Chapter 14 Deep in the Peach Blossom Forest, my master was here all those years ago…
The 24th day of the twelfth lunar month is the day for worshipping the Kitchen God in southern China, also known as the Little New Year.
Huo Chenyin, who had gone to Haishi to do business, finally returned to Nanyue with his eldest apprentice.
His eldest disciple was named Zhu Yuan, the oldest of their generation at nineteen, three years older than Lin Jinshui, who was his junior uncle. Like him, he was also a shrewd businessman.
The master and apprentice worked diligently to run their business and support the entire sect.
This is Lin Jianyu's perception of the master and apprentice, because they are simply extravagantly wealthy.
Especially Huo Chenyin.
Huo Chenyin was good at making money, but also good at spending it. He had no restraint when it came to spending money, as if money wasn't money at all.
He's been back for a few days, but instead of doing anything productive, he's been busy buying all sorts of things for Lin Jinshui and Lin Jianyu.
It was mainly bought for Lin Jianyu.
It's not that I prefer Lin Jianyu; I gave it to Lin Jinshui. He could have bought it a long time ago, and now I'm just filling in the gaps.
Most of the things bought for Lin Jianyu were things for children to eat, wear, and use.
Whether it's for a girl or a boy, whether she can use it or not, he'll buy it for her if other children have it.
Although Lin Jianyu quite liked his extravagant spending, there were some things that really didn't need to be bought.
Just like clothes.
She's at the age where she's growing rapidly, and with proper nutrition, she's getting taller every year. She only needs two or three sets of clothes to change into, so there's no need to buy more. But the clothes he buys for her are overflowing, filling two or three wardrobes.
Oh, he even cleared out a room for her to use as a walk-in closet, where he specially stored the clothes, shoes, hats and the like that he bought for her.
She told him, "It's unnecessary, I don't need it."
He said, "Whether you need it or not is not important; what's important is that you have to have it."
Then……
That was the end of it.
She was persuaded.
I've already bought it, so I have to admit I'm impressed.
All I can say are that capitalists are utterly evil.
Time flies, and it's already New Year's Eve.
This day is the most lively of the year, with every household decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, filled with joy.
Their sect was no exception.
Early in the morning, Lin Jianyu got out of bed and joined her fellow students in putting up Spring Festival couplets, setting off firecrackers, and preparing for tonight's New Year's Eve dinner.
The New Year's Eve dinner was very lavish, with everything imaginable, including dumplings.
They don't usually eat dumplings during the Lunar New Year. Lin Jinshui specially asked Zhu Jin and the others to make the dumplings for her. She didn't cook them herself because Zhu Jin and the others wouldn't allow it, saying that he was a disaster in the kitchen.
The only thing missing is probably family reunion.
Unlike most Chinese people, the members of their sect do not place much importance on family reunions during the Lunar New Year. They will spend the holiday together if they can, and will not make a special effort to get together if they cannot.
Like Shen Siming and his group, they hadn't finished dealing with things in Hong Kong, so they stayed in Hong Kong for the New Year instead of returning to Nanzhao.
Huo Chenyin and the others were the same. They clearly had plenty of money and time, but they didn't go back to Nanzhao for the New Year. Instead, they stayed in Nanyue.
After the New Year, Lin Jinshui and Lin Jianyu bid farewell to Huo Chenyin and the others, preparing to return to Nanzhao.
When they left, they didn't take much with them. Most of the things Huo Chenyin bought for them before the New Year were mailed directly to Nanzhao, and a small portion was left in the villa.
However, Huo Chenyin gave them a lot of money and tickets, telling them to buy whatever they needed on the way.
The time Lin Jianyu spent in Pengcheng was one of the happiest times in her life. She was very happy every day. Her only regret was that she couldn't pay her respects to her second master, who was said to be very skilled in pretending to be a god and swindling, before she left.
After leaving Pengcheng, Lin Jinshui led Lin Jianyu through towns and deep forests, stopping and starting along the way. After more than half a month, they finally arrived at Xiyue, which bordered Nanyue. Beyond Xiyue lay Nanzhao.
The western region is full of mountains and forests, and the master and apprentice spent most of their time wandering in the mountains and forests. Fortunately, after the Awakening of Insects, the yang energy rises and the temperature has warmed up. As long as there is not much rain, it is easy for Lin Jianyu to live a life of ease in the mountains and forests.
Of course, this only applies to sleeping outdoors; for some difficult mountain paths, she still has to rely on Lin Jinshui to carry her on his back.
She had been eating and drinking well lately, gained weight, and grown taller, making her quite a bit heavier. But Lin Jinshui still carried her without any trouble.
If he felt no pressure, then Lin Jianyu felt even less pressure. He ate and drank as usual, worked hard to grow taller and stronger, and strived to conquer the winding and rugged mountain road under his feet as soon as possible.
After wandering in the mountains for about ten days, they finally entered a town.
The town is called Fangcheng, and it is known as a coastal city.
As soon as they entered the town, Lin Jinshui said, "My master found me here back then."
"Here?" Lin Jianyu stopped and pointed to the ground beneath her feet.
"Not here, but in this town, further ahead, there's a peach orchard, deep within the orchard, near the sea," Lin Jinshui said.
"I want to go and see."
“Okay.” Lin Jinshui nodded. “However, you can only look at the peach grove, not go deep into it.”
"Why?" Lin Jianyu asked, puzzled.
"Because my birth chart is not strong enough, I cannot go near the water."
If he hadn't said that, Lin Jianyu would have forgotten that his master had once cursed him, saying that he would die in the sea someday.
"Then let's not go to the beach, let's just look around in the peach grove."
"good."
After a short rest in town and replenishing their supplies, Lin Jinshui led Lin Jianyu to the peach blossom grove he had mentioned.
Outside the peach blossom grove, there is a village called Peach Blossom Village.
To enter the peach blossom forest, you must pass through Peach Blossom Village.
The villagers of Peach Blossom Village are all from ethnic minorities, and most of them wear ethnic minority costumes. When Lin Jianyu first saw them, he was inexplicably reminded of the villagers in "The Peach Blossom Spring" who lived in seclusion from the world.
Like the villagers in "The Peach Blossom Spring", the villagers here are also very hospitable. When they saw them enter the village, they all invited them to their homes for a meal, but Lin Jinshui politely declined them one by one.
"In the peach blossom grove, there's a shop that sells peach blossom pastries. The peach blossom pastries they sell are especially delicious." Lin Jinshui ate some last year when he passed by, and he still remembers them fondly.
Lin Jianyu had known him for a while and knew that he was a very picky eater. Apart from seafood and river fish, he rarely ate anything else. The only thing he could describe as particularly delicious was his favorite dried fish.
This was the first time she had heard him describe anything other than dried fish as "especially delicious," and she couldn't help but be curious.
"What is peach blossom pastry? Is it different from walnut pastry?" She remembered that he had no interest in walnut pastry at all.
"There's a huge difference!"
"What's the difference?" Lin Jianyu asked.
"Peach blossom pastries are delicious, but walnut pastries are not," Lin Jinshui said.
Lin Jianyu: "..."
Very good, the difference is indeed significant.
The two talked all the way and soon arrived at the edge of the peach blossom grove.
It's the season when peach blossoms are in full bloom. Before even entering the peach grove, Lin Jianyu could smell a unique fragrance of peach blossoms. It was very light, with a hint of sweetness, and smelled wonderful.
In the peach blossom grove, there is not only a shop selling peach blossom pastries, but also a mountain temple.
Every year when the peach blossoms are in full bloom, the mountain temple is at its most popular with worshippers.
Of course, this does not include the years from the time of the destruction of the Four Olds to the time of reform and opening up.
The weather was nice today, and many people went to the mountain temple to offer incense. Most of them were locals, and a small number were tourists who came to see the peach blossoms.
As a staunch materialist, Lin Jianyu had absolutely no interest in going to temples to burn incense, and Lin Jinshui, as a young Taoist priest, felt the same way.
So the two ignored the temple and went straight to the shop selling peach blossom pastries.
The peach blossom pastry was sold by an elderly couple.
Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, the elderly couple sold all their belongings to escape the war and relocated to a secluded place in the peach blossom forest. After the founding of the PRC, all land was subject to socialist public ownership, and the peach blossom forest was no exception. The elderly couple, along with the peach blossom forest, were merged into Peach Blossom Village.
The village chief of Peach Blossom Village was a reasonable man. Knowing that the couple had gotten used to living in the peach blossom forest, he did not force them to move to Peach Blossom Village, but instead allowed them to continue living in the peach blossom forest as forest rangers.
After the reform and opening up, people in many places started businesses.
The elderly couple were quite skilled at making peach blossom pastries, so they set up a stall in the peach orchard to sell them.
Because the peach orchard is located in a remote area, few people come here except during the peach blossom season and the peach ripening season. In addition, due to the limited availability of raw materials, the elderly couple only sells peach blossom pastries during the peach blossom season and works as forest rangers at other times.
The peach blossom pastries made by the elderly couple have a crispy and delicious outer crust and a soft and fluffy filling. They are sweet but not cloying, just like the peach blossoms in the forest, with a sweet fragrance that makes them unforgettable after just one taste.
No wonder Lin Jinshui couldn't forget it after just one taste.
"tasty."
"Right!" Lin Jinshui smiled broadly, then said with some regret, "It's a pity that only this shop sells delicious peach blossom pastries."
Peach blossom pastry is a traditional Chinese pastry sold in many places, but none of them taste as good as the ones sold here.
Lin Jianyu also felt it was a pity.
But it's okay.
"Every year from now on, when the peach blossoms are in full bloom, let's come here together to eat peach blossom pastries."
"good."
After finishing the peach blossom pastries, Lin Jinshui took Lin Jianyu for a short stroll in the peach blossom grove, pointing out the direction where she was picked up, so that she could go and see for herself when she grew up.
After strolling through the peach blossom grove, the master and apprentice prepared to leave.
Before leaving, Lin Jinshui made sure to pack some peach blossom pastries and put them in the box he originally used to store dried fish, so he could eat them on the way.
As the Qingming Festival approaches, the rains are getting heavier, making the paths in the mountains and forests increasingly difficult to traverse, and occasionally venomous snakes and wild beasts are spotted.
Fortunately, Lin Jinshui was lucky and managed to avoid danger each time.
But while venomous snakes and ferocious beasts are easy to avoid, rain is hard to avoid. Lin Jianyu was soaked to the bone several times, but fortunately, he did not get sick.
Because every time she got soaked to the bone, Lin Jinshui would feed her some blood to make sure she wouldn't get sick.
Lin Jinshui himself got soaked in the rain, but he was healthy and didn't get sick. Moreover, even though he was drenched, he still looked as ethereal as ever, a stark contrast to Lin Jianyu, who was soaked to the bone.
Lin Jianyu suspected several times that when he held the umbrella, he only held it for himself and didn't take care of her, who was being carried on his back, but she could never find any evidence.
After wandering in the mountains for about a month, the two finally entered the territory of Nanzhao.
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