Chapter 74 Reunion

Hearing someone call her name, Fan Xiaoxiao froze, nearly dropping the brocade pouch in her hand into the river. She quickly stuffed the contents into her bosom.

"Madam Fan?" The voice sounded somewhat familiar, and Fan Xiaoxiao was slightly taken aback.

She turned around, and upon seeing the two people behind her, she said with slight surprise, "Hmm? Madam Ye? Young Master Miao?" Then, her gaze shifted downwards. When she saw the wooden wheelchair Madam Ye was sitting in, she paused, remembering that when she saw this beautiful woman yesterday, she didn't seem to be in a wheelchair.

"What a coincidence, how come you two are also..." A breeze blew towards Fan Xiaoxiao's face, and a faint smell of blood in the wind interrupted her words. She frowned and subconsciously glanced at Madam Ye's legs again. For some reason, she suddenly remembered what Steward Ji had said that morning, and her heart skipped a beat, stopping her in her tracks.

Lady Ye seemed oblivious to her unusual expression; her face appeared even paler than yesterday. Xiao Miao pushed her over.

"It's quite a coincidence. We're destined to meet, as we're also heading to Jingchuan." Ye Niangzi's voice was somewhat similar to her personality—lazy and listless, as if she wasn't very enthusiastic.

The master and servant walked beside Fan Xiaoxiao, and the smell of blood became even more pronounced.

Fan Xiaoxiao felt inexplicably nervous. She was certain she hadn't misheard; the bloody smell was definitely coming from Madam Ye. She subconsciously glanced at Madam Ye's red dress; sure enough, the color was darker at the shoulders. Fan Xiaoxiao felt as if her gaze had been burned by that patch of red, and quickly averted her eyes, letting out a dry laugh.

"Oh! So you two are also heading to Jingchuan County. Hehe, what a coincidence! By the way, I left in a hurry this morning and haven't had breakfast yet! You two chat here for a while, I need to go back and have breakfast first. I won't disturb you two enjoying the river breeze any longer."

After saying that, Fan Xiaoxiao prepared to escape. Just then, Xiaobao ran out of the cabin holding a flatbread.

"Auntie! Auntie! Time to eat! Oh? Brother Miaomiao! Pretty sister!" Xiaobao handed the flatbread to Fan Xiaoxiao, then immediately went to Miaomiao. Fan Xiaoxiao watched the little guy's actions and suddenly had a bad feeling.

"Little Miao, what are you doing here? Are you going somewhere else too?"

"Yeah, to Jingchuan." Xiao Miao was a little uncomfortable with the child's closeness and replied curtly. But Xiao Bao was very happy, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Xiao Miao. "What a coincidence! Let's go together!"

"No..." Fan Xiaoxiao was about to refuse when Madam Ye seemed to know what she was about to say and immediately interrupted her.

"Alright then, we'll take our leave."

Sure enough, her bad feeling was right. Fan Xiaoxiao looked at the smile on Ye Niangzi's lips; it looked like a cunning fox. She rubbed her temples, feeling a bit of a headache, and kept comforting herself—never mind, this ship was going to pass through Jingchuan anyway; we can just part ways when we get there.

Unfortunately, the idea was good. But now that Xiao Bao has received a reply from the pretty older sister, the little boy is so happy that he dances around with his hands raised, spinning in circles around the three of them.

"Xiao Bao, what's making you so happy? Oh, isn't this Young Master Miao? And Madam Ye! You're on this boat too!" Aunt Wang, who came out looking for Xiao Bao and Fan Xiaoxiao, was slightly taken aback when she saw the group in front of her, and then her face lit up with joy.

"What a coincidence that we're here!"

"Yes, Grandma Wang! Little Miao and the others went to Jingchuan with us too!"

"Oh, really! That's wonderful! Oh dear, what happened to Madam Ye's leg? Is it injured?" Aunt Wang noticed that Madam Ye was sitting in a wooden wheelchair, and a look of concern appeared on her face.

"It's nothing, just an old ailment." Fan Xiaoxiao wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but she felt that Madam Ye's voice carried a hint of coldness when she said this.

"It's good that you're not injured! Oh, by the way, have you two had breakfast yet?" Aunt Wang didn't detect anything unusual; she still had a smiling expression.

"If you haven't eaten, then have some flatbread with you."

"Yes, yes! Little Miao! Grandma's flatbread is so delicious! When we used to run our stall, all the flatbreads we sold were made by Grandma! Grandma is so amazing!"

Aunt Wang was a little embarrassed by the little boy's praise, and her face showed a hint of shyness: "This child, you're talking nonsense! How can my cooking skills compare to your aunt's? Alright, let's not stand on the deck in the cold wind, let's go inside and have something to eat!"

"Hehe, Auntie's cooking is delicious too! Auntie can cook so many different kinds!"

"Oh? What can your aunt do?" Ye Niangzi seemed to be intrigued by Xiao Bao's words, and raised her eyebrows with a playful expression.

"There will be so many! Hmm... Maru Maru! Meat patties! And sweet fermented rice! It's so delicious! There are also egg drop pieces in it! It's so sweet!"

"Oh? Fermented rice wine? What is that?"

"Fermented rice wine... um... what is fermented rice wine, Auntie?"

"Hmm? Ah? Fermented glutinous rice? Oh, fermented glutinous rice is a sweet treat made with fermented glutinous rice wine. We don't have osmanthus flowers right now. It would taste even better if we added some osmanthus flowers."

"Sticky rice wine, is that the one you sent over a few days ago?" Xiao Miao, who hadn't spoken until now, finally reacted when she heard about the sticky rice wine.

"Yes."

Xiao Miao frowned and asked, somewhat puzzled, "Can that be used to make desserts?" He carefully recalled the smell of the wine, which did seem to have a slightly sweet and sour taste.

"That's filtered glutinous rice wine, which can be drunk directly. To make fermented rice wine, you need glutinous rice in it, then add water and eggs. The eggs must be broken up into silk-like strands. If you have glutinous rice flour, you can also roll some balls and put them in. Finally, sprinkle some white sugar and osmanthus flowers on top. It's very fragrant and sweet." When talking about food, Fan Xiaoxiao unconsciously relaxed and began to tell the other person how to make fermented rice wine.

"Then how is this rice wine made?" Xiao Miao seemed very interested in rice wine and continued to ask Fan Xiaoxiao about her rice wine recipe.

After saying that, he seemed to realize something was amiss. So, after thinking for a moment, he added, "I wonder if my wife would be willing to sell me the recipe?"

Seeing the other person's serious expression, Fan Xiaoxiao unconsciously raised her hand and scratched her face. Seeing that the two seemed to be discussing serious matters, Aunt Wang led Xiaobao to stand a little further away.

"Hmm... that recipe..." Fan Xiaoxiao wanted to say that she intended to use the recipe herself. Once things stabilized in Tianshan, she would definitely want to make money with her skills. There were many martial arts practitioners there, and according to her understanding of the plot, in the second year after the disaster, because the rebel army was constantly approaching the capital, Tianhu would be moved to Youzhou near Tianshan. Therefore, this kind of wine brewed with expensive grains would definitely still have a considerable market.

Seeing the hesitation on Fan Xiaoxiao's face, Xiao Miao's brows slowly furrowed. The master really liked that wine; if they could buy it and brew it themselves, they wouldn't have to worry about buying it from this girl in the future.

"One hundred taels." Xiao Miao was slightly taken aback, not expecting her master to actually quote a price.

Fan Xiaoxiao was also stunned. Her mind raced, calculating how much silver she had left. Aside from the initial silver Xiahou had given her, and the various trinkets she'd bought over the days, she only had thirty-three taels of silver. The journey to Tianshan was still long, and there would be many expenses. Having silver would save her a lot of trouble. As for the connection between the person before her and the villain that Steward Ji had mentioned…

A silver note worth one hundred taels was handed to Fan Xiaoxiao.

"Okay! Deal!" What a villain! Who cares!

(End of this chapter)