Chapter 380 The Pain Was Not in Vain

"Have the government officials arrived?"

The fourth son looked at Song Chunxue with concern, "Mother, why don't you run away?"

Song Chunxue wiped her hands on her apron and stepped out of the kitchen. "They're definitely not government officials. They would have gone home for dinner long ago. They wouldn't be interested in important matters."

As she spoke, she opened the courtyard gate, her calm face filled with surprise, "Senior brother?"

The Taoist priest flicked his whisk and walked past her into the courtyard, speaking gently and calmly, "Have you caused trouble again?"

Song Chunxue was somewhat unconvinced, "Where did this 'again' come from? How did Senior Brother know?"

I didn't see a horse outside the door, so it seems my senior brother came by sword.

"The Taoist priest is here!"

The fourth brother's worries vanished, and he jumped down the steps and ran to the Taoist priest, saying, "It's good that the Taoist priest is here. Even if the sky falls, there's nothing to worry about."

Sanwa smiled and tugged at the Taoist priest's sleeve, "Taoist priest, you've come at the perfect time. We bought pork knuckle this afternoon and just made some minced garlic to eat."

"Let's eat first, and we can talk while we eat."

The Taoist priest couldn't help but laugh and said, "You guys know how to live well these days, eating meat all the time."

Song Chunxue had a lot of questions to ask him and had no appetite.

"Senior brother, I have something to ask you. Don't eat yet." She waved her hand. "Let's talk in the backyard."

The fourth brother also wanted to listen, but he couldn't resist the third brother's gaze fixed on him like a wolfhound.

He could only watch as the two dogs trampled off the Taoist priest's shoes, and the priest even took out two dried fruits from his sleeve and threw them to them.

Song Chunxue lowered her voice, "How did Senior Brother know I was in trouble?"

“Give me some face in front of the children. It wasn’t me who caused the trouble, it was the fourth brother.”

The Taoist priest didn't expose her. "Alright, alright, I'll give you face in front of others from now on. I've already met with Lei Yun and know what big commotion you made this afternoon. He sent a message via telepathy, and I rushed over immediately."

Thinking about how she had said in front of everyone today that Liu Jian was being haunted by a female ghost, she looked at her feet guiltily.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself today. That child was too arrogant. It was the first time I'd ever seen someone carrying the person from that past life on their back. I was just trying to scare him, but it turned out to be Hu Wanyu's maid."

"I acted impulsively, please punish me, senior brother."

The Taoist priest smiled, then sat down on the low earthen wall beside her, crossed his legs, and asked her in a serious tone, "You know that Taoist disciples are punished for making mistakes. Not bad, you've studied very diligently. It seems you've read all the rules I left behind."

"..." Song Chunxue lowered her head, feeling embarrassed that she hadn't admitted her mistakes in so many years.

"You did well; it wasn't exactly trouble. Your senior brother even has to praise you. I heard that the Hu family girl came to the clinic to cause trouble, but you not only didn't get angry, you treated her with courtesy. That's quite good."

This was the first time the Taoist priest had seen her admit her mistake so sincerely, so he stopped making things difficult for her.

He climbed down the low wall and gently patted her shoulder.

"Leave the rest to me. I've also obtained a personal letter from Lord Xie. No one will make things difficult for you in this matter. After dinner, I'll go find Liang Xiao."

He turned and walked towards the front yard, smelling the broth from the stir-fried ground pepper in the air, and couldn't help but swallow.

"Tonight we'll have braised pork knuckle and fermented rice soup, right? White flour or mixed grains?"

Song Chunxue breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "I made the buckwheat noodles very thin. Please have a couple more bowls, senior brother."

"Alright." The Taoist priest moved with lightning speed, eager to eat. "After sparring with the bandits all afternoon, I can eat three bowls."

"Please eat as much as you like, senior brother. I'll make more if you're not full. Kneading buckwheat dough is quick." It's good to have someone back you up; she can make whatever her senior brother wants to eat.

"I've been feeling a bit feverish lately, and I'd like to eat buckwheat jelly. Could you make it for me, junior brother?"

Song Chunxue's eyes lit up. "Of course! With Senior Brother taking such good care of me, I'd grit my teeth and find you dragon meat even if you wanted to."

"I didn't expect that Brother Lei, who seems so quiet and reserved, would secretly pass on a message to you. Is he also cultivating?"

The Taoist priest walked into the kitchen, and Sanwa placed the freshly cooked noodles in front of him.

"Taoist priest, eat quickly, there's more in the pot, plenty to go around."

The Taoist priest patted his back and said, "Alright, you can sit down and eat too."

He said to Song Chunxue, “Lei Yun is all alone, unable to return home, wandering far from home. Besides treating the sick and saving lives, would he drown his sorrows in alcohol and wallow in self-pity if he knew me? Those who can befriend me will eventually cultivate themselves. This is my mission in this life.”

The fourth brother used a knife to cut off the pork knuckle and poured the prepared garlic sauce on top.

"Daoist Master, please eat some meat. My mother's braised pork knuckle is delicious." The fourth brother couldn't help but volunteer, "Daoist Master, do you think I have the potential for cultivation?"

The Taoist priest couldn't help but pick up the piece with the most minced garlic, saying, "You're not suited for this. Just live a down-to-earth life. If you make money in the future, just be strict with yourself."

The fourth brother looked completely bewildered.

Sanwa explained, "The Taoist priest said it would be good enough if you didn't go astray. You don't have the patience to cultivate, and you might learn a little bit and then start deceiving people. If you can still keep your conscience even after you have money, your mother should be burning incense in gratitude."

"Hahahaha..." This sentence hit Song Chunxue's funny bone. "Sanwa is right, you understand Lao Si the most."

The fourth brother, his face flushed red, glared angrily at the third brother.

Sanwa lowered his head and slurped up a couple of mouthfuls of noodles. "I'm telling the truth, Mom's noodles are delicious."

Song Chunxue looked up and laughed even harder; she hadn't expected Sanwa to have this skill.

If it were before, the fourth brother would definitely have fought with him.

But now the fourth brother is just glaring at him, angrily eating meat, which shows that the two brothers have already had a showdown in private, and the fourth brother did not get the upper hand.

Although Sanwa hadn't herded sheep for several years, he wasn't idle at home. He also had Cuju (ancient Chinese football) lessons at the school, so he wasn't as weak as he seemed.

The Taoist priest, holding a bowl, comforted the fourth son, saying, "If you can be more patient, listen to your mother more, and not be too stubborn when you meet a benefactor, you will achieve some success next year."

The fourth brother immediately beamed with joy, "Then what about my marriage? Will I be able to marry that girl from Ji County?"

"Sincerity brings results." He had told this to his fourth brother back in Lijiazhuang, and didn't want to say more.

The Taoist priest ate two and a half bowls of buckwheat noodles in fermented vegetable broth, and picked up a few bites of cold-dressed yellow mustard greens. "I'll be leaving after lunch tomorrow. Is there any more yellow mustard greens?"

"Yes." Song Chunxue nodded. "I'll cook some later. Is there anything else you'd like to eat, Senior Brother?"

"These two things are enough. I should go take care of my business." He got up, picked up his whisk, and was about to leave.

"Senior brother, you haven't had time to change your clothes these past few days, have you? I've prepared a set for you. Change before you go. It's in the closet in the west room."

Song Chunxue noticed that his cuffs were a little dirty, which was unusual for her senior brother, who was very clean.

The Taoist priest looked at the west room and said, "Alright, thank you, junior brother."

Respect the clothes first, then the person. Those officials are the most hypocritical; their eyes are like bone-scraping knives. It's better to dress decently.

A month ago, Song Chunxue prepared a very impressive outfit for her senior brother.

When the Taoist priest arrived at the west room, he found it spotless, with a pair of new shoes beside the bed. It turned out that this room had been reserved for him all along.

He opened the closet and saw two different colored undergarments inside, which warmed his heart.

This junior brother was well taken care of.