Huai'an City, Yicaotang.

Listen to the wind and listen to the rain whispering in the courtyard.

He was sleeping in bed at night, and he heard the sounds in the courtyard clearly.

He heard Ting Yu mention a name.

Ai Qiaoqiao.

Ye Liyan opened his eyes and looked in a trance.

Looking down at the purple jade ring he was wearing on his index finger, he seemed to see a stubborn girl lying in the ditch by the side of the road, risking that her arm would break, and sticking her arm into the wheel, just to get a chance to survive.

"Listen to the wind." He whispered.

The whispers in the courtyard immediately disappeared.

After a while, Tingfeng came to the door, "Childe, you called me?" ”

"Come in, I have something for you."

Listening to the wind, he honestly entered the door, stepped forward and pulled the quilt on Ye Liyan's body, and covered it tightly.

"What did you just say in the courtyard?" Ye Liyan's tone was flat, but the clear light in his eyes was soul-stirring.

Listening to the wind, he didn't dare to prevaricate, and said bluntly: "We see that the son doesn't think about eating, so we want to invite Ai Qiaoqiao, a girl from Xiaofang Village, to come to us to be a cook." ”

Ye Liyan frowned slightly.

Seeing that his expression was a little displeased, Tingfeng said nervously, "Childe, don't be angry, we promised to pay Qiaoqiao girl, and we didn't force her." ”

"How much are you going to pay?" Ye Liyan asked coldly.

"Two taels of silver a month."

The night was silent.

Two taels of silver can be called a windfall for a child living in the countryside.

Ye Liyan somehow lost his mind again, and his eyes flashed the appearance of Ai Qiaoqiao concentrating on grilling fresh fish in the field.

It was an absolutely serious expression, with a small happiness.

He was shocked by her expression.

It's so easy to feel happy and satisfied, which is the state he has always wanted to achieve.

In the past, his master once said that he was too serious to really be chic and free, so his three-needle life-saving was only limited to saving lives, and could not save people and hearts as the master said.

At this moment, footsteps came from the courtyard, interrupting the train of thought of leaving the night.

"It's Shopkeeper Xu, it should be the guy who went to Xiaofang Village to come back." Listening to the wind, he turned around and wanted to go out.

"Let Shopkeeper Xu come in and speak." The night is commanded.

Listening to the wind, he couldn't help but let the shopkeeper Xu come in.

"Miss Qiaoqiao didn't come with you?" Hearing that there was no one else following behind him, he said strangely.

Shopkeeper Xu's face was slightly embarrassed, "Yes, the people I sent to Xiaofang Village didn't see Miss Qiaoqiao, but they have already passed the word, and I will send someone to listen to it tomorrow." ”

The light of the night was darkened.

The smiling girl in her mind gradually dissolved into nothingness.

Somehow, his heart felt inexplicably empty.

Early the next morning, Ai Qiaoqiao went out with a basket to cut pigweed before the people from Yicaotang arrived.

She first went to the foot of the mountain, and after cutting for half an hour, she saw that there was no one around, so she went straight to the cave where Zhang Wu lived.

Zhang Wu waited there early, and when he saw Ai Qiaoqiao coming, he hurriedly smiled and took the basket.

"I'm ready for all the green onions and ginger you want, you say, how to do it, I'll do it."

Ai Qiaoqiao cleaned his hands with a smile, put the large iron pot he borrowed from Boss Feng yesterday on the fire, poured water into the pot, boiled the meat that had been marinated overnight in boiling water, then took it out and washed it with water.

The original soup was still in the pot, and Ai Qiaoqiao did not pour it out, but re-added salt to it, skimmed off the floating blood foam, and put the cleaned vole meat into the pot.

Add Sichuan pepper, spices, cinnamon, green onion, ginger, etc., add rice wine and red yeast rice after boiling over high heat, and add sugar after boiling for half an hour.

Zhang Wu sniffed, not to say anything, he actually wanted to propose to take a piece and taste it first.

However, when he saw Ai Qiaoqiao's serious expression, he swallowed the words back.

After boiling for a while, Ai Qiaoqiao fished out the meat, and it was already past noon.

"I'm going back first, and the meat will be dried tomorrow after it's smoked with lychee wood." Ai Qiao said skillfully, and at the same time pulled a piece of meat and sent it to Zhang Wu's mouth, "Brother Xiao Wu taste it, is it delicious?" ”

A cry of "Little Brother Wu" made his heart sweet.

Looking at the meat she fed by herself, Zhang Wu even straightened his eyes.

Opening his mouth, Ai Qiaoqiao stuffed the meat into his mouth.

Zhang Wu chewed the meat, looking at Ai Qiaoqiao, who was smiling in front of him, he felt that the best food in the world was nothing more than that.