Li Xiangkang didn't notice Yan Qingqing's fear and said with a smile, "Mom, my older brother caught it before, but Grandma was biased, so I never got to taste it."
"My uncle and the others ate it all, even Brother Xiang and the others got some, only we didn't get any."
Li Xiangjin is Li Chengye's son, and he is almost twenty years old this year. As the eldest grandson of the eldest son's family, he has always been very favored.
Yan Qingqing saw that the little guy was still upset about not getting any meat, but this was a field mouse, which carried a lot of germs.
Yan Qingqing could be said to be fearless, but she was afraid of rodents. Actually, it wasn't that she was afraid, but seeing them made her feel disgusted.
Seeing Yan Qingqing's reaction, Li Xiangkang assumed she was happy. He then fawned over her, saying, "Mother, I'll only eat a small piece. The rest will be for you to nourish yourself. My sister-in-law said you're pregnant with my little brother and need to eat more good food."
Yan Qingqing: ……
She really wanted to yell out who wanted to eat this stuff, but she was afraid of hurting Li Xiangkang's filial piety.
So she thought for a moment and patiently said, "Our Silang is so great, and I love Silang the most. But this field mouse is a kind of hamster. Think about it, the mice in the house live in dark and damp environments and often pass through the outhouse. How can you eat this thing?"
Moreover, it carries many viruses; eating it could be fatal.
As Yan Qingqing spoke, she herself felt like vomiting. Li Xiangkang scratched his head and said hesitantly, "But the villagers eat them whenever they catch them. And they haven't died."
In fact, Li Xiangkang was very conflicted. On the one hand, he believed Yan Qingqing's words without a doubt, but on the other hand, he didn't want the duck that was about to be eaten to fly away.
In the end, Yan Qingqing overcame her craving and pitifully said to Yan Qingqing, "Then I'll let it go."
Before Yan Qingqing could speak, Li Xiangkang let go, and the field mouse darted away.
Yan Qingqing: ……
Although she said she wouldn't eat it, she didn't say she was going to throw it away.
Oh well, this field mouse deserves to be lucky.
At this time, Li Xinniang and Li Yueniang also picked half a basket of wild vegetables. There wasn't anything particularly fresh.
Li Xin's mother said somewhat embarrassedly, "Mother, my sister and I didn't find anything good. We just dug up some wild vegetables."
There's another one I don't know what it is, Mom, could you take a look?
After saying that, he took out a plant that looked like a chrysanthemum from his basket.
Yan Qingqing asked excitedly upon seeing it, "Where did you find this?"
Seeing Yan Qingqing's happiness, Li Xin's mother figured the thing must be edible, so she quickly pointed ahead and said, "It's right there, Mother, what is this?"
As Yan Qingqing walked forward in the direction Li Xinniang pointed, she explained, "This is Isatis indigotica, also called Isatis root. It is a kind of medicinal herb with the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, cooling blood and relieving sore throat."
Let's see how much we make, then we'll produce some and take it to a pharmacy to see if they'll accept it. If they do, that'll be some extra income.
Yan Qingqing had a million business ideas in her mind, but even the most skilled cook can't cook without rice; she had no capital and couldn't implement them.
Yan Qingqing wouldn't have risked going up the mountain if it weren't for the desire to earn her first pot of gold. She was truly terrified of poverty now.
Yan Qingqing looked at the large patch of woad in front of her and was very happy. She said to the others, "Hurry up, let's dig up all of this woad. We only need the roots."
After saying that, she squatted down and started working. Li Yueniang saw this and quickly came over and said, "Mother, you sit down and rest. Yueniang, Silang, and I can do this work."
Yan Qingqing thought about it and agreed. The original owner's body was too weak, and she was indeed not as good as the children at doing this kind of physical work. However, she could still manage to tidy up the indigo after they dug it out.
The group worked together and quickly dug up most of the woad.
Yan Qingqing also quickly and efficiently prepared the Isatis root.
Then the children neatly placed the prepared indigo root into their baskets.
Li Yueniang asked with some disbelief, "Mother, can these things really be exchanged for money?"
After all, in Li Yueniang's eyes, Yan Qingqing was illiterate, so how could she know about medicinal herbs?
Yan Qingqing patted Li Yueniang's head and replied with a smile, "Of course I can."
I don't know when Yan Qingqing started to habitually pat these children's heads, she probably truly regarded them as her own children from the bottom of her heart.
When Li Yueniang saw Yan Qingqing being so affectionate towards her, her eyes immediately lit up. Before, her mother would never even glance at her. Although her mother was better after the family split up, she would never touch her head like she would her younger brother.
But today, her mother actually touched her head and smiled at her. At that moment, Li Yueniang felt incredibly happy.
Yan Qingqing had never actually given birth before, so she didn't know why Li Yueniang was so excited.
Yan Qingqing looked up at the sky and saw that it was getting late. She should go back, otherwise Yuan Huiniang would get worried.
But in that instant of looking up, Yan Qingqing discovered another treasure. The tree they were standing under was more than ten meters tall, and the leaves of the tree looked increasingly familiar.
Yan Qingqing was overjoyed. This was a laurel tree, which was the raw material for fragrant leaves.
This stuff can be used not only in medicine but also in cooking; she's discovered a treasure.
This trip to the back mountain was definitely worth it.
However, after searching carefully, Yan Qingqing only found two laurel trees.
Yan Qingqing believed there must be more laurel trees on the mountain, but she wasn't greedy; these two trees could produce a lot of fragrant leaves.
Unfortunately, the tree was too tall for her to climb.
She glanced at Xinniang and Yueniang again. In Yan Qingqing's memory, the two sisters couldn't climb trees, but Li Xiangkang could. However, they were too young, and the tree was too tall. It would be troublesome if they accidentally fell from the tree.
Besides, there's no rush to pick them now. You can't get fat in one bite. She'll deal with the woad in her hands first.
The children didn't know what Yan Qingqing was looking at. The most impatient one, Li Xiangkang, asked, "Mom, what are you looking at? Is there a bird's nest in this tree? Should I go up and take them down?"
Yan Qingqing: ……
Yan Qingqing withdrew her gaze and said, "These two trees are called laurel trees. They usually grow in the south; I didn't expect to find them here. The leaves of this tree are called scallop leaves. They are a kind of spice and can also be used in medicine."
Remember this location, and we'll come back to pick them when Da Lang, Er Lang, and San Lang return.
But you must all keep this a secret and not tell anyone.
Li Xiangkang cleverly replied, "Mother, we know, we definitely won't go out and talk nonsense."
Li Xinniang and Li Yueniang nodded vigorously, and Yan Qingqing nodded in satisfaction upon seeing this.
It wasn't that she was selfish; life was just too hard. She didn't have any special tricks up her sleeve, and now that she'd finally discovered a way to make money, she had to keep it a secret.
When Yan Qingqing and the others arrived home, they indeed saw Yuan Huiniang anxiously looking around at the door with Niu Niu.
As soon as Niu Niu saw Yan Qingqing, she ran over and hugged his leg, saying in her childish voice, "Grandma, you're finally back! Niu Niu missed Grandma!"
Yan Qingqing picked up Niu Niu and replied with a smile, "Grandma missed Niu Niu too. Grandma brought you some nice things back."
Turning to Yuan Huiniang beside him, he said, "It's all my fault for staying in the mountains for too long. I'm sorry for making you worry. I will definitely be more careful next time."
Yuan Huiniang dared not let her mother-in-law apologize, and quickly waved her hand, saying, "Mother, what are you saying? I was just a little worried about you. Let's go home quickly, I've already prepared the meal."
Yan Qingqing said okay, then carried Niu Niu and went into the house first.
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