CHAPTER 111: CHAPTER 111: GOING HOME FOR DINNER

Jiang Hu felt playful, so he grabbed a vine from nearby and quickly wove it into a simple bamboo basket. He caught a basketful of little crabs; the largest one was only the size of a tea bowl, while the smallest were as tiny as two fingers.

Xiaomi also wanted to catch crabs, but she was too short. She could stand at the edge of the pond, but if she bent over, her face would go into the water.

Finally, she just held the small bamboo basket and watched her father catch crabs from the shore. Whenever he caught one, she would excitedly run over to let him put it in the basket and secretly caught a few small ones to put into her space.

She knew how to differentiate male and female crabs by looking at their bellies, and she believed if they were raised in her space, they could definitely reproduce.

In the end, they caught half a basket, and as the sun began to set, Jiang Hu finally came out of the pond.

"Daddy, grab a large lotus leaf," Xiaomi reminded him, "to soak in water when we get home."

Jiang Hu gave his forehead a light slap. "Right, I almost forgot. Your Uncle Zhang said soaking it in water is great."

Turning around, he then picked two leaves, placed the basket of crabs into the backpack, and put the lotus leaves on top.

Then, he shouldered the backpack, took Xiaomi’s hand, and called back the little black and little white, who were running around somewhere, before heading home together.

On the way back, Jiang Hu cut a bamboo stalk, while Xiaomi took the opportunity to swap the lotus leaves with those from her space.

Lotus leaf tea is refreshing and helps lower high blood pressure, so drinking it in summer is no problem.

Xiaomi had grown accustomed to this, and whenever she had the chance, she’d exchange things she grew in her space for items outside, while the supplies she once longed for remained shelved.

After one or two years of development, she had amassed a great deal of rice, wheat, sorghum, corn, sweet potatoes, and potatoes.

Some of these grains existed in the Xuyu Dynasty, while others did not, and she didn’t know if they existed elsewhere either.

Oh, by the way, through the information Xiaomi gathered over the past two years, she learned that this country is called the Xuyu Dynasty, a name she had never heard of.

Thinking about it, this place should be another world, so she needn’t worry about any negative impact from bringing these things out.

Anyway, Xiaomi had made up her mind to gradually bring out some things cleverly, like the lotus roots, which by next year, her family might be able to plant a lot of.

Once Jiang Hu carried the bamboo and held Xiaomi’s hand, with the cats and dogs behind him, it was almost dark when they got home.

Smoke rose from the chimneys of every household, just waiting for the workers to return home.

"Dad, Xiaomi, you’re back. It’s almost time to eat," Jiang Yu was cooking pig feed behind the house and spotted them first.

"Big brother." Xiaomi immediately released her father’s hand and ran over to her big brother excitedly. "Big brother, you’re back! What did you learn today? Can you teach me?"

Jiang Yu caught the running Xiaomi. "Sure, today I’ll teach you to recite the Three Character Classic, okay?"

No matter what he taught, as long as she could learn, Xiaomi eagerly nodded. "Okay!"

Jiang Hu leaned the bamboo against the wall and looked at his eldest son. "How is school? Can you handle the studying?"

He heard from Liu Yang that Liu Hai always complained bitterly after coming home, saying he couldn’t understand the lessons, but his own son never seemed to mention such difficulties, making Jiang Hu a bit puzzled.

Attending school wasn’t that easy after all. Otherwise, with so many people going to school every year, there would be very few who could even pass the elementary scholar exams, let alone become a Scholar. This showed just how tough it was.

So those like Liu Hai, who came home complaining every day, were the norm.

But his eldest son went to school on time every morning, helped with chores when he got home, and taught Xiaomi to read. Of course, he and Second Mother, and even Tiedan and Xiaoxue occasionally learned a bit too. Recognizing more characters was always beneficial.

But apart from that, it seemed Jiang Yu never talked about school matters.

Jiang Yu put down the excited Xiaomi. "It’s fine. I can understand what the teacher says, and I remember everything previously taught without forgetting."

Jiang Hu was surprised. "That’s amazing."

Xiaomi proudly puffed out her little chest. "Of course, big brother is the best and the smartest!"

Two or three years of drinking the Spiritual Spring water weren’t for nothing. While it didn’t make one suddenly become a genius, it certainly had many benefits.

Jiang Yu was instantly delighted, and Jiang Hu was all smiles. "Xiaomi is right. Come on, let’s go home for dinner."

The pig feed was almost done. After adding some firewood, it would burn out, and after simmering for a while, they could feed the pigs.

Second Mother saw the little crabs Jiang Hu had brought back and quickly found a wooden bucket to put them in, added half a bucket of water to soak them, and let them spit out the mud and sand first.

"Perfect timing. It’s been really hot these past few days, so we’ll use these crabs for soup tomorrow night to lower the internal heat."

Crabs are cold in nature, and eating too many is not good, but in hot weather, the coldness doesn’t matter much.

Since the beginning of summer, they ate porridge most frequently, baked some pancakes, and paired them with various cold dishes, making the meal extremely enjoyable.

Xiaomi’s favorite dishes were smashed cucumbers and cold mixed crown daisies. The crown daisies had a particularly strong aroma, and with the support of the Spiritual Spring water, they were practically available all year round.

The table was a bit high for Xiaomi and Tiedan, so they couldn’t sit directly to eat. Both siblings kneeled on the benches to eat, and judging by their current height, they’d probably need to kneel for another year or two.

Second Mother picked a crown daisy for Xiaomi. "Why do you like eating crown daisies so much? Your big brother and the others don’t seem to enjoy it as much."

Although crown daisies are delicious, for those who don’t like them, they can indeed be hard to stomach.

Cold mixed crown daisies are picked at their tenderest tips, and without needing to blanch in water, they are washed and directly mixed with seasonings, making them crisp and refreshing to eat.

Taking a bite of the dish her mother picked for her, Xiaomi smiled with her eyes forming little crescents. "It’s very fragrant; Xiaomi loves it."

She even had a patch specially planted in her space, always pretending to pick them by the house before bringing them out to eat.

The vegetables grown in the space tasted much better than any outside, leading to the established tradition that Xiaomi’s ’ground-grown’ vegetables were better.

Second Mother smiled. "If you like it, eat more, but you shouldn’t just eat vegetables. Have some eggs; they were specially fried with chives."

With that, Second Mother served the children a generous amount of eggs each.

If there’s one thing Second Mother liked most to do now, it would be cooking. Having vegetables and eggs, with Jiang Hu occasionally buying some meat, made cooking and eating every day an incredibly happy affair.

"Brother Hu."

"Second Mother."

They both looked up to speak, then exchanged a smile. Jiang Hu said, "Second Mother, you go first."

Second Mother said, "Tomorrow, go into town and buy a book for Xiaoxue."

Immediately, Second Mother explained her thoughts and her affirmation of Xiaoxue.

Though often praised for being sensible and obedient, such proper praise was a first, leaving Jiang Xiaoxue blushing, nearly burying her face in her bowl.

Hearing this good news, Xiaomi clapped her hands with joy. "Great! Second Sister learning embroidery will definitely be awesome!"

Jiang Hu did not refuse—after pondering for a moment, he nodded: "That’s fine, but in that case, in the future, when the eldest comes home at night, Xiaoxue should also learn to read, or she won’t understand the book when it’s bought."

Jiang Xiaoxue was delighted. "Alright, thank you, Dad. Thank you, Mom."

Second Mother gave a gentle smile. "You should also thank your big brother. He’ll be your little teacher from now on."

Jiang Xiaoxue nodded and earnestly looked at Jiang Yu. "Thank you, big brother. When I learn, I’ll make new clothes for you."

Jiang Yu waved his hand, "No need, no need, you’re my sister. You don’t have to be so polite. Besides, I already teach Xiaomi daily, so let’s learn together."

It’s just that Jiang Xiaoxue hadn’t been very keen on learning before. However, moving forward, things would definitely be different.

Then, Jiang Hu talked about seeing a small patch of lotus flowers at the pond and reminded everyone not to tell others.