“Mom, is this useful?”
“Mom, is this the medicinal herb you mentioned?”
After entering the mountain, Jiang Wan searched everywhere for medicinal herbs, eagerly asking Chen Yuezhi about anything she saw.
Chen Yuezhi smiled and said, “My good Wanwan, don’t be so busy. Let Mom find them, and I’ll tell you when I do, okay?”
This little girl was so immersed in the joy of becoming an aunt that her excitement made the whole family burst into laughter. Hearing Chen Yuezhi say they were going to find herbs to help Su Shi’s pregnancy, she remained in this state, which was amusing to behold.
Jiang Wan also wanted to be calm, but how could she remain calm in such a situation?
The thought of a soft, adorable little one joining their family in a few months made her want to present all the good things in the world to the little darling.
Under Jiang Wan’s excitement, Chen Yuezhi managed to gather all the necessary medicinal herbs for the pregnancy-supporting decoction without much effort.
“It would be great if we could find some fresh wild vegetables. A’luo has been vomiting a lot; eating some wild vegetables would be more refreshing for her.”
Jiang Wan declared grandly, “Wild vegetables? Which kind do you want!”
Chen Yuezhi hesitated slightly, “This might not be very appropriate. Medicinal herbs are dried before being brought down the mountain. Dried wild vegetables are also delicious, but fresh wild vegetables… this would be too conspicuous.”
Jiang Wan thought for a moment, “It’s okay, can’t the old immortal conjure some more?”
Regardless, she was determined to arrange this meal of wild vegetables for her sister-in-law today!
So, Jiang Wan let the “old immortal” display his divine powers, conjuring a large patch of wild vegetables.
These wild vegetables were planted with great skill, scattered here and there, showing no sign of human intervention, as if they had grown naturally. Moreover, several varieties were appropriate for the season.
Chen Yuezhi and Jiang Pan quickly began digging. As they dug, several wild rabbits suddenly ran out from the woods.
These rabbits had been drawn by the scent of fresh grass and turned to flee upon seeing people. But since Jiang Wan had spotted them, could they possibly escape?
“Come here!”
Before long, the family of three descended the mountain with a large pile of wild vegetables and several plump wild rabbits.
When the family of three returned to the village with their bounty, the villagers’ eyes widened in astonishment.
“Heavens, am I seeing things! Are those really wild vegetables? Fresh wild vegetables! Yuezhi, where did you dig these up?”
They hadn’t seen green leaves for two years, so how could they not be excited at the sight?
Chen Yuezhi said cheerfully, “In the mountains. Just follow this path, and when you see a tree with a crooked trunk, turn east. Walk forward about a li, and there are plenty more in the woods. If you want to dig, you’d better hurry, as many wild creatures are eating wild vegetables there too.”
When the villagers heard that there were not only wild vegetables but also wild game, they could no longer sit still. They quickly grabbed their tools and rushed up the mountain.
However, they had a tacit understanding now: only one able-bodied man from each household could go up the mountain each time, while women had no restrictions, and everyone else had to stay behind to guard their belongings.
Su Shi also looked at the large basket of wild vegetables, her mouth agape in surprise. “You can still dig up such tender wild vegetables in these mountains? These vegetables are even more succulent than the ones that sprouted in spring.”
Chen Yuezhi chuckled, “Perhaps the deities in heaven saw that you are with child and specially prepared them for us.”
Su Shi didn’t take her words seriously, thinking Chen Yuezhi was just joking.
Chen Yuezhi asked Jiang Pan to prepare the wild rabbits while she started processing the wild vegetables.
The wild vegetables were covered in a lot of mud and sand, requiring a lot of water to wash.
Jiang Wan said from the side, “Mom, don’t be stingy with the water. I’ll ask the old immortal to find us more water later.”
Chen Yuezhi, busy with her work, replied, “Every household is saving water. Our family is too extravagant, and it will attract attention. Wanwan, you must remember, no matter what, the arrow always hits the bird that sticks out. Even if we are capable, we shouldn’t show off too easily. If people figure out our capabilities, we will suffer.”
Jiang Wan felt her mother’s words were quite sensible and nodded to show she remembered.
Chen Yuezhi took a small basin and poured some water into it. She first shook off the mud and sand from the wild vegetables before carefully washing each one in the water.
The vegetables were washed only once; she was reluctant to use a second rinse, but they were still washed quite clean.
Just as Jiang Wan’s family’s wild rabbits were placed on the grill, the people who had gone into the mountain also returned.
This time, almost everyone had a harvest. Although not as much as Jiang Wan’s family, no one returned empty-handed. Some managed to grab a few wild vegetables, while others teamed up to catch wild rabbits.
The items were not many, but everyone was beaming with joy.
Seeing their happiness, Jiang Wan couldn’t help but smile along.
That evening, the families in the small mountain village ate heartily, with the aroma of wild vegetables and roasted rabbit wafting far and wide.
However, while they ate happily, the other refugees felt even more miserable.
They were all refugees, so why were the people in this village living so well?
With fresh wild vegetables and wild game, and these people having plenty of water and no shortage of grain, it was truly enviable.
However, no one dared to plot against them, as the village had a considerable number of people, not someone easily provoked.
After dinner, the female members of the Jiang family went into the carriage to sleep.
Erlang and Jiang Pan tidied up the carriage carrying their luggage and managed to squeeze in to sleep.
Dalong and Sanlang, dressed warmly, sat on the shafts of the carriage to keep watch.
The situation in Tongzhou was not optimistic, so they couldn’t rely solely on the village’s strength for night watch. Their family’s two carriages were too conspicuous, and they had to be more vigilant themselves.
Fortunately, with the carriages, traveling was no longer strenuous, and even after a night watch, they could catch up on sleep during the day.
In the middle of the night, Jiang Pan woke Erlang to take over the watch from Dalong and Sanlang.
The village had also arranged for a significant number of night watchmen, increasing from less than ten to thirty, divided into the first and second halves of the night.
Fortunately, nothing happened overnight, and the villagers’ anxieties eased slightly.
After breakfast, the small mountain village’s convoy immediately set off. Just as they left, the refugee teams behind them rushed over and meticulously searched the places where they had stopped.
What were they looking for? Naturally, food scraps!
Some of these refugee teams had been on the road for a long time, so long that they had run out of food, and it was a mystery how they had survived.
The aroma of the food from the small mountain village last night had driven them to the brink of madness.
If they hadn’t feared the large numbers of people in the small mountain village, they would have charged forward to snatch it.
Now that the people from the small mountain village had finally left, they hurried to search the ground for anything edible.
The area where the Jiang family had settled attracted even more people.
Someone excitedly picked up a bone, exclaiming, “There’s still meat on this bone!”
Another person quickly said, “Give it to me!”
The first person quickly protected the bone, saying, “I found it, get lost, don’t try to snatch my things.”
Suddenly, a man with green eyes rushed out from behind and snatched the bone with a bit of meat still clinging to it. “Whose is it? If I see it, it’s mine! Give it here!”
The person who was robbed was very unwilling and lunged forward to try and snatch it back, leading to a scuffle between the two.
The onlookers were unfazed. No one tried to break up the fight; instead, they seized every moment and opportunity to search the ground meticulously.