Xu Erniang was much harder-hearted than Xu Yue. She stepped forward directly, returned the stone to Mrs. Wang, and pulled Xu Yue away who was soft-hearted and hesitant.
"Let's go, don't look at her." Xu Erniang whispered to her sister.
But Xu Yue still couldn't help but look back. The little girl couldn't bear the loss and held the precious stone in her hand, almost crying.
Xu Yue felt sour in her heart and hurriedly stopped talking, not daring to look at it again.
It was just the depression in her heart that prompted her to decide to do something.
Xu Da came back after cutting a big armful of weeds, and there were all the vines and roots. Xu Yue, who didn't know how to make straw sandals, knew that nothing could be made from these things, and it was simply miserable.
Xu Yue reminded Dad that it doesn't matter if you can't make straw sandals. You can try making straw mats, which will be useful for sleeping at night.
This way grandma won't be angry when she sees her when she comes back.
Xu Da stroked the top of his little daughter's hair happily, and his heart, which was riddled with holes, found some comfort.
Xu Yue took the opportunity and said: "Dad, I want to hang around, is that okay?"
Xu Da looked at Xu Erniang and Xu Dalang behind Xu Yue. The brother and sister said that they were also with their sister.
Xu Da looked at the dense grass around him again and didn't agree with the three children going out and wandering around.
Xu Yue immediately promised: "Just walk around and never go far. I want to look around to see if there are any plants I know that won't go into the woods."
Xu Da showed a hesitant look, and Xu Yue knew from seeing her father that if she didn't tell him the reason, he wouldn't agree.
He said, "I'm looking at the surrounding environment. It's very likely that there is an edible plant. If we can find it, we can eat it for several days."
"Really?" Xu Da looked at the surrounding bushes. The lower ground was either grass or various unknown plants. None of them looked like they could last for several days.
But seeing Xu Yue's confident look, I decided to let her try.
"Don't go out of my sight." Xu Da said worriedly.
Xu Yue immediately smiled and nodded, "I know, we are nearby, we won't go far!"
With Xu Da's approval, Xu Yue immediately led her brother and sister to the hillside where she had previously hidden.
"What are we looking for?" Xu Erniang asked curiously.
The blisters on her feet made her gasp every time she walked. Xu Yue didn't want her to follow her, but she couldn't bear her sister's curiosity.
Xu Yue directed Xu Dalang, who was holding her, to walk to the left and answered: "A plant with boat-like leaves that grows specifically in hot and humid places. We call it taro."
When she was hiding on the slope, she saw several plants with particularly wide leaves, which looked like taro stems and leaves, but she didn't have time to verify them.
"Taro?" Xu Erniang recited silently. It was a species she had never heard of.
Out of curiosity, Xu Erniang ignored the pain in her feet and kept urging Xu Dalang to walk faster.
Soon, the three brothers and sisters arrived at the previous hiding place. After walking a few steps further, they saw a clump of green plants as tall as Xu Yue.
The broad leaves are just as Xu Yue described, like a boat, as big as two palms.
"Really?" Xu Erniang asked excitedly.
Xu Yue signaled her not to worry, and asked her brother to put her down. She picked up a stone and dug down the roots of the plant. It was easy to throw out a ball of oval-shaped roots, large and small, each about the size of a fist.
, there are about ten of them.
Xu Yue was delighted. This was the multi-seeded taro with the best taste among taro varieties.
It's just that the one she's holding now looks a little smaller than the one in later generations, and it's also dried out a bit, so the taste is probably not as good as the multi-seeded taro carefully cultivated in later generations.
But it would be nice to have some to eat.
The small piece in front of her could probably dig out forty or fifty kilograms, and Xu Yue was already very satisfied.
Xu Erniang waited for a long time and didn't hear Xu Yue's reply, so she couldn't help but ask again: "Really?"
Xu Yue nodded, got up from the ground, and handed a large handful of taro to Xu Erniang.
With such a dark appearance, Xu Erniang couldn't help but wonder, "My dear sister, are you sure this thing is edible?"
Xu Yue nodded, "Of course you can, and it's very filling."
"Sister, go and call Dad over to dig together. Remember to bring your backpack. My brother and I will wait for you here while we dig."
Xu Erniang looked at the small piece of taro in front of her. She was also afraid of being discovered and snatched away, so she flew down the mountain regardless of the pain in her feet.
When he arrived at the pond, he deliberately slowed down his pace to avoid attracting other people's attention. He quietly came to Xu Da and whispered to him to inform him of the situation on the mountain.
Xu Da's eyes suddenly lit up. He put down the elegantly woven grass and rattan insoles in his hands. The father and daughter sneaked away from people and reached the hillside with their backpacks on their backs.
Xu Yue had the humanoid "excavator" Xu Dalang with him. In just a short time, most of the taro had been dug out, and the dark taro eggs were piled into a small mountain.
When Xu Da saw the pile of black eggs, his breathing was slightly suffocated, but he had also seen all kinds of strange things in his previous life. The father and daughter looked at each other, and acted in tacit agreement without the need for words.
With Xu Da joining in, the taro harvest was soon finished and a basket full was filled.
Xu Da weighed it, and he was afraid that he would not be able to hold it down if it weighed 50 jins, but it was even possible if he weighed 70 jins.
Xu Erniang grabbed a handful of grass and covered it with the basket on her back. She picked up the rice balls, pieces of meat and bamboo tubes that were taken out of the basket, and gave Xu Yue half of them to hold.
Xu Da picked up the heavy basket on his back, and the four father and son quietly went down the mountain.
It's just that with this heavy backpack, an experienced person can tell at a quick glance that there is something there.
Tong and Qiu searched for a long time by the grass but found nothing. When they looked up, they saw the Xu family and his son putting down their heavy backpacks. They immediately guessed that they might have found something good.
For the sake of the crying child in their arms, the two of them were not embarrassed and led the child over directly.
Not only them, but the other three women who stayed behind also followed, looking at the father and son from a short distance.
Xu Yue thought that her family had to eat, and she couldn't hide this thing, so she asked her father to take her three brothers and sisters to the pond, dig a hole, divert water into the hole alone, and pour out the taro in the basket to wash.
.
The dark round eggs look like some kind of fruit after being washed.
"What is this? Is it edible? Where did you get it?" Qiu asked curiously.
Xu was afraid that Xu Da was a man, and had seen Xu Dalang's brutal beating, so he didn't dare to step forward to grab him.
Taro is something that has been around for a long time. Xu Yue estimated that there should be some around here. After thinking about it, she pointed to the surrounding hillsides and told them that this is called taro. It can be eaten when cooked, and let them look for the taro leaves by themselves.
Qiu and others looked at this dark thing with hesitation. They had never eaten or seen this thing before.
But as soon as Mrs. Wang heard this, the little man immediately went to look for it on the hillside.
Looking at the direction, we were going to the place Xu Yue had just gone.
Xu Yue looked at Mrs. Tong and followed her, the corners of her mouth curved, and the sullenness in her heart dissipated.
