"Master, please put the Vermilion Fruit Tree into your space. It's a good thing; it'll be useful for Little Spot, Little Round, and your family."
Xiao Jiu then said to Xiao Ban, "Fortunately, we met our master, otherwise this Zhu Guo tree would have withered in another month."
Xiao Li didn't say much and directly put it into her space. With a space, why worry about not having the Vermilion Fruit?
With Xiao Ban around, Xiao Li's speed increased significantly. Before long, she arrived at the monkey mountain that Xiao Yuan had mentioned. A group of monkeys of all sizes lived there, and there were many fruit trees nearby. Xiao Li saw a banana tree and quickly dug one up and put it into her space so she could have bananas to eat from now on.
Xiao Yuan went to find the little monkey it had mentioned, while Xiao Li waited at the foot of the mountain. She dared not wander off, fearing the menacing monkeys might pounce. Luckily, Xiao Ban was with her, otherwise it would have been quite frightening.
After a while, an old monkey that was obviously very old and a nimble little monkey came over with Xiao Yuan. The old monkey reached out its hand to Xiao Li as soon as it came over.
“Master, you can trade something for it; it wants to see what you brought,” Xiaoyuan translated from the side.
Xiao Li took out a peach, an ear of corn, an apple, and a bunch of grapes from the basket she was carrying on her back—which was actually her spatial storage—and handed them to the old monkey.
The monkeys nearby became restless. It was winter, and there was such fresh fruit; it was too tempting for them.
The old monkey was noticeably calmer. It ate a grape, its eyes widened immediately, and it looked at Xiaoli as if she were a treasure. Its voice rose an octave, and it started barking incoherently. Then it walked up the mountain, still glancing at Xiaoli all the while.
"Master, Grandpa Monkey wants us to come along." Little Yuan is such a thoughtful translator.
Xiao Li nodded and followed. The path here was also difficult to walk on. These monkeys used both their hands and feet, climbing trees and pulling vines to jump around, and they didn't walk in a proper way at all.
As we walked halfway up the mountain, the terrain opened up, revealing a flat area and a cave. As we entered the cave, it grew increasingly dark, but fortunately, light shone down from the ceiling, allowing us to barely see the path. Soon after, we caught a faint, lingering fragrance—the unique aroma of fine wine.
After walking for another fifteen minutes, a large pool appeared before them. The pool was one meter long and one meter wide, filled with a wine-red liquid, and the aroma was coming from inside.
Xiao Li looked around and discovered that the wine was flowing down from the top of the mountain. There was probably a larger wine pool at the top, which was used to hold fruit. By chance, the wine flowed into this small pool and was filtered, which is why so much monkey wine was preserved.
Xiao Li looked at the old monkey staring at her expectantly, and without saying a word, she took out a pile of peaches, apples, pears, corn, and grapes.
"Xiaoyuan, can you tell me how much wine I can get in exchange?"
The old monkey grabbed the apple and touched it, muttering to itself, while the little round one nodded.
"Master, it asked if you have any more fruit. It said if you bring out this much more, it will let you fill half of the wine container to take back." Xiao Yuan looked at Xiao Li expectantly, clearly having drunk the monkey wine and now craving it.
Xiao Li nodded and immediately took out twice the amount of fruit. Then she took out jars and barrels of wine from the warehouse. Luckily, there were empty jars in her space, otherwise she would have had nothing to put the wine in.
Xiao Li stopped halfway through filling the container. If one transaction could happen, there would be a second; she wasn't in a hurry. The old monkey looked at the remaining half-filled pool of wine, wincing in pain, but then, glancing at the fruit over there, his eyes narrowed with delight. Even the best wine couldn't fill his stomach; this winter wouldn't be so bad.
A person and several beasts emerged from the cave, each one satisfied. They lingered on the platform for a while, agreeing to come back for more wine next time, before Xiaoli prepared to leave.
Suddenly, she noticed what looked like melon seeds on the stone wall. They must have been accidentally dropped there by a monkey while it was eating melons, and that's how they've survived until now. Xiao Li scratched at them and, sure enough, they were seeds. She happily put them into her space, knowing she'd have melons to eat from now on.
With a sudden thought, Xiaoli didn't rush to leave. She circled the platform, searching carefully, and sure enough, she found watermelon seeds and strawberry seedlings—things she didn't have in her space. It was truly a fruitful day.
After saying goodbye to the little monkey, Xiaoli took Xiaoyuan and sat on Xiaoban's back, heading straight home. They had been out long enough, so they wanted to go back early to avoid worrying their parents.
When we passed the cliff, I released Little Black and Little Gray. They like being in the forest; the mountains are the perfect place for them to live. I left only the two eggs in my spatial storage to wait for them to hatch.
Soon they arrived at the foot of the mountain near Mo Family Village. Xiao Li stroked Xiao Ban's fluffy head and fed it some spiritual spring water and a rabbit that Xiao Jiu had roasted in her space.
"Little Spot, you should go back now, don't let anyone see you. I'll bring you fruit next time." Little Spot nodded obediently, turned around and disappeared into the jungle.
As expected, Yun Yu Niang nagged her after she missed lunch. Xiao Li managed to get away with it by joking around and acting cute.
Father and brother Chen Niang both went to work in the fields, leaving only Yun Yu Niang at home to do needlework. Because it was winter clothing, she needed to add cotton padding, so it was difficult and slow for her.
Little Jiu'er also obediently helped by handing over scissors and needles and thread. Now that there are two more people in the family, they need to sew a few more sets of new clothes, so Yun Yu Niang has been busy sewing new clothes lately.
Xiao Li stirred the fire in the stove and added some more charcoal, making the room even warmer. Although it was only the beginning of December, the weather was already quite cold.
"Xiaoli, go and cultivate. Don't let your master's teachings go to waste." Yun Yu Niang wanted to see her daughter more, but she also felt that her daughter should cultivate and not waste her destiny for immortality. She was very reluctant and conflicted.
"Mother, I don't want to spend all my time cultivating and not have time to spend with you. Besides, my aptitude isn't good enough, and no matter how hard I try, I won't achieve much. My master knows about this, and he taught me not to force myself and to do what I feel is right." Xiao Li told her mother what was on her mind.
“I will practice martial arts with you morning and evening. At night, I will meditate and practice the techniques my master gave me. That will be enough.”
"Little Jiu'er, do you want your sister to play with you?" Xiao Li hugged Little Jiu'er and ruffled the two little tufts on her head. Little Jiu'er had become even cuter during this time, and her hair had become much smoother.
Little Jiu'er nodded quickly, "Yes, Little Jiu'er loves playing with her older sister."
Yun Yuniang also hoped that her daughter wouldn't have to work so hard, and she was relieved to hear that her daughter's arrangements were well made.
Xiao Li also took a needle and thread and helped sew. She channeled her spiritual energy into her eyes and hands, making her sew quickly and well, with dense and even stitches. When Yun Yuniang looked up, she saw that Xiao Li had already finished sewing a top.
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