Lin Xiao took the bun and wolfed it down. It was so delicious! It was made of white flour and had meat inside. He hadn't eaten meat buns in a long time. The last time he ate meat buns was when his mother was still alive. His father bought them for him when he came back from the market. He would never forget that taste.
After eating a large meat bun, Lin Xiao finally felt a little full. From last night until now, whenever he was hungry, he would go to the river to drink some water to fill his stomach.
Looking up at them, I suddenly felt like crying. It had been so long since anyone had been so kind to me. After my mother died, my father remarried. At first, she treated me well and would even let me sit at the table and eat with them. But after my stepmother got pregnant and gave birth to my younger brother, she changed drastically. Not only was I not allowed to sit at the table, but I was also only allowed to eat half a wild vegetable dumpling at each meal. I had to work non-stop every day, and when I was hungry, I could only find some wild fruits and grass roots on the mountain to fill my stomach.
Lin Xiao choked up as he said, "Uncle, thank you."
Er Ya hugged Lin Xiao comfortingly: "Brother Lin Xiao, do you often go hungry? I used to go hungry too, but since we separated our families, I've had delicious meals every day. If you're hungry again, come to my house for dinner. My mom's cooking is amazing."
Lin Xiao's eyes welled up with tears at those words. Suddenly realizing they were almost at the village, he quickly said to Er Ya, "Er Ya, let me get off here. Otherwise, if my mother sees this, she'll deliberately cause trouble for you. I'll be there soon."
After saying that, he thanked Lin Jianguo and Jiang's mother again, and then got out of the car. His stepmother treated him badly, but she wouldn't allow anyone else to treat him well either. Last time, an old lady saw him drinking water by the river because he was hungry and gave him a piece of cornbread. When his stepmother found out, she went to the old lady's door and scolded her for a long time. She only went home when she was tired of scolding. Since then, no one has dared to pity him. They are all afraid of being scolded by his stepmother.
Jiang's mother, who was in the car, turned to look at Lin Xiao and said to Lin Jianguo, "What a good child he is. Why can't his stepmother tolerate him? Once you have a stepmother, you'll have a stepfather. His father used to treat him quite well, but now, influenced by his stepmother's whispers in his ear, he also finds fault with him in every way. Sigh."
Once home, Lin Jianguo quickly put the piglets into the cleaned pigpen, added some prepared pig feed, and let the chicks out to get some fresh air. Er Ya then took some pig feed and teased the pig.
Lin Jianguo said to Jiang's mother, "Do you think this pig can survive? I think it can't even open its eyes anymore. I hope it won't make it through the night."
"Look at your jinxed mouth! Er Ya likes it, you say such discouraging things in front of the child."
Er Ya stroked the piglet's body and whispered, "Don't listen to my dad. He's talking nonsense. I believe you will get better and grow into a big pig, and then you'll have lots and lots of piglets."
The pig on the ground, whose eyes were closed, suddenly twitched.
Seeing that it was still early, Jiang's mother thought about going up the mountain to pick some more mushrooms. The mushrooms were selling quite quickly today, and they could also be sold to restaurants. Anyway, it didn't matter who they were sold to.
Calling Er Ya, the family of three carried baskets and went up the mountain. After walking for a while, they arrived at the place where they had picked mushrooms last time. Jiang's mother said angrily, "Aren't there still so many mushrooms here? Han is still trying to make trouble for me. It's her fault for not picking any mushrooms."
With three people picking, it was much faster. Er Ya picked and played at the same time, humming a song. When she got happy, she even shook her head and wiggled her butt and danced, which made Lin Jianguo and Jiang's mother laugh out loud.
Soon the baskets were full. Looking at how many mushrooms were still in front of her, Jiang's mother regretted not bringing a couple more baskets. But there was nothing she could do. Seeing that it was getting late and they still had to cook dinner when they got back, the group started walking down the mountain.
At that moment, Er Ya didn't notice that something that looked like a puppy was hiding behind a big tree, secretly watching her.
The path down the mountain was difficult to walk. Lin Jianguo carried one basket in front and one in back, and told Jiang's mother to hold Er Ya's hand and watch her step.
Er Ya walked along, observing her surroundings, paying particular attention to the ground. She still hadn't decided on dinner for the night! What else could she possibly find?
Just then, a pheasant in front sensed someone approaching and fluttered away. But halfway there, it suddenly fell down. When Er Ya saw this, she let go of Jiang's mother's hand and pounced on it.
Having firmly grasped the pheasant, Jiang's mother quickly stepped forward to help Er Ya hold it down. She found a sturdy blade of grass and tied the pheasant tightly. It was quite heavy in her hand, clearly indicating that it had eaten a lot of good food.
Lin Jianguo's mouth remained agape in astonishment for a long time. Jiang's mother glanced at Er Ya with a hint of loss. The girl was drooling and pondering how to eat the chicken. Had she been overthinking things? She shook her head, temporarily forgetting the idea.
Haha, dinner's sorted! Er Ya was overjoyed. Looking up, she saw a Chinese toon tree in front of her. The Chinese toon tree produces its first tender buds in March and April. The buds are like little elves, sprouting one by one from the branches. The unique aroma of the buds can stimulate people's appetite.
Er Ya hasn't eaten toon sprouts for many years. Her memory of them is from when she was a child and lived with her grandmother. Her grandmother had planted a toon sprout in her yard, and every year around the 15th of March, her grandmother would make her toon sprouts with scrambled eggs. She still remembers that unique taste after all these years.
"Mom, I want to eat some toon leaves. Can you pick some and stir-fry them with eggs?"
Jiang's mother would never refuse such a simple request. Besides, this was the first time she had eaten toon leaves this year, so she might as well pick more. After all, these things don't spoil easily.
A group of people were walking home. The villagers were preparing dinner, and smoke was rising from every house. It was not the busy season, so in order to save food, they only ate two meals a day. Some poor families even ate only one meal.
A few two- or three-year-old children were playing in the mud on the ground by the door, their laughter echoing through the air. At this age, children are easily satisfied; a lump of mud and a rubber band are enough to sustain their entire childhood.
Er Ya remembered that she had eaten all the eggs when she drank the dumpling soup last time, and there were no eggs left at home today. She told Jiang's mother and then walked towards the reeds.
When Jiang's mother got home, she saw that the pheasant was still alive. She found a sturdy cage, put it in, and decided not to kill the pheasant since it was getting late. She would just have a simple meal.
I grabbed some cornmeal, rinsed it, and put it in the pot. I heated up a few wild vegetable dumplings, and there was one leftover steamed bun from lunch that I bought for Er Ya, so I heated that up too. I started the fire and began cooking. Just then, Er Ya came skipping and hopping over, shouting loudly:
"Mom, Dad, look! I've found another nest of wild eggs."
To be continued!
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