The bald man grumbled angrily as he thought of Zhixing: "I clearly said I would go by myself, what is he trying to do? He doesn't even listen to me anymore."
Su Jiu accepted the money and interjected:
"It's because you didn't explain your background that he was worried you would have a conflict with the people from Qiongzhou, so he insisted on going down the mountain in your place to find out information."
The bald man shut up and turned to tidy up the house.
The bamboo house wasn't big. After discussing it with the Xu family, the bald man decided that his mother would continue to live with Lan Qing and Xu Lin's mother.
He shared a room with Wang Chun, which also allowed him to take care of the seriously injured Wang Chun.
Xu Lin listened quietly to the chatter of the crowd, feeling somewhat uncomfortable.
It wasn't that he disliked the crowd, but rather that his vision kept blurring, making him dizzy.
Only after hearing Ye Wenxue's question did Xu Lin take a sip of his now-cold tea before slowly speaking:
"After my eyes are healed, I will naturally go down the mountain to take the exam. I just don't know what the situation is like down the mountain, and whether the exam can proceed as planned."
Ye Wenxue thought about it and agreed. It wasn't convenient to bring the child down the mountain right now. They should wait until the snow melted in winter before discussing the future.
Worried that the disturbance in the mountain stronghold would bring disaster to the bamboo house, and also concerned that Xu Lin's eyes might be uncomfortable at night and he wouldn't be able to find a suitable doctor, Ye Wenxue decided to let Su Jiu stay in the bamboo house overnight.
Since Dr. Chen had nowhere to go, the two could also exchange medical tips.
Su reluctantly accepted half a tael of silver and agreed. He exchanged a glance with Doctor Chen, and the two of them tacitly went to a quiet place to ostensibly spar, but in reality, they were just colleagues fighting each other.
Sanyuan, along with Shuangshuang and Siwang, watched for half an hour. Seeing Doctor Chen rendered speechless, they felt a strange sense of pride.
His master is amazing!
But his mother is the most amazing!
"Dazhuang, Shuangshuang, Sanyuan Siwang, we're going home."
The children quickly ran to the door, past the bald man who was repairing the gate, and happily followed Ye Wenxue's footsteps.
The bald man squatted by the door, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping himself.
Knowing his worries, Ye Wenxue waved her hand behind her and said, "I'll come again tomorrow."
Returning leisurely to the valley, Ye Wenxue rearranged the traps and added several more poisoned wooden arrows.
Dazhuang stood at the entrance of the valley for a while, then suddenly slapped his forehead, stuffed Yuanyuan into Sanyuan's arms, and ran quickly to the cave.
A voice drifted from afar: "The potatoes aren't all dug up yet."
Upon hearing this, Siwang immediately put down the goose, grabbed Shuangshuang, and ran after them.
Only Sanyuan, holding Yuanyuan, remained in place, waiting for Ye Wenxue.
Fifteen minutes later, Ye Wenxue patted the snowflakes that had fallen on her, took Xiao Yuanyuan and held her in one arm, while holding Sanyuan's hand with the other and walking towards the earthen house.
What do you want to eat tonight?
Sanyuan thought for a moment: "Stewed mutton with potatoes?"
The sheep we slaughtered a couple of days ago wasn't finished, so we put it in a basin and froze it with snow.
Ye Wenxue nodded: "Hmm...make some hot and sour shredded potatoes and stir-fried sweet potato vines too..."
Sanyuan thought everything his mother cooked tasted delicious: "Good!"
The next day, Zhiwang came to the valley as usual, but this time he was alone.
While Dazhuang was packing potatoes, he noticed that Zhiwang had bruises around his eyes and asked curiously, "Has the village gotten into big trouble?"
Zhiwang pinched a sweet potato vine: "It hasn't caused a big commotion, but people are in a state of panic. One minute they're cursing Elder Nian, and the next they're cursing the group that stole the silver and caused trouble. There's no peace and quiet."
He was worried about the few orphans that the eldest son had recently taken in, so he took them into the house and kept watch over them all night, not daring to sleep too deeply.
Da Zhuang sighed and looked at the sky outside the cave:
"The snow is falling heavily. Why don't we go down the mountain tomorrow? It won't make a difference if we wait a day or two."
Zhiwang shook his head: "It wasn't easy for Xingge and Wenge to build their business. If I'm a day late, I'll damage their reputation, and it will be even harder to make money in the future."
Dazhuang thought for a moment, then took out a few bamboo umbrellas for him and stuffed a few cotton-padded coats into the basket:
"Go early and come back early, be careful on the road."
Zhiwang didn't stand on ceremony, accepted the bamboo umbrella with peach blossoms branded on its surface, and sighed:
"I wonder if Xing and the others brought umbrellas. It must be uncomfortable to travel with snow all over your head in this cold weather."
Dazhuang lifted the basket and said, "Don't worry, they're all the same bamboo umbrellas. I gave three to Zhixing, and everyone else is wearing a raincoat and a bamboo hat."
The two chatted for a while longer, and then Dazhuang asked about Zhiwang:
"Are you going to pick vegetables down the mountain by yourself? I'll go with you."
Zhiwang quickly shook his head: "Those five children are guarding outside the valley. I'll take them with me. They're all wearing thick clothes and shoes, so they won't get cold."
Upon entering the mountain village, everyone is given two new cotton-padded coats and shoes. Food and drink are plentiful, with meat and alcohol served every few days, and plenty of rice and pickled vegetables.
Therefore, Zhiwang truly did not understand why those people would betray him.
If someone else had been the chieftain, would the bandits have received such good treatment?
Dazhuang didn't know how to comfort Zhiwang, so he patted him on the shoulder and said nothing.
Zhiwang forced a smile, picked up the vegetables, and was about to leave when Ye Wenxue hurriedly came out of the kitchen and shouted in their direction:
"Zhiwang, stay for a meal before you go, it won't take long."
Zhiwang politely declined, but Dazhuang pulled him to the kitchen.
After reluctantly eating two steamed buns, he was stuffed with a package of white steamed buns, roasted sweet potatoes, and boiled corn.
"Take it with you to eat on the road." Ye Wenxue said with a straight face, "Now I'm relying on you to earn money, so you can't work yourself to death or starve yourself."
Zhiwang did not refuse again.
Ye Wenxue, Dazhuang, and Zhiwang carried the vegetables out of the valley and into the forest.
Five children, slightly older than Dazhuang, were shivering under a tree. When they saw Zhiwang come out, their eyes lit up.
"Brother Wang!"
Zhiwang first took out some hot steamed buns, roasted sweet potatoes, and boiled corn, and gave one of each to everyone:
"Eat quickly, this is from Boss Ye, you must remember Boss Ye's kindness."
The five children hesitated before taking the food, pushing and shoving each other, and then said in unison, "Thank you, Boss Ye."
Ye Wenxue could tell from the fact that the children were in good spirits that the bald man had put a lot of effort into them.
Ignoring them these past few days is probably a way to toughen them up, especially Zhiwang.
She smiled gently at them and said, "Eat quickly, it's getting cold."
The five children shyly lowered their heads, smelling the fragrance of sweet potatoes and corn, and couldn't help but wolf them down.
The people in charge of the kitchen in the mountain village were also struggling with the issue of going down the mountain. They had hastily cooked porridge in the morning, and each of them only received a small half bowl, so they were not full.
Dazhuang stared at each person one by one, and after they finished eating and left, he pointed curiously at the back of one of them and whispered:
"Mom, he's so handsome."
Ye Wenxue thought for a moment. Among these children, there were three boys and two girls. The one Dazhuang was pointing to looked to others like a boy of about ten years old.
However, Ye Wenxue saw through it at a glance; the child was clearly a girl dressed as a boy.
“It’s quite beautiful. Let’s go back and take Shuangshuang and the others to the bamboo house. Your Uncle Zhang must be worried sick.”
Dazhuang took one last look at the backs of Zhiwang and the others, then obediently turned around and followed them away.
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