"Sister-in-law, this is Broken Soul Valley. I heard from Father and Mother that we must not come here."
"There are so many beasts inside. I don't want to go looking for death."
"Yeah, Auntie Li," someone said, "aren't you sending us to our deaths by asking us to go down?"
"Forget it, let's go back."
Li Yao's eyebrows furrowed. It was just a small gorge, yet it was made out to be so sinister?
Of course, it was understandable too. After all, not everyone had her skills to walk on cliffs and precipices as if on flat ground. Going down recklessly could easily lead to injuries.
In this day and age, breaking your arms or legs was as good as being scrapped.
But they had already come this far, there was no way she would let anyone leave and spread the news.
Li Yao said, "I can tell you, there is no danger in this gorge."
"Just because you say there isn't doesn't mean there isn't," someone said. "Besides, with such steep cliffs, what if something happens?"
"I've already built a small path earlier."
"I'm still not going!"
Someone stood up.
This person was Fang Mingtai, the third son of Fang Shian, 20 years old this year. Although his eldest brother worked with Li Yao in the braised food business, he himself was quite a troublemaker in the village, and did not submit to Li Yao.
"Whoever wants to go can go. I'm going home."
Having said that, Fang Mingtai threw down his basket and turned to leave.
Of course Li Yao would not let him leave. But she did not intend to take action personally either. Instead, she told Wang Yuanbang, "Tie him up."
Wang Yuanbang was taken aback. This was probably inappropriate, right?
He wasn't a government official, what right did he have to tie someone up?
Seeing his hesitation, Li Yao said again, "What, you won't listen to what I say?"
Wang Yuanbang steeled his heart. Tie him up it was.
When he left home, his mother had told him to listen to Sister-In-Law in everything.
So he signalled the Wang family youths with his eyes. They swarmed up and pressed Fang Mingtai to the ground, and began tying him up.
"What are you trying to do? Let me go!"
"Wang Yuanbang, I'm not done with you!"
"You B*tch surnamed Li..."
"Gag him too," said Li Yao.
Wang Yuanbang and the others tore off a piece of cloth, and gagged Fang Mingtai's mouth tightly.
With his body unable to move and his mouth unable to speak, Fang Mingtai could only glare fiercely at Li Yao, ready to fight her the moment he was freed.
Li Yao was too lazy to bother with him further. She told the others, "Now that we're here, you have to listen to me. If anyone still refuses to obey, I don't mind tying you to a tree and feeding you to the wolves."
Everyone swallowed involuntarily. No one dared suggest going back anymore. They all knew this shrew Li Yao really would do something like that.
After sufficient rest, Li Yao led the group onwards, following the small path she had prepared earlier. They reached the bottom of the gorge without incident.
This was everyone's first time at the valley floor. Though they were all strapping youths, they were incredibly nervous. Fortunately, after walking a stretch, they discovered there were no man-eating beasts covering the ground as rumoured, nor any poisonous miasma. Gradually, they began to relax a little.
Soon, they reached the end of the gorge. Wang Yuanbang realized there was no more path ahead and asked, "Sister-in-law, it looks like the path ends here."
"This is it."
Everyone looked around. All they saw was wild grass everywhere, and they were even more confused.
"Sister-in-law, what are we doing?"
"Watch."
Li Yao parted the grass to reveal a sweet potato vine, then forcefully dug into the earth with a hoe. Very quickly, she unearthed several sweet potatoes.
Having never seen such things before, everyone was intrigued.
"Sister-in-law, are these medicinal herbs?"
Li Yao smiled and shook her head. She peeled one with a knife, then took a loud crunchy bite.
Seeing her eat it directly, everyone held their breath, their hearts involuntarily beating faster.
In times of famine like these, what could make one's heart pound more than edible food?
"Try it too, they're pretty good raw."
"Alright, I'll dig!"
More sweet potatoes were unearthed. Wang Yuanbang impatiently peeled one and took a huge bite.
Accompanying the crunchy sounds in his mouth, Wang Yuanbang's eyes grew brighter, his expression more and more delighted. "So sweet!"
"Yes, really delicious!"
"Auntie Li, what is this called?"
"It's called sweet potato," said Li Yao. "This field is full of them, enough to feed the whole village until next year."
"Full of them?"
"Enough to feed the whole village until next year?"
Everyone could hardly resist jumping up and down!
Currently in the village, families who could still eat their fill were few and far between. Then suddenly manna from heaven in the form of this large patch of sweet potatoes had fallen from the sky. How could they not be excited to the point of trembling all over?
"But let me make this clear first," Li Yao said. "This is our Hé Wān village's food supply. No one can leave before we finish digging everything up, and you definitely can't let this information leak out."
"Don't worry Sister-in-law, none of us are fools."
"Also, the distribution of sweet potatoes will be based mainly on those who work more get more," Li Yao said, deliberately glancing at Fang Mingtai. "Those who didn't contribute any effort won't get a single one."
Tied to the tree, Fang Mingtai's guts were twisting in regret.
If only he had known Sister-in-law brought them here to dig for food, he would have gladly submitted to her instead of talking back!
Now, just because of his momentary temper, he could only watch enviously as others' households obtained food while he remained bound here to suffer.
He looked pleadingly at Li Yao, hoping she would give him a chance. But Li Yao ignored him and began leading the others in work.
They were all brawny youths in their prime. Together with the hard work of several oxen, their enthusiasm exceeded even burning coals.
Under Wang Yuanbang's arrangement, some specialized in ploughing while others searched for sweet potatoes in the overturned earth. Before long, they had unearthed a large pile.
"There must be several hundred catties here already!"
"We've only dug this little area, yet there's so much. It really seems Auntie Li was right, digging up this whole patch will be enough to feed our entire village until next year!"
"It's only expected when you consider who my sister-in-law is," Wang Yuanbang said proudly. "Anyway, Mother said to listen to her in everything from now on."
On top of their excitement, everyone was even more in awe of Li Yao, and increasingly respectful towards her.
Near noon, Li Yao had people gather firewood to build a bonfire, and began roasting sweet potatoes. Soon, the aroma of baked sweet potatoes drifted through the air, making everyone drool uncontrollably.
The soft, sweet roasted sweet potatoes tasted even better than meat when eaten.
While tied to the tree, Fang Mingtai watched enviously as others ate to their heart's content, feeling more uncomfortable than a cat whose tail got stepped on. But he knew Li Yao definitely wouldn't let him have any.
The reputation of being Hé Wān Village's Number One Shrew was no joke.
He sighed deeply in his heart and squeezed his eyes shut.
"Want to eat?"
Suddenly Li Yao's voice sounded before him, giving his heart a jolt. He quickly opened his eyes to see Li Yao holding two roasted sweet potatoes.
The sweet scent wafted over, making him swallow his saliva against his will. He nodded eagerly.
