"You brat, you still don't trust me with me here! You still doubt my medical skills? Don't forget who taught you your medical skills." Grandpa Zhao said, pretending to be angry, pointing at Zhao Yunyun's forehead.
"Hehe, I may not be as good as you in other areas, but I've made a lot of progress in gynecological diseases and childbirth lately! Maybe I'm even a little bit better than you now!" Zhao Yunyun said proudly.
Upon hearing this, Grandpa Zhao's face lit up with a smile. "Really? Let's have a little sparring session when we have some free time later."
"Alright, you two stop being so lovey-dovey. The girl just made lotus root starch for them. Tell them to hurry up and prepare something! They must be starving," the Taoist priest couldn't help but interrupt.
“Yes, you should eat something first to fill your stomachs. I’ll cook something delicious for you tonight,” Xu Han quickly added.
While Yunhua and Zhao Yunyun were eating in the main room, accompanied by the Taoist priest and Grandpa Zhao, Xu Han pulled Lu Chuan directly to the kitchen.
Today, Yunhua and Zhao Yunyun are back, so everyone is definitely going to have a lively time and enjoy a good meal.
So Lu Chuan and Xu Han started busying themselves in the kitchen. After they finished eating, Grandpa Zhao took Yunhua and Zhao Yunyun to the backyard.
"We started building this house last winter, and it wasn't until this summer that we finally finished preparing everything. Your Grandpa Zhao and I moved here a while ago. The rooms over there were reserved for the two of you," the Taoist priest said proudly.
"You built it yourselves, I don't believe it's real or fake!" Yunhua said fearlessly.
The Taoist priest rolled his eyes at him, giving him a look that said, "Believe it or not, it's up to you."
Zhao Yunyun was very supportive, saying, "Did you guys do all of this? You guys are amazing!"
After entering the backyard, the two began to look around. "Did you make all this furniture?"
"Yes! Everything you see here was made by us—the tables, the chairs, even the flooring. We quarried stones from the mountains and cleaved them ourselves," Grandpa Zhao said proudly.
"You guys are really amazing, but it was definitely Lu Chuan and Xiao Han who came up with it. You two were just helping out at most." As soon as Yun Hua finished speaking, the Taoist priest kicked out with his invisible foot.
Zhao Yunyun looked at Yunhua with admiration, silently thinking, "You're the bravest!"
Yunhua dodged while saying, "I'm just stating the facts! Why are you getting so angry, Master?"
Everyone burst into laughter. Even Xu Han and Lu Chuan, who were busy in the kitchen, couldn't help but laugh when they heard the conversation in the backyard.
This is wonderful. The group was having a lively time, and for a moment, it felt like a peaceful and serene moment.
"Alright, you two stop fooling around. If you want the child to go back to her room and tidy up, dinner will be ready soon," Grandpa Zhao said, stopping them.
Hearing what Grandpa Zhao said, the Taoist priest stopped. After the two went back to their room and put their things away, Grandpa Zhao took Zhao Yunyun to the kitchen to help.
Yunhua and the Taoist priest went into the Taoist priest's room to discuss some matters.
"Yunyun, is there anything you'd like to eat?" Xu Han asked.
"I'd like to eat the chicken stew with mushrooms that I had before. Can you make this dish?"
“Yes, the Taoist priest went to the deep mountains to catch them a few days ago. We happen to have some ingredients. Wait here! I’ll go get the mushrooms.” Xu Han said and went to the storeroom.
Because of limited ingredients, I didn't make a particularly wide variety of dishes today, but each one was served in large portions.
Chicken stew with mushrooms, mushroom soup, Chinese sausage, stir-fried dried wild vegetables, shredded potatoes, fried eggs, spicy and sour dried bamboo shoots, and sweet potato stem stew with beef.
Although there weren't many varieties, Xu Han still tried her best to cook a variety of different dishes.
During this time, the Taoist priest and Yunhua did not come out, and it was unknown what they were talking about in the room. It wasn't until Lu Chuan came to call them for dinner that the two of them came out of the room.
"Wow, what a feast today! I haven't had such a lavish meal in all this time. At least I don't have to eat dry cornbread today!" Yunhua exclaimed exaggeratedly.
It has to be said that when Xu Han saw Yunhua and Zhao Yunyun this time, she could clearly feel that the two of them had lost a lot of weight, their skin was sallow, their hair was particularly dry, and their complexion was not good.
Most importantly, Xu Han also noticed that Yunhua and Zhao Yunyun were dressed much worse than before, and they looked completely different from when she first saw them.
The two must have suffered a lot during the past year. The once elegant noble ladies of the capital have suddenly become ordinary people.
Seeing Xu Han made my heart ache. Life outside must be tough right now! Just being able to eat your fill is a blessing; you can't possibly eat well like before!
"Eat as much as you like, go wash your hands! Dinner will be served soon!" Xu Han urged Yunhua.
After everyone was ready, Xu Han took out some wine and poured some for everyone. Of course, she drank fruit jam water, and Zhao Yunyun also drank fruit jam water with her.
After dinner was served, Yunhua and Zhao Yunyun ate like crazy, as if they hadn't eaten in a long time.
Although they were very hungry, the two of them ate in a very elegant manner, befitting their upbringing in the capital.
Surprisingly, neither the Taoist priest nor Grandpa Zhao touched their chopsticks to grab food; instead, everyone took turns serving food to Yunhua and Zhao Yunyun.
Seeing his granddaughter's appearance, Grandpa Zhao's eyes reddened, but he ultimately didn't say anything.
After the two had eaten until they were about 80% full, everyone began to chat and leisurely eat and drink.
"How has it been for you all this year? Is the situation out there alright?" Lu Chuan asked.
"Alas! The situation outside is really unstable right now. Because of the drought, people in the north are fleeing south. There is no food or water on the way, and many people die before they even reach their destination."
The drought affected such a vast area that the imperial court was powerless to help. Previously, they had been able to distribute relief grains and other aid to the people, but these measures were later discontinued.
Not only that, many places don't accept refugees who have fled famine, and they don't even allow them to pass through the city gates. The people are having such a hard time; they can't even survive," Yunhua said.
"Is the situation outside still stable?" Xu Han asked.
"When even survival becomes difficult, the world naturally descends into chaos. In order to survive in this chaotic world, many people will do all sorts of evil deeds, such as burning, killing, and looting."
Many people did not die of starvation or disease, but were killed by fellow refugees.
"Even cannibalism has become the norm. People will fight each other for a corpse just to survive..." Zhao Yunyun said with a sorrowful expression.
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