Chapter 46 - Heady Rice Wine
Ma Xiuxiu.
Ye Beizhi silently repeated the name several times in his mind.
At this moment, a rough voice came from outside the door. "Haha… Xiuxiu! Come see what your dad brought home today!"
A tall and burly man walked in with a large bow on his back and a shiny axe hanging from his waist. He proudly waved the leg of a deer.
When the man entered and saw Ye Beizhi sitting by the table, he was taken aback and remarked, "Oh, you're awake?"
Ye Beizhi nodded at him.
The man handed Xiuxiu the deer's leg and instructed, "Xiuxiu, go and wash this deer leg. We have to make more food today."
Then he turned to Ye Beizhi and said, "How's your injury? You can get out of bed so soon? Hey, you have no idea how shocked I was when you were brought here. We didn't think that you would survive, but it turns out you really pulled through!"
Ye Beizhi cupped his hands in gratitude and said, "Thank you."
The man waved his hand and said, "No need to thank me. We were just fulfilling a request, and your friend paid us anyway. However, I'm curious about what you do. How did you end up like that?"
Ye Beizhi kept his head down and said nothing.
"Well, if you don't want to say, it's fine. Everyone has their secrets, right?" Seeing that Ye Beizhi looked troubled, the man stopped asking further. "Just stay here and recover. We have more than enough food for everyone."
"Thank you." Ye Beizhi nodded. "Can you tell me… how far away is Luzhou?"
"Luzhou? Why do you want to know?" The man poured himself a bowl of hot water, warming himself up. "Luzhou is very far away."
Ye Beizhi's expression became a bit downcast, his eyes deep and thoughtful. After some deliberation, he said, "There's someone waiting for me."
"Oh?" Intrigued by Ye Beizhi's statement, the man turned back to look at him. "Haha, I see… If it's Luzhou, I'm afraid it won't be any less than a hundred li away…"
The man finished his bowl of hot water and emphasized Ye Beizhi's current state. "Your injury isn't healed yet," he said, "So don't think about going anywhere for now. You should recover first. Since I've been entrusted with caring for you, I wouldn't feel right letting you leave like this."
Ye Beizhi nodded, acknowledging the arrangement.
"By the way, after talking for so long, I still don't know your name," the man said with a smile. Patting Ye Beizhi on the shoulder, he said, "I'm Ma Hong, a local hunter. I may be a few years older than you, but you can call me Brother Ma from now on!"
"Brother Ma…" Ye Beizhi cupped his hands and said, "I… I'm Ye Beizhi."
"Hey, your name sounds much better than mine," Ma Hong said with a smile.
"Come, come, you'll get to try my cooking skills today. I went up the mountain with Biaozi and the others today, and we caught a deer. I got a hind leg, so you're in luck!"
The two went outside, where Ma Xiuxiu had already cleaned the deer leg. Ma Hong took the leg from her and said, "I'll handle the rest. You go and keep Uncle Ye company."
Ye Beizhi's eyes twitched slightly. At only five years or so older than Ma Xiuxiu, he felt it was wrong to call him her uncle. Yet Ma Hong considered him a brother, so his title seemed to be set in stone.
Ye Beizhi had not been sitting for long when he caught a whiff of the meat roasting outside. It seemed Ma Hong wasn't just bragging about his cooking ability. The dishes on the table were simple. There was a plate of shredded radish, a plate of stir-fried greens, and a pot of roasted deer meat.
Dinner was served.
Despite the simplicity, the food was delicious, and the tender and flavorful deer meat made Ye Beizhi nod in approval.
"How is it? Does my cooking get a passing grade?" Ma Hong asked as he saw Ye Beizhi devouring a piece of deer meat.
"Very delicious," Ye Beizhi nodded and then added solemnly, "It's much better than tavern food."
"Hey, that's good." Ma Hong urged Ye Beizhi, "Eat up, eat more if it's to your liking."
"Brother Ma, do you cook often?" Ye Beizhi casually asked as he picked up a leafy green.
Ma Hong brought out a small jar of wine from the inner room and replied, "Well, I have to… My wife passed away early, so I have to take care of things myself."
Ma Hong reached out and patted Ma Xiuxiu's head as she ate.
Ma Hong dusted off the wine jar, poured some into a bowl, and handed it to Ye Beizhi.
A fragrant, intoxicating aroma spread immediately. Ye Beizhi looked into his bowl and saw that the wine was brownish-yellow, rich and mellow, and slightly cloudy.
"This is my homemade rice wine. Don't get your hopes up," Ma Hong said with a smile.
Ye Beizhi was sure he wouldn't mind the homemade wine, so he reached for the wine bowl.
A hand suddenly blocked his way.
Ma Xiuxiu placed her hand over the wine bowl and chided Ma Hong, "Uncle Ye just woke up, and you want him to drink? Can he even handle it?"
"It's not a—" Ye Beizhi tried to calm Ma Xiuxiu, but Ma Hong interrupted him.
Ma Hong narrowed his eyes and retorted, "What do you know, little girl? Drinking wine will help him recover faster! Besides, what man doesn't drink wine?"
"That's nonsense!" Ma Xiuxiu shot back defiantly.
"Hmph, nonsense is still sense!" Ma Hong said confidently, placing the wine jar down and reaching for the bowl.
The two of them bickered, leaving Ye Beizhi on the sidelines.
Ye Beizhi scratched the back of his head and gently patted Ma Xiuxiu's hand.
When she looked over from her argument, Ye Beizhi said, "It's fine. I know my body… I can drink."
"But…" Ma Xiuxiu trailed off as Ye Beizhi shook his head and downed the entire bowl in one go.
"You know how to drink!" Ma Hong exclaimed with sparkling eyes, "So, how is my rice wine, Brother Ye?"
Ye Beizhi smacked his lips, savoring the rich aroma of the wine. He couldn't help but nod appreciatively. "Good wine…"
"Haha! Young Master Ye has a good eye for quality!" Ma Hong laughed heartily and said with delight, "My wine is famous for its aroma in Ma Family Village. The rough men in the village often come by my house to ask for more."
This wine had quite a kick. After drinking several bowls of the heady rice wine, Ye Beizhi's face turned slightly red and he became more talkative.
"This is indeed good wine… The last time I had such good wine was…"
Ye Beizhi, enjoying his drink, suddenly thought of someone who always had a gourd full of wine hanging at his waist.
"I have a friend who is also very fond of wine. He is always looking for good wine."
"Oh? In that case, I'd like to meet your friend!" Ma Hong raised his bowl and clinked it with Ye Beizhi's.
"Maybe someday." Ye Beizhi drank another bowl in one go. "If he knew there was such good wine here, he would definitely rush over."
The meal ended happily with everyone enjoying themselves.
After the meal, Ye Beizhi walked outside, slightly tipsy. The sun comfortably warmed his face and shone on the village nestled within the mountains.
It was peaceful.
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