Chapter 51
Hearing the voices outside that seemed to be dissatisfied with him, Gu Ran, who had originally wanted to open the door directly, stopped again. He saw the shovel in the corner, grabbed it, and then carefully opened the gate.
This is the bad thing about being a single woman living alone.
If there are strange or obviously malicious visitors, there is no one else to help you deal with it except yourself, and you can only rely on yourself to be vigilant.
After the door opened, Gu Ran saw three unfamiliar faces.
It had been over a month since he came to Xiaxi Village. He had barely seen the ten or so households there when he was avoiding the miasma last time at Village Chief Wu's house. The heads of several households still remembered them, but Gu Ran had no impression of these visitors at all.
The oldest one looked to be in his thirties, wearing a dark blue dress with a striped border. The other two, who were slightly younger, were of similar build and appearance. They were probably brothers, and their clothes were not bad either.
Not from Xiaxi Village? Just a passerby?
Any buyers interested in this little house of yours?
While Gu Ran was looking at the other person, the other person was also looking at Gu Ran.
"You are the...what surname that lives in this house?" one of the brothers asked bluntly.
"Yes, I am the surname of someone who lives in this little house." Gu Ran gently poked the shovel into the ground. "I don't know what your surname is, but what are you doing making such a fuss in front of my house?"
"We are the Shen family who have just arrived in Xiaxi Village. We are not familiar with the various households in the village. Please forgive us if we have offended you." Mr. Shen bowed to Gu Ran.
"So it's Master Shen and the two gentlemen of the Shen family!" Gu Ran also bowed slightly to Master Shen, "I am Gu Erniang, the owner of this house."
"Second Lady Gu!" Master Shen and the two Shen family masters seemed to have just remembered this name. "We will be neighbors from now on. Please take good care of us!"
"I've only been in Xiaxi Village for a little over a month. I really don't deserve what Master Shen said."
Gu Ran was about to send the guest away with a smile, but unexpectedly, Master Shen asked again: "Second Madam Gu, you are welcome. I would like to ask you a question. When you signed the deed with Village Chief Wu for this house, how much did you ask for?"
Are they coming for her little house? Gu Ran's vigilance intensified.
Seeing Gu Ran hesitate, Master Shen continued, "To be honest with Second Lady Gu, my family, the Shen family, has just arrived and has nowhere to stay. I see Second Lady Gu is alone and probably doesn't need such a big house, so I thought..."
"Although I'm alone, I just love living in a house this big." Gu Ran's smile faded. "Besides, I bought this house with real money from Village Chief Wu in a fair and open manner. It's written in black and white, and it's even stamped with the official seal. If Mr. Shen has any complaints, he can go to Village Chief Wu or the officials in the county government."
"Mrs. Gu has misunderstood. My intention is to buy your house for a large sum of money," Mr. Shen explained. "My family is currently staying with people in the village, and it's inconvenient for so many people. I heard that you just bought this house, so I came to ask your opinion."
"Since you've heard about it, Master Shen, have you ever heard why the previous owner of this cottage didn't want to live in it and tried everything to leave Xiaxi Village?"
"Why?"
"That's in front, that's the Dayu Forest, also called the miasma forest." Gu Ran pointed at the forest in front.
The three members of the Shen family looked in the direction of the finger. Shen Erlang sneered, "My woman, that's just a forest. Where does the miasma come from?"
"You won't believe this, but our village just survived a miasma earlier this month. It was a chaotic mess, and almost killed people." Gu Ran looked at the three of them and said, "It was only thanks to Village Chief Wu that I was able to escape from the house and reach her home, saving my life."
"Is this place so dangerous?" Shen Dalang was surprised. When he looked at Dayu Lin again, a trace of panic appeared on his face.
"Yes, I saw it with my own eyes." Gu Ran said, "I didn't believe it at first, but now that I've experienced it, I have to believe it. The same goes for you. As long as you stay in Xiaxi Village, you will encounter miasma sooner or later. Then you will know that I am right."
"So, this house..." Mr. Shen continued to ask.
"This house is closest to the miasma forest. When the miasma comes, no one can live in it. Moreover, if one is not careful, it is easy to inhale the miasma and lose one's life. That's why it has been vacant for a long time and no one in the village dares to live here."
"But you stayed here." Shen Erlang still didn't believe it.
"That's right. I'm a newcomer like you guys. I had no choice. This house happened to be empty, so I bought it to save trouble." Gu Ran nodded. "Besides, I'm different from you guys."
"Why is it different?"
"Like your father said, I'm all alone. If I die, I die. I have nothing to worry about." Gu Ran looked at the Shen family. "But if you all live in there, and if the miasma comes, no one will be on guard. If one person is not careful, the whole family will die."
The three young men of the Shen family were all stunned. Only Master Shen came to his senses, smiled awkwardly, exchanged a few words with Gu Ran, and left unhappily with his two sons.
Oh, you want to take over her little house?
Gu Ran watched them leave, then closed and locked the gate again.
It’s still very early!
Putting the matter of the three Shen family members behind him, Gu Ran started thinking about what to eat tonight.
Since I have sold half of the red mushrooms, I might as well use the red mushrooms I have saved to make soup tonight!
Take out half a pheasant, chop it into large pieces, blanch it in boiling water, take it out and wash it clean, then put it into a ceramic jar, simply add ginger slices and enough water, then you can light the fire and start cooking.
After stewing for about a quarter of an hour, add the red mushrooms and simmer together. Finally, add salt to season before turning off the heat.
Because the chicken and red mushrooms are fresh enough in themselves, there is no need to add other ingredients. The flavor of these two ingredients alone is enough.
Gu Ran selected five or six small red mushrooms, washed them, and waited for the chicken soup to boil until the time came before putting them in. Then he turned to think about today's staple food.
Since there is broth, just make some rice noodles and eat them in soup.
Gu Ran picked out a bunch of gouache from the pile of rice noodles stored in space No. 8.
As the name suggests, shuifen is rice noodles made by adding high-quality mountain spring water and going through many processes such as water grinding, boiling, and washing. It can be eaten with seasonings or put into soup to make soup noodles.
Whether it is mixed noodles or soup noodles, they are cooked after a little cooking and the operation is quite simple.
So after Gu Ran chose the watercolor, he boiled water in a pot, drained the water after it was cooked and set it aside. He waited until the chicken soup was finally cooked, poured the chicken soup into the watercolor, and stirred it to make a bowl of watercolor soup.
While waiting for the soup to be cooked, Gu Ran was not idle either. He first carried two empty wooden barrels into the main hall and placed one on each side of the table. Then he took out ice cubes from space compartment No. 10 and poured them into the two wooden barrels. In an instant, two small icebergs stood up.
Suddenly, the high temperature in the hall dropped rapidly and the temperature became cool and comfortable.
Oh, people with lots of ice are just so extravagant!
Enjoying the cool air, Gu Ran tidied up the house and sorted out the clutter in every corner. When he smelled the rich aroma of chicken soup wafting from the kitchen, he knew that he could start eating!
The red mushroom chicken soup is bright red in color, and the rich mushroom flavor blends with the aroma of chicken, making you salivate.
Before pouring in the watercolor, Gu Ran couldn't help but fill a bowl of vegetarian soup, blew on it and took a sip first.
Rich and delicious, I'd give it 12 out of 10.
After finishing a bowl of chicken soup, Gu Ran poured the cooked pudding into the bowl, then added some shredded ginger and chopped green onion, and then added boiling chicken soup.
A bowl of tender and smooth noodle soup is all you need!
Gu Ran happily finished his dinner with a jar of chicken soup.
There was a lot of chicken soup, but Gu Ran didn’t have a big appetite, so he couldn’t finish it all by himself.
Just like before, any leftover food should be placed in space No. 8, which is a special area for cooked food.
When you want to eat in the future, or when it is inconvenient to cook, for example, when you need to stay overnight in Dayu Forest, you can take out the food in the cooked food area to satisfy your hunger at any time.
After drinking a meal of red mushroom chicken soup that replenishes qi and blood, and beautifies the skin - wait, replenishes qi and blood, and beautifies the skin?
Gu Ran thought about how since she became Gu Er Niang of the Great Sheng Dynasty, she had been living in exile. Not only was her body severely weak and her skin dry, but she had also not had her period.
During the exile period, life was difficult and conditions were limited; there was nothing that could be done about it.
But after arriving in Xiaxi Village, she had been able to recuperate for a while. She drank soup and meat every day and was not too tired. She finally gained some weight back and her skin was not as ugly as before.
Gu Ran couldn't help but go into the room and took out the mirror. He looked at his face again and again, feeling a little disappointed.
Well, it still looks wilted and yellow.
Fortunately, the scar on my face caused by the red mushroom has almost disappeared, leaving only a shallow mark, which I guess will disappear after some time.
To be honest, the original owner looked similar to her, and she grew up in the Marquis' Mansion. She was also pretty and bright in appearance. Even though she had gone through a lot of hardships after a year of marriage, she was still a beautiful woman.
The current appearance is very different from the original owner's.
It seems that the supplement is not enough!
Perhaps, I should eat more bowls of red mushroom chicken soup in the future, and also have fish soup and meat porridge.
Gu Ran thought of the basswood bushes in the Dayu forest, and immediately thought of the trap he had set in the mountains.
I wonder if they caught anything big?
Gu Ran calculated the days and felt that it was time to go into the mountains and take a look.
The herbal jelly had only been open for one day, so it would not be a good idea not to go tomorrow, so we decided to go into the mountains three days later.
The next day, Gu Ran continued to set up his stall. When he left Xiaxi Village and headed for Donglin Township, he happened to see Village Chief Wu and the three young men from the Shen family walking around the village, stopping and talking, and making gestures.
At that time, Gu Ran didn't know what they were doing. It was only later that he learned from Lin Ersao that the Shen family was arranged by the government to come to Xiaxi Village. Village Chief Wu was arranging ten acres of land for them and designating a homestead to build a house for them!
Seeing how busy the Shen family was in hiring craftsmen to build a house, Gu Ran had to be thankful that he came to Xiaxi Village early so that he could buy a complete small house directly from Village Chief Wu.
When Gu Ran arrived at the county pier that day, she saw Little Master Wu and Uncle He waiting for her at the stall from yesterday.
"Hey, Gu Er Niang, why did you come just now?" Little Master Wu complained.
"It's not late. I should have come at this time yesterday." When Gu Ran put down the bamboo basket, he saw that Master Wu had brought a few other officials in black robes with him and asked, "What can I do for you, gentlemen?"
"What else could it be? I'm just thinking about that roasted grass jelly you sold at the dock yesterday!"
Little Master Wu watched Gu Ran slowly put down the bamboo basket, and he wanted to reach out and help her. "There are so many of us waiting to eat, can't you be more efficient?"
It turned out that yesterday, Master Wu brought the roasted grass jelly that Gu Ran gave him back to a few clerks working at the dock to try. They all thought it was good, but it was a pity that the portion was small, so they came to try it again today.
"Are you gentlemen here to show your support for my wife, Gu Er Niang? Fine, I'll open my stall right away!"
Gu Ran smiled and paid the stall fee to Master Wu. Then he moved faster and laid out the bamboo baskets, wooden barrels, and tables one by one.
"Mr. Wu, how much grass jelly do you plan to buy today?" Gu Ran first greeted the group of clerks who managed the dock.
"We each have one copy, and we'll be given three copies to take back to our colleagues."
As he spoke, Master Wu handed her a lunch box.
"Okay!"
Mr. Wu brought four clerks with him, so he sold eight out of ten in one go. It was a good start!
Gu Ran took the money and watched Master Wu and several clerks hurriedly leave with their food boxes. He continued to solicit customers: "Here's some delicious grass jelly, so icy and sweet. Come and try it, everyone!"
"Hey, Gu Er Niang, give me one portion too." Uncle He, who was waiting nearby, handed over an empty bowl.
"Uncle He, you really helped me today!"
"Of course, I'll let my wife try it too." Uncle He smiled embarrassedly and looked back at his stall.
Gu Ran also looked over and saw a woman in dark linen clothes sitting in front of a half-cleared porridge stall. When she noticed Gu Ran looking at her, she nodded at her gracefully as a greeting.
Gu Ran smiled back and handed over the roasted grass jelly Uncle He had ordered. "Hey, your wife hasn't left yet?"
"No, let's wait a while and see if your customers want to rent bowls, spoons, etc. If your business is good, then my wife and I can also take advantage of it and make a few cents."
As he spoke, Uncle He took the bowl of grass jelly in his hand and walked back to his wife. Then he walked back quickly and stood next to Gu Ran's stall, even helping to shout: "Delicious grass jelly, cool and sweet grass jelly, come and try it everyone!"
The new diner came to ask the price, looked at it, tried the food and thought it was okay, so naturally he had to rent Uncle He's bowl and spoon.
After all, people who can afford a serving of roasted grass jelly for six cents will not care too much about one cent.
Some people carry bamboo tubes or bowls with them, so there is no need for this.
The others who didn't pay a penny were those who had tried Gu Ran's roasted grass jelly yesterday and came back today to patronize it. These diners knew the situation in advance and just brought their food boxes to buy.
Gu Ran is the only one at the pier who sets up a stall to sell cold drinks on such a hot day, so his business is very good.
Gu Ran saw that there were more diners today than yesterday, so when he bent down to serve the customers grass jelly, he quietly took out a lot of grass jelly from space No. 8 and poured it into the basin. As a result, he closed the stall later than yesterday after selling out.
"We sold more today than yesterday!" Uncle He wiped the sweat from his forehead and said this to Gu Ran.
"That's right. Yesterday I saw that this roasted grass jelly was very popular, so I brought some more here to sell today." Gu Ran explained without blushing.
"Yes, this roasted grass jelly is delicious. Gu Erniang, you can bring some more to sell tomorrow."
"Hey, I'll think about it."
Gu Ran closed his stall and went to Hefeng Fur Shop.
She still remembered that Manager Zheng asked her to keep a few portions of roasted grass jelly to send to him.
Seeing Gu Ran delivering the roasted grass jelly as promised, Shopkeeper Zheng was very happy. Seeing that Gu Ran was about to leave without saying a few words, he hurriedly called her: "Second Aunt Gu, don't be in a hurry to leave. I have a big business here that I want to discuss with you."
"What's your business?"
Shopkeeper Zheng chuckled and had his servant bring tea to Gu Ran. He also told him to take the roasted grass jelly back to his house immediately. Then he said, "What a coincidence! I bought your red mushrooms yesterday, and that same day, a distinguished gentleman came to our fur shop and took a fancy to them. He was dissatisfied with the small quantity and asked if we could buy more."
"Oh!" Gu Ran nodded, "Then congratulations to Shopkeeper Zheng for finding a big buyer."
"Hey!" Shopkeeper Zheng waved his hand. "Second Lady Gu, you said you picked those red mushrooms in the miasma forest. Is that true?"
"Of course it's true."
"Then, can you go and pick some before the season is over?"
"So that you can sell it to that noble man?"
"That's how business works, isn't it? We buy leather and other products from you and then sell them to other customers. Now, a noble man has come along who's willing to buy a large quantity of red mushrooms. We must seize this opportunity." Shopkeeper Zheng smiled. "Second Madam Gu, you also want to make more money, right?"
"I do want to, but that miasma forest is very dangerous. If I'm not careful, I could lose my life." Gu Ran pretended to hesitate, "Let me think about it."
"I can't afford to consider this. June is almost over, and once the red mushroom season is over, you won't be able to pick them even if you want to."
"I'm just a woman, and I'm afraid of death, Manager Zheng."
"Hey, hunters, sellers of leather and mountain goods, who doesn't go into the mountains with their heads on their shoulders?" Shopkeeper Zheng urged. "Just go into the mountains once, and you might become rich."
"How rich can I be? Besides, even if I go into the mountains again, I may not be able to pick many red mushrooms."
"Go back to where you found the red mushroom last time, that's for sure," said Shopkeeper Zheng. "That red mushroom is also a fungus. If it can grow once, it can grow a second time!"
Gu Ran was still hesitant.
"Hey, Second Lady Gu, if you're willing to go, I'll give you a deposit first, okay?"
"Deposit?"
"That's right. This deposit will count as your additional hiring fee from Hefeng. If you don't find any mushrooms this time, the deposit will also be yours. If you do find red mushrooms, you must sell all the mushrooms you find to Hefeng. How do you do that?"
"How much is the deposit?"
Gu Ran looked at Shopkeeper Zheng and raised his index finger, frowning. Shopkeeper Zheng then raised his middle finger and said, "Two taels of silver."
Two taels is quite a lot.
"How about it, Gu Erniang? If you agree, I will give you two taels of silver right now."
Gu Ran pretended to be embarrassed and nodded reluctantly.
Manager Zheng was very happy.
"However, I have just started my business of burning grass jelly, so even if I go into the mountains, it will take two days."
"Okay, as long as you promise to pick the red mushrooms, I'll let you go into the mountains whenever you want."
Manager Zheng made the final decision and immediately ordered someone to present two taels of silver to Gu Ran.
Gu Ran took the deposit, and two days later, he packed up his belongings and prepared to go into the mountains.
She would enter Dayu Forest sooner or later, but seeing that Manager Zheng needed help, she naturally had to take this opportunity to let Manager Zheng know how dangerous it was to enter this miasma forest, paving the way for raising the price of the wild animals she hunted in the future.
Even if I could get an extra two taels, it would be a pleasant surprise.
But what Gu Ranwan didn't expect was that Manager Zheng would not just use money to lure her into the mountains.
Not long after she sneaked into the miasma forest fully armed and unprepared, the two tails followed her in quietly.
That was the clerk from the fur shop who was sent by Manager Zheng to follow Gu Ran into the mountains.
The miasma forest was terrifying, but no matter how terrifying it was, didn't Gu Erniang still come back safe and sound after entering it? She even found the rare wild red mushroom.
Based on what Manager Zheng had learned about Gu Erniang's character over the past few days, she might have other mountain items found in the miasma forest.
So when she went into the mountains again, Manager Zheng sent two men to secretly follow Gu Er Niang in.
Not only can he find out what kinds of animals are in the Dayu forest, but he can also determine the location where Gu Er Niang picks red mushrooms. In the future, he will not have to go through Gu Er Niang to go into the mountains to pick red mushrooms.
Maybe we can even find another good place for the fur trade to hunt wild animals.
Not long after the two guys from Hefeng Fur Shop followed Gu Er Niang into the mountains, someone else saw them. Who?
The second son of the Shen family, who has just arrived in Xiaxi Village.
With the help of Village Chief Wu, their family is now building a house on the residential land allocated to them.
After hearing from Village Chief Wu that there was indeed miasma, the Shen family became frightened and followed Village Chief Wu's advice. The Shen family's house was built some distance away from other houses in the village, and the site chosen was far away from Dayu Lin, but located on the east and rear side of Gu Ran's small house.
Chen Erlang came out to take a breath from a group of people who had just laid the foundation with wood all over the ground. When he was planning to take a break for a while, he saw that the small house of Gu Erniang's family in front was opened. Seeing Gu Erniang carrying a bamboo basket, he initially thought that she was going to the county town to set up a stall to make a living.
Now they also learned from the family of Village Chief Wu that Gu Er Niang usually made a living by doing small business, and now it seemed that she was going to the county town to sell some food. Shen Erlang naturally didn't care, but when he went back to continue working, he glanced at Dayu Forest from a distance and saw the figure of Gu Er Niang going into the woods.
No, isn’t it said that the island forest is a miasma forest and very dangerous?
Shen Erlang thought he was dazzled and saw it wrong.
The Shen family first learned about the miasma from Gu Er Niang. The person who told them that the miasma forest was dangerous is now sneaking into the forest?
Isn’t this contradictory?
However, Village Chief Wu didn't seem to be deceiving them, so was this miasma forest real or fake?
Just as Shen Erlang was thinking this, he saw two men dressed as hunters, following Gu Erniang in.
Shen Erlang, who was full of suspicion, thought in his heart: Ha!
They said that Dayu Forest was a miasma forest and that people couldn't get close to it casually. Were they lying to these newcomers?
If not, why would everyone dare to enter the woods?
I'm afraid it's to reduce the number of people entering the forest so that they can eat all the wild animals in the forest for themselves!
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