Because of the harvest, Xu Linjiang was full of vigor.
He had already cut quite a bit of ferns, filling two burlap sacks. These could be taken down the mountain to the town and exchanged for money, so he didn’t feel tired at all while working.
By noon, as the sun made him sweat profusely, he lifted his head to see Chiang Xiao sitting in the shade of a tree, supporting her cheek with her hand and smiling at him. Next to her was a basket brimming with wood ear mushrooms. He exclaimed in surprise, "Little, you’ve picked a full basket of wood ear mushrooms so quickly?"
Chiang Xiao nodded, "Uncle, it’s midday already, I’m hungry!"
Although her physical strength was good now, she found that being strong didn’t mean she could withstand hunger. On the contrary, she got hungry more easily than before. Just thinking about the steamed meal they had in the mountains last time made her salivate.
However, today there was no wild boar meat, so Chiang Xiao felt there was something missing from her joy. If only they had meat. Meat, meat, meat.
She wanted to eat meat.
Xu Linjiang looked at the sun overhead and stood up straight. Only then did he start to feel a bit tired.
"It’s about this time, probably around one o’clock. Did I let Little get too hungry? Alright, I’ll go make food quickly!"
"Can we still use the stove we set up last time? That should save us the time to set it up today, right?"
Xu Linjiang hurried to prepare for cooking. At that moment, Ge Dejun emerged from the nearby woods, holding something dark in his hand, "More food, more food! Little, you’re in for a treat!"
"What treasure is that?" Chiang Xiao immediately jumped up and went over. Upon seeing what Ge Dejun was holding, she let out a yelp and fell on her bottom, looking somewhat frightened. "A mouse! Uncle, you want me to eat a mouse?"
Seeing her reaction, Ge Dejun couldn’t help but burst into hearty laughter.
"Hahaha, scaredy-cat!"
Chiang Xiao retorted. It was normal for her to be startled by someone mentioning adding a mouse that big to the meal and now being called a scaredy-cat!
Ge Dejun shook his head with a smile, "This isn’t one of those filthy rats from the ditches in our village, this is a mountain rat. This little thing eats even better than us! It feeds on wild mushrooms and bamboo shoots. We should go check out that area later; there must be mushrooms."
"Really?" Chiang Xiao’s eyes brightened, and she sprang up agilely from the ground, again looking excited. Seeing her reaction, Xu Linjiang couldn’t help but laugh as well.
"Would your uncle lie to you?" Ge Dejun had already taken a small knife and a small iron pot out of the basket, preparing to process the plump mountain rat.
This time, their cooking equipment was much more complete: two small iron pots, a small knife, three small clay bowls, a soup spoon, and they brought more seasonings, including a small oil bottle. If it were just the two men, they would have just brought a couple of aluminum lunch boxes, steamed some rice, and eaten it with some pickles. But because Chiang Xiao was there, Ge Dejun felt as if he wanted to cook her a full imperial feast right there in the mountains.
Chiang Xiao looked at the mountain rat, still feeling a bit squeamish.
After all, it looked just like a mouse. It was like eating a mouse. She had never eaten such a thing before.
Ge Dejun waved his hand, "Don’t stay here watching; it’s going to be bloody when I process it. Go play over there, and no need to pick any more wood ear mushrooms. Take a rest, and when the food is ready, your uncle will call you."
Chiang Xiao acknowledged and saw the area where she had previously found ginseng. She couldn’t help saying, "Uncle, father, may I check the woods over there to see if there are any wild rabbits?"