Chen Lan hadn't reached her car yet when she heard bursts of laughter coming from inside. She could hear Ming Zhe's distinctive childish voice and laughter from afar. Oh! That's great! Jia Hui is finally talking to me! I'm so happy!
Chen Lan opened the car door and got in. She saw Wenrou Niang and Xiaoshan Niang, each holding a baby. Ming Zhe was holding Jia Hui's little hand and gently shaking it. Jia Hui was cooing at him, "Ah! Ah!" as if she were talking to him!
Chen Lan asked Ming Zhe, "Ming Zhe, what's going on? Why do you feel so happy?"
Ming Zhe grinned widely and replied, "Sister-in-law, look! Jia Hui is talking to me!"
Chen Lan smiled and replied, "That's because Jia Hui knows you're her uncle. Jia Hui likes you, her little uncle, so she's happy when she sees you and talks to you when she's happy."
Ming Zhe's eyes widened in surprise as he asked, "Really? Sister-in-law!"
Chen Lan looked at Ming Zhe and replied very seriously, "Of course it's true! When have I ever lied to you?"
Ming Zhe shook his head like a rattle drum and quickly said, "No, no, you've never lied. How could Sister-in-law lie to me?"
Chen Lan turned around and greeted Wenrou Niang and Xiaoshan Niang one by one.
Wenrou Niang asked, "Lan'er, where in the mountains have they started working?"
Chen Lan hummed and said, "Mm, they started this morning. Once they flatten the ground at the foot of the north mountain in the valley, they can use the excavator to dig the foundation this afternoon. Work goes so fast with machines."
Wenrou Niang looked at Chen Lan and said, "What are you back for?"
Chen Lan replied, "We've been traveling a lot recently and haven't eaten many vegetables, so many people have gotten inflamed. I saw a lot of wild vegetables in the mountains and wanted to ask them to go dig some up for us to stir-fry for lunch. But when I came back, Grandma had already asked them to go dig wild vegetables in the forest."
At this point, Xiaoshan Niang chimed in, "Yes, it's late April and early May now, the season for eating wild vegetables. Wild vegetables are fresh and fragrant at this time!"
Then Ming Zhe, Wen Kai, and Wen Qi, the three younger brothers, poked their little heads over and looked at Chen Lan without speaking.
Chen Lan asked them in surprise, "What's wrong? Is something the matter?"
Ming Zhe, being the bolder one, quickly replied, "Sister-in-law, we want to go to the mountains with you to dig wild vegetables."
Wenrou Niang objected, "No. I didn't agree when Ming Wei and the others wanted to go to the mountains to dig wild vegetables earlier. What? Are you asking your eldest sister now? Didn't I tell you? You're still too young. There are snakes and poisonous insects in the mountains, it's very dangerous."
Chen Lan had wanted to take them to the woods for some fresh air, but after hearing her mother-in-law's words, she found them reasonable and abandoned her idea. She didn't dare to try to persuade her mother-in-law to let them go anymore.
After all, Wen Kai and Wen Qi were indeed still young, not yet seven years old, and Ming Zhe was just over seven. They had no self-preservation skills at all if they encountered danger in these wild mountains. It was better not to.
It would be better if she went alone, she could pick more and even sell them to the system.
Chen Lan no longer hesitated. After bidding farewell to Wenrou Niang, Xiaoshan Niang, and the three younger brothers, she turned, picked up her basket, got out of the car, and headed towards the mountain.
As soon as she entered the mountain forest, Chen Lan felt that the temperature in the woods at this time was slightly higher than when she first entered in the morning. Chen Lan couldn't worry about anything else now. She rushed towards the Aralia elata, which was covered in sharp thorns, and the Eleuthero.
Aralia elata is a perennial woody plant with a not-so-thick trunk, about the thickness of an adult man's thumb, and it's covered in sharp thorns. You have to be extra careful when picking Aralia elata, or you might get pricked.
Aralia elata is most tender and fresh when it grows to two inches long. Its nutritional value is very high. If it's too small, it hasn't developed flavor, and if it's too big, it's old.
Regarding Aralia elata, I seem to have heard a local saying: "The bride on her first wedding, Aralia elata, a tender cucumber with flowers and thorns."
Eleuthero is also a woody plant. Its trunk is even thinner than that of Aralia elata. The fine thorns on its trunk are even smaller and denser than those on the Aralia elata tree, with dense fine thorns all over the trunk.
When Eleuthero grows up, its leaves can be picked and processed to make Eleuthero tea. Eleuthero tea is also very famous. It can treat neurasthenia, and has the effects of tonifying the kidneys and calming the nerves, benefiting qi and strengthening the spleen. It can also relieve symptoms such as loss of appetite and spleen deficiency with poor eating. In short, it's a good thing.
Since no one lives here and it hasn't been picked yet, there are many Aralia elata trees and Eleuthero trees. Chen Lan didn't even need to use the system's search function; she could find a large area just by looking around.
Chen Lan couldn't help but sigh. This uninhabited Changbai Mountain forest is truly a natural treasure trove, her natural wallet. It was truly worth coming here.
Chen Lan worked quickly. In a short while, she had filled a basket. She immediately opened the system with her thoughts to sell. And so, Chen Lan kept picking and selling. She didn't know how long she had been doing this non-stop. Chen Lan felt her arms were no longer hers; she couldn't even lift them. Habitually, she glanced at the system time. Oh! It's almost noon! It's nearly 12 o'clock. She had to hurry down the mountain, or they would worry. Besides, she still needed to take the wild vegetables back to stir-fry for lunch!
Chen Lan felt a little reluctant. She left quickly and hurried down the mountain towards where the RV was parked.
As expected, when Chen Lan reached the foot of the mountain, her mother-in-law and everyone else saw Chen Lan return safely and breathed a long sigh of relief.
Her mother-in-law asked worriedly, "Xiao Lan, why did you take so long? They finished digging wild vegetables long ago and said there were plenty of wild vegetables on the mountain, that you could easily dig up a large basket anywhere. Why did it take you so long?"
Chen Lan quickly pulled her mother-in-law aside and whispered, "Father-in-law said these wild vegetables sell for a very high price where they're from, and people there are very fond of them."
Her mother-in-law asked Chen Lan in surprise, "Xiao Lan, did your father-in-law really say that?"
Chen Lan nodded very seriously and said, "Mother-in-law, when have I ever lied to you?"
Her mother-in-law said quickly, "That's true. After the men who are working finish their meal and clean up, I'll have them go pick more wild vegetables."
Chen Lan quickly stopped her, "Mother-in-law, the wild vegetables are on the mountain, they're not going anywhere! Every morning after breakfast, since they're going to the mountain to dig wild vegetables anyway, just tell them to dig more when they go. Besides, wild vegetables are fresher and more tender in the morning; they're a bit old in the afternoon."
Her mother-in-law said doubtfully, "Is there such a saying?"
Chen Lan blinked her eyes and nodded earnestly at her mother-in-law.
Her mother-in-law had no choice but to believe her. She couldn't ask her father-in-law about it!