Chapter 57: Gastrodia and Eagle Stew
“Caw.”
“Caw.”
“Caw.”
Under a massive tree, a strong human was wandering around.
Qin Luoxia stood in the mountains not far from home.
It really wasn’t that far; at her current pace, she hadn’t even reached the neighboring county.
She had passed by here last time and discovered a towering tree, but she had been in too much of a hurry to stay long.
However, after going back and thinking carefully, she recalled that there seemed to be eagles resting in that tree.
She had headed for this big tree first thing in the morning, and upon arriving, she began pacing around it.
In human eyes, she looked like a fit woman circling the tree and gazing up, giving off a somewhat artistic vibe.
In the eyes of the animals, she looked like a bear-like creature circling the tree, wondering what animal on the tree she was trying to eat.
The birds in the forest were chirping in alarm.
She waited with great patience.
When noon arrived and the scorching sun was overhead, a large eagle indeed circled in the sky before descending.
Qin Luoxia held the slingshot she had made herself, using the sinew of the python she had caught previously, tied to a Y-shaped branch; by placing a stone inside and pulling it back, she could fire the stone.
She had been practicing for a long time.
At the very moment the eagle landed, she pulled back the snake sinew and released it with force.
“Bang!”
“Bang!”
“Bang!”
She fired three stones in quick succession.
A shrill cry echoed in the air, and then a massive eagle fell down, blood splattering everywhere.
This time, Qin Luoxia didn’t bother cleaning it; she simply tucked the eagle’s head under its wing, stuffed it into her basket, and hurried back.
Gastrodia and eagle stew could treat head ailments.
She had heard her husband mention it.
Fenger’s injury was on his head; it had hurt his head. Looking at the child these past few days, he seemed different; the child’s eyes looked as if he had been frightened, filled with terror.
When she went to see him at night, he didn’t sleep sprawled out like before, but curled up into a ball. She worried there were some lingering effects, which was why she thought of this recipe.
Her husband had brought back some gastrodia.
Eagles were hard to come by.
Today, she had finally caught one.
Qin Luoxia rushed home with wild grass piled on top of her basket.
Hurrying as fast as she could, she still only made it back by the time of the evening glow.
Mother hadn’t entered the house yet.
Jiang Mianmian smelled Mother’s scent from far away.
She began to babble, “Yi ya ya ya.”
Hearing her sister’s sound, Jiang Yu instinctively looked up and, sure enough, saw Mother returning.
She stood up excitedly.
Meanwhile, Meng Shaoxia and Young Master He Chen, hearing that Brother Jiang’s Mother had returned, also stood up.
Since they were sworn brothers with Jiang Feng, they were naturally Aunt Qin’s juniors.
After waiting for a while, they finally saw a robust, ruddy-faced woman carrying a basket.
She gave off a very vibrant impression.
They had actually seen her once before on the road outside the city, but they hadn’t looked closely because they had encountered a Kidnapper at the time.
Upon arriving home, Qin Luoxia discovered guests—two youths in brocade clothes at the door. They were the very young masters who had saved her family that day. She said warmly, “Perfect, stay for dinner tonight; you must stay. Sister Yu!”
Jiang Yu had learned to answer ahead of time: “Mother, I’ve already borrowed the grain.”
Qin Luoxia blushed, feeling slightly embarrassed. This brat’s mouth.
Jiang Mianmian: “Yi ya ya ya, yi ya ya.” (Mother, look at me, look at me.)
“You all sit and drink tea; I’ll go cook, it will be ready soon. When my husband returns, I’ll have him chat with you.”
Last time, she had been looking for her daughter and hadn’t paid any attention to the people; she had just barged straight in, looking incredibly fierce.
Since everyone in the village was familiar, Qin Luoxia was usually relaxed and straightforward.
However, facing such young masters from the capital, Qin Luoxia was still a bit nervous. She didn’t dare look at them much, feeling she wasn’t worthy of speaking. If only her husband were here; he could talk.
Qin Luoxia washed up and came to hold Mianmian.
She also dragged away her eldest daughter, who was still staring at the snacks.
Jiang Yu: ヽ(￣︿￣) —C
Jiang Mianmian was contentedly hugging Mother and suckling milk, until she saw her elder sister pull a massive eagle out of Mother’s basket of wild vegetables.
“Pfft!” She choked on her milk!
So, the idea of eagles snatching children wasn’t just to scare people? This eagle was definitely big enough to snatch a child.
Mother’s wild vegetable basket was truly like Doraemon’s pocket; besides wild vegetables, it had everything in it.
“Mother, such a big bird, the wings must be delicious,” Jiang Yu said, swallowing her saliva.
Young Master He Chen and Meng Shaoxia, sitting under the big tree at the courtyard entrance, looked inside, following Jiang Yu’s words.
Because the door was open, they could see right in.
The little girl was holding a massive eagle?? It looked like it weighed dozens of catties?? Something this big was rarely seen in the sky; how did she catch it??
Their bows and arrows couldn’t reach that range unless there was a world-famous master archer. Or perhaps finding the eagle’s nest, but the nests of eagles this large were usually extremely high and treacherous, difficult to find easily.
“This is a medicinal ingredient to stew with gastrodia; it can cure illnesses. You all should drink plenty tonight,” Qin Luoxia said happily.
As long as she did something good for her family, no matter how difficult it was, she felt it was worth it.
“Cough, cough, cough.” Jiang Mianmian really did choke on her milk.
She had once heard a diabetic patient say that gastrodia and eagle stew could cure headaches, because he had bought an eagle, was sentenced to a year, ate on time in prison, got his scheduled outdoor time, worked on schedule, and slept on schedule. A year later, he was released, and hey, his headache was gone.
After getting out of prison, he overated and developed diabetes.
Jiang Mianmian looked curiously at the massive eagle; it couldn’t even fit in one pot. It looked like the one that flew out of the mountains the other day—so, so big.
“Mother, how did you catch it? I can’t even catch the little birds in the trees,” Jiang Yu asked curiously.
Qin Luoxia held her daughter upright, resting her head on her shoulder, and gently patted her back. After patting a few times, she said, “I don’t know how it got injured. I saw it on the road and just picked it up.”
Jiang Yu: …
Jiang Mianmian: …
