Chapter 15 Settling Down
The faster you sharpen your knife and have something handy, the faster you can work.
Before long, Chen Shiyi had mowed all the weeds in the yard, lit a fire, and the haystack emitted thick black smoke that floated up into the sky.
Wen Zhirou was snorted so hard that she kept coughing. She fanned herself with her hands and asked.
"Eleven, are we making too much noise?"
"Burning it will remove moisture, and spreading the ash in the corners will drive away ants."
Half of the roof of the main room collapsed, while the other half remained intact. Inside the room, a bed had long been corroded and was in tatters. It would probably collapse if someone just sat on it for a moment.
Next to the bed is a wooden shelf, which was originally used to place clothes.
There was a bamboo chair leaning against the corner, which was just the right size for Rui'er to sit on.
There is also a bed in the compartment next to it. Although it has not been through the test of time, it still looks solid and reliable. However, the bed is a little narrow.
An old pottery jar and an intact bucket were found in the woodshed.
Chen Shiyi thought that finding this courtyard was the best decision he had ever made.
She quickly cleaned the yard with a bucket, especially the kitchen, which was spotless.
She looked at her own achievements, feeling a strong sense of accomplishment.
Finally, there is a place to cook and take a bath with hot water.
That's right, there's no firewood in the pile.
She gave some instructions to a few people and ran back into the woods.
There was still a sporadic drizzle in the sky, and the pine wood was wet, but the pine needles on the ground were good fuel for the fire.
She now had only a knife in her hand, and she chopped down a few dying tree trunks, then picked up some pine needles with her hands. After tying them up, she was about to go back when she saw a few young women looking for something in the woods.
Chen Shiyi hurriedly stepped forward and asked.
"What are you looking for?"
"Agaric."
"What?"
“It’s mushrooms.”
Chen Shiyi understood. She looked into their baskets, secretly noted the appearance of the mushrooms, and hurried to look for them.
This is edible. Their current life depends entirely on the food in the wilderness.
These fungi like to grow in moist and warm bushes.
Chen Shiyi found a few and gained experience, and his speed increased.
He carried firewood on his back and put a bag of mushrooms under his clothes, and hurried home.
Rui'er looked at the umbrella-shaped mushroom and was very curious.
"Sister, can you take me with you when you go mushroom picking in the future?"
Chen Shiyi was squatting by the stream, processing snake meat, and turned around and smiled.
"Okay, next time I'll make you a little basket and we'll go together."
The clay pot was filled with snake meat, mushrooms, and spring water, and it was stewed slowly over a bonfire in the courtyard.
Soon, the sweet fragrance filled the entire courtyard.
Rui'er kept squatting in front of the pottery jar, swallowing his saliva.
"Sister, when can we eat?"
"We have to wait for the eldest and second young masters to come back, and then we can eat together."
Wen Zhirou was watching over the fire, occasionally adding some firewood.
"Eleven, can I eat it without salt?"
At this time, Chen Shiyi was picking up the fallen tiles in the main room. When he heard Wen Zhirou's words, he was stunned for a moment.
When the snake soup was ready, he took a large bowl from the kitchen, filled it with soup, and said to Wen Zhirou.
"I'm going out for a while."
She turned to Cui Yongan's yard on the hillside.
Cui Yongan happened to be sitting in the yard, wiping the shiny knife on his hand. He glanced at Chen Shiyi with a wolf-like look, then concentrated on the task at hand.
"What?"
"I killed a snake and made snake soup. I brought you a bowl of it."
"If one is diligent without any reason, he is either a traitor or a thief."
"Hurry up and get a bowl. It's very hot."
Cui Yongan looked disdainful and walked towards the kitchen honestly.
Cui Yongan enjoyed the sweet aroma very much, and his face, which had been stern just now, now showed a hint of smile.
"No salt, remember to add salt."
After hearing what Chen Shiyi said, Cui Yongan was stunned for a moment and smirked.
"I knew there was no such thing as free food in this world."
After saying that, he put the bowl full of snake meat in the kitchen, then came out and handed Chen Shiyi a salt bottle.
"Remember, you have to pay me back what you owe me."
Chen Shiyi nodded happily.
This man looks rough, but he is actually very careful.
"Thank you, Brother Cui. Please let me know if you need anything in the future."
Chen Shiyi thought there would be some twists and turns, but unexpectedly it was so easy. He was so lucky to meet such a good person.
Wen Zhirou was stunned when she saw Chen Shiyi coming back with a salt jar.
"A bowl of snake soup for a can of salt? Either I'm crazy or that person is stupid."
Chen Shiyi explained.
"Brother Cui is a good man. I asked him about the courtyard's affairs."
Wen Zhirou was a little worried.
"There are few good people among the exiles."
Chen Shiyi was washing the shepherd's purse picked from the ridge of the field and whispering.
"We are also exiles. We are not bad people."
"What are you talking about?"
Behind him, Wen Zhiheng and Wen Zhiyuan walked over.
Wen Zhirou hurriedly went to meet him.
"Brother, Brother, why are you here so early today?"
"We couldn't get through a certain part of the mine after digging for a long time, so we went back first."
Wen Zhirou and Wen Zhiyuan returned to the yard.
Wen Zhiheng came over, squatted down, and helped Chen Shiyi wash the shepherd's purse.
"Master, go back and have a rest first. I will finish this work soon."
Wen Zhiheng laughed.
"It's okay. You're busy all by yourself, and you're much more tired than me."
Chen Shiyi asked without stopping his hands.
"Master, will anyone whip you in the mines?"
Wen Zhiheng froze for a moment and sighed.
"Some people will be whipped if they work slowly, but I am young and strong, so I will not be whipped."
Chen Shiyi moved to Wen Zhiheng's side, grabbed his arm with both hands, rolled up his sleeves, and a very eye-catching whip mark was revealed.
Wen Zhiheng's face turned unnaturally pale, as if being exposed for this fact was more painful than the whipping he suffered.
His clothes were intact, and it seemed that he had exchanged clothes with Wen Zhiyuan.
Chen Shiyi lowered his head.
"Master, I won't tell my wife."
Wen Zhiheng raised the corners of his lips slightly and rubbed Chen Shiyi's hair with his hands.
“You’re really nice.”
The two returned to the yard, and Wen Zhiyuan's figure was moving around, and his excited voice kept ringing.
"Eleven, you are amazing. You chose a great yard."
The second young master's wife cursed angrily.
"You are already so grown up, but you are not a decent person at all."
Chen Shiyi poured the washed and cut shepherd's purse into the clay pot.
Rui'er ran happily to the fire, and even though he was inhaled by the smoke, he refused to leave. He lay beside Chen Shiyi's arms and kept asking questions.
"Sister, are you ready?"
"Okay, bring the bowl over and fill it up."
After a busy day, I can finally have a good meal.
There was still not much snake soup, and each person only had a small bowl. But it was much better than eating black cakes here and there during the more than 20 days of exile.
There were only a few broken bowls, so Wen Zhiyuan used a knife to carve a few bamboo bowls and chopsticks, which came in handy.
Chen Shiyi sat on a rock outside the yard, slowly eating snake soup and fir mushrooms. He looked at the stream in front of him, the mist curling around the surface, the withered tree branches glowing with new green, full of vitality, and felt that life was really great.
Next to him, a figure sat down.
Wen Zhiheng put a few pieces of snake meat into Chen Shiyi's bowl.
Chen Shiyi quickly stopped him.
"No, it's just that much. If I eat it, you won't have any."
Wen Zhiheng's mouth corners slightly raised.
"I haven't started eating yet, don't complain."
Chen Shiyi replied weakly.
"How could I dislike it?"
Wen Zhiheng sighed as he drank the soup in the bowl.
"Eleven, your cooking skills are really good. I haven't eaten such delicious food in a long time."
Chen Shiyi's eyes curved into a crescent.
"You used to eat delicacies from land and sea, but now you have changed your taste. You must think this tastes fresh, so you think it tastes good."
Wen Zhiheng let out a long sigh.
"Maybe!"
Chen Shiyi seemed to remember something and turned to look at Wen Zhiheng.
"In the past, an old man in the village said that a hunter killed a bear and sold it to a wealthy family in the capital. They only took the bear's paw to eat, and didn't want the rest. They gave it to the servants. Master, what does the bear's paw taste like? Is it delicious?"
Wen Zhiheng didn't expect Chen Shiyi to ask this and was stunned for a moment.
"I haven't eaten it either, so I don't know what it tastes like."
Chen Shiyi looked confused.
"The Marquis's Mansion is so rich, and you haven't eaten it?"
Wen Zhiheng smiled and stared at Chen Shiyi with sparkling eyes.
"Rich people don't necessarily eat bear paws. There are many delicious things in this world. Do you know Lingnan? It's thousands of miles away from the capital, in the southernmost part of Daye. It's rich in very sweet fruits. It takes a truckload of fruit and half a truckload of ice to transport them to the capital. The manpower and material resources consumed are immeasurable. One fruit is eaten by an ordinary person in a month."
Chen Shiyi's eyes widened. She wouldn't even dare to dream of eating like this.
"Eleven, you are mine. I will make plans carefully and let you live a good life when I return to the capital."
Chen Shiyi came back to his senses and ate the meat in the bowl in big mouthfuls.
"Can you go back?"
Wen Zhiheng stared into the distance.
"Of course I can."
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