“Let’s go too. From now on, keep your distance from them and don’t tell them too much.”
Jin Ze glanced at Ping’an as he reminded her.
“Got it, Big Brother!”
Only then did Meng Ping’an realize that Big Brother could be quite talkative too.
By the time the four of them returned to the valley, it was already dark.
After having a simple dinner, Jin Ze took his second brother and Jin Yuan to the hot spring behind their house.
“This pool is a little small, but that’s precisely why no one comes here. So it became our family’s private hot spring.”
Jin Ze took off his outer clothes, leaving only his undergarments, and stepped into the hot spring.
“It’s not small at all!”
Meng Ping’an looked at the hot spring, which was about a hundred square meters, her face full of excitement.
She hadn’t even noticed what the three brothers were doing beside her.
By the time she realized it, the three of them were already sitting in the pool.
“Ping’an, come down and soak for a while. It feels great!”
Jin Ze looked at Meng Ping’an, who was staring at the hot spring with a silly smile, his expression full of affection.
“Oh, okay!”
Meng Ping’an quickly took off her outer clothes and jumped into the hot spring.
She found a spot a little farther away from the three brothers and sat down.
She closed her eyes comfortably.
“This feels so good!”
In her previous life, Meng Ping’an had never soaked in a hot spring.
With the viruses, thick fog, and constant warfare, simply staying alive had been difficult enough, let alone enjoying a hot spring.
Although there was also warfare in ancient times, she was now hiding in this quiet and beautiful little valley, where she no longer had to worry about her safety.
Once Meng Ping’an had adjusted to the temperature of the hot spring, she carefully looked around the cave.
The cave was very large.
Aside from the hot spring, there were probably another four or five hundred square meters of space.
Above the hot spring was a stretch of open ground covered with weeds and bushes, along with some wildflowers she didn’t recognize.
They were blooming beautifully at the moment.
“Big Brother, when we come back, we can clear the unused land in this cave and plant some vegetables. Since it’s warmer here, we should still be able to have fresh vegetables even during winter.”
Meng Ping’an told them her idea.
“That’s a good idea, Ping’an. I’m just not sure whether they’ll actually grow. We happen to have some vegetable seeds at home. Tomorrow, we can clear some of this land and plant them to see.”
Jin Ye thought about it and felt that Ping’an’s idea was quite good.
They had plenty of seeds, so there was no harm in trying.
“Okay! Tomorrow I’ll come with Second Brother to clear the land.”
Meng Ping’an happily agreed.
“All right. You two can clear the land, while A Yuan and I go into the mountains to set some traps and look around to see if we can hunt anything.”
Jin Ze also wanted to take advantage of the fact that autumn was approaching to hunt more game and preserve it for the winter.
“By the way, Big Brother, let’s make our cellar bigger later so we can store more food.”
Jin Yuan thought about the cellar at home.
Now that another person had joined the family, the cellar was a little too small and couldn’t hold much.
“All right. There’s no rush. The four of us can dig it together when we get back. That’ll be faster.”
“Okay! I’ll listen to Big Brother.”
After soaking for a while, Meng Ping’an began feeling sleepy.
“Big Brother, shall we go? I’m getting a little sleepy.”
“Okay!”
Jin Ze got up and walked toward the shore.
Meng Ping’an raised her head, and unfortunately, her eyes happened to land on a certain spot.
…
She shyly turned her head away and silently cursed herself.
Why was she looking there?
Wasn’t she afraid of going blind?
Seeing that Meng Ping’an had no intention of getting out, Jin Ze urged her.
“Didn’t you say you were sleepy? Why aren’t you coming out?”
Meng Ping’an deliberately bent over, supporting herself against the edge of the hot spring as she slowly climbed out.
“I’m coming. You guys go ahead. I’ll find somewhere to relieve myself in a moment.”
“All right. Hurry home. It’s getting a little chilly.”
Jin Ze was still worried and added, “How about I have your second brother wait outside for you?”
“No, no, that’s not necessary! I can do it myself.”
Meng Ping’an hurriedly shook her head.
“All right, then. Be careful.”
“I know, Big Brother!”
After watching Big Brother, Second Brother, and A Yuan walk away, Meng Ping’an finally took off her wet inner clothes.
She kept only her outer clothes and trousers on, tightening her trousers with her belt.
She casually washed the inner clothes she had taken off in the hot spring.
By the time she finished and returned to the courtyard, the three brothers had already hung their clothes out to dry and gone inside to sleep.
Meng Ping’an returned to her room, took a clean set of inner clothes and undergarments from the nearby chest, changed into them, and lay down on the bed.
The temperature in the valley was neither hot nor cold.
Lying on the bed with the window half open was especially comfortable.
The surroundings were so quiet that she could clearly hear the insects chirping outside.
Meng Ping’an first went into her space and drank some spiritual spring water.
Then she checked her supplies and found a packet of vegetable seeds that she had collected from the town before.
She didn’t know what vegetables the seeds belonged to, so she decided to take them out first and ask Auntie Liu tomorrow.
Auntie Liu was experienced and knowledgeable, so she should recognize them.
After leaving her space, Meng Ping’an quietly lay in bed and fell asleep.
She slept until dawn, when Big Brother called her to get up for breakfast.
“Ping’an, A Yuan and I are going into the deep mountains. I’ve left some food for you in the pot. Remember to get up and eat later.”
“Oh, okay! Big Brother, be careful when you go out. Don’t go too deep into the mountains.”
Meng Ping’an reminded them worriedly.
“Got it! We’re leaving.”
After hearing the courtyard gate close, Meng Ping’an climbed out of bed.
She first took a wooden comb from the table and combed her hair into a bun, then tied it securely with a hair ribbon.
Only then did she leave the room, scoop up a ladle of water from the water jar, and wash her face.
She took out the food Big Brother had left for her.
There was one steamed bun and half a bowl of stir-fried cabbage.
Under the bamboo steamer was a bowl of wild vegetable porridge.
It looked like Big Brother had made it.
His cooking was slightly better than Second Brother’s and A Yuan’s.
Compared with simply boiling vegetables in water, at least his food had a little more oil and salt.
Meng Ping’an quickly finished her breakfast and washed the dishes.
Then she took the iron hoe from the utility room and headed toward the hot spring.
When she arrived at the cave, she discovered that her second brother had already cleared more than three mu of land.
“Second Brother, why did you come so early without calling me?”
Meng Ping’an found a patch of tall weeds and began pulling them out with her bare hands.
“I woke up early, so I came over first. Ping’an, wrap your belt around your palms. Otherwise, the weeds will scrape your hands.”
Jin Ye looked at Meng Ping’an pulling waist-high weeds with her bare hands and felt somewhat helpless.
This silly boy clearly had never done farm work before.
“Oh, okay, Second Brother.”
Meng Ping’an untied the cloth belt around her waist and was about to wrap it around her hands when she suddenly felt her trousers slipping down.
She lifted her shirt, pulled the waistband of her trousers tighter on both sides, and tied a knot so they wouldn’t fall.
After wrapping her hands, she started pulling weeds again.
Sure enough, her hands no longer got scratched, and she could also put more strength into it.
Second Brother really was clever, Meng Ping’an secretly praised him.
There was a large patch of weeds, but she pulled them all out in no time.
Jin Ye stared at Meng Ping’an in astonishment.
“Ping’an, how are you so strong? You cleared so much in such a short time.”
“Hehe, you know I’m just a little stronger than other people!”
Meng Ping’an scratched her head shyly and continued clearing the next patch.
“Second Brother, is that a wild rose?”
Meng Ping’an glanced at the cluster of wildflowers nearby and asked curiously.
“Wild rose? What’s that?”
Jin Ye looked at Meng Ping’an in confusion.
“This!”
Meng Ping’an pointed toward the patch of green plants growing against the cave wall.