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墨書 Inktalez
Until everyone saw each other, of course except for Ziyan, everyone else showed expressions of agreement.
Zhou Laoda slowly let out a sigh of relief and chuckled!
Meanwhile, the relaxed and well-fed Gu Yuxuan had remained silent, only occasionally casting approving and appreciative glances at Ziyan.
Each time, Ziyan would disdainfully turn away, ignoring him or giving him a cold, fierce glare!
But even so, Gu Yuxuan was not annoyed; in fact, he seemed to find some joy in it, as if they were still the same two people from their first meeting.
Unknowingly, the sun that had been high in the sky began to set in the west, and the guests after the meal were preparing to bid farewell to their host.
The first to take their leave was Zhou Laoda. As he was about to leave, Ziyan and her sister packed up the remaining large Azure Fish along with some wild Shiitake mushrooms for Zhou Laoda to take back.
Before leaving, Zhou Laoda did not forget to discuss with his little niece: “Yan'er, after Uncle finishes this trip, can I come to your house to taste your new and interesting dishes?”
Beside them, Zhou, hearing this, quickly responded happily on behalf of Ziyan: “That sounds great! After you finish your trip, just come over. You can bring our Parents along in your Ox Cart, and we can all have a good gathering and enjoy ourselves.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Zhou Laoda happily jumped onto the Ox Cart, waving goodbye to everyone.
As the Ox Cart rattled away, Gu Yuxuan, who had been silent in the courtyard, also stood up to bid farewell to Zi Lao Er and Zhou: “It’s getting late. Thank you, Uncle and Auntie, for your generous hospitality! Yuxuan should take my leave now.”
After saying this, he couldn't help but sneak a glance at Ziyan.
Standing nearby, seemingly reluctant to part with him, Ziying mustered her courage and leaned closer to Gu Yuxuan: “Gu, Gu Young Master, are you leaving already?”
"Uh? - Oh - Mmm!"
For a moment, Gu Yuxuan inadvertently glanced at Ziying with a slightly displeased expression, then turned to look at Ziyan.
Then, lowering his head, he casually replied, "Thank you both for the delicious food you made today. When I get some good game in the future, Yuxuan will definitely bring it to your family for a feast."
Zhou wanted to say something more, but Gu Yuxuan had already turned and strode toward the courtyard gate.
...
Days passed by in such an ordinary manner, and before they knew it, half a month had gone by.
Ziyan's family was still short on food, but fortunately, during this warm spring season, there were plenty of edible plants to be found nearby.
During this time, Ziyan's family was also busy. Her father would go out every morning to the surrounding woods to catch small animals and sell them in the nearby town or County Town in exchange for some grain.
Typically, they sold small game like mountain chickens or rabbits in the town, while larger catches like wild boars or mountain goats would be sold in County Town.
However, such opportunities were rare!
Zi Lao Er preferred catching snakes because they could fetch a good price at the medical clinic in County Town. A snake weighing around two pounds could sell for nearly two taels of silver.
With two taels of silver, they could buy about twenty pounds of fine rice, which was relatively easy to find nearby. Although many snakes were venomous, catching them was still much safer than hunting fierce beasts in the mountains.
Thus, Zi Lao Er's greatest hobby and occupation was catching snakes.
Ziyan was still out picking some wild vegetables or going down to the riverbank to collect Snails and River Clam to add to their meals.
In addition, she gathered a lot of wild vegetables to dry or to pickle for winter use, while her mother took her sister to manage the work in the fields.
But it had been several days, and around the house, they had only occasionally found some common straw mushrooms and oyster mushrooms, never encountering any Shiitake!
Originally, she had hoped to pick more Shiitake to make Mushroom Sauce or to dry Shiitake, recalling how delicious the Shiitake Snail Sauce made with the Shiitake that Gu Yuxuan had brought back was when they used it along with the shells of the Snails. The whole family enjoyed it immensely!
Every day, Ziying loudly demanded that her sister make it again. If it weren't for Zhou knowing that the Shiitake were picked from the mountains and strongly objecting, it was likely that Ziying and Ziyan would have already run hand in hand into that dangerous area of the Pine Forest.
That night, as usual, the two sisters, Ziyan and Ziying, who shared a room and a bed, had not yet fallen asleep and started chatting.
They first talked about how Ziying took care of their grandmother during that month at Grandma's House.
They also heard Ziying mention that Uncle was more filial than Second Aunt, while Second Uncle was fond of gambling, and that Second Aunt was an extremely lazy and selfish person.
Every day, with nothing much to do, she would visit this family and that one, gossiping with those who were just as foolish as she was, stirring up trouble.
Due to the recent lack of work at the Escort Agency where her Uncle-in-law worked, during their grandmother's illness, both Ziying and her Uncle-in-law took care of her.
Second Uncle and Second Aunt, having long separated from Uncle, still lived nearby. Uncle lived with their grandparents.
Since then, Second Uncle and Second Aunt basically ignored the elderly. Occasionally, if they learned that Uncle had brought back some rare items or food from his travels, they would shamelessly come over to mooch food and drink. If Second Aunt felt like it, she would help cook a meal or two, but they were terribly unappetizing!
Eventually, they unknowingly found themselves talking about Mushroom Sauce again.
"Alas, what a pity! If it weren't for hearing that there are wild beasts roaming on the mountain across, we would have gone up the mountain this morning to pick all those Shiitake mushrooms!"
Ziying expressed her feelings with excitement and then sighed deeply in disappointment.
This also stirred Ziyan's sense of loss regarding her dream of picking Shiitake mushrooms!
At that moment, Ziyan tried to ask Ziying, "Have you ever seen anyone really hurt by wild beasts on the mountain across? And have you ever seen real monsters or spirits?"
Ziying quickly replied, "No, no!"
"Then does that mean these are just rumors passed down from one person to another?"
Ziyan cautiously blinked her eyes while looking at Ziying.
She continued, "Even if there are dirty things, they only come out at night. What kind of monsters would be active during the day?"
Thus, the two sisters reached a mutual understanding and said in unison, "Then how about tomorrow—"
"You go first—heh heh!"
The two of them covered each other's mouths simultaneously, but in the end, it was Ziyan who voiced her thoughts: "Then let's not tell our parents tomorrow and go on an adventure up the mountain together."
Though they called it an adventure, the main goal was to pick Shiitake mushrooms; perhaps there would be other unexpected gains as well!
So as soon as dawn broke, they waited for Zi Lao Er to leave the house.
Ziyan told Ziying that they should go together to the riverbank to collect snails. Since it was a plan for the two sisters, Zhou didn't think much and nodded in agreement.
Then the two sisters each tied a small pouch of realgar around their ankles, and one carried a basket on her back: inside the basket were a machete and a bamboo tube of water. Ziyan greedily grabbed a bamboo basket as well.
With that, the two sisters set off.
On their way out, they almost ran into Zi Lao Er, who was searching for snakes in the grass. So, they bent down and stealthily avoided Zi Lao Er's line of sight as they climbed up the mountain.
After spending a good part of an hour, Ziyan finally arrived at the pine forest that Gu Yuxuan had taken her to last time.
Because she had been pressed for time and didn't have enough baskets during her last visit, she hadn't managed to collect all the shiitake mushrooms in the forest that day.
This time, Ziyan ran around a bit to observe; this pine forest was actually quite large—so vast that even standing in the middle and straining her eyes, she couldn't see the end.
Moreover, under some pine trees, she occasionally spotted a few matsutake mushrooms, which were even more precious and rare than shiitake mushrooms.
Ziyan picked two matsutake mushrooms and handed them to Ziying as samples.
Feeling amazed, Ziyan decided that it would be more efficient for them to split up and gather mushrooms separately.
So, they each carried their baskets in different directions, agreeing to meet back at the original spot once they had filled their baskets.
Thus, both sisters excitedly busied themselves collecting small shiitake mushrooms under the pine trees while searching for the exceptionally elusive matsutake mushrooms.
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