Chapter 35 (2/2)
Yu Xiaolian snarled furiously, ”Our grandmother and Eldest Aunt always think we're a bunch of parasites! But we're not eating from their bowls! Every piece of game that Father sells is enough to feed us for several months!”
Xiaocao sat heavily on the kang bed and mumbled, ”If we could split off from our family, that would solve the problem!”
Xiaolian's eyes lit up before they quickly dimmed again. She shook her head and said, ”Our grandmother would never agree! She's counting on our father's money making abilities to pay for Younger Uncle's schooling fees…”
”What are you two saying? The family does not split as long the parents are alive! Your grandfather and grandmother are both still here! Talking about dividing from the family is asking for others to gossip behind our backs. Never talk about stuff like this outside!” After baking the steamed roll until it was crisp on the edges, Madam Liu split open the bun and added some salted vegetables to it. She then handed the food to Xiaocao and her brother.
Madam Liu put her piece of the pastry back into the oiled paper bag as she wanted to leave it for her children to eat tomorrow. However, when her attention was caught elsewhere, Xiaocao popped the piece into her mouth.
Creeeeeek
The sound of the wooden door opening abruptly stalled the festive atmosphere in the room. Madam Liu hastily swallowed the pastry in her mouth and her hands flew to her face in a fruitless effort to wipe off any crumbs without being conspicuous.
All five pairs of eyes immediately looked over towards the door. Although there was a crack, they couldn't see anyone there. When they gazed down, they found a pair of large ears poking up from a small head that inquisitively stretched in to inspect the room.
When the limpid and dark eyes found Yu Xiaocao, the slender and delicate animal completely stepped into the room. It s.h.i.+mmied towards Xiaocao and used its head to nudge at her ankle, as if it was a puppy asking for a bone to eat.
”Wow! So cute!!” Yu Xiaolian thought her heart was about the burst as she bent down to pick up the little creature in her arms. One hand caressed the animal's head as she snuggled her face into its soft fur coat.
”That young fella, Zhao Han, caught it! Little s.h.i.+tou really liked it, so he let him bring it back to let him play and raise it for a couple of days. The little critter must be hungry, otherwise, it wouldn't have stepped into the room.” Yu Hai explained on behalf of his youngest daughter and son.
Yu Xiaolian hugged the roe deer tightly, which was no larger than a month old puppy, and seemed reluctant to let it go. ”The courtyard still has some fishwort I gathered today. Let me get some to feed it! This little creature is so obedient and doesn't seem to be afraid of humans at all!” Unfortunately, she misjudged. When Xiaolian got back after picking out the freshest and most tender fishwort from the bunch, the little roe deer only sniffed it for a bit before it turned its head away arrogantly. Its eyes looked pitifully at Xiaocao and it started to struggle to get back on the ground.
Xiaolian was afraid of dropping the animal, so she placed it back down. She waved the wild gra.s.ses in front of it but the roe deer ignored her completely. It was only focused on achieving its goal, which was to get closer to Xiaocao.
Xiaolian sighed in disappointment, ”It only likes younger sister! It must be because younger sister was the one who brought it back!”
Yu Xiaocao took the handful of gra.s.s from her hands and teased, ”The little roe deer probably likes cleanliness and rejected Xiaolian because it thinks this fishwort is too dirty to eat right now!”
She took out the jar that held the mystic-stone water and washed the gra.s.s in it. She then offered the fishwort to the roe deer again and the little creature acted completely different. This time, it rushed over and ate the gra.s.s in large mouthfuls.
”It really is a roe deer that likes to be clean!” Little s.h.i.+tou giggled until he started to hiccup. He also grabbed a bunch of fishwort and rinsed it in the water. After it finished eating the food in Xiaocao's hands, the roe deer smelled more of that delicious stuff that was more tantalizing than a mother's milk and skipped over to s.h.i.+tou. It also started eating the fishwort in s.h.i.+tou's hands.
Xiaolian learned from her siblings' examples and used the rest of the mystic-stone water to wash the remaining fishwort. Yu Xiaocao felt a bit forlorn as she watched: 'This spendthrift girl used two full bowls of mystic-stone water. That was seriously something very valuable!'
Ever since she had access to mystic-stone water, Xiaocao would always give everyone in her family a bowl to drink. The effects were naturally astounding. First, let's not discuss the effects on her own body. Her mother, Madam Liu, also had a weak const.i.tution. After drinking mystic-stone water for a full two months, her body had improved immensely even though it still looked very thin. Madam Liu recently got soaked with some fall rain. Had this had happened before the mystic-stone water, she would have had a great illness. This time, however, she only needed a bowl of ginger soup to strengthen her body and didn't even get a sniffle.
Yu Hai also mentioned that he had recently become more strong. In the past, when he used to bring game that weighed about a hundred catties down from the mountain to the town, he would be so exhausted from the effort he needed to rest on the kang bed for hours. Now? It was as if he did nothing strenuous. In fact, he could add a thirty to fifty catties more to his load without any problem.
Thinking of all the benefits, Yu Xiaocao silently held the empty jar and went to the kitchen to fill it completely with water that had been previously boiled. She carefully took the five colored stone from her wrist and let the rock sink into the jar. The spirit of the divine stone came out of the multi-colored stone and swam leisurely in the water.
If the rest of the occupants of the room could see this now, they would all be stunned speechless. Why would there be a golden colored kitten in their water pitcher? Moreover, it was constantly flailing in the water, as if it was almost drowning.
The little divine stone muttered resentfully. [Protest, protest! There's not enough spiritual energy here! Not having ginseng is one thing, but who wants c.r.a.ppy well water? This spirit wants spring water from the bamboo forest in the mountains!] ”Can you just be content with your situation? Mystic-stone water is really useful for us, and ultimately, won't you also benefit? If you continue to make a racket, I'll just throw you into that little creek and never pick you up again!” As Yu Xiaocao fed the little roe deer, she also mentally threatened the arrogant divine stone.