Jiang Yimian could only shrug helplessly, seeing that the other party did not believe her and regarded her as a monster.
It's not her fault; it's just that the other person was unlucky.
When the two returned, it was already past noon.
There were people standing at the entrances of both shacks, and the worry on their faces disappeared when they saw them return.
As soon as Gousheng saw Liu Xiaoyun, he ran over to her with a grin and said, "Mom, look how many bamboos I've cut! We won't have to sleep on the ground tonight."
Liu Xiaoyun patted Gousheng's head, smiled at Jiang Yimian and the others, and then pulled them into the shack.
As soon as Jiang Yimian entered the shack, she started working. Without even eating, she first washed the leaves of the Guanyin firewood she had picked, then soaked the leaves in hot water in a pot and stirred them constantly with chopsticks.
Once the water in the pot turned green, she found a clean piece of gauze.
Ask Wang Fengqin to help pour the Guanyin wood and water from the pot into a gauze, rub out the juice from the leaves, and finally filter out the leaf residue to get a basin of water dyed with the juice of Guanyin wood leaves.
Looking at the green water in the basin, Wang Fengqin asked curiously, "Yimian, what are you doing? This water looks greenish-yellow; it's not drinkable."
Jiang Yimian only said mysteriously, "Make something delicious."
Upon hearing that something delicious was being prepared, Xiao Ye and Xiao Nuan'er quickly came over, but their eyes showed some disdain when they saw the green water in the basin.
Ono was even more unconvinced, "Sis, this water doesn't taste good. Stop making it and come eat."
Compared to the greenish-yellow water, he still preferred his mother's cooking, at least it looked better. He especially loved the bamboo shoots she stir-fried these past few days, and he ate them all up every day.
Although Wang Fengqin didn't say much, Jiang Yimian could still understand the unspoken meaning on her face. She could only sigh helplessly, thinking that if they didn't appreciate it, they would soon have their eyes opened.
She then found some wood ash, put it in a bowl, stirred it with chopsticks, and was about to pour it into the basin when Wang Fengqin was shocked and stammered, "Yi, Yi Mian, this, this wood ash can't be eaten."
Although it's all stuff from burnt wood, it's still ash, so how can you eat it? It's still such a big bowl of wood ash water.
Xiao Ye and Xiao Nuan'er were so frightened that they took a few steps back and silently went back to eat. They had only one thought in their minds: their mother's cooking was still the best.
Jiang Yimian simply reassured her, "Mother, it's alright, you can eat it, don't worry."
Before Wang Fengqin could say anything more, she saw that the bowl of wood ash water had already been poured into the basin.
Instantly, the once vibrant green water changed color, turning a dull gray that made it even less appetizing.
The thought of having to eat this made her a little worried; what if it was poisonous?
She had never seen anyone drink water made from wood ash.
Just as I was worrying, I saw Jiang Yimian take a large spoon and stir the contents of the bowl evenly before standing up and saying with a smile, "Mom, let's go eat first. I think it will be fine after we finish eating."
Wang Fengqin could only manage a few dry laughs. They were going to be forced to eat this later, and she was hesitant to do so.
The meal left several people with stomach aches. Apart from the calm and collected Jiang Yimian, the others were worried about drinking that gritty plant ash water and wanted to go out and find something to do after the meal.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Yimian called out to him.
"Mother, come quickly, come and eat Guanyin tofu."
Jiang Yimian's voice was filled with joy.
Wang Fengqin and the others were a little uneasy. Hesitantly, they walked over, but their eyes were drawn to the crystal-clear green color in the basin.
The water, which was originally green and grayish, has turned into a basin full of bright green. When the wooden basin is gently shaken, the contents inside sway slightly. It doesn't look like water; apart from the color, it really does resemble tofu.
Ono and Xiao Nuan'er were completely stunned, unable to believe how something that was originally dull and gray had become so beautiful.
Ono looked at Jiang Yimian with some curiosity, and after thinking for a while, she suddenly blurted out, "Sister, can you do magic tricks?"
Just like those old masters in town who could easily pull geese out of an empty basket, my sister did the same. In the blink of an eye, she turned that gritty water into this thing in front of us.
Jiang Yimian found it amusing, took out a knife, cut off a piece and put it in a bowl, then cut the pieces in the bowl into several smaller pieces, added the dissolved maltose syrup, and handed it to the group, smiling as she said, "Try it and see how it tastes."
Although Wang Fengqin was still a little worried about the bowl of wood ash water, she saw that the contents of the bowl were crystal clear and did not look poisonous, so she took a small spoon, picked up a small piece, and put it in her mouth.
The first taste was icy cold and slippery, without the smell of wood ash, only a light fragrance, mixed with the sweetness of sugar water, which made her eyes light up.
"This tastes so good, so refreshingly cool, even better than the toppings in those dessert shops."
Especially when the sun is high in the sky, the cool Guanyin tofu made her feel comfortable all over, and even the burning sensation in her heart was relieved.
Upon hearing this, Ono couldn't wait to pick up a spoon, scoop out a piece, and put it in his mouth, nodding repeatedly, "Mmm, delicious, sweet."
Little Nuan'er became even more anxious, her mouth watering as she stared longingly at the food in the bowl.
Jiang Yimian found it amusing and fed a piece to Xiao Nuan'er, who then hummed contentedly.
The small bowl of Guanyin tofu was quickly divided up by the group. Xiao Ye was still eyeing the ones in the bowl, but since she had just finished eating, she didn't have any extra room in her stomach. When she heard Jiang Yimian say that they would eat it later that night, she happily dragged Xiao Nuan'er out to play.
Wang Fengqin looked at the contents of the basin with some joy. "This is good! It's not only delicious, but it can also fill our stomachs. With this, we won't go hungry once we run out of rice and noodles."
Ever since she came up the mountain, she had been worried about the day when the food would run out. She cooked every day with very little food, fearing that there would be no food to eat in the future. Now, seeing the Guanyin tofu and bamboo shoots, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Jiang Yimian hesitated for a moment, but still didn't speak. Although Guanyin tofu is delicious, it can only be eaten in spring, summer and autumn. When winter comes, the leaves of Guanyin shrubs wither and fall to the ground, so it's impossible to make Guanyin tofu.
She thought about it but didn't say it aloud. Her mother had finally let go of her worries, so there was no need to make her worry unnecessarily.
Besides, even without Guanyin tofu, there are countless other things; she wouldn't let her family starve to death on the mountain.
The Jiang family's shack had Guanyin tofu, but the other families' shacks did not.
Looking at the wild vegetable porridge cooking in the pot, Wang Ergou was only a little angry. "Wild vegetable porridge again. I've been eating wild vegetable porridge for every meal these past few days since I came up the mountain. If I keep eating this, I won't be able to poop."
He used to make a living by stealing small things down the mountain, and with the food his mother grew in the fields, he could eat mixed rice every few days.
Now that he's up the mountain, he hasn't seen a single grain of rice, let alone any mixed rice.
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