Traveling through the mountains and farming

Lin Wan and the other two, immersed in the joy of today's harvest, had no idea that their kudzu nut syrup was highly praised by the Luo and Li families.

Uncle Li and his family were sitting in the yard preparing to have dinner. Those who were not at home during the day looked at the three bowls of new food on the table curiously, wondering what it was? Soup made of milky white fruit pulp?

"Grandpa, this is the kudzu nut soup that Brother Xiaole and the others sent over. It's really delicious." Before anyone could ask, Li Chongping began to introduce it actively.

As he spoke, he scooped up a piece with a spoon and quickly put it into his grandfather's mouth.

Then he asked eagerly, "Is it extra sweet?"

He turned around and prepared to scoop the second piece for his father, but was stopped by Aunt Li, who told him to sit down and eat his meal.

After eating it, Uncle Li found it was really sweet, and the milky white flesh was soft and sticky, so he said:

"It's really good. You should all try some. These three kids are so thoughtful. They don't have much food themselves, but they still send it to us."

At this time, those who had never eaten it at the table, after hearing the old man's praise, were curious about how delicious this new food was, so they scooped up the yam in front of them and tasted it.

After tasting it, everyone agreed that it was delicious, but the adults only had a small taste and left the rest to the children.

Uncle Li continued, "Old lady, when you are not busy, go over and see if their house is tidied up. If it is not tidied up, go and help."

Uncle Li's two sons are mainly responsible for farm work outside, while his two daughters-in-law weave at home to supplement the family income. They have to support a large family and pay for their eldest grandson Li Chonghao's studies, so the family is busy every day.

Aunt Li nodded in agreement, and at the same time she was wondering, there was sugar in the new food, did Lin Wan spend a lot of money to buy sugar? The new bride was still a little loose in her money, so she decided to remind her tactfully next time they met.

~

The Luo family also gathered together to taste the new food brought by Lin Wan and others.

When it was first delivered in the afternoon, his little granddaughter Luo Xiaoya only ate a few small pieces. After she and her grandmother tasted the delicious taste that sister Xiaoke said, she didn't want to eat it anymore and said she wanted to wait for her second brother, grandfather, parents to come back and eat together.

Finally, when everyone came back, Luo Xiaoya held up the kudzu powder syrup and handed it to the family members who had never tasted it. She scooped a spoonful of it into their mouths one by one. She had to hear the person respond "delicious" before she would be satisfied and move on to the next person.

Aunt Luo and her family once again lamented that Lin Wan was sensible and practical. She didn't have much surplus food at home, but she made some delicious food and didn't keep it for herself. She sent it to them, saying that it was to thank them for saving her life.

She told her family members that if they ever saw Lin Wan and the others in need of help, they must lend a hand.

~

Lin Wan and her family had no idea what happened next with the two families, and the three of them had already returned home happily.

Lin Wan was squatting beside a mountain spring pond, quickly cleaning and sorting the fish with a bamboo knife. She removed the head and internal organs of the boneless "lazy fish", set aside a small bowl for cooking porridge, and reserved another bowl for grilling small fish on a stone slab. There was also a large bowl of small fish left.

The two siblings were not idle either. Li Ke had washed the rice and was lighting the fire to cook porridge. Li Chongle was washing kudzu. In fact, he thought that fish porridge would be enough, but the eldest sister-in-law said that they had worked hard all day and today was officially moving into the new home, so they should eat something hearty.

Li Chongle cut the kudzu root into pieces and put them into the earthenware pot for cooking porridge, then went out and shouted, "Sister-in-law, the kudzu root has been put into the pot, I'll help you here."

"Okay, you can build a simple stove with stones on the west side of the yard on which you can place this stone." Lin Wan gestured, holding the stone slab that had just been cleaned.

Afterwards, she picked up the bowl of small fish that she had just prepared and turned into the kitchen. Seeing that Li Ke's rice had been cooked to the point of cracking, she poured the small fish in the bowl into the bowl and stirred it. Soon, the aroma filled the entire small kitchen.

Li Chongle outside the house successfully completed the task of building the stove. Then, according to Lin Wan's request, he set up the stone slabs and started to make a fire. Seeing that Lin Wan hadn't come out yet, he shouted anxiously towards the kitchen: "Sister-in-law, the fire is on, what should I do next?"

After hearing Li Chongle's shout, Lin Wan walked out the door with a small fish that had just been pickled with salt and wild onions in her hand.

The salt used to pickle the fish was the little bit that Aunt Luo brought from home that morning, which was only enough for them to eat for a few days.

Lin Wan placed the small fish one by one on the stone slab and roasted them. When they were slightly browned, she turned them over and continued roasting. Just when she was about to roast the next batch.

Li Chongle was heard saying, "Sister-in-law, I've learned it. Let me bake the rest." Li Chongle, who had watched the whole process from the side, looked eager to try.

Lin Wan knew that this did not pose any technical difficulty, so she confidently left the rest to Li Chongle.

Then she walked into the house, sprinkled a handful of wild onions into the fish porridge, stirred it gently, and then divided the porridge into bowls and emptied the earthenware jar. At this moment, Lin Wan was very glad that she had made a few more wooden bowls during the day, otherwise she would not have been able to empty the earthenware jar.

Afterwards, she boiled some wild vegetables in a clay pot, and finally went to the backyard to pick some stevia leaves and boiled some kudzu syrup.

When everything was ready, the three of them still sat around the simple wooden table, ready to start eating.

At this time, Li Chongle was holding a bowl of fish porridge in his hand. Looking at the fragrant grilled fish, green wild vegetables and sweet kudzu syrup in the clay pot on the table in front of him, his eyes gradually became red. He thought to himself that he went to bed hungry yesterday, but today he had vegetables, meat and syrup, which made him feel like he was dreaming.

Li Ke, who was standing next to her, was not as emotionally sensitive as her brother. She was just happy that there were so many delicious foods. When she saw the food on the table, she said in surprise:

"Wow, today we have porridge, meat, vegetables and sweet soup! It seems like Chinese New Year. No, there is no sweet soup during Chinese New Year."

Lin Wan looked at the different emotions of the two children and felt that Li Ke's emotions were what a child should be like.

She spoke to comfort Li Chongle, "Although our new home is a bit shabby and simple, I believe it will get better and better in the future." Then Lin Wan smiled gently.

Then she promised the two siblings again: "There will be more and more delicious food, and sister-in-law will make sure you have enough to eat every day."

"Thank you, sister-in-law. It's you who gave my younger sister and I a home." Li Chongle said with a choked voice.

Then he turned to Lin Wan and said seriously: "Sister-in-law, you promised me that after this meal, we still have to eat sparingly. Our family only has half a bag of grain, and we don't even have a field to grow crops." He was still worried that if they continued to eat like this, they would really run out of food soon.

Lin Wan was so amused by his little adult appearance that she said with a smile, "Don't worry too much about children. They won't grow taller."

As she spoke, she put a few small fishes into each of the brothers' and sisters' bowls, and then continued:

"Eat quickly, it will be dark soon. We don't have oil lamps at home, so it will be difficult to eat in the dark. Eat well and sleep well tonight. Don't worry, my sister-in-law will be able to think of a way to make money tomorrow morning."

After getting repeated assurances from their sister-in-law, the two siblings started to pick up their chopsticks and eat.

~

After a delicious dinner, the two kids felt so happy that bubbles seemed to burst out of their bodies.

They actually had three meals today, especially the lunch and dinner made by the eldest sister-in-law, which made them full and delicious. This was something they would never have dared to think about before.

They knew that all these were brought by their eldest sister-in-law. Their eldest brother once taught them that people must know how to be grateful. They should thank their eldest sister-in-law, and all they can do now is to help with housework more.

So after finishing their meal, the two of them quickly cleaned up the dishes and washed them. While washing the dishes, they also asked Lin Wan, who was roasting dried fish next to her, if there was any other work to do.

Although the summer nights in the mountains are very cool, Lin Wan is still very cautious when it comes to food. She is putting the remaining large bowl of small fish on the stone slab outside the yard to dry, preparing to save them for the children to supplement protein later.

After everything was done, ah~ Lin Wan sighed again, this family really has nothing!

At this moment, she had to face two major problems: how to take a bath and go to the toilet in ancient times.

Their thatched hut has no dedicated area for bathing or going to the toilet.

As for bathing, Lin Wan first boiled water in a clay pot several times, and let the two siblings take turns bathing in the large wooden tub bought in the morning.

She was so exhausted after working hard all day that she was almost falling apart.

So she could only helplessly and without temper use the newly bought wooden bucket and the handkerchief in her original bag to simply take a bath.

As for going to the toilet, Lin Wan was shocked by the open-air pit toilet in the corner of the backyard. It was a hole dug in the ground and then simply supported by two wooden boards. She didn't dare to imagine the scene on a rainy day.

In particular, when she held the bamboo stick that Li Ke handed her for going to the toilet, she was extremely resistant to the idea of ​​going to the toilet.

I squatted there and swore silently that I must make money quickly. In addition to storing food, I must build shower rooms and toilets.

~

Finally, Lin Wan took the two little ones and, under the bright moonlight, carefully sprinkled snake and insect repellent powder around the house, especially around the doors and windows. Their busy and fulfilling day came to an end.

At this moment, the three of them were squeezed together on the only wooden bed in the house. Although the environment was very simple, their bodies were exhausted.

But compared to last night, I felt a little warmer and more at ease inside.

Lin Wan was still thinking about how to make money tomorrow. After searching her original body's memory for a while, her eyes suddenly lit up. She had an idea.