0p0 Chapter 248 Preparation for Departure (1)
Chapter 248 Preparation for Departure (1)
Looking at the hot food on the table, Xia Qingyue was reminded of the past life, as she remembered that ever since her grandmother passed away, she had spent every New Year's Eve alone, including last year when she traveled through time.
However, things were different starting this year. She had him and Xiaobai by her side, and their family was neither too few nor too many.
This is what it feels like to celebrate the New Year with family. There’s a sense of belonging and security, as if your feet are planted on solid ground.
It is not like the duckweed floating on the water, drifting with the wind and water, without a destination, always on the road, the world is so big, but there is no place to stop.
She used to think that there was no difference between spending the New Year alone and spending it with her family.
Thinking about this, her emotions surged and she couldn't help but shed silent tears.
Seeing this, Han Zhibai anxiously wanted to get up and go over.
She shook her head, picked up the bowl of chicken soup beside her and said, "I'm fine. I'm just too happy."
"From now on, on this day every year, no, for the rest of our lives, we must live happily every day. The most important thing is to stay healthy. Come, let's have a kiss."
Although her eyes were red, she was smiling happily, and her tear-stained eyes were clear and bright.
He followed her example, picked up the chicken soup and touched her bowl.
There was a slight crisp sound, and the two smiled at each other, took back the bowl of chicken soup at the same time, and drank the chicken soup in one breath.
She picked up the chopsticks, picked up a dumpling and stuffed it into her mouth, and said to Han Zhibai in a vague voice: "Eat it quickly, otherwise the food will get cold."
He nodded and put the chicken drumstick from the big bowl of chicken soup into her bowl.
While eating the New Year's Eve dinner, they chatted about their trip to Wei Hai, talking about whatever came to mind.
When Xia Qingyue heard him talk about his first trip to Wei Hai many years ago, and the fun things he did when he went fishing and catching crabs in the sea after the tide receded, she wished time would go by faster and that she could grow wings so she could fly away.
In her previous life, she grew up inland and dreamed of going to the beach and fishing.
Listening to him talk about the creatures in the sea, some of which she had seen on TV, books and videos, and some of which she had never heard of, her curiosity was aroused.
This meal took them the longest. They didn't eat anything else and just kept chatting. The food was so cold that oil was solidified on it.
It was boring to sit there, so they decided to pack up early, go to bed and read, and go to sleep after midnight, which could be considered as staying up to celebrate the New Year.
After finishing, lying on the bed, Xia Qingyue took out the map to Wei Hai. After looking at it for so long, she was familiar with the general route, the names of the places along the way, and any precautions. She never felt bored every time she looked at it.
After the New Year, spring was approaching, which meant that they would soon set out for the sea, so she found a few books about the sea and the towns along the way marked on the map to read.
She was absorbed in reading, but her biological clock was very accurate. As she read, her body gradually slid down, and the contents of the book became increasingly blurred.
When she woke up the next day, Xia Qingyue didn't know how she fell asleep the night before. She woke up early, but Han Zhibai was still asleep. He probably went to bed late.
He was sleeping soundly, and she tried not to wake him, but she fell asleep.
When she woke up again, it was bright outside. She got up quickly, had breakfast, and went out to shovel snow with Han Zhibai.
In early February, it started to snow lightly, but it was still as cold as ever. Apart from shoveling snow, she spent the rest of her time either reading or practicing calligraphy, or doing some exercise or practicing archery. She felt that these things had to be persisted in, otherwise it would be bad if she stopped.
After mid-month, the snow stopped.
There were a few days of sunshine in the middle and late part of the month, and Xia Qingyue and Han Zhibai washed and dried everything that needed to be washed. Then it became cloudy, and at the end of the month it drizzled. The snow had not melted yet, and the temperature dropped sharply.
It drizzled on and off for several days, and even after the rain stopped it was still cloudy until early March, when the weather became sunny and windy and the temperature rose. The snow melted day by day, and the grass and trees in the mountains that had been dormant for a whole winter covered with snow began to appear and gradually woke up.
A few days later, the snow melted completely and green buds appeared on the branches of a few trees.
It was another sunny day in mid-to-late March, and they picked this good day to make dried sweet potato vermicelli and rice noodles. There were still a lot of pumpkins in the cellar, so they made some into dried fruits.
They recently discussed and decided to set off for Wei Hai around early April. Before that, they had to make corresponding preparations, go down the mountain and stay for two days, and explain the situation to Chen Yuzhen and others.
It took two days to make two batches of dried vermicelli and one batch of dried pumpkin.
In the winter, two sheep were killed, leaving four big ones and five small ones. One big pig was killed before the New Year, leaving a big boar. There were four small pigs weighing more than two or three hundred pounds, more than twenty chickens, more than ten ducks, and about forty rabbits.
As for the poultry, their plan was to kill two piglets, some chickens, ducks, and rabbits, and take the rest down the mountain to be raised by the Li family.
The two killed piglets, some chickens, ducks and rabbits were partly salted and dried, and partly made into jerky, which was convenient for eating on the road. There was no need to bring too much. Most of the journey along the way was in the woods, where there were rivers and animals, so there was no need to worry about food.
Taking advantage of the good weather, Han Zhibai killed chickens, ducks and pigs. The ones they ate were pickled with salt, and the dried pork was made spicy with peppercorns and chili peppers. The two little ones ate the dried meat without any seasoning.
Xia Qingyue had her period these past two days and her energy was not as good as usual, so she was just doing the easy work of helping out.
We are so busy that by the end of the month, all the dried chicken, duck, pork, pumpkin and vermicelli are ready, and the pickled meat still needs to be smoked.
On this day in early April, they took a few cages of chickens, ducks, rabbits, and led a few pigs and sheep, and asked Xiao Hei to carry some honey and some leftover food down the mountain.
In spring, all things come back to life, the mountains and forests are full of green, and many villagers from the foot of the mountain run up the mountain to look for wild vegetables.
When they reached the area behind the mountain of Xiushui Village, Heihei and Xiaobai suddenly ran in one direction for some reason, barking excitedly.
Xia Qingyue and Han Zhibai both thought that the two kids must have smelled the scent of the Li family and ran away.
"Heihei, Xiaobai!"
"You guys are going down the mountain!"
Sure enough, the joyful laughter of Chen Yuzhen and Fang Xiaoyu could be heard one after another from the other side.
Soon, they came over, each of them carrying a basket of vegetables and a backpack, and Fang's mother was there too.
"Qingyue, Zhibai!" Chen Yuzhen ran forward with a smile. Her excitement was like the rising tide, surging. She couldn't wait to open her arms and hug Xia Qingyue.
After chatting for a while, they happily went down the mountain and went home.
Although Chen Yuzhen wondered why the two children brought so many poultry down the mountain, since they were outside and it was inconvenient, she refrained from asking.
After returning home and closing the gate, Fang's mother and daughter went to the kitchen to prepare some drinking water. There were only three of them in the yard. Chen Yuzhen couldn't help but ask them what was going on.
"Aunt, I brought these poultry down for you to raise. Zhibai and I will be going on a long journey to visit and pay respect to our parents."
Chen Yuzhen didn't react for a moment. After thinking for a while, she realized that the parents Xia Qingyue was referring to were Han Zhibai's parents. "They?"
The Li family knew the general situation of Han Zhibai's family, but they didn't know the details of some things.
While taking off Xiao Hei's things, Han Zhibai briefly told him that his parents died and were buried in a foreign land.