Travel to the mountains and make a fortune in silence

After preparing the snacks in the pavilion, Wang Qing'er began to prepare lunch, soaking some dried plum vegetables in boiling water for later use.

She started washing the leaves of the dove tree with Muqin, preparing to make more tofu so that she could send some over to the people who were planting rice in the afternoon.

After a while, the children came chattering as they walked toward the front yard.

Wang Qing'er invited them over to wash their hands and gave them a bar of mugwort soap to use, just in case they touched the livestock and then it would be unhygienic to eat with their hands.

My family always washes their hands with mugwort-scented soap before eating; it's become a habit.

"Sister-in-law, why are you washing these turtledove leaves?" Wang Er asked curiously.

Mu Lin quickly interjected, "Of course, we should make something delicious!"

"This leaf smells bad, but it can be made into something delicious?" The children became even more curious.

"Of course! My sister-in-law's leaf tofu is delicious! Not only is the tofu delicious, but all the food my sister-in-law makes is delicious," Mu Lin boasted proudly.

"Tch, Mu Lin, stop bragging. This is edible? How come my mother didn't know?"

"It smells so bad, the food you make must smell bad too, right?"

“Last year, when we had no food to eat, my mother wouldn’t let us eat this.”

The children all looked on in disbelief.

"Hmph! If you don't believe me, fine. You'll see how good it is once my sister-in-law makes it," Mu Lin said angrily.

……

"Alright, you can all go play in the pavilion. There's sweet water, candy, and pastries there, all prepared for you."

"You all eat lunch at home. Why don't you try this tofu made from tree leaves and see if it's good or not?" The children were arguing and chattering, giving her a headache. She told them to hurry up and go to the pavilion to eat.

"Sister-in-law, we don't need to eat. If my mother finds out, she'll skin us alive."

"Okay, we're not eating!"

"Sister-in-law, are you still digging up that aloe vera? We can help you, we won't eat."

"Yes! We're free anyway, we can help you dig up aloe vera."

The children were still chatting away around Wang Qing'er, and she suddenly felt overwhelmed.

Wang Qing'er sincerely wanted to invite them to have dinner at her home. Now that the Mu family has a stable income every day and doesn't have to worry about food and drink, having a few children stay for a meal is a piece of cake.

"Alright, alright, you guys go have some water and food and rest for a while. Then I'll have Muqin and Mulin take you to help me dig up aloe vera. But you have to be careful and don't fight, okay?"

Wang Qing'er thought the road wasn't far and the place was safe, so she decided to have the children help her dig again.

When she came back from digging, she would have prepared the meal, and then she would invite them to eat at her home.

"Okay, we definitely won't fight."

"We're on great terms, aren't we, dog?"

"Don't call me Gouzi, my name is Wang Qingnian."

"Come quick, everyone! The sweet water is so delicious!"

"This candy is delicious, and this cake too. If you don't come soon, it'll be gone." Wang Er had already slipped into the pavilion and tried all the different flavors of pastries and fruits.

The biscuits he was referring to were the cookies made by Wang Qing'er, which came in several flavors such as goat milk fruit, mulberry, and peach blossom.

Although they were cookies, they weren't baked very dry, similar to a certain brand of raisin cookies she had eaten in her previous life.

These cookies can be kept for three or four days after being made once. She makes some whenever she has free time. Zhou's teeth aren't very good, so she really likes these cookies.

It's easy to make, but whipping the egg whites is a bit of a hassle.

"Wang Er, that's so unfair of you! What are we supposed to eat after you've finished?"

"That's right, that's right, Wang Lao Er is dishonest."

"I only ate one of each, and there are still many here, enough for you all." Wang Er knew he had angered everyone, so he quickly tried to appease them.

Wang Qing'er rubbed her forehead, thinking to herself, "So noisy, why are they all such chatterboxes?"

"Sister-in-law, we're back! Look how many fish my second brother caught!" Zitong pushed open the courtyard gate and walked in.

Today, Zitong and her sister went to pick mint and mugwort.

Wu Zixuan went to cut grass for the cattle, and while cutting the grass, he set fish baskets in the river. Following the method that Wang Qing'er had taught them, they would catch some fish every few days.

The larger ones are cooked and eaten, while the smaller ones are kept in the pond behind.

"Wow, Uncle caught so many fish today!" Yao'er's exclamation brought the group of children in the pavilion over again!

"Alright, I'd better not go see them. You can have your fill of looking first!" Wang Qing'er, who had originally planned to go and see the fish, backed down when she saw the children swarming over.

I've made sauerkraut fish several times, and I'm getting a little tired of it.

Let's make boiled fish fillets today; she originally planned to make boiled pork fillets.

Since we have fish now, let's make boiled fish fillets. Eating pork every day is getting a bit tiring.

Ah, if only we could have seafood!

After watching for a while, the children remembered they had things to do, so they all ran off to dig up aloe vera.

However, Wu Zixuan was also with them this time.

Wang Qing'er was still worried that the children were too young, so she asked Zixuan to come along as well, and specially asked him to dig up some large aloe vera plants and cut some large aloe vera petals to bring back.

"Zitong, it seems your second brother's fishing skills have improved. He caught so many big fish today." Wang Qing'er waited until all the children had left before going over to look at the fish. There were several big fish in the two buckets, and she couldn't help but praise Wu Zixuan.

All of Wu's brothers and sisters are excellent, except for the one sitting in the pavilion.

Hey!

At this moment, Wu Zihan was sitting in the pavilion, lost in thought. This young lady rarely uttered a single word all day; aside from Mu Nan, she had nothing to say to anyone else. It was truly...

"Zitong, what's wrong with your older sister?" Wang Qing'er felt that Wu Zihan was acting even more strangely today, so she asked Zitong.

Zitong glanced into the pavilion, her little face scrunched up. "Last night, my older sister and my mother had an argument for some reason!"

Wang Qing'er's gossip instincts flared up again, "Did you quarrel with your aunt? Why?"

Zitong shook her head, "I'm not too sure either. I think my mother scolded her, and then my older sister cried!"

"Huh? Hey! Where did Grandma and Aunt go?" Wang Qing'er then realized that she hadn't seen Zhou Shi and Mu Yan since she returned.

"I don't know either. Azu and the others went out after breakfast."

Well, it seems we won't get anything out of this girl.

Wang Qing'er gave up asking about gossip and scooped up two large fish, slamming them forcefully onto the ground.

With two "smacks," the fish thrashed a few times on the ground and then died.

"You two should put these in the pond behind the house to keep them alive!" Wang Qing'er said to Mu Qinzitong.

The pond behind has now been completely transformed into a fish farm, with an estimated hundred fish of all sizes inside.

Mu Nan renovated the pool again, making it much larger, more like a small pond.