The mountains are greener, the trees are greener. In the morning breeze, the wild vegetables all over the mountain, the willow trees under the willow trees, the stinging sesame seeds and water celery on the river bank, and the dandelions and shallots in the fields.
Waves of the fresh fragrance of wild vegetables waft through every household in Zhangjia Village.
It is already early summer and hot in the south, but Zhangjia Village is still warm and full of flowers, and the air is filled with the joy of spring.
Zhou Jiao stood in the yard, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly, sighing in her heart that this was a real oxygen bar.
Zhang's mother came out and shook her head happily - this child is acting weird again.
"Mom, did you sleep well last night? Did Xizi and the others bother you?"
Zhou Jiao heard the noise and turned around to see Zhang's mother, her face full of joy. That bright smile made Zhang's mother stunned again for a moment, and then she burst into laughter.
"Our Jiaojiao is getting prettier and prettier. We slept so soundly. Xizi and the others were tired from playing last night before going to bed, and they haven't woken up yet."
After dinner last night, Zhang's mother was still worried about Jiaojiao and her son being alone in the yard, so she finally returned to the east room. Xizi and the others were even more reluctant to leave.
Zhou Jiao laughed as she listened to Zhang's mother's praise. She watched her mother-in-law enter the kitchen and called out, "Mom, I've made breakfast. Dad went back early this morning, so it's almost time for him to come back for dinner. I'll go get the kids."
"Why don't you get some more sleep?"
Zhou Jiao heard Zhang's mother muttering in the kitchen and smiled slightly. She didn't reply, but quickly called Xizi and the others to get up for breakfast. She also planned to go pick wild vegetables.
After breakfast, those who had to go to work at home went to work, and those who had to go to school also ran away.
Mother Zhang watched Zhou Jiao carrying a bamboo basket and leading the two sisters, Mai Miao, out. She suspected that Zhou Jiao didn't know as many wild vegetables as the two little girls. Thinking of this, she burst into laughter.
She looked down at the sole of the shoe in her hand, then thought of her own shoes. She immediately threw them into the basket and clapped her hands at the child who was happily playing on the kang. "You're safe. Do you want to go?"
Ping An immediately threw away what he was holding and rushed towards her, shouting, "Go... Go..."
"Why do you always like to go out and play, little thing?" Seeing this, Zhang's mother hurriedly hugged the child. Worried about dirtying the child's clothes, she quickly picked up the small coverall from the head of the pit.
After putting them on, looking at her fair and tender little grandson, Zhang's mother was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. Is this the coarse cloth that Jiaojiao said she would give to the child?
There was no other choice. Zhang's mother put the dress on and quickly left with the child in her arms. She knew it was probably the worst fabric for the child, but Jiaojiao was skilled in embroidery, and the pattern was beautiful, so this dress couldn't be low-key. She didn't care. Her daughter-in-law was too idle and loved to mess around.
Zhou Jiao was unaware of her mother-in-law's criticism. She followed the two little girls to their old place and burst into laughter when she saw the children standing around with their heads raised in shock.
"Aunt Xiaowu, why are you here?" Seeing this, the little granddaughter of Uncle Zhang ran to Zhou Jiao and asked.
Zhou Jiao was too embarrassed to admit she was picking wild vegetables. This patch of land must have been a place the children frequented. She could tell the village adults had chosen it for the children, a spot far from the foot of Daqing Mountain.
"Haha... I came to see you. You guys are so good! Maimiao, you two come play with your sisters, and remember not to go far away. Auntie will go take a look somewhere else."
After saying that, Zhou Jiao quickly slipped away. How embarrassing! How could she forget that the adults were busy earning work points?
Zhou Jiao was currently living in the outskirts of Daqing Mountain, a place often visited by village women during the autumn harvest season.
The busy spring plowing season leaves villagers with little time to appreciate nature's bounty. These small root vegetables and clusters of wild greens are essential for filling your stomach and a delicious delicacy.
Zhou Jiao tied her trouser legs and squatted on the ground, digging for wild vegetables and herbs. She looked up from time to time and paid attention to her surroundings. If you look carefully, you can see the realgar bags around her, not to mention the wooden stick. Fortunately, no one was around at the time, otherwise this behavior would make people laugh.
The sound of a hare darting across the front startled Zhou Jiao so much that she immediately took out the drug. If Zhang Guoqing were here, he would definitely try to stop her. Don't try to drug yourself before you can drug the wild animal.
After a while, Zhou Jiao saw a wild rabbit in the distance. She rolled her eyes thoughtfully and put away her medicine bag. She once again looked at the distant mountains with regret. She didn't know when her imagined scene of showing off her skills and knocking down a group of wild animals with a flick of her finger would come true.
With this thought in mind, Zhou Jiao stood up, stretched her muscles, and enthusiastically performed a set of punches. She once again cast a glance at the distant mountains, then squatted down to pick some wild vegetables. She began to multitask, pondering the dishes.
After an hour, Zhou Jiao left the forest contentedly, carrying a bamboo basket and planning to go to the river to dig water celery to make celery and meat dumplings in the evening.
The shortcut required passing through a field. She saw Father Zhang and Uncle Zhang working from afar, and her poor father-in-law was bending over and shoveling the earth.
Zhou Jiao immediately turned around and took the Mai Miao sisters home.
"Did you remember what your aunt taught you?" In the kitchen, Zhou Jiao looked at Mai Miao worriedly.
Mai Miao rolled his eyes and smiled as he recited, "We both need to be quiet and not shout. Our master can only work after he has eaten his cake and drunk his water."
"How clever. Then you should walk carefully."
Standing at the intersection, looking at the two sisters staggering, Zhou Jiao said to herself, "What a sin!" Then, she laughed happily and walked quickly to the river.
The tall willows under the willow trees on the stone slabs at the entrance of the village, the stingrays and water celery on the river bank, all of them that are fresh and tender have been picked.
Zhou Jiao could only look further afield. Finally finding a patch of water celery, she stood on the bank and looked down at her shoes. What a miscalculation! She gritted her teeth and took them off.
Walking on the ground barefoot, the cool feeling spread from the ground to the top of the head, making Zhou Jiao so comfortable that she smiled from ear to ear.
After picking a patch of water celery, she thought it would be a shame to just call it a day and go home. She looked around and realized that apart from two or three wild vegetables, there were no other varieties that even Zhang Guoqing had taught her about.
Staring at the river surface, Zhou Jiao began to wonder whether it was possible to use drugs to make the river fish fall asleep?
She looked around secretly, poured out the water celery in the bamboo basket, took out a packet of sleeping pills and a handful of white rice, scattered them in the bamboo basket, tied a rope and put it in the water.
As time passed, large and small white fish floated to the surface of the water. Zhou Jiao was so scared that she quickly ran over, pulled the rope and pulled up the blue water.
Zhou Jiao secretly cried out, "Oh no!" This time, she'd been too heavy-handed. Wouldn't a sea of dead fish be thrown downstream? She couldn't care less about the fish gleaming white on the surface of the water. She quickly picked out the smaller fish from the bamboo basket and threw them away, stuffing the larger fish with water celery.
After finishing, she looked at the fish on the water, but she felt uneasy. She went ashore barefoot and used a bamboo basket to net the fish. After a lot of effort, she finally caught the fish. She was exhausted and found that there was more fish in the distance besides the one in front of her.
Zhou Jiao quickly stood up, put on her shoes, and immediately put the fish in the basket into her storage. She was really worried that if this got out of hand, Zhang's mother would ask her where the fish came from.
Along the way, Zhou Jiao followed the river downstream, observing the surface. She found that the drug was most effective where it was injected into the water, while other places were not so bad. Before she reached the stone slab at the village entrance, she saw several elderly women and children who had not gone to work, fishing.
Back home, Zhou Jiao clutched her pounding heart and let out a long breath—it was truly terrifying! She secretly thanked herself for not putting two packets of drugs in the pot, otherwise the whole village would have been in an uproar.
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