Chapter 130: Hanging Meat to Dry on the Horse Cart

After making arrangements in the small town, Xiang Xinyao asked her second brother, Xiang Yanlin, to bring the bowl of cured meat to the horse cart.

The group harnessed the horses and set off again.

Although the sun was shining brightly that day, the cold was biting.

The snow on the ground was starting to melt.

The road was difficult to navigate, so the horse-drawn cart wasn’t moving fast.

After a full day of travel, they had only covered about a hundred miles.

By evening, they hadn’t reached a village or town where they could stay the night, so they had to camp in the wilderness.

The wild rabbits and chickens they had hunted yesterday were already prepared at the inn, so they just roasted them for dinner.

Of course, they also roasted plenty of steamed buns as their main food.

After eating and drinking to their fill, Xiang Xinyao tidied up the horse cart and made a space for her parents and Xiang Xinyu to settle down for the night.

Of all the people, Xiang Xinyao was the weakest in martial arts. Her three older brothers and Mo Jinnan all let her rest in the cart.

However, Xiang Xinyao insisted on practicing her martial arts before heading to bed, not wanting to crawl into bed too early.

Her three brothers and Mo Jinnan couldn’t do anything about it, so they let her be.

The three carts were spacious and luxurious, but having two people sleep in one cart still felt a bit cramped.

Even though she and Xiang Xinyu could sleep in the same cart, she refused.

She had to practice for at least two hours before sleeping—after all, if Xiang Xinyu accidentally kicked her in her sleep, there was a risk of her going into a dangerous state in her martial arts practice.

After two hours of practice, Xiang Xinyao quietly slipped into the cart where Xiang Xinyu was sleeping.

She moved softly, and Xiang Xinyu was in a deep sleep.

Once inside, Xiang Xinyao swiftly entered her space and fed the animals there as quickly as possible.

This time, instead of chopping vegetables and adding cornmeal, she just threw the vegetables to the animals and added some spiritual spring water to their bowls.

Within the time it takes for a cup of tea to brew, Xiang Xinyao was out of the space.

She pulled back the blanket and slid into bed like a serpent, lying down next to Xiang Xinyu.

Xiang Xinyu seemed to sense Xiang Xinyao beside her, turning over and instinctively pulling her closer, even patting Xiang Xinyao’s back.

Wrapped in warmth, Xiang Xinyao quickly fell into a peaceful sleep.

At dawn, Xiang Xinyu opened her eyes.

Looking at her still-sleeping sister, a fond smile appeared on her face.

She pulled back the blanket and quietly climbed out of the cart.

She put on her shoes and ran to grab some snow that hadn’t completely melted, rubbing it in her hands.

The icy snow made her little face turn pale from the cold.

There was no water source nearby, so she would have to wait until they reached a place with water to wash up.

After using the snow to wash her hands, Xiang Xinyu took out some steamed buns and started to roast them by the campfire.

One by one, the three brothers of the Xiang family and Mo Jinnan opened their eyes, and seeing that Xiang Xinyu was already roasting buns, they all joined in.

Soon after, Xiang Taifu and his wife also woke up. Only Xiang Xinyao was still asleep.

Xiang Xinyao seemed to have set an internal alarm—just as the buns and steamed buns were ready, she woke up.

After breakfast, Xiang Xinyao turned to Xiang Yanlin. “Second brother, go cut a few wild bamboo sticks. We’re going to hang the meat on the cart to dry as we go.”

“Alright, I’ll go now.”

The three brothers of the Xiang family felt that hanging meat to dry on the horse cart was a bit unsightly, especially since their carts weren’t ordinary ones.

But if their younger sister wanted to hang the meat, they didn’t mind.

No matter how it looked, if she liked it, it was fine.

They wouldn’t even mind if she hung a dog’s head on the cart, as long as it made her happy.

Mo Jinnan couldn’t help but twitch his mouth. “Xinyao, are you sure you want to hang the meat on the cart to dry?”

Xiang Xinyao blinked her eyes. “Of course I’m sure. Otherwise, how would we handle such a big bowl of meat?”

“This meat is precious, it has medicinal value.”

“If we don’t dry it, it’ll spoil, and that would be such a waste.”

“But hanging meat on the cart while traveling, don’t you think it looks out of place?”

“I don’t think so. Wastefulness is what’s shameful.”

“Alright, you’ve got a point!” Mo Jinnan finally gave in.

However, the thought of hanging meat all over the cart still made his teeth ache. He had to admit, though, Xiang Xinyao was right—wasting it would be a shame!

Soon, Xiang Yanlin returned with several wild bamboo stalks.

Xiang Xinyao instructed everyone to help split and peel the bamboo into skewers.

Once the skewers were ready, she reached into her sleeve and, as if performing a magic trick, pulled out some twine.

Xiang Yanzuo stared wide-eyed. “How did you have this on you?”

Xiang Xinyao stuck out her tongue playfully. “I prepared it the day before yesterday! We need it to hang the meat to dry.”

“I see.”

Xiang Xinyao picked up the bamboo skewers and began threading the meat onto them, leaving a little space in between. Then, she tied the ends with twine.

Looking at Mo Jinnan, she asked, “Young Master Mo, can you figure out how to hang the meat on the cart to dry?”

Mo Jinnan twitched his mouth but still stood up to find a solution.

He walked around the cart and, returning to Xiang Xinyao, said, “Hang the meat after it’s all skewered.”

“Alright.”

Once all the meat was skewered, Mo Jinnan fetched a rope, strung the meat up, and tied it around the top of the cart.

Soon, all three carts were lined with meat hanging from the ropes, and the group continued their journey.

The guards in charge of driving the carts couldn’t help but chuckle inside, though their faces remained calm.

Despite the bright sunshine, the snow had yet to fully melt, and the ground remained damp with no dust in sight.

Perhaps because it had just snowed heavily, there were very few travelers on the road.

Occasionally, they would pass a merchant caravan, and the people would stare at the hanging meat on the luxurious carts in astonishment.

How strange!

Such fancy carts, yet covered with strips of meat.

The moving carts stirred the air, and with the sunlight shining on the meat, it would soon be dried.

For the next three days, the journey went smoothly.

The temperature gradually increased.

Though it wasn’t quite warm, it wasn’t as cold either.

During these four days, Xiang Xinyao shared a cart with her parents, and from their conversations, she learned a lot about Bianjing.

She now felt more eager about the life awaiting her there.

By evening, they arrived at Tianyang City.

Mo Jinnan rented out an entire inn.

The meat had dried quite well.

After dinner, Xiang Xinyao used the inn’s kitchen again.

She took the dried meat off the cart, removed the bamboo skewers, and placed the meat in a steaming basket. She steamed it over cold water for half an hour.

Once done, she eagerly took the dried meat to her room for everyone to try.

After tasting it, everyone agreed that it had a nice chew to it, with no strange taste, and the more they chewed, the better it tasted.

Xiang Xinyao borrowed two clean bamboo sieves from the inn and hung the dried meat to air in her room, planning to pack it up the next morning.

The sisters still shared the same room.

Once the dried meat was hung, the sisters chatted for a while longer.

At the hour of Hai (around 9-11 PM), Xiang Xinyu climbed into bed to rest, while Xiang Xinyao sat cross-legged in a chair, beginning her martial arts practice.