Back To The 80s-Chapter 518 - 510: Spring Outing_1

Chen Qiumei had a short and irratable temper. After holding back for so long, hearing Xiaobei’s words made her furious. "You’re really growing tall and wild now, disdaining your own family. Which bride doesn’t take things home from her mother-in-law’s place? Look at how stingy you are. Who wouldn’t feel resentful?"

Xiaobei chuckled, "Didn’t you say that you gave birth to me? So, I obviously take after you."

Chen Qiumei was exasperated and glared at Xiaobei. She then turned and walked into the vegetable garden, saying: "What vegetables have grown in your place recently? The prices at the vegetable market are skyrocketing. We don’t even dare to buy a few more. All we have are onions and white flour." Having said this, she entered the vegetable garden.

Xiaobei observed her through the grapevine leaves and didn’t go to help. Chen Qiumei wouldn’t let her help anyway, fearing that she would destroy the plants.

Chen Qiumei saw that the rapeseed plants in the field were pretty good. She pulled out a big bundle and took a look at the water radishes on the vegetable bank. They were not bad either, so she pulled out more than ten in one go.

Xiaobei sighed. Those radishes were only slightly thicker than her thumb. Would she be able to eat them?

Chen Qiumei happily left with her vegetables. As for plotting against Xiaobei’s shop, Gu Weimin had spoken. She was not to rush things.

It wasn’t until after Chen Qiumei left that Bai Xiaolan, pregnant and holding Doudou, came out of the house and sat down on the kang with some effort.

Xiaobei quickly took over Doudou, worriedly asking, "You seem a bit clumsy lately. Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"

Bai Xiaolan shook her head. "I don’t feel uncomfortable, just a bit clumsier than when I was pregnant with Doudou, less agile."

Xiaobei said with a laugh, "The baby might just be a girl, just as you wished."

Bai Xiaolan nodded contentedly, "If it really is a girl, I’ll give you a big red envelope."

"Good, keep your word," Xiaobei joked.

For the next few days, Xiaobei was keeping an eye on the weather forecast every day, hoping it wouldn’t rain on the day of the spring outing.

Xiaopang asked every day: "Mom, can we go see the little bunny tomorrow?"

"Mom, is it tomorrow yet?"

"Dad, can we go see the little bunny?" Little smart-aleck Xiaopang couldn’t stop talking about it until the day of the spring outing finally arrived.

Wen Xiuqing even made some meatballs and stuffed pancakes, afraid they wouldn’t be full from the outdoor picnic. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Lu Zhanguo drove a truck from the army early in the morning, removed the canvas cover from the vehicle, and laid a layer of felt and a big quilt on the floor of the carriage, turning it into a sleeper carriage.

Xiaopang and Mo Wang were so excited that they insisted on sitting in the carriage before the adults had even loaded their stuff.

This time they brought much more stuff than before when they went barbecuing in the wild. Although the pots and bowls, a small kang table, and a bag of coal were all brought along, the carriage was big, so there was no worry that items wouldn’t fit.

Finally, it was decided that Ji Xiangdong would drive, and Bai Xiaolan would sit in the passenger seat because the rear seats were expected to be bumpier and might make her uncomfortable.

At Lu Zhanguo’s request, they stopped at the Qiaotou market to buy a couple of live chickens and two kilograms of mutton. Because the kids were young, it would be more convenient to eat these than to hunt or fish in the wild.

Xiaopang was excited during the whole journey, sitting in Lu Zhanguo’s arms, looking at the retreating scenery. It was her first time riding in a car since she became conscious of her surroundings.

Wen Xiuqing was holding Doudou and kept asking Lu Songyuan if he would feel uncomfortable during the trip.

Lu Songyuan leaned against the carriage, waved his hand, and said, "Don’t worry about me. When we were marching in the army, the roads were much worse than this. Sitting in this carriage, is like being carried in a sedan chair."

The road to Cat Mountain was a provincial road, and a certain part of it was made of gravel. Bumpy as it was, the worst part was the dust that rose after the car passed.

The adults quickly covered the children’s eyes with their hands, afraid that their eyes would be irritated.

Xiaobei gave Lu Zhanguo, who made the wrong decision, a regretful look. If they had known earlier, they wouldn’t have removed the canvas cover.

Ji Xiangdong drove slowly on the way, for fear that Bai Xiaolan could not bear it. A journey that should have taken a little more than an hour took two hours instead.

Because Lu Zhanguo came for the first time, he circled around and finally stopped on a relatively flat mountain slope.

Deep into the slope was a dense bush. In front of it was a small shallow river. The water was so clear that the stones underneath could be seen. On the riverbank, mauve orchids were blooming.

Xiaopang was rocked to sleep halfway through the journey. When they arrived, she woke up, rubbing her sleepy eyes, and kept asking, "Dad, where’s the bunny?"

Looking at the dense bushes, Xiaobei worriedly asked, "Are there any snakes here?"

Lu Zhanguo laughed and reassured her. "There are fewer snakes in the mountains of the north, so don’t worry. Aren’t we still three or four hundred meters away from the bushes?"

Xiaobei took Xiaopang and Mo Wang, who kept asking where the bunny was, and went to pick little flowers nearby.

Lu Zhanguo and Ji Xiangdong first moved the bedding from the car to the grass and set up the kang table for Lu Songyuan and Wen Xiuqing to sit down.

"How are we going to eat the chicken?" Bai Xiaolan, supporting her belly, walked around and asked.

Making a paste with the mud from the river and baking it," Lu Zhanguo replied, and took the chickens to the river to kill them.

Ji Xiangdong gathered some firewood, lit the coal, put three large rocks next to the bonfire as a makeshift stove, propped up the pot, and started to boil water that would be used to pluck the chicken feathers later.

Although Lu Zhanguo had said that there were no snakes nearby, Xiaobei didn’t dare to go too far and only found some small flowers a few meters away, using them to make a flower crown for Xiaopang.

The little girl happily ran to Wen Xiuqing and asked, "Grandma, am I pretty?"

"Pretty, you look like a doll," Wen Xiuqing replied, smiling so widely that she could hardly close her mouth.

Happy with the compliment, Xiaopang forgot about looking for the bunny and pestered Xiaobei to make another flower crown.

After the fire was lit, and the water was boiling, Lu Zhanguo went to the river to pluck the chicken. From the rear of the chicken, he made a small incision, removed the giblets, stuffed the chicken with prepared spices, and then started to encase it in the yellow sticky mud from the riverbank.

When the chicken was completely encased in a lump of clay, he threw it into the coal fire for roasting.

Looking at that, Xiaobei thought that it was actually a Beggar’s Chicken. However, the chicken they used was a home-raised rooster. The taste must be really good.

Ji Xiangdong lit another pile of fire, boiled a pot of water, and prepared to pour it out to make tea.

Wen Xiuqing laughed and said, "You’re going to a lot of trouble. Wouldn’t it be more convenient to cook at home instead of traveling dozens of kilometers to the wild?"

Lu Songyuan leaned against the kang table and snorted, "You don’t understand. All these things they’re doing are basic knowledge for outdoor training. It’s good for them to get out more. It will benefit Mo Wang and Doudou and help them learn these skills from a young age."

Ji Xiangdong leaned against the slope, looking at the water in the pot that was about to boil, preparing to pour it out to make tea.

Suddenly, a sense of danger seemed to waft through the air. Lu Zhanguo shouted, "Get down, everyone!"