"Okay, if you want to eat them, we'll find some time to go dig up some bamboo shoots."
Xu Han thought about the feeling of breaking bamboo shoots and quickly said, "The bamboo shoots are small, so you don't even need to dig them out with a hoe. You can just break them by hand. It's like picking mushrooms, which is really fun."
"That's great! It's been so long since I've picked mushrooms, I really miss it. I'll be able to pick mushrooms again soon."
"There will probably be more mushrooms this year than in previous years. After so many years of drought, many trees have died, so we've been able to collect quite a few fungi in recent years."
"Yes, we'll dry them all into dried mushrooms. If we can't finish them, we'll take them down the mountain and exchange them for some money," Lu Chuan said with a smile.
"Okay, let's rest for a while after lunch before continuing to dig for bamboo shoots. We'll head home when it gets dark. I want to take advantage of the good weather these next few days to make as many bamboo shoots as possible to dry and preserve."
"I'll listen to you. If we don't dig enough to eat today, we can come back and dig again tomorrow."
"I won't come tomorrow. You continue planting sweet potatoes tomorrow, and I'll process these bamboo shoots before continuing to dig. Otherwise, we won't have anywhere to put all the bamboo shoots we dig. We'll continue digging after we finish this batch," Xu Han said.
“That works too. Anyway, these bamboo shoots will take a while to grow. We can always call the Taoist priest to come and dig bamboo shoots together. The three of us can dig faster.” Lu Chuan agreed.
“That works too.” Xu Han said and then stopped talking. After finishing their lunch, the two rested for a while and then continued digging for bamboo shoots.
They dug until after sunset before starting to head home.
As we walked to the stream, we could see the Taoist priest and Grandpa Zhao planting sweet potatoes in the wasteland.
The original sweet potato ridges had all been planted, and the Taoist priest was making new sweet potato ridges, while Grandpa Zhao continued to plant sweet potatoes behind them.
Mu'er was playing with Tangyuan in the field by herself, while Ze'er was chattering away in the toy car, playing with her toys.
"Mu'er, Mother is back. Were you a good boy at home today?" Xu Han hadn't seen her son all day and missed him terribly.
When Lu Chuan and Xu Han went out to dig bamboo shoots in the morning, Mu'er and Ze'er were still asleep. They didn't come back at noon either, so it's been a whole day since they last saw each other.
"Mother, Father, you're back."
When Mu'er saw the two people walking towards her, she immediately stood up and ran towards Xu Han.
Lu Chuan caught Mu'er as she ran over and spun her around in his arms.
"Hahahaha, let's fly!"
"You two be careful." Xu Han helped Mu'er down and took his hand as they walked towards the wasteland.
Then she picked up Ze'er and kissed him sweetly. Xu Han loves both of her sons, so she can't favor one over the other.
"How was your bamboo shoot harvest today? Did you get a lot of bamboo shoots?" Grandpa Zhao asked while working.
"Not bad, there are plenty of bamboo shoots. The soil is loose after the rain, so it's easy to dig them up without much effort."
Lu Chuan picked up a hoe from the side and began to help build ridges.
"Should we go dig again tomorrow? Did we dig enough to eat today?"
“Let’s not go. We’ll dig again in a few days. Let’s get these out first, otherwise it’ll be difficult to deal with if there’s too much piling up,” Xu Han replied.
“Alright, then let’s continue planting sweet potatoes tomorrow. I estimate that it will be ready in about another day,” the Taoist priest agreed.
"Yes, after the sweet potatoes are planted, we'll start planting peanuts. The land was prepared beforehand; we'll just have the oxen plow it again and plant directly," Grandpa Zhao added.
"Peanuts no longer need to be planted on raised beds, and they can be planted quickly, taking about a day to complete."
As they talked and worked, the sky gradually grew darker and darker. After dark, they all went home together.
Everyone was quite tired today, so no dinner was prepared. Lu Chuan simply boiled a large pot of water, and after everyone had showered, Xu Han took out the food from her spatial storage.
After finishing their meal, instead of immediately returning to their rooms to rest, everyone lit flashlights and sat together in the courtyard peeling bamboo shoots.
"These bamboo shoots are quite big; one is enough for a meal."
"Yes, bamboo shoots are at their freshest right now. We should dig up more now to dry them into dried bamboo shoots, or make them into pickled bamboo shoots. They're delicious with porridge," the Taoist priest said with a smile.
"The dried bamboo shoots I braised before tasted pretty good. I can braise some more to eat later. They're a nice cold dish in the summer, appetizing and delicious."
Everyone chattered excitedly about how to eat bamboo shoots, and the more they talked, the faster they peeled the bamboo shoots without even realizing it.
They peeled the shells until about 9:30 p.m., when Xu Han said, "Let's stop here for today. Even though it's already mid-March, the temperature at night isn't low. I feel colder as we peel them. I don't want to catch a cold."
"It's quite cold. Alright, don't peel them anymore. Just leave them here for now, and we'll clean them up tomorrow morning," Grandpa Zhao said.
Upon hearing this, everyone stood up, washed their hands with hot water, and went back to their rooms to sleep.
In March, you can wear a light shirt at midday, but you still need to wear a light jacket in the evening, especially in the mountains where the temperature difference is greater.
Xu Han took off her cotton-padded coat and went inside to drink some hot water before she felt better.
"Why didn't you say you felt cold? You'd be in trouble if you got sick," Lu Chuan said irritably.
"I didn't feel cold at first, but I said so as soon as I felt it getting colder."
"Okay, you're still too weak. Eat more to nourish yourself in the future."
Lu Chuan looked at the clothes he was wearing, then at the cotton-padded coat Xu Han had just put on, and secretly resolved that he would have to fatten up his wife a bit in the future.
Being overweight means better physical health; being too thin makes you more susceptible to illness.
If Xu Han knew what Lu Chuan was thinking, she would definitely give him a lecture, asking how a man could compare to a woman.
Men are generally more sensitive to heat, and their body temperature is higher than that of women.
Most girls are more afraid of the cold and wear more clothes than boys.
“I’m already quite chubby, I don’t need to eat more,” Xu Han protested.
During these years of famine, there was little work to be done at home, and all they did was eat and sleep. Xu Han was no longer the bean sprout she used to be.
Xu Han, who has already given birth to two children, is much fuller than before.
While I can't say I'm extremely fat, I'm definitely not skinny either; I'm just right, with a little bit of a belly.
Seeing Xu Han's protesting expression, Lu Chuan didn't respond, lest the two of them start arguing again. But he secretly reaffirmed his earlier thought.
Seeing this, Xu Han ignored Lu Chuan, turned around and covered the two sleeping children with their blankets again, then went to bed herself.
A good night's sleep...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
