Cannon Fodder Husband Ch.175-176

Chapter 175 – Drying the Wild Vegetables

Unexpectedly, the plant that looked like monkey legs earlier turned out to be a type of wild vegetable called cat ear fern. It was said to taste quite good and had high nutritional value, making it quite valuable at the supply and marketing cooperative, second only to the expensive wild thorns.

However, they also picked quite a few leaves they didn’t recognize, which were not elm leaves or crooked sticks as Lu Xia had thought.

Luckily, they didn’t pick too much of those two because they were uncertain about them.

Seeing that Lu Xia and Jiang Junmo had even managed to pick rare wild thorns, the other educated youths were envious but also motivated to continue in the afternoon. They planned to pick more during the holiday.

Lu Xia and Jiang Junmo also intended to continue going up the mountain in the afternoon. They were quite interested in this opportunity.

However, their luck wasn’t as good in the afternoon, but they still picked quite a bit. The main advantage was that they could identify the wild vegetables quickly, so they didn’t hesitate when they saw them.

After a whole day of busyness, the two of them had a good harvest.

In the evening, Lu Xia blanched the wild vegetables and set aside some for their own consumption. The rest she put in the courtyard to dry.

Jiang Junmo saw Lu Xia placing the vegetables on the courtyard wall and hesitated, “Won’t they be taken away?”

Lu Xia froze, “They shouldn’t be. Didn’t all the village households go up the mountain today?”

Jiang Junmo thought for a moment, “Let’s go to the village tomorrow and buy some drying baskets. Actually, I think I can make them myself.”

Lu Xia shook her head directly: “It’s better to buy some, we still need to go to work and it’s too laborious to weave, they are not expensive anyway. We can buy a couple of winnowing baskets too.”

Jiang Junmo nodded, “Okay, let’s buy them. I’ll try making some later when I have time.”

“Okay.”

In the evening, they had a simple meal with the fresh wild vegetables. Just blanching them and eating them with the egg sauce made by Lu Xia, which the educated youths said was the best way to eat the wild vegetables, preserving their taste the most.

Lu Xia found it quite tasty, and she understood why so many people liked it.

She planned to make more sauce and send some back to the Jiang family.

The next day, before going to work, Lu Xia went to the village and bought drying baskets and winnowing baskets. After returning, she put the wild vegetables inside to dry. With the sun shining brightly that day, they would probably be dried in no time.

After work in the evening, Lu Xia checked, and indeed, they were almost dry. She collected them and stored them.

She hadn’t had meat for a long time and couldn’t buy any yesterday, so she asked Jiang Junmo to ride to the town and see if they could buy some now.

In less than half an hour, Jiang Junmo came back surprisingly having managed to buy some.

“They only had lean meat left; all the fatty meat was snatched up in the morning.”

Lu Xia smiled, “Lean meat is good; I prefer lean.”

In this era, most people preferred to buy fatty meat for its rich flavor, but Lu Xia couldn’t handle it as it was too greasy.

Jiang Junmo smiled, knowing Lu Xia’s preference. He used to eat little meat due to health reasons. After he got better, he still didn’t eat much, and both fatty and lean meat didn’t appeal to him much. But influenced by Lu Xia, he now preferred lean meat too.

So, the meat they bought was perfect.

In the evening, Lu Xia stewed the meat, and after a hearty meal, Jiang Junmo mentioned, “When I came back, I saw some educated youths from the educated youth spot returning from the mountain.”

“Really? They went back to the mountain so soon?”

“I guess they want to pick more wild vegetables.”

Lu Xia thought for a moment, “We’re not too tired from work recently. Let’s see when we finish tomorrow. If we have some time left, let’s go too. After all, this is the only time of the year with such conditions.”

Jiang Junmo knew she wanted to pick more to send back to the Jiang family. He felt like telling her not to overwork herself, but he also understood her determination and decided to just nod in agreement.

“Alright, but prioritize your health.”

Lu Xia smiled, “Don’t worry; I won’t push myself too hard.”

*

Chapter 176 – Zhuang Hongmei’s Pregnancy

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After agreeing, the next day, Lu Xia and Jiang Junmo, like the others, continued to go up the mountain after work.

Many people in the village did the same because wild vegetables aged quickly, and if they didn’t seize the opportunity, they wouldn’t wait for you.

So, even though it was late after work, there were still many people on the mountain.

Lu Xia and Jiang Junmo were quick, and they found quite a bit of wild vegetables before it got dark, then they descended the mountain without delay.

When they arrived home, it was already dusk, and they had to cook quickly.

After a busy day, they were tired, so they cooked dinner together and went to bed after eating.

The next day, when Lu Xia woke up, Jiang Junmo had already blanched and dried the wild vegetables from the previous night, and breakfast was ready. After eating, she could head straight to work.

Lu Xia understood that he wanted her to rest a little longer, and her heart warmed.

They continued working like this for three or four days. Even Lu Xia and Jiang Junmo, who drank spiritual spring water daily, felt tired.

Looking at the people in the village and the educated youths, they were clearly exhausted, stumbling as they walked, but still gritting their teeth and persistently going up the mountain every day.

They were willing to go to such lengths for these wild vegetables. Sometimes, Lu Xia admired them.

But such days couldn’t continue for long.

Because the village started plowing the fields.

Plowing required a lot of physical strength, and it was even more demanding and more troublesome than digging up the corn roots they did before.

In fact, there was an ox in the village that could quickly plow the fields, but there was only one ox. Moreover, oxen were rare nowadays, and this particular ox was cherished by the village. They couldn’t possibly overwork it, so it worked for only a few hours each day before resting. Therefore, plowing could only be done with a combination of the ox and manpower.

Because it was too exhausting, they couldn’t go up the mountain after work, as their shoulders wouldn’t even move.

Although everyone regretted it, there was nothing they could do. After all, the village couldn’t allow them to go to the mountain to pick wild vegetables and affect farming.

So, they could only watch the wild vegetables on the mountain grow and age slowly…

Plowing was physically demanding. Even Lu Xia, who had a lot of strength, found it challenging. Thankfully, by drinking spiritual spring water twice a day, she could hold on.

But others couldn’t. Several people from the village and educated youths collapsed due to excessive fatigue while working.

However, there was no choice but to continue; spring farming couldn’t be delayed. Even if they were tired, they had to rest for a while and then get up to continue working.

During this time, something happened.

It was Zhuang Hongmei who was married to Chen Er. They hadn’t seen her all winter after her marriage. Zhuang Hongmei had obviously gained weight, and she seemed to be living well.

But after marriage, she also had to come to work. During the corn roots-digging, she frequently slacked off and was scolded by the brigade leader and then reprimanded by her mother-in-law, so she reluctantly became more honest.

But during the plowing, she started feeling unwell every two or three days, and eventually fainted. After being sent to the clinic, it was revealed that she was pregnant, and she was already three months pregnant.

This news made her very happy, she didn’t have to work anymore. Because of the big grandson they were expecting, the Chen family agreed to let her rest and do as she pleased.

After that, Chen Er was nowhere to be found all day long, while Zhuang Hongmei frequently came out to show off her pregnant belly, as if she was afraid others wouldn’t know she was pregnant.

She even went to the educated youth spot a few times to show off, but everyone was too tired to bother with her.

Lu Xia had seen her a few times, but their relationship was not good, so she pretended not to see her.

Zhuang Hongmei wanted to approach her because she knew Lu Xia got married before her and was not pregnant yet, so she must be envious.

But Lu Xia didn’t even look at her, and even Jiang Junmo acted as if he hadn’t seen her, which infuriated her.

However, Zhuang Hongmei was also somewhat afraid of Lu Xia, so she didn’t dare to approach her afterward.

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