After agreeing on the plan, the group continued on their way and managed to return to the valley before dark.
Dazhuang was sitting in front of the fire with his younger siblings, lost in thought, his face full of complex emotions and unspoken words.
Shuangshuang and Siwang were arguing loudly about something, and they almost came to blows.
Da Zhuang rubbed his swollen head, then helped Xiao Yuanyuan, who was playing with his hair, up and let out a deep sigh.
Suddenly hearing several footsteps, Dazhuang thought he was hallucinating from the noise and reacted somewhat slowly.
Shuangshuang and Siwang rushed out to hug their mother. Dazhuang blinked, then hugged the restless little Yuanyuan tightly, strode forward, and called out softly.
Seeing that Ye Wenxue and Sanyuan were both alright, Dazhuang breathed a sigh of relief: "Are you hungry? I'll go cook something right away!"
Sanyuan pouted and said, "Big brother, I'm hungry."
Having not eaten anything all day, Sanyuan was so hungry he could barely walk.
Da Zhuang was about to go cook with Yuan Yuan on his back when Su Jiu stopped him, saying, "No, I'll go, I'll cook and give everyone a good meal!"
Su Jiu felt extremely guilty.
If he hadn't been so useless and loved to go out of the valley to find herbs, Sanyuan wouldn't have had to suffer along with him, Ye Wenxue wouldn't have had to risk being killed to break into the bandit stronghold, and Dazhuang and the other children wouldn't have been left alone in the valley in fear.
Da Zhuang ignored him and stared straight at Ye Wenxue.
Seeing his mother nod, Dazhuang finally agreed and politely said, "Then I'll have to trouble Mr. Su."
Su Jiu felt embarrassed, so he casually tied the two sheep to a tree, rolled up his sleeves, and started working.
Dazhuang then told his younger siblings to store all the food and dry rations from the wheelbarrow in the cave, so they wouldn't be left lying around and wouldn't be hard to find when they needed them.
Ye Wenxue took Yuanyuan from her, teased her slightly chubby little face, and asked curiously, "Why did you two look so... conflicted just now?"
Dazhuang took the flour from Suiye and carried it on his shoulder. Upon hearing this, his expression became even more complicated. He sighed and said, "Let Siwang speak."
"Mother, not long after you left, the goose came back." Siwang said as he walked, carrying a jar of salt. "It chased a rabbit back with it. We still have a rabbit at home, right? They had babies."
Ye Wenxue was taken aback: "So fast?"
She quickly realized that the new female rabbit was probably already pregnant.
Siwang continued, "They had four kittens, tiny and pink, they are quite cute, but we don't know how to raise them."
He and Shuangshuang started arguing about how to raise rabbits, and even his mother and Sanyuan had no time to care.
Ye Wenxue chuckled: "Where is it kept? I'll go take a look."
Siwang glanced at Su Jiu, indicating that he was keeping him in his cave.
Ye Wenxue was also a little curious, so while they were moving things, she went to take a look at the cave where Su Jiu was temporarily staying.
Several tiny rabbits were carefully placed on the tattered clothes and were sleeping soundly.
Two large rabbits and a large goose stood guard nearby.
Seeing Ye Wenxue carrying Yuanyuan in, the goose quickly rushed forward and quacked a few times, as if desperately trying to explain that it wasn't that it didn't want to save Sanyuan, but that the enemy was too powerful and it didn't want to be made into stewed goose.
Ye Wenxue understood and was about to say a few words of comfort when she felt someone staring intently at her from behind. Her neck tightened, a sense of danger rose in her mind, and she instinctively wanted to take action.
"Wait, it's me!" Suiye quickly said.
After Ye Wenxue stopped and glared at him, Sui Ye walked forward and stood at a distance that was neither too close nor too far, speaking in an almost gentle tone: "I have something I want to tell you."
Ye Wenxue felt a headache coming on, and her hands inexplicably felt itchy.
This guy absolutely deserves a beating!
She walked out with a stern face: "Don't say anything, shut up. Everything's been stored away?"
"Yes. The wheelbarrow has also been moved to the side of the valley path. It doesn't get in the way usually and is convenient to use."
Sui Ye stopped Ye Wenxue and took the opportunity to grab her hand. He was eager to make a move. Apart from being betrayed, everything in his life had gone smoothly.
If you like something, you don't even need to ask for it; someone will readily offer it to you.
Even the precious horses from the Western Regions and the red corals from the South China Sea, which were exclusively for the emperor's use as tribute, were merely a matter of asking for them.
Therefore, he never knew what waiting or patience meant; he would never leave something for later if he wanted it.
Whether it's precious jewels or... people.
He had already reached his limit by enduring until he safely rescued Sanyuan and returned to the valley.
"I am delighted..."
Ye Wenxue forcefully shook off Sui Ye's hand, clenched her fist tightly, and was about to attack.
"Mom, dinner's ready." Dazhuang's voice abruptly interrupted Suiye before she could finish speaking.
The awkward atmosphere dissipated immediately.
Dazhuang walked into the cave, smiled at Suiye as he passed him, and quite naturally took the round ball from Ye Wenxue's hand, urging her:
"The rice has been cooking on the stove for a while now. I also made a dish—sweet potato vines stir-fried with lard I rendered a few days ago. It smelled so good. Dr. Su made a stew of yam and pig's trotters, and also specially brewed a calming soup..."
Suiye stared at Dazhuang sullenly, suspecting that he was doing it on purpose.
Ye Wenxue breathed a sigh of relief and followed Dazhuang outside, pretending not to see Suiye.
"The braised pig's trotters are done so quickly? I can't smell any aroma."
"The cave isn't well-ventilated, so the aroma dissipates more slowly; you can smell it as soon as you get to the kitchen..."
Suiye didn't dare say anything inappropriate to her in front of her son, so he could only follow behind her, feeling resentful.
When I got to the kitchen, I saw that the pig's trotters were indeed not cooked yet.
Sui Ye gritted his teeth inwardly. He had always thought that Ye Wenxue and her buddies were full of bad intentions!
Since they were already there, Ye Wenxue decided to make a wild scallion omelet for the children—it was her best dish.
Since stewed yam and pig's trotters didn't require constant supervision, Ye Wenxue chased Su Jiu and Sui Ye out of the kitchen, took out five eggs from her spatial storage, and washed and chopped a large handful of wild scallions.
During this time, Dazhuang squatted at the kitchen door, refusing to let Suiye go in no matter what.
Frustrated and unable to do anything to Dazhuang, Suiye climbed up the lush bayberry tree and leaned against it, surveying the entire valley.
The view from up here is excellent.
Suiye saw Shuangshuang, Sanyuan, and Siwang drooling over the snacks they had brought back, saw Su Jiu frequently going in and out of the kitchen to check Yuanyuan's pulse, and saw Dazhuang occasionally turning his head to glance at Ye Wenxue, who was busy in the kitchen.
I also saw... the way Ye Wenxue looked at the children when she had free time; it was a tenderness that Sui Ye had never experienced before.
Suiye suddenly smiled.
He jumped down from the tree, picked up an axe, and chopped wood with some clumsiness.
"Dinner's ready!"
Ye Wenxue called out, and the people in the valley instantly gathered around.
The geese also came running out with a thud.
Everyone sat around the table on long benches, their faces full of smiles.
Sui Ye first scooped a piece of pig's trotter mixed with soup and yam for Ye Wenxue and the other children, his movements very natural.
Sanyuan, biting his chopsticks, stared wide-eyed at Suiye, thinking to himself, "Oh no, this guy's probably really been beaten senseless."
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