinny children and burst into tears.

After Xiaoguo tied up the donkey, Zhuangzhuang heard the noise and came out to check. He looked at it in surprise and asked, "Mom, what is this?"

"This is a donkey, a hairy donkey." He brought out a large bunch of grass for it, "but it's a little skinny."

After washing my hands, I went back into the house to check the pot. I could smell the aroma as soon as I entered the door, and now that I opened the kitchen door, the aroma was even stronger.