Chapter 69: “Like a Block of Wood”

Under everyone’s eager anticipation, the village chief finally reached out and picked up a piece of meat.

He tried to mimic what Ye Xin Ran had done earlier, placing the meat into the pot. However, as soon as he put it in, the meat disappeared. He quickly searched for it and managed to fish it out.

As he pulled it out, the village chief’s hand trembled slightly.

It felt awkward eating in front of so many people, especially with everyone watching. What if he messed it up and became the laughing stock?

He was nervous!

His dipping sauce was sesame oil. He dipped the meat in it, then put it in his mouth.

He gave everyone a look, signaling: “I’ve eaten it, you can start now!”

As soon as everyone picked up their chopsticks, they heard the village chief let out an “Mm.”

When they looked back, they saw him nodding and exclaiming, “Delicious! Really delicious!”

Aunt Li quickly smiled at Ye Xin Ran, “It’s been so long since we had meat, it’s a bit of a surprise! Don’t laugh at us!”

Ye Xin Ran also quickly reassured them, “It’s fine, it’s fine. Everyone, dig in!”

When Aunt Li finally tasted the food herself, she realized that the old man wasn’t exaggerating, it really was delicious!

After blanching the water celery in the pot, the rich broth coated the leaves, and the mild spice mixed with the fresh fragrance. Adding the dipping sauce made it a taste they had never experienced before.

So this was how vegetables could be eaten!

Ye Xin Ran was eating the spicy hot pot with Chang Sheng and the village chief’s wife, while Xiao Huai’an had the other three children eating the clear broth pot.

The clear broth pot was made with chicken soup as the base. Although it didn’t have the strong aroma of the spicy one, it had its own unique flavor.

At first, the village chief and Aunt Li ate hesitantly, slowly picking at their food.

But as the atmosphere became more relaxed, everyone loosened up and began to eat heartily.

The meal lasted from just before sunset until the moon rose above the willows.

Eventually, when no one could eat any more, they finally set down their chopsticks.

After the meal, the children ran off to play hide and seek, and Ye Xin Ran took the opportunity to speak to the village chief and his wife.

“Uncle Village Chief, tomorrow I plan to go up the mountain with Huai’an to look for herbs. These three children can’t cook. Would it be alright if they stay at your house for a few days and eat two meals a day there? They can come home to sleep at night.”

“Sure, that’s no problem! I thought it was something more serious!”

The village chief readily agreed.

“Since Uncle Village Chief has agreed, I can rest assured. If they misbehave, don’t hesitate to discipline them.”

“Eh, I think these kids are usually quite well-behaved, especially Chang Sheng, he’s good at his studies and is sensible. I actually like him a lot!”

Ye Xin Ran turned to Aunt Li and asked, “The boys eat a lot, so I plan to bring five Dou (buckets) of rice. If it’s not enough, I’ll bring more when I come back. Is that alright with you, Aunt Li?”

“Oh no, there’s no need for that much. Two Dou of rice will be enough!” Aunt Li quickly waved her hand, but the village chief nudged her and said, “What’s with all the rice? We have plenty of rice at home, they can eat ours.”

Aunt Li felt a little embarrassed but quickly agreed, “Yes, yes, no need to bring any!”

“That won’t do!” Ye Xin Ran refused. “It’s already a big favor for you to help look after them. You must accept the rice.”

The village chief didn’t have any intention of commenting, but upon hearing this, he couldn’t help but stroke his mustache in amusement.

“I’ve never seen you live like this before. Huai’an, do you agree with what she says?”

Xiao Huai’an didn’t hesitate for a second and immediately replied, “Yes!”

“Good, good!”

Now, Li Zheng was completely out of patience.

“Anyway, I can’t manage your household affairs. You two be careful on the mountain, come back early, do you hear me?”

“Don’t worry, Li Zheng uncle!”

Ye Xin Ran answered readily.

The next day, Ye Xin Ran woke up early.

Last night, she had prepared the dough, so today she was going to steam some buns.

This way, she had breakfast ready and also had packed food for the trip to the mountain, which saved effort.

There were two types of filling for the buns, one with pork and cabbage, and the other with bamboo shoots and meat.

Each bun was about the size of a fist, steamed up white and plump, looking very cute.

Once the children got up, Ye Xin Ran asked them to gather the leftover vegetables from the house and pack them into a basket along with five Dou of rice. Chang Ping would carry it to Li Zheng’s house.

As they were about to leave, the three children felt reluctant to part with their uncle and aunt.

When Uncle left alone earlier, they had felt it was normal and didn’t miss him too much.

But now, with Aunt leaving, it felt like something was missing from their lives.

“Aunt, you have to come back soon!” Chang An sniffled with a childish voice.

Chang Ping also said, “Aunt, don’t worry, we’ll behave. Come back soon!”

Despite not saying anything, Xiao Huai’an still felt a bit lost in his heart.

It turned out that when children miss you, they will show it.

After breakfast, Ye Xin Ran wrapped up the remaining buns with oil paper. Xiao Huai’an packed some rice and the tools they would need for the mountain, and then the two of them left the house.

“Tonight, we’ll have dinner at Li Zheng’s house. If you get hungry at noon, Chang Sheng can cook some porridge. I put some pickled vegetables in the jar near the cutting board in the kitchen. You can use them with rice.”

“Aunt, we know, don’t worry.”

Perhaps it was because they had gotten used to separations, but when Ye Xin Ran and Xiao Huai’an were leaving, the three children didn’t try to stop them.

Ye Xin Ran was wearing a set of old clothes.

She had asked Chen Shi to shorten a skirt for her, so she could wear it with pants to make walking easier.

Xiao Huai’an led her out of the village. When they passed East Mountain, they saw that some villagers were indeed wandering around that area.

Ye Xin Ran remembered what she had discussed with Li Zheng the day before: “I’ve already talked to Li Zheng. These few days, I asked him to help me harvest the ice spirit flowers. Everything that’s harvested and planted will be recorded in the books.

But Li Zheng is quite clever. He came up with the idea of having everyone supervise it.”

“Simple and effective.” Xiao Huai’an glanced towards East Mountain, “Li Zheng is an old fox!”

Ye Xin Ran nodded in agreement.

The two of them were silent as they walked.

They walked for quite a while before beginning their ascent.

The path up the mountain was not too difficult to walk.

Ye Xin Ran looked up and saw a small path from the foot of the mountain to the top, clearly trodden down by people.

There were sturdy grass and trees along the sides, and when they reached steep places, Ye Xin Ran would grab tree branches or roots to help her climb up.

Xiao Huai’an walked ahead without looking back, like a block of wood!

What a good opportunity to help each other and build their relationship, yet he seemed completely uninterested, just focused on walking his own path.

“You’re the only one who can climb the mountain, even though you’re lame, you climb so fast!” Ye Xin Ran muttered to herself as she walked, but unexpectedly, her foot slipped, and the branch she had just grabbed couldn’t bear the weight, snapping with a loud “crack”.