While eating breakfast, Shuangshuang, Sanyuan, and Siwang all kept their eyes wide open, glancing every now and then at Suiye, who was eating porridge and pickled vegetables with a furrowed brow.
What's going on?
Didn't this person complain that his mother's food was too coarse and refuse to eat it?
This is... getting beaten up again without their knowledge?
The kids had been cooped up in the mountains for too long and were eager to see what was going on, but they didn't dare say it out loud. Their three pairs of eyes kept darting around.
Ye Wenxue couldn't stand it anymore and explained to them, "I almost fainted from hunger, and then I figured it out."
Sanyuan blinked: "Oh, oh."
Shuangshuang cleared the table of dishes and wiped it down; it was her turn to wash the dishes today.
Dazhuang scratched at the newly cleared land: "Mom, are you cutting down trees again today?"
"I'm not cutting any more wood; this is about enough. I plan to build a kitchen first and see if I can use lake mud to build a house."
Several gazes drifted toward Suiye, who was still hungry.
Ye Wenxue nodded: "That's right, Mother will take him out with her. Doctor Su will also be going out to find herbs. You all stay home and don't wander around."
Siwang protested, "Mom, we won't run around, and you don't have to keep saying that."
Ye Wenxue looked closely at Shuangshuang and Siwang: "Who was it that climbed over the wall last time in Shuixi Village?"
Bringing up old grievances is very powerful; Shuangshuang and Siwang dared not utter a sound.
Sanyuan hesitated for a moment, then moved closer to Su Jiu: "Dr. Su, can I go with you? I'd like to dig up some wild vegetables along the way."
Su Jiu, who had no power to protect herself, said: "...I might not be able to protect you, why don't you go with your mother and the others?"
"Why don't the four of us go together? Last time, Big Brother said the lakeside was full of wild vegetables and herbs; maybe we can find the herbs you need." Sanyuan's mind raced.
Su Jiu was intrigued. He looked at Ye Wenxue, who was packing up the basket, hoe, and wooden mold.
"Alright. Sanyuan is obedient and sensible and won't run around. When you're gathering herbs, just keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't get too close to the lake."
Sanyuan happily ran to get his little hoe and cloth bag.
Ye Wenxue noticed this scene and secretly noted that she still needed to make a few more bamboo baskets or small backpacks.
There were only two baskets and two carrying baskets at home. The baskets were too big to carry around, so she and Suiye each carried one carrying basket, which made it inconvenient for the others to do chores.
However, making bamboo baskets and carrying baskets is a delicate and troublesome task, so she has to take it slowly.
With that in mind, Ye Wenxue also brought a hemp rope and a wood-chopping knife.
The path down the mountain becomes familiar after a couple of tries. With Ye Wenxue leading the way, the four of them quickly reached the edge of the low cliff.
After eating his fill, Suiye returned to his arrogant demeanor from the beginning, leaning against a tree as he watched Ye Wenxue tie the rope, carry Sanyuan, and climb down the cliff.
His eyes flickered when he noticed the unusual knot on the tree.
Su Jiu cautiously peered down, trying to reason with Sui Ye: "Could we...?"
Sui Ye chuckled: "Want me to kick you down? Sure."
Su Jiu closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and pulled himself down with the rope.
Ye Wenxue was comforting Sanyuan, who was afraid of heights, and pointed at Su Jiu:
"Look, even a grown man like Dr. Su is afraid of heights. You're still young, what's shameful about being afraid of heights? How can you be more shameful than Dr. Su?"
After Su Jiu met San Yuan's gaze, who wanted to laugh but dared not, he silently turned his face away: He held back!
Suiye used the rope to jump down the cliff in a few quick movements, then glanced at the three bewildered people and asked, "What are you doing?"
Ye Wenxue held Sanyuan's hand and walked ahead, explaining briefly as they went: "...In short, use wooden molds to shape the lake mud into brick-like adobe blocks, then leave them to dry in the sun to solidify. Do you understand?"
Sanyuan didn't hear his mother speak; he only felt the warmth of her hands, and the fear and dread he felt from jumping off the cliff vanished instantly.
"Okay." Suiye nodded haphazardly, pointed to the lake, and asked, "How many pieces do you need? I can rest after I finish the work, right?"
Ye Wenxue estimated for a moment and gave a number: "You can rest after you finish your work. Of course, you can also pick wild fruits and vegetables to change things up."
Suiye immediately grabbed the wooden molds and hoe from her back and ran away quickly.
"Aren't you afraid he'll run away?" Su Jiu asked Ye Wenxue only after Sui Ye had walked quite a distance away.
“He won’t run away.” Ye Wenxue smiled calmly. “He is seriously injured and being hunted down. If he rashly goes down the mountain, he will only bring disaster upon himself. It would be better for him to stay and recover from his injuries, and then go down the mountain when he has the ability to protect himself.”
Su Jiu raised an eyebrow and stopped talking nonsense.
Sanyuan suddenly interjected, "We can't let him get away; he's still wearing Father's clothes."
Ye Wenxue and Su Jiu smiled helplessly.
Suiye didn't care about such a poor-quality, ill-fitting outfit.
After reaching the bottom of the valley, Ye Wenxue, Sanyuan, and Su Jiu dispersed.
Ye Wenxue went to check on how Suiye was doing with his work, offered to help, and also cut some bamboo to make bamboo baskets.
Sanyuan and Su Jiu went to the grass on both sides of the lake to look for wild vegetables, fruits and herbs.
Despite his arrogant temperament, Suiye has excellent execution skills.
When Ye Wenxue walked up to her, Sui Ye had already made several mud bricks, which were being sun-dried in another spot.
Seeing that he was doing a good job, Ye Wenxue simply didn't interfere. She found a few bamboo stalks, cut them down, and started making bamboo baskets in a shady spot.
Splitting bamboo, breaking it into smaller pieces, weaving it... Bamboo baskets may seem easy to make, but they actually require a lot of thought and effort.
While weaving bamboo baskets, Ye Wenxue did not forget to spare a moment to watch Sui Ye working under the scorching sun.
This guy truly lived up to his sturdy build; his muscles were solid but not exaggerated, and when he worked, his muscles bulged so much that they almost burst his clothes.
The wounds on his body did not affect his performance at all; he even had time to grit his teeth and curse.
You could see his mouth moving constantly from a distance, but I had no idea who he was cursing.
Ye Wenxue crossed the Suiye River and looked in the direction where Sanyuan and Su Jiu had gone. She could vaguely see figures bending over on the mountainside from time to time.
She lowered her head and continued with her work.
By the time the sun reached its highest point, Suiye had finished half of his work. He was covered in sweat, and stared at his sleeve with a troubled expression. After a long while, he couldn't bear it any longer and finally wiped the sweat off with his sleeve.
Tsk.
He, a notorious playboy in Shengjing, one day fell so low as to wear tattered, thorny clothes and beg for food by doing hard labor.
That's... absolutely ridiculous.
A hint of violence and coldness flashed in Sui Ye's eyes. He would wait until he returned to the capital and see how he dealt with those who betrayed and assassinated him.
"Wake up, aren't you hot under this bright sun?"
When Sui Ye came to his senses, he saw Ye Wenxue with a large leaf on her head, holding two rough bamboo baskets in her hands, looking at him with a strange expression.
"It's hot, do you need help?"
Ye Wenxue stepped forward and carefully examined the bricks made of lake mud drying on the ground. She nodded in satisfaction and said, "If you're tired, take a rest first. I'll go catch some fish and shrimp to cook porridge. We'll continue this afternoon."
Suiye's vision went black.
Do we still have to work under the scorching sun in the afternoon?
Even landlords aren't as good at exploiting people as she is!
Despite his thoughts, Suiye didn't go to rest. Instead, he turned around and silently followed behind Ye Wenxue.
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