Back to the 60s: The Struggle Career of a Charmed Wife
Chapter 473 - 0473 Leek Box 3_1

Chapter 473: Chapter 0473 Leek Box 3_1

Feng Qingxue was a skilled cook who wasn’t stingy with oil, salt, and seasonings, making her dishes incredibly flavorful. Wang Jiao ate two servings in one go.

The chive buns made from white flour were round and about six inches in diameter.

Accompanied by cornmeal gruel, Wang Cuilan, Chen Xueniang, and Feng Qingxue each ate one and already felt full. The children only ate half of one. Only Lu Tianjun, who was growing, ate one and a half.

"So delicious!" Wang Jiao patted her belly in satisfaction.

When Feng Qingxue and the others went to dig wild vegetables, she also carried Goudan in a basket to join in the fun.

After eating, Lu Tianjun went to the two-thousand acre field to work. Lu Tianzhi and Guan Yu also followed. Although they were young, they could help by placing peanuts seeds in the dug holes or planting sweet potato seedlings. All other children their age were already working. They didn’t trust Feng Qingyun and Song Gang to stay at home alone.

So, Feng Qingyun and Song Gang led Xibao, following Feng Qingxue and the others into the wilderness.

The hillside was very empty, but the wind blowing on their faces was not icy. It was mellow and made one’s mind clear and heart broad.

It had rained a few days ago, and wild grass had grown rapidly. The wild vegetables were nestled among them, lush and verdant.

All over the hills, groups of small and large children were digging wild vegetables - hardly any adults were in sight.

"Shepherd’s purse and toad grass are anti-inflammatory, and quite common," Feng Qingxue instructed Chen Xueniang in identifying wild vegetables, teaching her only these two types, "They’re pretty good for making cornbread or soup, but they’re a bit bitter. It’s already April according to the solar calendar now, Shepherd’s purse flower has already fully blossomed, and it’s quite old and doesn’t taste good anymore."

However, there were still people digging old shepherd’s purse because they were short on grains.

Even if the standard of living of Wanglou Brigade was higher than its surroundings, the common people who were scared of hunger persevered in stockpiling grains and digging wild vegetables. They didn’t want to find themselves not even being able to dig out wild vegetables or roots when the crops fail on a large scale.

Chen Xueniang had a thought, and sped up her work in digging wild vegetables, only digging shepherd’s purse and toad grass that she recognized.

Seeing that she was beautiful, Wang Jiao couldn’t resist approaching her, "Don’t city people just eat commercial grains and buy vegetables from the grocery store? What’s so special about wild vegetables? They’re very bitter."

Chen Xueniang laughed, "The grains and vegetables we eat are all grown by you. The state has a unified purchase and marketing system, so we eat radishes and cabbages in winter, spinach and greens in spring, loofahs, eggplants, and beans in summer. But wild vegetables are less common." They were only seen in the black market where country folks sold them to city dwellers for novelty, but in the end, there were very few because grains were more important.

Wang Jiao nodded and said, "There are two toon trees in our backyard, you can pick some toon buds when you leave. My mother-in-law didn’t have time to pick them when she went out to work this morning. They are really delicious when mixed with tofu! But tofu is quite expensive, eight cents per pound!"

Chen Xueniang paused, then thanked her.

The taste of toon buds is very strong, but Wang Cuilan and Chen Xueniang both liked eating them. After they had dug a basket of wild vegetables, they went to Wang Jiao’s house and picked a lot of toon buds. Wang Jiao also helped them tie them with rice straw, bundling them on top of the wild vegetables in the basket.

Although everyone only picked two bundles, they were all very grateful for Wang Jiao’s generosity.

"Qingxue, your cousin is really nice!" On the way back in the afternoon, Wang Cuilan said, and Chen Xueniang agreed.

Feng Qingxue found it amusing, but didn’t tell them that Wang Jiao didn’t actually like toon buds and couldn’t stand the smell of it. Probably her mother-in-law cooked them every day, which made Wang Jiao dizzy, so she generously decided to give them away this time.