Chapter 12: Frost on Thatch
Gu Xiyue didn't finish her dinner that day. She tried to eat half a bowl, but she couldn't eat any more. She couldn't even bear to look at the porridge in the bowl.
In the past, my grandmother would use this batter as paste.
Gu Xiyue was unhappy and went out with the bowl. She found that Xiao Heng was already washing the pots and bowls. Wei Lin was standing beside him at a loss, as if he couldn't stand him standing there while His Highness was washing the dishes.
Gu Xiyue looked at the half bowl of paste in her hand and suddenly lost the courage to walk over. She hesitated whether to pour it out, but was afraid of being seen by him, which felt a bit embarrassing.
Besides, food is so precious, it’s good to have something to eat. She feels guilty for wasting it like this.
Her heart was tangled with confusion, and Xiao Heng happened to turn his head and saw her. He stood up slightly, pursed his lips, and stretched out his hand to her with an expression that didn't show his emotion.
His sleeves were rolled up, revealing a lean and powerful arm.
“Give it to me!”
Let her take the bowl.
The way he washed dishes looked like an immortal who had been banished from the mortal world and had come down to earth to experience trials and tribulations, which was totally inconsistent with his handsome appearance.
Gu Xiyue suddenly found the courage, put on a smile and walked over, saying flatteringly: "Your Highness, I want to discuss something with you."
Xiao Heng's gaze fell on her unfinished bowl of rice, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and he asked in a pleasant manner, "What's the matter?"
The mocking look in his eyes was not hidden at all. Gu Xiyue saw it, but she pretended not to see it. She took a deep breath and said, "Your Highness, my cooking skills are really limited. How about I wash the dishes from now on, Your Highness..."
"I think Miss Gu's cooking is delicious."
"Ah?" Gu Xiyue was interrupted before she could finish her words. She also heard his praise, and her mouth couldn't help but become an O shape, with a look of surprise on her face.
Xiao Heng took the bowl from her hand and poured it into the sewage bucket beside him, adding: "This prince is not picky about food. As long as the rice is cooked, I can eat it."
These words hit Gu Xiyue like a punch in the face. She looked at Xiao Heng sullenly, feeling even more unhappy.
People were just praising her for cooking, which had nothing to do with whether the food tasted good or not.
Meixiang stood aside and couldn't bear to see the young lady's embarrassed look, but she couldn't help laughing in her heart after listening to her conversation with the prince. To be honest, she felt that the young lady's cooking was really not as delicious as her own. She would cook in the future and let the young lady help her light the fire.
Gu Xiyue turned around and started braiding her hair. Meixiang asked her to take a break and braid her hair herself, but Gu Xiyue refused. She was unhappy and needed to find something to do.
Today's mosquito repellent grass was pulled by Wei Lin and hung together to dry. Gu Xiyue originally planned to weave some for them as well, but now she was not in the mood, so she simply split the dried mosquito repellent grass into two and only weaved her own portion.
After washing the pots and pans, Xiao Heng turned around and glanced at the person sitting on the stone slab and braiding her hair. Seeing that she was obviously angry, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up. It felt that she looked like a little girl, completely different from her previous willful and domineering nature.
The next morning, Gu Xiyue took Meixiang for a stroll on the beach. The sun had not risen yet in the morning and it was a little chilly. The sea breeze was very comfortable. The sand was soft and a little damp. It could be seen that the tide had risen and fallen last night.
Gu Xiyue walked barefoot on the sand and looked around aimlessly, hoping to find something, but in the end, there was only clean sand on the sand, without anything extra.
The thatch near the roadside was often invaded by sea water, and it was wilted, with a thick layer of white frost on it. At first, Gu Xiyue didn't notice it, but after seeing it more often, she became a little curious. She squatted beside the thatch, carefully looking at the white frost on it, feeling confused.
It's not winter now, so it's strange why there is white frost on the thatch.
Thinking about it, she reached out to touch it, and Meixiang was frightened and shouted, "Miss, don't touch it!"
Gu Xiyue was frightened by her and retracted his hand instantly.
"Miss, look at this grass, it's almost dead. This white thing must be poisonous. You must not touch it!"
Gu Xiyue became curious and wanted to figure out what was going on. There was this thing on the thatch near the sea, but not on the thatch on the road. This strange phenomenon was puzzling.
The only difference is that the hoarfrost-covered thatch has been soaked in sea water.
seawater?
Gu Xiyue turned her head to look at the endless sea, and walked towards the beach in a trance. Clusters of waves on the sea were chasing each other, never stopping.
What's in the sea?
Will it cause white frost on the thatch?
Meixiang saw the young lady staring at the sea, her expression as if she had gone mad, and said a little fearfully: "Young lady, please don't jump into the sea. The salty water can kill you, and that feeling is very uncomfortable."
Meixiang's words rang in Gu Xiyue's ears. She was stunned, and suddenly turned her head to look at Meixiang with wide eyes, a look of surprise on her face. Then she hugged her, her voice full of joy.
"Meixiang, you're absolutely right. The salty sea water can really kill people."
After saying that, she turned around and ran back. Meixiang was startled, not knowing what was wrong with the young lady and why she was so happy. Seeing her run to the frosted thatch, squat down, and reach out to touch the frost on the thatch, her heart instantly rose to her throat.
Before she could shout out, she saw the finger that had touched Bai Shuang was now close to her mouth and she licked it with her tongue.
Meixiang was a little dazed for a moment, as if struck by thunder from the sky. Her voice began to tremble. She wanted to run over and pull the young lady away, but her legs were so weak that she knelt down on the beach.
It’s over, it’s over, it’s completely over now!
I thought the young lady had come to terms with it and would try hard to live, but I didn't expect that she still couldn't come to terms with it.
Meixiang wanted to cry but had no tears.
In a trance, she saw the young lady looking at her, and not only did she not come over to pull her, but she also laughed out loud, then touched the white frost again, and then walked over with a smile.
Look, this white frost is so powerful that the young lady laughed so hard after just one bite. Could it be that this is a poison that makes people laugh to death?
Meixiang was crying so hard that she couldn't speak. When she saw the young lady coming over, she reached out and touched her lips without saying a word, and ordered her with a smile, "You try it too."
Meixiang looked at the young lady with tears in her eyes. Was she going to take her with her?
Well, if the young lady is gone, she can't live alone. Even if she dies, she wants to be with the young lady.
He immediately closed his eyes and licked his lips with his tongue.
A salty taste spread in her mouth and hit the top of her head. She opened her eyes in pain.
“So salty!”
When he opened his eyes, he saw the young lady staring at him with a smile on her face. Nothing happened at all.
Meixiang smacked her lips. After the salty taste subsided, she felt nothing else. She looked at the young lady in confusion and asked hesitantly, "Isn't this poison?"
Gu Xiyue smiled, patted her shoulder, and pulled her up.
“It’s sea salt!”
"Sea salt?" Meixiang asked in surprise, "Can we use this in our cooking?"
"Of course, sea salt is saltier than the kind we eat, so you should use less when cooking."
Meixiang widened her eyes and stared at the frosted thatch in disbelief.
"The salt in the store costs fifty coins a pound, which is too expensive. From now on, we won't have to spend money on salt anymore. This much salt is enough for us to eat for the rest of our lives."
Gu Xiyue smiled without saying anything. When she discovered that the white frost on the thatch was sea salt, she already had a bold idea in her mind.
"Don't make any noise, let's go back first."
After knowing about Bai Shuang's precious salt, Meixiang couldn't walk anymore. She wanted to scoop some out of it and put it in her pocket to take back. But then she thought that this thing had been there for so long and the villagers didn't know about it. They probably thought it was poison like her and didn't dare to touch it.
Gu Xiyue walked back to the house while looking around.
The two stayed outside for quite some time. When they returned, Xiao Heng and Wei Lin had already prepared the meal, including cornmeal pancakes, corn porridge, and cold-mixed gray vegetables.
Wang Hu had also pulled out the mosquito repellent grass and was drying it on the stone slabs. When he saw Gu Xiyue, he bowed to her respectfully with a good attitude.
After he returned home yesterday, he picked some mosquito repellent grass for himself and braided it into a twisted braid in the evening. When he lit it at night, he was still a little confused as to whether this thing could really repel mosquitoes.
The experience of being bitten by mosquitoes last night was so terrible that he didn't want to experience it again. He didn't have money to buy black mosquito repellent water, so he could only try mosquito repellent grass as a last resort.
When the smoke from the mosquito repellent grass rose, he unexpectedly discovered that it was not pungent, but rather refreshing and pleasant. Then, he discovered that the mosquitoes were flying visibly slower, and some could not wait to fly out as soon as they came in through the window, as if they were afraid of the smell.
That night, he had his first good sleep since the beginning of summer. When he woke up the next day, he was a little bit unbelievable.
Why didn't he listen to Miss Gu earlier when it came to such a good thing? If he had used it earlier, he wouldn't have suffered that pain and almost harmed Miss Gu.
He raised his hand and slapped himself, hating himself for almost getting into trouble.
If it weren't for Miss Gu's broad-mindedness, the general would definitely not let him go, and his parents might also suffer. It's scary to think about it.
After a good sleep, his illness was cured and he felt refreshed all over.
He was very grateful to Miss Gu, so he immediately got up and packed up, planning to go pick mosquito repellent grass for Miss Gu early.
Gu Xiyue was quite surprised to see that he had cut the mosquito repellent grass so early, and nodded and smiled at him.
"Thank you, Brother Wang Hu!"
When Wang Hu saw that Gu Xiyue was so polite to him and even called him "Brother", he suddenly felt a strange feeling in his heart, which was quite comfortable. He scratched his head, looking shy and restrained, and stood there stiffly, grinning foolishly.
Xiao Heng glanced at the side and asked Wang Hu, "Have you had breakfast? Do you want to eat something together?"
The literal meaning is to invite Wang Hu to have dinner together, but the tone is obviously different.
Wang Hu was stunned for a moment, then came to his senses and quickly refused, "No, no, then I won't disturb you guys from having breakfast. I'll come back tomorrow to bring you some mosquito repellent grass!"
"Brother Wang Hu, take care!"
After watching Wang Hu run out, Gu Xiyue turned around and happened to meet Xiao Heng's gaze.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
