Chapter 77 Snowstorm in Tianshan Mountains, the aroma of dumplings on the Winter Solstice...

October 17th, Winter Solstice, near the Tianshan Mountains.

The wind and snow howled and pounded against the carriage windows, as if only this small carriage remained in the world.

Qin Tianshu sat on a wooden recliner, the scholar leisurely watching the snow falling all around, the wind whistling, and the distant mountains stretching as far as the eye could see in white.

“Sigh,” he sighed, “I never expected it to be so cold this year. Today is the winter solstice, and the snow on the mountain is already piled up in a thick layer.”

The snow was indeed too heavy today, and they didn't plan to travel in such a heavy snow. They said they would just rest for a day and treat it as the winter solstice.

Qingyu: "Qin Tianshu, you're slacking off again."

"Da da da bang bang bang,"

The sound of a knife chopping vegetables came from behind the cutting board. Zhang Xuan, holding a cleaver, stood indignantly at Qin Tianshu, "That's right! We clearly agreed that you would chop the vegetables!"

Today is the Winter Solstice, and they said they would make dumplings to eat; a group of people coming up with all sorts of ideas—

The long, sagging table was rearranged and moved back a little, making it perfect for chopping vegetables—cabbage, carrots, frozen pork, frozen lamb, basically all the ingredients they could find.

Zhang Xuan, unusually, was wearing an apron and holding a kitchen knife, standing behind the table, near the car door, chopping vegetables.

The meat was taken away by Fan Xiang and Qing Yu to thaw, and the original medicine table was placed between the two car windows, saying that they would knead dough and make dumplings there later.

Once the medicine table was moved, a large open space was left next to the medicine cabinet, which was just the right place to put the stove and a large pot, ready to be used for cooking fillings and dumplings.

Everything was arranged perfectly. Qin Tianshu chopped vegetables, Zhang Xuan chopped meat, Wen Chuan kneaded dough, Qing Yu and Fan Xiang watched the fire, and everyone made dumplings together. But just as they got to the vegetable chopping stage, Zhang Xuan wanted to try using the kitchen knife. While he was trying, Qin Tianshu sat down on the recliner.

"Ding-dong—"

The wind chimes rang, and Wen Chuan came out carrying a large box. The young man had a gentle smile on his face and still smelled of flour.

Beside the medicine cabinet, Fan Xiang was heating water on a small stove, while Qing Yu was defrosting meat next to her. The girl rinsed the meat under running water while looking up at Wen Chuan, "Are you going to knead the dough?"

"Hmm," Wen Chuan responded, then walked to the window on the right, placed the box in his hand on the table, which contained flour and other things that would be needed.

Across from him stood a scholar leisurely admiring the snow. Wen Chuan raised his eyes and said, "Looking at the snow for too long is bad for your eyes."

"Hehehe," the scholar chuckled, half-reclining in his recliner, turning his head to look at Zhang Xuan, who was chopping vegetables with a cleaver.

"You're better at using a knife than I am. I'm doing this for the sake of the taste of the food."

On the floor, Cai Cai was slowly swaying her head, taking small steps and stretching her neck to call "coo coo coo coo coo coo coo—", and just as she walked two steps to the recliner, the scholar smiled lazily.

Zhang Xuan curled his lip, "Nonsense."

Upon hearing this, Wen Chuan said helplessly to the scholar, "Alright, Xiao Zhang has almost finished chopping the vegetables. You'll have to chop the meat later, and you'll have to prepare the filling."

They planned to make pork and cabbage filling and lamb and carrot filling. Once the vegetables and meat were prepared, they would put them in a large bowl, add seasonings, and mix them together. Zhang Xuan definitely couldn't do that.

Wen Chuan thought about the steps for making dumplings, and then said to Zhang Xuan by the car door, "Chop the cabbage, add some salt, stir for a while, and then leave it there."

As the boy spoke, his hands continued to move, adding flour, salt, and water to the basin while slowly stirring with chopsticks. Amidst the sounds, the scholar asked Qingyu beside him, "Is the meat thawed yet?"

Once it's ready, cut it; once cut, set it aside; once set aside, adjust it—that's the job of adjusting.

"Okay, okay, that's about enough."

Qingyu responded to the scholar's words and poked at the pieces of frozen meat, "Alright, you can cut them now!"

As she spoke, she carefully arranged the frozen meat pieces in the cold water and handed them to Zhang Xuan on a cutting board across the table between Wen Chuan and Qin Tianshu.

"Pat pat pat da da da bang bang bang—"

The sound of chopping meat resumed, and Zhang Xuan chopped while sighing with emotion.

"When I first ate dumplings with Brother Wenchuan, I was still just playing with dough."

Look at what's happening now!

Wen Chuan sighed silently as he looked at the pitifully small amount of salt in the cabbage bowl on the table. Listening to Zhang Xuan's cheerful words, he couldn't help but smile. Oh well, it was his fault for not specifying how many spoonfuls of salt to add.

After thinking it over, he looked helplessly at Qin Tianshu.

The scholar smiled and winked, "I understand, I'll be there in a bit."

...

Before long, Qin Tianshu and Zhang Xuan switched places. The scholar put seasonings into the basin, stirred it with chopsticks, and occasionally teased the vegetables on the bookshelf next to him.

There was nothing they could do; the chick was too clingy. It usually liked to walk around their feet, making "pat pat pat" sounds, but now they were all busy and couldn't play with Cai Cai, so they could only put it in the coop and let it cluck.

Zhang Xuan, on the other hand, sat on a recliner, leisurely enjoying the snow, chatting with Wen Chuan while looking out the window.

"Brother Wen, how long do we need to let this dough sit?"

While tidying up the flour on the table, Wen Chuan replied, "It will be ready in 15 minutes."

"oh."

Zhang Xuan watched for a while, then got bored again. He first teased Cai Cai, making the chickens cluck loudly, and then turned around and ran to the medicine cabinet to talk to Lin Fanxiang. He was really focused on playing with Cai Cai.

Just then, Lin Fanxiang brewed some tea, poured a cup for Zhang Xuan, and they chatted as they drank.

...

Qingyu sat on the daybed, half of her body leaning against the wooden railing towards the window. Fengxue was behind them, and Wenchuan stood beside the girl.

She rested her head on her arm, half-lying on the wooden railing, looking at the flour in Wen Chuan's hand, and listening to the sound of wind and snow outside the carriage.

Suddenly, she smiled at Wen Chuan and tugged at his sleeve. Wen Chuan turned his head to look at her with a puzzled expression, then smiled. The young man gently shook the flour off his hands, lowered his body slightly, and leaned closer to Qing Yu so that he could hear her words.

Qingyu chuckled softly as she spoke into Wen Chuan's ear.

"I remember the night I drank alcohol last winter solstice."

Wen Chuan pursed his lips for a moment, looked at Qing Yu with a helpless smile in his eyes, and whispered to her,

"I know."

"What do you know?"

Qingyu glanced at him. "You know I stole a kiss from you?"

She spoke so softly that only Wen Chuan could hear her. The boy looked at her for a moment, a rare look of shock appearing on his usually gentle and composed face. "You..."

"Hehehe," Qingyu laughed, her eyes filled with a sly smile and a hint of joy.

Just kidding.

Without looking at Wen Chuan's expression, she reached out and pushed him to knead the dough, saying, "The dough is almost ready."

Wen Chuan looked at her, the boy's eyes were calm, and then in an instant he grabbed Qing Yu's hand that was pushing him away. No one knew that the boy's slightly cool hand, which was still covered with flour, gently squeezed Qing Yu's palm.

Qingyu immediately stopped and turned her head away, annoyed.

Seriously, she got flour all over her hands.

Almost instantly, Qingyu ran over to Dr. Lin and chatted with them over tea. Wen Chuan smiled and looked up at his friends, saying that it was almost time to wash their hands, bring over the filling, and they could start making dumplings.

...

Qin Tianshu prepared two large bowls of filling. Even though they weren't cooked, they smelled incredibly fragrant just sitting there. It was a fresh, savory aroma of vegetables.

Zhang Xuan praised without reservation, "As expected of the meat and vegetables I chopped!"

Scholar: "..."

If my hands weren't clean right now, I would have hit you with a book or pecked you with a vegetable!

Wen Chuan quietly kneaded the dough, cut it into small pieces, and casually tossed a handful to Zhang Xuan.

Wen Chuan: Okay, go have some fun.

Zhang Xuan: ...

Qin Tianshu, while making dumplings, watched Zhang Xuan retreat dejectedly. He then sat on the recliner, holding the dough and looking at them with a resentful expression. He couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle. Looking up, he saw Qing Yu "instructing" Doctor Lin on how to make flower-shaped dumplings...

The plump, white dumplings were gathered together and then twisted into strange shapes...

Qin Tianshu: "...What is this?"

Lin Fanxiang pursed her lips, "...dumplings?"

Seeing their suspicious looks, Qingyu exclaimed "Oh dear!" and then said, "I haven't finished wrapping it yet, it will look beautiful soon!"

Zhang Xuan swayed back and forth in the recliner, then interjected, "But the noodles are really thick..."

He had eaten them before. The flower dumplings looked nice, but they used a lot of dough to shape them, so they tasted like they had a strong dough flavor and little filling.

Qingyu: "I like it, I can make it, you can go play with the dough."

Zhang Xuan: "...Hmph."

Lin Fanxiang laughed. Actually, everyone's dumplings were a little different. Wen Chuan's dumplings were plump and white, bulging and tightly packed. Qin Tianshu's dumplings were a bit more elaborate, with the edges of the dumplings made pretty. Qingyu created her own flower dumplings. She herself made a few dumplings after seeing how they were made. Although they were a bit ugly, Qingyu praised her to the skies.

"That's amazing, Fanxiang! You managed to wrap it so beautifully on your first try!"

"I would never wrap something like that!"

"How did you seal the edges? I can never get it right, you're amazing!"

"There's a lot of filling in it, it's sure to taste delicious after steaming!"

"Yours looks beautiful too! What kind of flower shape is this?"

"Snow lotus! It's the only flower you can see in the far north!"

"it's beautiful."

"hey-hey."

...

Qingyu and Lin Fanxiang were praising each other. Wen Chuan, who had been quietly wrapping dumplings with his head down, rarely glanced at Qingyu. The scholar finished wrapping a dumpling and placed it in front of him, then looked at him.

As their eyes met, the scholar raised an eyebrow in a strange manner—

Qin Tianshu: Man, look at how jealous you are!

Wen Chuan: "It's your turn to drive tomorrow."

Scholar: "..."

It's really cold outside; a scholar like him can't stand it.

Zhang Xuan, who had been wandering around watching the snow, chuckled when he heard Wen Chuan's words. Listening to the howling wind and snow outside the window, he looked at Qin Tianshu and asked, "By the way, with the weather so cold, will those spirit pigeons be able to withstand it?"

Whether Shangguan was a powerful clan in the province or the cause of its annihilation, the truth behind it must be made clear to the entire nation. That day, Qin Tian wrote three indictments, each bearing the blood names of those seeking revenge. His intention was to leave them behind and send them to various parts of the province in the future so that the world would know.

It just so happened that Murong Wanzhi lent them several spirit pigeons. After considering it for a while, the scholar wrote a few more letters and sent them to the Demon Suppression Pavilions in various places and some top cultivator clans. Of course, they also sent a copy to Jian Xuewengu.

Qin Tianshu: "Don't worry, that spirit pigeon listens to the Murong clan's spiritually imbued string music every day, and it's already far superior to ordinary spirit pigeons."

Everything in any group has its strengths and weaknesses, and even this spirit pigeon is no exception. In such a raging blizzard, it was able to leap into the air with a strange speed and stability, dodging the snowflakes in the wind, and disappearing into the sky in the blink of an eye. Putting everything else aside, it will take them at least ten more days to reach Wengu, while the pigeon will probably arrive the day after tomorrow.

Upon hearing this, Qingyu sighed twice, seemingly lost in thought. The girl said,

"Indeed, the world is vast and full of wonders. Shangguan's mind-controlling poison can bewitch people and control cultivators' minds. The spirit pigeons raised by the Murong family can deliver messages in such weather. As for Wen Gu, they have lived in the far north for generations, amidst thousands of years of ice and snow, day after day."

"This is the family,"

The scholar replied while pinching the edges of the dumplings, "With so many years of heritage, it's no wonder everyone yearns for it."

A family with a long-standing reputation, passed down through generations, and accumulated wealth – this is indeed something many aspire to and admire. Even now, with Wen Gu affected by the Yunzhou incident, many still speak up for him. A thousand-year-old clan, a ruthless swordsman – it's normal for them to be a bit arrogant. Besides, he has lived in the far north, a harsh and cold land, dedicating his life to sword practice; this kind of character is unmatched by others.

Cai Cai: "Giggle-giggle-giggle."

Zhang Xuan laughed, "Hmm? Cai Cai is hungry... Me too."

Wen Chuan got up and arranged the dumplings. The young man said gently, "Let's cook the first batch."

They were making dumplings and chatting casually. Before they knew it, the dumplings were in the pot, like plump, white dough dolls taking a nap. When the lid was lifted again, steam rose and danced in the air, followed by the bright eyes of the boys.

On the winter solstice, on a snowy mountain road, with the wind and snow raging outside the window, the car's headlights burned brightly. They sat together, tasting the dumplings they had made themselves, talking and laughing.

Though the road is long and the sky is far, my good friend is by my side, and it is the winter solstice, with chicks clucking.

We must not waste this beautiful scenery amidst the frost and snow.