There were several ginseng roots. Two were given to the old house, and the rest were used to stew chicken for our family.
On Lunar New Year's Eve, every household was preparing their New Year's Eve dinner, and Jiang Yue's family was no exception.
The family had a rare moment of leisure, so besides the chicken soup simmering in the pot, they prepared a hot pot, gathered together, and ate the vegetables.
"Gurgle gurgle~"
The pot boiled, and the aroma filled the air.
"Stop standing there like idiots, hurry up and cook the vegetables!"
Jiang Yue swallowed hard; it smelled so good that she couldn't resist scalding some cilantro first.
A few seconds up and down, then I scooped it out, put it in a bowl, blew on it, and put it in my mouth—it was hot!
But it's delicious!
It tastes best when it's hot!
"Mother, my rice wine is ready. Would you like some?"
Seeing that her mother was happy, Da Xue casually mentioned it.
"drink!"
Jiang Yue quickly agreed; she hadn't had rice wine in a very long time.
Seeing this, Da Xue got up and prepared to fetch the wine.
Worried that his wife couldn't handle it alone, Qingshan got up and followed after her.
The other three siblings were each cooking their own favorite dishes, showing little interest in the rice wine...
However, once the rice wine was served, its rich aroma wafted over, and several pairs of eyes turned to look at it.
Are you interested now?
"Sister-in-law, you're amazing! Your wine smells so good, I want a sip too!"
"Sister-in-law, would you mind grant me a sip of wine?"
"Sister-in-law, I want to try a bite, just one bite~"
Who can resist fine wine?
Da Xue looked to her mother-in-law for help; she dared not give her younger siblings alcohol without her mother-in-law's permission.
"Let's pour a little bit for them to enjoy."
Jiang Yue smiled. The rice wine has a very low alcohol content; just a little bit won't make you drunk.
Besides, she wasn't an unreasonable mother. When boys are out in public, they have to be toasted. If they can't hold their liquor, they'll suffer and might even offend people!
Girls should train their alcohol tolerance so they can have a way to protect themselves in the future.
Thinking about this, she felt it was time to train the children's alcohol tolerance.
"The first cup of wine is for Mother!"
"May your son live to be a hundred years old!"
"May your son wish you, Mother, to grow younger every day!"
"May your son wish you all the best!"
"May your daughter bring you abundant wealth and prosperity!"
"Daughter-in-law wishes mother-in-law good health and all the best!"
Jiang Yue's heart stirred, and she raised her cup to drink with him, saying:
"I accept your blessings. I hope that next year, our family will be blessed with many grandchildren, abundant wealth, and all our wishes fulfilled. I also hope that everyone will be healthy and have good fortune!"
"Woof woof woof~"
Little Whitey called out appropriately, as if in agreement.
Haha~
After finishing their drinks, everyone burst into laughter.
Although there weren't many side dishes for the hot pot, it was enough to feed the whole family.
Da Xue also cooked a lot of dishes from the roadside, which made everyone laugh heartily and keep saying they needed to walk around to digest.
The rice wine was all drunk, but not to the point of being drunk; at most, her cheeks were just flushed.
After cleaning up the leftovers, the family sat in a circle, and Jiang Yue gave out lucky money to everyone from the oldest to the youngest. After giving out the lucky money, they started playing leaf cards.
Wu Guanghua brought this thing back to the village. There were ten decks of cards in total. He taught everyone the rules, and then the word spread.
We got a set, and everyone gathered around to play with it.
It's a game played by family members; they don't gamble with real money, they just bet on peanuts.
Jiang Yue struggled to play and soon lost all the peanuts in front of her.
At the same time, Xiao Bai's cries came from outside the courtyard—
"Woof woof woof~"
"You guys play, I'll go check it out."
Jiang Yue made an excuse to leave, and Da Xue took her place. Yao Yao wasn't interested in the leaf-shaped cards, so she jumped off her chair and went to take a look with her mother...
"Knock knock knock~"
The closer they got, the louder the knocking became.
Jiang Yue asked:
Who is it?
"It's me, Auntie. My dad and I are back. We just wanted to let you know."
It was a large stone. After hearing this, Jiang Yue removed the bolt and shovel. It took some effort, but it was safe.
"Squeak~"
Upon opening the door, there was indeed a large stone.
Looking closely by the light of the lantern, I noticed that he had a stubble beard and looked quite haggard, but his eyes were surprisingly bright.
"Big cousin~"
"Hey, Yao Yao, I'll buy you some candied hawthorns another day."
"Mmm~"
"Da Shi, come in quickly and tell your aunt how things are going with what you and your son are doing?"
"Oh, I came here to talk to my aunt about this."
......
Da Shi arrived. It had been a long time since I'd seen him, and he looked much more haggard.
Everyone stopped playing the card game and started showing concern for each other.
Da Xue carefully put away the leaf cards and smiled faintly:
"My eldest cousin hasn't eaten yet, has he? I'll go heat up a bowl of shredded chicken noodles."
"Oh, thank you so much, sister-in-law."
Da Shi nodded. He was indeed starving. His father had asked him to come and report to his aunt after he got home, so he hadn't eaten yet.
"Here, eldest cousin, have some hot water. Tell us, where have you been lately?"
"Yeah, yeah, why are you only getting back now?"
"Cousin, have some brittle to fill your stomach."
Because this matter is of great importance, in order to avoid leaks and complications,
The fact that Wu Dalang and his son were traveling to Yunshui County was kept secret; they were told to the outside world that they were going to find medicinal plant seeds...
"Alright, all of you sit down and let Da Shi catch his breath before you speak."
Listening to her sons' chattering questions, Jiang Yue felt a pang of sympathy for Da Shi for a few seconds.
But as much as she felt sorry for him, she was even more eager to know what would happen to Xue Pan!
Wu Dashi took a breath, then bowed and thanked him:
"Thank you, Third Aunt."
Heaven knows how anxious the father and son were on their journey, enduring countless hardships upon arriving in Yunshui County...
"I have successfully completed my mission."
"That's good."
Hearing those four brief words, Jiang Yue felt much more at ease.
Everyone else watched them quietly, wondering what they were talking about.
Jiang Yue nodded, indicating that Da Shi could tell her about his journey and experiences.
Let your own children hear this, so they can be prepared for the future...
So Daishi recounted everything he and his father had done, seen, and heard during their disappearance.
Yunshui County was far away, and it took them more than ten days to get there. After enduring wind and rain and sleeping in the open, and going through many twists and turns, they finally found out about Xue Pan's home.
The father and son spent two or three days observing Xue Pan. One night, they disguised themselves, blindfolded him, and gave him a severe beating!
After beating them up, they ran away. This was the advice given by their third aunt, and the father and son did as she suggested.
The next day, they changed into very tattered clothes and went to Xue Pan's house. They showed great concern for Xue Pan, who was bruised and swollen and on the verge of death.
Xue Pan was initially frightened when he saw them arrive, but he began to lower his guard after discovering that they were unaware of his abuse of Da Niu.
Wu Dalang claimed that during a famine that year, only he and his son survived, and they had been wandering for several years. He said he had recently come to Yunshui County to search for his relatives and had finally found them...
Did the two of them come to seek refuge with him?
Xue Pan's expression was rather unpleasant. He couldn't even afford to support himself, and now two more people were coming to freeload.
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