Transmigrated into a fat wife, farming, raising children, and picking up husbands

While the two were having a lively discussion, the two young masters who initially found it novel and interesting started to experience leg pain and back discomfort after squatting for a while.

Wu Liangcai was bitten by mosquitoes several times and was so itchy that he kept scratching. He pointed to his face full of bites and came to Lin Xiuer to complain, looking aggrieved.

"Sister Lin, a mosquito is biting me."

"It's nothing, it's a small matter. I'll find some medicine to apply for you."

Just as Lin Xiuer plucked a few artemisia leaves, crushed them, and used them to relieve Wu Liangcai's itching, Chen Mingxuan's excited shouts came from the other side.

"Xiuer, look what I caught!"

The two looked in the direction of the sound and saw Chen Mingxuan running over with his sleeves rolled up, holding something alive in his hands, looking like he was showing off a treasure.

As he approached, he opened his palm, revealing a small, bluish-brown river crab, no bigger than a copper coin, flailing its tiny pincers in vain.

"I was washing my hands in the stream over there, and I found this in a crevice between the rocks! This...is this edible? It looks really fun!"

He had clearly never been so close to these little creatures in the mountain streams before. He lightly touched the crab's shell with his fingertip, then quickly withdrew it, both afraid of getting pinched and reluctant to look away.

The crab seemed to sense the malice of being made into dinner, and struggled even more fiercely.

Lin Xiuer looked at the tiny crab and then at Chen Mingxuan's curious and expectant expression, and couldn't help but laugh.

"Yes, of course you can eat it. There's not much meat, but it's especially fragrant and crispy when fried."

"Grab as much as you want, as much as you can. I'll fry it for you later, sprinkle some salt and chili powder on it, it'll make a nice snack."

Upon hearing this, Chen Mingxuan became even more excited, turned around and ran back to the stream to rummage over stones, temporarily forgetting about the wild vegetables in his basket.

As the sun gradually set in the west, Lin Xiuer and Hu Yidao's baskets were already filled with all sorts of spices and wild chili peppers, emitting a rich aroma of herbs and spices.

Ping An gathered and tied the cut dry branches together with ropes, and several bundles of firewood of various sizes stood in the clearing at the edge of the forest.

Wu Liangcai was still struggling with shepherd's purse in the grass not far away.

The bottom of the bamboo basket beside him was already half full, mostly with the shepherd's purse he had dug up, but also a few innocent, similar-looking wild grasses mixed in.

His face was covered in mud, and his hair was stuck to his forehead with sweat, but he worked with extraordinary enthusiasm.

He even held up a plant he had dug up himself and carefully compared it to the sample, noting, "The leaf edges are serrated... the roots are white. Hmm, that's right!"

Only after confirming that everything was correct did I put it into the basket with satisfaction.

Two servants followed nearby, one helping to identify the shepherd's purse, and the other helping to remove the dirt from the dug-up shepherd's purse and put it into the basket, so there was no need to worry about him.

Meanwhile, Chen Mingxuan was still persistently searching among the rocks by the crystal-clear stream.

The stream wasn't deep, just past his ankles, and the bottom was smooth pebbles and fine sand. He took off his shoes and socks, rolled up his trousers and sleeves, and was intently digging into a large rock.

There were actually quite a few small crabs, but these little creatures were very alert; at the slightest disturbance, they would swiftly retreat into the depths of the crevices in the rocks.

The stone was moved, and several small crabs scattered in panic. Chen Mingxuan frantically tried to cover them up, splashing water everywhere. In the end, he only got water all over his face and didn't catch a single one.

In the small bamboo tube in front of him, there were still only the three pitifully small river crabs from the beginning, blankly blowing tiny bubbles.

Looking at his clumsy yet persistent appearance, Lin Xiuer couldn't help but shake her head. She and Lao Hu put down their baskets and walked to the stream.

The stream is crystal clear, flowing gently over smooth pebbles.

Sure enough, under some rocks or in crevices, you could see more small, bluish-brown figures running rampant or warily waving their tiny pincers.

"Young Master Chen, how was the harvest?" Lin Xiuer asked with a smile.

Chen Mingxuan looked up, a hint of disappointment on his face, and held up the bamboo tube containing the three trophies: "That's all? They ran too fast!"

They didn't go into the water; they stayed on the shore, their eyes scanning the bottom, and soon locked onto a flat rock half-submerged in the water.

Instead of immediately striking, she gently kicked the edge of the stone with her toe.

The startled little crab immediately darted out from under the rock and ran sideways in a panic.

Lin Xiuer and Lao Hu were prepared and swiftly reached down to grab the crab, precisely pinpointing its carapace.

The crab's eight legs flailed in vain through the air, and its two small pincers could not grasp the fingers that were holding it.

Lin Xiuer picked up the little guy who was still baring its teeth and claws and waved it in front of Chen Mingxuan, then neatly tied it up with grass stems, strung it together, and threw it ashore as a prisoner.

Hu Yidao chuckled, "See that? Be quick! Be accurate!"

Chen Mingxuan watched Lin Xiuer's nimble movements, then looked at Hu Yidao's equally skillful techniques, and then at his own hands, covered in mud but empty, and the three pitiful elders in the bamboo tube. He felt unwilling no matter how he thought about it.

He clearly discovered it first, so how did someone else beat him to it?

"I can do it too!" He rolled up his sleeves and, imitating Lin Xiuer, carefully stepped into the stream, his eyes wide like copper bells, searching for his target.

Soon, he found a small crab hiding in a crevice in the rocks. Holding his breath, he imitated Lin Xiuer and slowly reached out his hand from behind him...

Just as his fingertips were about to touch the crab's shell, the little guy seemed to have eyes in the back of its head. It sprang up with a "whoosh" and quickly darted into a pile of seaweed nearby, disappearing from sight.

"Ouch!" Chen Mingxuan missed his target and almost fell into the water.

He refused to believe it and tried several more times. Either he was too slow or the angle was wrong, scaring the crab away.

Once, he almost got his finger pinched by a slightly larger crab, which scared him so much that he quickly pulled his hand away.

Meanwhile, Lin Xiuer and Hu Yidao were picking beans from the ground.

Lin Xiuer moved lightly and nimbly, making almost no splash. Her movements were precise and steady, and in no time, seven or eight small river crabs, tied up, were piled up at her feet.

Hu Yidao had already taken off his shoes, rolled up his trousers, and stepped barefoot into the cool stream.

They would specifically choose those piles of pebbles with small gaps, stick their fingers inside, and when they came out, they would often find a bewildered little crab between their fingers.

Chen Mingxuan worked hard for half a day, sweating profusely, but apart from getting splashed with water, he didn't add a single one to his "team".

He looked at the two strings of crabs on the bank that were getting longer and longer, and then at his own three lonely crabs. Finally, he gave up and sat down on a big rock by the stream, staring blankly at the water, his face full of frustration.

Seeing this, Lin Xiuer suppressed a laugh and tossed a small river crab that she had just tied up to his feet: "Here, this one is yours."

"You can't catch crabs by force; you have to use a clever approach. They're timid, and if you make too much noise, they'll disappear into the crevices."

Chen Mingxuan looked at the trophy that had fallen from the sky at his feet, then at Lin Xiuer's encouraging smile, and then at the arrogant little creatures swimming in the stream. He gritted his teeth and stood up again.

"I refuse to believe it!"

Chen Mingxuan imitated Lin Xiuer, holding his breath and carefully moving a small stone... Sure enough!

He was delighted and tried to pinch it, but he didn't control his strength well. The crab got scared and scurried away, leaving him with only a hand full of cold stream water.

"Don't rush, take your time, you'll get it after a few tries," Lin Xiuer encouraged.

With their demonstration and help, Chen Mingxuan gradually got the hang of it.

Although he could only succeed two or three times out of ten, the small sense of accomplishment he felt every time he caught one made him extremely happy.

Before long, Old Hu was holding a long string of chickens, which he estimated to be about twenty.

Lin Xiuer also caught more than a dozen. Although Chen Mingxuan had the fewest catches, he still had seven or eight of his own. Stringed together, although not as good as the two experts, it still made him grin from ear to ear.