“Mother!” Yun Zhen shook her head firmly.
“If I had encountered a mountain goblin, I would have been eaten long ago.
How could I possibly be standing here alive in front of you?”
The elders always said that a hideous monster called a mountain goblin lived on the mountain and had a taste for human flesh.
Yun Zhen firmly believed she hadn’t met any monster; she had genuinely visited a place where food and clothing were abundant.
Old Dad Yun and Yun Old Lady exchanged an uncertain glance.
Let alone during a famine year, even in normal times, no family would casually give away cotton quilts—which were more precious than gold—along with a pile of food.
When the wealthy families in the county town did good deeds, they only handed out porridge, or at most, a coarse steamed bun.
Yun Old Lady asked again, “You said your bracelet absorbed your blood and took you to that place.
Where is it now?” She knew her daughter had a wooden bracelet she had picked up somewhere.
Yun Zhen opened her hands.
“When I came back, I found the bracelet was gone, but a red mole appeared on my palm.”
Worry clouded Yun Old Lady’s face.
“Zhen Niang, are you sure nothing bad will happen?”
Old Dad Yun leaned in to look.
Right in the center of her palm was a tiny red mole.
Feeling uneasy, he warned, “Don’t go to that place again.”
Yun Zhen wasn’t sure if she could even go back.
Even if she couldn’t, it didn’t matter.
She had three large cotton quilts now; they wouldn’t freeze to death.
She comforted them, “Father, Mother, put your minds at ease.
The fact that I was able to come back proves that nothing bad will happen.
Regardless of how I got there, our family now has three thick cotton quilts.
At the very least, it guarantees we will suffer a little less this winter.”
Hearing this, the elderly couple stopped fretting.
“If you ever go back there, you must let your father and me know.
You have no idea—when your father walked through that door alone, my heart nearly leaped out of my chest,” Yun Old Lady said, stroking her daughter’s hair.
Old Dad Yun was still palpitating with lingering fear.
“Your mother and I searched for nearly two hours.
We were terrified that you had fallen in the snow and couldn’t get up.” The snow outside was deep enough to bury a person’s thighs; if she had fallen and couldn’t get back up, it would have been fatal.
“This was an accident.
It will absolutely never happen again,” Yun Zhen said.
She had also been terrified of never returning, of never seeing her parents and daughter again.
Fortunately, she made it back.
She looked at the items in her hands; tonight, they wouldn’t have to eat grass roots.
“Father, stoke the fire a bit and cook these noodles,” Yun Zhen said, taking out two packets of instant noodles.
“You wasteful child, one small packet is enough!
Once the noodles are done, you and Little Bao can eat them.
Your father and I will just boil some grass roots in the broth,” Yun Old Lady said, hastily snatching one packet away and putting it aside.
Yun Zhen shook her head in refusal.
“If only Little Bao and I eat while you and Father watch, how could I possibly swallow it?”
Old Dad Yun looked at the drifting snow outside, his face full of melancholy.
“Who knows when the snow will stop?
The food you brought back looks like a lot, but if the snow keeps falling, it probably won’t last long.
It doesn’t matter if your mother and I go hungry.”
“Just you and Little Bao eat the noodles.
Your father and I can fill our stomachs with grass roots just the same,” Yun Old Lady added, wanting to save the rations for her daughter and granddaughter.
Yun Zhen’s attitude was resolute.
“If you two won’t eat, then Little Bao and I won’t eat either!”
The elderly couple knew their daughter was filial.
They felt both gratified and heartbroken.
“Fine, fine!” Yun Old Lady handed both packets of instant noodles back to Old Dad Yun, her heart aching terribly.
If they cooked one less packet, her daughter and granddaughter could have an extra meal.
Seeing her mother’s actions, Yun Zhen finally revealed a smile.
Her parents’ hearts ached for her, but hers ached for them, too.
“Father, look, there are specific cooking instructions right here.” Yun Zhen picked up the packet and studied it with Old Dad Yun.
“First, we tear the bag open and put the noodles into boiling water.
Then, we add the seasoning packets inside.
Once the noodles are cooked, we can eat.”
Old Dad Yun’s face was full of novelty.
“These noodles can be eaten raw!” He broke off a tiny piece and tasted it, his eyes lighting up.
“It’s crispy, and it smells like oil.”
Yun Zhen also ate a little bit.
“It’s delicious.
The more you chew, the more flavorful it gets.” She fed a piece to her mother.
“Mother, have a taste.”
“It’s not even cooked yet and you’re already eating it.
How wasteful,” Yun Old Lady said.
Afraid that the noodle crumbs in her daughter’s hand might fall, she hurriedly opened her mouth to catch them.
“Oh!
It really does have an oily fragrance.
If Zhen Niang hadn’t had such a miraculous encounter, I would never have had the fortune to taste something so good.”
Seeing her parents eating with such relish, Yun Zhen was overjoyed.
“Mother, let Father cook the noodles.
Let’s lay the bedding on the bed first, then bring Little Bao over.”
At the thought of the large cotton quilts, Yun Old Lady smiled brightly.
She couldn’t wait to help Yun Zhen make the bed.
Originally, they only had a coarse linen quilt stuffed with straw and cloth scraps, with more straw laid underneath.
It neither retained heat nor blocked the wind.
At night, the cold wind was bone-chilling; they would wake up freezing, and in the morning, their faces would be covered in frost.
“Heavens!” Yun Old Lady’s emaciated hands gingerly touched the cotton mattress.
“This mattress is much thicker than our quilt!
It’s stuffed with so much cotton.
Imagine how comfortable it will be to lie on this.”
They flattened the straw on the bed and laid their own torn quilt at the very bottom.
Over that, they spread the cotton mattress, topped with a clean bedsheet.
Finally, they placed the cotton quilt and two pillows on top.
The once-freezing bed instantly became soft and warm.
“It’s too clean.
My clothes will dirty the bed,” Yun Old Lady said, reluctant to even sleep on it.
“As long as we don’t freeze, that’s all that matters!” Yun Zhen said.
She didn’t care if it got dirty.
Right now, their biggest goal was simply to survive.
“I’ll go bring Little Bao over so she can sleep on the bed.” Pressing her hands against the soft mattress, Yun Old Lady enthusiastically carried her granddaughter over and tucked her under the covers.
Yun Zhen also laid out the bedding in the room she shared with her daughter.
The quilts were so thick and substantial; sliding a hand beneath them offered a sense of overwhelming warmth.
Old Dad Yun chuckled.
“Our days are finally looking up.”
Once the water boiled, Old Dad Yun followed the steps he had studied with his daughter, dropping the noodles into the pot and adding the seasoning packets.
Unable to squeeze the packets entirely clean, he simply tossed them into the boiling water for a moment before fishing them out and throwing them into the fire.
He put the lid on.
Inside the clay pot, the water began to BUBBLE BUBBLE.
Suddenly, an overwhelmingly rich aroma filled the entire room.
It smelled absolutely heavenly!
Yun Zhen was astounded.
How could these noodles smell so good while cooking?
She hurriedly rushed over to the pot.
Yun Old Lady took a deep breath.
“What is that smell?
It’s too enticing.”
Old Dad Yun swallowed hard with a heavy GULP.
“I cooked these noodles?” Had his culinary skills gotten this good?
He shook his head.
This was the natural aroma of the noodles; the greatest credit went to those little seasoning packets from earlier.
Little Bao, who had been sound asleep on the bed, also woke up.
Crawling up groggily, she felt as if she were nestled in a soft Yun Duo, her body enveloped in cozy warmth.
In her dream, she had been eating pastries, but an incredible scent had woken her up.
Seeing her mother nearby, she crawled over, rested her head on Yun Zhen’s lap, and closed her eyes.
“Mother.”
Yun Zhen stroked her daughter’s hair and tucked her back under the covers.
Now fully awake, Little Bao sniffled and opened her mouth wide.
“Little Bao wants to eat pastries!
What smells better than pastries?
The yummy smell woke Little Bao up.”
“Grandpa is cooking some especially delicious noodles.
Little Bao can eat them in a little while,” Yun Zhen said softly, patting her daughter’s back.
“Eat!” Little Bao hadn’t eaten anything in a long time, and her stomach was burning with hunger.
The moment she heard there was food, she instantly became fully alert.
Old Dad Yun opened the lid, revealing a clay pot full of enticing noodles.
The aroma shot straight up into the air.
The scent of oil mingled with the fragrance of meat—an indescribable, mouth-watering aroma!
“It smells too good!”
“These definitely aren’t ordinary noodles.
They must be noodles eaten by an immortal!
Zhen Niang didn’t run into a man-eating mountain goblin at all; she encountered a manifesting immortal!” Yun Old Lady was dizzy from the scent.
Her stomach let out a loud RUMBLE as she repeatedly exclaimed about the immortal’s manifestation.