Chapter 68 Roasted Pepper Sauce
The crops in the fields were growing well, and there was no need for heavy labor for the time being, so Lu An and Yao Yuan decided to go to Taiping Town together.
Last time, Zhao Xuan went to Taiping Town alone and collected a lot of supplies, but she only took a small portion with her. She discussed it with Lu An and felt that most of the supplies were daily necessities, such as quilts and clothes. The rooms upstairs, which were being used as warehouses, were already full, and they wouldn't be able to use all of them if they brought more. So they decided to invite the Yao family to go with them, as they needed the quilts and clothes more. By pooling the resources of both families, they could bring all the supplies back first.
There really wasn't much left in Taiping Town. They cleared a road to the saltworks market, and this winter Lu An and Yao Yuan could take all the mountain produce they had made that year to exchange for what they needed. So, it's highly likely that this would be their last trip to Taiping Town.
The Yao family readily agreed. The dog had grown a bit taller, and Yao Yuan wanted to go there to find some shoes and clothes for the dog.
This time, the men from both families went out together, leaving the women at home to herd sheep, raise pigs, and take care of the crops.
The dog was asked to stay and protect its mother, and 460 was naturally asked to stay and protect Zhao Xuan as well.
460 has grown into a majestic, black dog with glossy fur, bright eyes, and strong, agile paws. Although it's mostly oblivious to what's going on, it's always there when it matters. For example, when Lu An asked it to stay and guard the house, it seemed to understand and responded with two soft sounds, as if agreeing with Lu An.
After the Dragon Boat Festival, the weather turned really hot. Zhao Xuan and Lu An cleaned the house inside and out, washed the screen windows, mopped the floor, and slept on cool bamboo mats.
The hot weather also had its advantages, as Lu An and Yao Yuan didn't need to bring much luggage to Taiping Town this time. They didn't need sleeping bags or tents, and their clothes were just a few sets of light long shirts and trousers, which were much lighter than when Zhao Xuan went to Taiping Town by himself.
However, it's good to bring some food that keeps well, so Zhao Xuan prepared some crispy rice dumplings and dried pork ribs. The dried rice dumplings are much denser than rice and won't spoil even after being kept at room temperature for a few days. When they want to eat them, they can boil water, throw in the dried pork ribs and crispy rice dumplings, and cook them to make a pot of thick and delicious bone broth rice soup. If they also bring a few small jars of pickles to eat with it, it will be even more perfect.
Zhao Xuan is now quite skilled at pickling vegetables. In the summer, when she has a poor appetite, she likes to pickle some soy-pickled eggs, cucumbers, and cowpeas to eat with her meals.
The night before Lu An left, she picked a large basket of green peppers, roasted them in a pan until soft, chopped them up, mixed them with minced garlic, and then drizzled hot sesame oil over them. The simple roasted pepper sauce was ready. It didn't look very appealing, but it was definitely the best choice to eat with rice. The thick layer of sesame oil could isolate it from the air, allowing the roasted pepper sauce to be stored at room temperature for a long time.
Zhao Xuan prepared the food for Lu An's trip, while Zhang Xiaohe prepared the food for Yao Yuan. However, Zhao Xuan prepared extra food so that Lu An could share it with Yao Yuan.
In addition, she served a portion of roasted chili sauce and pickled cowpeas, and also took some candied chestnuts and salted eggs. She put each of these foods into a small jar, and finally put all the jars into a large cloth bag.
She tied the bag tightly and told Lu An that it was for that madman in Taiping Town.
These foods include both salty and sweet varieties, and the portions are not large enough to be left uneaten and spoil.
Lu An learned some details about the madman from Zhao Xuan, though most of it was Zhao Xuan's speculation.
Zhao Xuan was grateful to the madman for helping her find a lot of supplies, all of which came from the madman's relatives and friends. Since she had taken their things, she was determined to give back in kind.
Zhao Xuan speculated that the madwoman might be in the house she used to spend the night in, or in her own home. Lu An and Yao Yuan would enter these places when collecting supplies, and if they saw any traces of the madwoman's life, they would leave food there, and she would come and pick it up herself.
At this point, Zhao Xuan drew a simple map for Lu An, marking the house where she stored her supplies, as well as some locations where she hadn't had time to retrieve the supplies. The map was drawn very abstractly, but amazingly, Lu An actually understood it. He really is a map freak.
Lu An and Yao Yuan set off lightly, each riding a large tricycle. Both Zhao Xuan and Yao Yuan seemed relaxed about the trip, as the two men and the Yao family believed it would be safe for two grown men to travel, and they would be back in three or four days.
Lu An and Yao Yuan are in much better physical condition now. At this time last year, Yao Yuan was as thin as a skeleton, but this year he has developed muscles. The harvest in the mountains is guaranteed. There are no floods and droughts are rare. After eating their fill, people's energy and spirits are up. The tricycle runs very fast under their feet, and soon the two arrived at Taiping Town.
Under the blazing sun, Taiping Town was even quieter, thanks to the sound of cicadas.
This time they seemed particularly confident, perhaps because they were certain there was no one else in the town, or perhaps because their skills had indeed improved under Lao Dao's training. The two of them drove into the town with great bravado. Lu An followed the map left by Zhao Xuan and searched house by house. These were all the houses Zhao Xuan had searched before, the homes of the madman's relatives and friends. Zhao Xuan had also marked out what supplies he had left behind. Their operation went very smoothly, and the tricycle was full in just half a day. After dark, the two spent the night in the house where Zhao Xuan had once slept—there were still supplies that Zhao Xuan hadn't had time to transport, such as toilet paper and bedding.
Zhao Xuan did not lock the door before leaving. She left some food for the madwoman. When Lu An and the others arrived, they found that the food left by the pillar was gone, presumably taken by the madwoman. However, the other supplies had not been touched. Zhao Xuan said that the madwoman was timid and would not touch anything except food.
The two set up two small pots in the living room. Lu An cooked a pot of milky white bone broth rice, served with roasted chili sauce. Yao Yuan heated up some rice cakes over a fire, making them soft. Meanwhile, the bamboo shoots and cured meat in the other pot were also heated up, glistening with oil. He scooped some bamboo shoots and cured meat onto a rice cake and ate it. The two shared their sumptuous dinner with each other.
The two then discussed their plans for tomorrow. Lu An wanted to visit Jiguang Warehouse again, as he remembered they had new rice cookers and blenders there. If these appliances were still usable, he would take them home. Cooking rice every morning was too much work, and grinding it with a stone mill was time-consuming and laborious. Since they had electricity at home, taking some usable small appliances back would make things easier once and for all.
After discussing the plan, they turned off the fire. By then, it was completely dark. At 7 p.m., Lu An prepared to go to sleep, and Yao Yuan took over the night watch. Lu An took over the night watch again at 1 a.m. until dawn.
Taiping Town soon welcomed another dawn.
The two packed their things, went downstairs, pulled out the tricycle hidden in the stairwell on the first floor, and rode towards the remaining locations on the map.
The two men's vehicle was already quite full, especially Yao Yuan's, whose cargo bed was bulging high. The protruding part was secured by Yao Yuan with ropes. Fortunately, the cargo wasn't too heavy, mostly blankets and clothes.
Most of the items here are for Zhang Xiaohe and the dog, including their clothes and shoes, as well as the dog's toys and even a large stack of books.
The two men were not very talkative. Once they arrived at the destination, they immediately started moving things. At most, Lu An would call Yao Yuan over if he saw one or two children's items and ask him if he wanted to take them.
The two of them split the household items they found, such as soap and toilet paper.
Lu An found the small appliances he needed in Jiguang Warehouse, and even brought back an extra radio.
However, from yesterday afternoon to noon today, they did not see the madman at all.
Based on past experience, the madman is very familiar with the terrain of Taiping Town. Whenever someone enters the town, the madman will have already secretly followed them.
But this time, they rode their bikes ostentatiously through the streets, making a lot of noise as they pried open doors and windows and moved goods, but there wasn't a single person in sight.
Lu An glanced at the cloth bag hanging on the front of the car. Inside were a lot of food that Zhao Xuan had prepared for the madman. The aroma of the roasted pepper sauce, which was mixed with a lot of sesame oil, permeated the glass bottle and went straight into Lu An's nose.
—It seems that madman is dead.
Thinking this, the two arrived at the madwoman's apartment building. Zhao Xuan said the skeletons in the house might be her husband and children. When a serious illness struck, her two children died, her husband probably couldn't bear the pain of losing his children and hanged himself, and she herself went insane.
Her house had many children's items, so Yao Yuan could take some back for the dog.
Of the houses Zhao Xuan had looted, she only kept the key to one house. This house had the most supplies, so the door was locked from the inside. Zhao Xuan gave the key to Lu An before he left. Apart from that, the doors of the remaining houses were ajar, and one could simply walk in. The condition of the houses was similar to Zhao Xuan's description, indicating that no other survivors had visited this place besides Zhao Xuan.
Of course, besides these places, Lu An and Yao Yuan would also break through windows to go inside houses that were still in good condition, but there wasn't much usable stuff there. The climate in the province was humid, and many things were moldy and rotten.
After leaving the Jiguang warehouse, they went into the residential building next door, which was the madman's home.
Going upstairs, he found that the door was indeed unlocked, but it wasn't just ajar; it was wide open, which wasn't Zhao Xuan's usual style. The security door was heavy; the wind couldn't blow it open.
Lu An and Yao Yuan exchanged a glance and tacitly drew their weapons.
The two slowly walked into the house and found it in a mess.
It wasn't a dilapidated mess left unattended for a long time, but rather a clear sign of human ransacking. Chairs and tables were overturned, and even a large section of the curtains had been torn down. The two entered the small bedroom, which was also the children's room where Lu An and Zhao Xuan had placed the remains last time. As expected, the remains had been damaged. On the corner of the bed, there was a dark red bloodstain and a tuft of a woman's long hair.
—Someone broke in and pushed the person against the sharp corner of the bed, causing the person to hit their head and have a lock of hair pulled out.
It was probably a fight with a huge disparity in strength, and there must have been quite a few people involved, because the three skeletons lying on the ground were kicked to pieces.
The cabinet doors throughout the house were brutally opened, the contents were ransacked, and there were even traces of cooking fires in the living room.
Lu An and Yao Yuan's expressions grew increasingly somber.
—Uninvited guests have broken in; they may have already killed the madman.
In the living room, the fire pit still faintly revealed rotten cooked meat and traces of blood, while their useless toys and children's clothes were scattered everywhere.
After surveying the entire house, Lu An said, "There should be four or five of them."
Yao Yuan glanced at the blood and flesh near the fire, and asked hesitantly, "Them..."
“There’s no need,” Lu An replied. “There’s no shortage of wild game in the mountains, and fishing is easy. They have no reason to eat people.” This statement seemed to be both a comfort to Yao Yuan and a comfort to himself.
There's no need for it, but some people are just born devils.
Yao Yuan nodded, turned and walked out the door. The house was in such a state; there were definitely no supplies left. He called to Lu An, "Xiao Lu, let's go home now. Let's not come back here."
Lu An nodded, and the two men quickly went downstairs. Two tricycles were parked quietly downstairs. They tightened the supplies in the buckets with ropes and then sped away from Taiping Town.
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