She put the oil into the hot pan and stir-fried the peppercorns she had picked earlier. The beef had been marinated with a small amount of flour to make it more tender. When the heat was almost right, she put the beef in and stir-fried it, counting the number in her mind. When it was almost done, she secretly added soy sauce and bean paste, and the aroma filled her nose.
She made the stove with its back facing people, so people nearby could only see her back, and she was not afraid of being seen by others.
After frying the beef, she fried some pig grass. Xin'er was playing by the river, but when she smelled the fragrance, she immediately ran back.
Seeing her staring at the beef, Tong Wen Yao picked up a small piece with chopsticks and asked her to chew it.
Second uncle came back with his brothers. Xin'er ran over when she saw him. Tong Bo picked Xin'er up and saw that her mouth was bulging. He couldn't help rubbing it and said, "Brother, my fried beef is delicious."
Tong Bo was a little surprised. He had heard that there was beef at the post station before. Did his aunt go to buy it with money? Wen Jiang didn't care. When she heard that there was beef to eat, she ran faster than Xin'er.
Second uncle came back carrying bamboo and also smelled the fragrance, "Yao'er, you made me hungry." Tong Wenyao smiled and said to him with a wooden spatula, "Second uncle, wait a while and make the chicken soup and we'll be eating."
He put down the bamboo and started to cut it with his knife.
Wen Yao followed behind with firewood. It was cold at night and the firewood burned quickly, so he had to bring more firewood.
When they saw that everyone had a bowl of white rice, they were a little surprised. You know, since their house was searched, they had been eating black steamed buns every day. This was the first time they had eaten it after being exiled for so long.
"Thanks to the rabbits that my second uncle caught, a noble lady took a fancy to them and exchanged them with us for food."
After swallowing a mouthful of white rice, Aunt Cui said, "They bought it because you cooked it well."
The Tong family's military commanders were not strict with the rules, and there was no such thing as not talking while eating or sleeping.
"Wow, my sister's fried beef is so delicious!"
Mother Qian looked at them tenderly while eating in small bites.
After eating, Tong Wenyao took out the washed wild dates to share with everyone. Tong Wenyao peeled the bamboo into strips and then weaved a fish cage, while his second uncle sharpened the bamboo strips on the side.
After dinner, Xin'er and Wen Jiang ran to play with the children. Tong Wen Yao looked over and saw that Qin'er, the daughter who had saved Aunt Mo before, also came to play.
Qian's mother sat beside her, watching her prepare Codonopsis pilosula. "Yao'er, how come you can prepare it too?" When she heard this, her hands paused for a moment, then she half-jokingly said, "Mom, you forced me to learn music, chess, calligraphy and painting, and I didn't want to learn. So I ran away to He Chuan's house." She spread her hands and pretended to be exaggerated, "He has a furnace at home that is specially used for baking medicinal herbs. It's very big."
Mother Qian sighed softly, "So that's how it is. Yao'er is amazing. What does touching the abdominal muscles mean?"
Tong Wenyao's heart skipped a beat. Oh no! How could she possibly make this right? A flash of anxiety crossed her mind, and then, as if determined, she approached Qian's mother. "Mom, when I was unconscious, I dreamed of a world like the Peach Blossom Spring. There were tons of delicious food, and lots of beautiful clothes to wear. There were flying creatures in the sky, and people were sitting inside them..."
Before Tong Wenyao could say anything, Qian's mother covered her mouth. She said with a look of shock, "You can't tell anyone else these words, understand?" After seeing her nod, she lowered her hand. Her daughter's experience was too bizarre. If anyone knew about it, she would be mistaken for a monster. "Even Yao'er and the others didn't tell."
"Uh-huh."
Tong Wen Yao was taking a gamble, a gamble on a mother's love for her daughter, and it turned out that her gamble was right. After this experience, it will be easier for her to do anything in the future.
"Sister, I've finished the weaving! I'm going to set a trap in the river tonight. Maybe I can catch some fish tomorrow!" He jumped for joy while holding up the fish cage. He was still a child at heart, so happy to have made a fish cage. Even though his clothes were tattered, it couldn't stop him from being so high-spirited.
Wen Jiang also clamored to go with them, and Tong Bo, the most mature of the three, also proposed to go with them. Cui's mother said that they should go early and come back early, and not play too much.
Before leaving, she asked Wen Yao to use the chicken bones as bait.
At this time, many people were bathing and washing their hair by the river, and the women were covering themselves with pieces of cloth and wiping their bodies.
After they bathed in the river and packed up the fish cages, they returned to sleep. Tong Wenyao waited until they were fast asleep at night before quietly getting up and sneaking into the nearby woods to enter her space. She bathed in her space, dried her hair, and then comfortably ate grapes in the backyard. This life was simply too good to be true.
But when she thought about the trouble they would have if they woke up and found she was missing, she left the space and quietly slept next to her mother again.
Tong Wen Yao woke up early the next morning. There was still some chicken soup left from the previous night. She kneaded the dough that had been fermented early and put it into an iron pan to fry. Black steamed buns usually ferment at noon, so they usually didn't eat them in the morning. But since Tong Wen Yao came here, they cooked breakfast every morning. Although it was not very filling, it was better than walking on an empty stomach.
Tong Wenyao woke up early in the morning and went to the river to check the fish traps he'd set the previous night. There was nothing in either of them, not even the usual crabs. He was immediately discouraged. So catching fish was so difficult? Had he placed the traps in the wrong place? Was that why no fish were getting in?
He returned with his two fish cages, looking dejected. Even Wen Jiang, who was beside him, was listless. Seeing them like this, Tong Wenyao couldn't help but say, "It's normal to fail the first time. Maybe there aren't many fish in the river."
Tong Wenyao exhaled when he heard this, "Sister, is this really the case?" Waves of shouting reached his ears, and the riverside was bustling with activity.
Tong Wen Yao glanced at Aunt Du walking back by the river with the two fish in her arms. What she had just said was slapped in the face. Aunt Du was showing off to everyone with a happy face, "See? When I went to the river to wash my face, fish jumped in front of me!" She looked so arrogant, like a fighting cock. When she saw Tong Wen Yao looking at her, she snorted and walked past her.
The officers were counting people on the side. After Tong Wen Yao packed her luggage, she put out the fire and followed them. The sun was not so strong in the morning, and it was already autumn, so the further north she went, the colder it got.
Tong Wenyao thought to herself that the wind seemed stronger than usual today, and it made her neck feel a little cold. She wondered if the cold front was about to arrive, which was why it was so cold. Not only did she feel that the weather was getting colder, but even Xin'er shrank her neck in fear. When she saw this, she put the package on her back and reached out to pick Xin'er up.
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