Chapter 214 The body is not dead, but the heart is dead.
Cheng Wanwan put down her work and followed Aunt Wang to the old house.
As soon as she stepped inside, she smelled the aroma of rice and saw a loach feeding millet porridge to the man lying on the bed.
This millet porridge is yellow, and it doesn't contain any other grains or wild vegetable paste.
Aunt Wang said, "He's covered in injuries and can't eat anything else. He should drink more millet porridge to nourish his blood and qi, which will help him recover faster."
Cheng Wanwan felt that Aunt Wang was a truly kind-hearted person.
When we were poor, even when we didn't have enough to eat at home, we would still give Sidan cornbread.
Now that the Wang family's life has just started to improve, they cooked a large bowl of millet porridge for a stranger.
Entrusting the braised food business to the Wang couple was definitely the right decision.
After feeding the loach the millet porridge, Cheng Wanwan went into the room and saw that the person lying on the bed was pale and bloodless, but his open eyes were very bright, and his dark eyes were full of vigilance.
Cheng Wanwan spoke first: "You remember I brought you back, right? So, may I ask why you were injured and lying on the grass?"
The man remained silent and did not speak.
Cheng Wanwan continued, "Now that I've saved you, I won't harm you again. Besides, you're covered in injuries and have difficulty moving around. What if the people chasing you come looking for you again?"
“My surname is He, and my given name is Xiao, He Xiao.” The man finally spoke. “I was being chased and fell from the mountain. Those people probably thought I was dead and wouldn’t come after me.”
He Xiao closed his eyes in pain, the past too painful to recall.
“Since they think you’re dead, there’s no need for you to rush back.” Cheng Wanwan smiled. “I saved your life; how can I repay this life-saving grace?”
He Xiao opened his eyes.
In the past, he could have promised a fortune, but now he has nothing.
After a long silence, he said, "Just name your name. As long as it's within my power, I will not refuse."
Cheng Wanwan said, "You have a sword on you..."
He Xiao's fingers tightened.
This is the Azure Moon Sword, crafted by the best craftsman at the master's behest. It was a gift from the master, and there is no other sword like it in the entire country. This is the only thing he still has. The master once said, "As long as the sword is there, the person is there; if the sword is destroyed, the person dies."
He is not dead, but his heart is dead.
This sword may be priceless, but it has no real meaning.
He said, "Then take it..."
"What I mean is, you have a sword on you, so you must know kung fu, right?" Cheng Wanwan looked at him and said, "After you recover from your injuries, teach my son kung fu and spend a year repaying the life-saving grace, how about that?"
He Xiao was taken aback: "Aren't you afraid that if I stay here, I'll implicate you?"
“Didn’t you say that everyone thought you were dead? What’s there to be afraid of if you’re already dead?” Cheng Wanwan laughed. “From now on, you are my sons’ distant cousin, my distant cousin, named Xiao He.”
The term "distant relatives" is the most difficult to trace back to. Even if Old Mrs. Cheng came, she might not be able to count exactly how many distant relatives the Cheng family has. This identity will not cause any problems for the time being.
He Xiao cupped his hands in greeting: "Cousin Xiao He greets cousin."
"Then you should stay here and recover well. I'll have someone bring you food."
Cheng Wanwan gave a few instructions and then went out of the house.
Outside, the Wang family couple were cleaning up pig offal, while Damai, Xiaomai, and Niqiu were all helping out; the whole family was busily working.
"Auntie Dashan!" Aunt Wang called out to her, handing her a bamboo basket. "It's not even dawn yet, and that rascal Niqiu went to the river with Zhang Dagang to catch fish. I told him long ago that the water in the river has just risen, and there aren't many fish there. But the boy insisted on going. He didn't catch any fish, but he picked up a lot of snails. We don't know how to cook these. Auntie Dashan, if you know how to cook them, take them all back with you."
This bamboo basket is full of snails; it must weigh at least five or six pounds.
Cheng Wanwan's eyes lit up: "Then I won't be polite. I'll bring you a bowl when it's done."
Back when they first started their business, the partners would work late into the night and then go to the food street for a late-night snack. Snails were a must-order. Snails are the kind of food that you just can't stop eating once you start.
She couldn't help but lick her lips.
Back home, Cheng Wanwan immediately began processing the snails.
Wu Huiniang leaned closer: "Mother, this stuff has a strong muddy smell, should we add some mint leaves?"
Cheng Wanwan asked in surprise, "There's mint here too?"
She always thought that mint was a modern invention, but she never imagined that it existed in ancient times.
Wu Huiniang nodded: "Last year, Dashan brought these snails back from the river. I added mint to cover up the muddy taste, but they still weren't very tasty. However, if you make them, Mother, they should taste great."
Everyone in her family says she cooks well, but in fact, it's all thanks to her mother-in-law's guidance. If her mother-in-law weren't there to tell her the steps, she would still do the same thing as before: put all kinds of food into a pot and cook them. Although it's simple and convenient, the taste is really hard to say.
Cheng Wanwan asked Chunhua to pick mint leaves on the mountain, then wash the snails again and again, and finally add a drop of oil to make the snails spit out as much sand and gravel as possible. By evening, they could start making snail soup.
She was busy when someone suddenly walked in through the door.
She quickly stood up, wiped her hands, and went over to greet him: "What brings you here, Master Yu?"
This tutor was personally brought by the county magistrate, and when he spoke to Magistrate Shen, his demeanor and bearing were subtly superior to Magistrate Shen's. Therefore, she concluded that this person's identity was probably not simple.
He must have been forced to come to Dahe Village to teach because his official career was blocked or his family had fallen on hard times.
Master Yu stroked his beard, trying to hide his discomfort, and coughed before speaking, "Zhao Chengshi..."
Cheng Wanwan smiled and said, "Master Yu will be staying in the village for quite a while, so it's really too formal for you to keep calling me Zhao Chengshi. Just call me Dashan Niang like everyone else in the village."
The moment she opened her mouth, Master Yu sensed something different about her.
He had been wondering why Old Shen would leave his son in the village to study. Yesterday he thought it was because Cheng Ziyu was there, but today he realized that it was probably also because of this Zhao Chengshi.
Master Yu carefully considered his words before speaking: "I came here to ask if, from now on, I can have Aunt Dashan take charge of preparing my two meals a day?"
He was utterly embarrassed; he had never been so embarrassed in his life.
To be honest, he has never had much of a appetite, but after eating at Zhao Chengshi's house and then at the village head's house yesterday, the difference was too great. He didn't sleep well all night and shamelessly made this request, which is the only thing he has ever done voluntarily in his life.
He shamelessly added, "Just tell me how much the monthly food expenses are, Auntie."
“Master Yu, you don’t need to worry about the cost of meals. After the village pays your teaching fee every month, there’s still a good amount left over from your tuition.” Cheng Wanwan said with a smile, “The village head will give me that money, and I will have someone deliver your meals to you on time every day. Master Yu, just focus on your teaching.”
Master Yu quickly thanked him and left.
As soon as he left, the village headman came in with a face full of shame: "My wife only knows how to boil vegetables, and my two daughters-in-law are also clueless when it comes to cooking. Otherwise, Master Yu wouldn't have come to you... Aunt Dashan, four more children have come to school this month. There are currently seventy-six students in the school. After deducting Master Yu's tuition, there are still more than two hundred coins left. I'll put together five hundred coins for you as Master Yu's monthly food expenses."
He meant using money from the village's public accounts to make subsidies.
Cheng Wanwan did not refuse. The food at her home was truly top-notch in the village. There was at least one meal of rice a day, meat from time to time, and the vegetables were generously seasoned with oil and salt. Five hundred coins a month was really not expensive.
Furthermore, when teachers are well-fed, they will have the energy to better teach children to read.
She felt a headache for this teacher, who had over seventy students and whose number would only increase in the future.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
