After lunch, Xu Han let the two children take a nap, and then they got up again around three o'clock in the afternoon.
After getting up, I first went to the yard to turn the wheat that had been drying in the morning over, and then went to the backyard to feed the livestock.
"Grandpa Zhao, you're busy at home. I'll go out for a walk and see if I can dig up any edible wild vegetables so we can have something fresh to eat tonight," Xu Han said with a smile.
"Go on, go on, I'll keep an eye on things at home. Be careful, and don't come back too late," Grandpa Zhao waved his hand and said.
Upon hearing this, Xu Han picked up the basket and small curved knife that had been prepared nearby and left the courtyard.
I've been busy with housework lately, and my activities have been limited to the neighborhood. I haven't been out and about much, but today I finally had some time to go out and explore.
Xu Han first went to the small hillside next to her, but after searching around, she didn't find many wild vegetables.
Perhaps due to natural disasters, there are far fewer wild vegetables this year compared to previous years.
Xu Han walked around and looked around, picking some of the plump and delicious-looking ones she came across.
Finally, we picked a lot of wild celery by the stream, as well as some purslane and noodle greens.
However, what Xu Han wanted to pick most was bracken fern, which was delicious whether it was served cold or stir-fried with cured meat.
However, Xu Han searched for a long time and only managed to gather a small handful. With a little more cured meat, it would be enough for a meal.
As darkness fell, and with only half a basket of wild vegetables remaining, Xu Han had no choice but to go home.
When Xu Han arrived home, Lu Chuan and the Taoist priest had already returned.
"Wife, you went to pick wild vegetables? How was it? Did you get a lot?" Lu Chuan asked, taking the basket from Xu Han's back as she returned.
"There are far fewer than in previous years. I didn't pick some of the ones that weren't growing well, but I picked and ate some of the bigger ones."
"This is quite a lot, enough for several meals," Lu Chuan said, rummaging through the wild vegetables in his basket.
"I originally wanted to pick more bracken fern, but the ones I dried before were all gone. This year I wanted to pick more and dry them so I could use them to stir-fry with cured meat. But I walked a long way and didn't see many, so I only picked a small handful," Xu Han said.
"When we went up the mountain today, the Taoist priest and I actually found a patch of bracken. Let's go pick some together tomorrow."
"Okay, I'll go with you tomorrow. I'll also see if I can pick some more to dry into fern fern dries."
"That's fine too. Tomorrow you can come with us to the mountains and see if there are any wild vegetables you can eat, and pick some to bring back," the Taoist priest added.
In this way, the group quickly arranged tomorrow's itinerary by chatting amongst themselves.
As darkness fell, the group sat in the main room chatting and eating dinner.
"How did your trip into the mountains go today?" Grandpa Zhao asked.
"It's alright, we haven't seen any large prey, and the area around us is safe for now," Lu Chuan replied.
"Have you seen any other prey?"
"We saw more pheasants and rabbits in the mountains this time than last time, but the numbers are still very small. It might be difficult to hunt them for food."
"It's alright, there's still plenty of beef in the space. Although we're almost finished with chicken, duck, and rabbit, we have plenty of beef. There's enough meat for us, no rush," Xu Han said.
"That's good, but how did you manage to stockpile so much beef?" Grandpa Zhao asked, puzzled.
"Haha, that's a long story..." Xu Han then launched into a long explanation, with Lu Chuan adding a few words as appropriate. The two of them, in a back-and-forth exchange, recounted the process of catching wild buffalo.
After listening, the Taoist priest silently gave the two a thumbs up, saying, "I don't know whether to say you're lucky or that you're carefree."
Bison are very ferocious; you should be thankful you weren't hurt.
"Haha, we weren't acting rashly. We only dared to act when we were somewhat confident. But I have to say we were really lucky. Otherwise, we really wouldn't have had so much beef to eat," Xu Han said with a laugh.
"The main reason is that the cattle over there haven't been hunted before, so they weren't on guard, which allowed the two of us to take advantage of the situation," Lu Chuan added.
"No, no, I think it's your bow and arrow that are better; otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to hunt so many cattle," Xu Han praised Lu Chuan.
Seeing this, the Taoist priest impatiently interrupted, "Alright, you two stop flattering each other."
Then he said to Lu Chuan, "When we have time, let's go check on the cattle. If there's none, that's fine. If there is, let's keep them for now and hunt a few more later when we want to eat beef."
"Okay, tomorrow I'll take Xiaohan to pick some wild vegetables nearby, and the day after tomorrow we'll go deeper into the area to see what it's like."
“Alright, you two can go by yourselves tomorrow. I won’t go,” the Taoist priest said.
"Sure, you can just stay home and rest," Xu Han said with a smile.
"Tomorrow I'll see if I can catch some fish near my house, or maybe I can put some fish in a basket. If I can catch any, I'll put them all in our fishpond to keep them alive for later, so they'll be easy to catch when we want to eat them."
“That’s fine, I’ll go with you tomorrow,” Grandpa Zhao said.
And so, the group reconsidered their plans for tomorrow. Grandpa Zhao took Mu'er, Ze'er, and the Taoist priest to collect rain baskets, while Xu Han and Lu Chuan went into the mountains to pick wild vegetables.
The next morning, Lu Chuan and Xu Han set off early, while Grandpa Zhao and the others took their time getting ready before heading out.
Xu Han followed Lu Chuan for a long time, picking wild vegetables as they walked towards the place where there were ferns.
"My goodness, there are so many bracken ferns here, and they're all quite plump. We can dry a lot of them," Xu Han exclaimed, looking at the hillside in front of her.
"Haha, if there weren't so many, I wouldn't have invited you. There are enough to pick quite a few."
"I haven't seen bracken anywhere else, how come there's such a large patch of it here?" Xu Han asked with a puzzled look.
"This hillside used to be covered with ferns. Some of them probably sprouted last year and grew back this year. Oh well, whatever, we'll pick them first since they're edible."
"Haha, you're right, these ferns can be picked for a long time, let's get started." Xu Han said, then took out a basket from her space, and then took out two more baskets.
After handing it to Lu Chuan, she started picking ferns with one hand while holding a basket in each hand.
They picked large handfuls at a time, each fern was plump and juicy, and the two of them arrived at just the right time, not old at all.
In no time, Xu Han had filled the bamboo basket. She put the bracken from the bamboo basket into her backpack and then continued picking bracken.
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