Chapter 13
The morning light sparsely poured into the house, illuminating the altar in front of the hall.
The white rice porridge served in a coarse porcelain bowl was thick and had a thin layer of rice oil on the surface. Next to it was a plate of pickled crisp cucumbers, which were chopped thinly and mixed with sesame seeds and sesame oil. It looked refreshing. There were also a few baskets of steamed beef dumplings, and the hot steam mixed with the aroma of meat kept drilling into the nose.
It makes people drool just by looking at it.
Shen Ah Heng was holding a large steamed dumpling with thin skin and oil, his cheeks bulging from eating.
Ashina Yu, who was standing next to her, didn't eat much herself, but when she saw that there was no food in her bowl, she put some food into her bowl.
It's exactly the same way my grandma feeds pigs.
I still remember that when this person was just rescued from the mountains by her, his face was as white as paper, and he would take a long time to breathe if he moved his body, just like a glass beauty that would break at the slightest touch. But now, after her unparalleled miracle, he can be rejuvenated, and he can work in the living room and the kitchen, and he can even follow her to the mountains to collect herbs, and he never slacks off or does anything to get by.
Shen Aheng finished his meal slowly and watched him clean up the dishes neatly. His movements were not very skilled, but they showed his seriousness.
The medicine man from the Yaochen Sect has a different physique from ordinary people. He was obviously so weak that he only had one bar of electricity left, but after using the medicine she prepared, the effect was immediate and his face became much rosier.
At this rate, it was only a matter of time before the poison in his body was completely eliminated.
When I think of the Yaochen Sect far away in the Western Regions...
The complacency and joy that had just surfaced in Shen Ah Heng's heart were like bubbles in the sea. With a slight poke, they disappeared in a snap.
Those barbarians have been in the Western Regions for a long time, so how could they understand the Central Plains people's "harmony is the most precious" and the twists and turns of "benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness".
How could I let it go so easily when the medicine man I worked so hard to support ran away?
If he comes to her house, she will definitely not be able to stop him with her mediocre skills.
Besides, to put it nicely, her sect is a small and well-established sect in the martial arts world. To put it bluntly, it is a declining sect. Now all that is left is her, a lone commander, a few dilapidated houses, and a pile of medicinal herbal books that are about to go moldy.
If the legacy left by her ancestors was destroyed because of her, how would she have the face to face them in the future?
Besides, it wouldn’t sound good if the news got out that a single man and a single woman had been in the same room for such a long time.
How can she, a virgin who is determined to close her heart and lock away her love, survive here in the future?
After thinking about it, Shen Ah Heng put down the tea in his hand, wiped his mouth, and rushed to the kitchen with a heroic and high-spirited look.
Ashina Yu was busy in front of the stove, wearing her washed-white hemp apron. Her long satin-like hair was tied up in a mess with a wooden hairpin, and a few strands of hair hung down on her cheeks. She really looked like a hardworking little snail.
On the stove were washed red dates, sesame seeds, longan meat, and filtered osmanthus honey.
He hadn't noticed her yet and was concentrating on adding firewood to the stove. The firelight made his profile look bright and soft. His long eyelashes blinked like a small fan, and he seemed to be muttering something in a unclear Western dialect.
Shen Ah Heng put his hands behind his back and cleared his throat pretentiously.
Ashina Yu turned around when she heard the voice. Seeing that it was her, her eyes sparkled with anticipation. "Are you awake? You said yesterday that you wanted to eat some sweet cakes... Just wait a moment, it will be ready."
Looking at his innocent and serious look, Shen Aheng’s heart softened all of a sudden.
Apart from not being able to speak fluent Central Plains dialect, this guy is really a must-have at home. Not only has he been serving her very comfortably these days, he has also taken the initiative to take on all her chores. He just stretches out his hand to get clothes and opens his mouth to eat. He even pays attention to the combination of meat and vegetables when cooking. He is simply living like a god.
No, no, she must stand firm and not be easily shaken!
Don’t underestimate the bond between her and the sect!
Shen Aheng took a deep breath, hardened his heart, and tried to make his tone sound cheerful: "That...Ashinayu, how are you feeling recently? During this period of time, no, you haven't felt any discomfort, right?"
Ashina Yu was stunned when she heard this. There was a hint of doubt in her clear eyes, but then a faint smile appeared on her face. Her awkward Central Plains dialect clearly reached her ears: "Very, very good. Your medicine is very useful. Thank you, thank you."
After he finished speaking, he suddenly lowered his eyes, his pale fingers unconsciously groping for the firewood beside the stove. His profile looked even cleaner and neater in the firelight, with a gentle light in his eyes.
Shen Aheng's heart felt like it had been scratched by a cat's claws, itchy and soft. She secretly pinched the palm of her hand, quickly turned her head to the side, not daring to look at him again, and replied vaguely: "Well, it's pretty good."
A short pain is worse than a long pain!
Shen Ah Heng took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, looked at him again, and tried to make his voice firm: "Well, since you are almost recovered, then, then do you want to go find your relatives? It's been so long, they must, they must miss you too!"
After she finished speaking, she turned around quickly as if she had been scalded, with her back to him, her heart pounding, and she kept repeating in her mind: The ancestral foundation is the most important! The ancestral foundation is the most important!
After saying that, without waiting for him to say anything else, she hurriedly left the kitchen.
In the kitchen, Ashina Yu stood there in a daze.
He watched her hurriedly leaving, then looked down at the dead branches and scattered cloth on the ground used to make fire. His brows furrowed slightly, and a trace of confusion and grievance flashed in his eyes.
He squatted down silently, picked up the cloth on the ground, stuffed the pair of dead branches back into the stove, then stood up, took the glutinous rice flour from the wooden rack, and poured it into the stone mortar.
His movements were still skillful. He removed the core of the red dates and chopped them into pieces, mixed them with osmanthus honey, added warm water to the stone mortar, and slowly kneaded the glutinous rice flour. His pale fingertips pressed on it repeatedly, slowly kneading the dough into a delicate and smooth dough.
The flames in the stove flickered slightly, reflecting his profile clearly and softly.
He thought, maybe she just asked casually and didn't mean anything else, or maybe he heard it wrong.
Maybe it will be fine once the sugar cake is ready.
The fragrance of glutinous rice gradually wafted through the kitchen, mixed with the sweetness of osmanthus, but his hands were a little slower than usual as he kneaded the dough. Occasionally he looked out the window, his eyes falling on the tightly closed door, but he quickly retracted his gaze and lowered his head to continue working.
The door was like an invisible barrier, separating them.
After putting the sugar cake into the steamer, he picked up the cloth again and cleaned the mold, mortar and other items he had just used, even wiping off the fine powder on the edge. He then put everything back in its original place one by one, arranging them properly with a gentle and meticulous attitude.
When all this was packed up, the sugar cakes in the steamer were already emitting a rich aroma. Ashina Yu walked to the door of Shen Aheng's room, paused, and raised his hand to knock on the door, but the fingers were suspended in the air. After a while, his thin back tensed slightly, and then he gently retracted it, but in the end he did not knock on the door.
He went back to the kitchen and took the steamed cakes out of the steamer. After they cooled down, he lined them with oil paper and placed them layer by layer in a food box, and then put them in a conspicuous place on the wooden rack.
This makes it convenient for someone who is hungry in the middle of the night and sneaks into the kitchen to look for food to be discovered immediately.
After finishing, Ashina Yu also prepared dinner and then turned back to his room.
At night, he lay in bed, not worrying too much about whether he had done anything wrong. He just thought calmly that maybe she was just talking casually and didn't really drive him away.
After all, she is the kindest and most considerate girl in the world.
Ashina Yu thought so and soon calmed down.
-
Shen Ah Heng said those words to drive him away in a fit of rage during the day, and his heart felt like it was being clenched tightly, and he was in a panic. As soon as the words fell, he regretted it and wanted to slap himself.
But the words have been spoken and the damage has been done. There is no point taking them back now. I can only harden my heart and force myself not to regret it.
She lay down and peeked through the crack in the door. He was busy in the kitchen, probably continuing to make the cake she had mentioned casually yesterday.
He also seemed to have cooked dinner.
Shen Ah Heng felt a tightness in his chest when he heard this, and he leaned against the door panel, his heart felt like it was blocked by a ball of cotton. He was too embarrassed to go out, but he was also afraid of what to say when he saw him. He could only stay in the room with an empty stomach, listening to the noise outside the door disappearing little by little.
It was late at night, Shen Ah Heng's stomach was growling with hunger, and she couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned until midnight, and she couldn't bear it anymore. She got out of bed and walked to the door quietly, took a deep breath, and quietly pushed the door open a crack.
The yard was pitch black, and there was no light in Ashina Yu's room next door. I guess he had gone to bed long ago.
Shen Ah Heng breathed a sigh of relief, tiptoed out of the room, and went to the kitchen in the moonlight, hoping to find some cold dry food to fill his stomach.
As soon as I opened the door to the back kitchen, I smelled a faint aroma of rice mixed with the remaining warmth of the food.
Shen Ah Heng took a look in the moonlight and saw a food box placed in the most conspicuous place on the wooden shelf, and a few coarse porcelain bowls and plates placed next to the stove.
Following his instinct, Chen Ah Heng walked over and first opened the food box. He saw pieces of sugar cakes neatly stacked inside, with a beige luster, dotted with crushed red dates and osmanthus flowers, and a lotus leaf was carefully placed at the bottom to prevent moisture.
When he opened the coarse porcelain bowl, he found a bowl of warm winter melon meatball soup with two fried golden eggs on top. On another plate were a few soft multi-grain cakes and a small dish of braised beef in soy sauce.
The beef was cut into small pieces and mixed with some diced potatoes and carrots. Each piece was covered with thick sauce. The potatoes and carrots absorbed the broth and fell apart easily when poked. They were more fragrant than the meat.
When Shen Ah Heng looked at these things, the tip of his heart seemed to be gently poked by something sharp, which made him feel painful and astringent. His throat felt a little tight, and he couldn't help but cursed in a low voice, "A fool."
She was about to kick him out, so why was he still doing all this?
After hesitating for a moment, the protests in Shen Ah Heng's stomach became louder and louder. In the end, he reached out and opened the lid of the food box without any backbone, picked up a piece of sugar cake and took a bite.
…
As soon as he took that sip, the feeling of regret instantly flooded over him like a tidal wave.
Damn it.
How can it be so delicious?
Shen Aheng couldn’t help but burst into tears.
She was wrong, she was really wrong. If she really drove this little fool away, where would she find another silly little snail like him to serve her?
No more rushing!
I will definitely not rush!
I will never rush again!
The more she ate, the more she regretted it. Shen Aheng decided to go find Ashina Yu at dawn tomorrow and tell him not to leave. Everything she said before was bullshit.
Anyway, she is the head and has absolute right of interpretation.
Shen Aheng lightly overturned what he had said before, and was not ashamed at all. Before he swallowed the sugar cake in his hand, he picked up the bowl to drink soup, tasted this, and visited that, his mouth was busy and happy.
After eating and drinking, Shen Ah Heng washed the dishes in a hurry, then quietly closed the kitchen door again and tiptoed back to his room.
The warmth slowly spread in the stomach, and even the annoyance in his heart was reduced. Shen Ah Heng touched his round belly, yawned contentedly, and fell asleep in a daze.
I don’t know how long I slept, but suddenly there was a soft “crash” sound in the yard, like the sound of a bamboo basket falling to the ground.
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