Chapter 7: Entering the Mountains
Not only Li Zheng was satisfied with the meal, but Aunt He's family next door was also satisfied with the meal. After eating, Aunt He and her family sat on the stools holding their stomachs, looking at the clean bowl and not needing to wash it. "Oh, I don't know how Zheng made it, why does the meat taste so good? It didn't taste this good when I made it before!" At this time, the food had not been prepared for stir-frying, and everything was steamed or boiled.
"Mom, Sister Azheng's cooking is delicious. The preserved vegetable pancakes she made before were also delicious. This meat tastes sweet to me, so I guess they added sugar." Goudan was still licking his lips, savoring the taste. Although the others didn't say anything, it was clear from their expressions that they agreed.
"In a couple of days I'll take the eldest and second sons to the mountain to chop some firewood." Although Uncle He is not a talkative person, he also expressed his support through his actions.
"Don't worry, I see Zheng bought a piece of cloth today. She should be making clothes. She probably doesn't know how yet, so I'll make them for her tomorrow." Old Man He nodded without saying anything.
The next day, Li Zheng made some meat patties and put them in the space before walking towards the back mountain with Bao Ge'er. She was worried about Bao Ge'er being alone at home, so she took him with her. If there was any danger, she could still go to the space. She felt relieved to put Bao Ge'er in the space because he was a tight-lipped child. She put Bao Ge'er in a bamboo basket and carried him on her back. The weight of Bao Ge'er was like a drizzle to her. As she walked, she picked any medicinal herbs she saw and planted them in the space. She also explained to Bao Ge'er what the herbs were called and what their uses were. She didn't care if he could understand them or not. After hearing them many times, he would remember them. "Bao Ge'er, this is Panax notoginseng."
"37."
"Brother Bao, this is Pinellia ternata." "Pinellia ternata."...
Suddenly, a pheasant flew past Li Zheng. "Brother Bao, hush." Great! After walking for a long time, I finally saw a pheasant. I couldn't miss it. I grabbed a handful of stones and threw one hard at the pheasant's neck. "Bang." Huh? That simple? Looking at the pheasant with a broken neck, I couldn't help but wonder?
"Chicken, eat chicken, sister eat chicken." Bao Ge'er was quite excited and clapped his hands. "Bao Ge'er wants to learn too, I want to learn." Sister is so good, I want to be like her too, and eat chicken every day.
"Hmm? Bao Ge'er wants to learn? Okay, but Bao Ge'er is too young now. Can we start learning next year?" I originally planned to let Bao Ge'er learn. It is better for him to learn on his own initiative than to force him to learn. Besides, there seemed to be unrest in ancient times, so it is good to be able to protect himself.
When they got down the mountain, there was already a pheasant in Li Zheng's basket, and there were already three pheasants and a rabbit in the space. As soon as she reached the door, she saw Aunt He knocking on the door, "Aunt, what's wrong?"
"Zheng girl, where have you been?"
"Aunt, I went to the mountain to pick some herbs." As he said this, he took out the herbs in the basket. Aunt He also knew that he was picking herbs.
"Okay, next time you go, be careful not to go deep into the mountains. By the way, Zheng girl, I came here to ask you what you are going to do with that piece of cloth. If you want to make clothes, I will make them for you in the next few days."
"Aunt, if you hadn't told me, I would have wanted to look for you. I had been thinking that I would tell you after the busy farming season was over in a couple of days." I didn't expect that my aunt cared about me so much.
"Oh, it's nothing. It will be almost done in the next two days. I have nothing to do in the evening so I can just do it for you. It won't take much effort."
"Okay, Auntie, I'll get it for you right away."
Aunt He held the cloth and said, "Okay, Zheng girl, don't send it to me. I will send it to you when I finish it. Come in." After that, she took the cloth and left.
Looking at Aunt He's back, I thought about sending a chicken to her house after she finished cooking.
Li Zheng returned to the kitchen and killed the chicken, then chopped it into pieces and stir-fried it in oil until golden brown. She added some sliced ginger and chopped scallions, then continued to stir-fry. She added some water to cover the chicken, added some sauce, and began to stew it. The pheasant was a bit tough, and if she didn't stew it, she was afraid Bao Ge'er wouldn't be able to chew it. She kneaded the dough, formed it into dough balls, and rolled it into thin pancakes. When the chicken was cooked, she removed it and pan-fried the pancakes in a wok. She also stir-fried some vegetables. Having only one pot at home was inconvenient; it seemed she'd have to buy another or get a clay pot.
Bao Ge'er stared at the stewed pheasant meat, his eyes wide open, drooling. Li Zheng said with a smile, "Give Bao Ge'er a big chicken drumstick." Bao Ge'er took the drumstick in his hand, took a bite, and said, "Sister, it's delicious." "If it's delicious, eat more." Li Zheng took a chicken wing and gnawed on it. Chicken wings and chicken feet were still more delicious. Although she had eaten pork yesterday to satisfy her craving, it was better to eat every day. Li Zheng squinted her eyes and enjoyed it. Bao Ge'er had a small appetite, and he was almost full after just one chicken drumstick and a few bites of vegetables. Looking at these dishes, she sighed, "I still can't figure out the right amount for two people."
Two years later.
For the past two years, Li Zheng's life was very regular. She practiced in the evenings, practiced with Baoger in the mornings, and taught him to read in the afternoons, while also learning about herbal formulas and medicine. Once a month, she would go to town to sell herbs and do some shopping. Only her appearance had changed, thanks to her martial arts training and Quanshui. She had grown to 1.65 meters tall, with a fair complexion, almond-shaped eyes, an oval face, and lips of moderate thickness. She looked above average. Baoger had started teaching him martial arts a year ago, when he was three years old. After all, the ancients began practicing martial arts at the age of three, and the earlier the better. Baoger himself was diligent, practicing every day. Even though he was still young, he started with an hour each morning. He was diligent, and coupled with Quanshui's rapid progress, after a year of practice, he was able to hunt pheasants and other small game.
In the past two years, Li Zheng has been practicing martial arts day and night. She has mastered the art of lightness training so much that she can stand on tiptoe to reach the top of a tree or even higher. In order to test her martial arts skills, one night, she used the art of lightness training to get from home to the town in less than a quarter of an hour. Therefore, she would take Baoger to the provincial capital to buy some food and talk about some news from time to time. However, there has been no big news in the past two years. The old emperor has become less and less fond of attending court and has been addicted to pleasure. In addition, the town and villages have been very peaceful in the past two years, which made her think that nothing would happen. However, that strong feeling did not stop but became stronger, making her even more uneasy. After all, people would die. She had never seen a dead person in her previous life and she didn't know if she could adapt to it.
After two years of accumulation, the space has accumulated tens of thousands of kilograms of grain, and even more meat. After all, I almost always find prey when I go up the mountain every day. Looking at the small mountain of meat and eggs, some of it is purchased, and some of it is caught myself. In ancient times, the animals in the mountains outnumbered the people. If we were to protect them, we must protect them and not hunt wild animals (we must protect animals). I also prepared several sets of clothes and cotton-padded jackets, all bought in the capital. Especially for the prepared pills, I made almost every kind, for colds, coughs, etc., and I also prepared a lot of them for wounds.
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