"I hope he can come back safely."
Sister-in-law Xiuhua couldn't help but feel fortunate that the Zhang family had two brothers. At that time, only one of them needed to go; otherwise, they would have to pay three taels of silver.
The two brothers each paid half the silver, and that's how they avoided having to join the army.
Wei Yuyan had no idea that Xiuhua and her husband were actually talking about her husband in name only; she was enjoying her meal.
"I'm thinking of going up the mountain tomorrow, since I'm free anyway. But I don't want to take you two with me."
"It's too tiring for you two to come along. Tomorrow I'll cook your meals and leave them at home. You can heat them up for lunch, and I'll be back in the afternoon, okay?"
Wei Yuyan wants to dig up some other medicinal herbs this time, just to look around, she won't be gone for too long.
"Okay, sister-in-law, then we'll stay home tomorrow."
When his sister-in-law isn't home, Wu Lei usually won't leave his younger sister to run around alone.
He has always been very responsible and will take good care of his younger sister.
"Okay, sweetie, in a few days, the medicinal herbs will be ready. We'll sell them and use the money to buy you ribs. Do you prefer ribs or pork belly?"
Wei Yuyan thinks pork belly tastes better; I wonder what the children think.
"Anything is fine, we like meat."
Although Wu Lei wanted to eat ribs, he knew that ribs were relatively expensive, and that pork belly was also delicious.
"Yes, I like any kind of meat."
Wu Qian nodded in agreement. "We'll be able to eat meat again in a few days. That's great!"
The next morning, Wei Yuyan got up and started kneading dough to steam buns. Steamed buns were convenient to eat and also convenient to take up the mountain with her.
I also cooked a dish: fried carrots with poached eggs. There were two poached eggs, one for each of them at lunchtime.
In the morning, I just have boiled water and steamed buns—it couldn't be simpler.
"Xiao Lei, your sister-in-law has gone out. If you need anything, you can go to Sister Xiuhua."
However, if someone knocks on the door, you must first ask who it is. Only when it's me or Sister-in-law Xiuhua knocking can you two open the door, understand?
Before leaving, Wei Yuyan gave her instructions again and again, still a little worried.
"Don't worry, sister-in-law, I won't go out before you come back. I'll just stay home and play with my little sister for a while."
Wu Lei assured him.
"Okay, bolt the door."
Wei Yuyan walked away carrying a basket on her back. Today she was wearing pants, and she even rolled up the cuffs, looking neat and tidy.
The purpose was to immerse myself in the search for medicinal herbs, but I don't plan to go deep into the mountains today. Instead, I'll go in a direction I've never been before.
Shenshan said he would only be able to leave with peace of mind after entrusting Xiuhua's sister-in-law to look after the children next time.
After walking for more than half an hour, they arrived at a place with relatively dense vegetation. Wei Yuyan began to look around to see where there were good medicinal herbs.
"Another Codonopsis pilosula."
Wei Yuyan found another Codonopsis pilosula; the one she found last time seemed to have been almost completely dried.
Wei Yuyan took out a small hoe and dug carefully.
"Swish swish swish~".
Suddenly, a rustling sound flashed by. Wei Yuyan turned around and saw a white shadow, which looked like a rabbit.
While digging for ginseng, Wei Yuyan wondered how she could catch this wild rabbit.
When the Codonopsis pilosula was dug up, Wei Yuyan also came up with a good idea.
Today I brought a steamed bun to the mountain. I broke off a small piece and put it on an open ground, then stuck the basket on a branch.
Then I went to look for medicinal herbs nearby, not going too far, otherwise the rabbit would definitely run away if it couldn't hear winter.
About half an hour later, Wei Yuyan heard the sound of struggling and quickly ran over to check the basket.
From a distance, it appears gray, not white.
Could it be a gray hare? Wei Yuyan walked over with a question in her mind.
"Oh, it's a pheasant."
Wei Yuyan only realized what was happening when she got closer; the pheasant was flapping its wings inside.
Wei Yuyan found a vine nearby and tied the pheasant's legs together.
It's too late to go back for dinner this afternoon, let's eat tomorrow morning.
They put the pheasant in their basket and continued searching for medicinal herbs.
"What's this?".
Wei Yuyan saw a tree with white, flower-like growths on it and curiously went over to take a look.
"Oh dear, it must be white fungus."
Wei Yuyan touched it before realizing that this was a good thing; if stewed with red dates, it would be good for beauty and skin health.
Several trees nearby had grown taller, so Wei Yuyan took out the pheasant and picked the white fungus one by one, putting it into her basket.
There were about twenty flowers in total, but Wei Yuyan felt it was still too few. Once dried, there wouldn't be many left, and it wouldn't be enough to eat.
However, this is all-natural white fungus, so its nutritional value is still high.
Wei Yuyan looked around again for silver ear fungus, but couldn't find any, which was a bit of a pity.
Seeing that it was almost noon, Wei Yuyan sat down to rest and ate her steamed bun.
After eating it, I rested for fifteen minutes and then continued searching for medicinal herbs. Today I finally found a Codonopsis pilosula.
Half an hour later, Wei Yuyan found another valuable medicinal herb, Gastrodia elata.
The rhizome of Gastrodia elata is thick and fleshy, as if nature has endowed it with a unique way of storing nutrients.
This thick layer of flesh not only endows it with strong vitality, but also enables it to survive tenaciously in harsh environments.
What is most striking about Gastrodia elata is its characteristic of having no green leaves.
This unique growth pattern makes Gastrodia elata stand out in nature, making it a very special species and particularly easy to find.
Wei Yuyan found more than ten Gastrodia elata plants in this area, but even after drying them, there probably wouldn't be many left.
After searching for about 15 minutes without finding any more Gastrodia elata, Wei Yuyan decided to head back home.
Place the gastrodia elata at the bottom and the tremella on top to prevent it from being crushed.
It was almost late afternoon when Wei Yuyan slowly walked home.
"Knock knock knock~, Xiao Lei, Qian Qian, your sister-in-law is back."
Wei Yuyan felt a little tired; she hadn't had a proper rest all day.
"Sister-in-law, you're back. Let me pour you some water."
Wu Lei opened the door, and Qianqian quickly ran to the kitchen to pour water.
"Wow, sister-in-law, is that a pheasant?"
Wu Lei helped Wei Yuyan take down her basket, and they saw a pheasant hanging from it.
"Yes, it's still alive. Put it in the chicken coop and we'll eat it tomorrow."
Wei Yuyan sat down to drink some water and rest, as they had been walking for half an hour.
"Sister-in-law, I was so worried about you today."
Wu Qian snuggled up to Wei Yuyan and acted coquettishly.
"Oh dear, Qianqian, what have you been doing all day? Have you taken good care of the chicks?"
Wei Yuyan pulled Qianqian into her arms.
"Of course! The chicks are all full, and I even caught some insects for them to eat."
Wu Qian's face was full of pride.
"Great, Xiao Lei, fetch me some water so I can wash these things and then hang them to dry."
Wei Yuyan didn't want to get up after sitting down; her legs were a little sore, and she hadn't eaten enough for lunch.
"Sister-in-law, I'll wash it. I know how to wash it. Just gently remove the mud. I know how."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
