In the book, I was fed by my sister

Everyone at the table looked at Song Li.

"I... I mean, not today! Didn't my sister say on the way back that she would treat us tomorrow? I have to help out at home today."

Song Ran looked relieved.

Grandma Gu said: "The child has grown up and become sensible."

"Oh, okay. Then I'll go find Damai by myself. Song Li, I'll come play with you tomorrow!"

Li Zi held the bowl and ran out of the yard happily.

The midday sun was blazing down on the earth, as if it was going to roast everything. Li Zi held the bowl tightly with both hands carefully, not daring to let go of one hand to wipe the sweat off his face. He looked so serious, as if he was offering food.

Grandma Gu helped Song Ran clean up the dishes and asked, "What are you going to cook? The old man likes to drink, so prepare some good food to go with his wine."

"I need to think about it. I was so confused when I came back that I forgot to go to the market to buy some meat." The weather was getting hotter and hotter, and the meat we bought would not last long. The meat Song Ran was talking about was small live animals.

According to the custom in the village, if you help someone, you have to treat them to a meal. You can't do it too badly, or you can't let the people who do it down feel bad. If you do it badly, the village will also look bad.

Song Ran returned to the village, put his younger sister back to the house to sleep, and went to Li Wanshu to thank him as soon as possible.

Li Wanshu politely said that he didn't need to eat, but Song Ran couldn't be so practical in doing things.

"I'll go into the mountains later to see if I can find some mountain products." Song Ran still remembered the wild duck eggs in the pond on the mountain, and wanted to see if he could catch some wild ducks today.

Grandma Gu asked worriedly, "Can you bear it?"

"It's all right. I was locked up there, it was dark and gloomy, I lay down and sat all the time. Now I have a full meal and I am in good spirits. I found a nest of wild duck eggs last time. Let's see if I can be lucky today and catch a wild duck."

"Oh, wild ducks are hard to catch. I see a lot of people go up the mountain to collect eggs recently, but no one has caught ducks. How about you use a cage to catch fish?" The cage that Grandma Gu was talking about was a bamboo cage specially used to catch fish. Crush the clams and throw them in. You can catch a lot of fish in an afternoon. There are no big fish, but small fish the size of a palm can weigh two or three pounds. It is also a good dish to eat with wine after it is cooked with oil and coated with spicy and numbing ingredients.

Grandma Gu's words reminded Song Ran. She clapped her hands and said, "That's fine, but you and the village chief have helped me a lot, so I can't be stingy. Grandma, lend me a fish basket. I'll put it down before going into the mountains, and we'll collect the fish when I come back."

Song Ran started to move after he finished speaking.

When Song Li saw her elder sister suggested going into the mountains, she happily followed suit and packed up. After this lesson, she would never dare to go to the mountains alone again. She had to stay by her elder sister's side.

"You young people are really energetic. I can't walk anymore today, so I won't go to the mountains with you. I'll stay at home and tidy up."

After they finished cleaning up, they locked the gate and went out to the river. Song Ran picked up a river clam the size of a palm, smashed it with a stone, and threw it into a bamboo cage. The rope on the cage was tied to a big stone, and the cage was thrown into the river.

This is the way most people in Lihua Village catch fish. There are many clams on the riverside, but they are too fishy and smelly. Most people don't know how to prepare the clam meat, which causes the clams to grow all over the cracks in the rocks.

"Okay." Song Ran clapped his hands.

"Sister, do you need me to go fishing?"

"Let's put the cages in there and see if we can catch any more fish. If we can't catch any wild ducks, I'll go to town again tomorrow morning."

"Isn't that edible?" Although Song Li also smelled the fishy smell of the river clams, she was also curious whether the clam meat in this world could be eaten? After all, in the end times, river clams are poisonous.

"Sure, but I haven't made it either." Song Ran said. She remembered that there was a recipe for cooking this meat in the recipe left by her father.

"We'll try it some other time, sister. Let's go up the mountain now!"

The sun shines through the treetops and onto the winding mountain road. Walking into the forest, there are few people on the road, only a few lazy dogs napping under the shade of the trees. They occasionally raise their heads and catch a glimpse of familiar figures, then lie down contentedly and continue to enjoy the leisure time.

The cows were eating grass under the shade of the trees, their tails wagging constantly like insect fans, driving away the annoying insects and flies.

"The weather is getting hotter and hotter." Song Ran wiped his sweat and said, then lowered his head to wipe Song Li's sweat: "Why don't you sweat, kid? Your hands are still cold. We should ask the doctor in the county to take a look."

Song Li paused. She didn't know whether the doctor who took her pulse could tell anything given her physical condition. Although the lame doctor had taken her pulse, what if he was not a good doctor and didn't see it?

"Sister, I'm fine, right? I can walk long distances now. My health is getting better and better. We can't waste money. We need to save money to buy piglets and seeds."

"Really?" Song Ran was skeptical.

As we went deeper into the mountains, it became a little cooler.

The two passed by wild grapes that were grown half a month ago. Song Ran picked one and tried to taste it: "Hmm, sweet!" Then he picked a bunch and handed it to Song Li.

Song Li frowned. She still remembered the sour grapes.

"Hahaha, look at you, so sweet. I didn't lie to you this time."

Song Li tried one and found it sweet and sour. "Delicious!"

"In a few days, let's call grandma and take the basket back with us. We'll make some wine and put it in the New Year so you can drink some." Song Ran picked two more bunches and said, "We still have a long way to go. Let's eat these grapes before we go."

Song Li was delighted to see that there was food.

Although these grapes are small and even have traces of insects and birds, they are plump and round. When you wipe off the white frost on them with your sleeves, they are purple and black, and look very tempting.

The two of them couldn't stop eating, and soon they had finished both bunches of grapes.

"Let's go, we have business to attend to."

After walking for about another quarter of an hour, the two arrived at a reed marsh halfway up the mountain.

The reeds in the summer were emerald green, and the calls and fluttering of wild ducks could be heard one after another. The sun shone through the sparse clouds, shining on the sparkling water, reflecting patches of golden light. A breeze blew, the reeds swayed gently, and a group of sleek wild ducks appeared in the eyes of Song Ran and the others.

Song Ran whispered, "Xiaoguai, wait for me here." Then, she bent over and quietly approached the reed marsh. She stepped on a reed, sprinkled some food for the ducks on the ground as bait, and then propped the basket on top of the bait.

Song Ran pulled the thin rope and slowly retreated to Song Li's side, saying, "The rest is just waiting."

A flock of wild ducks swam leisurely on the lake. Some of them lowered their heads to look for food, some chased each other, and some sang loudly. There was no sign of them heading in the direction of Song Ran.

In the afternoon, the sun hung high in the sky like a big fireball.

Although they wore reed hats to block the sun, the heat waves kept coming. Soon, Song Ran's face began to flush, and sweat kept dripping down her cheeks and dripping into the ground, soaking her chest and back.

Song Li watched all this with a frown, her eyes fixed on the center of the lake, anxiously thinking of a solution.

The ducks have to be driven to the shore.