Chapter 144: White Snow and Green Tiles
Chapter 144: White Snow and Green Tiles (One more chapter today)
The Jade Maiden Peak of Mount Huashan is covered with white snow on the green tiles.
Another year has passed in a flash, and the vicissitudes of life are half gray hair and half youth.
Winter mallow, radish and dried pine mushrooms are placed on the wooden rack on the south side of the kitchen.
Ning Zhongze has opened up several acres of vegetable plots, which are close to mountain springs. The temperature is relatively high and the vegetables planted are cold-resistant varieties, so in the winter months, it is rare to harvest a few crops of fresh vegetables.
As for food such as rice, flour, oil, salt, and meat, he could only send disciples to Huazhou City to buy them.
Laudno pushed the door open, looked behind him, and then carefully closed the door.
He hid two jars of wine behind the wooden rack. He patted the jars and heard a dull sound coming from inside. He suddenly felt relieved.
"Fortunately, fortunately...don't let me catch that wine thief!"
Of the two jars of 'Zui Qing Feng', one was distributed to everyone, but the other one seemed to have seen a ghost. It disappeared by several kilograms every day. No matter how he moved the jar of wine, in the end there was not a drop left.
Lao Denuo prides himself on being a meticulous person, and the sect's affairs have never been erred in his hands. It is because of this prudence that he has won the trust of Yue Buqun.
He carefully pushed the wooden rack half a step inward, took one last look, and then left the kitchen, thinking, "These two jars of wine must be kept until New Year's Eve. There must be no more mistakes. The thief who stole the wine has not been found yet, so I have to keep a close eye on him these few days."
This kind of person has a characteristic: he is used to following orders. As long as the master has an order, no matter if it is the real master or the master in front of him, and no matter whether it is right or wrong, he will carry it out meticulously. This diligent and respectful attitude can easily win the favor of the superior.
"Hey!"
Laudeno was thinking about something with his head down when someone suddenly patted him on the shoulder. He was startled and turned around to look.
"Second Brother, what are you doing?"
Lao Denuo breathed a sigh of relief: "It turns out to be my junior sister."
Yue Lingshan looked at Lao Denuo and said with a smile, "You are sneaky. Tell me the truth. Did you hide some delicious food in the kitchen?"
Lao Denuo smiled bitterly and said, "Junior sister, you are heartless for saying that. When I went down the mountain to buy things, didn't I bring you some new things from Huazhou City? If there were any delicious or fun things, you would be the first one to come."
Yue Lingshan nodded and said, "That's true. I'm sorry, Second Senior Brother. I wronged you!"
She bowed her hands solemnly and apologized.
Seeing that she was particularly happy today, Lao Denuo was moved and asked with a smile: "Little sister, why are you in the kitchen? It's still early for dinner. Are you hungry?"
Yue Lingshan smiled and said, "Who would be so delicious? Daddy is out of retreat today, so I came to the kitchen to make him a bowl of Matsutake and pork soup."
Lao Denuo's expression changed slightly, and he said, "I see, it seems that Master's injury is no longer a problem."
Yue Lingshan breathed a sigh of relief: "It's fine! I heard from my mother that the innate energy in my dantian has stabilized. It was a close call, but I didn't fall back to the martial arts realm. It's a blessing in disguise."
"That's good, that's good. Master is the pillar of Huashan Sect. It's great that he is safe and sound."
Lao Denuo looked a little flustered. Yue Buqun had taken the elixir to break through and his breathing was unstable. This news came from his mouth.
Nangong Huang knew that Yue Buqun was generous on the outside but narrow on the inside, and was almost obsessed with protecting his reputation, so he deliberately colluded with Ma Chengzhou and had people make sarcastic remarks in public, making it clear that he knew the inside story and prescribed the right remedy.
He thought to himself, "Could Yue Buqun have noticed something?"
Yue Lingshan asked curiously, "Second Senior Brother, have you been absent-minded recently?"
Lao Denuo came to his senses, and even Yue Lingshan could see that he was absent-minded. If he were in front of the cunning Yue Buqun, it would inevitably arouse suspicion.
He quickly calmed down and said with a smile, "Really? The weather is getting colder and I caught a cold."
"I won't talk to you anymore. I'm going to make soup."
Yue Lingshan glanced at him and walked towards the kitchen. Lao Denuo stood there for a moment, then suddenly followed and said with a smile, "Junior Sister, let me help you."
"No need, Second Brother. You are the chief steward of Huashan Sect and you are busy with affairs. I can still make a bowl of Matsutake mushroom soup."
Yue Lingshan took some dried matsutake mushrooms from the wooden rack, washed them with water, and soaked them in a bowl.
Lao Denuo did not leave, but used his palms to push open the wooden frame. "By the way, Master, now that he has recovered, should he be able to drink? I went to find the owner of the Ping An Inn, Zhang, and persuaded him to buy 50 kilograms of Zui Qing Feng. It is now here."
Yue Lingshan was stunned for a moment, put down the kitchen knife in her hand, and looked at Lao Denuo: "Ping An Inn? Didn't it close a long time ago?"
Laudeno broke the seal and the aroma of wine gushed out of the jar, filling the entire room.
"He is back."
"Who?"
"Of course it's Zhang Liyu from Ping An Inn."
Lao Denuo scooped the clear wine into a long-necked, round-bellied wine pot with a bamboo tube. He looked up at Yue Lingshan and saw that she was holding a kitchen knife, looking absent-minded.
His hands became steadier as he scooped the wine, and he thought to himself that he was not the only one with secrets in the Huashan Sect.
Yue Lingshan put down the kitchen knife and said coldly, "What's wrong with Zhang Liyu? I don't know him."
Lao Denuo nodded slightly and said with a smile: "It turns out that Junior Sister doesn't know him. When Senior Brother went to buy wine, Shopkeeper Zhang mentioned Junior Sister. I thought you two knew each other. It seems that boy was talking nonsense."
Yue Lingshan asked hurriedly: "What did he say?"
When she saw Laudenuo looking at her strangely, her face immediately turned red, and she hurriedly explained: "That carp and lobster guy is so bold to talk about me behind my back. If he says anything out of line, I will stab him to death with a sword."
Lao Denuo smiled and said, "Don't be angry, Junior Sister. Zhang Liyu's words were not rude. He was just wishful thinking."
"What did he say?"
Lao Denuo said slowly: "He said... he got along very well with Miss Yue from Huashan, as if he had seen her somewhere before. He returned to Huazhou just to have a chance to see Miss Yue again."
Yue Lingshan blushed slightly and asked softly, "Did he really say that?"
Lao Denuo laughed and said, "It's absolutely true, so I laughed at his wishful thinking. Not to mention that Huashan Sect is closing the mountain, even if it wasn't, how could Junior Sister go to meet a strange man casually?"
Yue Lingshan nodded and said, "Of course!"
When Laudeno walked out of the kitchen, a faint smile appeared on his face and his steps became much lighter.
He quietly left through the side door; his disciples were all practicing sword skills in the outer hall, so no one noticed him.
The set of footprints on the snow went towards the back mountain.
The Huashan Sect is located on the flat ground at the top of the Jade Maiden Peak. There are several iron chain bridges connecting it to several other peaks, all of which are covered with rugged rocks.
No one can tell exactly how many secret caves there are among the mountains. The caves are warm in winter and cool in summer, and were once the place where many male and female disciples of Mount Hua decided to get married.
"Jiji!"
A bird poked its head out from its nest in the treetops and saw the gray-robed man entering a cave with a hidden entrance.
A moment later, a carrier pigeon flew out of the cave, flapping its wings and flying towards the east...
(End of this chapter)