Sun glared at her, took the puppy and held it, saying sarcastically, "Don't mind your mother, she's a terrible spendthrift!"
He Jiuniang: "..."
The others laughed along, and Madam Yu said, "The way my third sister-in-law acted just now, I thought she was really going to keep those two sisters. It scared me to death!"
Madam Qin nodded repeatedly: "Me too!"
"Hmph, if she dares to stay, I'll just kick her out too. She's such a nuisance!"
Sun snorted coldly and led the children to the water.
He Jiuniang chuckled twice and said, "I'll take a few horses out to find some food."
She's been taking the horses for a walk these past few days, and nobody's said anything.
After all, they were traveling on mountain roads, where there was nowhere to find food for humans, but there was still food for horses. Moreover, He Jiu Niang would always find a secluded spot to secretly take out the best horse feed from her space and feed them. After they finished eating, she would give them a bucket of pure water. Their lives were much more comfortable than those of humans.
"Humans are inferior to horses!"
He Jiuniang sighed, scratched her head, and then her back.
She hadn't showered since arriving here, and the original owner hadn't showered at home either, so it must have been at least a month in total. She felt extremely uncomfortable.
She considered herself to be relatively clean, and she would manage to come out and wash her face every day when no one was looking. As for the others, needless to say, their smell was unbearable even from a distance.
It would be nice if there were a pond here.
That's what she was thinking.
Then, a large pit began to form silently in a depression not far away, and water slowly began to seep out.
He Jiuniang's eyes widened instantly. The space had this ability too!
She hurried over to check, and it really was a pool of water. Most importantly, it didn't look like it had just appeared; it had been there all along.
An idea flashed through her mind: to ask the space to help plant some wild vegetables by the pond.
Almost as soon as the idea popped into my head, plantains began to grow visibly by the pond.
A vast expanse of lush greenery instantly filled one with hope.
"Thank you so much!"
He Jiuniang could barely contain her screams. Without hesitation, she pulled out a dagger, pried open a large bag, and rushed back to tell everyone.
"Mom! I found a small pond over there. It's not dried up, the water is drinkable, and there are wild vegetables around it!"
Her shout startled everyone, but was quickly followed by elation. It was normal for there to be water in the deep mountains, but the place they were in wasn't that deep; many people could walk there. The fact that they had stayed until now meant they were in a relatively secluded spot, which was just what He Jiuniang, who was walking her horse, saw.
"This really is plantain!"
Mrs. Sun's eyes lit up. She picked up a plantain and examined it closely. As she looked at it, she couldn't help but burst into tears: "This... how long has it been since this old woman has seen such plump wild vegetables! Waaah, look how well it's growing! If our crops could grow this well, we wouldn't have to suffer like this! Waaah..."
When the others gathered around and heard what Sun said, they were filled with envy, remembering what they had been through recently.
He Jiuniang hadn't expected that just some plantain would attract so much attention, so she quickly changed the subject: "Come on, let's fill the buckets and then wash ourselves properly in batches. We haven't washed for a month or so, and we all smell bad!"
"What's there to wash?" Upon hearing this, Sun immediately stopped crying. "Didn't you say there were lots of wild vegetables around here? Let's all pick them first, eat and drink our fill!"
"Mother is right, food is the most important thing!"
Lu nodded, then left Yu and Qin to cook while the others went to pick wild vegetables.
Other families also leave one person to cook, while the others go to fetch water and pick wild vegetables.
To be honest, it's been a long time since we've had any green vegetables. Lately, we've just been content with filling our stomachs, so everyone is naturally excited to have the opportunity to improve our meals.
After such a long drought, the sight of this pool of water and the lush green wild vegetables beside it filled everyone with envy and joy. They were speechless with delight and immediately began to scoop water from the pool and drink it.
Although there was water to drink today, no one dared to drink too much. Most people just took a small sip to moisten their lips. But now, people can drink as much as they want.
Laughter and cheerful voices filled the air around the pool.
After drinking their fill, they started picking wild vegetables. Boss Lu exclaimed, "I never expected there to be a small pond here. I don't know how it grew. There's no water source around, but this little pond not only didn't dry up, it even nourishes all these wild vegetables around here!"
"Yes, it's amazing!"
Everyone had a smile on their face, feeling that they were one step closer to safely arriving in Anju.
He Jiuniang and Sun Shi squatted together, prying at the food. She said, "Mother, let my sister-in-law use this to make soup later. It's good for her health!"
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Sun looked at her with disdain: "The water boiled from this stuff tastes bitter, what good could it possibly be?"
"Mother, I heard that this plantain can be used as medicine, especially in this kind of weather, it's good to drink it to prevent heatstroke. Anyway, it has to be cooked before it can be eaten, just remember to drink the soup."
In the past, Sun might not have listened to her, but after spending these few days together, Sun had developed a deep trust in her, and even though she didn't think what she said was right, she still agreed.
Twenty or thirty people pried up a patch of wild vegetables, and soon they had cleared it all. He Jiuniang then reiterated the idea of making soup with it, urging each family to cook some and drink it.
The group naturally did as she said, after all, He Jiuniang was the one who had single-handedly entered the bandit's den and rescued them.
The children nearby frowned when they heard this. They all knew that the water boiled with plantain was terrible, but they didn't dare to complain.
After the meal, Sun stood up and said, "It's been quite a while since we've all washed ourselves. It's a rare treat to have such a pool of water. Let the women wash the young children first, and then the men can wash after the women have finished."
This arrangement is quite reasonable; while the woman is washing, the man stands guard nearby to prevent her from being disturbed by other ill-intentioned people.
Fortunately, apart from their group, no one else has been found traveling this route so far.
It was very hot, and by the time they went back to eat, the water in the pool had already cooled to a warm temperature, which even a child could tolerate.
He Jiuniang stripped the puppy naked, held him in one hand, and began to rub the mud off him with the other.
Although the puppy didn't walk much, it still sweated and got filthy. After He Jiuniang washed it, it became much fairer and smoother.
Both Yu and Qin were helping their youngest child wash.
The eldest son has three children: the eldest is Leizi, the second is a daughter named Tingyatou, and the youngest is also a daughter, usually called Shanyatou, who is only half a year older than Xiaogou'er.
The second wife has two children: the eldest is a girl named Youya, and the youngest is a boy named Jie'er, who is only five years old.
These two children are much healthier than the puppy. At such a young age, they can walk with adults and only ask to be carried when they get tired, unlike the puppy, who was carried by He Jiu Niang the whole time.
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