Chapter 274

This trip to Zhuangzi was mainly about melting gold and copper coins, not vacationing for the New Year, because Zhuangzi had everything, and there was no need to worry about food. Xu Yi and the others only moved one car's luggage.

Erqing drove the car, accompanied by Xiao Huang.

There were several people sitting around in another carriage. Tiger King was held in Yan Quyue's arms as a hand warmer, and Dong'er was clinging to Xu Yi. His eyes turned curiously and looked around without stopping all the way.

"Ta-ta-ta--"

The cold wind followed quickly, lifting a corner of the curtains, and caught a glimpse of the snow-colored sky and earth outside. Everything in the field of vision was white, and no one could be seen.

Because the surrounding area is sparsely populated and people don't like to go into the city in cold weather, there are almost no pedestrians on the road at this hour. The donkey cart was running smoothly on the official road in the suburbs of Beijing, and Xu Yi and the others arrived at Zhuangzi earlier than usual.

Before departure, Butler Lu and others were notified to return home for the holidays. The village was quiet, and A Xu ran to open the door.

Everyone got out of the car one after another and began to move their luggage silently.

Not long after, a heater was lit in the cold village.

Smoke was also burning in the kitchen. They had been traveling for an hour, and it was almost time for lunch. A Xu and Er Qing made today's lunch first.

After lunch, Xu Yi took Yan Quyue to the backyard to check the situation.

There is an open space in the backyard, close to the stream brought in from the suburbs of Beijing. In winter, the weeds turn yellow and look a little desolate.

But it's good, because it is convenient for Xu Yi and the others to temporarily build a furnace here.

The red mud needed to build the stove was available beside the river and ditch, so they did not have to dig elsewhere.

Then, A Xu, who went to the woodshed to check the situation, came over and said that there was not much firewood or charcoal in the woodshed.

If they use it to melt gold, Butler Lu and the others may see a problem when they come back later.

They didn’t bring any firewood with them this time, so even if there wasn’t any extra firewood in the village for them to use, there was no need to worry.

At this time, no one is picking up the withered dry firewood in the deserted countryside, and you can pick up a lot of it every once in a while. Xu Yi then made a plan. He and Erqing went to collect firewood, while Axu and Ajin stayed in the village to build a clay stove for burning charcoal.

In this way, the charcoal can be used to melt gold.

"I'll go with you too." Yan Quyue said to Xu Yi. She couldn't build a stove, so it was useless to stay here.

Xu Yi nodded in agreement: "Okay."

In his opinion, Yan Quyue's physical strength is not inferior to that of men, and treating her as a weak woman is disrespectful to her.

Immediately, the three of them took their wood-cutting tools and went out.

Going out from behind Zhuangzi, there is a low slope behind. The hillside is covered with a thick layer of snow. The three of them stepped up on the snow, picked up dry firewood on the ground and threw it into the big bamboo basket behind them, while observing the surroundings.

Perhaps because few people come here, dry firewood can be seen everywhere on the ground. In just half an hour, the bamboo baskets of the three of them were filled.

So they turned back, emptied the bamboo basket and went out again. This time, they bypassed the previous path and headed in another direction.

After a while, Xu Yi saw wild yam leaves half covered by snow.

After the cold silence, the leaves of the wild yam in the mountains turned golden, and they were crawling on the ground with withered vines. There was snow on them. When the snow was swept away, the soil below was frozen and stiff, making it difficult to dig.

Wild yams are a good thing. Xu Yi spent some effort to dig out a few yams here.

Erqing saw Xu Yi digging something and came over curiously. When he saw it was wild yam, he asked doubtfully: "How can we still see wild yam here?"

He has grown so big, no one digs it?

Xu Yi thought about it and said: "This place is too close to Zhuangzi. Other people don't dare to get close, for fear that they might own the land. The people in Zhuangzi have enough to eat and drink, and are self-sufficient. I'm afraid they won't be happy to come up to the mountain in such a cold weather." Dig something."

This will keep the wild yam until they come.

Take it back and let A Xu cook sweet wild yam soup for them.

"Let's see if there's anything else." Yan Quyue looked around excitedly. They all came up the mountain and couldn't go back empty-handed.

Erqing also said excitedly: "I wonder if I might be able to hunt something."

He had not gone hunting for so long since he came to Kyoto.

If he doesn't catch some prey, his hunting ability will be so unfamiliar that it will be wasted.

Xu Yi said: "Go and take a look on the right side."

When they went up the mountain to collect firewood, they would pay attention to the movement around them. There were many bushes there and there might be small animals.

Erqing was born as an Orion, and his understanding of the environment was as good as Xu Yi's. When Xu Yi said this, he knew that he was allowed to move freely.

He didn't rush to check. He picked up the firewood that needed to be picked up, and then went over there to check the footprints in the snow.

Pheasants and hares come out to look for food when the weather is cold. The snow is difficult to melt. The snow that fell in the morning has not melted yet, so the footprints left by the small animals are naturally still there.

Erqing judged based on the footprints for a while, picked some stones and sticks from the surrounding area, took out two of the hemp ropes he brought out to bundle firewood and tied them together, one end was connected to the stones and the other end was connected to the sticks to make a ceiling style trap.

After setting several traps around him, Erqing gave up and took the dry firewood he picked up to find Xu Yi and Yan Quyue.

On the other side, Xu Yi and Yan Quyue paused.

The couple looked at each other.

Yan Quyue said: "There is movement."

The movement didn't sound like the sound of animals, but instead sounded like footsteps.

It's possible that people from nearby Zhuangzi or people living near the outskirts of Beijing are coming to the mountains in such a cold weather.

Xu Yi looked at Yan Quyue beside him, thoughts flashed in each other's eyes, and they tacitly chose to hide.

Wait a moment.

Two figures, one large and one small, appeared on the snow-covered path ahead.

They were a pair of grandparents. The slightly older woman had a coarse cloth wrapped on her head and a bamboo basket on her arm. The younger one was a half-grown child. Her age was indistinguishable. Her gray face was wrapped in the same coarse cloth. Live, only showing two black eyes.

The two of them walked hard on the snow, shivering as they picked up the fallen mountain goods on the ground.

Suddenly, the child shouted happily: "Grandma, there are bamboos."

The presence of bamboo means there may be winter bamboo shoots. Winter bamboo shoots are hard to find. If you can find them, they are a delicacy. If the country people have winter clothes, they will bring bamboo shoots with them. Tools go up the mountain to find bamboo shoots and take them to the city to sell them.

Restaurants and restaurants in the city will collect winter bamboo shoots, and the quantity required is very large. If you find a lot of winter bamboo shoots, you can take them to these restaurants and sell them. The price will be cheaper than those sold in bulk, but it is also cheaper than in cold weather. I was freezing inside and yelling at the sales force.

The grandfather and grandson were very excited when they saw the bamboo forest.

Not caring about anything else, he quickened his pace and approached the bamboo forest... However, Xu Yi and Yan Quyue happened to be hiding next to the bamboo forest.

As long as the grandfather and grandson get closer, they will be found.

"Oh, there's someone!" There was movement in the bamboo forest. The child's sharp eyes immediately saw two people walking out of the bamboo forest.

The sudden change made him scream out instinctively, and he immediately ran away. The old woman following him didn't even react, and she was almost hit by her grandson.

Yan Quyue said "Oh", quickly reached out her hand to steady the person, and shouted to the frightened child: "Don't run away, be careful. You may slip."

The child stopped in his tracks, looking dazed and a little stunned. He watched helplessly as his grandma was being supported by a good-looking young woman.

Clutching the basket tightly, I didn't know what to do.

Xu Yi asked with a gentle smile: "It's so cold today, why did you come up the mountain?"

The old woman came back to her senses, looked at Xu Yi, and then at Yan Quyue, she saw that they were both kind people.

She put away the fear on her face and whispered back: "It's cold today, so people don't like to come to the mountains. I just thought I could pick up something to take home and cook at this time, so I brought my grandson here."

As she spoke, she was afraid that Xu Yi would misunderstand, so she hurriedly explained, "We didn't take anything randomly. We came here because we heard others said that no one was taking care of this place."

"I don't blame you." Xu Yi shook his head. .

It's just that the clothes worn by the grandfather and grandson were very thin. They stayed outside for who knows how long, and the skin exposed outside the clothes was turned red from the cold.

At this time, the child was still awake and had a runny nose, so he didn't dare to touch it in the presence of outsiders.

Xu Yi took out a handkerchief to wipe his nose, and took the opportunity to ask where they were from.

The old woman didn't hide it. They were from the next village, several miles away from here. Everything on the mountain in their village had been picked up.

For example, there are only two of them left in his family. They are too old and weak to pick up the adult villagers.

No, I just ran here to pick up things. Before I picked up much, I met Xu Yi and the others.

The couple: "..."

Xu Yi squinted his eyes and said, "We have looked at that bamboo forest, but we didn't see any winter bamboo shoots. We're afraid they were poached."

Yan Quyue, who was next to him, echoed: " It would be better for your grandparents to go to Zhuangzi with us to get some food than to look for winter bamboo shoots here."

Yan Quyue thought that they had almost collected firewood, and it wouldn't take much time to take them to Zhuangzi.

When the child heard something being taken, his eyes lit up and he looked at his grandma expectantly.

The old woman was not as naive as him. She shook her head and said, "How could we have the nerve to take your things for nothing?"

Yan Quyue said to the grandfather and grandson, "That place is our village. You don't have to think that you have taken something from us." "What to do with the food? It's nothing to us."

But to them, the food can last them several days.

At this time, there were footsteps coming from behind.

It was Erqing who came to find them.

Seeing the presence of outsiders, Erqing was stunned for a moment, stared at his grandfather and grandson, and then turned his attention to Xu Yi.

"Doctor Xu, should we go back?"

"Go back, take them with you."

Hearing the newly arrived young man calling Xu Yi "Doctor Xu," the grandfather and grandson followed them down the mountain without hesitation. .

Zhuangzi is at the foot of the mountain. From a distance, you can see that the Zhuangzi is very spacious and you can see everything in the Zhuangzi at a glance. Not long after, the grandfather and grandson looked at the Zhuangzi wall in front of them, looking around in panic, their nervousness evident in their expressions.

After entering the small door, the three of them put the bamboo baskets on their backs on the ground. Erqing went to the water tank next to him and scooped some water to wash his hands.

The water is still chilly and looks cold!

The grandfather and grandson stared with admiration at this young man.

Xu Yi and Yan Quyue were more refined and not as rough as him. They led people to the kitchen inside, took a pot and poured some hot water into the basin to wash their hands, and then poured hot water for them both to drink.

Then, he took a steamed potato from the covered pot and gave it to the child.

"Thank you, Doctor Xu." The old woman urged her grandson.

The child timidly took the potato, thanked him in a low voice, and then wolfed down the potato.

"Eat slowly, there's still more in the pot." Xu Yi gave the old woman two more to eat.

This was leftover from their lunch. It was still warm to the touch when it was warmed on the stove. In addition, other food in the kitchen is raw and cannot be eaten.

He sent Erqing to find Ajin and ask for a sack for food.

Not long after, Erqing came back, followed by Ajin.

Ah Jin came in and turned his attention to his grandfather and grandson.

Seeing them dressed in rags and huddled in a corner, I felt pity in my heart. There are poor people who don't have enough to eat everywhere, and in such a prosperous Kyoto, it is no exception.

They had excellent food, housing, clothing and transportation with Lang Jun, but they did not forget that there were still many starving civilians all over the world.

So I thought of putting some of everything on them.

Xu Yi, on the other hand, knew in his heart that the grandfather and grandson could not move many things, or that if they gave away too many things, they would be easily missed by others in the same village. If someone is concerned about him, they, the young and the old, can't protect him.

It's better to bring them something that is easy to store and convenient so that others don't see it.

"Ajin, stop pretending that the food is there." Xu Yi interrupted her.

Pointing to the dried meat hanging on the beam, Erqing asked Erqing to take down the dried meat and put two kilograms of it on them.

When the old woman heard that she wanted to give them dried meat, she hurriedly waved her hands and said no. It was already good to pick up some edible food and give them to them. How could she still ask for dried meat?

Besides, this jerky is so expensive.

"Take this dried meat, we have no shortage." Erqing came down with the dried meat and said dryly when she saw that she didn't want it.

There was no expression on his face, and his eyes were so cold that the old woman swallowed her saliva in fear and swallowed back her refusal completely.

Later, Xu Yi asked Ah Jin to load some fruits and poria cakes and give them to them as well.

...

Grandfather and grandson thanked each other several times and left without looking back.

In the next few days, neither the grandfather nor the grandson will come to pick up things on the mountain behind. No one else will be able to find out what Xu Yi and the others want to do in the village.

The charcoal-burning clay oven burns for several days, and the charcoal is taken to the nearby furnace.

The furnace consumes a lot of charcoal every day, burning the outer furnace wall red, and the gold and copper coins placed at the bottom of the furnace begin to change.

Gradually, the characters and patterns engraved on the outer layer slowly melted, turning into golden beads that slid down to the grooved tile plate below.

Day after day.

Seven days passed in the blink of an eye, and the red fire in the furnace went out.

After the furnace was completely extinguished, several people gathered around and touched it expectantly. They found that the furnace wall was no longer hot. They happily picked up a shovel and smashed it into the furnace.

"Will it melt?"

Xu Yi said: "If it is burned at such a high temperature for so many days, it will melt."

Not only is it so melted that it cannot be seen.

It was also melted into a gold brick weighing dozens of kilograms.