Yan Zheng entered the cave, casually unloaded his basket, his eyes devoid of emotion.

When Jiang Xi saw him return, she smiled and said, "You're back." Then she added, "He actually went to get honey. Look at the stings on his neck; they're almost as big as an egg."

Yan Zheng's jaw tightened as he stared directly at Yan Jing'an, his expression calm: "Is that so?"

Yan Jing'an straightened his collar, glanced casually at Jiang Xi, and said with a smile, "I got hurt by accident."

However, the smile didn't reach his eyes.

"Jiang Xi, come here." Yan Zheng said, looking at Jiang Xi.

Jiang Xi was puzzled and looked at him questioningly.

Yan Zheng smiled and said, "Go to the back and find some purslane."

Jiang Xi understood and nodded. She had heard from the village elders when she was a child that purslane could reduce swelling and detoxify, and was most suitable for neutralizing ant and bee venom.

She just didn't see it.

Yan Zheng put down the bow and arrows on his back, washed his hands at the door, and said slowly and deliberately, "Stop with your little tricks."

Then she picked up a towel to wipe her hands, looked up and said, "The reason I let you stay here is not because of your value, nor because I am soft-hearted, but because I still have some humanity."

Yan Jing'an's expression remained unchanged, a barely perceptible smile appearing at the corner of his mouth: "Don't be so sensitive. She's not your possession. It's not certain who will stay with her until the end."

Sensing the provocation in his words, Yan Zheng wasn't annoyed. He put down the towel, rolled up his sleeves, and walked closer, looking directly at him meaningfully, saying, "Yan Jing'an, can you distinguish between liking and feeling guilty?"

One sentence made the composed man in front of him suddenly turn pale.

Yan Jing'an was breathing rapidly, his fingertips trembled slightly, and his shoulders slumped limply.

Yan Zheng suddenly became fierce, grabbed Yan Jing'an by the collar and slammed him against the wall. A stinging pain suddenly struck the back of his neck, making him see stars.

Yan Zheng looked at him for a moment, then lowered his head, took a breath, and said with suppressed emotion, "Look at the state you're in."

Then, Yan Zheng released him: "Stay away from her. Don't waste your efforts to make amends on her. She can't replace anyone." He turned and went into the cave corridor.

Just then, they ran into Jiang Xi, who was coming in through the back door. She was holding a stone mortar and pestle for grinding medicine. Yan Zheng snatched the mortar from her hand and threw it on the table: "Let him do it himself."

Then he took her arm and led her towards the back of the mountain.

Something undercurrent was stirring in the air.

Before Jiang Xi could understand what was happening, Yan Zheng pulled her to the backyard, his hand gripping hers so tightly that the veins on his fingers bulged.

Is she angry?

Before she could even ask a question, Yan Zheng pinned her against the wall of the wooden house and leaned down on her without warning, leaving Jiang Xi speechless.

After a long while, Yan Zheng gently pulled her away. Jiang Xi's hands were weakly pressed against his chest, her breathing unsteady, and her eyes glistening with tears.

Yan Zheng felt a pang of annoyance. He reached out and pulled her into his arms, stroking her back comfortingly.

Jiang Xi gasped for breath, her voice barely audible: "What happened?"

Yan Zheng composed himself, buried his head in the crook of her neck, and tried to absorb this moment of warmth.

After a long while, his low, hoarse voice was heard: "It's nothing. In the future, stay away from him. That kid has ulterior motives."

Jiang Xi then realized what had happened; she had thought something serious had occurred, but it turned out he was just jealous.

She chuckled, stepped back slightly, and cupped Yan Zheng's face in her hands. His originally sharp features softened and softened under the pressure.

Jiang Xi looked into his eyes and said seriously, "There is only one Yan Zheng in my heart, and there is no room for a second one."

"If I'm being kind to him, it's definitely because of you."

This feeling is complicated to explain. Perhaps it's because the two people look so alike, and she's a sensitive person who can't bear to see pain befall someone who looks exactly like Yan Zheng.

Yan Zheng said, "I know, but... I'm sorry, I was a little anxious."

Perhaps it was because Yan Jing'an's influence on him over the years had been too long, he was always afraid of losing Jiang Xi again, and this fear made him like a frightened bird.

When Yan Zheng brought Jiang Xi back, there was no one left in the front hall, and the herbs in the stone mortar on the table had not been touched.

Yan Zheng said, "Don't worry about him, the backpack is still here."

Jiang Xi looked at the black backpack in the corner. Yan Jing'an cared a lot about his backpack, probably because it contained ropes and grappling hooks, and he carried it with him wherever he went.

Yan Zheng picked up the basket and smiled, "I'll go prepare the ingredients, you go and make your mooncakes."

Jiang Xi nodded.

With honey, the problem of making sweet mooncakes was easily solved. First, she used a wooden basket and a fiber cloth to squeeze the honey out of the honeycomb, then filtered it into a bowl, which contained six or seven hundred milliliters. She carefully put the honey into the jar she had made earlier.

After mixing the cooked raspberries with honey, Jiang Xi tasted it and found that the 1:1 ratio was perfect, with just the right balance of sweetness and tartness, without overpowering the aroma of the raspberries.

For savory mooncake fillings, use cured pork and diced mushrooms. Jiang Xi took out a piece of high-quality cured pork belly. After cooking, the pork belly was clearly separated into fat and lean parts. The fat parts were crystal clear, while the lean parts were moist and not dry.

Fresh porcini mushrooms are diced and fried. Then, oil is heated in a wok, wild scallions are added and sautéed until fragrant. Next, cured pork is added and stir-fried until the fat is rendered. Finally, the porcini mushrooms are added and mixed together. The cured pork is naturally salty, so Jiang Xi only needs to sprinkle some Sichuan peppercorn powder on top.

After it was cooked, Jiang Xi picked up a piece of cured pork and put it in her mouth to taste. It melted in her mouth, fragrant but not greasy, with a slight smoky flavor that was just right.

Jiang Xi mashed the steamed yams into a paste, then rolled them into palm-sized portions. Finally, she filled them with both sweet and savory fillings. Since she didn't have any mooncake molds, Jiang Xi first wrapped the fillings in her hands, then rolled them into balls, and finally gently flattened them. They did indeed resemble mooncakes.

After all the mooncakes were wrapped, Jiang Xi brushed them with a thin layer of oil and placed them in the ceramic kiln to bake.

As for the dinner menu, Jiang Xi was in charge of making two dishes and a soup: stir-fried wild duck eggs with mountain scallions and crucian carp soup. The crucian carp was caught by Yan Zheng in the fish trap net he put in the river yesterday. It was small and had many bones, so it was only suitable for making soup.

Another dish is air-dried duck. After air-drying, the duck is washed with warm water, then boiled in boiling water for a few minutes to extract the saltiness, and then steamed for half an hour. The resulting air-dried duck has a firm texture and is not salty when eaten plain.

Yan Zheng personally cooked the other three main dishes. It wasn't that Jiang Xi was unwilling to cook them; it's just that her cooking skills weren't up to par when it came to the main dishes.

Yan Zheng first cooked a dish of braised rabbit with chestnuts; the rabbit was one he had just taken out of the trap that morning.

He also made a tomato and fish fillet soup. The fish fillets were from a black fish that he caught fresh from the river that morning. The fish was firm and not easily broken. He cooked the fish in a thick tomato broth and put some soybean sprouts that he had sprouted a few days ago at the bottom of the pot. The tomato flavor was rich, the bean sprouts were crisp, and the fish was smooth. Jiang Xi thought to herself that she was glad she had saved the tomato seeds.

Four dishes and a soup were neatly arranged on the table. Since there was no rice, Jiang Xi had to cut the sweet potato into small pieces the size of rice grains and steam them in a pot. Although it tasted like potatoes, it resembled rice and served as a makeshift substitute.