Transmigrated into the role of the matriarch, I ensured my family had enough to eat and wear during

Tang Susu led Tang Lifu, Tang Liqiang, Yang Gousheng, and Yang Xiaobao into the mountains, intending to find more things to sell—they had already earned more than 500 coins from selling mushrooms yesterday, and saving up more copper coins would make them feel more at ease.

As soon as they reached the foot of the mountain, they saw the original owner's second sister-in-law, Shen, with her daughter Fangjuan, carrying empty baskets and looking around for wild vegetables.

Upon spotting Tang Susu and her group, Madam Shen immediately put on a smile and greeted them warmly, saying, "Susu, it's been so long! You look fairer and plumper than before. Are you doing well?"

These words sound like praise, but they actually conceal a test.

Tang Susu secretly complained that she worked in the fields and mountains every day, and her hands were so rough and dark that they were not white at all.

Moreover, the word "fat" was something she couldn't stand the most, so she immediately raised an eyebrow and retorted, "Really fat? I don't think so!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized that Madam Shen wasn't genuinely concerned about her weight; she was clearly using this to probe whether her life was truly going well.

Seeing that she had responded, Madam Shen immediately seized the opportunity and got to the point: "Did you get back the money you gave to the Tang family before?"

This question was very direct; it was obvious that the questioner wanted to know if Tang Susu had any savings.

Tang Susu's mind flashed quickly through the grudges between the original owner and her two sisters-in-law: when the original owner's husband was alive, he was a squad leader in the army and had two sons. He had a lot of influence in the Yang family, and her two sisters-in-law usually gave in to her.

After her husband died, the original owner of the house made a scene to prevent the Yang family from taking the compensation money, and then cut off all contact with her two sisters-in-law, becoming like strangers.

She continued, following Shen's words in a flat tone: "It's long gone. My cousin needed to go to school, and all that money went to his tuition."

After saying that, she changed the subject and turned the tables on Shen Shi with a half-smile: "Speaking of which, Mother must have quite a bit of grain hidden away, right? You know this best."

Before Shen could reply, Yang Fangjuan blurted out, "Grandma hid a bag of millet in my room last night!"

"Shut up!" Shen was so frightened that her soul almost flew out of her body. She quickly grabbed Fangjuan's collar, dragged her behind her, and glared at her fiercely, afraid that her daughter would reveal more about the family's stored grain.

She had a plan in mind: Tang Susu had given birth to two grandsons for the Yang family, and the old woman doted on her youngest son the most. If she knew that there was a lot of grain stored in the old house, she might soften her heart and let Tang Susu bring the whole family back to share the grain.

When the time comes, with six more mouths to feed, the already meager food supply for our family of twelve will become even more unbearable.

Shen tried to remain calm and waved her hand to explain, "There's hardly any grain left. We've almost eaten it all. The children are starving every day, and they're just hoping for a good harvest from the fields."

After saying that, she didn't dare to talk to Tang Susu anymore, afraid that her daughter would say something she shouldn't. She pulled Fangjuan aside and pretended to be focused on finding wild vegetables.

Tang Susu chuckled to herself as she watched Shen Shi's flustered appearance. Too lazy to waste any more time with her, she waved her hand and led the four boys deeper into the woods.

They hadn't gone far when they discovered that the areas previously untouched had been trampled flat, clearly searched by other villagers. The group had no choice but to continue deeper into the area.

Shen followed at a distance, wanting to find out more about why Tang Susu had the money to buy meat, but she couldn't find a chance to interject.

As the sun rose higher and higher, and the heat rose, she felt a pang of anxiety—if she couldn't gather half a basket of wild vegetables before noon, she would definitely be scolded by Old Lady Yang when she got back.

Just as she was getting anxious, she suddenly saw a patch of fresh wild vegetables growing on the slope not far away. They were lush and green, and no one had ever dug them up yet.

Shen immediately stopped, pulled Fangjuan down to squat, and quickly started digging, temporarily putting aside the matter of finding out about Tang Susu.

Tang Susu had the four boys pick up mushrooms, wild fruits, and wild vegetables along the way, while she continued to explore deeper into the mountains and forests.

Even if you can't find valuable rare mushrooms, it's still good to find a large quantity of common ingredients in places where no one goes.

She stepped through waist-high grass, parted the dense thickets of leaves, and suddenly discovered a depression beneath the thicket.

This depression is located between two mountains, and it is covered with large patches of withered lotus, with broken branches and fallen leaves covering the ground.

Tang Susu's eyes lit up—where there are withered lotus leaves, there are lotus roots!

Located at the junction of north and south, this place may have been brought by large birds from the south, where lotus seeds took root and sprouted, thus creating this lotus pond.

She roughly estimated that the lotus pond was at least four or five acres in size.

She pondered to herself that the villagers of Yangqu Village had lived in this remote mountain village for generations and had never seen much of the world. Even if they had seen lotus flowers and leaves, they might not know that edible lotus roots grew under the lotus leaves.

Moreover, lotus root is a high-quality food. She remembered that in her previous life, some southern countries had presented lotus root as tribute to the imperial court.

The thought of lotus root instantly conjured up images of various ways to eat it, such as lotus root and pork rib soup, stir-fried lotus root, and cold lotus root slices, making her mouth water.

Tang Susu found a sturdy wooden stick and used it to leap into the dried-up lotus pond. The ground was dry and hard, and the soil was very compacted. It took her a lot of effort to loosen the soil with the stick and dig out a lotus root section that was about the length of two rolling pins.

She broke off a section of the lotus root and, upon closer inspection, discovered it was a seven-hole lotus root.

Seven-hole lotus root is crisp and refreshing, making it perfect for stir-frying or cold dishes; while nine-hole lotus root is more starchy and glutinous, suitable for stewing soup or making glutinous rice lotus root.

This lotus root looks clean and has a faint fragrance, but it's grown rather thin because of the long drought and insufficient nutrient supply.

Tang Susu put the lotus root into her basket and waited for a long time, but the system did not make any notification sound.

She smiled and shook her head, thinking that this ordinary lotus root was simply not good enough for the system.

Looking at the vast lotus root field before her, she pondered how to utilize it further. After digging up another lotus root, she stopped.

If we dig any further, our hands will get blistered. Let's go back and remember this news; there will be plenty of opportunities to dig again later.

On the other side, Yang Fangjuan was digging for wild vegetables, glancing every now and then in the direction Tang Susu had left.

She always felt that Tang Susu must have found something valuable in the mountains to be able to afford meat.

While Shen was engrossed in digging vegetables and not paying attention, she quietly put down her small hoe and tiptoed after her.

From afar, she saw Tang Susu buried in the thorn bushes, digging for something.

After Tang Susu left, she quickly ran over and found a patch of dry mud in the depression, with signs of recent turning.

Curious, she squatted down and poked around with a small twig, eventually digging out a white object with a hole in it.

Yang Fangjuan had never seen such a thing before, and only felt that it must be something valuable. Terrified, she quickly dropped the branch and ran frantically down the mountain to find Shen Shi: "Mother! Mother! I saw Third Aunt digging for something good in the mountains! It's white, and it has holes in it!"

Shen had just dug up a large bundle of wild vegetables and was planning to dig some more before heading back when she heard her daughter's words, and her eyes lit up instantly.

She dropped the wild vegetables she was holding and grabbed Fangjuan, running up the mountain: "Quick, take Mother to see!"

By the time they reached the hollow, Tang Susu was already gone. Yang Fangjuan leaped into the lotus pond, pointing to the freshly turned soil: "Mom, it's right here!"

As she spoke, she picked up a small hoe from the side and dug out a long, thin lotus root in a few strokes.

Shen took the lotus root section, broke it in half, and brought it to her nose to smell it. It had a faint, refreshing fragrance.

She tentatively picked out a little lotus root and put it in her mouth. After chewing it a few times, she found it sweet and crunchy, as if it were edible, but she wasn't sure. She chewed it a couple more times and then spat it out.

She quickly covered the freshly turned soil with leaves, secretly pleased with herself: Fangjuan discovered this first, so it must belong to the Yang family.

She didn't bother digging for wild vegetables anymore. She grabbed Fangjuan and rushed home, wanting to take the food back to ask the elders in her family.

It was still past 7 AM, and many families in the village were still having breakfast.

Grandpa Yang has returned from the fields and is sitting under the osmanthus tree in the courtyard, enjoying the cool shade and smoking.

Old Mrs. Yang was busy in the kitchen, having just put the wild vegetable dumplings on the steamer, when she turned around and saw Mrs. Shen returning with a basket on her back containing only a few wild vegetables. Her face immediately fell, and she launched into a tirade: "You two spent so much time digging, and this is all you brought back? You eat so much but do so little! All you do is shirk your responsibilities!"

Startled by the scolding, Yang Fangjuan quickly took the lotus root from her basket, held it up in front of Old Lady Yang, and loudly interrupted her reprimand: "Grandpa! Grandma! Look at this! We saw something wonderful on the mountain, but we didn't know what it was!"