Chapter 15
"Sister-in-law, why is the village so quiet?"
After drinking the water, Lu Ren began to get to the point.
The woman held the baby in her arms and gently comforted him while answering:
"Most people in the village went out to open up wasteland and farm. Some had long journeys to go, like my husband. It was too tiring to go back and forth, so they brought dry food with them and just had a meal at noon.
If I hadn't had to take care of the kids at home, I would have gone to help as well."
After listening to this, Lu Ren was thoughtful:
"I heard from Brother Fugui that the strange things in the village started happening two months ago?"
"That's right." The woman nodded and told him everything she had seen and heard...........
"Now all the land in the village has been destroyed. Not only the crops, but also the vegetables and fruits have not been spared. They have either withered or disappeared."
Yang Bin just walked around the house and found that there was only a little rice porridge in the iron pot in the kitchen.
There was still a faint heat, which should be the woman's lunch later.
"Sister-in-law, you still have to feed your child, so this might not be nutritious enough, right?"
The woman said helplessly,"What else can I eat if I don't eat this ?".......Recently, strange things have happened in the village. A lot of the surplus food in every household has been stolen. No matter how well it is hidden, it will disappear the next day. It's like there is a pair of eyes watching our village.
My family was not well-off to begin with. Those grains were our food for the next six months. Now.........There are only ten pounds of rice and flour left, and I don't know how long I can hold out."
As she spoke, the woman gently patted the baby in her arms and said with a hint of tears:"I just pity my child, who has to suffer with me. I eat very little every day now, and my milk can't keep up. The baby often cries out of hunger, and I have to feed him some rice soup later........."
""Sir, I heard from the old people in the village that Heitu Village is cursed. This is a punishment from God. Is that true?"
Lu Ren had a complicated expression and was speechless.
He had no actual evidence to prove that it was done by the field mouse spirit.
Besides, it didn't matter who did it. What mattered was to help Heitu Village solve its current troubles.
If it continued like this, people would be in panic, and coupled with the shortage of food, the village might be wiped out.
After saying a few words of comfort, Lu Ren and Yang Bin got up and said goodbye.
Before leaving, Lu Ren wanted to leave some silver, but on second thought, he gave up the idea.
For this poor family of three, giving them money is far less practical than sending them some food.
Seeing the two men disappear at the entrance of the village, the woman's eyes, which had finally raised a glimmer of hope, dimmed again.
Really, there is still nothing that can be done?.........
After leaving Heitu Village, Yang Bin asked Lu Ren,"Are we just leaving like this?"
"What, you still want to stay and have a meal?"
"I'm telling you something serious. Brother Fugui's family is suffering so much, we should do something, right?"
Lu Ren said calmly,"It's not just their family that's suffering. If you help their family, will other people in the village help? If not, then Brother Fugui's family will be ostracized. Your so-called help only hurts them in the end.""
"But......"
Yang Bin wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Lu Ren.
"Let's go back first, eat and drink our fill, and then come back to catch the thief at night."
Yang Bin's eyes lit up:"Have you thought of a solution?"
Lu Ren smiled but said nothing..........
Back in Yangliu Town, the two parted ways.
Lu Ren went to buy some spices and spicy peppers.
When he was paying, he suddenly remembered that he had given all his savings to Liu Ying.
Now he was penniless.
There was no other way, so he had to use that trick skillfully!
Credit!
In fact, his previous life did a lot of bastard things, but he rarely extorted money.
Because as long as he was in the town, no matter where he went, the boss had to"sell" him a face.
Whatever Mr. Lu wanted, who would dare to charge for it if he was impatient! Why should a person who has nowhere to spend money make money?
He returned to his residence with a few bags of spices and dried peppers, and began to stew the rabbit head.
A large iron pot was set up in the yard, boiled over high heat, and various spices and seasonings were added to cover up the fishy smell and evil spirit of the rabbit head itself.
Spicy rabbit head was a delicacy that Lu Ren particularly liked in his previous life, and he would learn to make it when he was free at home.
There are three steps in total, one is stewing, two is frying, and three is stir-frying.
After braising for an hour, he tore off a piece of meat and tasted it.
Although it was not perfect, considering the limited conditions of this world, the taste was quite good. The next two processes were much faster. After frying in the oil pan, various dry powder seasonings were added for stir-frying.
""What are you doing?"
A young boy's voice came from outside the yard.
Lu Ren looked up and saw Yuan Bao climbing up the old camphor tree again, peeking at his every move.
Perhaps attracted by the rich fragrance, the child was very greedy.
It seemed that what happened last night did not leave any shadow in the heart of this seven or eight-year-old child.
Yes, Liu Ying is a qualified mother. Although she has many helplessness in this demon world, she can always protect her son well.
When Lu Ren killed Wang Ergou last night, Yuan Bao did not see any blood with his own eyes. bloody scene.
In addition, it was widely circulated in the town today that Wang Ergou was killed by a demon, which made Yuanbao believe his mother's statement that"Master Lu just beat Wang Ergou away."
Children's minds are fickle.
Mother was almost bullied by the bad guys, and it was Lu Ren who appeared and"drove him away."
In Yuanbao's mind, Lu Ren's image suddenly became bright and majestic.
However, deep down in his heart, he was still a little afraid of this big brother who was often called a"bastard" by his mother.
So he peeked for a long time before finally mustering the courage to speak.
Lu Ren smiled and asked,"Do you want to eat?"
Yuanbao could hardly stop drooling, nodded repeatedly, and said timidly,"I want to.""
"Ask your mother to come with you."
Yuanbao replied with a"OK" and was about to jump down from the tree.
Lu Ren added:"Ask her to go to Zhang's Wine Shop and get me a few pounds of wine."
"Oh, I see!"........
Lu Ren smashed the rabbit's skull into small pieces and placed them in a basin.
After waiting for a while, Liu Ying walked slowly into the courtyard, holding the newly brewed wine in her left hand and holding the timid Yuanbao in her right hand.
""Here you are." Lu Ren stood up.
Liu Ying nodded calmly and handed him the wine:"The wine you asked for"
"Sit down, let's eat together."
After sitting down, Liu Ying looked at the pieces of meat and bones on the table covered with red oil and various dry powders, and a trace of confusion flashed in her eyes.
"What is this?"
Since the five rabbit spirits settled in Wuxianpo, no one around Yangliu Town dared to raise rabbits, let alone eat meat.
Many young people have never even seen what a rabbit looks like.
This is the case with Liu Ying and her son.
Lu Ren was naturally too lazy to explain:"Just eat it, don't ask more questions."
Seeing Lu Ren start to eat without caring about his image, Liu Ying was silent for a moment, picked up the chopsticks and picked up a small piece of meat for Yuanbao who was greedy.
After taking a bite, Yuanbao was full of energy, and said to Liu Ying with a mouthful of red oil:
"Mother, it's delicious, you should try it too!"
Liu Ying picked up a piece of bone with meat on it doubtfully and ate it slowly.
It was indeed delicious, the meat was tender and chewy, but the taste was a little spicy.
She didn't think much about it, just thinking it was an ordinary game that Lu Ren hunted in the mountains.
Lu Ren ate the rabbit head and drank at the same time, which was very enjoyable.
Yuanbao had a small appetite, so he ran out to play after eating.
Liu Ying continued to sit until Lu Ren was full, then she got up to clean up the dishes.
"I'll wash the dishes."
Lu Ren glanced at her and didn't refuse.
It's good to have a woman to take care of the family, at least you don't have to worry about many trivial matters in life.
However, he knew very well that it was enough for him and Liu Ying to maintain the current relationship, and it was not suitable to go any further.
Because Yangliu Town was too small, he would sooner or later go to a wider and farther world.
Liu Ying was just an ordinary woman, and it was her destiny to stay in Yangliu Town and raise her son Yuanbao into a talent.
"I'm going out for a while"
"Will you be back in the evening?"
"I won't be back. I'm going to Black Soil Village to catch monsters tonight."
"Got it." Liu Ying lowered her head to wash the dishes, a hint of disappointment flashed across her eyes.
Lu Ren was unaware of this, and just as he walked to the door he suddenly thought of something and hurried back:"Sister-in-law, the silver I gave you last time......."
Liu Ying wiped her hands dry and took out a purse from her clothes.
"It's all here, I didn't move it"
"That's not what I meant." Lu Ren looked embarrassed and said,"This money is my compensation to you and your son. Since I've given it to you, there's no reason to take it back. I'm just borrowing a little bit first."
He took out a small half of the silver from the purse and handed it back to Liu Ying.
Seeing that Liu Ying refused to take it, Lu Ren stepped forward and grabbed her little hand, which was a little rough from years of hard work.
"Be obedient and take it!"
Lu Ren smiled and forced the purse into her hands, then left with peace of mind.
Listening to the words that sounded like coaxing a child, Liu Ying's face turned slightly red, and she stood there for a long time.
After Lu Ren walked away, she came to her senses and put the purse away carefully.
Then, she looked at the messy and dusty house, sighed slightly, and said with a hint of complaint:"You are so old, but you don't know how to clean up."
In the past, she always treated Lu Ren as a younger brother.
Until that night three years ago, when Yu Xia forcefully filled her emptiness, she finally realized that the poor little boy next door had grown up.
Until now, Liu Ying herself can't figure out what kind of feelings she has for Lu Ren.
Hatred? Or dependence?
Or, it's more complicated than these.......
She simply didn't bother to think about it. As long as she could live a stable life, she would just live one day at a time.