Quick Wear: Men Farming and Women Weaving

After everyone had finished eating, it was Niu's turn to clean the kitchen. She also didn't let her daughter help her wash the dishes, asking her to take good care of her skin so that she could marry a wealthy woman when she was old enough.

Old man Song was enjoying the cool in the yard, looking a little worried as he watched the weather getting hotter and hotter. He noticed two days ago that the river water had dropped and the crops in the fields were still a few months away from being harvested. In another month or two, they would run out of food.

After resting, he took his three sons and two grandsons to the river to fetch water for watering the fields. He told Mrs. Liu to ask the family to go to the back mountain to find some wild vegetables and mushrooms to fill their stomachs, for fear that there would not be enough food in a few months.

Granny Liu asked all the women in the family to go to the back mountain to dig wild vegetables.

There are also people in the village who do the same as them. They feel that the crops in the fields are not yet ready for harvest and their families will soon run out of food, so they have been looking for wild vegetables in the back mountain to fill their stomachs these days.

Song Yiyue took her second sister to the foot of another mountain to pick wild vegetables. Now the back mountain had been visited by the aunts in the village, and there were no wild vegetables to pick.

Mrs. Liu didn't care where they went to pick wild vegetables, as long as their baskets were not empty when they came back, she would scold them and told Bao'er not to stay outside and to rest at home.

Song Baoer didn't want to dig wild vegetables because it would make her hands rough and wild vegetables were not easy to dig.

Zhu took her son to a nearby ravine to dig celery, took out the rabbit meat given to her by her eldest daughter, and let her son gnaw it slowly. The rabbit meat had a salty taste, but it could not be kept for a long time and could only be eaten in two days. She only left two or three pieces for the man to eat when he came back in the evening, and gave the rest to her son.

I looked at my five-year-old son with great pity. He was only the height of a three or four-year-old. He had never eaten any meat since he was a child, and his body was lacking in nutrition. I could only save as much food as possible to feed him.

Song Hai ate the rabbit meat with a delicious taste in his mouth. The bowl of porridge he had at noon did not fill him up at all. It was all soup, which disappeared after he peed. It was the first time he was full and also the first time he ate meat.

On the other side, February was also gnawing on the rabbit meat. He was afraid that it would be snatched away when he returned later, so he finished it in four or five bites, licked his hands, and touched his stomach happily.

When they went to pick wild vegetables later, she followed her elder sister diligently to help pick wild vegetables.

Song Yiyue found a nest of eggs in the grass not far away. He counted them and found five eggs in it. He put them under Fengshan's backpack and covered them with wild vegetables.

After walking for a while, there were three chestnut trees in front of us. There were many fruits hanging on them, many of which were ripe and cracked and fell to the ground.

She was so happy that she took Eryue to shake all the chestnuts off the tree with branches, and took out the ripe chestnuts. She poured out the wild vegetables and put them in the small basket behind Eryue, and went back with a basket full of chestnuts.

After returning home, Mrs. Liu looked at the chestnuts on her back, and immediately took them happily without scolding her anymore.

When Eryue returned to the third room's residence, Li was already cleaning the room with her son.

Li Hai happily ran over to say hello to his eldest sister and second sister. Today was the happiest day for him.

Song Yiyue took out the wild plums from her bosom and gave them to him to eat slowly. The little brother who was spoiled by Li did not develop the kind of arrogant and domineering character. He was usually well-behaved, but it was a pity that his ending was not good. He was dying of hunger during the famine. His grandmother saw that he could not survive and did not even give him the last rations. It was his parents who loved their only son and gave him anything to eat first. Because he was too young and had no food, his stomach was damaged by hunger and he closed his eyes one night.

Li Hai looked at the wild fruit in front of him and put it into his arms carefully, intending to eat it together with his parents when they rested in the evening.

"Ms. Li, come out and work quickly." Ms. Liu didn't want to work alone.

"Wait a moment, I'll be there soon." Li didn't care. Today it was Liu's turn to do kitchen work, and she was thinking about whether she could make something to eat for her son in the kitchen.

It’s not that Li doesn’t care about her daughters, but the most important thing now is that her son can survive. Otherwise, the third house will be bullied and unable to stand up straight without a son, and the daughters will have no brothers from their mother’s family to rely on.

The soup is the same old thing. I feel nothing when I drink it. I can only drink it to fill myself up.

When the family returned to the bedroom in the evening, Song Yiyan took out the remaining rabbit meat and the family shared it.

"It's the leftover rabbit meat. It won't be long now so eat it quickly, right?"

Song Laosan didn't care where the rabbit came from, as long as it was eaten, it was real.

A small half of the rabbit meat was left for his son to eat, and the rest was shared by the four of them.

Eryue was a little envious when she saw her younger brother eating so much meat, but she also knew that if her younger brother ate more food and more meat, he would grow up, and the other girls in the village would not dare to bully him.

"Dad, the crops in the fields have been getting worse in the past few months. I'm worried about a drought." Song Yiyue revealed some words first to see what Song Lao San would do.

When Song Lao San heard what his eldest daughter said, he didn't believe there would be a drought. But when he thought about the crops in the fields becoming increasingly lifeless and the water level in the river slowly decreasing, he began to feel depressed.

The last drought happened more than 40 years ago. I’m afraid some of the elderly people in the village have already seen that there will be a drought this year and have probably started making plans privately.

"I'm afraid if there's a drought, grandma won't let us have enough to eat and will ask my aunt for help."

Song Laosan struggled and wanted to retort, but when he thought of his mother's usual condition, he was speechless.

"Your grandma wouldn't do that." Although he said this, his expression revealed a hint of his thoughts.

Zhu, who was standing by, listened to what the father and daughter said with a hint of fear on her face. Regarding the drought, she had only heard what her grandfather said: when fleeing from famine, there would be corpses everywhere, and if you were not careful, you would become someone else's food.

"Dad, I plan to chop wood outside and dry wild vegetables when I dig them, so they can keep longer."

"Find more food so that my little brother can eat more and grow up."

After hearing what was said about his son, Song Lao San no longer hesitated and asked his eldest daughter to be more careful.

Ever since what was said that night, Li would go outside to dig wild vegetables in her spare time and secretly bring them back to the room. After lunch, when everyone was resting in the room, she would take the vegetables outside to dry.

Song Yiyue found a flat area two or three feet below the slope halfway up the mountain. The sunlight was relatively strong, so he built an earthen stove and put a large old-fashioned iron pot on it. He put all the wild vegetables he had collected these days into the stove and cooked them. He then took out a bamboo mat and put them on top to dry.

I boiled some pheasant eggs I found the day before yesterday, ate two of them, and saved the remaining three to take back for my little brother February.

I took out a pack of chicken legs from the space, sat on the side and ate steamed buns and chicken legs, and after eating three steamed buns, I was full. I picked a few leaves of wild mint next to me and put them in my mouth to stir them to get rid of the smell.

If the wild vegetables cannot be dried in a short time, take a backpack and look around to see if there are any edible plants.