Chapter 992
Yinan Road, Xuzhou, Dongqi County, Mo Family Village.
Before dawn, Mo Xiaoniang climbed out of bed and silently went to the backyard. From the rear kitchen, she took several medicinal herbs bought from the county—astragalus root, forest ginseng, atractylodes, and more—then scooped a ladle of water from the vat and added it all to a clay pot.
She set the pot on the small stove, then used a fire starter to ignite some dry branches and stuffed them beneath the stove. Carefully fanning the flames with a fan, she got the fire going before wiping the thin sheen of fragrant sweat from her forehead and smiling sweetly.
With the medicine simmering over a low flame, Mo Xiaoniang hurriedly began kneading dough. In the shortest time possible, she made a pot of flour paste, steamed a basket of black buckwheat buns, baked two savory wild-vegetable cakes, and scooped out a bowl of pickled vegetables from the vegetable crock in a cool corner. Once everything was ready, she carried it on a wooden tray to the table beneath the large tree in the front yard.
"Father! Breakfast is ready!"
Mo Xiaoniang set the breakfast on the table just as the sun rose in the east. "Has Brother Qi woken up yet?"
A burly man was taking a cloth towel from a hanging cord and draping it around his neck. He then took down his straw hat and slung it over his back. Hearing Mo Xiaoniang's question, he laughed heartily. "He should be awake. I heard some movement in his room just now."
No sooner had Mo Tiezhan finished speaking than the door of the wooden hut to the side was pushed open. A white-clad scholar slowly walked out and smiled reservedly. "Thank you for your concern, Miss Mo. I smelled