Chapter 184

When they heard that the orange trees they bought turned out to be a deception—bearing not oranges but fruits with peel suitable for medicinal use—the teahouse fell into a silence so profound that one could hear a pin drop.

It felt unreal, like walking on cotton.

Then they heard that the snow-white food they had for lunch—stewed pork ribs—was also a type of medicinal herb, and the teahouse continued to remain as quiet as before.

This time, it felt unreal as if walking on clouds.

“How strange, how much have we eaten before?”

“It can’t be more expensive than pork ribs, right?”

Mother Hu and Butcher Hu’s first reaction was heartache for the yam they had eaten.

Yams were delicious, but no matter how delicious they were, they couldn’t compare to meat. If they were as expensive as meat, or even just as close, it would be a loss.

There were so many vegetables in the vegetable garden, none of which couldn’t be eaten.

Fan Jin reassured them, “The things we’ve eaten before couldn’t be helped. If Uncle Ding and Aunt have not come, we would never have known.”

Only then did everyone shift their attention to the Ding family.

“The Ding family is really amazing. Otherwise, we would have been like blind men who don’t recognize gold inlaid with jade, cutting down random trees and eating wild grasses and vegetables.”

“Knowing more is always good. No wonder the Ding family can feed a large family without needing to farm.”

“It’s not just about not starving, but also living very well!”

“Who knows, there might be other mountains…”

Only Shuiqing and Fan Jin knew deep down that even if there were others, there couldn’t be as many as there were in the back mountain.

The quantity of wild herbs and the scale of cultivation were completely incomparable.

Especially yams; the people of Shanshui Village had at least dug up Polygonum multiflorum, but so far, they had never heard of yams, and they had only eaten from the shopping mall, completely relying on fraud.

Thinking about fraud, Shuiqing announced, “Only your father will search for yams. It is estimated that there are not many on the back mountain. In the future, he will be responsible for digging yams and collecting yam seeds. Later, we will try to plant them in the ground like potatoes.”

“Da He and Da Hu, you two are responsible for cutting grass. Xinghui and Zhaodi, you two are responsible for feeding the livestock at home. The rest of you will all go up the mountain to propagate Polygonum multiflorum.”

Propagating Polygonum multiflorum was important, as was the meat and eggs of the large family’s chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits, sheep, and pigs.

In the past, she only needed to cook, but this time, she had to go up the mountain for a while. Otherwise, where would the yams that Fan Jin ‘dug up’ come from, and the yam seeds would also depend on her.

Fan Jin also thought of this point and only said, “Come over in the morning and afternoon to take the yam seeds back home in advance.”

When the children heard this, they clamored to take care of this task themselves to save Shuiqing from making another trip.

Shuiqing looked at Fan Jin, questioning him with her eyes—what did he mean?

Fan Jin’s fair face blushed lightly, spreading to the lobes of his ears. He pursed his lips and whispered softly, “You come, I want to see you.”

Shuiqing choked a bit, her eyes unbelievably fixed on Fan Jin. With so many people old and young in the big room, he really dared to say that!

Once this statement was made, the noisy children immediately quieted down like chickens.

Hu Wenhua widened her eyes. Brother-in-law, so bold?

Hu, the butcher, coughed uneasily and took a big sip of tea from the table.

His mother was most satisfied. Her son-in-law not only cared deeply for people but was also incredibly attached to Qing’er.

Previously, they had sympathized with their daughter for cooking and working hard in the mountains. But they knew that rural women, like men, had to work in the fields and also take care of feeding a large family and washing clothes.

Unable to speak, they saw their son-in-law assign a very important yet extremely light task to Qing’er, and they both smiled happily.

This way, Qing’er did the work but it was like she hadn’t done anything.

Most importantly, the harmony between husband and wife was what they as parents most wanted to see.

The atmosphere in the tea room was eerie and silent, tinged with awkwardness, and soon they both blushed and came out separately.

The flood in Shanshui Village had not yet receded completely. No one in the village had been out, and outsiders couldn’t come in either.

After the rain, there were plenty of mushrooms. Most houses in the village had been newly built years ago. After the storm, except for the families of Fan Damu and Zhang Tuzi who needed to build thatched houses, others had new houses with tiled roofs that didn’t leak and didn’t need repairs.

Combined with thorough preparation, after the storm, firewood, rice, salt, and everything else was ready. The fields were flooded, and they couldn’t go outside, so all their spare time was spent picking mushrooms.

Mushrooms that could be exchanged for pork and eggs.

With something to do, they felt the days passing quickly.

The Shuiqing family was also working tirelessly. They had to take advantage of the busy villagers to finish the work in the mountains.

Otherwise, when there were no more mushrooms to pick, many people would come over to chat, and it would be inconvenient to go out to work again.

Ding, Li, Qin Yilin came over every day. Now they only needed to process yam slices, not much work, not tired at all. Ding, Li, and Qin Yilin were in a good mood all day long.

Incidentally, they were worried about leaving Jiajia alone at home, so they brought Ding Jiajia over too.

They came early after breakfast, looking forward to lunch early, and after lunch, they looked forward to dinner. The whole family obviously became plumper.

Looking at batches of sliced and dried yam, from Shuiqing’s perspective, they looked like shiny silver pieces, each full of energy.

Mother Hu suddenly realized that her son had a much better appetite during this time. He ate an extra bowl of rice at each meal, and his mood was even better. Even when facing plain rice, he would occasionally grin.

Mother Hu was a bit worried. Could it be that he would grow taller with such a hearty appetite?

But if he continued to grow taller, wouldn’t it be even harder for him to find a suitable marriage match?

Nandu Baifu

The old lady Bai listened to the chaotic and noisy sounds outside, feeling anxious.

She shouldn’t have hurried home as soon as the rain stopped!

She instructed the maid serving her in front of her, “Go, call the young madam. Is the noisy sound outside caused by refugees on the street?”

The maid hurriedly ran off to call Li Huyu.

The old nursemaid beside her smiled and comforted her, “Madam, you worry too much. Our Bai family has many houses. How could the noise from the street come in?”

The old lady Bai felt even more anxious.

If it wasn’t the noise from the street, wouldn’t it be refugees breaking in?

I heard that a few days ago, the Wu family next door was completely ransacked by refugees!

Loss of money and property was one thing, but I heard that the old lady of that family was hit and bloodied because she tried to protect her belongings from the refugees. She lay in bed with shallow breaths and labored breathing;

The master and lady of the house were also knocked unconscious, and the reputation of their daughter, who was about to be married, was ruined…

Li Huyu, dressed in strong clothes with a sword at her waist, strode in.

In the past, such attire would have been scorned and looked down upon by the old lady Bai. But at this moment, she felt relieved.

“Mother, considering the multiple robberies in recent days, I decided to have my parents bring my brothers and me here. At the same time, we will train the servants of our Bai family. Did this disturb you?” Li Huyu asked respectfully.

The old lady Bai was about to ask why her in-laws had moved in, but then she noticed that her daughter-in-law had mentioned multiple robberies. She asked anxiously, “Apart from the Wu family, have other families also been robbed by refugees? These refugees are really lawless! Where are the government officials and constables?”