"This cow looks to be in excellent condition!"
Several families who were on good terms with the Liu family also came to take a look.
Yesterday, these people were secretly gossiping that Old Liu's third daughter-in-law simply didn't know how to manage a household, buying a sick cow as a gift.
But a day later, the sick ox not only didn't die, but became more and more energetic.
Several households in the village that owned cattle and donkeys immediately came over to talk to Old Liu, hoping that if their livestock fell ill on the way, they could ask Old Liu's third daughter-in-law for help.
This was the first time Old Liu had been so popular with the villagers, and he was even one of the best-off families in the village.
Since they were all neighbors, Old Liu readily agreed.
But if anyone wants to get something for nothing and have his third daughter-in-law help them for free, that's impossible.
Lin Xue fed the old ox some spiritual spring water again in the morning. Since it was still early, she asked her older brother Liu Ping to help modify the flatbed cart and put it on the old ox.
From now on, the two elderly people and the children, including Lin Xue, can also sit in the car.
Without the burden of the elderly and weak, the three Liu brothers could finally relax a bit.
The sisters-in-law could take turns stopping in the car to rest, so they wouldn't have to walk all the way to the end.
Of course, the old ox had just recovered from a serious illness, and the Liu family couldn't bear to let it work too hard, so pulling these few people was already the limit.
The belongings of the eldest and second eldest sons are still managed by their respective heads of household.
When we set off again.
Feeling much more relaxed, Sister-in-law Wang would occasionally cast grateful glances at Lin Xue.
As for the oxcart, Old Master Liu could drive it, and Liu Qing could occasionally help the eldest brother tow the cart.
The second child's family is doing alright, since they don't have much stuff.
This walk took another half a day. At noon, when the sun was at its hottest, the old village chief chose a place near the ditch to rest.
Although the river has dried up, there is still some moist soil in the low-lying areas.
The village chief led people to dig deeper into that small area.
After settling, you can still collect some water when you leave.
However, this little bit of water is far from enough to solve everyone's drinking water problem.
Apart from Lin Xue's side, the other two branches of the Liu family have already restricted their water intake.
Liu Qing always cooked the meals at home, and when she rested, Lin Xue would lead the big yellow ox around to find grass to eat.
"Third sister-in-law, it's already autumn, why is it still so hot?"
"Look, I picked two big leaves, I'll give you one to shield you from the sun."
Zhou picked two large leaves from somewhere, took one for herself, and handed the other to Lin Xue.
Lin Xue examined the large leaf in her hand carefully, then turned to ask Zhou Shi.
"Second sister-in-law, where did you pick these leaves from?"
Zhou might not have recognized it, but Lin Xue knew that edible fruit grew under the roots of these large-leaved plants.
The fruit resembles taro, but it is not taro.
It has a softer, more glutinous texture, with a slight glutinous rice feel.
"It's in that valley over there, there's a huge patch of it, but many of the leaves have withered and died, only a few large leaves are still green!"
"I originally wanted to pick more so that each of us could have one when we set off this afternoon."
"But those old women in the village were too fast. I couldn't beat them and only managed to get two."
Zhou put the large leaf on her head with some regret, and it did look a bit like a straw hat.
"Sister-in-law, please take me there to have a look!"
"Cows love to eat these leaves, so the villagers probably only picked the leaves and didn't take the stems, right?"
"If the stalks haven't withered, we can cut some to feed the cattle on the way!"
Lin Xue plucked the stem off the leaf and fed it to the big yellow ox.
The big yellow ox ate the crisp and tender leaf stem and immediately began to chew happily.
"Oh my, so cows like to eat this stuff!"
"That's great! We won't have to worry about the ox going hungry on the road. I'll go back and get my sickle first. Third sister-in-law, wait for me!"
Zhou also rode in an oxcart several times along the way.
Although you can't sit for a long time, at least you can rest your feet.
So even if she's stingy, she still cares about things that involve the old ox.
Lin Xue didn't mention that there were fruits underground because she was afraid she might have made a mistake.
I must confirm it in person before I can tell my family.
Zhou returned quickly with a sickle, and together with Lin Xue and the big yellow ox, they arrived at the valley.
"Third sister-in-law, look, there are still quite a few green leaf stems here!"
After carefully examining this field of glutinous rice and taro, I realized that perhaps the people in the neighborhood didn't know that this stuff was edible, so the layers of withered leaves were interspersed in a pleasingly irregular pattern.
Because she didn't know what this fruit was called, Lin Xue named it glutinous rice taro.
"Second sister-in-law, could you help me cut these stalks off? We'll keep them to feed the cattle on the way!"
Lin Xue instructed Zhou to cut down the stems that hadn't withered, while she herself found a piece of wood and began digging up the roots underneath.
Knowing that Lin Xue was pregnant, Zhou didn't refuse her request and simply grabbed a sickle and jumped down into the ravine.
It wasn't until a fruit the size of a fist was dug out that Lin Xue was certain she hadn't made a mistake.
The soil is quite hard because it hasn't been soaked by river water for a long time.
Lin Xue had just dug out a fruit when Zhou Shi had already cut off half of the leaves and stems.
He took the fruit back to his camp and found Old Liu, who was helping to start a fire.
"Dad, my second sister-in-law and I found a patch of glutinous rice and taro over there. What do you think we should do about this?"
Lin Xue handed the glutinous rice and taro, which had already been wiped clean of dirt, to Old Man Liu.
When Old Liu saw this thing, he immediately thought it was taro, but after observing it closely, breaking it open, and tasting it, he found that it tasted more like glutinous rice.
"No wonder you called it glutinous rice taro, third brother's wife. It looks like taro and tastes like glutinous rice!"
"Take me there first to see how much there is. If it's little, we'll dig it up secretly. If it's a lot, we'll have to report it to the village chief!"
In his heart, Old Liu didn't want to tell the village chief these things, but if the place was big enough, then the villagers wouldn't be able to keep it from him.
Rather than incurring the resentment of the villagers, it's better to hand it over openly.
Of course, we should still fight for the benefits we deserve, since it was food discovered by his two daughters-in-law, and his family should get a larger share.
"Third daughter-in-law, this area is so big that we can't dig it all out by ourselves, and the villagers won't wait for us!"
“If I report it to the villagers, I can only try to get a little more, but it will definitely be much less than if we dig it up secretly at home.”
Zhou was still cutting leaves and stems in the field, completely unaware of how precious the piece of land she was standing on was.
When she was cutting the leaves and stems, many villagers saw it and some came over to ask if it was inedible.
Zhou didn't hide anything and said directly that it was for the cows, so everyone lost interest and went back to their own homes to get busy.
Now that they saw Old Man Liu and Lin Xue gather around again, a few observant people secretly kept an eye on them.
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