The autumn sunlight streamed into this small Main Hall in the Mountain Area.
The autumn wind must have been drawn by the delicious feast, carrying the fragrance even further away.
In the center of the Main Hall was a square table for eight.
The entire family warmly invited the Divine Doctor to take the seat of honor.
Old Ancestor Yeman wasn't afraid to sit there; it was just unnecessary. Would sitting there prevent her from eating her fill? Would sitting in one spot affect her eating?
For the Original Owner, this kind of spread was something she had seen and made, but never eaten.
As for the Old Ancestor, who was accustomed to Delicacies of the Mountains and Seas and dragon liver and phoenix marrow, all she wanted right now was to EAT!
The family didn't press the issue too much.
Losing face was not a concern. They suspected the Old Madam wasn't actually ill, and now they suspected she wasn't ill at all.
It was a fact that the Old Madam had fainted; they preferred to believe she was sick and had a Divine Doctor to treat her, rather than treating it lightly.
Mountain Villagers lacked resources, and while they could afford to be casual normally, having this opportunity, the Descendants only wished for the Old Madam's well-being.
In the end, the Man and the Young Gentleman sat at the head, being the one and a half male members of the household.
The Old Madam sat on the East side.
Yeman sat on the West side.
Madam Shui sat below, serving the Divine Doctor.
The Girl, bringing her Younger Brother along, was busy; what business did a Child have sitting at the main table?
Yeman surveyed the table: chestnuts stewed with chicken, which the Child had been busy preparing all morning; bottle gourd stir-fried with meat; cucumber stir-fried with wood ear mushrooms; Chives stir-fried with Eggs; winter melon stewed with tofu; and stir-fried chicken giblets, which were also delicious.
Yeman held a full bowl of Millet rice; the spirit of a person who eats heartily is hearty eating.
This whole family was busy working; they had slaughtered several chickens, enough for everyone to eat their fill.
Madam Shui refrained from urging her to take food.
The Girl was quick-witted; after watching the Divine Doctor finish one bowl, she took the bowl to refill it for her.
During this interval, Madam Shui said to the Divine Doctor, "We'll stew meat with dried bamboo shoots tonight."
Yeman, with oil on her mouth, exclaimed, "Delicious!"
Her innocent eyes completely won Madam Shui over!
Madam Shui felt that her face should be rounder and she should gain some weight.
Although she didn't feel qualified to ask the Divine Doctor to stay, Madam Shui boldly inquired, "Are Steamed buns easy to make? How about making Meat Patties?"
Yeman smiled, "Steamed buns can be stored in a jar, and Meat Patties can be too."
Madam Shui calculated; since she didn't know where the Divine Doctor got the Silver from, she was confident about making Steamed buns. Over ten catties of meat could make over a hundred large Steamed buns.
Even if they ate ten a day, it would take over ten days to gain weight.
On the road, finding water was easy, but getting meat was a bit harder, even though the Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching.
But next came the autumn harvest, and some people wouldn't even have enough to eat themselves.
Once they went to the Prefecture City, they certainly wouldn't lack food.
But everything in the Prefecture City was expensive, and the goods weren't necessarily better than those in the Mountain Area.
Although things sold cheaply in the Mountain Area, they became expensive once taken to the city.
Yeman took a full bowl of rice and continued to eat heartily.
Madam Shui watched her eat without worry; there was plenty of food made, enough for everyone.
A group of Children came from outside, followed by a group of dogs.
Madam Shui called out to her Youngest Son, "Go up the mountain to check."
The Child understood. He was to go gather chestnuts so they could have chestnuts stewed with meat later.
The whole group of Children followed him.
The area in front of the house became quiet again.
After finishing her meal, Yeman came out to prepare to boil the medicine.
The Girl followed her, ready to help.
Yeman felt pleasantly drowsy from the sunlight; this little Girl was much better than the Female Protagonist.
Of course, living a life like an Immortal in the Mountain Area had its troubles. Immortals had Immortal matters to worry about.
The Girl brought a small stool and sat to the side. Seeing the medicine start boiling, she asked, "Do I just need to watch the fire?"
Yeman smiled, "Not quite."
Although this wasn't Pill Refining, processing the Bamboo Joint Ginseng wasn't as simple as just stewing it in water.
Yeman looked at the Child; she would make a good Pill Apprentice, but she couldn't manage that right now.
The Girl watched the Divine Doctor's strange technique and noticed the pot held an unusual aroma.
It was a pity that Yeman had only just achieved Guiding Qi into the Body; refining pills would be quite troublesome.
She held a piece of Bamboo Joint Ginseng, absorbing the Spiritual Energy, and then controlled what was in the pot.
Compared to just throwing the ginseng directly into the pot, she needed Spiritual Energy to control it; it wasn't the same thing.
Under her control, the medicine was almost done boiling.
Yeman broke out in a sweat; the afternoon sun was too strong. Even though she worked outside every day, she still felt a bit weak now.
She took a piece of ginseng for herself to replenish her energy, while instructing the little Girl, "Pour the medicine out, let it cool down, and then take it to your Grandmother."
The Girl carefully poured the medicine into a bowl, wondering how much Silver the medicine the Divine Doctor brewed was worth.
She earnestly carried the bowl over, hoping her Grandmother would get better after drinking it.
The Old Madam took the bowl, and the moment the medicine touched her lips, she felt a distinct difference.
Her whole body felt incredibly comfortable! It wasn't psychosomatic. After waking up from fainting that morning, although she felt fine, there had been something lingering. Now, after drinking the medicine, that ailment was completely gone, and she felt even better than before!
That old medicine could sell for dozens of taels of Silver, or fetch hundreds in the Prefecture City; the effect was truly extraordinary.
She wouldn't dare eat it casually herself, but since the Divine Doctor brewed it, she had no worries.
The Old Madam stood up; her body felt completely well!
The Girl could see it, so she ran to the Divine Doctor, knelt down, and Kowtowed several times.
Yeman was amused, "Why are you Kowtowing several times?"
The Girl wiped her tears, "It's just me."
Fine. Yeman took out a flower, one of the newer ones from Rong Jinye's collection, and gave it to the little Girl.
The Girl refused it.
Yeman smiled, "I don't wear things like this anyway." She then simply took out a pair of Silver Bracelets and gave them to her, "They are just little trinkets, take them to play with."
Madam Shui, busy with preparations, came over after stewing the meat, "Divine Doctor, what are you doing?"
Yeman rubbed her stomach and headed to the outhouse.
These Mountain Villagers were unusually particular; the outhouse truly was a house, even if it was thatched with straw.
Inside, it was kept quite clean, with a stack of straw placed nearby. As for whether it was better than using wooden slips, well, whatever worked for them!
Yeman squatted comfortably and heard noises coming from the mountain.
A group of Children were running back, and a group of adults were shouting up the mountain.
It sounded like Bandits were coming, though it wasn't Bandits; a Wild Boar was quite fierce too.
Yeman suddenly wondered if she was destined to deal with pigs.
A quarter of an hour later, without her needing to lift a finger, a few men from the mountain village had already taken down the Wild Boar.
Mountain people often faced these things and had some skill; those without skill had already died.
The Old Madam watched from the side, "Now we'll have meat to eat."
Yeman asked, "Aren't you going to sell it?"
The Old Madam replied, "It's not easy to sell. Sometimes we just eat it ourselves."
Yeman felt the urge to compose a poem again.
Life in the mountain village was too Poetic! Even hunting a Wild Boar was a bit heroic, but that too was poetry!
The mountain was quite different from flatlands. Farmers could afford to be a bit thin, but in the mountains, when confronting wild beasts, there was no room for negotiation.
The Old Madam looked at her Little Grandson and asked, "Why did the Wild Boar come out?"
The Child didn't know, "The chestnuts have all fallen."
Now there was meat but no chestnuts—what kind of situation was this?
The Old Madam pulled her Grandson home; it was fine if the chestnuts were gone, but she looked at his torn clothes and several injuries.
The Child was quite excited! When he saw his older sister, he boasted, "That Wild Boar was so fierce!"
The Girl scolded him, "Be more careful next time!"
Yeman watched the Setting Sun descend, birds flying overhead, and the roar of beasts still echoing from the Mountain Area.
Smoke was rising from every household again, but today they weren't just busy making dinner; they were busy processing the Wild Boar meat.
The Old Madam helped with the processing; their family received one leg.
Braised pork knuckle was on the menu?