The mother-in-law, daughter-in-law, and son walked and talked, quickly descending the mountain and returning to the valley.
As the three reached the entrance of the mother-in-law's house, Chen Lan observed that no one was in sight. She guessed everyone had gone to the mountains to chop firewood.
So, she walked to the side of the main gate and, from the system's warehouse, produced a pile of branches as high as a small mountain, instantly filling a large area of the drying ground by the entrance.
Chen Lan inwardly congratulated herself for her foresight in moving to the side of the gate before taking out the branches; otherwise, she might have blocked the gate again, just like the first time.
Her mother-in-law and Xu Mingxuan, standing beside her, were struck dumb with astonishment. The mother-in-law was slightly more composed, having seen such things before. Xu Mingxuan, however, was deeply unsettled, witnessing such an incredible scene for the first time.
Chen Lan paid them no mind, letting the mother and son process the bizarre event.
She then asked, "Mother-in-law, how many pheasants and rabbits are we planning to keep at home?"
Upon hearing Chen Lan's question, the mother-in-law immediately snapped back to attention, took the large bundle of dirty clothes from Xu Mingxuan's hands, and told him to first take the garbage from the snake-skin bag to the designated garbage disposal area in the valley.
Seeing Chen Lan inquire about the game, she asked, "Xiao Lan, what did you hunt today? How many did you get in total?"
Chen Lan replied to her mother-in-law's question, "Mother-in-law, today I only hunted pheasants and rabbits. I hunted a total of 26 pheasants and 34 rabbits."
The mother-in-law thought for a moment and said, "Xiao Lan, keep more pheasants for yourselves to eat at home, and fewer rabbits. Pheasants in autumn are quite plump and nourishing. Keep a few more wild pheasants for the children so they can have chicken soup to strengthen them. Keep two pheasants for Mingxuan to stew with wild ginseng soup to nourish his body. As for the stewing, you don't need to worry about it; I'll have your Mama Cui stew it for him. Mingxuan has always liked the soup his Mama Cui makes since he was little. You just need to focus on hunting wild pheasants; you don't need to worry about anything else."
Chen Lan heard about this good fortune and immediately nodded in agreement, "Alright! Mother-in-law, then I'll keep six wild pheasants for the children to make soup and four rabbits for the adults to make spicy rabbit meat, is that okay?"
The mother-in-law chuckled and said, "Xiao Lan, what's not okay about that? The pheasants and rabbits are things you hunted yourself, so there's no issue with keeping a few for yourselves."
Chen Lan left six wild pheasants and four rabbits for her family in the system's warehouse. The mother-in-law, carrying two pheasants in her left hand and two wild ginsengs in her right, walked into her own courtyard and returned home, preparing to have Mama Cui stew the ginseng pheasant soup for Xu Mingxuan to nourish his body.
Chen Lan then carried the remaining pheasants and rabbits to the main kitchen, planning to treat everyone who ate in the main kitchen to a good meal today to improve their diet.
Upon entering the main kitchen, she saw everyone busy preparing lunch. Lin Mai was standing by the large pot, seemingly about to start stir-frying, Cui Qiao was chopping vegetables, and Ming Wei had already washed the vegetables and was draining them.
The three of them greeted Chen Lan as she entered with her basket and came forward to take it from her. Seeing the game in the basket, Cui Qiao asked, "Xiao Lan, did you go hunting in the mountains again today?"
Chen Lan hummed in affirmation and nodded, saying, "Yes! I went to the mountains to chop firewood today, and I also hunted a few wild pheasants and rabbits. Can you see if there's enough time to prepare them for lunch and give everyone a better meal?"
Lin Mai saw the wild pheasants and rabbits, and quite a few rabbits at that. She had a plan and decided to prepare the rabbits first, making a delicious spicy rabbit dish for everyone at noon.
She then nimbly removed the firewood from the stove and poured two large ladles of water into the heated cast-iron pot.
She briskly took the rabbits out of the basket and called Cui Qiao and Ming Wei to help clean them by the vegetable washing sink.
Chen Lan, seeing that the three of them were busy, bid them farewell and turned to walk home. As the house wasn't far and she walked quickly, she soon reached the entrance of her courtyard.
Before entering the courtyard, she heard the children's cheers and laughter from inside, along with the hearty laughter of her mother, Xiao Shan's mother, and Mama Liu.
Chen Lan took quick, two-step strides into the courtyard. From a distance, she saw everyone gathered in a circle by the gazebo, seemingly engaged in something.
Wen Kai, Wen Qi, and Ming Zhe were excitedly shouting, "Jia Yao, well done! Go, go! Jia Yao, a little more effort, you're almost there. Jia Hui, go! Jia Hui, go!"
Chen Lan hurried closer and immediately found herself both amused and speechless. It turned out Xu Mingxuan and his son Jia Yao and daughter Jia Hui were having a parent-child activity.
She saw Xu Mingxuan and Jia Yao both on their hands and knees, their bottoms in the air, crawling forward on the thick lawn. Jia Hui was right behind them, also on her hands and knees.
Not too far ahead, about five hundred meters away, a colorful ball was placed. The ball, with its vibrant colors, was indeed very attractive.
This ball was the favorite toy of the twins, Jia Yao and Jia Hui, in the past few days.
This colorful ball was purchased a few days ago when Chen Lan was preparing to buy toys specifically for the twins from the system. She saw a recommendation from the vendor stating it was an environmentally friendly product tested and deemed non-toxic by relevant national health departments. Chen Lan thought it looked nice and bought it on impulse.
She hadn't expected that after she took out all the toys purchased from the system, the twins' most favored toy would be this colorful ball. They would play with it for a long time every day.
Jia Yao's little bottom wiggled as he crawled rapidly forward, with Xu Mingxuan following closely behind. Jia Hui, not to be outdone, also crawled at a good pace, keeping up with her father and brother.
The cheers from the onlookers nearby were constant, with everyone shouting, "Jia Yao, go! Jia Hui, go!"
Jia Yao, who was crawling at the front, suddenly stopped and sat down on the lawn, refusing to crawl further. He turned his head to look at Xu Mingxuan and Jia Hui.
Those who had been excitedly shouting were now bewildered! What was going on? He stopped crawling halfway through? Everyone looked at Jia Yao in unison.
Jia Yao remained calmly seated on the lawn, watching Xu Mingxuan and Jia Hui.
Seeing Jia Yao stop, Xu Mingxuan also stopped crawling and sat down on the lawn. Jia Hui, behind them, also stopped crawling and imitated them, sitting down on the lawn.
After about five minutes, Jia Yao shifted again, stuck his bottom in the air, and quickly crawled towards the colorful ball.
Only then did everyone realize that the little fellow had gotten tired from crawling and had sat down to rest.
Xu Mingxuan and Jia Hui, following behind, also quickly crawled forward after Jia Yao.
This time, Jia Yao powered through without stopping and soon reached the finish line, grabbing the toy he had desired for a long time. Jia Yao happily opened his mouth, his saliva dripping down.