Traveling through troubled times to escape famine and cultivate crops as a grain merchant

Mrs. Li looked at her with pity. She knew her own child well. After her appetite grew, she seldom had a full stomach and felt uncomfortable being hungry. The child was probably afraid of being hungry. The whole family had to eat so much food every day and no one knew how long the food in the car could last. That was why she was reluctant to throw anything away.

No one in the family, including Mrs. Xu, said anything. It was a good thing that the child was diligent. Besides, there would be nothing else to dig if they didn't dig these things.

Later, when Li and the others were replaced, they also carried bags and looked for food all over the floor.

Every time this happened, Zhou Guo would quietly come over with her basket, dig out everything she saw that was edible, whether green or yellow, with the roots included, and shake off the mud and put it into the basket.

Even though she knew that she wanted everything, when she really saw it now, even Li was a little suspicious. Did this child just dig it randomly? How could she eat something so old that she couldn't even chew it?

Xu said directly: "Fruits, these are really edible, they are so old, the leaves and stems are all yellow and rotten, how can you eat this thing, what's the difference between eating this thing and eating tree bark."

Zhou Guo didn't answer, Huang said in defense: "Just dig your own wild vegetables, why do you care what others are digging? It's embarrassing that you didn't even get a basket after digging for so long. Look at us, Guoguo, we've already dug two baskets."

Mrs. Xu curled her lips and muttered in dissatisfaction, "Humph, only your daughter is good. Even if she poops, I'm afraid you would say it smells good. You've never been so attentive to your own eldest grandson. You're biased towards the little one!"

Huang looked at the basket of dead leaves and grass roots that Zhou Guo was carrying, and then looked at the dead branches and leaves everywhere on the ground and the mountain. She was very worried. The drought that happened more than 30 years ago seemed to reappear before her eyes. The rivers dried up, the earth was cracked, the trees in the mountains died one by one, and there was no green on the smaller hills or the entire mountain.

The grass roots and tree bark were all eaten up, the river water dried up, and the water that was finally pumped up was mixed with thick mud. How many people died!

Fortunately, they still have enough food in the car, but I don’t know about the water...

She looked at her granddaughter who was busy digging grass roots, then looked at the other children in the family, and her heart couldn't help but soften. How old are these children, but they are already worrying about the family's livelihood and trying every means to store food for the family. Even Zhou Xing, although she is so old, has never cared about these things.

It's hard to believe given her young age. This might be because she has a connection with Buddhism. Don't those masters always say something like "compassion, compassion"?

Zhou Guo didn't know all this. She was happily digging the tubers in front of her with a small hoe. If she saw correctly, there were a few lilies underneath. The roots of lilies are soft and sticky when cooked. She had her grandmother dig one up and cooked it for her when she was a child. She had never eaten it since then and missed it a lot.

She dug with the hoe, thinking about the taste of the lilies, and her mouth couldn't help but drool. She really hadn't eaten anything good since she woke up here, so she was greedy for everything she saw.

Zhou Su was pulling grass leaves nearby. Seeing her digging with a small hoe, he ran over and asked curiously, "Sister, what are you digging?"

Zhou Guo said as he dug: "Lily roots."

Zhou Su asked in surprise: "Why are you digging this?" He was also curious about what the lily root looked like, and stared at the pit without moving.

"Just eat it." What else could she do? Could she have the leisure to dig it out and admire it?

"Eat?! Lily can be eaten!" Zhou Su was even more surprised, as it seemed that no one at home had ever eaten it.

He turned around and called his mother, "Mom, come quickly, sister is digging lily roots and wants to eat them."

During this period, Zhou Guo dug out the entire lily root with a few hoes, and asked her to pick out the few lily petals that had fallen into the soil one by one, without leaving any behind.

The lily was quite big, as thick as a bowl. She picked it up happily, scraped off the dirt, and looked at it over and over again.

The snow-white root petals tightly surround the heart inside, like an onion, or like a lotus flower that has not yet opened, which is very beautiful.

Zhou Su exclaimed, "Ah, sister, is this the root of a lily? How come it looks like a flower? It's so beautiful. I want to see it, too. Let me see it."

Li and the others heard the noise and came over to take a look. They were surprised to see that the bulb they dug out was really that big. "I didn't expect that there would be such a big fruit under the flower. It's white and pretty, just like the flower above."

Xu said, "What's the point of looking good? It's good to eat it. If it's edible, this one would be enough to make a whole pot of vegetables. You're just digging up these useless things."

Huang said, "It's not that we can't eat it, it's just a little bitter. But compared to being hungry, it's nothing."

When the whole family heard her say this, they all looked at her in surprise.

Zhou Dacang said, "Mom, have you eaten this before? If you have, why haven't we eaten it?"

Yes, the children all looked at her without saying anything.

Huang said, "It's bitter. Besides, it's hard to find except when it blooms in spring. There are so many wild vegetables in the fields that you can't eat them all."

Zhou Guo looked at the lily petals in her hand in surprise. She remembered that they were delicious, soft and sticky. Why are they bitter here because of the different water and soil? Or is it a different variety?

Thinking of this, I naturally put the thing in my hand into my mouth.

"Oh, sister, this is not cooked yet and you can't eat it. Spit it out quickly." Zhou Su was very anxious. How could he eat it without watching his sister?

"Ah, Guoguo, how could you eat this raw? Spit it out, spit it out." Li frowned.

Zhou Tao was very curious and looked at it eagerly, "Second sister, what's that smell?"

Mrs. Xu quickly said, "Tao, you can't eat this. Didn't you listen to your grandma? This is bitter, like medicine."

When Zhou Tao heard that it was bitter like medicine, her face wrinkled, but she still wanted to taste it before putting it in her mouth.

Zhou Guo took the half stem in his hand, chewed it without changing his expression in front of everyone, and then swallowed it.

It tastes a little bitter when eaten this way, but not that bitter. However, it is better to cook it well.

Zhou Su's eyes widened, rolled around, and he grabbed the remaining petals from her hand and stuffed them into his mouth.

Zhou Mai, who was standing next to him, failed to stop him.

Zhou Tao's eyes lit up instantly, she wanted to eat it so much!

"How is it? What does it taste like? Is it delicious?" the brothers asked impatiently.

Mrs. Li was a little worried. She looked at the pair of children and asked Mrs. Huang, "Mom, is there anything wrong with their stomachs?"

There's no doctor in this remote place, and it would be troublesome if I got diarrhea.

Huang waved her hand and said, "Don't worry, nothing can happen." Then she turned and left. It was not like she had never eaten raw before.

When the brothers and sisters heard that it was okay, they no longer had any concerns. They snatched the lily stems from Zhou Su's hand and shared them among themselves, eating them with relish.