I just don't know where this child got such strength.
Afraid of falling and crushing the child, Zhang Qingguo leaned forward, which lifted Xiao Zhe onto his back. Xiao Zhe thought they were playing around and laughed.
"Big Brother, Piggy?" Little Baozi ran over and squatted down next to Zhang Qinghua, looking at the badger with some confusion.
He had seen pigs before, when they were slaughtered in the village, so he remembered them.
"This isn't a pig, it's a badger, and it's meaty," Zhang Qinghua said as he skinned it, the knife twirling deftly.
"A banner?" The little bun was puzzled. It looked just like a pig, except for the fur. How could it not be a pig?
“Yes, badger.” Zhang Qinghua nodded, not even glancing up at the little boy, completely unaware that the child had mispronounced the word.
After asking the question that had been bothering him, the little boy fell silent and squatted down, quietly watching Zhang Qinghua's actions.
When the aroma wafted from the kitchen, he finally stirred, stood up, and staggered into the kitchen.
"Mommy, it smells so good! I want to eat it!" the little dumpling shouted.
Xiao Zhe followed in, saying, "Auntie, eat."
Looking at the two buns, one big and one small, Song Lili said, "Okay, wait a moment. They're very hot right now. I'll give them to you when they cool down." Song Lili found a bowl and let a few pieces of meat cool down for them.
"Okay," the little bun nodded and waited obediently. Although Xiao Zhe was anxious, he could only be obedient because his brother was being so well-behaved.
Song Lili and Lin Xue made braised rabbit, then noodles, stir-fried a vegetable dish, and a cold dish, and that was it.
"Have you finished taking care of it? If you have, then we can eat." Song Lili called out to the yard.
"That's about it."
The father and his two sons, each with one, didn't take much time; they were all making the final touches.
The Zhang brothers were quick, finishing on the second pheasant. Zhang Shengtian had already finished his work and was taking his two grandsons to check on the pheasant.
After dinner, when the topic of what to do with the badgers came up, Song Lili suddenly interjected, "Let's give one to Ai'ai too." She had no other objections.
Lin Xue nodded, "Yes, we'll send one to Ai Ai somewhere. We haven't known how she's doing lately, so we'll go check on her."
Otherwise, if everyone in the family has meat to eat, even the in-laws, but Ai Ai's family doesn't, what kind of situation would that be?
Putting aside whether Ai Ai would feel uncomfortable, even if the Fang family found out, they wouldn't feel comfortable either, right?
To be fair, every family has one, so no one can say anything about it.
And so, the five badgers found their own place to go.
The next day, Song Lili, who couldn't stay idle, took the Zhang Qingguo and Zhang Qinghua brothers to the mountains again.
This time, the three of them set off very early, departing before dawn and arriving deep in the mountains by daybreak.
"Qingguo, we'll find someone, and your sister-in-law can come with us," Zhang Qinghua said to Zhang Qingguo at the beginning.
Zhang Qingguo nodded, "Okay, then you'd better keep a close eye on things, sister-in-law. It's not easy to find someone who gets lost here."
Zhang Qingguo was worried that Song Lili wouldn't be able to keep up, so he gave her some instructions before they set off.
"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on you. You won't get lost, so don't worry," Song Lili said with a smile.
She understood that Zhang Qingguo was concerned about her and afraid that she would get lost.
She smiled slightly, feeling warm inside. Zhang Qingguo didn't know she ran fast, which was why he gave her such a reminder; it was very heartwarming.
"That's good." Zhang Qingguo nodded in relief and took the lead into the dense forest.
The two brothers led the way, while Song Lili followed behind with an empty basket on her back; all she had to do was keep up.
Two people cleared away the weeds ahead, so Song Lili only needed to walk.
However, my luck didn't seem to be as good as the other day. I walked around for a long time but still didn't see any small animals.
Song Lili couldn't help but mutter to herself, "Is my luck going to be bad today, and I won't be able to find anything?"
The three of them walked for an hour or two, reaching the very center of the forest, but still saw nothing.
"Brother, do you think we'll find anything today? Or will we find nothing at all?" Zhang Qingguo was also a little worried.
"Let's look first, and if we can't find it, we'll see. This is all about luck, so it's normal if we can't find it, isn't it?"
Song Lili thought about it and realized, "That's right, who can say for sure about luck? What's there to worry about? If we find some, we can go after them; if not, we can dig up some wild vegetables to take home, which is not bad either."
Thinking about it this way makes me feel much more relaxed.
Feeling relaxed, she appeared even more carefree, following behind the two as if she were strolling through a garden.
Sometimes, when I see tender shoots that are edible, I'll pluck a handful and put them in my basket, thinking I'll take them home and enjoy them.
And so, after half a day, she hadn't found any small animals, but her basket was filled with a whole bunch of random things.
However, these weights were nothing to her; her steps remained steady, as if nothing had changed.
By noon, they still hadn't found it, and the three of them were starving.
"Don't go any further, I'm starving. Let's have lunch first, and then we'll talk," Song Lili said, finding a clean spot to sit down.
The sun is directly overhead; it's lunchtime.
"Okay, let's eat first and then talk." Zhang Qinghua sat down as well.
Song Lili took out the multigrain steamed buns she had packed in that morning, along with a few tomatoes and cucumbers picked from the greenhouse. "Here, eat first."
"Sister-in-law, you're so thoughtful. With these tomatoes and cucumbers, I think the steamed buns taste much better." Zhang Qingguo happily accepted the gift.
"That's what I think too, which is why I went to the field to pick them this morning. Let's eat them quickly, they're so fresh."
Song Lili smiled and gave Zhang Qinghua a tomato, while she took a cucumber for herself.
"The things that grow in our fields are just so delicious," Zhang Qingguo said, taking a big bite and speaking indistinctly.
Song Lili smiled, but in her heart she agreed with Zhang Qingguo's words.
Why are organic vegetables and fruits so popular in later generations? Isn't it because they are healthy and delicious?
Right now, there are no pesticides or chemical fertilizers in the fields, only natural fertilizers. Of course, the crops grown here are clean, so how could they not taste good?
Perhaps this is one of the few benefits that can be found in this era.
The three of them chatted and laughed as they finished their lunch.
Sitting under the shade of a tree, Song Lili squinted and looked up at the sun. The dappled shadows made the sunlight less glaring.
"Should we set off now? Should we continue searching this afternoon, or should we head back?"
I haven't accomplished anything all morning. Should I continue?
"Let's look again. There are a lot of small animals in early spring. We probably didn't find any this morning because we were looking in the wrong direction. Let's try a different direction this time. Maybe we'll find something different."
Zhang Qinghua thought about it for a while before making a decision.
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