Chapter 63: Dig and Dig, It Never Ends  

At the sight of the pea blossom, Jiang Rou immediately thought of pea shoots.  

Pea shoots were incredibly tender greens, delicious whether stir-fried on their own or cooked with meat.

Not to mention, they were perfect for hotpot—an absolute delicacy!  

When she had been foraging for wild vegetables earlier, she hadn’t seen any pea blossoms at all.  

Excitedly, she asked: “Xiaohua, where did you pick this purple flower?”

Zhou Xiaohua, feeling a little groggy, kept her eyes closed but became more awake upon hearing Jiang Rou’s words.  

She blinked her long eyelashes.  

Then, she pointed with her small hand.  

Brother, the little flower that brother gave!

Jiang Rou lifted her gaze, her bright eyes flashing with light as she stared intently at Zhou Xiaochuan.  

That look made Zhou Xiaochuan tense up.  

Jiang Rou had always been someone with stable emotions, especially in front of the children, striving to be a mature adult.  

She rarely showed such excitement.  

It was as if… Zhou Xiaochuan had discovered something incredible.  

With a blade of wild grass in his hand, Zhou Xiaochuan, feeling nervous, unconsciously applied force with his fingers and snapped it.  

He swallowed and spoke.  

“In that direction. There’s a small stream over there. I picked it right by the stream.”  

Jiang Rou’s eyes shone even brighter upon hearing this.  

There was even a small stream!  

Many wild vegetables thrived in moist environments and would grow along water sources, often having a different texture and taste compared to regular wild greens.  

Jiang Rou made up her mind!  

In the afternoon, she would go digging for wild vegetables near the stream. She was sure to have a special harvest.  

Jiang Rou thought about it happily.  

On the side—  

The little wolf cub kept glancing up, secretly observing Jiang Rou again and again.  

Watching this young woman beaming with joy, practically jumping with excitement.  

It was just a flower…  

Was it really worth making her this happy?  

Back when Xu Chunxiang received the monthly wages from Zhou Zhongshan, her reaction had been about the same.  

Could a wildflower really compare to ten yuan?  

This woman was far too easy to satisfy.

The little wolf cub couldn’t figure it out, so he simply stopped thinking about it.  

He flopped onto the grass and went to sleep!  

---

An hour later.  

Jiang Rou walked to the small stream and found wild pea shoots with blooming purple flowers.  

These pea shoots were wild and not as tall as the ones cultivated by farmers, forming a short patch.  

But for Jiang Rou, being able to taste something fresh was already more than enough.  

Besides pea shoots—  

Jiang Rou also discovered Indian aster, cudweed, and mugwort near the stream.  

The Indian aster was particularly delicate.

It grew as tiny individual stems nestled among a cluster of wild grass.  

However, its flavor was unique, and after blanching, it could be stir-fried with dried tofu, making for an especially delicious dish.  

Pick!  

Jiang Rou pulled Zhou Xiaohua over, and the two squatted beside a patch of Indian aster.  

“Xiaohua… look at this. It’s called Indian aster. Right now, we’re only picking this—nothing else, just this.”  

“Watch my hand movements. Just a gentle pull, and it comes off…”  

“Xiaohua, give it a try.”  

Zhou Xiaohua listened carefully to Jiang Rou’s words and watched her demonstration with full attention.  

She followed along with her small hands.  

Pinching the base of the Indian aster, she applied a slight force and plucked it off.  

“Amazing! Xiaohua did such a great job!”  

Jiang Rou immediately showered her with exaggerated praise, making the little girl giggle with delight, revealing her bright white teeth.  

Just like that—  

Jiang Rou assigned Zhou Xiaohua the task of picking Indian aster.  

It didn’t matter how much she picked; she could even treat it like a game. As long as she was happy, that was what mattered.  

Meanwhile, Jiang Rou turned her attention to the cudweed and mugwort.  

Pick again!  

These two plants were essential ingredients for making qingtuan, also known as “Qingming grass.”  

Qingming Festival was just a few days away, so it was no wonder they were growing abundantly.  

Cudweed had a light green hue, with narrow, tiny leaves covered in a fine layer of fuzz. At its center, a small yellow flower bloomed.

Mugwort, on the other hand, had large leaves with serrated edges. From the front, they appeared green, but when flipped over, they revealed a fine layer of fuzz, just like cudweed.  

These two wild herbs had certain peculiarities—some people would develop allergies upon touching them.  

Because of this, Jiang Rou didn’t let Zhou Xiaohua pick them. Instead, she worked tirelessly on her own, plucking them nonstop.  

She gathered large handfuls and placed them into the bamboo basket on her back.  

When the basket could no longer hold more, she discreetly stashed some into her Lingbao space. Since it happened without a trace, no one would ever notice.  

While collecting cudweed and mugwort—  

Jiang Rou made another discovery: Rubus parvifolius (pinyin: péng léi).

The scientific name might not be widely recognized, but many people loved its fruit, which had a much more familiar name—  

Wild strawberries.  

As the name suggested, these were wild berries that tasted similar to cultivated strawberries.  

Not only did wild strawberries share a similar flavor, but their color was even more striking.  

When fully ripe, they turned a brilliant red, glistening enticingly.  

However, places where wild strawberries grew were often frequented by snakes, so one had to be extra cautious when foraging outdoors.  

The patch of péng léi in front of Jiang Rou had already bloomed with small white flowers, and tiny green fruits had begun to form.  

Unfortunately, it wasn’t time yet—the berries were still unripe and hadn’t started turning red.  

In about a week, they would surely be ready.  

Jiang Rou made a mental note, planning to come back in a few days to pick and enjoy the wild strawberries.  

Aside from that—  

Jiang Rou also found water celery by the stream.  

Water celery grew entirely along the water’s edge, with its roots submerged in the flowing river.  

Its vibrant green color stood out, stretching in a vast, lush patch.  

There were no other plants growing nearby.  

This made harvesting water celery incredibly easy—grabbing a handful by the roots, a single cut with a knife, and it was neatly and cleanly collected.  

As she gathered more and more wild vegetables, Jiang Rou felt an increasing sense of accomplishment.  

Fortunately, in her past life, she had been passionate about food, always exploring ingredients and learning about them. She recognized a wide variety of wild vegetables.  

If it had been an ordinary person, they would have been utterly lost amidst all the greenery, unable to tell one plant from another.

At the same time.  

Jiang Rou also noticed a problem.  

There was too much—really too much. She could not finish digging, no matter how hard she tried.  

Jiang Rou had been bending over for too long and was feeling a bit tired. She straightened up, supporting her waist, intending to take a break.  

As soon as she lifted her head—  

She saw Zhou Xiaochuan’s face, completely flushed.  

---

Lucia: Another Poll! If you want this novel to have 10 bonus updates, vote here!

---