People in the nearby villages had ever heard that there was a bear in that mountain, but no one believed it at first. After all, everyone had lived here for so many years and there was no case of large beasts attacking people. The people of Lijia Village scolded the people of Shenjia Village for being overreacting and spreading rumors. They accused that the purpose was to prevent everyone from going up the mountain, to monopolize the resources. But unfortunately, no one would be caught in the trap!
They treated kindness with badness, even turned back to blame them. Shen Dezhong was so angry that he almost cursed them right on the face. So he directly threw the bear's paw on the opponent's face. Even though the very talented person of Lijia Village shut their mouth, they still doubted it.
Shen Yanbei had nothing to say about this. Indeed that no one else had ever encountered it, but he did. Should he blame his roasted chicken for being too fragrant or the black bear for being too gluttonous?
Whether they believed it or not, he had informed them. So for the rest, he didn't care!
Two days later, it would be the Dragon Boat Festival. In addition to making rice dumplings, the people's custom here was to hang colorful gourds, tie colorful ropes, drink realgar wine, wear sachets, etc. They did it in the case to help the family members get rid of diseases, avoid evil, and wish for luck.
A big man like Shen Yanbei naturally didn't know how to make colorful gourds and weave colorful ropes, but the villagers prepared them for him. The aunts in the village said that since his Fulang was injured so his condition was inconvenient to do this, they helped him to prepare these things. They comforted him too that he would be lucky if he survived the catastrophe, hoping for his Fulang's injury would be better soon.
Shen Yanbei wondered why the villagers suddenly became so enthusiastic. Shen Dezhong sipped dry smoke and said, "It was because everyone thanks you for killing the black bear."
Sometimes they must go to the mountains to get firewood, pick herbs, or hunt the wild animals. When Gu Changfeng was brought back with blood on his head, the villagers were very shocked. These days were too peaceful so they forgot that there were still cannibal beasts on the mountain.
Shen Yanbei seemed to understand. He took out the dumplings he had made. "This is the dumplings I made. Uncle Zhong, please try it."
The dumplings made by the villagers here were filled with a candied date or mung bean. But his dumplings were a modern luxury version of rice dumplings: mung bean and pork dumplings, salted egg yolk, and fresh meat dumplings.
Seeing these dumplings looked unordinary, Shen Dezhong was not polite and accepted it directly.
"There is something else I want to discuss with Uncle Zhong." Shen Yanbei took out a jar of capers. "These are my pickled capers. These days have been getting hot, so it affects everyone's appetite. It's good to eat something sour for dinner. This new dish will give you a fresh taste."
"Caper beans?" Shen Dezhong took the jar and opened the seal, a strong sour smell floated out.
"It can be used to stir-fry minced meat with porridge, or being a stuffing for buns." Shen Yanbei said, "This dish is well preserved and can be stored for a year. So I want to buy some beans from the villagers to make this."
The capers were good for cooking or as side dishes. The most important thing was that it was cheap and delicious. As the Shopkeeper Liu at the restaurant said, the new design dishes were quite popular with customers.
Shen Dezhong asked his wife to take a clean spoon and dig out some to taste. The irritating acid made him squint. "It's quite sour!" The acidity of this tamarind bean was not the same as the acidity of sauerkraut, but it was equally irritating the taste buds.
"Is this tamarind troublesome to pickle? How long do you have to preserve it before you can eat it?"
"It's not troublesome. If you want to eat it as soon as possible, it can be eaten after two or three days." The method of sauerkraut here was more cumbersome and troublesome, it took about a month to ferment in a jar before it can be used. In contrast, making capers was obviously easier.
"Okay, I'll tell the villagers." Shen Dezhong responded and asked about the progress of Shen Yanbei's study recently. After Shen Yanbei told him that Li Zhiyuan intended to help him, Shen Dezhong was very happy. He patted him on the shoulder and said, "County magistrate is a learned man. It's a rare chance. Don't make him disappointed!"
Shen Yanbei repeatedly said yes. Before leaving, Shen Dezhong reminded him again, "Remember to prepare realgar wine, spray some along the periphery of the wall of your home to get rid of evil spirits."
"Alright." Shen Yanbei smiled. When he was a child, he didn't have so many things to pay attention to during the Dragon Boat Festival. Instead, he would put some wormwood in front of the door. His grandmother would also go to the mountains to pick some wormwood, calamus, psychotria rubrapoir, and other herbs then boiled them. Shen Yanbei would use them to bathe. It had a strong and unique herbal aroma, which made him have a strong impression.
Su Qingze would spend the festival with his family members, so Shen Yanbei gave them a jar of tamarind beans, a basket of salted duck eggs, and rice dumplings. After knowing that Su Qingze had been attacked by a black bear, Su Wanqing was so scared that she spilled all the tea, and Li Zhiyuan was so scared that his heart almost stopped. But the young man seemed not to be too frightened. Instead, he told them vividly how dangerous the situation was at the time, and how Gu Changfeng bravely fought with the black bear, making them wonder whether to praise him for his courage or to reprimand him for not running away.
Fortunately, Su Qingze was fine but the other party was injured to protect her little brother. Su Wanqing frowned. "Is Shen Xiucai's Fulang seriously injured?"
"Gu Dàgē looked to have a good spirit, but I saw Shen Dàgē feeding him, so he seemed to be hurt very much." Su Qingze's eyes were worried. When Gu Changfeng fainted, he shed a lot of blood, which made Shen Yanbei's face look very gloomy. His appearance looked like not allowing strangers to enter. It made him feel a bit jealous of Gu Changfeng.
Su Wanqing was taken aback, and said, "Then let Doctor Lin see his injury, and you should bring him some medicinal materials for replenishing his body."
"Okay!" Su Qingze pointed to the pickled cabbage jars and salted duck eggs on the table. "These are from Shen Dàgē. He made them himself. The jars contain pickled capers, which could be used to stir-fry meat. So it's good for dinner! These salted duck eggs are very well matched with porridge, which makes you eat three bowls!"
Li Zhiyuan frowned slightly, the courtesy was not expensive but it was all sincere. But it seemed his thoughts were spent on cooking whether...
Su Qingze then took out a stack of manuscripts. "This is what Shen Dàgē asked me to show to my brother-in-law. Brother-in-law, take a look?"
Li Zhiyuan took a look and turned it over. The more he looked at it, the more satisfied he became, which made him nod in his heart. It seemed that this Shen Xiucai was quite attentive in learning...
"Uncle, stack up high!" The little nephew came over and grabbed Su Qingze's hem, his big black eyes were full of joy.
"Hey, good!" Su Qingze picked up his little nephew and happily went to play with building blocks.
Su Wanqing shook her head and sighed. "When can this detached temperament be changed?" If it hadn't been for her brother who was clamoring to go to the mountain to play, a few people would not have encountered a black bear. Fortunately, nothing big happened.
"What's wrong with young people playing around?" Li Zhiyuan said casually.
Su Wanqing gave him a hating look. "Is that good? At this age, he can get married. Can this kind of temperament be liked by her husband?"
"Hm, his husband probably likes his temperament?" Li Zhiyuan said in his heart, the reason why the man was so attached to his brother-in-law might be because he liked him!
This sure tone made Su Wanqing wonder, "Do you know something?"
"Hehe, Fūrén, you think too much. How can I know?" Li Zhiyuan touched his nose and dared not say more. His father-in-law and mother-in-law didn't tell his wife about this, and he didn't know if his wife would keep shutting his mouth up if she knew about it in the future.
With a cold snort, Su Wanqing called the maidservant to let the kitchen prepare the dinner, while Li Zhiyuan took Shen Yanbei's work to the study to make corrections. After the foods were served, they washed their hands and enjoyed the family dinner.
In Shenjia Village, because Su Qingze wasn't here, Shen Yanbei could make a special table of many delicious dishes: chicken with scallion oil, salt, and pepper shrimp; taro old duck meat; vermicelli soup; stuffed tofu; and cold cucumber.
Zhou Yu also went home to spend the festival season with Yupo. So right now there were only Shen Yanbei and Gu Changfeng in the house. It was a rare time for two people could enjoy their own world. Shen Yanbei smiled and poured a glass of realgar wine for Gu Changfeng. "Eat. we will go to the bamboo forest after eating." He raised many chickens on the ten acres of bamboo forest. Counting time, the chickens should have grown new feathers.
Gu Changfeng said "Yes" and gave Shen Yanbei a chicken leg. This scallion chicken was delicious and tender, which made them drool just by looking at it. He hadn't ever eaten such a smooth chicken before, and he didn't know how Shen Yanbei had so many recipes in his mind. Why could he have many tricks in making a chicken!
Everyone in Shenjia Village was celebrating the festival happily, but some people in Lijia Village next door couldn't. They had contacted the construction team to pick a lucky day to start construction of the school, but who would have thought that the above still didn't approve their proposal yet!
Li Yi's face became dark. He clenched the handrail hardly. His eyes were full of dissatisfaction. "Didn't you say that you have taken care of it? How has the matter turned to be messed up!"
Li Zheng Yuan, the chief of Lijia Village, stroked his goat's beard. "Don't you think someone is causing trouble on purpose to us?"
"You mean?" Li Yi frowned, his eyes resentful.
"Su xiǎo gōngzǐ is his good friend, and the county magistrate can't help but buy his face." Lijia Village and Shenjia Village had been at odds for a long time. When they said that this school was built in their Lijia Village, this Shenjia Village might be unhappy! So it was normal to find ways to stop the construction!
Li Yi gritted his teeth. "Unreasonable! How dare he spoil my good deeds!"
"You almost let him make a fool of himself at his crown ceremony last time. So he must hate you!" Li Zheng Yuan soothed. "I'm afraid that it will take more time to consider again about handling this official business."
"How long? When the time comes, it will be late!" Li Yi said angrily, hatred rolling in his heart. Why was this person so lucky? Not only were there noble people to help him at his crown ceremony, he even could come back alive when he encountered a black bear! Why didn't this black bear beat him to death?
"Liu Dàrén can't wait longer anymore?"
"There is only one vacant position. After this village, there is no such inn! Liu Dàrén asked me to quickly send the money!" Li Yi clenched his fists and said solemnly. "This fat man!"
"Then I have to think about other ways." Li Zheng Yuan was helpless.
Li Yi was furious. "What else can I do? Where can I get that large sum of money?"
"Lend some money from Li Yuánwài first?"
"But I can't pay it back!" Li Yi was furious. "Last time, Li Sheng was beaten by Li Zhiyuan, which made the old man so afraid. He banned Li Sheng from wandering and said that Li Sheng was not allowed to go out and play foolishly anymore! Besides that, Tongfu Restaurant robbed the business of Changsheng Restaurant. He was so distressed, where else could he find someone to support him?"
Borrowing money then repaying the money was justified, who did want to do a business at a loss? Li Zhengyuan slandered him, but he still looked very worried on the face. "Why don't we ask the village chiefs to come over to discuss and let them try to pressure Shenjia Village?"
"No." Li Yi's eyes flashed. "This matter has to be solved on its root!"
What? Li Zheng Yuan wondered.
Li Yi waved his hand. "Uncle Yuan, go back first!"
Li Zhengyuan didn't change his color face. "Alright then. If you have something to do, let people call me."
Li Yi responded indifferently, sitting there thoughtfully. Seeing this, Li Zheng Yuan had to withdraw.
After a while, Li Yi stood up and called the young servant to come over, and said: "Go find Lin Wanru and take her here."
"Yes, sir!" The young servant took his order.
"Be careful, don't let people see it." Li Yi exhorted.
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