lcionline Chapter 469: Bitterness
Chapter 469: Bitterness
Chapter 469
Although Old Man Wang hadn't left Qingshui Town in the past few decades, as the village chief, he was more knowledgeable than his fellow villagers. The dark blue embroidery with twined branches on the man's wrist was made of exquisite material. Even if he couldn't name it, he knew it was worth a lot.
Such a person would say, "Old rice is nothing to be proud of," and I imagine it's true. Yet, this friendship carries immense weight. His throat churned, and he bowed deeply, his back almost arched. "I thank you on behalf of everyone. This rice... I will shamelessly accept it."
Luo Shuiyao turned slightly to avoid the old man's greeting without leaving a trace.
At the same time, Ye Yi had already nimbly picked up the rice bag from the carriage, strode forward, and placed the heavy cloth bag steadily in front of everyone.
Over there, the sesame cakes and braised pork had already been distributed. The young children stared at the food, their mouths drooling uncontrollably, their greed almost spilling from their eyes. But they were so sensible that it was heartbreaking. Even though their mouths were drooling, they just stared at their parents eagerly and never reached out to ask for anything.
The older children, their eyes fixed on the bread and meat, their tender faces brimming with longing. But they were also sensible, insisting their parents and elders eat first. The adults gently pushed them back, saying, "Eat, kids, eat your fill. Mom has some vegetable soup."
Finally, under the careful care of their parents, the younger children were fed bite by bite. The older children, unable to resist the fragrant aroma, trembled and took the cake, biting into it in small bites. As they chewed, bean-sized tears rolled down their cheeks and dripped onto the food in their hands, but their eyes were as bright as stars in the sky.
The adults watched the children wolfing down their food, their wrinkles from hard work filled with bitter smiles, and their rough hands gently wiped away the crumbs from the corners of the children's mouths and the tears rolling down their eyes.
Luo Shuiyao looked at the children's pale, thin faces. Seeing how sensible they were, her heart ached. She pinched her palms with her fingertips to calm her expression. She knew these people were already strong, and showing too much sympathy would only hurt them—they had simply fallen on hard times and didn't need anyone's sympathy. So, she tried to suppress her expression.
When she turned to look at Old Man Wang, she found him hunched over, inviting everyone to serve the porridge. After this incident, the wariness in everyone's eyes when they looked at them had long since disappeared, transformed into deep gratitude.
Seeing her looking at him, Mr. Wang felt a little embarrassed. "I'm so sorry, everyone. I'm afraid this vegetable porridge is hard to swallow. If you don't mind, I'll give you my bamboo bowl."
Luo Shuiyao then realized that these people hadn't brought any bowls or chopsticks with them in their haste. It wasn't just Old Man Wang; almost everyone had a hollow bamboo tube hanging from their waist, with two wooden sticks inside serving as chopsticks. Now that they had a few more people, there wasn't even room for an extra bowl.
A murky vegetable soup simmered in a large earthenware pot, rising with steam. People lined up in an orderly procession, some carefully scooping out the soup with bamboo tubes. Their hands, roughened by work, crisscrossed the pot, a sight that made one's eyes burn.
Seeing Luo Shuiyao remain silent for a while, Old Man Wang suddenly remembered that most of them hadn't cleaned their bamboo tubes. They cooked soup here because it was safer and had water. But water was too precious to them, so how could they bear to use it for washing dishes? Old Man Wang looked embarrassed and took back the bamboo tube he had handed over with a sense of shame.
Ye Yunzhou saw that Luo Shuiyao's eyes were red again, and knew that she felt sorry for these people. Seeing the old man's embarrassed expression, he hurried forward to help: "Old man, you don't have to be so polite. We have bowls in the car. Let's get them." As he said that, he gestured to Ye.
After receiving the order, Ye Yi hurried back and took out a few white jade porcelain bowls from the carriage and handed them over.
The old woman holding the soup took the porcelain bowl with a slight tremor in her hand. Such a delicate porcelain bowl, not to mention the current misfortune, even in the past when life was easier, they had never seen one before, and for a moment they felt a little uneasy.
Ye Yi obviously didn't understand why the old lady's hands were shaking, but Chun Xing noticed her uneasiness and hurried forward and said, "Auntie, let me help you with the filling."
The old lady heaved a sigh of relief and made way for them. These people had done them a favor, and she was really worried that she would be clumsy and accidentally break or bump the precious porcelain bowl, and then she wouldn't know how to face these kind people.
There wasn't much wild vegetable soup, and with so many people, each person only got half a bowl before it was all gone. But no one cared, and they just sat on the ground and started eating.
Ye Yi and Ye Yunzhou were fine. They had fought on the battlefield before and had even eaten raw horse meat and horse blood when they were extremely hungry. Although this wild vegetable soup was hard to swallow, they could still accept it.
But as soon as Chun Xing took a sip, a bitter taste instantly surged up her throat, and her face turned pale. Even at the Marquis's residence, even as a servant, she had never eaten such coarse food. After leaving the mansion and following Luo Shuiyao, she had tasted all sorts of rare delicacies. This wild vegetable soup was truly unpalatable; the bitter taste that washed through her throat nearly made her gag. But seeing everyone else enjoying it, she suppressed the urge to vomit and swallowed the soup in big gulps.
Luo Shuiyao lowered her head, cupping the soup in both hands and sipping it in small sips. These wild vegetables were naturally bitter. With good seasoning or proper cooking, the bitterness would naturally fade. But where could such conditions be found right now? It felt like medicine. She found it unpalatable, but not unpalatable. At least it filled her stomach.