Chapter 172

In the evening, Ah Jin and the others returned from hunting.

Today's harvest was average. The two of them were busy for more than two hours and only caught pheasants. The wings of this pheasant were tightly held in Erqing's hands with straw ropes, and they were still flapping when they returned outside the tent.

Xu Yi heard the noise, picked up the papers covering the cushions, stacked them on the low table, and went out to see what was going on.

In the afternoon, after Ah Jin and the others left, A Xu pulled out all the weeds around the tent, exposing a patch of moist, gray-yellow soil.

He saw the fat pheasant in Erqing's hand and thought that they would be in for a treat today.

A Xu took the pheasant from Er Qing's hand, turned around and asked, "Lang Jun, would you like some roast chicken tonight?"

Xu Yi said, "Okay."

A Xu then asked, "Lang Jun, do you want something spicy? Or do you want honey sauce?"

Xu Yi said, "Spicy."

The others swallowed when they heard that they wanted spicy roast chicken. The roast chicken cooked by A Xu was so delicious that I had to try it once. It's hard to forget that there is no stall selling such delicious roast chicken in the market.

Xu Yi thought of something and asked A Xu how much dogwood powder they had left.

A Xu said: "There aren't many left. When we go to the city tomorrow, we have to buy some more."

Xu Yi looked at the remaining clouds in the sky and said, "When we go to the city tomorrow morning, remember to buy some more pepper." , star anise and cinnamon. "

Sometimes when Erqing comes back from hunting, the prey that cannot be eaten that day will be marinated with spices to make marinated meat jerky.

Xu Yi also knew not to eat too much pickled meat and smoked bacon. But nowadays, it is not easy for people to eat meat. Apart from buying meat during the New Year and festivals, they don’t eat meat much on weekdays. It is even more difficult to eat meat in large quantities.

In other words, Xu Yi and his family eat meat much more frequently than other families.

In addition, he told A Xu not to add too much salt when marinating, and it would be okay to eat some marinated meat.

A Xu nodded repeatedly, keeping this in mind.

Ah Jin rolled his eyes, smiled sweetly and said to his brother: "Tomorrow I will follow my brother to the city, and I want to buy some good-color embroidery threads."

"What are you buying those for?" A Xu asked without knowing why. she.

Ah Jin glared at her brother cutely: "I want to embroider a new handkerchief. The previous handkerchiefs are all worn out."

"..." Axu scratched his head, thinking about the handkerchiefs his sister used every day. There were several things he hadn't thought about in this regard.

Er Qing looked at Ah Jin and asked in a low voice: "Sister Ah Jin, can I follow you?"

Ah Jin: "What do you want to buy?"

Er Qing said: "My bag was cut by a tree branch. , I want to get a new one."

Ah Jin said "Oh" and said without thinking, "No need to buy it, I will make a new one for you when the time comes."

Er Qing blushed shyly: "Thank you very much. Sister Jin."

Xu Yi glanced at them, with a faint smile in his eyes, but did not participate in this topic.

The breeze is cool, the stars and the moon are bright, and in such a charming night, staying in the wild is really unique.

When the stars and the moon were shining brightly, A Xu prepared dinner. He took a knife to cut into pieces the spicy roast chicken with crispy skin, and everyone got a full plate.

In addition to roasted chicken, he also cooked bean porridge and wild vegetable soup, adding mung beans and red beans without adding other condiments.

The cooked bean porridge has only a rich bean flavor. Scoop it into your mouth, then sip it gently with your tongue, and the soft cooked beans will spread softly in your mouth.

After everyone had eaten and drank enough, looking at the night getting darker, Xu Yi and the others had to solve the problem of bathing.

There is also a troublesome thing about living in the suburbs, which is that it is not as convenient as staying in an inn when washing.

But to save money -

the most important thing was that Xu Yi wanted to experience what it was like to stay overnight safely in the countryside.

This was not the time when he went to Maozhou. That time he and Chaobarshi were on the deserted Shudao mountain road, and it was the territory where the Qiang people roamed.

But it was different here. This was outside Pu'an County. Not far from where they rested, there was a small village.

Looking towards the direction of the small village, we can see the stars shining through the houses in the dark night.

A Xu carried lanterns, one hanging outside the tent and one placed inside the tent.

He and Erqing carried the empty buckets and ran to the river to fill them with water. Xu Yi was extremely particular about personal hygiene, and even the others had to follow it one by one.

At first, Erqing didn't like taking a bath, so he forced him not to follow them unless he took a bath.

Erqing was afraid of being left behind, and from then on he developed the habit of wiping his body even if he didn't take a shower.

"Brother A Xu, is this water enough?" Erqing ran back to the tent with a bucket that was eighty percent full, poured the water in the bucket into a large clay pot, and asked those who followed him. A Xu.

A Xu said: "It's not enough, I need two more buckets."

Erqing looked at the clay pot: "They're all full."

A Xu didn't look back and went back to the river with the bucket: "It's okay, I'll let my sister get up again "A stove."

They followed Lang Jun and learned a lot. Things like starting a stove were easy to do.

After a while, Ah Jin easily set up another stove nearby.

Ah Jin clapped his hands and raised his eyebrows at Er Qing with satisfaction: "There is nothing that can be difficult for me to win over my aunt."

Er Qing immediately looked moved. He chose to follow Xu Yi and the others. It was indeed the right thing to do.

At night, A Xu and Er Qing slept in the carriage.

Xu Yi and Ah Jin were in a tent. The tent had been modified at night, with a thick curtain in the middle. Next to the curtain is a bamboo screen, which can completely separate the space between the two people.

Ah Jin was very relieved about Lang Jun. When he heard that he could sleep in the tent, he happily went inside to lay out the mat.

Xu Yi had no intention of being a "husband". On the eve of going to bed, he arranged the night vigil.

Each person kept vigil for an hour, and he was the first to keep vigil, followed by A Xu, Er Qing and A Jin.

The brother and sister originally didn't want Lang Jun to keep vigil, but Xu Yi's sharp look denied their protest.

The protest was ineffective and they could only go back to sleep.

Xu Yi sat on the wicker mat, resting his hands on his forehead, looking at the bright stars twinkling in the night.

After watching it for a long time, my eyes are a little sore.

Xu Yi blinked, listening to the faint chirping of insects around him and his own gentle breathing, it seemed that time had become longer.

...

Looking at the movement of the stars, Xu Yi calculated the time. He stood up, patted his wrinkled robe, and was about to wake up A Xu.

Suddenly, he heard rustling footsteps not far away.

The footsteps were very light, not like they came from humans.

Could it be that some wild beast is approaching?

Xu Yi raised his eyebrows warily and looked sharply in the direction of the sound.

As a result, he met a pair of eyes as bright as lanterns.

"Meow~"

A soft meow broke the silence, and Xu Yi was a little surprised. He didn't expect it to be a cat that was slender and not much bigger than two palms.

Before he could react, a vigorous figure suddenly appeared next to him.

It's Xiao Huang!

Xu Yi's eyes were startled, and he shouted hurriedly: "Xiao Huang, don't bite it!"

When Xiao Huang heard his master's voice, the figure that rushed towards him paused. Who would have thought that at this moment, the cute-looking little one would Cats will take the initiative.

It blew up its fluffy hair and struck Xiao Huang's face with a claw at the speed of an electric shock.

"Ouch--"

Xiao Huang pulled his limbs back in pain, baring his teeth and barking at the kitten.

Xu Yi: "..." So wild.

He was afraid that Xiao Huang would get angry and actually bite it. After all, with Xiao Huang's ability, the fighting ability of this kitten was not worth mentioning at all.

Xu Yi stepped forward and squatted down to comfort Xiao Huang while checking the wounds on Xiao Huang's face. Fortunately, there was no bleeding.

He relaxed and said softly: "Don't be angry, I'll teach it a lesson for you."

Xiao Huang whined aggrievedly and pressed against Xu Yi's side, wanting to touch it.

Xu Yi hugged and touched the kitten distressedly for a while. When he looked at the kitten again, he found that it didn't run away.

He was a little suspicious. Generally speaking, wild cats are afraid of people and are unlikely to approach the tent on their own initiative.

Is this cat a domestic cat?

Thinking of this, Xu Yi tentatively stretched out his hand towards it and made a summoning gesture towards it.

When the cat saw this, not only did it not come closer, the hair on its body became even fluffier.

Xu Yi: "..."

He tried several methods, but the cat never came close or left.

Just when he was surprised, there were footsteps behind him. It was A Xu who was awakened and came out to check the situation.

"Lang Jun..." he exclaimed in a low voice.

Xu Yi looked back at him and gestured to him to make a sound.

A Xu came closer quietly, and then he saw a cat not far in front of Xu Yi.

Through the darkness of the night, they saw that the cat had tiger stripes on its body, and it was a nimble raccoon slave.

Xu Yi lowered his voice and said: "This civet cat came but didn't leave. I don't know what happened."

A Xu was stunned. He looked at Lang Jun, and then at the round black eyes, alert. Look at their raccoon slaves.

Suddenly he felt something knocking against the sole of his foot. He looked down and saw that it was the chicken bones buried in the soil when they had dinner tonight.

A Xu opened his mouth: "Lang Jun, look..."

Xu Yi followed his line of sight and saw those chicken bones. He thought, could it be these chicken bones that kept the cat from leaving?

In order to test this idea, Xu Yi quickly picked up a chicken bone with meat residue and shook it in the direction of the kitten.

The next second, the cat that exploded into a fluffy ball softly "meowed" at Xu Yi.

"So you want to eat chicken bones." Xu Yi originally liked animals, like cats and dogs. He liked them all. Watching the kitten slowly approaching, his eyes became even softer, "Come on, you can eat it if you get close. Here we are."

As he said this, he saw the kitten moving away from him one meter away.

Thinking that it might be Xiao Huang, he asked A Xu to take Xiao Huang away.

Xiao Huang was unwilling to leave and whined like a baby, but was still taken away ruthlessly by A Xu.

Without Xiao Huang by his side, the kitten became more courageous. Although it was wary, it couldn't resist the temptation of chicken bones and still moved in front of Xu Yi.

The moment it bit the chicken bone, Xu Yi narrowed his eyes and did not take advantage of the opportunity to touch its hair.

Instead, he stood up and brought back a handful of dried meat under the cautious eyes of the little cat.

Chicken bones are not suitable for cats to eat.

Fortunately, this little guy was smart. When he saw the dried meat in Xu Yi's hand, he decisively gave up and continued to chew the chicken bones.

It raised its tail and walked towards Xu Yi. Its furry head rubbed Xu Yi's robe, and its small tail hooked his leg, meowing "meow meow".

Xu Yi felt relieved. It seemed that this cat relative was really raised by someone. He didn't hesitate and threw the dried meat in his hand to it.

Unexpectedly, the cat picked up the dried meat and ran away without looking back.

Xu Yi looked at the cat that quickly disappeared and felt extremely complicated.

He was actually deceived emotionally by a cat.

...

The next day, Xiao Huang woke up and marked the ground around the tent.

After it finished marking it, it came to Xu Yi with its head raised high, wanting Xu Yi to praise it.

Xu Yi came out of the tent and smelled the filthy smell floating in the air. He almost rolled up his sleeves and beat it up.

But thinking that this boy had been scratched by a kitten last night, and there was an obscure cut on it, he raised his hand and put it back again.

He pinched his brows helplessly and asked A Xu to fetch water from the river to wash away the marks.

The corner of A Xu's mouth twitched. He still remembered that the cat cheated the dried meat and ran away last night. His husband was worried about it for a long time, so he asked, "Will the cat come again today?"

Xu Yi shook his head, probably not coming.

This cat is quite vigilant. Although it is a greedy cat, it thinks that even if someone keeps it, it will not be able to eat anything good.

Otherwise, I wouldn’t be so greedy for those chicken bones that I wouldn’t be able to leave.

He thought with some displeasure, this cat owner is so caring. Although this is the countryside, there is no guarantee that wild animals will not come out.

He looked towards where the cat left, in the direction of the city wall.

Hope it returns to its owner safely.

After a while, they put away their tents and packed their bags. The group got on the donkey cart and headed towards the city wall.

Longqing Mansion was very lively. Along the way, they saw many sellers carrying burdens. They were also going to the city.

Halfway through, Xu Yi smelled the sweet aroma, so he asked A Xu to stop the car and bought some glutinous rice cakes from the salesman.

The glutinous rice cakes, freshly baked from the oven, are still steaming. The shopkeeper fills the glutinous rice cakes with mulberry leaves he picked.

Put a small piece of palm on top of the mulberry leaves. It looks glutinous and tastes glutinous.

This glutinous rice cake is stuffed with jujube paste and sprinkled with a thin layer of icing sugar on the outside. It's sweet and won't stick to your teeth.

A Xu paid the salesman and asked him about the situation in Pu'an County.

When the salesman heard that they were inquiring about the traditional Chinese medicine clinic in the city, he said with a subtle expression: "There are several medical clinics in this city, but now there is only one big one, that is Jishitang..." Jishitang

has a great reputation in Pu'an, among which The most famous one is the Shen's Xiaoshi Pills he sells.

It is not easy for ordinary people like a salesman to buy Shen's Xiaoshi Pills.

The salesman said: "A pack of these Xiaoshi pills costs one hundred cash, so only the rich in the city can afford them. If we eat too much beans and rice one day to accumulate food, we can only dig some herbs and boil them in water."

But the herbs are also available. It doesn't work every time. Sometimes drinking it will worsen the condition. If it goes wrong, it will cost your life.

The salesman said that his second uncle's youngest son had eaten too much beans and rice last year and had no use in drinking medicinal herbs. The child died in less than two days.

When the salesman left with his load, Ah Jin bit into the glutinous rice cake and said angrily: "How dare Jishitang sell it at such a high price?"

Xu Yi cast a reassuring look at her and said, "This Shen family Xiaoshi pills are the only one

sold by Jishi Tang, so he dares to raise the price." In other words, only Ji Shi Tang sells Xiaoshi pills. Even if they know the premium of his pills, people who want to buy them are still willing to spend money. .

After all, compared with Xiaoshi soup, Xiaoshi pills are easier to take and portable. Anyone with a small income in the family will definitely be willing to buy them.

Ah Jin frowned and asked, "Lang Jun, do you think you can let Brother Qiu come to Pu'an to sell Xiaoshi pills?"

Xu Yi was silent.

When Yu Qiulin risked being beaten, he exposed the secret of Ji Shi Tang in Zitong's area, which had already aroused Shen's attention.

It would be different if he came here specifically to cause trouble. He couldn't let Yu Qiulin get into trouble and danger just because the other party sold the pills at a high price.

Xu Yi waved his hand and said: "Our intervention in this matter can only solve a temporary emergency. For the people of Pu'an County, after we leave, this situation will only remain the same."

Jishitang tasted the sweetness of the high price . , naturally he will not give up easily, and he is just a private doctor.

Let alone him, even if the government comes forward to put pressure, it will probably be useless.

After A Xu and the others heard what Xu Yi said, they also thought about this aspect, and their expressions didn't look good.

Xu Yi glanced at them and said nothing more.

He entered the carriage, took the slightly cold glutinous rice cake in his hand, and slowly ate it into his stomach.

Maybe he really has a way?

Xu Yi narrowed his eyes and shook his head with a chuckle. How could he have such great ability?