Chapter 25
At noon the next day, when Yu Ying came back from the mountains, Luo was not at home. She had gone to He's house, and Fu An had already cooked the bone porridge.
After Yu Ying stewed the bones twice yesterday, before going out today, she asked Fu An to cook the bone soup, take it out, put rice in to make porridge, so that she could make soup again in the evening.
When she went to the river to wash the dirt off the roots of the herbs, Fu'an and Funing came over to help.
After washing the herbs, they were taken back to the yard and placed on tree branches to dry.
If herbs are placed directly on the ground, they will easily get sandy, so yesterday Yu Ying, Fu An, and little Funing moved the firewood from the house out and spread it on the ground to dry the herbs.
The sun is strong these past two days, so it can be half-dried in one day.
While Fu An was drying the herbs, he whispered to Yu Ying, "Aunt, I've noticed that my uncle has been acting a little strange these past two days."
Upon hearing this, Yu Ying glanced at the thatched cottage, then back at him and asked, "What's so strange about it?"
Ever since he told Fu Wei about his elder brother and how he was the only one left in the Fu family, he had not expressed any attitude yesterday.
Fu An whispered, "Yesterday, when my aunt was away, my uncle asked me to go to the He family and call Grandpa He over. He also told me to leave and didn't let me hear what they were saying."
Yu Ying raised her eyebrows slightly as she listened to him continue, "After a while, Grandpa He left. Later, he returned with a saw and a carpenter's knife, along with a bunch of bamboo and small pieces of wood of varying sizes. Oh, and a few boards about this long."
Fu An put his hands about a foot apart.
Yu Ying glanced at it, then looked up at him: "What does your uncle want these for?"
Fu An shook his head: "I don't know. My uncle has been fiddling with the wood and bamboo this morning. I don't know what he's doing, and I didn't dare to ask."
Yu Ying looked at the thatched hut and speculated for a while. She couldn't figure out what Fu Wei was going to do.
Recovering his mind, he said to Fu An, "In addition to helping make jelly, your uncle also has things he wants to do, which is also a good thing."
It's better than not wanting to do anything and being aimless. If you do that, you will quickly collapse.
First the spirit collapsed, then the body.
Fu An nodded like an adult: "Yes, it's good that my uncle has his own things to do. In the past, he was always silent and had no expression on his face, making people feel like he had lost his soul."
Yu Ying thought to herself, isn’t this just depression?
It is naturally a good thing that there is improvement now.
After she and her two children dried the herbs, she remembered that Fu Wei's bruises needed to be applied with medicine, so she asked Fu An to go to the kitchen to watch the fire. If the porridge was ready, she would go and bring his grandmother back. Then she washed her hands and walked to the straw curtain.
"I'm coming in?"
Only when the word "come in" was heard from inside the room did Yu Ying lift the curtain and enter the room.
Then he lifted the curtain and entered the house.
When he entered the room, he saw some bamboo and wood chips on the ground next to the bamboo bed, and tools on the table, but there were no things he had made.
She glanced at it lightly and saw that the thin quilt was bulging, obviously covered with something.
Since he didn't want her to know, Yu Ying didn't plan to ask him what he was doing and make herself bored.
She said, "Today I'll apply the medicine and give you another massage. From now on, I'll give you a massage every five days."
Fu Wei covered his lips and coughed twice, saying, "You are busy now, so there is no need to bother with this."
Yu Ying walked to the bedside, her face calm: "It's not a problem, just take off your clothes."
…
She was straightforward and not shy at all.
Fu Wei was silent for a moment, then closed his eyes and resigned himself to his fate again as he opened his collar and pulled down his shirt.
Yu Ying picked up the medicinal wine without any distractions, and then applied it to his affected area just like she did the previous two days.
The moment his palm touched the skin, Fu Wei's body subconsciously tensed up, and the muscles in his arms naturally tightened as well.
Yu Ying glanced at him and didn't let him relax.
After a while, Fu Wei's body gradually relaxed. He felt that the hand that was relatively soft two days ago had become a little rough today, and his brows couldn't help but frown.
Yu Ying wiped the bruises on his arms and shoulders, and then massaged his shoulders and neck with skillful techniques.
She kept thinking about it for as long as she pressed it.
After calming down a bit, she glanced out the slightly open window, then lowered her head slightly and asked him in a low voice, "Did you listen to what I said the other day?"
Fu Wei slowly opened his eyes, his eyes filled with contemplation.
After a moment, he spoke slowly, "But even if I say to slowly think of other ways, before you think of other ways, you will do it according to the method you think is feasible now, right?"
Yu Ying looked surprised: "How do you know I would do this?"
"That's what you would do." There was no doubt in Fu Wei's tone.
They had only known each other for a short time, but after all this time, Fu Wei had finally gotten to know her a little better.
Yu Ying thought carefully about whether she would really do as he said, but after thinking about it, she felt that he was right.
Until she comes up with a useful method, she will indeed go in the direction she thinks is useful.
"Then do you think I can save enough money to bring your brother and sister-in-law out?" she asked.
Fu Wei had also thought about this question when he stayed up all night the day before.
She did have the ability, but to earn so much money in a month in such a remote place, she either had to rely on unconventional means or had good fortune. Otherwise, it would be difficult for her to save so much money by selling ice cream and collecting herbs every day.
Fu Wei's expression was indifferent, but Yu Ying could see that he thought it was unlikely.
Yu Ying understood that he was making his inferences based on facts, not that he didn't believe her or looked down on her.
She fell silent, but her hands continued to move.
After a long while, she finally said, "Although I also feel it's risky, I always want to give it a try. What if it works, right?"
Fu Wei hadn't seen anyone as optimistic as her for a long time.
When Yu Ying thought she couldn't hear his reply, he suddenly said, "Everything depends on human effort. If you don't do it, it will never succeed."
Upon hearing this, Yu Ying smiled and said softly, "I think so too."
Hearing her cheerful voice, Fu Wei lowered his eyes and said in a slightly deeper voice, "Just be careful."
"Yeah." Yu Ying responded softly.
A moment later, Yu Ying came out of the house with a more relaxed look on her face.
Sure enough, sometimes when you carry everything alone, you will not only feel physically exhausted, but also gradually feel depressed. Now that I have someone to talk to, I feel much more relaxed.
She stood in front of the house and looked at the herbs that filled almost the entire yard and dried in the sun. Her mood, which had just relaxed a little, became heavy again.
Tomorrow is the last morning for herb picking. Although the herbs she has picked now look a lot, they probably won’t weigh much after being half-dried.
Among these herbs, ordinary herbs are still the majority, and the more precious herbs are rare. It is estimated that they would weigh less than two kilograms after being half-dried.
If I could gather more valuable herbs...
Yu Ying quickly stopped thinking.
If you want to collect more valuable herbs, you will have a better chance if you go a little deeper into the mountains.
But as you go deeper into the mountains, danger also comes.
Now that Fu An and Luo Shi have returned, she has put her thoughts to rest.
*
The next morning, when Yu Ying was about to go out, Fu An came out of the house and called her, "Aunt, uncle is looking for you."
Fu Wei is looking for her?
This was the first time in such a long time that Fu Wei took the initiative to ask to see him, which made Yu Ying feel a little surprised.
Entering the house with curiosity, Yu Ying looked at Fu Wei.
His hair was slightly damp, obviously he had just washed it.
Yu Ying asked, "What do you want from me?"
Fu Wei glanced at her, then took out a... crossbow from under the quilt?
He placed the things on the table and said, "Don't let anyone know about this. Just wear it for self-defense when you go into the mountains."
Yu Ying walked forward and looked at the small crossbow on the table in astonishment.
If I'm not mistaken, it should be a crossbow.
She was a little uncertain because this small crossbow was different from the ones she had seen before.
It looks a bit like a wood plane used by carpenters, but it has a small bow about one and a half feet long and a sliding cabinet-like thing.
Yu Ying then realized that he had been acting mysteriously for the past two days because he was working on this thing.
Fu Wei picked up the small crossbow and said in a low voice, "I served in the army for a while before, and I have some knowledge of some weapons."
Yu Ying remembered that as the son of the prefect of Wuling County, he naturally had this condition.
Fu Wei then spoke clearly to her, "I modified this based on the Yuanrong Crossbow. I've only used this type of repeating crossbow before and don't know its structure, so its power isn't very strong. Furthermore, a normal Yuanrong Crossbow can fire ten arrows in a row, but this one can only fire five. The bowstring is made of tree bark, so it's not very strong. It can only be used for self-defense and won't cause much damage."
Yu Ying raised her eyes from the small crossbow and looked at the calm Fu Wei, and suddenly she had an epiphany.
No wonder, no wonder he was able to save his life during the war and protect his nephews and nieces. Although due to various reasons, he was unable to protect any of them in the end, his ability cannot be denied.
No wonder the magistrate of Yu County would recruit him as his staff even though his legs were disabled.
A capable person, even if he has missing limbs, still has a brain.
"I'll teach you how to use it."
Fu Wei pulled out a thin piece of bamboo from the top of the flat box, which should be an quiver.
He put the sharp bamboo arrows, which were as thick as the chopsticks but half shorter than the table top, into the quiver. After putting two arrows in, he pushed the bamboo pieces back together.
He picked it up, aimed it at the wall of the thatched hut, pulled a lever above the flat box, and a short arrow shot towards the wall with a "whoosh".
Because the house was a thatched hut, which was much softer than a solid wall, the bow and arrow went straight into the wall.
She walked forward and took a look. The short arrow had only penetrated the front part. As Fu Wei said, the lethality was indeed not very great, but it was barely enough to protect herself.
"You try it."
Yu Ying turned her head to look at him, hesitated for a moment, then walked forward, looked at him again, and then took the small crossbow.
After all, she had never touched such a lethal thing in her life, and she was a little nervous in her heart.
After she pointed it at the wall, Fu Wei's arm stretched out from her side, pointed to the pull rod, and said softly: "Push it forward here, then pull it back, and the short arrow will come out."
Yu Ying did as he said, pushing and pulling, and the next moment the short arrow shot out and pierced into the wall.
When the short arrow pierced the wall, Yu Ying's heart skipped a beat.
"Will it hurt anyone..." After all, it was her first time using it, so she was a little nervous.
Fu Wei picked up the other eight short arrows on the table and handed them to her. He said to her in a serious and calm manner, "Put them in the backpack. Put them in when you get to the mountains, and take them out when you leave. It will be safer this way."
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