During famine years, I had a divination slip in hand, and my whole family ate chicken, duck, fish, a

Ye Dazhuang unconsciously curled his lips into a smile, "Mm."

Her greedy and lustful nature can sometimes be incredibly endearing.

The two of them worked for almost an hour, and the bamboo baskets were overflowing.

Ye Qingqing straightened up, patted the dirt off her hands, and looked at the large basket full of wild vegetables, feeling extremely proud.

These wild vegetables are a goldmine in Kaoshantun – in the dead of winter, who has ever seen such fresh leafy greens?

"Big Zhuang, are you tired?"

She turned her head and asked.

Ye Dazhuang shook his head, but his gaze remained fixed on her face.

A thin layer of sweat beaded on her forehead, and her cheeks were flushed from the heat of working, like a ripe apple.

"Not tired."

He looked away and shook his head.

Ye Qingqing stretched, and her bones cracked twice.

"Ouch, my back is aching from picking wild vegetables. But since I'm already here..."

Her eyes darted around, glancing at the hot spring in the center of the cave.

The water wasn't deep, it was crystal clear, and wisps of steam rose from the surface.

The water temperature is just right for a bath!

Ye Qingqing smiled faintly.

"Big Brother Zhuang, I need to relax a bit. Could you please go out and keep watch for me?"

Ye Dazhuang was taken aback, but instantly understood what she was going to do.

His ears turned bright red, and he quickly turned around and strode towards the cave entrance.

"I'm right outside."

He stopped at the cave entrance, his broad back facing her, his voice a little hoarse.

"Mmm!" Ye Qingqing's clear voice came from behind.

"No need to go that far, it's so cold outside the cave..."

Ye Dazhuang seemed not to hear, and pulled the withered vines on the mountain wall together to cover the cave entrance, then stood in the snow with his back to the cave entrance.

A gust of cold wind cooled the heat in his ears.

The sound of splashing water came from inside the cave, followed by Ye Qingqing's comfortable sigh.

"Wow! That feels so good..."

Ye Dazhuang stood in the snow, his body taut and straight.

He dared not look at the cave entrance, his eyes fixed on the snow in front of him, but the image of Ye Qingqing's fair forearm when she rolled up her sleeves involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

He shook his head, trying to banish those thoughts.

After an unknown amount of time, Ye Qingqing's voice came from inside the cave.

"Brother Dazhuang, I'm ready! Come in, the water's still warm, do you want to soak for a while?"

Ye Dazhuang's Adam's apple bobbed, and his voice was muffled, "No need."

"Really not going to?"

Ye Qingqing, still dressed, urged him, "It feels so good, really! Come and soak for a while! I'll guard the cave entrance for you. Are you afraid a wolf will come in and eat you?"

Tch, are you afraid I'll peek at you?

What about trust between people?

It's not like we haven't seen it before.

Hearing the rustling sounds of dressing inside the cave, Ye Dazhuang waited a while to make sure she was dressed before pushing aside the vines and going in again.

Ye Qingqing was wringing the water droplets from her hair, her cheeks were rosy, and she looked radiant.

It seems... exceptionally tempting.

She glanced at the hot spring, then at Ye Dazhuang, and suddenly burst out laughing.

"Why are your ears so red! I told you not to go outside the cave, look how cold they are!"

Ye Dazhuang glanced at her silently, and the heat that had just subsided instantly surged back into his ears.

He had no choice but to turn around and silently carry the basket of wild vegetables on his back.

"Alright, alright, I'm not teasing you anymore."

Ye Qingqing put on her cotton-padded coat with a grin, "Let's go, let's go back and give them a surprise."

……

By the time the two returned to Kaoshantun, it was already dark.

As soon as I entered the courtyard, Li Chunyan came out to greet me, holding a wolf cub in her arms.

"Oh my dear aunt, you're finally back! I was so worried about you in this freezing weather..."

She was halfway through her sentence when her eyes suddenly widened, staring intently at the bamboo basket on Ye Dazhuang's back.

"This, this is..."

In the bamboo basket, the lush green wild vegetables were piled up like a small mountain, each leaf was fresh and vibrant, and their green color was striking in the dim twilight.

Li Chunyan rubbed her eyes, thinking she was seeing things.

"Wild vegetables?!"

She screamed, drawing everyone out of the house.

Ye Youliang stepped out of the door with a pipe in his mouth, and when he saw the basket of things, the pipe fell to the ground with a "thud".

"So many! My goodness, in the dead of winter, there are really, really..."

Ye Qingqing patted the dust off her clothes and said proudly,

"Didn't I tell you? There's a patch of land on the back hill that wasn't frozen over, and the wild vegetables grow really well there."

Old Zhao poked his head out of the house, and when he saw the basket of bright green things, his eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

"My goodness! Green vegetables in the dead of winter! Master, is this...is this for real?!"

"It couldn't be more real."

Ye Qingqing squatted down, grabbed a handful of shepherd's purse from the basket, and held it up. "Look how tender it is! Sister-in-law, chop some meat, let's make dumplings tonight!"

"Green vegetables in the dead of winter..."

The three Zhao brothers gathered around, picked up a shepherd's purse with trembling hands, and examined it from all angles.

Isn't this vegetable only available in spring?

It's amazing that it grows so beautifully in this freezing winter.

Is there no justice left?!

Ye Youliang clutched a handful of shepherd's purse and remained silent for a long time.

"Sister-in-law, Cuicui, it would be helpful if you two could help pick out the wild vegetables. They need to be cleaned thoroughly to fetch a good price."

Ye Qingqing said to Li Chunyan with a smile, "Tonight we'll make some dumplings with wild vegetable and pork filling, and we'll take the rest to town to sell tomorrow."

"Sell?!"

Zhao Lao Er suddenly realized, "This thing... anyone would buy it? How much would it cost?"

"Why isn't anyone buying?"

Ye Qingqing narrowed her eyes. "In the dead of winter, all the rich people in town are so bored they're practically starving. If you show them this green stuff, they'll fight tooth and nail to get it."

If you don't believe me, ask my sister-in-law. She ate at Fushunlou Restaurant a few days ago...

"Bang!"

Li Chunyan dropped the kitchen knife from her hand onto the cutting board, raised her hand to her chest, and grimaced at Ye Qingqing.

"Please, don't mention that... Second Sister, why are you bringing up something you don't want to talk about!"

Eating a plate of dandelion that costs one or two taels of silver is an obstacle that Li Chunyan can never overcome in her life!

Zhao Laoda, who was listening nearby, was dumbfounded.

"Master, so you've made...made a fortune!"

……

Early the next morning, Ye Qingqing and Ye Dazhuang drove their old oxcart, loaded with wild vegetables, toward the town.

This basket of wild vegetables was carefully selected by Li Chunyan and Cuicui.

Each one was so fresh and juicy that you could almost squeeze water out of it. They were tied together with straw rope and stacked neatly, with a thick cloth wrapped around the basket to prevent these precious wild vegetables from freezing.

Ye Qingqing sat in the car, her nose still red from the cold despite being wrapped in a thick cotton-padded coat, but she was in a very good mood.

"Brother Dazhuang, do you think we could sell this dish for one or two taels of silver a plate?"

She rubbed her hands together and breathed on them as she asked.

Ye Dazhuang turned his head slightly and said calmly, "I'm afraid it won't work... the restaurant won't make any money."

Ye Qingqing asked with a calculating look on her face.

"Then how much should we sell it for? Scarcity drives up the price. Even if we can't get a tael of silver, we should at least get half a coin, right?"

Although there were plenty of wild vegetables, she didn't want to earn a single penny less.