Chapter 118 Wild Mountain Flowers

Chapter 118 Wild Mountain Flowers

With the swelling in her lips gone, Lin Shu could finally face others without embarrassment. Unable to glean any information from Lin Xiaopu, she turned to He Guixiang.

He Guixiang: "A Ye? He went to the back hills with a basket. Didn't say what for, just that he'd be back soon."

Lin Shu murmured, puzzled.

With a basket...

Could he have gone mushroom foraging alone?

The first day or two after rain is prime time for mushrooms; that's when the most sprout, not just *Termitomyces*. But this time, the rain had been too heavy, making mountain paths treacherous. Especially under the dense tree canopy, where sunlight couldn't penetrate, every step sank into wet mud. Who would go mushroom picking in such conditions?

Or perhaps A Ye craved Guanyin Tofu and went to gather Grass Jelly Plant himself?

Ah, never mind. No point dwelling on it. Whatever he's doing up there is his business.

"Mom, what's for breakfast today? Let me help."

He Guixiang: "A Shu, we should make today's breakfast extra special."

Lin Shu smiled, "Did Xiao Pu, that little glutton, say something? We promised her a proper celebration. Though yesterday's meal was lavish, A Ye and I weren't there, so it hardly counts."

He Guixiang, however, said, "It's not that. If Old Man Liao hadn't driven your father and me to Daoxiang Village yesterday morning, allowing us to see with our own eyes that you were alright, your father and I would have been too worried to eat. We left in such a hurry we forgot money. Later, when your father tried to pay Old Man Liao, he refused to take even a single coin. And when Old Wang, the itinerant doctor, treated Brother Miao's leg, Old Man Liao drove him back too. Although Brother Miao's family paid Old Man Liao for the ride, covering our earlier trips, that was from the Miao family."

"Your father thinks we should invite Old Man Liao for a meal at our home. Since we're inviting him, today's breakfast can't be too simple."

"I was thinking, why not make a pot of stewed fish? The way you made it last time was delicious. Then we can stir-fry a plate of greens, a plate of dried bamboo shoots, and make a wild vegetable egg soup?"

"So that's how it is." Lin Shu pondered, then added, "Let's also make some savory fried dough cakes. If A Ye brings back Grass Jelly Plant, we can add Guanyin Tofu. Later, Xiao Pu and I will go pick some wild onions from the fields and make wild onion scrambled eggs."

Though the fresh pork was gone, the eggs from Third Aunt came in handy. Eggs count as a protein dish, ensuring our guest isn't treated poorly. And these dishes would require quite a few eggs. The wild vegetable egg soup needs one, the fried dough cakes at least two for good flavor, and the wild onion scrambled eggs another two for a full plate. That's five eggs already.

He Guixiang didn't begrudge them. The two trips Old Man Liao made for her and her husband alone would have cost a fair bit. When Ping Er goes to town for market, a one-way trip costs four or five *wen*—four for a single person, five if carrying a lot. A round trip is eight or nine *wen*. But the journey to Daoxiang Village is much further. For two people, it would easily be twenty or thirty *wen*.

Besides, it wasn't just about money. They had gone to Old Man Liao's house early that morning while he was still asleep. But as soon as he heard A Shu had a high fever and they were anxious to see her in Daoxiang Village, Old Man Liao immediately got dressed and left. That was a personal favor they owed him.

Setting aside the favor, just the transportation costs—since Old Man Liao refused payment, they had to repay him in other ways.

"Last night, I mentioned eating together to your father, and he agreed. After today's breakfast, he'll personally speak with Old Man Liao," He Guixiang said.

Lin Shu nodded. "It'd be best if Old Man Liao agrees, but if not, we needn't force it. As long as our intentions are clear. By the way, Mom, have we told him about inviting him for breakfast? We wouldn't want to prepare a full table of food only for Old Man Liao not to show up."

He Guixiang: "Not yet, but the road to town is still difficult these two days, so Old Man Liao won't be going out. After I steam the rice, I'll make a trip to his house."

Lin Shu thought for a moment and said, "You focus on breakfast, Mom. Let A Ye make the trip."

Just as they spoke of Zhou Ye, he returned.

Hearing movement at the courtyard gate, Lin Shu turned abruptly, her eyes widening in surprise.

Mom had left out a detail—A Ye hadn't just gone to the back hills with a basket; he'd also taken a carrying basket. Now, the basket was filled with freshly picked *kudzu* flowers, still on their stems. Besides the basket, his back-basket was also full. A few pine branches covered the top, hiding what was inside, but Lin Shu guessed it was Grass Jelly Plant, as she detected its distinct scent.

But none of that was what caught her attention first. The first thing she noticed was what A Ye held in his other hand.

—His other hand, which should have been empty, held a large bouquet of wild mountain flowers!

Summer is the season when wild mountain flowers bloom everywhere—yellow, pink, purple, red, large and small, single blooms and clusters. Zhou Ye didn't know anything about arranging them, so he just picked a bit of everything and tied them together with grass stems into a huge bouquet.

Unexpectedly, it looked quite nice.

Who the bouquet was for was obvious.

Lin Shu stared blankly at the wild mountain flowers for a long moment. Sure enough, Zhou Ye walked straight toward her, handed her the bouquet, and said calmly, "A Shu, the wild mountain flowers were blooming beautifully this morning. I picked some for you while I was there."

"Oh... okay." Lin Shu took the large bouquet, lowered her head to gaze at the red and purple petals, and was completely stunned.

Was the sun rising from the west?

A rough, hardworking man who usually kept his head down all day actually thought to bring her flowers??

Or was it that her passionate display last night had suddenly made A Ye more romantic?

Lin Shu’s reaction was relatively calm, just a sort of quiet astonishment. But He Guixiang and Lin Xiaopu were so shocked by Zhou Ye’s bouquet that their eyes nearly popped out.

He Guixiang: This silly boy usually only knows how to work hard, barely saying a word all day. Now he actually knows how to give flowers to a girl?!

Lin Xiaopu: Oh my goodness, this will shock the whole village! My A Ye brother, who never used to glance at girls, actually went up the mountain early in the morning to pick wild mountain flowers for my sister!

Zhou Ye felt slightly uncomfortable under their stares, but he thought since A Shu liked them and he had some free time, he might as well pick them.

"A Shu, I also picked some fresh *kudzu* flowers and pine needles. I gathered some tender bamboo leaves and mulberry leaves too. The *kudzu* flowers are in the basket, the rest are in the back-basket. These can all be used to make tea. If you have free time, you can make some flower tea or herbal tea."

"I also picked some Grass Jelly Plant, but since the basket was full of other things, I didn’t pick much."

"On the way, I saw some fresh mushrooms and picked a few—Green Russula, *Termitomyces*, and bamboo fungus..." As he spoke, Zhou Ye began taking things out of the basket, sorting and organizing them one by one.

"A Ye." Lin Shu suddenly called his name.

She held the vibrant wild mountain flowers in her hands, a brilliant smile slowly spreading across her face.

Zhou Ye looked up and met her curved eyes and uplifted lips. For a moment, he thought she looked even more radiant than the wild mountain flowers in her hands.

His gaze unconsciously lingered on Lin Shu’s rosy lips for a few seconds, a few fragmented images flashing through his mind. His heart tightened suddenly, and his breath hitched.

"I really like the flowers you gave me. I like everything you brought back," Lin Shu said happily.

What girl wouldn’t be delighted to receive flowers from her boyfriend?

She had thought she was dating a blockhead—that if she didn’t take the initiative, she’d never receive flowers from him in this lifetime. But who would have thought...

Hehe, Lin Shu laughed inwardly, a sly, private chuckle.

She absolutely loved the way A Ye had just given her the wild mountain flowers. He looked so serious and proper, but he must have been secretly thinking about last night, right?

Ah, so A Ye likes that kind of thing. If only he’d said so earlier—she could play the seductress every day.

Seeing A Shu's delight, Zhou Ye felt equally pleased and said to her, "A Shu, I'm going to make your medicine."

Lin Shu's smile instantly faded.

Well then, she'd just finish all the medicine they'd bought.

Lin Shu didn’t hold it against Zhou Ye for killing the mood. Instead, she gazed at the flowers in her hands and leaned in to take a sniff.

The floral scent was a mix of many, even including a few wild mountain flowers with less pleasant fragrances, but she still adored it.

Fresh flowers, of course, deserved to be placed in a beautiful vase.

Lin Shu hurried cheerfully into the inner room and picked out a nice-looking earthen jar from the cracked jars under the bed that were catching rainwater.

She filled the jar with water, arranged the wild mountain flowers inside, and placed it on the dining table in the main hall. Just looking at it made her happy.

Then, Lin Shu went to check the items Zhou Ye had tidied up.

Kudzu flowers, pine needles, mulberry leaves, and bamboo leaves—all could be used to make tea. She planned to make them when she had time later that day. The Grass Jelly Plant would take some time to filter and settle, so she could ask Xiao Pu to help make the tofu now. As for the mushrooms, Lin Shu checked the amount and found there was plenty of each kind.

"Oh, A Ye, Mom and Dad want Old Man Liao to join us for breakfast this morning. Could you run over to Old Man Liao’s place and let him know, asking him to come over for the meal?"

Zhou Ye had just started a fire in the small stove and placed the medicine pot on it. Hearing this, he nodded, "Sure, I’ll go right now. Xiao Pu, can you watch the medicine for me?"

Lin Xiaopu replied, "You got it! I'll handle it!"

After Zhou Ye left, Lin Shu said cheerfully to He Guixiang, "Mom, look, we can make more dishes now. Not only can we make Guanyin Tofu, but we can also stir-fry several mushroom dishes. How about this—let’s replace the wild vegetable egg soup with *Termitomyces* soup, and swap the wild onion scrambled eggs for bamboo fungus scrambled eggs. Then, for the Green Russula—"

She paused briefly, suddenly remembering something, and quickly asked, "Mom, how are Old Man Liao’s teeth?"

He Guixiang replied, "Don’t worry, Old Man Liao’s teeth are just fine. He just looks older because of what he went through back then, but he’s actually not even fifty yet and still in good health. He can eat anything."

"That’s great. Let’s make a dish of deep-fried Green Russula then."

He Guixiang said, "A Shu, you’ve planned it well. I'll go along with your plan."

With these dishes, it would be even more lavish than a holiday feast!

Lin Shu then turned to Lin Xiaopu and said, "Xiao Pu, I’ll go wash the mushrooms. Once the medicine is brewing, I’ll let you handle the Grass Jelly Plant."

"Sure thing, sis. Sis, I want to make two kinds today—one sweet and one savory. I’ll have the sweet one, hehe."

By the time Zhou Ye returned, the mother and daughters had already been working for a while.

However, Zhou Ye wasn’t alone—Old Man Liao had come with him.

He Guixiang had intended for Old Man Liao to come over when breakfast was ready, but he'd come early.

"Brother Liao, have a seat, have a seat! Breakfast isn’t ready yet at home." He Guixiang wiped her hands and hurriedly greeted him.

Old Man Liao right away got the feeling something was wrong upon hearing this.

Why did He Guixiang mention breakfast not being ready as soon as he stepped in, as if he had come solely for the meal?

But hadn’t Zhou Ye asked him to come help?

Old Man Liao said, "A Ye told me that the family needs to replace the roof these two days and asked if I could lend a hand since I’m not going out. That’s why he invited me over."

He Guixiang was surprised that Zhou Ye had used such an excuse to bring him over. Lin Shu, however, didn’t bat an eye and responded with a smile, "Old Man Liao, we really would appreciate your help. Dad is busy in the fields, and A Ye is the only able-bodied man at home. Mom and I can only help weave thatch on the side—the heavy lifting later on is too much for us. Of course, we’ll invite you to eat as well; it wouldn’t be right to ask for help without offering a meal. Mom and I are preparing it now."

After saying this, Lin Shu secretly shot Zhou Ye a look of praise.

Impressive—he even knew how to pull a fast one on someone with a clever scheme.