In the courtyard, a large square table was set up.
The table was filled with farm-style dishes, including stir-fried bamboo shoots with cured meat, braised pig's trotters, twice-cooked pork, braised pork, a medley of three vegetables, freshly baked corn cakes, and so on.
The largest dish in the center was chicken stewed with mushrooms.
It was fragrant and steaming hot.
Lu Fei and his two companions immediately started salivating.
"We haven't had a proper meal in days, and I'm sure you're all hungry. Don't be polite! Brother Lu, Hu Zi, Brother Jing, come and sit down and eat."
Zhao Fengchun warmly invited the three to sit down and placed a large bowl with a big bone with meat for the small black dog under the table.
The small black dog wagged its tail at him and then started gnawing on the bone vigorously.
Lu Fei swallowed and said, "Brother Zhao, where is your father? It's not right for us to start eating without greeting the elders when we are guests at your home."
"My father can't get out of bed; he's lying down. It's fine, we can see him after we finish eating. Let's eat first," Zhao Fengchun waved his hand with a smile.
"We should still greet him first."
Lu Fei stood up, suppressing the protests of his stomach.
"Yeah, otherwise we'd seem so impolite and greedy..." Hu Zi laughed hehe, struggling to tear his eyes away from the fragrant and appetizing meal.
Jing Jian kept his mouth tightly shut, afraid that speaking would make him drool.
"That works, let's just say hello and come right back."
Zhao Fengchun led the three into a bedroom.
Although the room was simple, it was clean and tidy.
On the bed lay an emaciated and elderly man, with sparse, white hair and a sallow complexion.
"Dad, Brother Lu and the others want to see you before they eat," Zhao Fengchun propped up his father's upper body with a pillow.
"Hello, sir!"
Lu Fei and the others smiled and nodded at the old man.
"You are all good people!" The old man coughed after every few words, looking at the three with eyes full of gratitude.
"My Fengchun is lucky to have met you...cough, cough, cough...my old body doesn't matter, the Zhao family has only Fengchun as the sole descendant...."
"You are the benefactors of our Zhao family..."
The old man struggled to support his body, wanting to bow to the three.
"Oh, sir, you flatter us!" Lu Fei hurriedly went to help him, gently patting his back and helping him lie down.
"Sir, you are a mountain guardian, a respected elder we should all honor. It's what we should do."
"Actually, it's not our credit, it's mainly because you have a filial child! Now that we have the ginseng, don't think about anything else, just take care of yourself!"
"It's best for you and your son to be together!"
The old man's bony, cold hand gripped Lu Fei's tightly, tears welling up in his eyes, too moved to speak.
"Fengchun, what are you standing there for? Quickly...quickly take our benefactors to eat!"
"Good! Good!"
Zhao Fengchun, standing to the side, wiped his eyes, covered his father with a quilt, and hurriedly led Lu Fei and the two others to have dinner.
Back at the dining table.
Lu Fei and the two others sat down again.
Huzi eagerly picked up his chopsticks.
Lu Fei looked around and said, "Why are there only three of us? What about the aunt who cooked for us? She worked hard all day. We should invite her to eat with us."
"It's okay, you guys go ahead and eat. There's food left in the kitchen. I still need to take a portion over to Uncle Luo..."
"Who is this?"
"He's the village's old herbalist. He's the one who looked after my dad. He came by this morning and took the ginseng roots to make medicine."
"If that's the case, why don't we invite this Uncle Luo to join us for dinner?"
Since this old doctor can save a dying person, he might be a reclusive master. Lu Fei was quite eager to meet him.
"Well... then you all start eating first, I will go and invite him right away."
Zhao Fengchun hobbled out of the courtyard.
"Oh my god, when on earth will we get to eat this meal?"
Huzi looked at the table full of food but couldn't start eating yet. He was so anxious, like a cat scratching at his heart, that he even considered snatching the meat bones from the little black dog.
Jing Jian didn't say a word, his expression seemingly calm, but the thunderous rumbling of his stomach gave him away.
"Just bear with it for a while longer. No matter how hungry we are, we shouldn't lose our manners." Lu Fei said, taking a sip of tea.
Huzi swallowed, then looked down at the little black dog gnawing on a large meat bone, and spoke in a negotiating tone, "Little Black, let's make a deal, could you lend me a few bites of your meat? When we get back home, I'll pay you double."
The little black dog simply turned its butt towards him and started gnawing with even more vigor.
A suppressed giggle came from the side.
The three of them turned their heads to look.
Standing in the kitchen doorway was a woman around fifty years old, who should be the auntie in charge of cooking.
"Auntie, come over and eat with us," Lu Fei said with a smile, beckoning her over.
"No, no, I've already eaten. If you're hungry, go ahead and eat. We're all from the same village, no need to be so formal."
Auntie walked out and handed chopsticks to each of the three people.
"That old man Luo is so slow. If we wait for him, who knows when we'll get to eat? Go ahead and eat!"
Just as she finished speaking,
an aged but powerful voice came from outside the courtyard.
"Old Third's wife, what bad things are you saying about me now? Next time your little grandson has a stomachache, I won't treat him anymore."
Then,
Zhao Fengchun then entered the courtyard with an old man whose hair was completely silver.
The old man was simply dressed, but his eyes were full of spirit, and he wore a kind smile on his face.
"This old man, slow in movement, but sharp in hearing!" The aunt laughed and went to the kitchen to fetch a set of bowls and chopsticks. "If you don't treat him, I'll have him cry at your house and see if your ears can stand it!"
"I can't handle it, I can't handle it! A woman and a small person are hard to deal with, the ancients did not deceive me!" The old man shook his head.
"You're always quoting books, I should teach my Second Dog more characters when I have time. You guys eat slowly, I'll go home to check on the children first."
With that, the aunt quickly left the courtyard.
Seeing that Lu Fei and the others were standing, the old man hurriedly waved his hand: "Why are you all standing? Sit, sit down! Old San may not have other skills, but his cooking is superb! I'm also lucky to benefit from you today!"
"Let's eat first, we can talk after we finish our meal!"
Everyone sat down again.
Finally, they could start eating.
Lu Fei first served a bowl of chicken soup to warm his stomach.
The soup was made with a free-range chicken killed that day, along with dried mushrooms picked from the mountains, slowly simmered over a low flame for the entire morning.
When it was done, a handful of chopped scallions was sprinkled on top.
The aroma filled the air.
Lu Fei couldn't help but marvel at the aunt's culinary skills, which were genuinely impressive and far surpassed those of the chefs in the city.
After drinking the soup, Lu Fei began to eat the other dishes.
Hu Zi took a piece of braised pork with one chopstick and a piece of pig's trotter with another.
Jing Jian ate silently and intently.
Lu Fei had thought that the elderly man and Zhao Fengchun would be more reserved, but they also ate heartily, without any hesitation.
The main reason was that the food was simply too delicious.
Everyone remained silent, quietly eating.
They ate with great speed and enthusiasm.
When they were nearly done, Zhao Fengchun picked up the corn liquor he had brewed himself and filled up the glasses for Lu Fei and the other two.
"Brother Lu, Huson, Brother Jing, let me first toast you. I won't say much, it's all in this drink. You guys help yourselves, I'll finish mine!"
After saying that, he tipped his head back and downed the glass. A rosy flush immediately spread across his face.
The elderly Mr. Luo wiped his mouth, looking at the three of them with a smile, as if sizing them up.