Chapter 42 Sweet Potato Porridge "Night Raid on the Back Mountain"
Not only Yu Niang, but also Lu Qiong, the woodcutter Zhou, and other villagers came running after hearing the noise.
Seeing so many people, Granny Liu regretted speaking so loudly.
The woodcutter Zhou was preparing to go up the mountain to look for someone, so he hung a sharp wood-chopping knife on his waist. When the sun shone on it, the light it emitted almost blinded Granny Liu.
With the scar on his face and his undeniable aura, Granny Liu's imposing presence was greatly diminished. After all, in the village, the woodcutter Zhou was the most difficult to deal with.
Granny Liu was so frightened by his fierce stare that she could only weakly say, "This has nothing to do with me. I just happened to see it."
Finally, she muttered under her breath, "Who knew they'd start crying after only a few words..."
Yu Niang didn't care what happened to her. After all, the important thing was that Li Jie'er and the others were alright. She stepped forward, touched Li Jie'er's hand, and couldn't say a word.
Li Jie'er felt a little guilty and kept her head down, afraid that her mother would blame her and that Lu Xuan would also suffer because of her.
However, Yu Niang carefully examined her entire body and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that only her clothes were dirty and there were no wounds.
Her eyes suddenly reddened, and she managed to utter a single sentence with all her might: "It's alright...it's alright."
The expected scolding did not occur, and only then did Li Jie'er dare to raise her head. She met Yu Niang's moist eyes and was startled, feeling both distressed and guilty. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that Yu Niang's complexion was not good, the dark circles under her eyes were more pronounced, and she didn't know when, but there were already gray hairs at her temples.
But she had never paid attention to it before...
Li Jie'er sniffed, steadying her breath, and said, word by word, "But my clothes are dirty and hard to wash."
Yu Niang laughed out loud: "Clothes are not difficult to wash. I have washed them countless times since I was a child."
Li Jie'er also recalled her past personality and gently raised the corners of her mouth.
Lu Xuan had assumed her older sister would suffer the same fate, but she never expected to be ridiculed for sharing her experience...
Tears welled in Lu Qiong's eyes, and she was both amused and exasperated: "So you went up the mountain in the middle of the night just to bring these things back?"
After saying that, he even picked out the decent "grass" with disdain.
“The most important part of angelica is its root. Why are you leaving its root in the soil?”
Lu Xuan also began to feel annoyed. No wonder she always felt that something was wrong, but she didn't know why. Li Jie'er next to her was even more shocked, her mouth agape in disbelief.
The "night raid on the back mountain" actually brought back some useless things, and even mobilized the entire village to search for them.
How embarrassing...
The tense atmosphere was dispelled by that laugh.
Zhou Er's mother also searched for them all morning. When she learned that the two children were fine and could even joke around, she said, "Oh dear, you're going to become the laughingstock of the whole village."
However, it also made Li Jie'er and Lu Xuan relax a bit.
Thinking that they hadn't returned home all night and couldn't get anything to eat while they were out, Lu Qiong asked them, "Are you hungry? Are you sleepy?"
Li Jie'er was feeling guilty at the moment, but still concerned about saving face, she shook her head shamelessly: "I'm not hungry..."
As soon as I finished speaking, my stomach started growling...
"Hahaha." This caused everyone to burst into laughter again.
Even Yu Niang was both amused and helpless, patting the withered leaves off Li Jie'er's shoulder: "Then let's go home and make you something delicious."
Li Jie'er blushed, nodded gently, and hummed in a voice barely audible.
The onlookers dispersed as they hurried home to cook, having wasted the morning and needing even more farm work in the afternoon.
Granny Liu had been present throughout the conversation, her brow furrowed the entire time, until they dispersed, at which point she sighed and hurried away. Jiang Su, who had witnessed everything, didn't understand what was troubling her and murmured, "Why is she doing this to herself?"
...
On the way back, Lu Qiong felt that she had been too lenient with Lu Xuan in the past and should teach her a lesson for daring to run away from home!
Poor Lu Xuan was still unaware of what was happening. Upon returning, she changed her clothes. Lu Qiong, having figured everything out, ran to the kitchen to boil water, hoping that a hot bath would ease her tense emotions. She then went to the stove to light firewood, started a fire, and put rice, salt, water, and half a sweet potato into the pot.
Time was of the essence, so we had to make do with whatever we could find.
Speaking of which, she was the most tired person. She hadn't slept well and spent the whole night searching, since Lu Xuan and the others were at least sleeping in the mountains.
However, these two are incredibly carefree, able to sleep in the middle of nowhere without fear of wild animals. If they were unlucky... I really don't want to think about what might happen.
The water in the stove boiled faster than porridge. Lu Qiong draped a damp cloth over the handle, poured the water into a bucket, and told Lu Xuan to take it over to wash her face.
"Look at the state of your embroidered shoes..."
Lu Qiong picked up her shoes with her index finger, looking disgusted: "These shoes were bought in Bianjing. They were originally turquoise, but now they're all dusty. Are you using your shoes to gather herbs?"
Lu Xuan wet her face, pretending not to hear, as if she was going to play deaf and dumb.
Lu Qiong remembered that she hadn't scolded her yet, and put on a stern face: "You won't even have any pocket money next month."
Before she could finish speaking, Lu Xuan looked up and interrupted, "But..."
Since last month, Lu Qiong has been giving Lu Xuan ten coins every few days as pocket money. Every time, she spends it all as soon as she gets it, spending all the money on food. She always thinks that the pastries from the street stalls are better than those from Lu Ji.
Lu Qiong firmly replied, "No buts. You were just lucky today. If you had encountered a poisonous snake on the mountain, you wouldn't have made it back."
After all, that's how the original owner's father died.
Lu Xuan knew she had caused trouble, so she didn't dare to say another word. She silently wiped the water off her face and poured the remaining dirty water into the yard.
When she returned, Lu Qiong had already ladled out the cooked sweet potato porridge and let it cool.
Freshly baked and still steaming, it emitted a sweet aroma. Lu Xuan's taste buds were quickly awakened, and as soon as she sat down on the stool, she picked up a spoon, scooped up a mouthful, and brought it to her lips.
He squinted his eyes and sighed deeply, "So delicious..."
Lu Qiong was worried that there weren't enough sweet potatoes to make it sweet enough, so she added some sugar. Now the taste is just right. The soft and glutinous sweet potatoes and the warm porridge make you feel instantly full after eating them.
The two had only finished one bowl when they heard a noise in the courtyard.
Jiang Su pushed open the wooden fence, carrying a bamboo basket covered with a cloth, the contents of which were unknown: "Thinking that you haven't eaten anything yet, I brought some green beans, radishes, and a small piece of meat."
After saying that, he lifted the cloth to reveal the ingredients inside. The meat was still very fresh, with some blood on it. But why send it here?
Lu Qiong dared not accept it, feeling it was inappropriate, especially given yesterday's situation...
Jiang Su knew her concerns and explained with a smile, "Asheng also sent a portion to Li Jie'er. It was all given by Grandma. Usually, these dishes are locked up and we are not allowed to touch them."
"And these radishes were originally intended by Grandma to be pickled, since Xiaoxue will be arriving soon, so she prepared some in advance."
Lu Qiong didn't quite believe that this was prepared by Granny Liu; it seemed more like Jiang Su had given it to them to "bribe" them. However, since things had come to this point, she shouldn't refuse anymore.
Seeing that she was willing to accept it, Jiang Su relaxed her tense shoulders and smiled more sincerely: "How long can you stay in Shangyuan Village?"
She became hesitant as she spoke, and Lu Qiong knew that she wanted to ask if she could make it in time for her wedding. However, she had been away from Lu Ji for some time, and if she delayed any longer, something bad would happen sooner or later, so she politely declined.
Jiang Su stopped laughing, realizing she had many things to do in Bianjing, so she didn't press the matter further: "Okay, I understand, I'll head back now."
After seeing Jiang Su off, Lu Xuan ran out of the house.
Lu Qiong, carrying a bamboo basket, picked out a radish and examined it closely, wiping away all the mud. With her back to Lu Xuan, she asked, "How long have you been eavesdropping behind the door?"
Lu Xuan frowned: "We're leaving tomorrow?"
Putting down the radish in her hand, Lu Qiong turned to look at her: "You want to stay here for a few more days? I'm afraid you'll cause more trouble, and I'll have to clean up the mess."
These words silenced Lu Xuan completely, and she obediently lowered her head and followed him into the house. Seeing that she dared not breathe, Lu Qiong's lips curled up, a smile that lingered for a long time.
However, the radishes Jiang Su gave us were really good, so we've got our dinner sorted out for tonight.
Someone from Yu's family also came to visit, namely Jiang Su's younger brother Jiang Sheng, but what was even more intriguing was another identity—Liu Pozi's grandson.
Unlike Granny Liu, her two grandsons resembled their daughters-in-law, with delicate features and soft voices, but no one dared to tease them in front of Granny Liu.
In retrospect, it was Granny Liu's strong personality that protected their family.
But Yu Niang wasn't afraid of Granny Liu at all, and she didn't even give Jiang Sheng a friendly look, grabbing a broom to shoo him away: "What are you doing here? Haven't you caused enough trouble for my Li Jie'er?"
Jiang Sheng retreated repeatedly. He didn't want to come either, but his grandmother's fierce eyes were terrifying. If he didn't come, he wouldn't be able to leave today...
"Yu Niang, this is for you, don't take the broom."
His long hair, which he used to tie up with a ribbon, has loosened considerably, and his frantic attempt to dodge the broom is both amusing and pathetic.
Yu Niang sneered: "You can pass on a message to her for me, that we will pay her family every penny we owe."
Jiang Sheng was a little confused, but after lifting the coarse cloth and looking inside, he saw that it was all his favorite food, so he hesitated and said, "Do you still want these? This is the first time my grandmother has been so generous, even giving away meat."
Why bring this up again?
Yu Niang was so angry she laughed. She only stopped laughing when she realized she was laughing. She thought that since she had to pay so much money, it was only right to give her some food.
Yu Niang coughed lightly, her face expressionless: "Then bring it to me."
Jiang Sheng, who had intended to keep it all to himself: "..."
Only after Jiang Sheng left did Yu Niang rub her face; always having a blank expression made her face stiff. Soon she picked through the vegetables in the bamboo basket again: eggplant, green beans, and even meat... She would stir-fry the eggplant with the meat, and save the green beans for later; she would deal with the rest later.
Jiang Su didn't take long to get home, arriving before Jiang Sheng. From afar, she could see a wisp of smoke rising from her own roof.
Grandma is also cooking.
Granny Liu wore a dark blue apron, which she made herself, and the ribbon was cut from other scraps of fabric, but it didn't look out of place.
Seeing Jiang Su return, he casually asked a question, but then asked with restraint, "Where did Jiang Sheng go? Why is he back later than you?"
Granny Liu's house was closer to Granny Yu's house, so Jiang Sheng should have returned first, which naturally aroused her suspicion.
Jiang Su took the bamboo knife from her hand and chopped the remaining radish. The bamboo knife clattered against the cutting board: "Perhaps something delayed me."
Granny Liu glanced at her and snatched the bamboo knife away: "You're getting in the way. You don't need to do this. Go and watch the fire."
Granny Liu often had a tense face, and Jiang Su would tease her, laughing, "Then just say it's because Grandma is afraid I'll hurt my hand."
Not long after, Jiang Sheng, whom they had been longing for, finally returned.
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Author's Note: The next chapter will be "Back to the City" ( ).
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