The eldest sister-in-law became rich by farming in the mountains

Jiang fumbled and opened the door, and Xie Li's voice comforting Xie Bai came from inside the house: "Don't be afraid, second brother, it's just thunder."

"Nonsense, I would even bother?" Xie Bai insisted.

Xu Yingtao was amused by the conversation between the brother and sister, and the darkness in her heart also dissipated a lot.

Soon, raindrops as big as beans began to fall down with a crackling sound.

It was raining heavily outside, and it was no less severe inside the house.

At first, the four of them used pots and pans to collect rainwater, but later, because there were too many leaking places, they simply threw them all away.

Fortunately, the weather is not cold now, so I don’t have to worry about catching a cold from the rain.

The family found a relatively dry place and sat down. Xu Yingtao inexplicably thought of Du Fu.

There is no drying place for the leakage at the bedside, and the rain is like hemp on the feet and has not been stopped.

Or maybe it is that education has a lag. On this rainy night in a different time and space, she deeply empathized with the great poet.

At this moment, her only wish was to own a spacious house that was as stable as a mountain and would not be affected by wind and rain.

It will happen, it will happen, Xu Yingtao silently cheered in her heart.

It was impossible to sleep anymore, and sitting there was not an option either, so Xu Yingtao simply told the three of them some folk myths from her time and space.

It starts from Nezha’s Conquest of the Dragon King to Sun Wukong’s Three Defeats of the White Bone Demon, and then to Nuwa’s Repairing the Sky to the Legend of the White Snake.

Xu Yingtao grew up listening to stories told by her grandfather, and she was very familiar with these myths. Her ups and downs in voice made the mother and her two children very excited, and the two younger ones even shouted with excitement.

In the midst of the bitter wind and rain, she comforted the family with her stories.

To Xu Yingtao's surprise, Nezha and the Monkey King, who she thought were more popular with boys, were actually loved by Xie Li. She liked them because of their strong fighting abilities.

However, Xie Bai was deeply impressed by the Legend of the White Snake.

Xu Yingtao was completely confused.

Isn't this child a love-brained person?

Xie Bai: "Xu Xian is such a bad man. White Snake entrusted her true love to him and married him, but he was easily persuaded by the old monk and became suspicious of White Snake. He is really heartless, ungrateful, stupid and foolish!"

Xu Yingtao's eyes were full of complexity.

You could say that this kid is loyal and righteous, but he secretly drives her away. You could say that he is heartless and ungrateful, but he feels sorry for White Snake.

Although he is young, he has two faces.

The rain continued until daylight began to appear, and the house was finally no longer pitch dark.

It will be easy if we have light.

The whole family patted their butts and stood up. Without anyone's instruction, they quickly cleaned up the mess in the house.

The four of them poured out the rain water from the pots and pans, swept out the accumulated water in the house, and wiped the bed and table dry. By then, it was already dawn.

The original plan was to go up the mountain to pick ingredients for tomorrow's market, but because they hadn't slept most of the night and had worked all morning, the family was so tired that they didn't want to move a finger.

"Mom, I'm so sleepy. I want to sleep." Xie Li's eyelids were fighting each other, and Xie Bai looked much the same.

Seeing this, Xu Yingtao simply suggested that everyone get enough sleep first, as the mountain roads were slippery and steamy and not suitable for picking.

Jiang nodded in agreement.

She didn't know how long she slept. In a daze, Xu Yingtao heard a strange man talking in the yard, which scared her so much that she lost all sleepiness.

As soon as I sat up, I heard Jiang's voice.

"Auntie, Awen, I'm sorry to bother you. How can I do this?"

Then came the voice of Mrs. Zhou: "What's the use? Your uncle was worried about your family getting wet last night, but the rain was too heavy and we couldn't go out to cut straw. We can only wait until dawn to stop. I'll let Da Wen spread these straw mats for you. My daughter-in-law and grandchildren are still weaving them. The second son will bring them over later."

Jiang thanked him profusely again.

Mrs. Zhou smiled and said, "Don't thank us. We are not helping your family for nothing. Your nephews and nieces are greedy. They ate the food you sent yesterday and complained that they were not full. I, an old woman, am shameless enough to ask you for another bowl of food."

Jiang quickly agreed: "Okay, I'll bring it to them when it's ready."

Xu Yingtao walked to the door and saw several bundles of straw mats piled in the yard.

The straw mat is made of freshly cut thatch, which is woven and fixed with hemp rope, making it look thick and strong.

At this time, Zheng Wen, the eldest son of the Zheng family, had already set up the ladder. He held a bundle of straw mats under his armpit and a roll of hemp rope slung over his shoulder. He climbed onto the roof in a few steps.

He placed the straw mats with the tips of the grass facing the eaves and laid them one row at a time, fixing them with hemp ropes and bamboo strips until the straw mats formed a thick ceiling.

A roof built in this way will not be easily destroyed unless it encounters strong winds and heavy rain.

Although she had witnessed the Zheng family's friendliness yesterday, Xu Yingtao felt even more grateful after personally experiencing their timely help.

The siblings Xie Bai and Xie Li also walked out of the room one after another, looked at the scene outside, opened their mouths wide, and their eyes were full of joy.

Since there was nothing they could do to help here, Xu Yingtao took the two children and called for help, intending to take them for a walk in the back mountain.

According to the rules of the village, although you don't have to pay others for helping you with work, a good meal is essential.

Although the Zheng family came forward to help on their own initiative and did not care about anything in return, they could not enjoy the kindness of others with a shameless face and a clear conscience. If this continued in the long run, it would surely make people feel disheartened.

Xie Li blurted out: "Then we are going to pick the stinky... um..."

She was halfway through her words when Xie Bai covered her mouth.

"Are you stupid? This is our family's business, how can you tell anyone about it?" Xie Bai scolded in a low voice.

Xie Li then realized that she had said something wrong. She stuck out her tongue and closed her mouth tightly.

Upon learning that the three of them were going out to pick wild vegetables, Jiang repeatedly told them not to go deep into the mountains and to return home as soon as they finished picking.

The air in the mountains after the rain was exceptionally fresh. Xu Yingtao took a deep breath and suddenly felt relaxed all over. She then made a simple calculation in her mind.

A skilled cook cannot cook without rice. It is a pipe dream to want to prepare a feast when there is no grain, oil or meat at home.

Fortunately, she knew that her family's financial situation was limited and that she could not prepare a banquet, but she could make a few side dishes to thank the Zheng family.

The first one is naturally green jelly.

The three of them first ran straight to the bushes of stinking broom on the back mountain and picked a small basket of leaves. Seeing that the two younger ones were still pulling them hard, Xu Yingtao hurriedly stopped them.

"We'll use them tomorrow, so it's not too late to pick them later."

For now, it is only necessary to pick enough for the Zheng family and my own family. Picking too much will only be a nuisance.

Seeing purslane and perilla leaves nearby, Xu Yingtao took the two of them to pick a lot of them. They also found several clumps of chicken mushrooms, pine milk mushrooms, yellow mushrooms, chanterelles, and green-headed mushrooms.

Xu Yingtao walked quickly forward, her eyes curved with a smile.

It is now mid-morning and the caps of several chicken mushrooms have opened wide and are already cracking. If we come a little later, the mushroom bodies will gradually rot.

Shanzhen won't wait for anyone.

The brother and sister were also grinning from ear to ear. It was obvious that they had also experienced the deliciousness of mushrooms, but mushrooms were not like wild vegetables and could not be found easily.

When they passed by a vine of wax gourds, they saw that all the wax gourds on the vine had been picked. The brother and sister's faces fell at the same time, almost in sync. Xu Yingtao was amused, but she also comforted them: "Anyway, we have to go into the mountains in the afternoon, so we can look for more."

There are countless wild fruits in the mountains at this time of year. As long as you look carefully, you can always find them.

After the three of them picked the necessary wild vegetables and seasonings and collected a bundle of firewood, they returned home chatting and laughing.

When they got home, they saw more straw mats piled up in the yard. Jiang and Zhou were chatting in the yard, occasionally handing a bundle of straw mats to Zheng Wen on the roof.

"Grandma Zhou, Uncle Awen." The three called people again.

Mrs. Zhou smiled and said, "They are all back."

Although she was curious, her eyes never looked at their backpacks, which made Xu Yingtao like Zhou Po even more.

Entering the kitchen, Xu Yingtao first prepared the green tofu. While waiting for it to solidify, she washed purslane, perilla leaves, and various seasonings with the help of her two children.

While seasoning the food, Xu Yingtao poked her head out of the kitchen and smiled at Grandma Zhou, "Grandma Zhou, was the green jelly I sent to your house last time spicy?"

It turns out that this food is called green jelly.

Mrs. Zhou said kindly, "It's not spicy, not spicy at all. Your grandfather praised it highly, and your brothers and sisters also love it."

Zheng Wen on the roof couldn't help but interject: "It's OK to make it even spicier!"

Xu Yingtao understood and retracted her head to continue mixing the ingredients.

This time, other seasonings and a small amount of crushed peppercorns were added to the sauce, which further enhanced the flavor.

As for the perilla leaves, wash the cherries and steam them, then spread the sauce you prepared on each piece, arrange them in a bowl, and marinate them for a while and they will become a delicious pickled vegetable. Whether you eat it with porridge or other staple foods, you can eat two more bowls of rice.

Purslane is blanched and served cold with garlic juice, which tastes very fresh and refreshing.

After doing all this, the green tofu that had been standing aside had solidified. Xu Yingtao mixed two large bowls of it for the Zheng family just as she did yesterday.

"Mom, please come in for a moment." Xu Yingtao shouted outside the house.

Jiang came into the house quickly.

"Cherry, what's wrong?"

Xu Yingtao handed her a basket.

Jiang looked down and saw five bowls of dishes in the basket. They were two bowls of green jelly, cold-mixed purslane, pickled perilla leaves, and steamed mushrooms. Except for the mushrooms, the others were all in one color, which was environmentally friendly.

"Mom, we can't afford a good meal in our current situation. For now, we can only use this to thank the Zheng family. We will make up for it tomorrow when we make money."

Not to mention cooking a good meal, she can’t even make a pot of porridge.

Jiang was both relieved and guilty. She had thought that her three children were just doing routine work of going up the mountain to pick wild vegetables, but she had never expected that the things that she should have been concerned about were actually done by her eldest daughter-in-law.

But even if she were to do it herself, there would be nothing better than this.

After Jiang entered the kitchen, Mrs. Zhou quickly asked her eldest son to leave the room: "Let's go home first and come back after lunch."

How could Zheng Wen not understand that his mother was afraid that Jiang Saozi's family would be in trouble.

After saying hello, the mother and son hurried out of the yard. After only a few steps, Jiang rushed out from the kitchen in a hurry: "Aunt, wait a moment."

Mrs. Zhou thought that Jiang wanted to keep some food for her, so she didn't even turn her head and quickly pulled her son to quicken his pace.

Jiang didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so she quickened her pace and chased after him. "Aunt, you know my family's conditions well, so I'm shameless enough to not invite you and Awen to dinner. You must take these side dishes back to try, and don't despise them."

Mrs. Zhou took a careful look and saw that they were just a few bowls of wild vegetables, including the green tofu that her family had been longing for, so she naturally did not refuse.

When the mother and son passed by Xie Daniu's yard, Chen was drying millet in the yard with a wooden rake.

Seeing Mrs. Zhou, Chen quickly put on a smile and said, "Aunt, let's go home."

Mrs. Zhou nodded indifferently, without stopping for long, and continued walking towards her home.

Seeing the two figures walking away, Chen spat and cursed: "It's really like a dog trying to catch a rat and meddling in other people's business. It's caused me to be stabbed in the back!"

This morning, she went to the river to wash clothes as usual. As soon as she put down the wooden basin, she was squeezed by the women by the river.

"Daniu's, it rained heavily last night. I'm afraid the thatched roof of your sister-in-law's house is not good enough. Did you go to repair it this morning?"

"Is there any need to ask? Mrs. Zhou has brought Da Wen to help. Mrs. Chen is my sister-in-law, so how can I just ignore her?"

"That's right. Xiaobai and A Li are Daniu's nephews after all. Even if we don't care about Jiang, we can't ignore the two little ones. Sister Chen, am I right?"

Chen's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot. She no longer cared about washing clothes. She picked up the wooden basin and hurried home.

She asked why Xie Daniu, who never cared about women's work, kept urging her to go to the river to wash clothes this morning. It seemed that he must have done something bad behind her back!

Sure enough, when Chen returned home, she saw Xie Daniu carrying two baskets of clay, and his eldest son following closely with two large bundles of straw. It seemed that the father and son were about to go out.

How could Chen not know that these were materials used to repair the earth wall, and her face immediately darkened.

The father and son were both surprised to see Chen come back. Xie Daniu blurted out: "Why did you come back so soon?"

Chen threw the wooden basin to the ground with a bang, sat down on the ground skillfully, and started to howl: "Xie Daniu, you bastard, you promised me yesterday that you would never help that family again, and you changed your mind so soon, you might as well move our family over there, we can't live like this anymore!"

Xie Daniu sighed and had to give up.

Chen was worried, so she simply stopped washing her clothes and moved a low stool to sit at the door of the main room to chase sparrows, and from time to time she would get up to turn over the millet in the yard.

Seeing Zheng Wu carrying the straw mat towards the foot of the mountain, Chen's eyes almost rolled up to the sky.

She just couldn't understand. If her father-in-law had saved the village chief's life on the battlefield, then why did the Zheng family only help the second branch and never help her family?

Whenever Chen thought of this, he became furious.

When Zhou and her son arrived home, their two daughters-in-law had already prepared lunch.

Now that the busy farming season is over, although every household has harvested the new millet, after deducting the agricultural tax and the head tax, and leaving enough seeds and grain to sell, there is not much new millet left.

Therefore, even for the Zheng family, whose conditions were relatively better, lunch was just multi-grain porridge with stewed beans and some mixed sunflower greens, and nothing else.

Seeing that Mrs. Zhou brought back a basket of side dishes, the whole family was delighted. Not only did the green jelly they had been craving for taste even better, but even the cold-mixed purslane and pickled perilla leaves were delicious. Not to mention the chicken mushrooms, which were extremely sweet and fresh when simply steamed.

Is this really the wild vegetable they see every day? How can it be cooked so deliciously?!