GBP Chapter 210 Barbecue
Chapter 210 Barbecue
In reality, Li Xiaonuan didn't need to go on the trip at all. It was Wei Yu's selfish motive; he wanted Li Xiaonuan to understand him better, which is why he arranged for her to come along. Once they arrived in the capital, Li Xiaonuan wouldn't have to face any of those so-called dangers.
But Wei Yu simply couldn't explain this to Li Xiaonuan. Otherwise, if everything was explained clearly, why would Li Xiaonuan need to continue heading north? If she turned back then, he wouldn't be able to stop her at all.
Seeing that Li Xiaonuan's expression became even more serious after hearing his words, Wei Yu knew that she had misunderstood. But he truly didn't want to explain at this moment. He had to take Li Xiaonuan back to the capital. Only then could he prevent the possibility of her marrying Zhou Liufeng while he was away.
"Li Xiaonuan, are my words really that unreliable? I told you, you're safe in Beijing this time. Don't worry, my family's affairs won't bother you. If I didn't have the confidence to protect you, I wouldn't have bothered you," Wei Yu solemnly promised.
Li Xiaonuan stopped arguing with Wei Yu. Arguing about things when someone can't even control their own life and death is completely pointless. She suddenly thought dejectedly: since we're both risking our lives anyway, why not try to get along with Wei Yu?
Thinking it over, she obediently replied, "Okay, I believe what Young Master Wei said. From now on, I will also get along well with Young Master Wei. Don't worry, I won't avoid or resist you like I did. We are always in the same boat, and we must help and support each other."
These words improved Wei Yu's mood considerably. However, he still felt that something was amiss. But the fact that Li Xiaonuan had said she wouldn't avoid or reject him made him unwilling to delve further into the other meaning behind her words.
After Wei Yu left, Li Xiaonuan lost all interest in going out for fresh air. She glanced at Sang Moyun's room, which had been relit, and then returned to her own room, feeling sullen. At that moment, she finally realized that in this group, only she and Zhou Liufeng were considered outsiders.
On the seventh day of their journey to the capital, Li Xiaonuan's green olives were divided up by Sang Moyun and Qing Ning. The two little green tangerines she had fought so hard to protect ultimately couldn't stay with her until they reached the capital.
That day, instead of staying in a small town or inn, they camped in a desolate area. As soon as they settled in, Zhou Liufeng disappeared. Li Xiaonuan had wanted to find him to roast taro together.
Those taro were bought the day before yesterday in a small town. Besides a bunch of small taro, there were dozens of large taro, similar to the Lipu taro from her previous life. Li Xiaonuan's original intention in buying those taro was to make candied taro and braised pork belly with taro.
But she hasn't made any effort to cook them these past few days. Firstly, she's been traveling, so it's inconvenient to do so. Secondly, she's exhausted and doesn't feel like moving. However, she keeps thinking about those taro; she feels uneasy if she doesn't eat a bite or two.
So, since she was spending the night in the suburbs, Li Xiaonuan thought she'd start a fire and roast some small taro to try. She hadn't eaten taro since she transmigrated. She'd observed that no one in Zhou Village grew taro. Because the stalks and fruits of that plant could cause itchy skin.
Undeterred by her inability to find Zhou Liufei, Li Xiaonuan borrowed a tinderbox from a guard and started a small fire near her carriage. Once the fire was lit, she went to gather some storied branches from the surrounding area.
This place is actually quite nice, nestled against green mountains and facing a lake. The evening sunlight is always a warm orange-yellow. Li Xiaonuan gathered a lot of branches nearby and piled them up next to her little fire.
Sang Moyun had been preoccupied with Qi Ji from the beginning, so she didn't notice what Li Xiaonuan was doing. By the time she pulled Qi Ji over, there were already many dry branches piled up next to Li Xiaonuan's small fire.
"What are you doing?" Sang Moyun hopped over and squatted down next to Li Xiaonuan, asking curiously.
"I want to roast some taro," Li Xiaonuan replied simply.
"Would it taste better if we grilled it?" Qi Ji asked, finding a place to sit down.
"It would be better to make it into candied taro or taro with sauce. But at least it would satisfy my craving," Li Xiaonuan replied.
And so, Sang Moyun and Qi Ji sat by the fire, discussing various ways to eat taro with Li Xiaonuan. Li Xiaonuan most wanted to eat candied taro and taro with a sandy coating. But given the current circumstances, she could only dream about it. Once they reached the capital, she would definitely make them and try them.
As they spoke, Li Xiaonuan had already thrown many small taro seeds into the fire. Sang Moyun, swallowing hard, asked Li Xiaonuan expectantly, "Miss Li, how long after you throw these taro seeds in can you eat them?"
As Li Xiaonuan stirred the hot ash onto the taro, she replied, "These taro are small, so we'll be able to eat them soon. Please wait a moment."
Qi Ji also helped Li Xiaonuan bury the taro. He was more interested in the taro and braised pork that Li Xiaonuan had mentioned, but he couldn't make it now.
Before long, Princess Qingning also came over. She had stopped being cold to Li Xiaonuan these past few days and had resumed the attitude she had shown towards Li Xiaonuan in Zhoucun.
"What are you doing? Can I join?" Qingning asked.
"Yes, you can. Come quickly. Miss Li just talked about many ways to eat taro, and it made my mouth water," Sang Moyun said to Qingning in a friendly manner.
For some reason, Qingning always treated Sang Moyun coldly. Sang Moyun felt utterly innocent; she had never offended this young princess. Besides, they were the same age; shouldn't they be getting along better?
Qingning chose a spot to sit down, some distance away from Sang Moyun. She had her own stool, brought by her maid. The place she sat in happened to be quite close to Qi Ji, and it was also a downwind spot, so her eyes wouldn't be bothered by the smoke.
After sitting down, Qingning instructed the maid to fetch some fruit wine, as she wanted to drink it.
Looking at the blazing fire, Li Xiaonuan suddenly exclaimed, "Such a beautiful scene would be perfect with some barbecue and beer."
"What is barbecue? What is beer? How do you always know so many things that we don't?" Sang Moyun quickly interjected.
Li Xiaonuan only realized she had slipped up and revealed a lot after Sang Moyun reminded her. But at that moment, she really wanted some barbecue and beer. In her past life, she had once enjoyed a carefree life.
"Barbecue is simply putting all kinds of meat on a fire and grilling them until cooked. During the grilling process, you sprinkle on various spices and seasonings, which makes it taste fantastic. Of course, vegetables can also be grilled like this. And seafood and shellfish too." Li Xiaonuan ignored beer because she didn't know how to brew it.
"What spices and seasonings do you have?" Qingning asked casually. She suddenly had a craving for roasted meat.
Li Xiaonuan casually mentioned a few common ones. In this era, it's impossible to collect all those spices and sauces like in her previous life. Fortunately, things are mostly natural now, and even just a sprinkle of salt tastes much better than in her previous life.