Chapter 123
When Fan Xiaoxiao got ashore, it was almost dark. After she got ashore, she saw the departing figure of Boss Ye in the distance, and then the old Ghost Doctor's calm face.
She wrung out the water from the hem of her clothes, picked up the bamboo basket, and walked over: "Grandpa, did Young Master Ye just come by?"
"Ah? Ah, yes." The Ghost Doctor nodded, stood up, and glanced at the bamboo basket in Fan Xiaoxiao's hands: "Wow! Little one! There are quite a few shrimp here!"
The bamboo basket was filled with shrimp, enough to probably fill a bowl. Because they were freshly caught, many of the shrimp were still jumping around energetically.
Fan Xiaoxiao gave the Ghost Doctor a smug smile: "Right! That's all thanks to my shrimp-crushing skills! Let's go! Let's go back and make perilla sauce!"
After saying that, she led the old ghost doctor to the side of the carriage, where Uncle Wang and the others had already lit a campfire.
Beside the campfire, Aunt Wang and the others were baking the pancakes they had made that morning.
When Madam Fan looked up and saw Fan Xiaoxiao's soaking wet appearance, she frowned and quickly got up to find a dry burlap cloth to wipe her dry: "Why are you all wet? I'll go find you some dry clothes, go and change."
After saying that, she pulled Fan Xiaoxiao toward the carriage.
"Hey, hey, sis! I haven't cut my perilla leaves yet!"
"Oh dear, girl, hurry up and change your clothes. I'll cut some perilla leaves for you."
A moment later, Fan Xiaoxiao came out after changing into dry clothes.
The perilla leaves had already been chopped up and placed aside by Aunt Wang, and even the shrimp looked like they had been washed.
"Auntie, what delicious food are you making?"
Xiao Bao watched Fan Xiaoxiao's actions with anticipation. After these days, he had figured out that if Fan Xiaoxiao brought out something new, it must be something delicious.
Fan Xiaoxiao set up the earthenware pot and smiled at the little gluttons: "Perilla sauce, I'll make you some pancakes to go with it later!"
After saying that, she took out a few cloves of garlic, smashed and chopped them beforehand. Then she poured some oil into the earthenware pot, and when it was heated until there were no more small bubbles, she first put the chopped garlic in to sauté until fragrant.
"Sizzle"
The wok's heat, combined with the aroma of garlic, filled the air. After releasing its fragrance, Fan Xiaoxiao quickly added the river shrimp. Once the shrimp were fried until fragrant, she added all the chopped perilla leaves and stir-fried them together.
These ingredients combined took up half the earthenware pot. Fan Xiaoxiao was a little nervous while stir-frying, afraid that the earthenware pot under her hands would suddenly crack open.
Fortunately, the earthenware pot remained intact until she finished cooking the perilla sauce. Fan Xiaoxiao ladled out a bowl and placed it in front of everyone, then found an empty jar to put the rest in.
Seeing that it seemed edible, the Ghost Doctor quickly picked up a small piece with his chopsticks, placed it on the baked pancake, and put it in his mouth. However, both the perilla and the pancake were still steaming hot, and as soon as he took a bite, he was immediately burned and started panting.
"Ugh! Ugh! It's so hot!"
"Can't you eat a little slower!" Xiao Hei rolled her eyes at him helplessly, then took another clean small bowl and scooped out a single serving of perilla sauce and a pancake. She stood up and added to the Ghost Doctor, "I'm going to deliver dinner to Master! Save some for me!"
"Hmm? Isn't Young Master Ye coming to eat?"
Fan Xiaoxiao looked at the direction at the other end of the carriage with some surprise. She had just seen him chatting with the Ghost Doctor by the river!
"It's alright, I'll just deliver it to the master. You guys eat first! I'll be right back!" Xiao Hei didn't explain further, smiled at Fan Xiaoxiao, and walked towards the carriage.
Bai Hua glanced at him, then said to Fan Xiaoxiao, "By the way, Miss Fan, although we're traveling together, we can't keep relying on you for food. Once we find a village, we'll buy some grain for you."
"This..." Fan Xiaoxiao hesitated. They'd already hitched a ride on the carriage and with the bodyguards. Would it be inappropriate to also freeload on their food? But... the silver they had wasn't enough to feed all of them...
"Oh dear, child, what are you doing? It's settled then!" The Ghost Doctor noticed Fan Xiaoxiao's hesitation and made the decision for her with a wave of his hand.
Master Lu quickly finished his meal, listened to their conversation, and suddenly stood up, limping towards the carriage.
A moment later, Master Lu returned with a weapon in his hand.
"Here, this is for you." Fan Xiaoxiao looked at the gleaming black crossbow in front of her, pointing at herself in disbelief: "This? For me?"
"Well, consider this a thank you gift for taking care of Xiaoyu and me."
Master Lu nodded and gestured towards Xiaoyu. Lately, the child had required a separate, easily digestible meal, so it took extra care to prepare it. Fan Xiaoxiao was usually in charge of arranging her daily meals.
“I’ve noticed that you’ve been injured a lot lately. Since you don’t have much strength in your hands, you should learn to use tools properly.”
Master Lu's words were blunt, but the truth was exactly as he said. Fan Xiaoxiao knew she was weak; whether in Huilong Village or under Li Er, she was acutely aware of her own vulnerability.
It was precisely because she understood this that she hesitated so much when she saw this specially made crossbow.
"Sister, you should thank Mr. Lu." Madam Fan stood up, her eyes filled with gratitude as she looked at Master Lu.
"Oh, thank you, sir."
The latter shook his head and said to Madam Fan, "This one is made from those ox horns. There's another one, but I'm still working on it. I'll give it to you when it's finished. I noticed you seemed quite interested in my crossbow last time, so I suppose you know how to use it too."
Madam Fan was clearly surprised that Master Lu had made a gift for her. After a slight pause, she bowed respectfully to Master Lu and said, "My late husband once taught me some things. I... I thank you for your gift!"
"Don't mention thank you, I just hope that you don't need to use them..." Old Master Lu sighed, seemingly thinking of his son and daughter-in-law who died young.
Uncle Wang patted Grandpa Lu on the back as a gesture of comfort. He too had been the son of a white-haired man, so he could understand Grandpa Lu's feelings very well.
"Sigh, everyone wants a peaceful life! But, we were born at the wrong time!"
Uncle Wang's sigh drifted faintly in the night breeze. At that moment, they never imagined that the things Mr. Lu had given them would actually come in handy so soon.
What they didn't expect was that the men in black who had been tracking Fan Xiaoxiao all the way from Jingchuan County, dozens of miles away, actually found Li Dayi's doorstep!
"Is this the place?" The one-armed man in black, who was the leader, looked at the unfinished wooden house in front of him and asked the person next to him.
"Yes, that's the lady of the house." The person next to her was pointing at none other than Wang Da Niang's sister-in-law, Li Shi.
The man in black nodded and walked over.
"Madam, I am just passing through this place and would like to ask you some questions."
Li was trembling with fear at the sight of their large, dark-skinned group. She took two steps back and stammered, "What is it?"
"Madam, have you seen a young girl surnamed Fan?" After asking this question, the man in black paused and added another question.
Her name is Fan Erya.
(End of this chapter)
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