Chapter 22: Hunting in the Mountain

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Erniang felt very happy and excited. She finally calmed down after dinner.

Dawa went to wash the dishes. Erni searched the vegetable fields for insects using a small wooden stick. The bamboo canister beside her was almost full.

Jiang Hu fetched water and washed the diapers at the doorway. At the same time, he wanted to rest. He had walked for four hours in the morning and he wanted to go to the mountain in the afternoon.

Erniang was not allowed to go out yet. She took a small stool and sat behind the door to talk to Jiang Hu.

“Hu, did you deliberately not let Dawa and the others know?”

Erniang’s voice was not loud. Only Jiang Hu, who was at the door, could hear her.

Jiang Hu did not deny it. “Someone in the village will definitely ask later. If there’s too much money, someone may have ill intentions.”

Therefore, it was mainly to guard against outsiders, not the children.

Now the children only knew that there were five copper coins at home. Even if they told anyone, it would not cause anyone to have ill intentions.

Erniang nodded. “You’re right. It’s good to be careful.”

Then Erniang said, “Then don’t go to the mountain today. Take a break and go again in a few days.”

Jiang Hu shook his head. “It’s fine. Since I have time now, I’ll go to the mountain to take a look. Our Sanni is almost a month old and doesn’t even have clothes. If I can catch a pheasant, I’ll buy some cloth and thread tomorrow so that you can make clothes for the children.”

They would keep the money at home for the time being and save it for emergencies. This way, they would feel at ease. When he caught pheasants and hares, they would buy some things for the house first. Even if they used up all their money, it would be all right.

Lying in bed, Xiaomi pricked up her ears and listened to her parents’ conversation. She secretly gave her father a thumbs up!

Her father was so smart. It was very important to keep his wealth a secret. In her previous life, she had accidentally leaked something. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been targeted.

Bruiser, who was beside her, woke up and whined as if he wanted to cry. Xiaomi reached out without looking.

After feeding him milk powder and some spiritual spring water, Bruiser immediately fell silent.

Counting the days, her confinement period was about to end. When the time came, she could go out and take a look. She had been here for so long, but she had never seen what the outside world looked like.

After feeding Bruiser, Xiaoimi ate some milk powder herself and closed her eyes to sleep.

It was only now that she realized that although it was not a problem absorbing spiritual energy in the space and letting her body go to sleep on its own, it was not as good as sleeping directly.

The most direct manifestation was that even if she had absorbed enough spiritual energy, she was still not in good spirits.

For the past few days, she had been immersed in the space and was busy organizing supplies every day, and letting her body sleep on its own. Every two to three hours, she would wake up and play with her parents.

In the end, when she was playing, she still felt very tired and could not perk up. Not to mention Xiaomi noticed it herself, even her parents were almost freaked out.

Fortunately, she felt much better after a nap.

Jiang Hu and Erniang did not know that the two little fellows had already woken up once, eaten and gone back to sleep. The two of them chatted at the door for a while before Jiang Hu let Erni into the house.

The diaper-washing water was dumped outside the courtyard on a patch of wasteland that had yet to be cleared.

Dawa and Erni caught a lot of insects today, most of which were green vegetable insects and ants.

Fortunately, the two little fellows were good enough to prevent the insects from eating all the vegetables in the vegetable garden.

At the end of the day, Jiang Hu prepared dinner in advance. The family gathered around the bed to eat with Erniang.

“Dawa, I’ll go to the mountain later. I might not be back until very late at night. Take good care of your younger siblings and mother at home, understand?”

Erniang was a little worried. “Are you going now?”

Jiang Hu said, “You don’t know but it’s best to go now. In a while, the pheasants and hares will be returning to their nests. It’ll be easier to catch them.”

Jiang Hu ate quickly. Seeing Xiaomi’s big eyes looking at him, he picked her up and kissed her. “Sanni, Daddy is going to the mountain. Be good at home.”

Xiaomi babbled in response, as if reminding her father to be careful.

He hugged Bruiser. Bruiser did not know that Jiang Hu was going to the mountain, but he knew that this was his father. After being picked up, he laughed and cried out happily.

Compared to when he was born, Bruiser finally had some strength now. His voice was a little louder, making Erniang and Jiang Hu feel more at ease.

He instructed Bruiser to be good, not caring if the child could understand.

Then he touched the top of Erni’s head, patted Dawa’s shoulder, took a firewood knife, and went up the mountain with a jar of insects caught by the two children and some green weeds from the ground.

The weather was good during the day, so the sky did not darken so early that night. Jiang Hu had gone for almost four hours before the sky completely darkened.

At night, Dawa heated up the fish soup his father had made. The family ate it and he went to wash the bowls. He boiled hot water and let Erniang wash her face and feet, and wiped his younger siblings’ faces. After taking Erni to wash up, they all returned to their room.

Because there was only one mattress, even if there were two other empty rooms, the family still lived together. Fortunately, the children were still young.

“Mom, when will Dad be back?” Erni sat beside her mother and watched her make straw sandals.

There were more than 10 pairs of straw sandals at home, big and small, enough for them to wear for the summer.

However, Erniang could not stay idle. Jiang Hu did not let her go out and even instructed the two children at home to keep an eye on her mother. She could only make straw sandals out of boredom.

Anyway, her feet and Jiang Hu’s feet would not grow anymore. If they could not wear it this year, they could still wear it next year.

“I don’t know either, but your father said that he might not come back tonight. Erni, don’t wait. If you’re sleepy, go to sleep first.”

Er Ni stopped what she was doing and touched the top of Erni’s head. Perhaps she had eaten fish and sparrow meat recently. She could clearly feel that Erni’s hair was much smoother than before.

Erni shook her head. “I don’t want to sleep. I’ll stay with Mother.”

After saying that, she glanced at her older brother, who was already sleeping soundly on the bed. She pouted unhappily, “Daddy asked Brother to take care of Mommy but he is already asleep.”

Erniang couldn’t help but laugh. “Your brother has been taking care of Mommy very seriously during the day. He must be tired now.”

Erni sighed. “Alright then. I forgive Brother. I’ll help Brother take care of Mommy.”

Erniang smiled until the corners of her eyes curved. “Then Mommy will thank Erni.”

After Erniang finished weaving the straw shoe in her hands, she saw that Erni was already yawning continuously, but she still insisted on keeping her eyes open to accompany her. Her heart ached.

“Alright, Erni, go to sleep. Mom is resting too. Let’s not wait for Daddy.” With that, she put the things aside and waited for Erni to nod obediently and went to sleep before blowing out the oil lamp.

She glanced at the door. It was almost midnight. Hu hadn’t returned yet. She was a little worried.

There were many villages nearby. There were no ferocious beasts in the mountains, but the weather was cold and the night was dark. What if…

Erniang did not dare to think further. She hugged the two little fellows closer, closed her eyes, and forced herself to sleep.