Chiang Xiao hurriedly responded, "Uncle, I’m fine. I’ll just sneak off for a bit! I saw some beautiful wildflowers over there and want to pick them!"
There was no real convenience to speak of; using laziness as an excuse was the only way.
Xu Linjiang listened and didn’t suspect anything, even letting out a chuckle.
A young girl is just a young girl, loving flowers and beauty is quite normal.
He had already made plans with his father-in-law. After Chiang Xiao led them up the mountain, they were to take care of everything, letting Chiang Xiao pick some mushrooms and tender shoots, without actually expecting her to work.
Now that she was going to pick wildflowers, Xu Linjiang thought it was perfect.
"Just be careful and don’t wander far."
"Got it, I won’t go far."
Chiang Xiao agreed while already squatting down, using her trowel to push aside the wild grass.
"Wow!" Her eyes lit up, and she was so pleasantly surprised she almost jumped up.
She had been wondering what those dense, black things clinging to the tree trunk were, and they turned out to be fungus!
Wood ear mushrooms were also something Chiang Xiao enjoyed eating.
Fresh wood ear mushrooms were edible, and after being dried and rehydrated, they didn’t lose much flavor. They were a great dish for cleansing the stomach, lowering blood pressure, and helping with weight loss and fitness!
The culinary value of wood ear mushrooms was high, and they tasted great, whether stir-fried with pork slices, garlic, or even with eggs!
Chiang Xiao was almost drooling.
She had decided that if there weren’t enough mushrooms to sell, they would dry them for their own consumption!
However, when she looked around, she was pleasantly surprised to discover that the small area of woods she was in was a heaven for wood ear mushrooms!
Fallen trees were covered in wood ear mushrooms, and even the trees that were still alive had plenty growing on them!
There would definitely be a lot to harvest in such a small patch of woods!
They could keep some for their own use, and the rest could definitely be sold for money!
Now, Chiang Xiao’s eyes were filled with the shape of banknotes.
Both she and her uncle’s family were in dire need of money!
Chiang Xiao stood up, about to call out for her uncle and aunt, when she suddenly heard a noise.
It sounded like a pig grunting, accompanied by heavy footsteps and the crisp sound of twigs being snapped underfoot.
Chiang Xiao’s heart skipped a beat, and she quickly turned around to see a large painting of a hamburger not far away.
The scent of the burger, complete with cheese and luncheon meat, was tantalizing, and she could smell it even from where she stood!
The aroma of the burger had even masked the scent of the other paintings!
A thought suddenly struck Chiang Xiao, and she ran over to gather the other paintings, stuffing them into her "Space," then she grabbed the burger painting, holding it tightly in her hands while staring intently at the woods ahead.
Soon, a huge creature entered her field of vision.
Chiang Xiao wasn’t sure if her heart was filled more with fear or excitement!
But excitement was certainly there!
Her eyes shone brightly, and her voice trembled with excitement.
"Uncle! Aunt! Get the knife! There’s a wild boar!"
That’s right, that big fellow was a wild boar!
The boar, charging through the underbrush, quickly approached her, its fat jiggling with every move.
Chiang Xiao watched in nervous anticipation, yet she couldn’t help thinking—this was meat! Hundreds of pounds of meat!
This was wild boar meat!
One should know that in future markets, so-called "wild" boar meat would be incredibly expensive! Moreover, much of it would be fake. At best, it was semi-wild, fed partly on feed with added hormones!
But in this era, meat was simply meat!