Yan Xia frowned slightly.
Luo Bai is Cui Siniu's youngest son.
Cui Siniu was Zhu Xiaohua's lackey, the woman she kicked into the cesspool that day.
Did he see what kind of flower you picked?
"I saw him; he must have been following me all the way."
That's why the winter plum blossoms look so bitter.
Oh no, the secret of the flower cake has been discovered.
"It's okay, let's put the flowers in first, and then we'll figure something out when we get home."
Yan Xia patted her head reassuringly.
The girl wasn't wrong either; after all, if Luo Bai really wanted to spy, she wouldn't have been able to find out.
The mountain is overgrown with weeds and trees; if you hide anywhere, no one will be able to spot you.
"Mother, all the roses have been picked, they're all here."
Shi Xiaohe pointed to the ground.
The baskets, basins, bath tubs, and even the bamboo baskets were all filled to the brim.
That's not all; she spread a layer of straw on the ground.
Place rose petals on top.
It was a full palm's thickness.
Yan Xia set aside a portion of fresh flower petals to make flower cakes tomorrow.
She pickled the rest in three jars.
It's more accurate to call it a jar than a pot.
After sealing it tightly, the sun was about to set.
"Alright, Xiaohe, you three stay home to cook and watch the house. Jinfu and Jinlu, pick up your hoes, bamboo baskets, and backpacks, and come with your mother to dig roses in the low hills. Bring your tinderboxes too."
Yan Xia has already come up with a solution.
Now that the secret has been discovered, these people will definitely be eyeing the edible roses, even though they won't bloom again this year.
But what about next year?
When Lamei saw Luo Bai just now, that kid must have run away in fright. He probably only remembers the gist of it.
She decided to transplant all of this variety of roses to the high mountains.
They spent more money to renovate the house, building a three-meter-high wall around the front and back yards with blue bricks, and then moved the roses from the mountains to the backyard.
What we want is to do it without anyone noticing.
It will also make it easier for her to pick the osmanthus flowers in the future, so she won't have to hide them when she goes up the mountain in the middle of the day.
Without further ado, the mother and her two children dug up all the edible roses on the low hill before dark, and then headed to the high mountain.
We didn't go deep into the mountains; we just walked for about twenty minutes and found an open space, so we temporarily transplanted the roses there.
As darkness fell, it became so dark in the mountains that one could not see their own hand in front of their face. Yan Xia lit a torch with a tinderbox for illumination.
They didn't finish planting until almost midnight.
The three of them descended the mountain.
Everyone in the village is asleep at this time.
Only her house still had its lights burning.
"Knock knock—"
"who?"
"Mother's back—"
As Yan Xia knocked on the door, Xiao He's voice came from inside asking questions.
Hearing her mother-in-law speak, Shi Xiaohe breathed a sigh of relief.
She walked quickly to the door and opened it.
Let the three of them in.
The mountain air was damp at night, and the heat made all three of them feel slightly sweaty.
"Mother, I've boiled some water. Go take a bath first. It's damp up in the mountains, so don't catch a cold. Oh, and the food is warming on the stove. Mother, would you like to eat first or take a bath first?"
Xiaohe was very considerate; she took the hoe from Yanxia and asked her questions.
"Let's eat first. Have you eaten with Guihua and Lamei yet?"
"No, we were thinking of eating with Mother. Lamei seemed a little sleepy, so Guihua and I told her to eat first and then go to sleep. Mother, I'll go and bring out the food."
"Okay, go ahead, I'll wash my hands."
Yan Xia's hands were covered in mud, and so was her body.
He was covered in dirt.
"You two should wash your hands too, then eat, and then take a shower, otherwise you'll definitely get sick tomorrow."
"Yes, Mother."
"Okay, Mom."
Jin Fu and Jin Lu responded obediently.
So the family ate a warm meal, took a bath late at night, and then went to sleep, exhausted.
Let's go back to the afternoon.
When Luo Bai returned home, he told his parents what he had secretly witnessed.
Cui Siniu recalled what Aunt Da Zui had said: Yan Xia had opened a shop selling flower cakes.
Flower cakes...
Then I thought of my son seeing Lamei and Shi Xiaohe picking roses.
They're still only picking one kind of ugly rose.
Could the secret recipe for flower cakes be this rose?
If she picks all these roses, wouldn't she be able to make flower cakes and sell them for half a tael of silver a bag? Good heavens, even if she only sells two bags a day, she can still earn a tael of silver!
Cui Siniu's eyes were shining.
Since it's a cake, it's nothing more than flour. Wrap roses in flour, sprinkle some sugar, and steam it—that's what we call a flower cake.
She felt as if countless ingots of silver were beckoning to her.
Once she earns money, she will no longer have to grovel before Zhu Xiaohua.
They also wanted to slap Yan Xia in the face hard.
He watched as she knelt on the ground, begging him to share some of his roses with her.
Just thinking about it makes me feel better.
"Mother, should we go and finish picking the roses? We've already picked a lot of winter plum blossoms today; there weren't many left when I left."
Luo Bai was getting anxious.
He wants to get married.
If we can sell flower cakes, the family will have enough money in less than a month to help our eldest and second eldest brothers get married.
Then it was his turn.
I heard from married friends in the village that women are incredibly attractive.
"Go after dark, and make sure no one in the village sees us. This is a secret we can't tell anyone except the Yan family. Everyone in the village is watching Yan Xia now."
The Luo family didn't even eat dinner.
They waited until it got dark.
Then the whole family, carrying baskets and bamboo hampers, rushed straight up the low hill.
When they arrived at their destination, they were dumbfounded.
There are no roses.
Everything was picked clean.
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