After crossing over: kidnapping a female hunter to be the stepfather of the three cubs

Zhao Huanxi picked up his hoe and went home, ending his busy work in the vegetable garden.

When I got home, I heard a gurgling sound coming from the pot. I opened it and saw that the girls had dug up some wild vegetables and cooked a pot of vegetable porridge with potatoes.

Zhao Huanxi tasted it, added some salt, and scooped it into a basin. He then took the last bit of pork hind legs from the well and fried it with potatoes in a large pot.

During the meal, Zhao Huanxi asked everyone where they picked wild vegetables and told them not to go to places with deep water.

"Mom, we went to Uncle Xu's house to pick them. Uncle Xu even asked us what vegetables we picked."

Zhao Huanxi didn't know which Uncle Xu it was, so Zhao Pan explained, "It's a separate family in the back hills, not far from our home. That Uncle Xu even asked us where we came from."

Most people in this village have the surname Lu, and there aren't many outsiders. The one with the surname Xu is probably the kid the village chief picked up and later became a hunter. I remember telling my sister-in-law yesterday what his name was: Xu Qingzhao. Yes, that's it.

The hunter Xu said that he was over 20 years old and still unmarried, and many girls in the village were eyeing him. If he married her, she would be the head of the family and would not have to worry about the opinions of her parents-in-law. This was rare in the village.

Zhao Huanxi became interested in eating melons and asked Zhao Pan, "Is Uncle Xu good-looking? No one in the village has ever seen what he looks like."

Zhao Pan and Zhao Yin thought for a moment and replied, "Uncle Xu is more handsome than Dad, and he's also more handsome than the officials in the government office."

Zhao Huanxi found it a little funny. The only men these girls had ever met were their fathers and the county magistrate. There was nothing to compare them to.

Seeing that he didn't get the point, Zhao Huanxi stopped asking and let them eat their meal.

The potatoes in the pot are sliced ​​thinly, then fried with pork until golden brown. Add the potato slices and stir-fry until they break when you poke a chopstick in them. Season with salt and soy sauce. The potatoes are crispy and tender, and the pork is chewy.

After the meal, the eldest and second oldest went to clean up the dishes. The third oldest, Xiao Nian, lay on Zhao Huanxi's lap and said to her, "Mom, I love the life we ​​have now. Xiao Nian wants to be with you forever."

Seeing the little girl acting coquettishly, Zhao Huanxi rubbed her little head and said, "Then Xiaonian, grow up quickly and take care of your mother when she is old, okay?"

Xiao Nian nodded and said to Zhao Huanxi with a smile, "When I grow up, I will also make meat for mom every meal."

Zhao Huanxi picked up Xiao Nian and held her in his arms, rocking her gently. "Grow up quickly, Xiao Nian. Grow tall and safe. Live happily and healthily."

What the eldest and second sons saw after washing the dishes was Zhao Huanxi sitting on a bench next to the door frame, holding the little girl in his arms, humming some nursery rhyme. The setting sun outside the door shone on Zhao Huanxi's face, and he looked like he was living a peaceful life.

From then on, the image of their mother became more concrete in their eyes.

The sky gradually darkened, and several people washed up and went to bed. Zhao Huanxi seemed to have gotten used to the pace of life here. There were no mobile phones, no computers, no plans urged by leaders in the middle of the night, and no worries about catching the subway tomorrow.

Zhao Huanxi thought back to when she was little, when her grandmother would drag her into the mountains to pick mushrooms. Back then, they were carefree. As she grew older and was being ravaged by society, she would often dream of those times. Unfortunately, it had been so long that she had almost forgotten how to get to her grandmother's house, or the way the old lady spoke to her last words.

As she thought about it, Zhao Huanxi's eyes were filled with tears. She was only about 30 years old when she died suddenly in her previous life. If she had known that she was going to die, she would definitely burn incense for the old lady.

Unfortunately, there is no going back.

Zhao Huanxi suppressed his emotions. Now was no time for melancholy. These three little girls were still waiting for him to feed them, and he would never let them repeat his old ways. He would consider this as redemption for himself, and for them as well.

After plowing the fields for a whole day, Zhao Huanxi thought for a while and then fell asleep.

Zhao Huanxi got up, stretched, and washed himself. He made the same breakfast as yesterday. When the children woke up, he told them to stay home and not to go out to dig wild vegetables today. He told them to wash their dirty clothes at home. He was going to go into the mountains.

Zhao Yin acted coquettishly towards Zhao Huanxi: "Mom, can you take me with you? I promise I will be obedient."

Zhao Huanxi refused without a second thought: "No, if there are snakes in the mountains, I can't outrun you and I have to save you. We are not going to play in the town. Be obedient, or I won't take you with me next time I go to the town."

Zhao Yin sat back down obediently after hearing this. Zhao Pan comforted her, "Second sister, we're doing the laundry at home. If you leave and I wash it all by myself, how can I finish it?"

Zhao Huanxi knew she was being a little harsh, so she comforted her softly, "Be good and behave at home. Mom will be back this afternoon and catch some fish for you and make fish soup for you tonight."

Zhao Yin then nodded and said to Zhao Huanxi, "Then mother must be careful and safe. I don't want the fish, I want mother."

Zhao Huanxi found it a little funny. It turned out that the girl was clamoring to go with her because she was worried about her safety, not for fun.

So she said to the girls, "Okay, okay, I'll listen to you and come back soon."

After thinking for a while, he said, "There are cakes bought from town in the dressing table in the bedroom. Just take them and eat them when you are hungry. Don't save them. Do you understand?" Several children said they understood.

He found his backpack, put two sweet cakes in it, filled a water bag with water, picked up his sickle, and told them to be careful not to fall into the well when drawing water. Then he went out and headed into the mountains.

Zhao Huanxi recalled the route he took the last time he went into the mountains and came back, and walked into the forest in that direction with ease.

Zhao Huanxi walked and searched for nearly an hour before he heard the sound of flowing water. He pushed aside the woods and saw the pond where he had caught fish last time.

After washing his face here, he walked deeper into the old forest. After walking for a quarter of an hour or two, he came to a pine forest. Zhao Huanxi used a sickle to cut a long stick and picked up the dry pine branches on the ground, trying to find out if there were any mushrooms growing on the ground.

The mushroom growth cycle is from April to August every year. I remember it rained some time ago, so if you are lucky, you can find some early mushrooms.

After searching for a while, I found some edible mushrooms of medium size. I sprinkled some pine branches on them and gently put them into the backpack. The purpose of sprinkling pine branches was to prevent the mushrooms from being crushed so easily.

As she walked and searched, the mushrooms in her backpack amounted to almost a pound. Zhao Huanxi was a little dissatisfied. In her previous life, when she went out to pick mushrooms with her grandmother, she always picked more than this amount each time.

After walking a little further, you will see a small hill with some prickly ash sprouts growing on it and some ferns on the ground.

He walked over, broke off the old thorny shoots, and picked some tender ferns and put them into the backpack.

There are quite a lot of wild vegetables here, including some wild onions. I chop them up with meat and make dumplings at home, and they are so fragrant.

But when he came to this hillside, he always felt that something was staring at him, which made Zhao Huanxi a little scared.