After the crowd dispersed, not a piece of his tofu was left, but there were a lot of extra things at his feet.
The mother and her two children squatted in the yard to take inventory: there was corn, garlic, bok choy, onions, ginger, eggs, brown rice, and dried pheasant, but no salt. Ye Nuan had been making bitter tofu, initially just to satisfy her hunger, but she hadn't expected to reap such a bounty.
Su was holding a dried pheasant, with a smile on her face, and she kept saying, "Xiao Hu, I'll roast meat for you later."
The little kid wasn't afraid of getting dirty either. He held the dried pheasant in his hands and sniffed it vigorously, his mouth drooling: "Sister, meat, meat."
Ye Nuan patted his head and said to Su, "Mom, chop the pheasant into pieces and soak them in water first. Xiaohu and I will go to the bushes in the south and pick some more bitter oak fruits."
Bitter tofu can be exchanged for so many things, so of course we have to make more.
Su nodded happily, handed her the basket, and also took out a small wooden basin for Xiaohu, "Get some more."
The two of them happily went out and saw Feng Dazhu standing outside the broken wall with a basket, looking at her awkwardly. Seeing the doubt in Ye Nuan's eyes, she blushed and said awkwardly, "Miss Ye, my mother felt much better after eating the bitter tofu you made yesterday. I want to go pick some bitter chestnuts with me, is that okay?"
The bitter oak fruits are not hers, so naturally anyone can pick them.
Ye Nuan nodded: "Then let's go together."
The three of them walked towards the pond under the scorching sun. From time to time, people ran past them on the way, and Ye Nuan had a bad feeling. When they arrived under the Castanopsis kusnezoffii tree, they found it was packed with people. Not only were there no fruits, but even the leaves had been peeled off.
Jin Qiu, who had vowed not to eat bitter tofu, was standing under the Castanopsis bittersweet tree and looking into Ye Nuan's eyes.
This is kind of embarrassing.
The villagers who were originally scrambling for the bitter oak fruits greeted Ye Nuan with a smile when they saw her coming. Ye Nuan, carrying her empty basket, didn't know whether to leave or stay. Ye Xiaohu's eyes rolled around, and he looked up blankly at the empty tree trunk with a pursed mouth: "Sister..."
Ye Nuan was initially furious, but a moment later, she smiled again and pulled her brother back. Feng Dazhu, carrying the basket, scratched his head and finally followed them with a bitter face.
Ye Nuan had a simple idea. She didn't know how to get the fruit, but she would still have to beg her for help. She would just stay home and wait for the fruit pickers to arrive. What would she ask for in exchange?
The three of them walked back empty-handed. When they arrived at the door of Feng's house, Ye Nuan stopped and looked at Feng Dazhu behind him.
"Brother Feng, I'd like to borrow your stone mill later and use your water to make bitter tofu. Don't worry, I will exchange it for enough food." It is impossible to use one's own spiritual spring water to help the villagers make bitter tofu.
Feng Tiezhu was puzzled. How could he make tofu without even picking up any fruit? But she nodded and agreed quickly: "Okay, Miss Ye, it's okay to use as much as you want." He could get more water, but food was really hard to find.
Ye Nuan's guess was correct. The people in the village who had picked up the bitter chestnuts found they couldn't cook them, so they came back to her. She had originally wanted to trade in other crops, but the village only had a few of the same ones, with very few varieties. Even the salt she wanted most was still unavailable.
Fearing their own bitter chestnuts might get mixed up, the villagers spontaneously dried, peeled, and soaked them before bringing them to Ye's house, grinding them into pulp. They then watched Ye Nuan make bitter tofu. These people, eager to learn, observed with extreme care, asking questions whenever they didn't understand. Ye Nuan wasn't afraid of them learning, and answered every question.
The villagers who originally thought it was strange that Ye Nuan covered her head all day long now looked at her with a smile in their eyes. They just felt that the girl of the Ye family was amazing. She could make food by herself without having to go to the Creation Pavilion to exchange things.
And it’s made with bitter chestnuts, which everyone hates!
It was already early the next morning when all the bitter tofu was cooked.
After staying up all night, Ye Nuan fell asleep on the Feng family's stove. Su Shi didn't dare to disturb her and cleaned up the area around the millstone on her own.
Old Lady Li felt much better. Feng Dazhu moved a chair outside and asked her to sit down. He brought her the brown rice porridge and eggs that Ye Nuan had given her. Old Lady Li ate while looking into the room. In the dim light, Ye Nuan was still wearing a headscarf, and her beautiful eyebrows and eyes were exposed, making her look delicate and graceful.
She leaned close to Feng Dazhu's ear and whispered, "Son, this girl is capable. She should be more active and help her family fetch water and chop firewood."
Feng Dazhu naturally knew what his mother was thinking. He should have gotten married at his age. Now that he was exiled to the wilderness, he shouldn't have such thoughts, but the Ye family... The more he thought about it, the redder his face became. He hurriedly said, "Mom, I'm not worthy of the Ye family girl."
Old Mrs. Li sighed and said, "He is indeed not worthy of her." The girl from the Ye family was obviously from a wealthy family. She was well-educated, open-minded and generous. Even if her face was disfigured, it would still be considered high-class for them to marry her.
"It's one thing to be unworthy, but maybe girls like honest men. In this Dahuang Village, there are no men stronger than my son. I'm old and don't know how long I can live. If I can marry a girl from the Ye family, I can leave with peace of mind. Anyway, you should worry more."
Feng Dazhu interrupted his mother, "Mom! Don't say unlucky words."
Old Lady Li supported his hand and patted it again, "Anyway, just listen to your mother and give it a try."
Feng Dazhu also looked towards the kitchen, his gaze falling on the corners of Ye Nuan's upturned eyes, and he nodded almost imperceptibly. When the first rays of morning sunlight shone into the yard, Sun Erniu ran to Feng Dazhu's house and called for help, saying that he was going to Hongyan Canyon to pick up stones.
Ye Nuan was woken up by Sun Erniu's loud voice. She rubbed her eyes and stood up. Su Shi grabbed her and advised, "Nuan, now that we have food and water, don't go."
"Mom, but we don't have salt." People will lose their strength if they don't eat salt. Of course, her main purpose is to find stones. The spiritual spring must be upgraded.
Su couldn't refute it.
After cleaning up, Ye Nuan returned to her home, grabbed the small cloth bag Su had sewn, and walked out with Ye Xiaohu. Sun Erniu and Feng Dazhu were waiting outside. Ye Nuan, worried about her mother being alone, whispered in her mother's ear, "Mom, soak the garlic and corn in water first. I'll come back in the evening to plant them. Hide the rest of the food somewhere secluded." Although the village chief had forbidden theft, it was difficult to guard against people's hearts.
"Got it. Be careful." Su took out a short dagger and handed it to her, lowering her voice and saying, "I found this in the utility room last night. Take it with you for self-defense."
Ye Nuan took it and stuffed it into the cloth bag she was carrying.
"Take good care of Little Tiger."
She took the excited Xiaohu and Sun Erniu to the village chief's house. There were already more than 30 people gathered in the yard, both men and women, mostly young people. Of course, there was only one kid as young as Xiaohu.
Village Chief Jin was a little surprised to see her coming. His eyes fell on Xiaohu and he frowned, saying, "You're going to look for stones, crossing mountains and rivers. Why are you bringing a little kid with you?"
Ye Nuan said, "My eyesight is not good, but children have sharp eyes. Besides, Xiaohu is very well behaved and won't cause any trouble for anyone."
Hearing her say this, Village Chief Jin didn't say much. In fact, as long as they could find the stone, he didn't care who went.
Half of the thirty-odd people were new to the village. The village chief took out the rough stones he had prepared and spread them out for everyone to see. "Stones like this, and others like this, can be exchanged for food. The better the varieties, the more you can exchange. The Red Rock Canyon we're going to is backed by the jade and gold mines of Luomu City. As long as you're not extremely unlucky, you can find some." The village chief said a few more casual words and told everyone to pack up and leave. Jin Bao stood by and watched. Seeing Ye Nuan walk out, he suddenly became anxious and said to his father, "Dad..."
Village Chief Jin shook his pipe and glared at his son: "Get lost!"
Jin Bao was disappointed.
The Red Rock Canyon is close to Luomu Mountain. It takes several days to walk from the village entrance, but if you go directly over the back mountain, you can go back and forth in a day. The road in the back mountain has been traveled thousands of times, but it is still full of dangers.
Every now and then, a few snakes would pop out and scare people. Strangely, none of them would attack Ye Nuan. Gradually, some people in the crowd noticed this and looked at her strangely. Until she stepped on a snake blocking the road, everyone thought: It's over!
However, the snake she stepped on twisted its body, looked up at her, and slowly crawled away. There seemed to be a sense of grievance in the little snake's eyes.
So scary!
The skinny man Li Gan squinted his eyes and looked Ye Nuan up and down, feeling more and more strange. The wolf didn't bite her on the way here before, and now even the snake didn't bite her. What kind of magical power does this girl from the Ye family have?
Li Gan observed Ye Nuan all the way, and Ye Nuan naturally sensed something. If he wanted to watch, she would let him watch. If he wanted to cause trouble, she would definitely not show any mercy.
The sun was at its zenith, and the group finally arrived. Ye Nuan put the baby down from her back and untied the water bag to give it to him. "Xiao Hu, remember to follow me and don't run around."
Ye Xiaohu nodded obediently, looking around curiously with his big eyes.
They were standing on a slope, their gaze fixed on either side, filled with stacked yellow-brown rocks, with a dry canyon about the width of a person in the middle. The sun blazed down, leaving no grass on the ground. There were, however, scattered stones of various colors, their reflected sunlight dazzling them with a dazzling white glow.
Fortunately, the Ye siblings were wearing headscarves so they were not exposed to the direct sun, but it was still very hot.
Sun Erniu, who was at the front of the team, pointed into the canyon and said, "Everyone go down from here and search separately. Be careful not to get bitten by poisonous insects like scorpions and centipedes." These things are most easily hidden under rocks, and many people die every year.
Many of the elderly people who have been here have herbal remedies to detoxify, but even so, they are still very worried.
Sun Erniu went down first, and the others followed. Ye Nuan held the little kid's hand and walked down step by step. Li Gan still followed behind them. More than 30 people began to look for stones carefully. The wind in the canyon was strong, and gravel was blown off the red rock pile from time to time.
When it came to finding stones, Ye Nuan didn't even need to look; her spiritual spring was the perfect cheat. As long as there were gems inside, the better the quality, the hotter her wrist became. Whenever her wrist reacted to the touch of a stone, she became excited, as if she were seeing an endless stream of spiritual spring water flowing towards her.
However, Li Gan, who was following behind her, always picked up the stones she liked before her. After several times, Ye Nuan turned around to look at him. Li Gan was holding up the stones in his hand, quite proud. Ye Nuan looked sullen and stopped picking up stones. She deliberately led him to the upper reaches of the canyon.
When she was far away from the crowd, she stopped and turned around. A pair of black eyes pierced him like knives. Li Gan realized something was wrong, and his eyes darted around uncontrollably. He shouted in panic, "What do you want to do?"
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