Chapter 171: Xiao Mo Learned a Little Bit

On Sunday, since Xu An didn’t have to work, Xu Ning encouraged him to go out while Xu Yang took Li Na for a stroll.

It was inconvenient for her to take care of three children alone, and she hadn’t had the chance to explore much since arriving a few days ago.

Xu Yang asked Li Na, “Would you like to go to the city for some fun, or would you prefer to check out the mountains?”

Li Na replied, “I think playing at home with Niu Pi Tang is quite nice. I don’t really feel like going out.”

Xu Yang laughed and said, “Let’s go out anyway! I really don’t want to stay home listening to my sister ramble on.

How about we visit Daqing Mountain? There are plenty of wild vegetables up there; we can dig some to bring back.”

Li Na was quite interested when she heard this, so the two set off to Daqing Mountain with their baskets.

At this time of year, there were many wild vegetables on the mountain. Li Na, excited, exclaimed, “This place is amazing! There are so many wild vegetables. We don’t have this variety of food in the army!”

Xu Yang glanced at her, thinking, Wife, you haven’t worked in the fields. If you spent a couple of days there, you definitely wouldn’t say this place is great!

The two of them gathered quite a lot of wild vegetables and even caught two rabbits. Xu Ning dried all the wild vegetables they collected and also picked some green beans and eggplants to dry alongside them, planning to send them back with Xu Yang and Li Na when they left.

Li Na mentioned that her family also had a small piece of land in the army, but since her mother wasn’t very good at tending to it, the vegetables they planted every year didn’t grow very well.

The two rabbits were fully stewed, and Xu Yang sent half of them over to the cow shed.

Xiao Mo was eating on this side. While chewing on the meat, he asked, “Brother, are these two rabbits your catch for today?”

Li Na thought he was praising Xu Yang and happily asked, “Xiao Mo, isn’t your brother amazing? He can even catch rabbits!”

Xiao Mo glanced at her, fell silent for a moment, and decided to let his brother have some face. After all, he was such a grown man and had finally married a wife; he didn’t want to risk her looking down on him later.

He smiled and placed a piece of meat in Li Na’s bowl, saying, “Sister-in-law, my brother is really impressive. You all came at the wrong time; there are fewer animals this season. Today, my brother only caught two rabbits. In winter, he even hunted roe deer and wild boar!”

Li Na looked at Xu Yang with sparkling eyes and asked, “Really? You can even catch wild boar?”

Xu Yang found it amusing to watch his wife being coaxed by Xiao Mo and replied with a smile, “The last time I came, I caught a wild boar when I went up the mountain with Xiao An. We just happened to run into one—it was a one-time thing.”

Li Na knew he was being modest and laughed, “Even so, it shows you and Xiao An have skills. That’s a wild boar! It’s not something you can just catch anytime, right, Xiao Mo?”

Xiao Mo took a bite of his dish, smiling as he nodded, “Sister-in-law, you’re absolutely right.”

Li Na also laughed happily, while Xu Ning and Xu An held back their laughter as they fed the little ones porridge.

Xu Yang glanced at his oblivious wife and said helplessly, “Do you think he’s praising me? He’s actually criticizing me for catching so few; I only brought back two rabbits in a day.”

 Li Na looked at Xiao Mo in disbelief.

Xiao Mo immediately put down his chopsticks and seriously retorted, “Big Brother, how can you think that of me? I’m clearly praising you, yet you say I’m criticizing you for catching too little. Why do you have to overthink everything?

Sister-in-law, you mustn’t listen to my big brother’s nonsense. How could I have that kind of thought? He just loves to overanalyze.

He spends all day not focusing on serious matters, only pondering these things. In the future, when we younger siblings aren’t around him, you need to teach him well.

He can’t keep acting like a sinner. I’m his own brother and won’t hold it against him, but what about outsiders? If they encounter someone petty, they might end up hating him without him even realizing it.”

Li Na stared at him in shock as he rattled on.

Xu Yang helplessly looked at him chattering away, knowing he shouldn’t engage with the kid; no matter what he said, Xiao Mo would have a point.

Xu Ning couldn’t hold back any longer. She cleared her throat and said, “Alright, let’s just eat. Sister-in-law, don’t pay attention to him; he’s just a chatterbox. If he doesn’t talk for a while, he feels uncomfortable. Let’s eat quickly; the rabbit meat will get cold and won’t taste good.”

Li Na snapped out of it and burst into laughter, gently ruffling Xiao Mo’s hair as she said, “Xiao Mo, you say your brother overthinks everything, but I feel like you have quite a few tricks up your sleeve too!”

Xiao Mo picked up another piece of meat for her, laughing, “Sister-in-law, it’s just that I’ve been hanging out with my brother for so long; I’ve picked up a few tricks from him.”

Li Na couldn’t help but laugh out loud.