[Host, your oil cake has been successfully exchanged~]
Just before bedtime, after tying her braids, Mei Qian finally remembered the oil cake she had put up for exchange. Xiao Mei seized the opportunity to inform her.
Mei Qian opened the System Light Screen and took a glance. For a moment, she doubted her own eyes.
[Wait, what is this?]
Mei Qian stared uncertainly at the image in the Exchange Column, rubbing her eyes and looking again.
[What on earth are three drops of Floral Nectar?!]
She questioned the unit of measurement, wondering if her eyes were playing tricks on her.
Those were drops!
Three drops!
[This thing is even more potent than Nutrient Solution! I exchanged such a large piece of cake for this!]
Mei Qian found it hard to believe. She checked the Exchanger’s information and discovered it was from a new Plane—a Half-blood Elf from the Xihuan Continent.
[This Exchanger is a rare Half-blood among the Elves. Elves typically consume Flora Essence and Spiritual Spring Dew, but this Half-blood prefers human food.]
Xiao Mei explained the Exchanger’s background to Mei Qian and also clarified the Floral Nectar exchanged today.
[Consuming Floral Nectar can satisfy hunger while keeping the Elven body pure and cleansing internal impurities. For ordinary humans, it aids digestion and provides satiety.]
Mei Qian:
To be honest, she didn’t quite understand the last part of Xiao Mei’s explanation.
[How can something both aid digestion and keep you from feeling hungry?]
Mei Qian’s question was rather crude, but Xiao Mei’s explanation was even more blunt: [You consume the essence and expel the waste. They’re not the same thing.]
Mei Qian: [One last question—how many days will three drops keep our family of six full?]
Xiao Mei: [One day.]
It wasn’t as much as Mei Qian had imagined, and the “digestive” effect made her frown even more.
While it was a good item, it wasn’t quite suitable for their current situation.
Mei Qian decided to further narrow down the types of food she exchanged, focusing mainly on Nutrient Solution or Compressed Biscuits.
With this thought, she drifted into a deep sleep.
“Wake up, hurry up and wake up, Qianqian. It’s time to set off!”
Mei Qian felt as if she hadn’t slept for long. When she opened her eyes, dawn was already breaking.
Almost everyone around her was moving. Today, they were starting early, all heading toward Yixian Gorge.
Mei Qian got up, drank some cold boiled water, and the family began packing their belongings and leading the donkey forward.
Along the way, Mei Qian quietly approached Mei Erhu, who was walking ahead, and asked if anything unusual had happened today.
Mei Erhu shook his head, telling Mei Qian that everything was normal.
Only then did Mei Qian feel her worries gradually ease.
There was no bad news from the Junzhu’s convoy, and the remaining members of the Han family hadn’t caused any trouble. Once they passed Yixian Gorge today, they could relax a little.
Mei Qian mentally reviewed all the things she needed to worry about before finally allowing herself to relax.
Yixian Gorge, at its narrowest point, was less than two meters wide. Perhaps because the carriages had to be dismantled, the procession of wealthy families moved slowly, stopping and starting frequently.
Several times, Mei Shitou even ran ahead to take a look before returning to report on the situation.
“Those wealthy folks wear such long, long sleeves. Oh my~ They even need help getting out of their carriages. It looks exhausting just watching them.”
Mei Shitou didn’t have time to dwell on the luxury of the other party’s carriage. All he remembered was that the people who got off the carriage wore long robes with wide sleeves, which clearly weren’t suited for movement.
“Why bother? They have servants to do things for them.” Grandma Mei shot Mei Shitou a glare and warned, “Don’t learn from your mother, talking as if she’s eaten… garlic!”
Mei Qian was certain her grandmother hadn’t meant to say garlic.
“Trouble comes from the mouth. The wealthy masters can wear whatever they like.”
Grandma Mei added another remark.
Hearing this, Mei Shitou immediately shrank his neck and said, “The Chen family’s convoy hasn’t made it to the front yet. It seems to be some Wei family ahead. We’ll probably have to wait a while longer.”
Upon hearing Mei Shitou’s words, Mei Qian wiped the sweat from her forehead and leaned against the nearby mountain wall, truly wanting to rest.
“I don’t know why, but it feels quite hot today.”
Mei Qian muttered, raising her hand to slap dead a mosquito that had landed on her arm at some point.
“Hmm, it’s a bit stuffy.”
Madam Jiang supported her belly with one hand and patted her chest with the other, her complexion indeed looking unwell.
Hearing his wife’s complaint, Mei Erhu also looked over and quietly asked if she was alright.
“I’m fine. It might just be because this place is cramped and there are too many people.”
After Madam Jiang mentioned this, Mei Qian also stood on tiptoe to look ahead and behind. Indeed, she couldn’t see the end in either direction.
Mei Qian asked, “Brother, about how much farther is it ahead?”
“I heard it’s about five li past the narrowest part.”
“Good heavens!” Mei Qian couldn’t help but swallow. Was Yixian Gorge really this long?
“Goodness, there’s still so far to go. We’ve already been walking for most of the day since we entered, and we’ve covered quite a bit of ground, haven’t we?”
Han Shi was also astonished. She couldn’t help but look up at the massive rocks above and sighed, “If we had to cross through the mountains, how many days would that take? But at least there are plenty of mountain delicacies in the mountains, so we wouldn’t go hungry.”
“Hmph~ Don’t worry, you wouldn’t make it out. There are fierce beasts.” Grandma Mei cut off Han Shi’s thoughts. “With the world in such chaos, even animals know to hide in the mountains. If you go in, you’d just be adding another meal for them.”
Grandma Mei had emphasized countless times along the way not to enter the mountains casually, yet her eldest daughter-in-law still kept thinking about the mountains.
Just as she was about to say that Han Shi never learned, she heard Han Shi say, “Dahu used to say, ‘rely on the mountains, eat from the mountains.’ There’s all kinds of delicious food inside.”
Mentioning her deceased eldest son, Grandma Mei suddenly fell silent.
Mei Qian turned her head in surprise to look at her aunt, wondering why her aunt would bring up her late uncle at this moment.
After a while, Mei Erhu chimed in, “Elder Brother was skilled at hunting. He often brought back lots of food from the mountains.”
“Right, Dahu really liked…”
Han Shi seemed to have a lot to say about her deceased husband. Mei Erhu and Madam Jiang patiently listened as Han Shi recounted stories from the past.
Soon, even Mei Shitou came over to listen.
Mei Qian also listened carefully, occasionally shifting her gaze to Grandma Mei. She noticed Grandma Mei’s expression was calm, though her eyes occasionally flickered as if recalling a moment from the past, and she let out a soft sigh.
At one point, since Mei Qian was standing right beside Grandma Mei, she could clearly hear Grandma Mei mutter, “A fool who was tricked back with just a few bites of food…”
They listened as the eldest aunt spoke on and on, and time unknowingly slipped away.
Later, when the procession began moving again, Han Shi stopped talking about the past, and everyone tacitly started advancing slowly forward.
After their group walked and paused intermittently, it was already an hour later by the time they passed the narrowest section. But once they crossed that narrowest point, the canyon ahead suddenly opened up wide.
The sky was now visible above the canyon. Mei Qian looked up, and a drop of water suddenly fell into her eye…