“Ah, Brother Feng, Doctor Pan, you’ve finally arrived!”
Upon seeing the two of them appear, Zheng Zhi’s face lit up with a smile, and he happily welcomed them into the courtyard.
“So fragrant!”
As soon as they entered the courtyard, Li Qingfeng caught the strong aroma of roasted meat.
The cumin scent was still potent, as if a barbecue was underway.
Indeed, a small stove was set up in the yard, densely packed with skewers of meat. Beside the stove, a low table was laden with side dishes.
“Xue’er, please have Brother Feng and Doctor Pan take a seat!”
Zheng Zhi instructed Zheng Yingxue, who was beside him, to seat their guests.
Hearing her father’s words, Zheng Yingxue led Li Qingfeng and Pan Xiaolian to sit by the small stove.
Li Qingfeng sat beside the stove, gazing at the glowing red smokeless coal within, feeling incredibly warm.
He flipped the meat skewers on top, occasionally sprinkling them with barbecue seasoning.
In fact, the top layer was already mostly cooked. Li Qingfeng picked up the iron plate that had been prepared and placed the cooked skewers on it.
“Brother Zheng, what else are you busy with?”
Seeing Zheng Quezi still bustling about inside and out, Li Qingfeng asked curiously.
Hearing his question, Zheng Quezi turned his head and replied, “Brother Feng, there’s just one more garlic-flavored dish that’s not quite done, it’ll be ready soon!”
Upon hearing Zheng Quezi’s words, Li Qingfeng looked with shock at Xianglinsao and Zheng Yingxue, who were busy skewering more meat.
Before they could speak, Pan Xiaolian explained.
“Zheng Zhi used to be a cook, and he was famous in Mopangou Village. Everyone who’s older knows how well he cooks!”
“Then I’m in for a treat today!”
After hearing Aunt Pan’s explanation, Li Qingfeng said with a smile.
Hearing Li Qingfeng’s words, Zheng Yingxue turned her head and said proudly, “That’s right! My dad rarely cooks himself. I’m so lucky today!”
Indeed, after Zheng Zhi finished his preparations, many small dishes appeared on the table.
There were not only garlic-flavored enoki mushrooms and oil lettuce, but also some cold appetizers and spiced shredded vegetables.
And that wasn’t all. Zheng Zhi had even stir-fried a large plate of crayfish.
Looking at the table laden with delicacies, Li Qingfeng accepted the beer poured by Zheng Zhi and began to drink with him.
Watching the two of them enjoying themselves, the women nearby smiled with delight.
At the dinner table, Li Qingfeng and Zheng Zhi’s relationship grew closer and closer. If Zheng Yingxue and Aunt Pan hadn’t stopped them, they probably would have sworn brotherhood.
Finally, at Aunt Pan’s strong insistence, the two tipsy men were finally separated.
At this moment, Li Qingfeng looked rather comical. He was kneeling on the ground, shouting at Zheng Zhi across from him, “Brother, let’s have one more!”
He sloshed his nearly empty beer bottle, as if he were drinking air.
However, because Li Qingfeng had matters to attend to the next day, Aunt Pan absolutely refused to let them drink any more.
Pan Xiaolian carried the now sleeping Li Qingfeng back to the clinic and placed him on the first floor.
The next morning, Li Qingfeng woke up!
“What did I do last night?”
Clutching his head, which ached from the hangover, Li Qingfeng recalled the events of the previous evening.
Fortunately, he hadn’t made a fool of himself. He breathed a sigh of relief and patted his head.
“From now on, no matter what, I’m not drinking this much alcohol again!”
He mumbled softly and went upstairs.
Pan Xiaolian was already up and about. She was on the second-floor balcony, airing out the Banlangen herbs.
“Good morning, Aunt Pan!”
Seeing Pan Xiaolian, Li Qingfeng called out a little sheepishly.
Seeing him come upstairs, Aunt Pan couldn’t help but chuckle.
When he saw her smiling, Li Qingfeng was confused. It wasn’t until Aunt Pan pointed out the icon on his clothes that he realized.
He had put his shirt on inside out in his dazed state that morning.
Hastily saying goodbye to Aunt Pan, Li Qingfeng took out a small bag, filled it with about twenty-odd stalks of Banlangen, and left.
“Aunt Pan, you don’t need to wait for me for lunch; I’ll eat in town!”
Standing at the village entrance, Li Qingfeng flagged down a passing tractor.
He recognized the tractor owner as Xu Wu, a fruit farmer from Mopangou Village, who went to Jiefang Town every day to sell his fruit.
“Uncle Wu, going to sell fruit?”
“Yes, Xiao Feng. I heard from the villagers that you’ve recovered. Uncle Wu is happy to hear that. Are you going to town?”
“Yes, Uncle Wu, I’ll have to rely on you today!”
“It’s nothing. Sit tight!”
After saying this, Xu Wu started the engine and drove off.
Admittedly, even though it was a tractor, Xu Wu displayed a remarkable sense of speed and acceleration.
Except for the bumpy ride…
After over an hour of jostling, Li Qingfeng and Xu Wu finally arrived in Jiefang Town.
Entering Jiefang Town felt like entering another world.
Although Jiefang Town was one of the poorest towns in the city, with only a few tall buildings, the streets were lined with small stalls.
The hawkers’ cries filled the air, giving Li Qingfeng a sense of the town’s liveliness.
Jiefang Town had only three streets, crisscrossing to form a character-shaped layout.
According to the older generation, this layout was designed by a feng shui master who said that if built this way, it would develop into a prosperous town renowned nationwide.
The officials at the time followed his advice, but instead of becoming a prosperous town, it suffered a Waterloo and became one of the poorest counties in the country. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
“You’re blocking the way! No vehicles allowed here!”
Just as Xu Wu was about to drive further, a small vendor suddenly appeared and blocked his tractor.
It turned out that Xu Wu had inadvertently turned into the adjacent large market, which was crowded with people. For safety reasons, vehicles were prohibited.
“Uncle Wu, you can leave it here for me!”
“Alright, I can’t go any further. Xiao Feng, if you’re coming home this afternoon, wait for me at the bus stop at the town entrance around three o’clock.”
“Okay, Uncle Wu!”
After hearing Xu Wu’s instructions, Li Qingfeng nodded and got off the tractor.
He looked at the surrounding stalls, most of which were selling seasonal fruits like apples and bananas.
There were also many small green vegetables, but these stalls were mostly sparsely populated.
This was because most people who came to town were from the surrounding villages, and they grew their own vegetables at home, so they didn’t sell well.
At this moment, a stall caught Li Qingfeng’s attention.
It was a stall selling medicinal herbs, and the vendor was an elderly man.
From the army-green clothes on him, full of patches, Li Qingfeng could tell that his life was very hard, and he was likely a herbalist who often ventured deep into the mountains.
However, this time, his harvest seemed to be poor. The stall was filled with common herbs, with no precious medicinal materials.
He only heard him shouting incessantly, “Herbs for sale!”