Li Yao called Wang Er over privately.
"Mother, I was wrong," Wang Er knew he had caused trouble today, so he started admitting his mistake right away, "I shouldn't have hit little uncle."
"No, you did nothing wrong, you hit him well," said Li Yao.
Huh?
Wang Er looked up in disbelief.
Little uncle was expected to pass the imperial examination. Mother used to praise him all the time. Whenever Wang Er complained about little uncle even a little bit, mother would scold him for half a day.
How could mother now say he did nothing wrong and even hit little uncle well?
"Wang Er, I will say this only once, remember it well," said Li Yao, "People are equal, regardless of their status. As long as you act properly and sit upright, there is no need to bow your head to others. When faced with setbacks, you must have an unyielding spirit. When oppressed, you must have the spirit to resist. If you become an official in the future, you must also remember not to do evil, flatter, or slander. Keep the common people in your heart and the country in your embrace. Be a person of integrity and handle matters righteously."
Wang Er was stunned.
When did mother become so knowledgeable?
Is this really my mother?
But mother's words made a lot of sense, and he couldn't help but clench his fists.
"Mother, I will remember everything."
"Well said, well said!" An elderly voice rang out, "I didn't expect a common woman to say such meaningful words, wiser than most literati."
Li Yao looked back and saw that the speaker was an old man with all white hair.
He leaned in to look at the pot, and immediately frowned, "Yet you are also very unreasonable."
"Elder, how was I unreasonable?"
"You made such a delicious stew, but only let me smell it without eating it. Isn't that unreasonable?" said the old man.
Li Yao was a little exasperated.
"Although there is no more stew, there is still gravy, rice and buns. If you don't mind..."
"I don't mind, I don't mind. Hurry and serve me a bowl."
Da Zhuang filled up a whole bowl of rice and poured two scoops of gravy before serving it. The old man wolfed it all down quickly, finishing the entire bowl of stewed rice.
"Marvelous, simply marvelous!"
The old man took out a sizable silver ingot from his sleeve and put it on the table.
"Elder, this is too much."
"It's fine, consider it advance payment for meals," said the old man, "From now on I'll come eat a bowl everyday."
After speaking, the old man left satisfactorily, almost seeming to float away.
Looking at the silver in her hand, Da Zhuang and his brothers were completely confused. This man was too strange.
This silver was at least five coins.
Even eating a bowl everyday, it could last over a month.
It made no sense to pay so much without having eaten anything yet.
"Just take it," said Li Yao, "Go exchange it for copper coins later. Wang Er, keep a separate account just for him. Whether he comes here again or not, remember to deliver a bowl to him everyday."
"Yes mother."
"Let's go, buy ingredients and prepare to go home."
Wang Er took one last look at the academy gates before turning to follow along.
Li Yao saw it all and knew what he was thinking.
After the stew business stabilizes, she would send him to the academy to study.
...
With delicious food every day recently, Li Yao felt like she had gained some weight and was no longer as skinny as a rake.
Indeed, this body had a good foundation.
The absorbed nutrients seemed to know where to go, supplying wherever needed. Her skin had also quickly regained its luster and smoothness. When bathing, Li Yao would blush seeing herself.
With this figure, she would be a top model in modern times.
Drying her damp hair, Li Yao decided she would stop following Da Zhuang to the market starting tomorrow.
These trivial matters had to be let go for them to handle themselves eventually.
But she couldn't idle at home either.
They were running low on spices at home, so she planned to gather more in the mountains this time.
The next day, after Da Zhuang and his brothers went out to set up their stall, Li Yao went into the mountains alone.
Many villagers went into the mountains in groups to dig wild vegetables, but Li Yao avoided them.
It wasn't that she was petty.
The secrets of the spices couldn't be revealed yet.
Also, that valley was very dangerous. Ordinary people could not go down there, or they may lose their lives. She could not take on that responsibility.
But before she even entered the woods, someone followed behind her.
Seeing the person's appearance from afar, Li Yao immediately frowned.
Zhu Yougui.
This man was the most notorious lazybones in River Bend Village. Already over thirty years old but still a bachelor. If not for his old mother supporting him, he probably would have starved.
This kind of person, Li Yao wouldn't believe he came to dig vegetables even if he was beaten to death.
So his purpose in following her could be guessed easily.
If she didn't teach him a lesson today, he would pester her endlessly in the future.
"Zhu Yougui!" Li Yao walked out from behind a tree and coldly asked, "Why are you following me?"
Just as Zhu Yougui thought he had lost Li Yao and felt regretful, seeing her take the initiative to come out, his face immediately showed joy.
"Hehe, I thought you could really endure it!" Zhu Yougui said as he tried to get closer, "Little widow, you've been widowed for so long, must really miss a man right? Hurry up, I'm still a virgin. It'll be your gain. Remember to deliver a few bowls of your stew to me afterwards."
Li Yao sneered.
It seemed scum men existed in every era.
Slap!
The bamboo cane in her hand mercilessly whipped Zhu Yougui's body.
"You slut, why did you hit me?" In pain, Zhu Yougui retreated a few steps, face full of resentment, "You seduced me first, yet now you want to turn your face and pretend not to recognize me?"
Li Yao almost laughed from anger: "I seduced you?"
"You're dressed so attractively, and deliberately avoided others, walking right in front of me on purpose. If that's not seduction, then what is it?"
Li Yao was truly speechless.
For this sort of Indian-returned type, there was no need to be polite. Going straight to coercive measures was the way.
Slap slap slap!
The bamboo cane in her hand relentlessly chased and flogged Zhu Yougui.
Zhu Yougui wanted to dodge and run, but the cane seemed to have grown eyes, accurately striking his body every time no matter how he twisted and turned. He cried and screamed in pain until the bamboo cane fragmented, and his whole body was swollen and bruised before stopping.
"Dare to come within fifty steps of me again, you'll be sorry! Scram!"
Watching Zhu Yougui flee in panic, Li Yao lightly breathed a sigh of relief.
In this era, being too beautiful and having too good a figure, especially as a young widow, also seemed to be a hassle.
Looks like she'd have to keep a lower profile when going out in the future.
After settling her mood, Li Yao went down into the valley again.
This time, not only did she gather enough spices, but she also dug some specific herbs and wild plants.
There were no mosquito nets at home, and she was bothered by mosquitoes every night, unable to sleep well with bites all over her body. So she planned to make some herbal ointment.
