After cleaning more than a dozen pheasants and rabbits, they were chopped into small pieces.
They even cleaned their internal organs thoroughly and put them in the pot. Li Lanzhen thought they were quite fat. She watched as the women cut off the fat, roasted it in the pot for a while, and then put the meat in after the oil was rendered. When they weren't looking, she poured in a small bag of thirteen spices.
All the other seasonings were whole; she wouldn't dare put them in.
As soon as the thirteen spices were added, the aroma of pheasant and rabbit meat was immediately released. The adults stopped and sniffed the air, doing nothing, while the children squatted in a row next to the big pot, constantly sniffing and wiping their mouths.
Looking at the group of children who, although clean, were still thin and dark-skinned, Li Lanzhen felt very sad, especially when she saw the four pregnant women, whose bellies were very large, whose limbs were thin, and whose faces were sallow.
She was thinking that after dinner, she would pretend to lie on the straw mat and take a nap, hoping to get some commonly used medicines and pregnancy-preserving drugs in return.
Li Lanzhen brought out half a sack of flour from her thatched shed and asked everyone to knead the dough so they could make pancakes later.
But Madam Ye stopped her, saying, "Lanzhen, let's add some wild vegetables to this and make wild vegetable pancakes, so that everyone can eat more."
Li Lanzhen thought it was a good idea. Ever since she transmigrated here, defecating had been a very difficult thing.
Because the original owner of this body had always eaten tree bark and grass roots, she didn't eat anything good after she transmigrated. She was constantly running around, and the weather was dry and she was always stressed. Every day she could see women using small sticks to clean the children's anuses, causing the children to scream in pain.
There are plenty of fresh wild vegetables here, which is good to mix in, and the resulting pancakes will be softer.
He nodded, "Okay, make plenty of dry rations. Plenty!"
Ye glared at her daughter but said nothing.
Almost all the women took bowls and started kneading dough, mixing in chopped wild vegetables, and began making pancakes.
Li Lanzhen suddenly realized that she had never exchanged vegetable oil or animal oil.
Try listing it out again next time and see if you can get some in return?
She thought there should be some in the prefect's kitchen, but she didn't want to take it out.
We can't let everyone get used to this. Of course, no one questioned whether Li Lianzhen had secretly hidden the oil. Everyone was happier than during the New Year, busy with their work and smiling.
The elderly and children worked diligently, weaving many winnowing baskets from the cleaned grass. The baked pancakes, golden brown and shiny, were placed one by one in the baskets, infused with the fragrance of the grass.
Li Lanzhen pretended to enter the thatched hut and brought out half a bag of potatoes and sweet potatoes. "Xue Ni, come on, wash these clean, cut them into pieces, and put them into the meat broth to stew."
Xue Nizi paused for a moment, then smiled broadly. When she saw her mother-in-law bring up so many things again, she frowned but then happily said, "Oh! Mom, I'll go wash them right away."
When Wu saw her daughter Jue carrying a bag to wash, she followed her.
Xue Nizi whispered, "Mom, do you think my mother-in-law has suddenly become more sensible? She's been so kind to our daughters-in-law and daughters along the way, and she's also been good to the people in the village. Look at all this grain she brought out today. I really feel the pinch. If it were just for our family, it would last us half a month."
Mrs. Wu frowned and scolded her daughter, "You can't do that. You don't have the same magnanimity as your mother-in-law. You need to understand that fleeing famine isn't a solo endeavor; you have to unite. Besides, Hanjia Village is your father-in-law's hometown. They're all relatives. You can't have such thoughts."
Seeing that Xue Nizi was embarrassed, he coughed and said, "Nizi, don't worry, given your mother-in-law's current temperament, she definitely won't skimp on your food."
Xue Nizi chuckled and said, "Mom, I'm just telling you, I wouldn't dare tell anyone else. If Grandma finds out, she'll beat me with a stick."
Mrs. Wu chuckled and slapped her on the back, saying, "You child, hurry up and wash yourself, then cut yourself into pieces and stew until tender, so the children can have a full stomach."
The midday sun shines through the gaps in the branches, casting dappled shadows.
The people of Hanjiacun gathered around several large pots, holding their bowls, happily talking and laughing as they ate.
"This thing called potato is really delicious. I think it's even more fragrant than meat."
"Hehehe, it smells better than meat! Give me the meat, you love meat."
"Get lost! That won't do! The meat is delicious, and the potatoes are delicious too. I can't give them to you."
People were laughing and joking.
This meal made them realize how good potatoes and sweet potatoes really are.
The old village chief licked his greasy lips, reluctant to wipe the grease off with his hands.
"Hehe, this meal was really enjoyable!"
"Lanzhen, you've saved some seeds. Once we settle down in Youzhou, we must plant these potatoes and sweet potatoes."
Li Lanzhi said, "Don't worry, old village chief, I've saved the seeds."
I heard that these two are very easy to grow. First, you need to encourage them to sprout. Once the sprouts appear, cut off a piece of each sprout and bury it in the soil.
Especially after this plant called sweet potato is planted, vines will grow. You can cut the vines and replant them in the soil, and a patch of them will grow.
Moreover, the tender leaves of sweet potatoes can be eaten as a vegetable, and the older stalks can be used to feed chickens, ducks, geese, and donkeys.
Everyone was excited, thinking how great it would be if they had this. As long as they could reach Youzhou, they would surely find a village to stay in, a place to settle down, and they could live a good life.
At this moment, they are chewing on soft wild vegetable pancakes and drinking potato and chicken soup.
They longed for Youzhou, where a village even more beautiful than Hanjiacun awaited them to settle down and live.
After lunch, the hardworking people, without taking a break, went up the mountain to dig for wild vegetables and look for small animals, trying their best to store up food for their families.
Li Lanzhen returned to her thatched hut and lay down on a straw mat. She wanted to take a nap and take the opportunity to browse the market and the things she had brought from the prefectural government.
"Moon Plum, Moon Plum".
Han Yuemei was collecting her clean clothes when she heard someone call her and turned around.
The boy in the sunlight had dark skin but a strong body. He had thick eyebrows and big eyes, staring straight at her. He was carrying something in his hands as he walked towards her.
Han Yuemei's face flushed red instantly.
"Yuemei, here you go. It's your favorite black plum, it's so sweet, and it's bigger and juicier than the ones we grow on the mountain in the village."
Han Yuemei stretched out her hands, glanced at the snow leopard, then quickly hid her hands behind her back, shook her head vigorously, and said, "No, Brother Xue Bao, I can't take it. You take it home for your aunt to eat."
When the snow leopard saw that she didn't want it, it frowned and said, "There's still a lot. I saved a lot for my mother."
"Take this to Miaomiao and Yinan. Yisong and Yibai are eating at my house."
Han Yuemei reached out from behind to take the large leaf from Xue Bao's hand.
Unexpectedly, she suddenly grasped Xue Bao's hands. Han Yuemei's hands trembled, and just as she was about to pull her hands back, Xue Bao pulled his hands away first.
The large leaf and the translucent black substance in the middle of it were then placed in her hands.
Xue Bao quickly put his hands behind his back and kept twisting them together, his ears turning red.
"Sister Yuemei, you, you, you should take it home and eat it quickly, I'm going up the mountain."
After saying that, he hurriedly turned around and ran away.
Caught off guard, he crashed headfirst into a tree.
Han Yuemei chuckled at her silly expression.
The girl's silvery laughter echoed through the mountains, and Xue Bao's ears turned even redder. He fled into the deep mountains as if escaping.
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