Chapter 64 "Symposium" Lamb, chatting, probing
The two tiptoed out of the room and returned to the living room.
"Hey bro, I didn't expect you to actually grow this vegetable!"
The vegetables in the corner of the living room are growing lush and green, looking very cute.
Lai rinsed two lettuce leaves, along with the soil underneath, and handed them to Lamb.
"Try it."
Lamb took the lettuce leaf and popped it into his mouth. It was crunchy, had a rich lettuce flavor, and a hint of the tender sweetness of the leaves.
Lamb hadn't eaten such fresh vegetables in a long time.
The only green vegetables I see at home every day are Chinese cabbages, or dried vegetables from the autumn.
"Let's roast some potatoes and sweet potatoes tonight and eat them with side dishes. My arms are a bit sore from making hot pot broth."
There was a pile of bottles and jars on the table, and I didn't know where to start.
Neil moved a chair for Lamb by the fireplace and had him sit to the right of Rye, leaving the warmest spot in the middle for Rye.
Neil is still the one who likes to stick to Ray today.
Lai took out potatoes and sweet potatoes in a small basket, and also put some pickled vegetables in a deep plate.
"Lamb, the bird eggs are ready. Take some back with you when you leave."
"good."
It's common for the two families to exchange food and supplies; Lamb and Neil frequently run errands for them, and they've become used to it and numb to it.
Lai spread the red-hot firewood out with an iron skewer, threw the potatoes and sweet potatoes into it, and then covered it with another layer of firewood that no longer had obvious flames.
The three sat by the warm fireplace, enjoying the rich aroma of hot pot broth and sweet soup.
It wasn't dark yet, and the view outside was clearly visible through the glass window.
"This winter is really warm; in previous years, it would have already snowed heavily by this time."
Lamb finished speaking and took a swig of sugar water. It was less of a casual visit and more of a chat and gossip session.
“Brother, you sold chestnuts at the market in the fall, and some people in the village followed suit. I saw that they made quite a bit of money. I heard recently that they’re going to buy cattle in the spring.”
Lamb said somewhat angrily.
It goes without saying who the "villagers" are.
Neil curled his lip; he knew how ruthless that man was at business. He'd put anything his brother had on his own stall, and at an even lower price.
"Doing small business is a common occurrence; it's unavoidable."
"Brother, you have such a good temper, you're not even angry about this."
"..."
Getting angry won't solve anything; you can't just overturn someone's business.
"Brother, brother! Have you guys gone out lately?"
Lamb seemed to have thought of something again, and asked mysteriously.
"I only went to town a few times to take the little one to see a doctor."
"Have you heard? A troop of knights has arrived in town. They're currently staying at the city lord's mansion, and they arrived quite impressively on horseback. I think they came from Eton City."
"Why did you come here when you were perfectly fine? Did something happen?"
"Ray asked, frowning."
It wasn't that Lai was being paranoid; there were countless towns like Rosen within the Eaton City area. Aside from last year's monster attack, which was a major event, there wasn't much else of note about this place.
Why would the city lord send knights over at this time? Is it still about the magical beasts?
"I don't know. The mayor treated us to good food and drinks, but I haven't heard of them making any moves."
Lamb hesitated before answering. A single question from Ray stumped him.
Is there a problem?
"It's nothing, I'm just curious."
"All right."
Lamb quickly stopped dwelling on the issue.
"Brother, when are we going hunting again?"
"The sheep haven't had enough to eat?"
"no."
Lamb frowned and sighed, unusually complaining a few times about things at home.
“My sister-in-law took Danny back to her parents’ home again. Danny used to be a very lively kid, but these past few years she’s been spoiling him rotten. He gets bullied by the other kids there. If you ask me, why go there?”
Ray recalled Danny's image in his mind, the boy who was a year older than Neil, always timidly shrinking behind Brian, quietly calling him Uncle Ray.
He does seem to have a bit of a pushover personality. Once, when he was bullied at school, it was Neil who stepped in to help him. That time, Rye almost got called in by the teacher as a parent for the first time.
“They are relatives after all, we can’t let Danny only associate with relatives on this side.”
"Too."
Lamb sighed again.
Neil was surprised to hear that Danny had been bullied by his relatives' children, but then he thought that it wasn't surprising that such a thing could happen, given Danny's personality.
"To make sure Danny is bullied less over there, we left Farah with only one leg of the half sheep we had left over, and gave the rest to them. We don't have any fresh meat left at home now."
Lamb sounded very frustrated.
It's a time when they're really growing, and it's perfectly normal for young men to crave meat because their bodies have high energy needs.
“There are still some sheep offal at home that haven’t been touched. Tomorrow, invite Aunt Linda and Uncle Hagrid over, and we’ll cook some sheep offal soup for lunch.”
"Okay! But what about mutton offal soup?"
"You'll know once you eat it."
"OK!"
Lamb regained his energy.
The potatoes and sweet potatoes had been roasting for quite a while, and Lai tapped them a few times with a metal skewer. The skewer returned a feeling that they were still very hard.
The potatoes and sweet potatoes weren't fully cooked yet, so Lai buried them back into the firewood to roast them.
Neil was getting a little hungry and started munching on the bread Laiddo had made.
"There are still some leftover skewers in the storage room. Let's cut three more sausages and grill them."
"good!"
Neil put the bread on a plate, ran to the storage room, and came out happily with three skewered sausages. He also had a can of leftover barbecue seasoning in his left hand.
Neil gave each of Ray and Lamb a sausage.
Lai opened the lid of the barbecue seasoning container. The small jar was well-sealed, and the storage room was very dry, so the seasoning inside hadn't spoiled at all.
The three of them each held a sausage and roasted it by the fireplace.
"Where did these sausages come from? Were they made before?"
"Those were made by Aunt Linda. There are still more than thirty left at home that we haven't eaten."
As Neil scored the sausage with a knife, he handed the knife to Ray, who then made a few simple cuts and passed it to Lamb, who did the same.
"Recently, quite a few people in the village have been planning to get married."
Lamb's conversation jumped around too quickly, and he steered the topic back to who was getting married.
"You have a girl you like?"
"Ray asked."
Lamb blushed deeply.
"No, no, I was just reminiscing. Brother, aren't you already at the age where you can exchange gifts during the harvest festival? Two of the couples who are getting married fell in love with each other during the festival."
"There's another pair..."
Lamb hesitated for a moment before continuing.
"It was Maggie herself who spread the news. She said that she would be holding a wedding for her son and her niece soon."
Ray nodded to indicate that he understood. Everyone knew what was going on with this marriage.
The sausage's cuts curled up, its edges charred from grilling, and oil dripped onto the firewood, sizzling as it did so.
"Neil, you can eat this if you add some seasoning."
Lei reminded him.
"Okay, brother."
Neil sprinkled some seasoning on it, and the sausage quickly emitted its distinctive barbecue aroma, smelling delicious. Ray and Lamb did the same.
Soon, all three of them were eating grilled sausages.
"Brother, how do you know how to make so many delicious dishes?"
"I figured it out while I was bored at home, and some of it came from books I read before."
Ray continued to attribute his differences and changes to the book, assuming Lamb had discovered something. After observing him discreetly and confirming that Lamb was simply speaking casually, he was relieved.
"Brother, I can smell the sweet potato. Are they ripe?"
"Don't rush, let me see."
Lai used an iron skewer to pull out the blackened potatoes and sweet potatoes roasted under the wood ash, and randomly picked a sweet potato to peel.
The fire was a bit too strong, and a small layer of its outer surface has been carbonized, but it doesn't affect its edibility.
"It's ready to eat. Let's pick one and peel it to eat."
After Ray finished speaking, Lamb and Neil each chose one and started eating. The flesh was golden yellow, mealy inside, and very sweet and delicious.
This reminded Lai of another delicious food: sweet potato chips. Unfortunately, it's not available right now.
After eating sweet potatoes, the three of them ate potatoes with side dishes.
Lai grows yellow-fleshed potatoes. This variety has a mealy texture and high starch content. You can taste the sweetness when you eat it directly, but it's a bit dry when eaten dry.
Lamb ate with great relish, taking a bite of kimchi and a bite of potato.
After a quick dinner, we chatted for a while. It was mostly about the various things that had happened in the village recently.
Throughout the winter, few people venture far from home; most stay within their neighborhood. Those who have been drinking are even less likely to walk alone at night. In this freezing weather, the alcohol can easily cause someone to collapse and freeze to death – such incidents have happened before.
"Bro, I'm so bored at home, can I borrow your playing cards for a few days?"
These decks were made for fun. Cardstock was hard to find, so Ray spent some time gluing several layers of paper together to make them. He made three decks at once; giving one to Lamb wouldn't hurt.
"Okay, I'll give you a new one later. Take it home and play with it, and teach Aunt Linda and Farah. It'll help them pass the time in their spare time."
Lamb was happy to hear what Ray said, but he was unwilling to just take away the cards that Ray had worked so hard to make.
"Brother, you can just let me play with the old one, you don't need to take the new one."
"The old one is worn out and won't last much longer. Take the new one back, and you can play with it for a longer time."
Ray's tone left no room for refusal, and any further hesitation would create distance, so Lamb readily agreed.
"Thank you, brother!"
"It's nothing."
"Nothing can be grown in winter, so what kind of work can the villagers do to earn money?"
Ray asked Lamb.
"Brother, are you planning to go out and make money again?"
Lamb expressed his admiration for Leigh's constant readiness.
"No, I was just asking."
“Some go hunting, because the animals in the mountains have particularly thick fur at this time of year, and there are specialized fur traders who buy them; some cut down trees to sell in town; some weave brooms and brushes to sell; and of course, some do nothing all winter and stay at home ‘hibernate’.”
Lamb told Ray everything he knew.
"I know that Helen's mother and sister earn some silver coins by making clothes for others!"
Neil added.
"Yes, yes, the aunties and sisters in the village are also very hardworking. They can do some needlework to earn some living expenses."
Lamb then talked about some other jobs of this kind.
Lei nodded, indicating that he understood.
As darkness fell, Lamb had to go home. Otherwise, with the roads slippery in the dark and him carrying a jar of salted bird eggs, he might easily slip and fall.
Ray handed Lamb a new deck of cards and told him to put it in his pocket.
"Don't forget to invite Uncle Hagrid and Aunt Linda over for mutton soup tomorrow at noon."
"Okay, got it. Brother, I'm off."
Lamb easily lifted the jar containing sixty or seventy bird eggs and a bellyful of brine; the contents of the jar must have weighed at least forty pounds.
Neil eagerly opened the door for Lamb.
“Neil is such a good boy.”
Lamb's feigned maturity in praising Neil sent a chill down his spine.
"I'm twelve, you're eighteen, we're only six years apart."
Neil's subtext was obvious, but Lamb pretended not to hear it.
"Brother, I'm off!"
"Okay, go back now, be careful on the road."
Ray and Neil escorted Lamb to the door before turning back into the house.
"Brother, are you going to do business again?"
"I'm considering it; let's see how things go first."
"Then you must take me with you this time!"
"OK."
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Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2023-08-16 23:58:32 and 2023-08-20 21:08:28!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Hahahaha 48 bottles; Ooh Ooh 30 bottles; Fake Sugar is Sugar, Custard Pig Bun, Tina 20 bottles; Above the Clouds is the Ocean, Keep Going Today 10 bottles; Cook Porridge and Steamed Cake, Seven Eyes, 50484480, Yo~, I Only Admire Sakamoto 5 bottles; Messenger 2 bottles; 58165567, Tabby Cat 1 bottle;
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