Chapter 811 The little girl is the one who's shy.
Tudan'er hasn't been down the mountain for over a month because he's been delivering food to his senior brother.
Song Chunxue looked up at his hopeful expression and patted his arm.
"Okay, let's go down the mountain together. You can come with me for a stroll."
"Thank you, Uncle-Master!" Tu Dan'er skipped happily as he walked away. "Then I'll tidy myself up and change into some clean clothes. Who knows, I might just run into a girl I like."
Do you have any new clothes?
Tu Dan'er revealed a smug smile.
"Of course there is, Uncle-Master, you forgot? Before you set off, you specifically left us some silver and told us to make autumn clothes."
“Uncle-Master is the head steward of our mountain, and you’ve covered all the expenses before,” Tu Dan’er said with some concern. “But money isn’t inexhaustible. Did you gain anything from this trip?”
“Of course,” Song Chunxue patted her chest. “Don’t worry, you won’t go hungry. If you ever need money in the future, just let me know.”
Thinking of that heavy, golden box, she felt confident and once again thanked the ancestors for their kindness.
Tu Dan'er looked surprised but also quite taken aback, and nodded.
"Uncle-Master is indeed our God of Wealth. May I buy two books today when I go down the mountain?" Tu Dan'er asked somewhat shyly. "I want to buy poems and songs to read. Lord Zhao speaks eloquently, and Daoist Han is also well-read. We few know nothing."
"No need to buy them. I'll get you a few when we go down the mountain. Don't you remember I have a bookstore?"
They chatted and laughed as they walked along the mountain path. The Taoist priest stood outside the cave listening to their voices gradually fade into the distance, then turned around, picked up the food box, and went into the cave.
Upon learning that Tudan was also going down the mountain, everyone wanted to go with him.
But someone had to stay behind to bring food to Master Zhang. Changfeng volunteered to stay, saying that he had already traveled far and could come down the mountain again next time.
Instead of flying on their swords, they leisurely strolled down the winding mountain path, playfully bickering as they walked.
Looking at them, Song Chunxue seemed to see several children when they were young.
I heard that the third child and the second child have been asking Xie Zheng when she will be back these past few days, so Song Chunxue thought about going to see them.
After wandering around the streets, they first arrived at Lao Si's tavern.
"mother?"
"Mother, you're back!" The fourth son ran up to Song Chunxue. "Oh, Mother, you even brought your apprentice with you when you went out? Why is there another one I haven't seen before?"
Seeing young people around his own age, the fourth brother was extremely jealous and felt very uncomfortable. He crossed his arms and looked them over.
Although they now live a good life, it is all thanks to their mother. But whenever he thinks about his relationship with his mother now, he feels as if a piece of his heart is missing.
Now, Mother has many close relatives. She has people who are more precious and trustworthy than her family, and each of them is more reliable than her children.
Perhaps Mother didn't realize it, but on the surface, they had already become a burden to her.
They, as children, are gradually drifting away from their mother.
These days, the only people my mother sees regularly are Lord Xie and her apprentice.
Many times he had the urge to ask his mother whether her son or her apprentice was closer to her now.
But he was too ashamed to ask.
"Lack of knowledge and experience can be harmful. Why did I, like everyone else, only think about getting married and having children as soon as possible? Why couldn't I have gone up the mountain with my mother to cultivate myself? It would have been so much more carefree."
The fourth son sighed, then patted his chest with a smile, "Mother, take a look, have I lost any weight?"
Changyun and Tudan'er exchanged a smile. "Fourth Young Master is clearly jealous, but you have indeed lost some weight. What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
The fourth brother greeted everyone with a smile, "Please come upstairs, everyone. Please don't call me Fourth Young Master, it's too formal. If you'd like, you can call me Fourth Brother, I think I'm two years older than you."
“Alright, Fourth Brother,” Tu Dan’er pulled Wu Ji over and introduced, “This guy looks young, but he’s actually a bit older than Second Brother. You can call him Senior Brother from now on, that won’t be wrong.”
The fourth son was overjoyed, feeling that this made him feel closer to his mother.
"Senior Brother, it's a pleasure to meet you. What would you like to drink?"
Seeing that the fourth brother was becoming more and more adept at dealing with people, Song Chunxue's gaze fell on him, and she was genuinely happy for him.
However, as soon as they met, she could tell that the fourth brother was unhappy.
This child, now she even knows how to hold a grudge against her apprentice; before, she only wanted to stay far away from her.
After all the dishes were served, and Lao Si sat down to eat with them, Song Chunxue started chatting with him.
Tianqi is due to give birth in the next few days and is staying at home waiting for news.
It was obvious that the fourth child was a little nervous; he couldn't help rubbing his fingers together when he mentioned the child.
"I wonder if it's a daughter or a son. I'll be a father soon." The fourth son poured wine for Song Chunxue. "Mother, will you and Lord Xie have more children?"
"Pfft...cough cough cough," Song Chunxue was caught off guard and spat out the tea she had just drunk. She raised her hand and slapped him hard on the shoulder. "What nonsense are you talking about!"
The fourth son winced in pain and rubbed his shoulder. "I was asking the truth. Why did Mother hit me?"
Song Chunxue lowered her voice and said irritably, "I'm already this old, I've never even thought about this. Besides, I already told Lord Xie... Don't you think your mother might feel embarrassed asking so directly?"
"What's there to be ashamed of? Only little girls are ashamed." The fourth son raised his hand to beg for mercy. "If Mother doesn't want to talk about it, then I won't ask. Let's talk about something else."
Song Chunxue leaned back. "Oh, how did you know I wanted to eat rice porridge?"
“People here are used to eating coarse grains and pickled vegetables. You’ve been away for so long, you must be craving some coarse grains. You can also make rice with clear oil and pickled vegetables. I knew you’d like to eat that,” the fourth brother laughed. “If the cook’s jiaotuan (a type of porridge) wasn’t so bad, I would have definitely asked him to make it for you.”
Song Chunxue nodded, "Yes, it's rare for you to be so considerate. I'll still have to make the cornmeal porridge myself."
In front of Wuji Changyun and Tudan'er was white flour, as they were not used to eating coarse grains.
However, when Wuji saw his uncle and his mother eating the rice with gusto, and especially smelled the aroma of sesame oil mixed with pickled vegetables, he really wanted to try it.
"Could you give me half a bowl so I can try it?" Wuji asked curiously. "What kind of whole grains is this made of?"
The fourth brother instructed the waiter, "Give him a small half bowl; he probably won't like it."
"It's made with broad bean noodles, buckwheat noodles, and a little bit of wheat flour. To make it delicious, the proportions have to be just right. So it has to be done by an experienced person. Otherwise, it will either be too soft or too hard, or the broad bean noodles will be too strong in flavor, a little bitter and astringent," Song Chunxue explained in detail. "You might not be used to it the first time you eat it. Eat more vegetables."
Wuji nodded, eagerly imitating Song Chunxue, covering the top with sauerkraut brine and some shredded potatoes, then picked up a big bite and put it in his mouth.
He chewed it carefully. It had a complex flavor, but it wasn't bad. The wheat flavor was strong, mixed with the distinct taste of pickled cabbage juice and sesame oil, which was very characteristic of the region.
He picked up the rice and shredded potatoes. The taste was much simpler. The rice had a very unique flavor, quite different from the cornmeal rice in the Central Plains, which made him very hungry.
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