Di dapur, bahan-bahan memasak mengejutkan Mu Shuangshuang.
Di balok-balok kayu, tergantung beberapa pon daging babi lima rasa, di atas talenan ada dua sampai tiga pon daging sapi, dan setengah ayam panggang, tapi sayur hijau sangat sedikit.
Mungkin karena para pria itu tidak suka makan sayur.
Mu Shuangshuang melirik sekilas dan tahu bahan-bahan itu cukup untuk kelompok itu makan dengan puas.
Mu Shuangshuang mengangguk, empat wanita masuk, satu mencuci sayur, satu memotong, satu menjaga api, dan sisanya membantu mencuci beras untuk dimasak.
"Kamu... bisa masak?" Mu Shuangshuang memandang anak dari Keluarga Xue dengan rasa penasaran.
Tapi segera dia membantah pikirannya sendiri.
Anak kaya seperti itu pasti tidak bisa masak.
Cuma karena dia kenal keluarganya, jadi berada di sisinya lebih aman.
"Mau keluar mencari sayur liar?"
Wilayah para penculik dekat kaki gunung, seharusnya banyak sayur liar di sana.
Anak dari Keluarga Xue ragu sejenak, lalu mengangguk.
Mu Shuangshuang sepertinya punya cara dengan anak-anak, kebanyakan anak cepat akrab dengannya, kecuali anak-anak aneh dari Keluarga Mu Tua.
Gunung ini jarang dikunjungi orang, berarti barang-barang gunung di sini belum tersentuh.
Mu Shuangshuang membawa bakul bambu kecil, ngobrol dengan anak dari Keluarga Xue di jalan.
Kemudian Mu Shuangshuang langsung bertanya, "Nama kamu apa? Aku nggak bisa terus memanggil kamu nak, nak."
"Xue Zheng!" Xue Zheng menjawab dengan suara anak-anak.
Sekarang dia sudah cukup percaya pada Mu Shuangshuang.
Lagi pula, hal-hal yang dibicarakan Mu Shuangshuang semuanya baru baginya.
Kadang beberapa jamur, kadang beberapa sayur liar.
Mu Shuangshuang jongkok memetik jamur, sementara Xue Zheng mengawasi di samping, tiba-tiba dia melihat jamur yang sangat cantik, saat akan menjangkau memetiknya seperti Mu Shuangshuang, tangannya dihentikan.
"Jangan, itu jamur racun fly agaric, jamur ini beracun!" Melihat ekspresi terkejut Xue Zheng, Mu Shuangshuang menambah, "Alam memang begini, semakin menarik sesuatu, semakin beracun dia bisa jadi. Justru yang biasa-biasa ini yang bisa dimakan."
Mu Shuangshuang menunjuk ke jamur yang sangat biasa.
Xue Zheng mengangguk, tampak memikirkan sesuatu.
"Baiklah, kita pulang, nanti aku harus masak!"
Sampai di dalam, para wanita sudah menyiapkan bahan yang dibutuhkan, membersihkan sayur liar dan jamur, Mu Shuangshuang mulai memasak.
Xue Zheng berdiri hanya sejengkal dari Mu Shuangshuang, ke mana dia bergerak, dia mengikuti, seolah takut menjauh darinya.
Mu Shuangshuang tidak memperhatikan.
Ikan rebus, babi kecap, dan daging sapi pedas; Mu Shuangshuang masak tiga hidangan besar, dan memakai irisan daging untuk membuat sup dengan sayur dan jamur.
Makanan siap, kelompok wanita itu bergegas datang tanpa sopan santun, Mu Shuangshuang sudah menduga dan menyisihkan porsi untuk dirinya dan Xue Zheng, ditambah gadis kecil yang bereaksi paling cepat.
Dia cukup banyak bicara, ceria, tipe yang manis mulutnya memanggil Kakak Shuangshuang, Kakak Shuangshuang.
Tidak canggung sedikit pun.
Makan selesai, kelompok itu baru istirahat sebentar orang pemerintah tiba.
Satu tim, semua datang terburu-buru naik kuda cepat, dipimpin Lu Yuanfeng di depan.
Dari jauh dia kelihatan seperti pemimpin rombongan.
Mu Shuangshuang merasa Lu Yuanfeng sangat tampan, bahkan agak penasaran dia kelihatan seperti apa saat berkuda berperang.
Setelah memandang beberapa kali lagi, Mu Shuangshuang bahkan memperhatikan ada kereta di akhir barisan, kereta yang jelas bukan dari rumah biasa, yang belum pernah dia lihat meski berkali-kali ke kota.
Dia pikir, pasti Keluarga Xue yang datang.
"Xue Zheng, paman kedua mu ada di sini, nanti kamu bisa pergi bersamanya!"
Setelah satu makan, persahabatan revolusioner Mu Shuangshuang dan Xue Zheng sudah cukup dalam, dan di jalan dia sudah membuatnya tertawa beberapa kali.
Cuma tidak tahu apakah dia terlalu bergantung pada Mu Shuangshuang.
Saat bicara, Xue Zheng tiba-tiba memeluk pinggang Mu Shuangshuang.
Badan Mu Shuangshuang kaku, bocah nakal ini tidak main memanfaatkan dia, ya?
"Hei, Xue Zheng, ada apa?" Mu Shuangshuang bertanya.
"Aku nggak mau pulang, aku mau tinggal sama kamu..." Xue Zheng bergumam pelan.
"Nggak boleh, kamu nggak tinggal di sini, kamu..." Mu Shuangshuang ragu di tengah kalimat, merasakan kelembaban di pinggangnya.
Sepertinya Xue Zheng meneteskan air mata, tadi kan baik-baik saja?
Mu Shuangshuang berharap Keluarga Xue segera tiba.
Tapi kereta Keluarga Xue perlahan, sementara orang pemerintah sudah sampai.
Lu Yuanfeng melompat dari kuda, membawa hembusan angin, Mu Shuangshuang merasa posisi mereka dengan Xue Zheng bisa disalah arti, buru-buru menjelaskan.
"Anak ini nangis, Fengzi, bisakah kamu bantu panggil orang di dalam kereta?"
Baru selesai bicara, tangan di pinggangnya makin kencang.
Seolah takut dia lari.
Xue Yi turun dari kereta, menyaksikan adegan ini.
Dia tidak buru-buru mendekat, biarkan Xue Zheng memeluk Mu Shuangshuang sebentar lagi.
Sampai Mu Shuangshuang mengertakkan gigi baru dia mendekat.
"Ah Zheng, ayo pulang, nenekmu merindukanmu."
Xue Yi tampak tenang, seolah tidak ada apa-apa.
Nyonya Tua Xue pasti beda, kemarin dia cemas sampai tidak makan tidak tidur.
Keluarga Xue mengerahkan semua pengawal dan pelayan, tetap tidak ketemu.
Kalau bukan Lu Yuanfeng mengumpulkan orang pagi ini, kemungkinan Nyonya Tua Xue sudah gila.
Xue Yi berutang budi pada Mu Shuangshuang, untungnya dia beda dengan orang lain, tahu memperbaiki kesalahan, membalas budi tanpa pamrih.
"Nona Shuangshuang, terima kasih kamu dan Yuan Feng sudah menyelamatkan Ah Zheng kami. Aku tidak tahu cara berterima kasih yang benar. Aku tahu kamu sudah berpisah dengan Jiu Si Xuan, apakah berminat bermitra dengan aku berbisnis? Kesepakatan di antara kita pasti lebih baik daripada dengan Zheng Zhi!"
Xue Yi percaya diri, memakai orang tanpa ragu, tidak seperti Zheng Zhi yang mudah terpengaruh.
Kalau ragu timbul, dia akan mempertimbangkan penilaiannya sendiri.
"Belum kupikirkan matang; nanti kalau sudah, kita bicarakan lagi."
Mu Shuangshuang tidak langsung setuju, masih ragu soal kolaborasi ini.
In the kitchen, the ingredients for cooking surprised Mu Shuangshuang.
On the beams, hung a few pounds of five-flavor pork, on the chopping board, there were two to three pounds of beef, and half a roasted chicken, but pitifully little green vegetables.
Probably because those men disliked eating vegetables.
Mu Shuangshuang glanced around casually and knew these ingredients were enough for the group to enjoy a good meal.
Mu Shuangshuang nodded, four women entered, one washed vegetables, another cut them, one kept the fire going, and the rest helped rinse rice to cook.
"You... can cook?" Mu Shuangshuang looked at the child from the Xue Family with curiosity.
But soon denied her own thought.
Such pampered kids wouldn’t know how to cook.
It’s just because she knew his family, staying by her side made him safer.
"Shall we go out and pick some wild vegetables?"
The traffickers’ territory was close to the mountainside, there should be a lot of wild vegetables at the foot of the mountain.
The child from the Xue Family hesitated, and then nodded.
Mu Shuangshuang seemed to have a knack with kids, most children tended to warm up to her, except for those oddballs from the Old Mu Family.
This mountain, seldom visited by people, meant the mountain goods here hadn’t been touched.
Mu Shuangshuang carried a little bamboo basket, chatting with the child from the Xue Family along the way.
Later on, Mu Shuangshuang simply asked, "What’s your name? I can’t keep calling you kid, kid."
"Xue Zheng!" Xue Zheng responded in a childish voice.
By now he had basically trusted Mu Shuangshuang.
Moreover, the things Mu Shuangshuang mentioned were all new to him.
Sometimes it was several mushrooms, sometimes a few wild vegetables.
Mu Shuangshuang squatted down to pick mushrooms, while Xue Zheng watched beside her, suddenly he saw a particularly beautiful mushroom, just as he was about to reach out and pick it like Mu Shuangshuang, she stopped his hand.
"Don’t, it’s a poisonous fly agaric, these mushrooms are toxic!" Seeing Xue Zheng’s surprised look, Mu Shuangshuang added, "Nature is like this, the more enticing things are, the more poisonous they can be. Instead, these ordinary looking ones are edible."
Mu Shuangshuang pointed to the very ordinary mushroom.
Xue Zheng nodded, looking thoughtful.
"Alright, let’s head back, I need to cook later!"
Upon returning indoors, the women had prepared the ingredients she needed, cleaning the wild vegetables and mushrooms, Mu Shuangshuang began to cook.
Xue Zheng stood just a foot away from Mu Shuangshuang, wherever she moved, he followed, seemingly afraid to stray far from her.
Mu Shuangshuang didn’t notice.
Boiled fish fillets, braised pork, and spicy beef; Mu Shuangshuang made three big dishes, and used the meat slices to make a soup with vegetables and mushrooms.
Once the meal was ready, the group of women rushed over without decorum, Mu Shuangshuang anticipated this and had reserved a portion of food for herself and Xue Zheng, plus the little girl who had reacted first.
She’s quite talkative, lively, the type with a sweet tongue calling Sister Shuangshuang, Sister Shuangshuang.
Nothing awkward at all.
After the meal, the group only rested for a moment when the government people arrived.
A team, all hurried over on fast horses, led by Lu Yuanfeng at the forefront.
From afar, he looked like the leader of the troupe.
Mu Shuangshuang found Lu Yuanfeng incredibly handsome, even a bit curious about how he looked when riding for battle.
After glancing a few more times, Mu Shuangshuang even noticed a carriage at the end of the team, a carriage clearly not from ordinary households, one she hadn’t seen despite numerous trips to the town.
She thought, it must be the Xue Family arriving.
"Xue Zheng, your second uncle is here, you can go with him later!"
After a meal, Mu Shuangshuang and Xue Zheng’s revolutionary friendship had deepened quite a bit, and along the way, she had made him laugh a couple of times.
Though wasn’t sure if he was too reliant on Mu Shuangshuang.
As she spoke, Xue Zheng suddenly hugged Mu Shuangshuang’s waist.
Mu Shuangshuang’s body stiffened, this little rascal was not taking advantage of her, was he?
"Hey, Xue Zheng, what’s up?" Mu Shuangshuang asked.
"I’m not going back, I want to stay with you..." Xue Zheng mumbled softly.
"No, you don’t live here, you..." Mu Shuangshuang hesitated halfway through her words, sensing some dampness around her waist.
It seemed Xue Zheng was shedding tears, wasn’t he just fine a moment ago?
Mu Shuangshuang wished the Xue Family would hurry up.
Yet, the Xue Family carriage ambled along, while the government people had arrived.
Lu Yuanfeng leapt off the horse, bringing a gust of wind, Mu Shuangshuang felt their position with Xue Zheng might be misunderstood, quickly explaining.
"This child is crying, Fengzi, could you help call the people in the carriage over?"
Just as she finished speaking, the hands around her waist tightened.
As if afraid she might run away.
Xue Yi stepped down from the carriage, witnessing this scene.
He didn’t rush over, instead letting Xue Zheng hold Mu Shuangshuang for a while longer.
Not until Mu Shuangshuang was gritting her teeth did he come over.
"Xue Zheng, your second uncle has really arrived, see for yourself." Mu Shuangshuang placed her hand on Xue Zheng’s back.
Xue Zheng suddenly found courage, resisting Mu Shuangshuang’s words, refusing to let go.
"Xue Zheng, want to see even more beautiful mountains, pick more mushrooms, and go hunting?"
Mu Shuangshuang coaxed Xue Zheng softly.
"If you don’t let go, I’ll go on my own."
Only then did Xue Zheng release her.
Cannot deny Mu Shuangshuang’s knack for coaxing kids.
Otherwise, Xue Zheng wouldn’t be this obedient.
It’s only now that Xue Yi approached.
"Ah Zheng, let’s go home, your grandma misses you."
Xue Yi remained unfazed, appearing as if nothing happened.
Old Mrs. Xue wouldn’t have been the same, yesterday she was anxious to the point of not eating or sleeping.
The Xue Family deployed all guards and servants, and still couldn’t find anyone.
If it weren’t for Lu Yuanfeng gathering people in the morning, it’s likely Old Mrs. Xue would have been distraught.
Xue Yi owed Mu Shuangshuang gratitude, fortunately, he differed from others, knowing to amend mistakes, repaying kindness without reservation.
"Miss Shuangshuang, thank you and Yuan Feng for rescuing our Ah Zheng. I don’t know how to properly thank you. I know you parted ways with Jiu Si Xuan, are you interested in partnering with me on business? The rapport between us would definitely be better than with Zheng Zhi!"
Xue Yi was confident, employing people without doubts, unlike Zheng Zhi, easily swayed.
Should doubts arise, he would question his judgment.
"I haven’t thought it through yet; when I have, we can discuss further."
Mu Shuangshuang didn’t commit outright, unsure about the collaboration just yet.
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