Chapter 186

Chapter 186

186 Don’t You Recognize Your Third Brother?
On Li Xiaoran’s side, the cured meat had been marinated for a few days and the sausages had been hanging outside to dry for a few days. Now, they were about to be hung on the fire to smoke.
Luo Cheng followed Li Shun up the mountain with his basket and machete to cut down some cypress branches.
In order to make cured meat and sausages tasty, cypress branches were indispensable.
The leaves of the cypress tree burned with a special fragrance. They smoked the cured sausage and made it taste delicious.
Li Xiaoran stayed at home and helped her mother hang up the cured meat and sausages.
As Luo Cheng had never warmed himself by a fire in the past, he naturally didn’t have a fire. Therefore, he could only find a corner at the last minute and set up a place where a fire was burning.
When the pieces of meat hung under the beam of the house, Li Xiaoran felt a sense of accomplishment.
“Sister, this is the first time I’ve seen our house filled with so many cured sausages. In the past, we only smoked a few pieces, and there was none for us. At that time, I felt so covetous when I watched Li Yan and the others eat. Now, I don’t have to watch others eat cured sausages anymore. We can eat them too!” Li Xiaoqing recalled what happened last year and said.
As soon as she said this, the others felt sad.
Guan Kang, who was helping, looked at Li Xiaoqing in surprise.
“Sister Xiao Qing, did you have such a hard time in the past?”
Li Xiaoqing nodded and told him about the bitter days when she had lived in the Li family.
To be honest, as Li Xiaoqing explained, Li Xiaoran felt like it had happened a long time ago.
In fact, they had only left the Li family for less than three months.
All the pain from the past had disappeared. The good days had just begun!
After Guan Kang heard what Li Xiaoqing had said, he suddenly sighed.
“I thought I was having a bad time. I didn’t expect your family to be in a worse state than me! Compared to you, at least I was fed and dressed warmly when I was treating my illness!”
When Li Xiaoqing heard Guan Kang’s words, she nodded and said steadily, “That’s right! Kang’er, you have to cherish everything you have now!”
“Well, I’ve always cherished what I have!” Guan Kang said.
“Girl, you’re still young, but you actually know how to enlighten others!” Zhao Xiu couldn’t help but laugh when she heard their conversation.
“Third Aunt, I think Sister Xiao Qing is right!” Guan Kang said seriously.
“It’s good as long as you think she’s right! As long as you’re happy!” Zhao Xiu replied with a smile.
When Li Xiaoran heard this, she glanced at her sister.
“Actually, I’ve always felt that my sister, Xiao Qing, is the most knowledgeable person in our family! I used to be muddle-headed, but my sister has always been very clear-headed!”
When Li Xiaoqing heard her sister praise her, she immediately puffed out her chest and said happily, “You’re very impressive too. The reason you were like that in the past was because you didn’t realize how bad it was. Later, you hit your head. After experiencing the brink of death, you realized it!”
When Li Xiaoran heard this, she was immediately amused.
“Sister, where did you learn to say that?”
“I heard it from the elders in the village! That’s what the elders in the village say about you!” Li Xiaoqing said righteously.
Now, everyone began to laugh.
“As expected, having an old person in the family is like having a treasure. Xiao Qing went to listen to so many elders in the village and obtained many treasures, which is knowledge!” Luo Ziyang praised.
“Of course. Brother Ziyang has good taste and good judgment!” Li Xiaoqing imitated the elders and stroked her chin before saying with mock seriousness.
“Hahahaha!” Li Xiaoran couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
“What are you laughing at? I heard your laughter from afar!” At this moment, Li Shun and Luo Cheng returned with a basket on their backs.
Zhao Xiu and Li Xiaoran quickly went forward to help and took down the baskets on their backs.
“Father, why did you guys finish cutting down the cypress branches so quickly?” Li Xiaoran asked with a smile, “We were amused by Xiao Qing’s imitation of an old lady!”
Li Shun smiled and took out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat.
“There are cypress trees at the edge of our valley, and they’ve grown a lot. So my son-in-law and I went to cut some down and came back. Anyway, it’s close, so we can cut them again after burning them!”
“Won’t it be cut down by the villagers?” Li Xiaoqing thought of something and asked, “If there’s really a cypress tree so close to the village, the villagers will definitely come and cut it down!”
“No, the forest behind this valley is also mine. When I bought this valley to build a house, I bought that forest too. Therefore, no one will come here to cut cypress branches!” Luo Cheng thought of something and mentioned.
“No wonder! No wonder the people in the village never walk this way. So that’s how it is!” Li Shun said in realization.
After hearing this news, the family was relieved.
After the fire was built, the cypress branches were placed on it. There was a crackling sound. They started smoking bacon and sausages.
Once the smoking of bacon and sausages started, they couldn’t leave.
It happened to be cold outside, so Luo Ziyang brought Guan Kang to sit around the fire.
It was time to go out to sell knife-cut noodles. Everyone packed up and walked towards the shop.
When they walked to the shop, they saw Yuan Cheng wandering back and forth outside.
“Yuan Cheng, why are you standing outside? It’s so cold outside. Why aren’t you entering the shop?” Li Xiaoran asked in confusion.
“Brother Luo Cheng, Sister Xiaoran, you’re finally here! There was a customer in the shop today. I already said that the shop wouldn’t open until noon, but the other party refused to leave. He sat at the table and waited, unwilling to leave.” Yuan Cheng came forward and said anxiously.
When Luo Cheng and Li Xiaoran heard this, they looked at each other and walked towards the shop together.
At this moment, there were indeed two people sitting in the shop.
One was a man in brocade clothes, and the other was a guard in tight clothes.
Hearing footsteps, the brocade-robed man didn’t even turn his head but spoke directly.
“It’s been a while. Don’t you recognize me?”
Luo Cheng looked at the side profile of the person in front of him and replied, “Third Brother, you still recognize me as your younger brother?”