“Old sir, you don’t need to be like this! We always help when we see people in need.”
Leng Ruoli’s lips curved slightly, and she offered the old woman a faint smile, a smile as warm as spring, making people feel comfortable.
“My dear girl, you and the young master are both exceptionally kind. You will have great blessings in the future,” the old woman said with great gratitude.
Hearing this, Leng Ruoli glanced at the old woman again and smiled sweetly.
An hour later, roasted rabbits on the fire emitted a fragrant aroma.
The reason the roasted rabbit meat was so fragrant tonight was that Leng Ruoli had taken out modern barbecue seasonings and spices from her personal space and applied them before roasting.
Yin Chen had mentioned that when they usually roasted meat outdoors, they just sprinkled some salt on it, resulting in meat that was only salty and not very delicious.
Today, after being seasoned with the spices and condiments Leng Ruoli provided, the two roasted rabbits on the fire became more and more fragrant, with a mouth-watering aroma filling the area around the campfire.
“Miss Mo, what did you put on the two rabbits just now? Why do they smell so good after roasting?” Chu Mingxuan asked, swallowing his saliva.
“It’s just some spice powder and seasoning, nothing else,” Leng Ruoli replied with a gentle smile.
Upon hearing this, Chu Mingxuan understood. Why hadn’t he thought of roasting meat like Leng Ruoli when he was roasting meat outdoors before? If he had, their roasted meat wouldn’t have tasted so unpalatable.
After Yin Chen took the roasted rabbits off the fire, he asked Yin Yi to go to the bamboo forest and find a large banana leaf to place the two roasted rabbits on. He then used a dagger to divide the two roasted rabbits and arranged them on the banana leaf.
Leng Ruoli was the first to pick up two rabbit legs and offered them to the old woman and the little boy.
The old woman and the little boy were also tempted by the roasted rabbit meat in Leng Ruoli’s hand, but they did not immediately take it to eat. Instead, they politely declined, “My dear girl, please keep these delicious rabbit legs for yourself and the young master (Jun Mohan). We are content with the bony parts.”
“It’s fine, elder. We still have plenty of roasted rabbit meat. There are eight legs in total from the two rabbits, so we can each have a rabbit leg,” Leng Ruoli said in a gentle tone.
Only then did the old woman shyly accept the two pieces of roasted meat, sharing one with the little boy. Seeing that everyone had spoken, she began to eat the meat in small bites.
The eight of them quickly finished the two roasted rabbits, but they were only half-full.
Leng Ruoli then instructed Yin Chen and Yin Yi to dig out the large packet of tinfoil-wrapped bamboo tubes from beneath the campfire. The two immediately set to work, their curiosity piqued as to what their Wang Fei had buried in the bamboo tubes.
Soon, they unearthed the bamboo tubes, which Leng Ruoli had sealed with tinfoil.
Everyone present was very curious to see what the contents of this large packet had become.
Subsequently, Leng Ruoli took a dagger from Jun Mohan and sliced open the tinfoil. The crowd leaned in, and a fresh bamboo fragrance immediately wafted out from the tinfoil, a delightful scent.
Everyone was now eagerly anticipating what was inside the bamboo tubes.
To satisfy their curiosity, Leng Ruoli, unfazed by the heat, picked up a bamboo tube, pulled out the wooden stopper, and a fragrant aroma of rice instantly emanated from the bamboo tube rice. She then held the tube out for everyone to see, and their faces filled with astonishment.
The rice inside the bamboo tubes was incredibly rich, containing not only red beans and peanuts but also chunks of chicken. The aroma alone made several of them salivate.
Good heavens! So this is how rice could be cooked!
Not only could it be made with readily available materials, but the rice cooked this way was even more delicious than that made in a pot.
This was truly marvelous!
Afterward, Leng Ruoli handed each person a bamboo tube of rice. They all removed the stoppers, used bamboo twigs as chopsticks, and eagerly began to eat.
As they ate, the more they ate, the more delicious it became. Fortunately, Leng Ruoli had made a few extra bamboo tube rice portions, otherwise, one bamboo tube rice each wouldn’t have been enough for Jun Mohan and the others to even nibble on. Even the old woman and the little boy finished their bamboo tube rice completely.
That night, full from their meal, everyone sat around the campfire, gazing up at the stars, unable to sleep.
The next morning, after Leng Ruoli and Jun Mohan woke up, they immediately boarded the carriage and arrived at the gates of Linzhou City.
A large crowd had already gathered outside the city gates. Leng Ruoli and Jun Mohan guessed that most of them were refugees, with only a small portion being local residents going into the city for business or to buy goods.
However, it was strange that it was already Chen Shi (8 AM), but the city gates had not yet opened.
“I don’t know what’s been going on lately, but the gates of Linzhou City are opening later and later each day.”
“Indeed. Our Tianwu Kingdom stipulates that the gates of the various prefectural cities must be opened at Mao Shi (5 AM). But for the past few days, they have never opened at Mao Shi, always delaying by an hour. And today, it’s already Chen Shi, and there’s still no movement.”
These people waiting outside the city gates were discussing amongst themselves.
“I think we won’t be able to enter the city today. I heard that the Linzhou City government recently acquired a beauty who looks like an immortal and has been immersed in her embrace day and night, neglecting all affairs of Linzhou City. The lower officials do as they please without any repercussions. Furthermore, winter is coming, and famine has broken out in the north again. Every year, countless refugees migrate from the north to Linzhou City seeking alms, and if they don’t get it, they resort to stealing. The city is in chaos now. While there might be reasons for not opening the gates, we, the common folk, also need to enter the city to earn a living,” a man in the crowd lamented.
Leng Ruoli and Jun Mohan, sitting on their horses, heard the crowd’s words and immediately frowned. They hadn’t expected the issue of the late opening of the city gates to have been ongoing for so many days.
“Lier, let me take you into the city to infiltrate the prefectural yamen,” Jun Mohan said to her.
“Alright, I’m also very curious whether this Linzhou Prefect is truly as detestable as they say,” Leng Ruoli replied.
Afterward, the two informed Yin Chen and Chu Mingxuan, gave them some instructions, and quietly found the lowest point of the city wall. Then, Jun Mohan put his arm around Leng Ruoli’s slender waist, unleashed his Qinggong (lightness skill), and leaped into the air. In less than a minute, they had flown over the city wall and landed on the streets of Linzhou City.
The streets of Linzhou City were sparsely populated. Shops on both sides of the street had their doors tightly shut, and very few people were selling goods along the street.
This immediately made Jun Mohan frown even more deeply.
He hadn’t patrolled Linzhou City for four years, and now it had become like this. It was simply like an empty ghost city.