For four consecutive days, the Taoist priest and Lu Chuan patrolled the deep mountains, using their home as the center point. Only after confirming that there were no large animals near their home did Xu Han take Mu'er out of the house.
The wild vegetables are very tender now, and with plenty of rain, they grow quite large.
Xu Han took Mu'er to pick wild vegetables near their home. Mu'er played with Fantuan on the side, while Heidian watched him from the side. Xu Han focused on picking wild vegetables.
Due to the weather, wild vegetables did not sprout in batches according to the seasons this year, unlike in previous years.
In March, the mountains are teeming with all sorts of wild vegetables, their growing seasons completely out of control. Xu Han picks any edible wild vegetables she sees without any discrimination.
However, due to the prolonged drought, the wild vegetables did not grow in patches as they have in previous years.
Even if they grow in patches, the area is very small, incomparable to what it used to be.
The number of wild vegetables has decreased by more than half. Even if you pick wild vegetables, it is not easy to pick them. You can find less in a whole day than you used to dig in half an hour.
Now, Xu Han doesn't look for wild vegetables entirely for food; it's mainly to pass the time when she's bored.
If we don't go out to pick wild vegetables, there's nothing to do at home. We've already prepared all our clothes and shoes. We can't plant vegetables or grains this year, so staying at home is just idle.
Picking wild vegetables is a good way to relax and also allows me to take Mu'er out for a stroll. There's no rush when picking wild vegetables, and the current situation is completely different from before the drought.
Before the drought, in order to stock up on enough wild vegetables to eat, Xu Han never stopped picking them, always thinking of bringing all the wild vegetables in the mountains home, drying them, or storing them in her space to eat during the disaster year.
Because there were few wild vegetables available this time, and also because she needed to bring Mu'er along, Xu Han leisurely led Mu'er around, stopping and starting as she went. It was more like a stroll than a vegetable-gathering trip.
After Lu Chuan and the Taoist priest returned from their mountain patrol, they took Grandpa Zhao and the others to rebuild the water pipes in the backyard. They had to cut bamboo and build the pipes again, and it took two days to complete all the repairs.
After the water pipes were repaired, the group filled in the water storage tank in the vegetable garden in their backyard to prevent rainwater from accumulating in it during rainy seasons.
Not only do we need to fill in the reservoir, but we also need to clean the drainage ditches in the house, because they haven't been used for a long time during the drought and have accumulated a lot of dry leaves and silt.
If we don't clear it out now, the rainwater won't be able to drain away when it rains heavily.
The group worked on this for a while longer, and before they knew it, it was March 20th.
When Xu Han woke up early that morning, she found the sky outside to be gloomy again.
"Is it going to rain again?" Xu Han asked.
"Yes, judging by these dark clouds, it's probably going to rain soon," Grandpa Zhao said.
"It was sunny for only a few days, and now it's going to rain again. Luckily, I took advantage of the sunshine yesterday to air out the blankets and other things," Xu Han said with a smile.
"The drainage ditch was just cleaned and then it started raining. I don't know how heavy the rain will be."
"Who cares! At least it's cleaned up now, so there won't be any more water in the yard," the Taoist priest said smugly.
"Breakfast is ready, it's in the pot. Honey, go eat first, I'll go wake Mu'er up," Lu Chuan said.
"I'm not hungry today, I don't want to eat breakfast," Xu Han said listlessly.
"Is something wrong?" Lu Chuan asked, turning back after hearing Xu Han's question.
"No, I'm just not hungry yet."
"Isn't there a doctor right here? Let your Grandpa Zhao take your pulse. You're a grown man, you must have indigestion from yesterday's meal!" the Taoist priest interjected.
Seeing this, Grandpa Zhao quickly asked Xu Han to sit down first, and then took out a pulse pillow to take her pulse.
"Hahaha, good news, good news! You're going to be a mother now, you're almost two months pregnant, didn't you know?"
Grandpa Zhao was happy that Xu Han was pregnant and that the family would be welcoming another member, but he was also dissatisfied with Xu Han's carelessness.
"What? Really?" Lu Chuan asked uncertainly.
Seeing this, the Taoist priest kicked Lu Chuan and said, "Didn't you hear what your Grandpa Zhao said? The girl is almost two months pregnant, and you didn't even know?"
Then he turned to Xu Han and said, "And you, how dare you laugh? You two aren't first-time parents, how can you be so careless?"
Seeing this, Xu Han and Lu Chuan both lowered their heads in embarrassment.
Xu Han's menstrual cycle had been irregular since she gave birth to Mu'er, often delayed by ten or eight days.
This time she really did forget, and Xu Han thought it was postponed again like before, so she didn't pay any attention to it.
In addition, since we've been able to go out for walks recently, and I've been taking the kids to play in the mountains every day, I haven't thought about it at all and have completely forgotten about it.
Although the two of them were lectured by both the Taoist priest and Grandpa Zhao, they remained smiling.
Both of them were looking forward to the baby in Xu Han's belly, hoping that this time it would be a daughter.
Finally, under pressure from everyone, Xu Han forced herself to eat breakfast.
Fortunately, I didn't vomit after eating, but I still couldn't muster any energy.
It started raining right after we finished breakfast, but this time it wasn't a light drizzle like last time.
As soon as it got dark, thunder and wind began to rumble outside, accompanied by flashes of lightning.
In a short while, the sky, which had been somewhat bright, turned completely dark, and heavy rain, accompanied by thunder and lightning, began to fall.
"This rain looks pretty heavy. Usually, heavy rain doesn't last long, so it should stop soon," Xu Han said, looking at the thunderstorm outside.
“It might not be that dark,” Lu Chuan replied.
At this moment, the sky outside grew darker and darker, as if a black hole was swallowing up the earth.
Having never experienced a thunderstorm before, Mu'er stayed nestled in Grandpa Zhao's arms and didn't dare to get down.
The little hand was still tightly gripping Grandpa Zhao's clothes, as if seeking protection.
When Mu'er woke up, Lu Chuan told her that her mother was pregnant with a little sister and that her mother was working very hard and that she couldn't hold her.
That's how Grandpa Zhao ended up holding Mu'er. Xu Han felt sorry for her and wanted to hold Mu'er, but Mu'er stubbornly refused.
"Mu'er, come here. The little sister in Mommy's belly is still small, it won't stop me from holding you." Xu Han stretched out her arms to hug Mu'er.
Mu'er still wouldn't let anyone hold her, but she really wanted her mother to stay with her, so she pulled on Xu Han's arm and snuggled up to her, gently stroking Xu Han's belly with her little hand.
Seeing Mu'er like this, Xu Han glared at Lu Chuan with displeasure.
Where can you find such a well-behaved and sensible baby? Xu Han herself couldn't bear to look at him.
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