Having decided to have a picnic, the four of them quickened their pace without prior arrangement. It wasn't until they saw a flat, wide meadow by the stream that Min Yueqing reined in her horse and said to Pei Han, "Shall we sit here for a while?"
Pei Han had the same idea, and the two immediately agreed, dismounting at the same time. Pei Ji and Shi Tou, seeing them stop, also dismounted.
Pei Han began assigning tasks. He said to the two children, "Didn't you want to eat roasted rabbit? First, go and gather some firewood and branches, then gather some dry leaves and the like to start a fire. Be careful not to go too far, just look around here."
Pei Ji and Shi Tou both readily agreed.
Pei Ji had never collected these before and found it quite novel, eager to give it a try. Shi Tou, on the other hand, was very skilled at it, and he easily said to Pei Ji, "Come on, I've collected firewood before, I'll take you!"
Stone led the way, and Pei Ji obediently followed.
Pei Han then said to Min Yueqing, "Madam, didn't you want to wash Xiao Wei? I'll go deal with this wild rabbit and catch some fish while I'm at it. Let's go together."
Seeing that Pei Han had taken on all the work himself, Min Yueqing naturally appreciated it and agreed. The two of them walked together toward the stream.
Catching fish shouldn't be done in a noisy way, so Min Yueqing didn't rush to give Xiao Wei a bath. Instead, she squatted on the rock and waited to watch Pei Han catch fish.
Min Yueqing originally thought that Pei Han would use the common method of catching fish, walking directly into the stream and spearing the fish with a sharp branch. Unexpectedly, Pei Han showed no intention of going into the water. Instead, he squatted by the stream and casually picked up a few pebbles in his hand.
Judging from this, Pei Han must be a master. Min Yueqing watched with great interest.
A short while later, Pei Han made his move. He threw three pebbles into the stream in succession, and with three muffled thuds, three rather large fish floated to the surface one after another.
Min Yueqing was secretly taken aback; his eyesight and accuracy were simply too good. If Pei Han hadn't usually shown no unusual behavior, she would have suspected that he also possessed supernatural abilities.
Pei Han went into the water this time. He quickly grabbed three big fish from the stream and threw them onto the bank before coming out of the water.
When Xiao Wei saw the large fish that had flown ashore, he became excited and thrashed around in Min Yueqing's arms several times, as if he wanted to get down.
Min Yueqing quickly pressed down the restless little tiger in her hand, looked it straight into the eyes, and shushed it.
Perhaps sensing the seriousness in Min Yueqing's eyes, Xiao Wei let out a weak hum and gradually quieted down.
Following this method, Pei Han caught five more large fish before reluctantly stopping.
Seeing Pei Han pull a dagger from his pocket, Min Yueqing guessed that his fishing trip had come to an end. She approached Pei Han, clapped her hands a few times, and praised him with a smile, "Great skill! It's a good thing you're not a fisherman, otherwise the other fishermen would probably be jealous of you."
Pei Han cupped his hands in a humble manner and said, "Thank you for the compliment, Madam. I am unworthy of it!"
Pei Han learned the Six Arts of a Gentleman from a young age. Because of his natural sharp eyesight and his martial arts training with a master, he was also physically strong and thus had a great grasp of archery. This skill was very useful when hunting, whether it was drawing a bow and shooting arrows or throwing objects, he did it all with ease.
This was the first time Min Yueqing had witnessed Pei Han's playful side, and she couldn't help but smile. She shook her head and walked downstream to give Xiao Wei a bath.
Pei Han was delighted to see Min Yueqing's peach blossom eyes crinkling with laughter, and he began to prepare the rabbit and fish with great enthusiasm.
The mountain stream was quite cool in spring, so Min Yueqing didn't put Xiao Wei in the water. Instead, she wet a handkerchief and roughly wiped the dust off Xiao Wei's body, since Xiao Wei would have to wash again when they got back anyway.
Xiao Wei was very well-behaved. When Min Yueqing placed it on a large rock, it stood there obediently. When Min Yueqing wiped its body with a handkerchief, it didn't wriggle or move around.
After Xiao Wei was mostly clean, Min Yueqing rinsed Pei Han's clothes in water and spread them out on a large rock to dry. The sun was strong today, and by the time they returned, the clothes should be dry enough to be used again.
Little Wei stared longingly at Min Yueqing, seemingly wondering why she hadn't picked it up yet.
Min Yueqing turned around and saw Xiao Wei's expression, and couldn't help but laugh again. She sighed, "You're all wet, I really can't carry you anymore. Come on, let's go play on the grass. You can sunbathe and dry off quickly."
Min Yueqing called out to Xiao Wei as she walked toward the grass.
Xiao Wei was very clever; upon seeing Min Yueqing's gesture, he immediately took off and followed.
Min Yueqing casually found a patch of grass to sit on. The grass was dry and warm from the sun, and the fresh scent of green grass filled her nostrils. Min Yueqing felt so comfortable that she almost wanted to lie down right there.
It's just a pity that one has to consider their image.
Lying on the grass to sunbathe is common for people in later generations, but for a woman from a scholarly family, it was somewhat out of line.
In order not to ruin her image, Min Yueqing suppressed this inappropriate impulse with tears in her eyes.
After a while, Shi Tou brought Pei Ji over.
Shi Tou was carrying a large bundle of firewood, and his clothes were filled with dry grass and leaves, while Pei Ji was carrying a bundle of thin twigs.
It was obvious that Shi Tou was deliberately taking care of Pei Ji, which was why he took on the heavy firewood that would easily soil his clothes.
Min Yueqing called out to the two people walking this way, "Just put it on the open space over there."
Setting up a fire on soft grass would be a terrible waste; it's better to leave it on barren land.
Upon hearing this, Shi Tou and Pei Ji threw the firewood and leaves they were carrying onto the wasteland not far from the lawn.
Pei Ji originally wanted to run over and sit down next to Min Yueqing, but when he looked down, he found that his hands were dirty and had turned black. He quickly ran to the stream to wash his hands clean, and was about to run back when Pei Han called him back.
Pei Ji looked at Pei Han in confusion, only to see Pei Han point to his cheek and say, "Wash your face too."
Pei Ji immediately squatted down again and checked his reflection in the stream. Sure enough, he saw crisscrossing gray marks on his face. He quickly scooped up some water and washed his face. After washing his face, he checked his reflection again to make sure he was no longer dirty before turning around and running back to Min Yueqing.
Seeing that the little boy's face was covered in water droplets, Min Yueqing took out his handkerchief and carefully wiped his face dry.
There was no other way; she had already used her handkerchief to bathe Xiao Wei, and it was still drying on the rock along with Pei Han's clothes.
Pei Han finished preparing the ingredients and returned with a few tree branches in his hand.
When Pei Ji saw that the rabbits and fish were strung up on branches, he looked at it like a spectacle and whispered in Min Yueqing's ear with great curiosity, "Mother, look! Father has strung the rabbits and fish up on branches!"
"Yes, it was these few branches that allowed us to cook our lunch over the fire. Watch closely as your father does it."
Pei Ji nodded immediately, watching Pei Han's movements carefully.
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