Everyone followed Chen Lan's example, slowly immersing their bodies in the hot spring water. They all let out comfortable sighs, exclaiming how wonderful it was!
The hot spring pool was filled with swirling mist, making it seem like a fairyland. The crowd felt as if they were in a celestial realm.
The women were thoroughly enjoying their leisurely afternoon in the warm water, feeling drowsy. Chen Lan, worried they might get dehydrated from soaking too long, called out loudly, "Everyone, don't fall asleep! Wake up, drink some plum juice to replenish your vitamins and fluids. Otherwise, you might get dizzy from dehydration." Saying this, she was the first to open a bottle of plum juice and chugged it down with loud gulps. After a few sips, she paused and sighed contentedly, "So refreshing." Seeing her, everyone followed suit, picking up plum juice bottles and drinking heartily.
After soaking in the hot spring for about forty minutes, Chen Lan quickly told the ladies to get out, as they couldn't stay any longer. She explained that prolonged hot spring baths were too much for the body. She urged them not to rush, to slowly get out of the spring one by one and go to the tents to change. One by one, they changed their clothes. The wind on the mountain was strong, and she warned them to be careful not to catch a chill right after coming out of the hot water.
Once everyone had tidied themselves up, Chen Lan led the group of amazons in preparing to leave the hot springs. They were all reluctant to go, with lingering looks of regret. Seeing their expressions, the mother-in-law said cheerfully, "If you didn't get enough this time, we can come again the day after tomorrow. Everyone, hurry up, it's getting late! The men have been working all day and only had a quick lunch. We need to make a good dinner tonight!"
On the way back, the group was not as cheerful and chatty as they had been on the way there. Perhaps it was due to the long soak in the hot springs, but they all looked drowsy.
Suddenly, pheasants and rabbits would dart out from the woods, eliciting gasps of surprise from the group. As they exclaimed, they also lamented the missed opportunity, wishing it weren't so difficult to catch these abundant wild animals on the mountain. Seeing the potential food just out of reach, Chen Lan felt a pang of longing. She inwardly vowed to search her system thoroughly for hunting tools upon their return.
The mother-in-law, walking along, called out to everyone to pick some wild vegetables to stir-fry for dinner. "Yes! Tonight, we'll have stir-fried wild vegetables with chili peppers."
For dinner, following the mother-in-law's wishes, they prepared several large dishes to replenish everyone who had been working hard for days. All the ingredients were purchased from Chen Lan's system as per her mother-in-law's request. She bought six braised pork hocks, six Dezhou braised chickens, along with various other braised delicacies for pairing with drinks: braised pig trotters, braised peanuts, braised eggs, braised lotus root, braised pork intestines, braised chicken legs, braised seaweed, and six braised ducks. The mother-in-law also stewed a large pot of cured meat with napa cabbage and vermicelli. The last dish was stir-fried wild vegetables with chili peppers.
After a satisfying dinner, everyone went to rest, content. Chen Lan, after washing up, played with the twin siblings for a while. Once they were asleep, she chatted with her mother, Wen Rou Niang.
Wen Rou Niang asked, "Lan'er, how many more days until the work in the fields in the valley is finished? Should I trade places with your mother-in-law? I can go to the valley for a few days, and your mother-in-law can stay in the car with Xiao Shan Niang to watch the children?"
Chen Lan quickly replied, "Mother, don't overthink it. I know it's not easy for you and Xiao Shan Niang to watch the four children at home. You know my mother-in-law; she can't sit still and doesn't have the patience. If you make her stay in the car all day watching four children, I'm afraid she'll get bored."
"Oh, right, Mother, is there still milk powder, yogurt, milk, and snacks in the car? Are there many left?" she asked, referencing a website.
Wen Rou Niang replied, "We still have a few bags of milk powder, so don't buy any more for now. We don't have much yogurt or milk left, so buy some more. These things are not plentiful, and sometimes when Xiao Shan Niang and I are too lazy to cook at noon, we just eat them with Hu Tou and Xiao Shi for lunch."
Chen Lan thought for a moment and said, "Mother, it's not good for you adults to eat only these things for lunch; you'll become malnourished. I'll buy some ham sausages, eggs, noodles, napa cabbage, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and other seasonings and put them in the kitchen. Noodles are quick to make, and ham sausages are cooked and convenient. You can just slice them and boil them with the noodles. Don't just eat casually anymore for lunch tomorrow. Milk, yogurt, and snacks are for when you're hungry in between meals, not for a main course. I'll buy them later and put them in the kitchen as well."
As mother and daughter chatted, Wen Rou Niang fell asleep. Chen Lan knew it wasn't easy for her mother and Xiao Shan Niang to watch the four young children in the car these past few days. They had been eating casually for days because they lacked the energy to cook. "Sigh! It's not easy for anyone!"
She decided that the day after tomorrow, she would stay in the car and watch the four children, allowing her mother-in-law to take her mother and Xiao Shan Niang to the hot springs to relax and relieve their fatigue.
Thinking about the hot springs, Chen Lan suddenly remembered her intention to search for hunting tools in the system. She immediately opened the system with her mind and began to search.
Speaking of hunting tools, Chen Lan recalled something. She remembered seeing a post in her previous life where a cold weapon enthusiast introduced a crossbow. It was a portable, small hunting tool. Although it was small, this crossbow had strong impact force, high accuracy, and a considerable range, with an effective range of 100 meters. Many people commented that he was boasting and didn't believe him. To prove he wasn't lying, he posted a video testing the crossbow's range and accuracy in the wild. He had even shot through a one-yuan coin at 100 meters. Chen Lan had marveled at the time, calling him a capable person who was born in the wrong era. If he had been born a thousand years earlier, he would have been an extraordinary figure.
Chen Lan searched the system for information on selling crossbows. Indeed, there were shops selling crossbows, and quite a few merchants were selling them. After comparing the range, aiming accuracy, portability, and other aspects of various merchants' crossbows, Chen Lan decided to purchase a compact and flexible compound recurve crossbow that could be operated with one hand. This crossbow had an effective accurate range of 25 meters and a maximum range exceeding 60 meters. It also came with six carbon steel arrows, six fish dart projectiles, six retractable dart spools, and twenty 6mm steel balls. Chen Lan thought this was an excellent tool, perfect for a novice hunter like herself. It could hunt not only pheasants and rabbits on land but also fish in the water. She immediately decided to place an order. Tomorrow, she would take her new hunting tool to the woods to try it out. If she could hunt something, she would improve their meals.
Chen Lan drifted off to sleep while contemplating her pleasant prospects.