Chapter 52: Returning from the Deep Mountains with a Bountiful Harvest

After washing up and lying on the warm kang, Wen Nuan Nuan began thinking about the drought next year.

In Huaguo, when one region faced difficulties, support came from all directions. No matter how severe the disaster, efforts were made to ensure food and clothing, and those affected felt secure and hopeful.

But what about here?

Would man-made disasters follow natural calamities?

Even if the court exempted taxes and grain levies, would local officials actually implement these policies?

Would officials in cities along the escape routes shirk responsibility and refuse to open the city gates?

People fleeing with little food or water, driven to extreme hunger and unrestrained by law, might even resort to exchanging children to eat.

And if it came to that, how could burning, killing, and looting be out of the question?

Not to mention all sorts of other vile and despicable acts…

The more Wen Nuan Nuan thought, the more alarmed she became. She quickly gathered her thoughts, telling herself to stop thinking and go to sleep!

Starting tomorrow, she must work even harder to stockpile all useful items!

She needed to prepare in advance for next year’s drought—and prepare thoroughly. In a place where neither the court nor local officials could be relied upon, everything depended on themselves.

She wondered how Leng Xiao and Eldest Brother had fared and how much money was still needed to buy horses…

Half-asleep, Wen Nuan Nuan seemed to hear knocking and strange neighing sounds outside the courtyard.

Then she heard the main door of the house open, followed by hurried footsteps running toward the courtyard gate.

Wen Nuan Nuan’s drowsy mind immediately snapped awake!

Leng Xiao and the others were back!

She quickly threw off the covers, put on her cotton shoes, grabbed her cotton coat, and ran into the courtyard while putting it on.

The two younger ones in the courtyard had already opened the gate and welcomed Leng Xiao and Leng Tian inside.

Leng Yun, who was usually lively and energetic, was unusually quiet now. After the two entered the courtyard, he gently closed the gate and slid the wooden bolt into place.

Oh, wait—not just two people.

It was two people and two horses!

Yes, not only had Leng Xiao and Leng Tian returned, but they had also brought back two horses!

The horses were entirely black, with thick, glossy coats, high foreheads, prominent eyes, and long, sturdy legs. They were making those strange neighing sounds!

Wen Nuan Nuan stared at the two horses that had returned with them, momentarily stunned and unable to react.

“Go inside and put on a padded jacket before coming out,” a low voice spoke up, its hoarseness masking the concern.

“Oh, right.” Wen Nuan Nuan turned toward the source of the familiar voice.

After more than ten days in the deep mountains, instead of looking exhausted, Leng Xiao seemed to have gained a layer of cool composure, making the already aloof, moon-like youth appear even more steady and mature.

Belatedly, Wen Nuan Nuan remembered what the youth had said and looked down at her clothes.

Her cotton coat was mostly tidy, except for the two buttons at the collar that weren’t fastened. Was Leng Xiao really that particular?

Well, yes—ancient scholars naturally placed great emphasis on etiquette and attire.

Adapting to local customs, Wen Nuan Nuan quickly scurried back to her room to put on a padded jacket.

Honestly, Leng Xiao could be such a hassle when he got particular.

Leng Xiao’s phoenix eyes held a hint of amusement as he watched the lively, delicate figure dart away. Turning to his two younger brothers, his gaze grew serious. “It’s cold. Both of you, go back inside and put on more clothes. Any questions can wait until your sister-in-law comes out.”

The two younger ones exchanged a glance, knowing their eldest brother wouldn’t say anything until Nuan Nuan returned. They hurriedly dashed back into the house.

Upon learning that Leng Xiao and Leng Tian had been traveling day and night to return and had not yet eaten dinner, Wen Nuan Nuan set aside her curiosity and hurried into the kitchen to prepare food.

Leng Chen followed her in to tend the fire.

Leng Yun helped in the yard by unloading goods from the horses and carrying them into the main hall. He then led the two horses to the stable and spread a large pile of fodder on the ground inside.

The two horses, exhausted from their journey, gradually calmed down in the unfamiliar surroundings once they had ample food.

They stopped neighing restlessly and instead lowered their heads to eat the fodder peacefully.

In the kitchen, Wen Nuan Nuan was cooking chicken soup noodles with green vegetables in the iron pot. The chicken soup had been prepared earlier and stored in a wooden basin on the upper shelf of the storage room. It was still warm, so she simply took it out to cook the noodles.

Over the past few days, she had prepared some food and stored it on the upper shelf of the storage room, mostly crispy pancakes.

Thinking that Leng Xiao and the others had likely eaten mostly crispy pancakes these past few days, and considering that on a bitterly cold night, warm, soupy food would be better for warming the stomach and aiding digestion, she decided to make something hot.

In the outer iron pot, she fried four golden and fragrant sunny-side-up eggs.

After serving the chicken soup noodles with eggs and green vegetables on the table, the three of them quietly watched as the two men ate heartily.

Only after they had finished eating and rested for a while did Wen Nuan Nuan voice the question that had been brimming in all three of them: “Didn’t you say you needed to sell ginseng to earn money before buying horses? How did you manage to bring them back already?”

Leng Yun couldn’t wait and chimed in eagerly, “Eldest Brother, Second Brother, did you go straight to buy horses after coming out of the deep mountains? And these two horses are exceptionally strong—are they the ones that cost one hundred thirty taels each?”

Leng Chen frowned. “That doesn’t make sense. If you bought the horses, why are there no saddles or reins?”

Leng Tian glanced at his eldest brother, who sat upright, and stood up to explain only to Wen Nuan Nuan: “We didn’t buy them. These two are wild horses from the deep mountains.”

“Wow, that’s amazing!” Wen Nuan Nuan praised generously.

“Second Brother, tell us how you caught them! When I grow up, I want to catch a horse of my own too!” Leng Yun asked excitedly, his young face beaming with enthusiasm.

Leng Tian paused, a flicker of distress crossing his dark face. He quickly suppressed it, steadied his voice, and replied briefly: “We encountered a wolf pack attacking a white tiger. Eldest Brother saved the white tiger cub. The next day, on our way back, the white tiger unexpectedly drove these two horses to us, along with the goods they were carrying.”

“Goods? Was it that adult deer? So that furry hide was from wolves! There were so many of them!” Leng Yun had wondered what animal the hides were from while moving them.

“Yes, the white tiger killed several wolves. Eldest Brother said the white tiger would eat the wolf meat but wouldn’t keep the hides, so before we left, he had me skin the wolves and bring the hides back.”

“That white tiger is so intelligent. It sent a deer and, worried you couldn’t carry it, even drove two horses to you.”

Wen Nuan Nuan wanted to say it wasn’t just intelligence—animals have their own wisdom, especially tigers, wolves, and monkeys.

If you treat them well, they can recognize it, and their way of repaying kindness is often more genuine than that of most humans!

“But aren’t wolves afraid of tigers? Why would they attack a tiger?” Wen Nuan Nuan asked, puzzled. In her understanding, wolves were near the top of the food chain, only fearing lions and tigers.

Why would they actively attack a tiger?

Leng Xiao’s phoenix eyes glanced over, and after a moment of contemplation, he voiced his speculation: “Before leaving, I carefully observed the surroundings. There is a small river flowing around the white tiger’s cave, and the water in the river comes from inside the cave. Medicinal herbs also grow within the white tiger’s cave. I suspect there might be a natural spring inside. For some unknown reason, the spring water doesn’t flood the cave but flows directly out, which is why herbs can grow inside.”

Wen Nuan Nuan thought that tigers, being intelligent and the rulers of the forest, would naturally choose the best habitat in the entire mountain range. It was only normal for their cave to be special.

Even humans know to pick a good location to build a house, let alone a tiger, the absolute ruler of the deep mountains.

Moreover, “tigers are afraid of heat and especially love swimming, so it’s perfectly normal for them to choose a place with a water source to live.”

This was because tigers lack a sweat gland system.

She had learned this after visiting many zoos and asking about the pools in the tigers’ habitats.

Leng Tian exclaimed in amazement, “Sister-in-law, you know so much! No wonder even the white tiger cub swims so well!”

No wonder Sister-in-law is like a little fairy—she just knows so much!

Leng Xiao also looked over with a smile in his eyes.