Chapter 84: Making Tea

Chapter 84: Making Tea

Lin Xiaopu's interruption dispelled the heated atmosphere between them, though a subtle tension lingered.

"Brother Ye, I'm done talking with you. I need to make tea. And you... ahem, you should continue working on your bamboo reclining chair." Lin Shu didn't give Zhou Ye a chance to speak before slipping away.

"Ah—" Zhou Ye didn't even manage to finish calling out her name.

He glanced at Lin Shu several more times but ultimately didn't ask anything further. Instead, he resumed eating the snacks he had set aside earlier, finishing them before returning to his work.

There was also a portion of snacks set aside on the table, prepared for Lin Dashan.

Originally, Lin Xiaopu would have returned after playing outside for a while to deliver these snacks to the fields. But having likely witnessed Zhou Ye's flushed appearance earlier, she hadn't come back for quite some time.

Zhou Ye looked toward Lin Shu and offered, "A Shu, should I deliver these snacks to the fields?"

Lin Shu, already busy with her tasks, glanced at him and said, "No need. Leave them for Xiaopu to deliver. You focus on your work."

Zhou Ye said "Oh" and fell silent.

Lin Shu didn't bring up what had happened earlier, as if the matter was already behind them. But for him, it wasn't over.

His mind was filled with the scene of Lin Shu leaning in to kiss him, replaying repeatedly. Just thinking about it made his mouth dry. He went to the kitchen to drink a ladleful of spring water, but it didn't help. His head was still buzzing, and he couldn't calm down.

But Lin Shu... how could she remain so composed?

Lin Shu hadn't entirely put the matter behind her either—it was just that once she immersed herself in work, she tended to forget everything else.

Earlier, after returning, she had soaked pine needles in water mixed with wood ash. Then she went to process the Termitomyces. By now, the pine needles had soaked long enough. Actually, washing the pine needles with flour would have been better, but they couldn't afford to waste food like that, so she had to settle for using wood ash as a substitute.

She moved a small bamboo chair in front of the wooden basin and sat on it, bending over to scrub the pine needles inside, washing away the wood ash. She repeated this process two or three times, not sparing any water. After installing the bamboo water pipe, spring water was the one thing they had in abundance at home.

Once cleaned, she took a handful of pine needles, straightened one end, and cut them into segments about the length of a finger joint. After cutting, she washed them a few more times and then placed them in a winnowing basket to drain.

She lit a small fire, placed the pine needle segments into a clay pot, and stir-fried them over low heat, slowly releasing the oils. Once the leaves turned slightly yellow, she took them off the heat. Taking advantage of the good weather over the next couple of days, she spread them out on a bamboo tray to dry. Once completely sun-dried, the pine needle tea would be ready.

Tea brewed from pine needles processed this way would have a light yellow color. Not only was it visually appealing, but it also carried a subtle pine fragrance with no bitterness at all.

Midway through, Lin Xiaopu returned briefly and greeted them, "Sister, Brother Ye, I'm going to deliver snacks to Dad. You two keep working!"

After saying this, she picked up the bamboo basket containing the snacks from the table and hurried off.

"Walk carefully, and don't bump into anything on the way!" Lin Shu called out.

Lin Xiaopu shouted back from afar, "Don't worry, Sis! I'm only fast when leaving the house. I'll walk slower than a snail on the road!" Her words all but explicitly stated that she wouldn't return too soon to disturb the two of them.

Such a precocious child.

Lin Shu pretended not to understand.

She spread the drained pine needles evenly on the bamboo tray and looked around, deciding to place the tray on top of the firewood shed to dry.

A simple shed was built over the woodpile. Placing the bamboo tray on top would allow it to dry faster. If she placed it on the bamboo rack used for drying clothes, even a slight tilt would cause the pine needle tea to spill easily.

However, the roof of the firewood shed was a bit high—clearly built by Zhou Ye, who was tall. Lin Shu carried over a small bamboo chair, intending to step on it to reach the roof. But Zhou Ye, who had somehow approached unnoticed, took the round bamboo tray from her hands and said, "A Shu, let me."

Zhou Ye, relying on his height, didn't even need to tiptoe. He simply raised his arms slightly, and the bamboo tray settled securely on the roof.

"A Ye, thanks." Lin Shu smiled at him, then added before Zhou Ye could speak, "Later, could you also help me place the kudzu flower tea up there?"

Zhou Ye nodded and wanted to say more, but Lin Shu had already walked away.

Zhou Ye watched her leave, pressed his lips together, and silently returned to his bamboo work.

The impact of what Lin Shu had done earlier was too great, and it took him a long time to calm down. But as he watched her work methodically on the pine needle tea, even though the steps were tedious, she found joy in it, handling everything with patience and care.

Just watching her work was a pleasure, and the turbulent emotions in his heart gradually settled.

A Shu... perhaps this was just how she was. Even if her mind was preoccupied, it wouldn't affect the task at hand, which was why he had mistakenly thought she didn't care.

As Zhou Ye watched and reflected, his expression softened unconsciously. This time, he also immersed himself fully in his work, quickly regaining his earlier focus. It wasn't until Lin Shu called out to him that he pulled himself away.

"A Ye, I'm done. Could you help me place this large bamboo sieve up there?"

Their home had many bamboo utensils for drying things. The round bamboo winnowing trays were woven finely and were used for drying smaller items. For larger things, like kudzu flowers or purslane, if the quantity was small, they used the winnowing basket for rice. For slightly larger quantities, they used the large bamboo sieve. And for even larger amounts, like the sack of mushrooms Zhou Ye had gathered, they used bamboo mats for drying.

"So fast?" Zhou Ye was slightly surprised.

Lin Shu explained, "Kudzu flower tea is a flower tea—it's different from pine needle tea and quicker to make. The initial washing is the most troublesome part. Not only does it need to be washed multiple times, but it also needs to be soaked with salt to draw out any hidden insect eggs and impurities. But I had already soaked the kudzu flowers earlier while I was soaking the pine needles, so all I needed to do was steam the washed kudzu flowers briefly to fully release their fragrance."

"Look, I've already steamed the kudzu flowers and spread them on this bamboo sieve. After drying on the firewood shed with the pine needles for two or three days, once completely dry, they can be stored in tea containers. By the way, A Ye, could you make a few more tea containers for me tomorrow? The kind with lids that fit snugly..."

Zhou Ye took the large bamboo sieve from her hands, listening to her as he placed it on the roof. When he heard her last request, he agreed, "Sure. Later, you can show me how to make them."

Lin Shu immediately laughed, "If I show you, will you turn into a hardworking helper and make them for me ahead of time?"

A smile also appeared in Zhou Ye's eyes. "I wake up early. If it's easy to make, I'll do it for you in advance."

"I'm afraid that won't work this time. Making lidded tea containers is precision work. A knife and your axe probably won't be enough. We'll need to borrow a small knife from Grandpa Gao's house. But Grandpa Gao does bamboo weaving work every day and uses all kinds of tools—I'm not sure if he'll lend it to us."

Zhou Ye thought for a moment and replied, "It should be fine. Grandpa Gao mostly weaves bamboo, so we can just avoid the times he needs his knives. I'll go borrow it tomorrow."

"Then thank you. A Ye, now that the tea is done, I'm going to continue making the Termitomyces sauce."

Zhou Ye quickly asked, "Do you need help?"

"No, you focus on your work."

Even though Lin Shu said this, when she began frying the diced Termitomyces in oil, Zhou Ye still walked over and took the wok spatula from her. "A Shu, let me do it. I'll stir for the first quarter-hour, and then you can take over."

After a pause, he added, "If walking too much makes your legs sore, then stirring the Termitomyces too long will probably make your arms sore too."

Hearing this, Lin Shu quickly pressed her lips together, trying hard not to let them curve upward.

But soon she stamped her foot.

So annoying, so annoying—why couldn't she keep her lips from smiling?

Zhou Ye wasn't being direct at all. Why didn't he just work silently like before? Instead, he had to add a reason for helping her, and that reason tugged at her heartstrings.

"Earlier, you were so focused on your bamboo work that you didn't even want to go to the hillside with me. How come you're not busy now?" Lin Shu teased.

Zhou Ye stirred the diced Termitomyces in the pot and explained, "Earlier, I wanted to finish the bamboo reclining chair quickly so I could move on to other things. A Shu, didn't you say you also wanted a bamboo rocking chair? That one should be even more complicated than the reclining chair and take more time."

Lin Shu stood beside him, tilting her head to look at his face, and said with a smile, "Oh~ so it was to hurry up and make my bamboo reclining chair?"

Zhou Ye glanced at her briefly and hummed in agreement.

"A Shu, go sit over there. It's hot by the stove."

Lin Shu acknowledged him and, this time, didn't sit on the bench but instead sat in the small bamboo chair A Ye had made.

She moved the small bamboo chair to a spot diagonally across from Zhou Ye, quietly watching him work. As she watched, she couldn't help but smile.

Oh no, it seemed she was falling for Zhou Ye.

Before, she just liked him—occasionally touched by his warm gestures—but not yet to the point of falling for him. This time, though, she was sure she had. After taking the initiative to kiss him earlier, her heart had pounded for a long time, and her face felt warm. But she had acted so well that it all seemed calm and effortless on the surface.

Life is long and full of possibilities, she mused. Besides eating, drinking, and having fun, maybe falling in love wouldn't be so bad?

She had already made the first move today. Even if A Ye was as clueless as he is, shouldn’t he catch on by now?

Lost in thought, Lin Shu’s gaze wandered to Zhou Ye’s arms and then followed down to the hand gripping the wooden spatula.

She glanced at Zhou Ye’s hand, then at her own.

They're so big—not the kind with slender, distinct fingers like bamboo, but broad and large, with prominent knuckles and faint veins showing. It looked powerfully strong.

Somehow, a raunchy comment from her rival in her past life suddenly popped into Lin Shu’s mind.

They said that men with big hands had their advantages—one hand could encircle a slender waist. And if a man had a prominent nose bridge, it was even more exceptional. If the nose tip was large, it was doubly wonderful, because it meant he gets things done and has great desire—quite greedy in that aspect.

She was facing Zhou Ye’s profile, and the shape of his nose was especially clear.

His nose was well-defined, with a particularly straight bridge…

Lin Shu snapped out of it. Stop it, she told herself, stop thinking! What was she even imagining?

Ahhh, it must be because her recent life in the countryside was too laid-back, giving her the leisure to think such nonsense. Unlike her previous life, where every day was spent worrying about filling her stomach—she didn’t even have time to glance at men.

"A Shu, it should be about done. Come take a look." Zhou Ye suddenly turned to look at her.

Lin Shu, feeling guilty, was startled by his voice.

Zhou Ye noticed her evasive eyes, the blush spreading across her cheeks—making her face even more beautiful—and her glistening eyes. He couldn’t help but just stare.