Chapter 214 Tree Hole Inn

Exquisite paintings are framed in wooden boxes. The shiny material on the paintings is shell powder mixed with various pigments.

The dining table is neither round nor round. It is made from a piece of polished shiny stone. It is sparkling and looks very beautiful.

Huang's mother lifted the curtain, walked to another room, took out a bright red fruit and handed it to Chen Shiyi.

"On the boat, are you going crazy for eating these moist things?"

Chen Shiyi held the red fruit and kept chewing it. It was sweet, sour and juicy and very delicious.

"What kind of fruit is this?"

"Mahogany fruit, this is the name I gave it. The indigenous people here call it raw coconut."

Chen Shiyi sat on the futon, chewing fruit.

"Aunt, have you learned what people here say?"

"I know some simple words and can communicate, but I can't read or write." x

Huang's mother went back into the house, took out a large pile of silver coins, took Chen Shiyi out, and joined Master Xu Zhou and the others, and went to the inn in the town.

The owner of the inn was a woman with a red forehead and amber eyes. When she saw Huang's mother, the two talked for a long time, and then the woman took everyone to the rest room.

They walked along a closed path for less than an hour when they suddenly saw the view open up. Three huge trees appeared in the middle. The trees were lying on the ground, extremely wide, and more than one person tall.

Their guest rooms were hollowed out of this huge tree.

Chen Shiyi was greatly shocked when he saw it.

"How can there be such a tree?"

Huang's mother said with a smile.

"Anyone who finds a tree like this can own it and open an inn or make it their own home. I heard that the outer shell of these trees will gradually become hard as they age, and the inside of the tree will slowly turn into cotton-like soft wood. Many people hollowed out the trees and built houses directly to keep out the cold and warmth, and most importantly, to keep out mosquitoes. There are too many mosquitoes here, and they are big and poisonous. If you get bit, the swelling will take many days to go away."

The house is very small, so small that it can only accommodate a bed. The bedding on the bed is replaced by animal skins. Fire is not allowed in the inn. The lighting is the light that comes out from the white shells of glowing fireflies. It is hung on the wall and is dim but warm. If you don't like it, you can just cover it with a black cloth.

"You will stay here for one night. I have already paid for your room. You don't need to pay anymore."

"Thank you, aunt."

Huang's mother smiled helplessly.

"You're welcome. I want to take your ship back to Daye, where my daughter and my home are. In the evening, when my husband comes back, we will discuss leaving."

Chen Shiyi nodded.

"Okay, Auntie, what's the food here?"

"Didn't I give it to you to eat?"

"Mahogany berries?"

"Um."

“Isn’t this a fruit?”

"To us it's fruit, but to the locals it's food."

Chen Shiyi smiled awkwardly.

“This place is really different.”

"No, food here is relatively scarce, so they often use fruit as a substitute for food."

"So what's the staple food here?"

"It's a kind of black rice, as thin as a needle, and very expensive. But the poor people here like to dig a kind of root from the mountains to eat. The root is called long mugwort. The largest one is as thick as a bucket, and the smallest one is as big as a person's arm. It usually reproduces in large quantities in late spring and early summer. The locals will dig up this root and steam it to eat. Sometimes they cut it into slices after it's steamed, dry it in the sun, and put it in a cloth bag to store it for winter and early spring."

“Are there so many mugworts on the mountain?”

"Yes, they are everywhere in the mountains, but they only exist for a short time. If you are not diligent, you will go hungry in the winter."

After she left, Bo Yuan was also brought over. He brought Chen Shiyi a palm-sized meat-filled pie, which was filled with the steamed mugwort that they ate.

A light bite was sweet and refreshing, and the gravy in the middle was extremely tender, leaving Chen Shiyi with an endless aftertaste.

"What kind of meat is it?"

"Rat meat."

When Chen Shiyi heard this, he immediately felt so disgusted that he wanted to vomit.

Bo Yuan thought it was just a joke, but he didn't expect it to be so serious, so he hurriedly explained.

"Not that kind of rat, but a mountain rat, like the rabbits of our woods."

Only then did Chen Shiyi come to his senses.

"Can you talk properly?"

Bo Yuan gave a wry laugh.

"Can."

"How do you know so much? You came later than me."

"This town is called Sari. They have been living in the town since last year. They make a living there. Like the indigenous people, they build their own houses and go up the mountain to collect mugwort. Although they are strong in Daye, it is useless here. They need to run fast and climb trees more than ten meters high. To be honest, we can't do these things."

"Fortunately, they arrived earlier, otherwise we would definitely not be able to adapt to the environment here."

"Maybe."

"Bo Yuan, you are in a strange place, aren't you afraid at all?"

Bo Yuan shook his head.

"No matter what I am afraid of, I have to find a way to solve it. Fear is a state of mind. It is up to me to compromise with fear or conquer it."

When Chen Shiyi went to bed at night, he was a little scared. He opened the door and found Fu Da sitting in front of his door, motionless.

"Why don't you go take a rest?"

"Go to bed. I'll be guarding you at the door and won't let anything happen to you."

Chen Shiyi felt very relieved.

When I woke up the next morning, soft sunlight shone in through the tiny windows, breaking up the neat white and dotting it with golden spots.

Chen Shiyi got up reluctantly and opened the door. Fu Da was gone and it was Bo Yuan guarding the door.

"I'm up. Everyone has eaten and is waiting for you."

Chen Shiyi uttered an embarrassed sound.

"Why didn't you call me?"

"I shouted, but it didn't work."

Chen Shiyi patted his forehead.

"Why am I so sleepy?"

Bo Yuan smiled.

"You don't need to blame yourself. Besides, you are the boss. You can do whatever you want. How can others say anything to you?"

It’s strange. I don’t feel hungry even though I didn’t have breakfast. Maybe it’s because of the cookies or mahogany I ate yesterday that I felt full?

"I don't want to eat. Take me to find Aunt Huang's husband. Last night, they were discussing leaving. Today, I want to meet him and see what he has to say."

Uncle Huang is a very elegant businessman. Due to geographical reasons, people in Yuanzhou are generally short and dark-skinned, but he inexplicably gives people a sense of conviction, making people feel that he is down-to-earth, reliable and trustworthy.

"What's your name, young lady?"

"My last name is Chen Shiyi. I used to do business in Anzhou. I came to Yuanzhou to visit my family and met Huang Tongwei. I bought the boat you have."

Uncle Huang nodded.

"You and I are indeed destined to be together."

"It's not fate that we can meet outside of Daye. Even storytellers don't dare to say that."