Chapter 18 The Wounded Mother Beast

In the village, it is almost time to make lunch.

Mrs. Liu ran to the widow Chen's house in the village, sat in the yard, basking in the sun, spitting feces from her mouth, scolding her third son, and even venting her anger on his wife.

Little did she know that when she was not at home, her three sons, daughters-in-law and granddaughters all ate the chicken and drank the chicken soup.

In the courtyard, many old women from the village gradually gathered.

The Zhai family's yard was filled with laughter. After Wang Ziru's family finished their meal, they had no place to wash the dishes. The whole family shared one kitchen, and they had to wait until the second and eldest sons finished their meal and cleaned up before they could go over to wash the dishes.

"Come on! Baby, mommy will take you to the forest behind the house for a walk, just to help you digest the food." Wang Ziru was also full, so she stood up and walked outside with her son.

Zhai Ximo asked, "Do you still want to go to the forest to pick mushrooms?"

"I'm sure you can still pick up a lot. Just follow with your small bamboo basket..."

Zhai Ximo went back to their side room, closed the door when he came out, carried the small bamboo basket, and followed the mother and son to the forest behind the house.

Since the village is located at the foot of a mountainous area, most of the villagers live in mud-walled houses built against the mountain.

After passing through a dry field, you can enter the forest.

When Xu Ping came out to pour water, she saw the third brother and his family going into the forest. She was a little envious of the third brother for being so obedient.

"Jiahao, go and see, Wang Ziru is still quite capable. She wouldn't let the third brother have a break once he came home, and now she's taking him into the mountains again." Xu Ping returned to the east room with the washed dishes and said when she saw her husband sitting next to the earthen stove that was almost finished.

Zhai Jiahao snorted unhappily, "There are only a few wild vegetables in the mountains at this time of year. Tomorrow, go find some wild vegetables in the mountains and cook them for yourself."

Otherwise, in this lean season, there is nothing to cook soup with at home.

Originally, there was a small piece of green onions and garlic planted in the cornfield behind the house, but it had been divided among the three brothers, so they couldn't always go to the three brothers' field to pick green onions and make soup.

Xu Ping: "Oh! I think we should go to the town to buy some food. Both of their families have only one child, but we have two. We have four mouths to feed. Let's buy some noodles."

After thinking for a while, Xu Ping said.

"Then go buy two kilograms of noodles. I don't have anything else to do these days, so I might as well go into the mountains to find some wild vegetables." Zhai Jiahao said.

The afternoon sunshine shines on the entire village, as if covering the earth with a layer of golden gauze.

After eating and drinking her fill, Wang Ziru, her husband and her four-year-old son walked towards the forest behind the house.

The forest is very quiet and the air is particularly fresh, carrying the scent of earth and grass.

The sunlight shines through the gaps between the leaves, forming patches of light.

Zhai Ximo followed his wife, holding the child, and also looked for wild vegetables and mushrooms everywhere.

Usually in this season, you can find a lot of mushrooms. Pick them home, wash them, add some lard, and stir-fry them. They taste especially delicious.

This memory is still so vivid and remains in my memory.

Wang Ziru bent over, searching the bushes with her eyes, praying silently in her heart that she could find some medicinal herbs.

Because she plans to eat another chicken tomorrow.

Finally, her eyes lit up and she discovered several familiar herbs, including basil leaves, lemongrass, and some wild onions. She picked the herbs as if they were treasures, and held them tightly in her hands, as if she was holding the happiness of her family.

I picked up dozens of small mushrooms.

Wang Ziru was in a particularly good mood. As she walked, she said to the man, "It seems that no one has come here to look for wild vegetables for a long time."

"Mom! Shall we eat mushrooms tonight?"

"Yes, Baoer, look at what this is? This is called fern. Pick it and remove the old part at the bottom. Leave only the tender part on top. It will be delicious when stir-fried..."

"That's great! We have plenty of food to eat in the evening." The little guy clapped his hands happily.

Zhai Ximo also discovered some tender wild vegetables growing in the bushes, and he couldn't help wondering in his heart, isn't there no vegetables to eat at home?

Why is there no one coming to pick wild vegetables in the forest behind the house, even though it’s so close?

The family of three walked towards the forest and unknowingly arrived behind the widow's house in the village.

At this time, Wang Ziru heard that there were many old women sitting in the courtyard outside the widow's door, each of them was very angry, as if they were scolding Zhai Ximo for being a good-for-nothing.

Wang Ziru looked at the man and said with a hint of sarcasm: "It seems like your mother is scolding you in someone else's house."

"I heard you! Let's go and look for some mushrooms..."

The man glanced at his wife's pretty face with a deep gaze. He knew very well what the women in the village liked to gossip about.

Just then, Wang Ziru heard the voice of an old man greeting Mrs. Liu.

From where they were, they could vaguely see a few old women sitting in the courtyard facing the sun.

Listen carefully.

Several old ladies gathered together to talk about their daughters-in-law.

I only heard an old lady suppressing her joy and saying to her good sister: "Is your fourth daughter-in-law about to give birth?"

The old lady smiled happily. Wang Ziru thought that several old ladies were gathered together to talk about the joy of having a new baby in the family.

As a result, the old woman said sarcastically but with great joy: "That's great! Take advantage of the fact that she has just given birth and cannot move, and teach her a lesson! This is the best time to teach a woman a lesson, to calm her down, to make her afraid of you, and she will be obedient in the future!"

He was an old man who usually looked a bit introverted. His distorted and excited expression gave Wang Ziru a great shock at the time.

A woman who has given birth can be said to be a wounded female beast. Not everyone in the family wants to take care of her. Some people are waiting to take advantage of your illness to kill you.

Hearing these old ladies giving bad advice behind her back, Wang Ziru sneered and looked at the man: "These women in the village are like this, they can't wait to kill their daughter-in-law."

Zhai Ximo said nothing and walked straight ahead holding his son.

They could only look for wild vegetables in the mountains and forests near the village.

If you want to go deep into the forest, you usually don't bring women and children with you, because there are indeed ferocious beasts such as jackals in the deep forest.

After wandering in the forest for an unknown amount of time, Zhai Ximo returned to the hut carrying a basket full of wild vegetables and mushrooms.

Looking at the harvest in the bamboo basket, Wang Ziru said happily: "We can fry it with lard in the evening. It will definitely be delicious."

The man nodded, his eyes full of anticipation.

He hasn't eaten wild vegetables and mushrooms picked at home for five years.

I heard that the land in the village was distributed to each household only a few years ago, when life was difficult for the whole village.

But fortunately, they live in the mountains and have wild vegetables.

It makes life not so hard.

Zhai Ximo walked out of the yard and saw many villagers plowing the fields opposite. He knew that they would be planting rice soon.

In the evening, the small mushrooms are stir-fried in lard and emit an alluring aroma.

Wang Ziru cleaned the ferns, wild vegetables and mushrooms in the afternoon.

We cooked three dishes in the evening, and for the first time ever, the little guy jumped up excitedly, "Mom! We are having so many dishes today."

"Tomorrow, if the chickens in our chicken coop lay eggs, mom will cook eggs for you tomorrow morning." Wang Ziru said with a smile.

"There are eggs to eat..."

The young man was so excited that he was at a loss, and felt that happiness came so suddenly.

At this time, Mrs. Liu deliberately walked into the side room and saw the third brother's family sitting by the fire eating again, and there were three dishes on the small table.

Mrs. Liu was very angry: "Old Third! You guys are eating so early?"

"Um."

"I don't know what's wrong with my stomach. It's been hurting all afternoon." Mrs. Liu walked in, holding her stomach and said with a painful expression.