Chapter 14 Qian Yinggege, you smell so good!
With a deft twist of her neck, she stripped the pigeon of its feathers and carried the slaughtered pigeon meat into the temple.
Just then, You Mingjiang got up.
She only took a short nap before getting busy again, leisurely going to the well to fetch a bucket of water.
Having experienced a flood, the well water was not very clean; it contained suspended impurities and appeared quite turbid.
She took out some alum from her bamboo medicine basket. It was a gift from Uncle Yao at the Yang family pharmacy in Kaifeng when he sold incense and medicine. With a slight flick of her wrist, You Mingjiang sent the alum powder fluttering into the water like snowflakes.
A handful of alum quickly dispersed in the water. After a short while, the impurities clumped together into a large clump of flocculent material, settled to the bottom of the bucket, and formed a thin layer of grime, making the turbid water clear.
She fastened her shoulder straps, then used a spoon to scoop water from the bucket into a large pot, one spoonful at a time, and started a fire to bring it to a boil.
"Boiling water kills most of the microorganisms that are invisible to the naked eye, and it tastes smoother." Seeing that Lu Xiaojia was standing next to him staring at him, You Mingjiang thought he was interested in the steps of boiling water, so he explained, "Drinking raw water can easily make you sick. Even if you want to drink cold water, you have to drink boiled water."
Lu Xiaojia looked at all this, holding the bare pigeon in her hand, and absentmindedly replied, "Mm."
You Mingjiang glanced at him, then caught a glimpse of a fleshy shape out of the corner of her eye. She quickly turned her head, took a closer look, and jumped up excitedly: "Wow, what a fat pigeon! Where did you get it?"
Lu Xiaojia finally smiled, thinking: After standing here for so long, you finally saw me.
"I caught it," he said casually, handing the pigeon to her.
"Impressive!" You Mingjiang took the prepared plump pigeon, held it in his hand and examined it. "No, I can't say plump, I have to say robust. Look how firm the pigeon meat is, it's like a homing pigeon. It must be very chewy to eat."
Lu Xiaojia's eyes darted around: "A pigeon is a pigeon..."
You Mingjiang didn't ask any more questions. She smiled, her bright eyes crinkling with laughter, and he couldn't help but smile along with her.
She said, "Thanks to you, everyone can have meat soup now."
·
Lu Xiaojia was smiling, but her smile froze instantly upon hearing these words.
Everyone?
What, everyone?
He looked at You Mingjiang in shock, and seeing her preparing pigeon meat, he felt a pang of unease.
Even the fattest pigeon weighs only two pounds. If it's divided among thirty people and mixed with a big pot of water, what kind of taste can you expect?
After a while, You Mingjiang finished processing the pigeon meat, restarted the fire, put the pigeon into a large pot, and added poria cocos, yam, kudzu root, and coix seed to make soup. He also sprinkled some salt in.
Lu Xiaojia opened her mouth, wanting to stop her and tell her that the pigeon was specially for her, but when she thought of You Mingjiang's soft heart, she swallowed her words and just sighed softly.
While stirring the soup, You Mingjiang said to him with great interest, "You have an injury on your shoulder, drinking some of this soup will be good for you. Although these herbs are cooling in nature, it won't do any harm if everyone drinks some in moderation."
Unexpectedly, she still remembered him, and Lu Xiaojia's heart stirred.
The pigeon soup was ready in no time.
Lifting the lid, the steaming soup bubbling inside reveals plump pigeons resting quietly within.
After being stewed for a long time, the pigeon meat became tender, and the delicious aroma of the meat filled the mountain god temple. The old, weak, sick and disabled in the temple were awakened by the aroma and their mouths watered.
You Mingjiang added more water to the large pot, which diluted the pigeon soup considerably.
She tapped the spoon against the edge of the pot, signaling everyone to line up, and began serving the soup.
·
As she ladled bowl after bowl, seeing that most of the soup had disappeared, Lu Xiaojia's eyes flickered, and she gently kicked her calf.
You Mingjiang looked up at him, bewildered. "Why did you kick me?"
She tilted her head to look at him, blinked, and suddenly exclaimed "Ah!" as if she had just realized something.
Lu Xiaojia breathed a sigh of relief, just thinking that she wasn't too stupid, when she saw her hand over a bowl of thick soup full of ingredients, smiling and saying, "I know how to be polite, great hero, this is for you, it's not diluted with water."
Lu Xiaojia, her face dark, poured the soup back into the pot and snatched the spoon from her hand: "Come out here for a moment."
"What?" You Mingjiang asked.
Lu Xiaojia gritted her teeth and said, "Come out, I have something to tell you."
"What do you have to say outside? Wait a minute, I'm busy here." You Mingjiang said, reaching for a spoon.
Lu Xiaojia dodged, then shoved the spoon into Hai Hongzhu's hand, who was secretly peeking from the side, and started walking towards the temple gate.
Seeing their expressions, Hai Hongzhu chuckled inwardly. Like pushing an old pumpkin, she pushed You Mingjiang toward the door, saying, "Sister You, you two go and have your private talk. Leave the soup-sharing to me!"
You Mingjiang said "Eh," and was about to speak when Hai Hongzhu smiled, winked, and closed the temple door.
After spending these past few days together, Hai Hongzhu's impression of Lu Xiaojia has grown even better.
Recalling the time when they were dividing the cured meat, Lu Xiaojia was in so much pain that he could hardly swallow his food, but his gaze kept drifting uncontrollably towards himself and his father. His eyes were dazed, as if he could see some figures from distant memories through the father and daughter.
That night, Sister You braved the wind and rain to go down the mountain to kill the bandits, while Lu Xiaojia stayed outside the mountain god temple, protecting a house full of old, weak, sick and disabled people all by herself, and endured the long night.
In Hai Hongzhu's heart, You Mingjiang held a more important place than her own sister. These days, seeing You Mingjiang grow thinner and thinner, she felt as if a huge stone was lodged in her heart, making her feel suffocated and miserable.
Hai Hongzhu had several words on the tip of her tongue, but swallowed them back because she was too embarrassed. After all, in front of You Mingjiang, she had always been the weak one who needed to rely on her.
But Lu Xiaojia stepped forward and took the initiative to be the "bad guy" who offended people.
Making a statement is very important, and hearing everyone's statements made Hai Hongzhu feel much more at ease.
Therefore, she felt that although Lu Xiaojia seemed cold, she was actually not a bad person.
It's just that he's a bit awkward, trying to act mature beyond his years.
·
You Mingjiang was a step too slow. He shook his head helplessly and sighed, "This little girl, always playing matchmaker..."
As she spoke, her eyelashes fluttered and a blush rose to her cheeks.
The words "Mandarin Duck Pair" swirled on her tongue before she swallowed them back down, feeling that they were too presumptuous.
She rubbed her burning earlobes with her fingers, looked down at her dark straw sandals, and felt even more embarrassed.
That's just wishful thinking on my part.
She stole a glance at Lu Xiaojia, only to see him with his head down, his fist clenched to his lips, coughing twice. Lu Xiaojia's face turned even redder, and fine beads of sweat appeared on the tip of his nose.
The two stood silently facing each other, both with their heads down, not daring to look into each other's eyes.
·
I don't know how much time passed.
Suddenly, You Mingjiang laughed heartily, scratched his arm, and broke the silence.
"I get it. You called me out just so we could just sit around and get bitten by mosquitoes together."
Lu Xiaojia glared at her, then said with a wry smile, "What do you know? You don't know anything!"
You Mingjiang shrugged: "Then why don't you explain yourself clearly?"
Lu Xiaojia took a deep breath: "It's not that I'm being mean, but with the way you do things, you'll never be a Buddha to the Wan family again; the Wan family should be giving birth to you."
You Mingjiang laughed and said, "Still saying you're not sharp-tongued? Wouldn't a kiss turn you into a poison?"
Lu Xiaojia replied, "You want to kiss me?"
You Mingjiang almost choked on his saliva. After coughing twice, he said, "I have the magnanimity and vision of Liu Bei. You should learn from me."
Lu Xiaojia said, "Forget it, your magnanimity is even broader than that of the Buddha who saves all people from suffering. I can't learn that."
"I just stewed your pigeon. Consider it payment for the consultation."
Lu Xiaojia glanced at her: "How can such a small pigeon be worth the medical fee you paid to save my life?"
In a moment of impulsiveness, You Mingjiang reached out and fanned himself by the neck: "If that's how you put it, then I'll just say one thing."
Lu Xiaojia raised an eyebrow and asked, "What did you say?"
You Mingjiang laughed loudly: "Hahaha, give me as many as you have, I won't mind."
Lu Xiaojia stared straight at her, making You Mingjiang extremely embarrassed. She quickly tried to salvage the situation: "I was just kidding..."
“Okay.” Lu Xiaojia interrupted her, reaching out to untie the money pouch from her waist and handing it to her.
·
You Mingjiang paused for a moment, then took the money pouch and weighed it in her hand. There were no loose silver or copper coins inside; it felt like a stack of banknotes. Curious, she opened it and was immediately shocked, her eyes widening in astonishment.
"This is fake, isn't it?" You Mingjiang muttered to himself.
Lu Xiaojia smiled and said, "Really."
There was a 600,000 yuan note inside, and the rest were all notes with denominations of tens of thousands of yuan.
This was the first time in You Mingjiang's life that he had ever seen such a large denomination of money.
She counted it repeatedly, and it came to exactly 800,000 taels of silver.
The shock in her eyes gradually turned into bewilderment. She tilted her head and asked, "Why are you giving me so much money? This money is enough to repair a section of the dike..."
She remembered that the previous bounty stated that the 800,000 taels was Xue Guo's entire fortune.
You Mingjiang asked hesitantly, "What about Xue Guo...?"
“Friends should share money, so why can’t I spend it? This is ill-gotten wealth anyway. I originally planned to donate 600,000 taels to the victims of the Yellow River floods,” Lu Xiaojia said first. “You can arrange the rest yourself.”
"Oh." You Mingjiang breathed a sigh of relief and shook the money bag in his hand. "As long as Xue Guo isn't angry."
"Don't worry, he'll be overjoyed to be able to help the Yellow River flood victims," Lu Xiaojia said. "Take this first."
“The remaining 200,000 taels is far more than your consultation fee,” You Mingjiang said. “I will use a portion for my own purposes, and I will pay you back later. Although it is customary for friends to share money, I am not familiar with Xue Guo.”
Lu Xiaojia glanced at her, her eyes filled with arrogance: "I, Lu Xiaojia, am not that cheap."
You Mingjiang was even more embarrassed and said tactfully, "I still prefer to borrow and return, so it's not difficult to borrow again."
She rarely borrows money from friends, and even when she does, she repays it on the same day. She knows the feeling of uncertainty and doesn't want to put others in a difficult position.
In her view, donating and borrowing are two different things.
·
“Lu Xiaojia…” You Mingjiang thought it over and over and felt that such a large sum of money had to be accounted for.
"Hmm?" Lu Xiaojia looked up at her.
Yu Mingjiang gritted her teeth and handed over the tiger-shaped support in her hand: "Here you go." This tiger-shaped support was her means of making a living, and also a symbol of her homesickness. She had carried it with her from Cloud Mist Valley until now.
Lu Xiaojia laughed and said, "Why are you giving me this?"
She shrugged: "I'll give it to you as collateral."
Lu Xiaojia put her hands behind her back, took two steps back, and shook her head with a smile: "What are you doing?"
You Mingjiang offered the tiger-shaped stool to Lu Xiaojia, but he refused to take it. "You guarded the mountain god temple all night, with pigeons and money, and I haven't properly thanked you. Consider this as collateral..." As she spoke, she reached out to pull Lu Xiaojia's arm, trying to stuff the tiger-shaped stool into his hand.
"No need." Lu Xiaojia flashed around and went behind the millstone.
You Mingjiang frowned, swaying on his tiger-shaped brace as he chased after him: "Don't run away! What are you running for?"
"Lu Xiaojia!"
"Don't be coy, just take it."
·
After chasing him around the millstone two or three times, You Mingjiang lost patience and tried to catch him using his light-footed skills. Upon seeing this, Lu Xiaojia immediately clutched his shoulder and shook his head, saying, "My wound hurts."
It was the sixth month of the lunar calendar, and the night was sweltering. Lu Xiaojia's face was flushed, and his forehead was covered in a thin layer of sweat. In addition, he had been keeping watch in front of the temple all night, and his emotions had been fluctuating greatly, which was not conducive to the recovery of his shoulder injury.
"Does it still hurt?" You Mingjiang stopped and leaned forward to pull at his collar. "Let me see."
Lu Xiaojia blocked her hand, enduring the pain, and said, "It's okay."
Yu Mingjiang then remembered that she hadn't washed her hands after stewing the pigeon. She quickly let go of his collar and got up to wash her hands. Lu Xiaojia grabbed her wrist, pulled her in front of him, and said breathlessly, "I'm not disgusted by you."
Yu Mingjiang turned her head uncomfortably, finding herself nestled between him, able to clearly hear the sounds emanating from his chest. Lu Xiaojia's warm breath brushed against her ear, instantly raising goosebumps on her arms.
Just then, the temple door creaked open a crack.
You Mingjiang looked up and saw Hai Hongzhu peeking out, her eyes full of smiles as she looked at the two of them.
"Excuse me, Sister You, I'm sorry to have disturbed you." Hai Hongzhu said with a smile, and quickly closed the temple door.
You Mingjiang's face turned bright red. She gently pushed Lu Xiaojia away, thinking: Did Hongzhu misunderstand something? Immediately afterward, a burst of good-natured laughter came from the temple.
"Red Pearl—Sea Red Pearl!" You Mingjiang was getting annoyed. She strode forward and banged on the door. "Open the door for me!"
I patted it several times, but the temple gate remained tightly shut.
This little girl is so naughty!
"You Mingjiang," Lu Xiaojia called her, "Actually, I wanted to tell you..." He rubbed the bloodstains on his fingertips, straightened up, "I'm leaving."
"What did you say?" You Mingjiang was taken aback and slowly turned around.
·
The moonlight shone on Lu Xiaojia, and although his eyes remained cold, they revealed a hint of gentleness.
"I'm leaving," Lu Xiaojia repeated.
You Mingjiang then noticed that Lu Xiaojia was carrying a satchel on her back.
She was surprised and asked softly, "Aren't we already friends?"
Lu Xiaojia sighed softly, "They're friends, but I have reasons why I have to leave."
You Mingjiang took a deep breath: "Are you sulking?"
“I’m not acting out of spite,” Lu Xiaojia said. “I have something very important to do.”
This matter concerns the Bai family massacre eighteen years ago, and his family. From the moment Lu Xiaojia was born, he was caught up in this turmoil; it was a fate he could not escape.
You Mingjiang was silent for a moment, then asked, "Where are you going?"
"Guandong, or more accurately, Inner Mongolia."
"That's a beautiful place. It's a pity I can't go with you." She understood that when someone is determined to leave, the best thing to do is to support them. Trying to stop them will only make them more conflicted and miserable.
After thinking it through, You Mingjiang sighed, lowered his arm, waved his hand and said, "All good things must come to an end. Everyone has their own mission. Since you have something you have to do, of course I won't stop you."
"It's a pity we can't go north together. I wish you a safe journey."
Lu Xiaojia forced a smile and said softly, "I thought you would cry when we parted ways."
You Mingjiang shrugged: "No, I respect everyone's choice. No matter who wants to leave, as long as they make it clear, I can accept it calmly."
·
Lu Xiaojia was stunned, suddenly realizing that she wasn't as open-minded as her.
He pursed his lips, wanting to say something, but not knowing where to begin.
The two sat side by side on the millstone.
In the stillness of the night, the wind rustled through the treetops, frogs croaked in the grass, and moonlight shone on her and him.
No one disturbed this rare tranquility.
·
Daylight broke.
The sun rose behind the mountains, tinging the clouds with a pale orange-red hue.
Lu Xiaojia turned and left without saying a word, waving her hand behind her back.
If we are all just passersby in each other's lives, then let each of us shine and leave unforgettable memories as we brush past each other.
The world of martial arts is vast and boundless.
It's another new day.
The sun sets today, but it will rise again tomorrow.
As You Mingjiang watched Lu Xiaojia's departing figure, the corners of his mouth turned up, and he reached out and waved vigorously.
·
A note from the author:
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[Starry eyes] Thank you to the following little angels for the nutrient solution:
[Heart] "Yu Xin" irrigation nutrient solution +58, "Mountain Patrol King" irrigation nutrient solution +10, "What to Eat?" irrigation nutrient solution +1, "Akina Mountain's Car" irrigation nutrient solution +1, "Drunken Dream" irrigation nutrient solution +33 [Heart]
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