Ordinary observers in fast time travel

Chapter 1231 Looking for Food
Wang Tieshan held the bowl, his heart aching, his eyes reddening. "Sister-in-law."

"Eat quickly, we'll need you guys to find food on the mountain later." Shi Jia patted the young man on the shoulder.

Wang Tieshan nodded vigorously, "Don't worry, sister-in-law, I will definitely try my best to find food."

Shi Jia smiled and continued feeding the little one in her arms rice porridge. The little one was even weaker, and Shi Jia was very worried about whether he could survive if he didn't get enough nutrition.

"Sister-in-law, let me feed the calf. You should eat too," Wang Tiehua said quickly after finishing a bowl of porridge.

"No need, have another bowl." Shi Jia waved her hand. Her two younger siblings were often hungry and their bodies were very weak.

"Sister-in-law, I'm small and don't eat much," Wang Tiehua said, waving her hand hastily. In fact, this was the best meal she had eaten in nearly a month.

Shi Jia understood that the other party wanted to save food, but they were about to face a protracted battle. How could they persevere if they didn't eat their fill?

So she forced Wang Tiehua to eat another half bowl. Shi Jia herself, after feeding the little one, ate all the remaining porridge in the earthenware pot.

Seeing this, Wang Tieshan and Wang Tiehua hesitated for a long time before saying nothing, but their gazes toward the mountains and forests became increasingly firm.

Seeing this, Shi Jia did not explain. He simply washed the earthenware pot clean, filled the bamboo tube with spring water, carried the basket and the little guy on his back, and headed towards the mountains and forests.

It was late autumn, and most of the vegetation in the mountains and forests had turned yellow and withered. Coupled with the drought, wild vegetables were hard to find.

Shi Jia's memories of herbal medicine were sealed. Fortunately, Li Yunniang grew up in the mountains and forests. Although she did not know the names of herbs, she still knew what was edible, what was inedible, and what could cure diseases.

The sight of withered yellow leaves made her frown. The supplies on the mountain were far fewer than she had expected.

However… Shi Jia’s eyes lit up when she saw a bunch of shriveled fruits hanging on a withered vine. She quickly walked over, picked them, and examined them carefully.

The shriveled fruit is entirely black, with a surface like tree bark. It is semi-soft and can be broken when squeezed. It tastes sweet, with a sweet and sour flavor and a chewy texture.

If Shi Jia's memories of herbalism hadn't been sealed, she would know that these were raisins.

However, in Li Yunniang's memory, this thing was edible. Because it was sweet and sour, she even gave it a name: sweet and sour fruit.

"Tieshan, Tiehua, come quick, I found the fruit!" Shi Jia looked at the small piece of dried fruit in front of her, and her worried heart was relieved!
Upon hearing this, the two children immediately ran over, asking, "Sister-in-law, where are you?"

“Here it is, look, these are the dried fruits.” Shi Jia pulled over some dried fruit and showed it to the two of them. Suddenly, she noticed that most of the fruits in the bunch were only half left. She frowned. “What a pity, the birds have bitten them.”

After she finished speaking, she prepared to let go and grab the other dried fruits.

"Great!" Wang Tiehua cheered, reached out and grabbed the bunch of raisins, picked one that the bird had eaten, and put it in his mouth.

"Wow~ So sweet!" she exclaimed softly.

Shi Jia was taken aback, then realized that this was ancient times when food and clothing were scarce. So what if the bird had eaten the fruit? As long as it was edible, it was fine!
"Sister-in-law, your eyes are so sharp! We didn't see anything!" Wang Tiehua smiled brightly at Shi Jia.

Shi Jia smiled and said, "Let's hurry up and pick these dried fruits."

"Okay~" the Wang siblings responded cheerfully, and at the same time, they nimbly slipped into the withered bushes to pick wild grapes.

Shi Jia smiled as she watched the two siblings and joined them in picking the fruit quickly.

After picking the wild grapes, Shi Jia led the two children deeper into the valley. Soon, a patch of withered vines came into view, and Shi Jia's heart pounded. She swallowed hard. "Wait."

"Sister-in-law?" The Wang siblings looked at her. "I think I see sweet potato leaves." Shi Jia's eyes were fixed on the front, and she walked quickly.

Sweet potato, also known as Chinese yam, was called sweet potato in Li Yunniang's memory.

"Sweet potato? Where?" The two looked around nervously upon hearing this, but did not see the familiar plant.

Shi Jia had already arrived at the withered sweet potato vines. She squatted down and quickly discovered that sweet potato seeds were still hanging on the withered vines. These were edible too.

"Come quickly, we won't lack food for the next few days," Shi Jia said happily, not only from Li Yunniang's memories, but also from her sealed memories, which vaguely told her that this stuff was very good.

Upon hearing this, Wang Tieshan's breathing quickened. No shortage of food? His eyes gleamed. "Sister-in-law, I'll dig!" he said, disregarding the dry thorns around him, and charged straight ahead.

"Be careful!" Shi Jia exclaimed in surprise. "Tie Shan, don't get hurt, it'll be hard to find a doctor."

Wang Tieshan calmed down a bit, carefully observed the distribution of the vines, and cautiously walked over. Even so, his arm was still scratched.

"Brother, your hand is bleeding." Wang Tiehua exclaimed in alarm when she saw this. She was afraid that her family members would get hurt, and she didn't want to be the only one left in the end.

"It's nothing." Wang Tieshan didn't care. His thin body knelt on the ground and reached out to pull at the withered sweet potato vines.

Shi Jia frowned, put down the basket, found a relatively clean piece of clothing, tore off a strip of cloth, and pulled Wang Tieshan over.

"Sister-in-law?" Wang Tieshan was startled and looked at Shi Jia in confusion.

"Have you forgotten what I just said? We have no money and don't know where to find a doctor. If you get sick, what are Xiao Niu and Tie Hua supposed to do?" Shi Jia used the water in the bamboo tube to clean Wang Tieshan's wound before bandaging it with a strip of cloth.

The wound wasn't serious; with a little care, it would heal in a couple of days. But Shi Jia wanted Wang Tieshan to understand the importance of each of their health.

Wang Tieshan stared blankly as his sister-in-law bandaged him, a surge of indescribable emotion welling up inside him. "Sister-in-law, I'm sorry."

Shi Jia shook her head. "It's okay, but we can't do that again."

Wang Tieshan nodded in assurance.

“Alright, let’s pick up the sweet potato seeds first. They’re edible. If we find a place to settle down next year, we can grow sweet potatoes too,” Shi Jia said.

"Uh-huh."

"I'll go pick them," Wang Tiehua volunteered and rushed into the sweet potato vines.

Sweet potatoes were hard to dig, especially since they didn't have hoes, only sickles. But they were patient, digging little by little with sharpened sticks, and by sunset, each of their baskets was full of yams.

Eat them sparingly; these yams are enough for them to eat for ten days!

With food in hand, the three regained their confidence in the future.

As dusk fell, Shi Jia led the two back to the mountain spring.

"Let's camp here for the night and continue digging for yams in the mountains tomorrow," Shi Jia said to the two by the campfire.

The two siblings, eating hot roasted sweet potatoes, nodded vigorously, "We'll do whatever our sister-in-law says."