A gentle breeze blew at the foot of the mountain, bringing a pleasant coolness.
The potato flowers, a blend of purple and white, swayed gracefully in the wind, looking incredibly lovely.
Li Ying only paused briefly to take a look. Then she took a tightly wrapped cloth bag off Wu Zhui's back. When she opened it, there was a shovel inside.
Seeing Su Buchi looking a bit stunned, Li Ying smiled and said, "Uncle Su seems quite surprised?"
"On such a beautiful day, one should be playing the zither, sipping tea, and composing poems. But I'm about to dig out all these wild and charming mountain flowers. I'm sure Uncle Su must think I'm a vulgar person who has no appreciation for beauty."
Su Buchi couldn't help but laugh.
She had indeed hit the nail on the head regarding his thoughts. However, the word "vulgar" hardly applied to her.
Watching Li Ying working hard and sweating, Su Buchi found her straightforward and adorable. He instinctively reached out and took the shovel from her hand.
"Let me do this rough work."
Seeing the thin calluses on his slender fingers from digging the pit for making naan the other day, Li Ying couldn't help but feel a bit more favorable towards him.
This Uncle Su didn't have the slightest air of a pedantic scholar. No wonder he was a disciple of the great Confucian Yan Lianzhi.
After what happened with Lu Xunguang, even if she was given a hundred guts, Li Ying wouldn't dare to blatantly put the dug - out potatoes into her space. So she honestly loaded them all onto Wu Zhui's back.
She wasn't greedy either. When she thought it was enough, she was about to return with a full load. Just then, she heard a suspicious voice from behind.
"Who are you? What are you doing in our village? Sneaking around like this. Are you here to steal?"
Li Ying looked up and saw a man who looked like a farmhand, wearing coarse cloth clothes, eyeing her warily.
This outfit...
It seemed quite familiar.
Su Buchi was about to explain, but Li Ying was quicker. She stopped him and spoke first.
"Brother, you're joking. We just thought the soil here was fertile, so we wanted to dig some to grow flowers. We have no ill intentions."
As she said this, seeing the farmhand's vigilant eyes on the sack on Wu Zhui's back, she simply opened the sack without hesitation.
The potatoes were covered in a lot of mud and looked dirty. At first glance, the farmhand thought they were big chunks of soil and didn't pay much attention.
Seeing that Li Ying and Su Buchi were wearing fine and luxurious clothes, obviously not thieves, most of his suspicion disappeared.
After the farmhand left, Su Buchi asked curiously, "Miss Li, why did you deliberately hide the truth? If we're going to use these potatoes to cook delicious food in the future, we'll have to come here to buy them. Wouldn't it be better to spread the word today?"
Li Ying led Wu Zhui at a steady pace. Hearing this, she just shook her head.
"Uncle Su, you don't know. If I'm not mistaken, the clothes the man just wore are those of the tenant farmers of the Qin family's farm. The Qin family and I are sworn enemies. If this place really belongs to them, it may not be easy to buy potatoes here."
When they went to court for the divorce, the matter had been a hot topic among the common people. Even though Su Buchi was new here, he had heard about it.
He didn't dare to ask further. He just lowered his head and followed her back to the fishing village.
Granny Sun was relieved to see her come back safely. Yan Lianzhi didn't seem to care much. When he heard that she had found some rare food again, his eyes lit up and he sighed, "Oh, Ying girl, I've been so worried about your safety that I couldn't even enjoy my dinner properly..."
Li Ying laughed and quickly said, "Grandpa, please bear with it a little longer. I'll go to the kitchen and prepare some midnight snacks for you!"
Su Buchi wanted to dissuade her, but Yan Lianzhi pulled him aside. He could only watch as Li Ying tied on an apron and nimbly slipped into the kitchen.
Old Master Yan couldn't do without spicy food, and he was getting old with bad teeth. A bowl of smooth potato noodles would surely suit his taste.
Li Ying washed and peeled the potatoes, then grated them into a paste. She wrapped it in a piece of gauze and squeezed out the water forcefully.
For these potato dregs, she cracked an egg into them, added a little wheat flour and scallions, seasoned it with salt and pepper, then rolled them into small cakes and fried them until both sides were golden brown. They were then ready to be served.
The soft cakes carried the unique fragrance of potatoes. The outer crust was crispy, and the inside was soft. Taking a bite while they were still hot and pairing them with the tomato sauce Li Ying had made was both refreshing and appetizing.
While making the cakes, the potato starch had settled. Li Ying poured out the water on the surface, leaving only the paste. She added an egg white and kneaded it into a smooth dough.
The water in the pot was boiling. Li Ying chose a suitable strainer, put the potato dough into it, and pressed with all her might.
The dough was quite heavy, and she was petite. It was very difficult for her to lift the strainer high enough to apply force. Moreover, the hot steam from the pot made it hard for her to keep her eyes open.
Pressing the potato noodles required one - go effort. Otherwise, the noodles would break into pieces and look ugly.
Li Ying gritted her teeth and struggled with the dough. Suddenly, she felt the weight in her hand lighten, and the soreness in her arms and shoulders also eased a lot.
She turned around and saw that Lu Xunguang was standing behind her. He took the strainer from her hand. Thousands of strands of white potato noodles flowed smoothly into the pot like a waterfall. Soon, they floated to the surface.
Li Ying quickly fished the noodles out and put them into cold water. Each potato noodle was uniform and elastic, easier to eat than noodles.
Lu Xunguang watched as she mixed spicy oil, mashed garlic, scallions, soy sauce, and vinegar, added chicken broth, and blanched two green vegetables. A bowl of spicy and sour potato noodles with bright red oil, dotted with scallions and sesame seeds, gave off a strong fragrance. He said softly, "A Ying, let me do it. Be careful not to get burned."
He obediently carried all the potato cakes and potato noodles to the table. Then he stood in front of Li Ying and looked down at her.
"A Ying, I once said that no matter what happened, I would protect you. I broke my promise. It's only natural that you're angry with me. I have nothing to say. I just hope you'll listen to my explanation."
"Back then, it was Lian Ji's people who tried to kill me. That's why I was on the verge of death when I met you in the broken temple. If she knew I was still alive, she definitely wouldn't let it go."
Li Ying didn't expect that there was such a deep hatred between Lu Xunguang and Lian Ji. She was stunned for a moment.
Lian Ji seemed like a delicate flower that could only rely on others. How could she be so cruel?
Seeing her expression soften a bit, Lu Xunguang continued, "I don't care if I die. But she will surely cause a stir in the fishing village. Your business is just booming. It mustn't be ruined by her. So that day, I hid..."
"A Ying, I swear I'll never leave you alone and helpless again. A gentleman's promise will never be broken."
He then dragged a bamboo basket out from the corner behind him and placed the things inside in front of her one by one.
"Granny Sun said you and Uncle Su went to look for some food that grows in the soil. I was really worried. I didn't know what you were looking for, so I dug every vine outside the town to find these as an apology. Take a look. Do you need any of them?"
He looked at Li Ying sincerely and nervously, looking like a child who had done something wrong. Seeing him admit his mistake and apologize so sincerely, and noticing the slightly red palms with scabbed blood blisters from the friction, Li Ying felt sorry for him. How could she still be angry with him?
Li Ying raised her face and smiled brightly, putting this matter behind her. Then she went to look at the scattered vines and tree roots on the ground. Suddenly, her eyes lit up.