Chapter 20: Rabbits committing collective suicide
It is definitely too late to grow food in the ten acres of land behind the yard.
But it would be good to plant some cabbage, radish and the like and keep them for home use in the winter.
Li Laoer and his two brothers went into battle together with hoes and cleared an acre of land in one day.
Jiaren took his younger brothers up the mountain to cut firewood and drag it home to stack it. This was the key to keeping the family warm through the winter.
Only Wu Cuihua would hide and be lazy from time to time, but when it was time to eat, she was more active than anyone else.
Although Zhao Yuru and Tao Hongying are diligent, they can still do their work neatly without Wu Cuihua's help.
But Mrs. Li looked down upon this sneaky person and planned to properly discipline her second daughter-in-law after she was settled thoroughly.
During the day, while Jia Renjiayi was chopping firewood, he dug a lot of wild vegetables on the back mountain.
Knock the soil off the roots, arrange them neatly on a dustpan, and place them in the sunniest place to dry.
In winter, it is also a good dish to soak in water, blanch in hot water and dip into sauce.
On this day, Li Lao Er took a pheasant that Li Lao Si had shot in the mountains yesterday and went to the village chief's house to borrow a donkey cart.
I plan to go to the county to buy more food for the winter.
The village chief set up the donkey cart for Li Laoer, but he refused to take the pheasant.
Li Laoer insisted on giving it and said with a smile.
"Uncle, this is a little thought from our family. You can keep it and eat it!" After saying that, he took the donkey cart to the town to buy food.
This time, Mrs. Li gave him five taels of silver, enough to buy several hundred kilograms of sorghum noodles.
When the time comes, add some thin noodles, steam the buns or make pancakes to make you very hungry.
Jiayin is currently lying on the kang, playing with a rattle, practicing hard to let her little hands follow the instructions of her brain.
Old Mrs. Li directed a few young men to clean up the warehouse, wash the pottery jars, and then put food in to avoid the harm of rats.
Jiayin looked at the roof, thinking about going hunting in the back mountains with her father tomorrow.
There are dozens more eggs stored in the space, and hundreds of kilograms of sweet potatoes have been dug up, and I will take them out every chance I get.
She is still too young now and has to rely on others for simple things, which is really inconvenient. She is eager to grow up quickly.
The little chubby arms like lotus roots swayed more and more happily, and the rattles also made a clanging sound.
“Oh, are we, Fu Niu, so happy today?”
Old Mrs. Li liked her granddaughter’s cheerful appearance the most and quickly held her in her arms.
Jiayin responded with two babbling sounds and began the daily necessary time for grandparents and grandchildren to cultivate their relationship.
Jiaren and the others came closer and secretly touched the little sister’s hands and feet, also laughing happily...
Early the next morning, Li Laosi had breakfast, put on his bow and arrows, and prepared to continue hunting in the back mountains.
Hunt more pheasants, stew some chicken soup for Tao Hongying, replenish her body and save more milk, so she doesn’t have to worry about her daughter going hungry.
Jiayin was drinking milk when she heard the voices of Mr. Li and Mrs. Li talking.
She hurriedly raised her head from Tao Hongying's chest and said "Ahhh" twice at Li Laosi's back.
“Lao Si, Fu Niu’er is calling you.”
Old Mrs. Li usually takes her granddaughter carefully, and she knows her best. Seeing this, she tried to shout, and sure enough, she waved her hands excitedly.
As soon as Li Laosi turned around, he saw his daughter stretching out her little hands to hug her.
He was so flattered that he quickly picked up his daughter from his wife's arms. His arms were stiff and he did not dare to use any force.
Tao Hongying laughed, stood up and taught Li Laosi, "You hug me like this."
Li Laosi adjusted his posture, teased his daughter for a while, and put her back into Tao Hongying's arms with a look of reluctance.
“I will definitely find some wild eggs for my daughter today. Can such a big child eat custard?”
As he spoke, he turned around and was about to leave, but Jiayin screamed again and reached out for a hug. Seeing that Li Laosi ignored her, she burst into tears at the top of her lungs.
Li Laosi and Tao Hongying were both panicked and quickly checked to see if their daughter had peed.
Jiayin took advantage of it and tugged on Mr. Li's sleeve. Mrs. Li thought about it, then nodded her granddaughter's forehead and asked.
“Fu Niu’er, are you reluctant to leave your father?”
“Ah.” Jiayin only responded.
Mrs. Li blinked her eyes twice and asked again, "Then you want to go up the mountain with daddy?"
“Ah!” This time the good news was not only echoed twice, but also danced happily...
If there is anything you don’t understand, Mrs. Li decisively gave instructions to her son and daughter-in-law.
“Put Fu Niu’er on your back, and you can go together.”
“No, mother, what if we encounter black bears and wild wolves on the mountain, and there are a lot of mosquitoes!”
Li Laosi was the first to object, and Tao Hongying was also hesitant.
Old Mrs. Li waved her hand, "Didn't Mrs. Sun give you a piece of fine yarn? Just wrap it around Fu Niu'er. My granddaughter said she wanted to go up the mountain, so I don't want to let the child down."
Li Laosi and Tao Hongying were both dumbfounded. After all, the daughter just made a few noises. Everything was guessed by the old lady, and she was afraid that she could not take it seriously.
But they still had no choice but to obey and get busy quickly.
Zhao Yuru helped find fine yarn, while Wu Cuihua secretly curled her lips and felt very unhappy, but did not dare to say anything.
The hills behind Qingshui Village are densely wooded, but because of this, there are many wild animals, but they are all very clever. If there is any movement, they will rush into the low bushes and disappear without a trace.
Li Laosi, an expert archer who always hits the mark with perfect accuracy, rarely misses.
Seeing that the sun was almost directly overhead, Tao Hongying found an open space and sat down to rest while holding the good news.
Jiayin’s dark eyes rolled around, and when Tao Hongying wasn’t paying attention, he threw two stunned rabbits from the space.
They were raised in the small yard of her space. When she first returned to the village, her neighbor gave her a pair of rabbits as a gift to kill some boring time.
It turned out that these rabbits were so fertile that they were almost overrun in a few months. Take advantage of today to reduce the burden on the space courtyard...
Tao Hongying turned around and saw two **** rabbits under the tree. She was startled and shouted hurriedly.
“Lao Si, Lao Si, come quickly!”.
Li Laosi, who heard the call, thought something had happened and ran back.
Seeing the plump big gray rabbit, Li Laosi was also surprised, "It...maybe it's because the weather is hot and the rabbit ran away?"
Jiayin chuckled, Dad really made a good excuse!
Such a big rabbit is enough for a family to eat two or three meals. Li Laosi happily put the rabbit into his backpack.
The couple were not tired anymore and continued to wander around the area. As a result, they picked up seven or eight "stunned" rabbits and even two nests of eggs, totaling more than thirty eggs.
When he finally went down the mountain, Li Laosi’s backpack was full, and he was also carrying a pheasant with colorful tail feathers in his hand.
Not only that, Tao Hongying also found a large piece of red mushroom in a patch of grass.
This mushroom was very tender whether it was stewed in soup or fried, which made her very happy.
The family of three returned home with a full load and unloaded their things in the yard. Even Mrs. Li was shocked.
“You got this in the back mountain?” Mrs. Li looked at the mushrooms, pheasants and hares with a look of disbelief.
Li Laosi nodded. Seeing that no one in the family had come, he secretly whispered in Mrs. Li's ear.
“Mom, the rabbit that I couldn’t catch yesterday hit the tree by myself today. These were all killed by the collision and we picked them up.”
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Li subconsciously looked at the good news.
(End of this chapter)