Acai's Sky

After a long journey, Acai finally returned to the Tianshui Village she had been longing for.

As soon as I stepped into the house, a noisy sound came into my ears. It turned out that various livestock raised in the backyard were playing in unison, as if welcoming their owner's return.

Gao was standing at the backyard door, holding a broom. She gently brushed the snow off Acai and the others, saying with a smile, "Look, these little guys must have heard you coming back. They're so excited!"

At this time, Acai was in a really miserable state. There was a chubby little bear cub hanging on each of her legs. They held her tightly and she could hardly move for a while.

She had no choice but to carefully move to the corner of the wall, then bend down with difficulty and take out two delicious pastries made from precious spiritual fruits from the corner.

Then, she handed the pastries to the little bear cubs, watched them eat them contentedly, and a doting smile appeared on her face.

Li Huaishan had just returned from a walk around the backyard. He frowned and said thoughtfully, "Those green goats we raise seem to have adapted quite well to the environment here. I just don't know if it's my imagination, but I feel like they seem to be growing a little too fast."

Gao waved her hand dismissively and explained with a smile, "What's so strange about that? We keep them here in a pen, and there's no room for them to roam around and expend their energy. We feed them like pigs, feeding them well all day long. It would be strange if they didn't gain weight!"

At this moment, Li Jingqi followed his father Li Huaishan out of the backyard and asked in confusion, "Are we raising pigs at home? Can we handle all the work?"

Gao casually shook the apron around her waist, tied it neatly, and replied, "Alas, many families in the village have bought piglets to raise, so I just followed the trend and bought a few pig cakes. Anyway, we have enough people at home, so it shouldn't be a problem."

You know, all the animals that enter the Li family's gate are surprisingly well-behaved and obedient.

Not only do they actively excrete feces in a specific place, but they also keep themselves clean and do not require any care or attention.

Ah Cai walked slowly along the winding bluestone path towards the backyard.

She held several spiritual rain talismans tightly in her hands and cast them carefully, allowing clear rainwater to flow continuously into the drinking troughs in every cattle shed until the troughs were full.

Then, Ah Cai stretched out her hands again and grabbed several handfuls of fresh and juicy spiritual grass from the basket beside her and scattered them evenly into each animal shed.

As soon as the animals saw the delicious food coming, they swarmed over and fought fiercely for it.

Seeing this, A Cai couldn't help but smile, thinking that these little guys are really greedy!

So she grabbed a few more handfuls of spiritual herbs and threw them in to satisfy their voracious appetite.

Just then, a big-tailed squirrel sneaked up to the musk deer's drinking trough.

I saw it jump onto the edge of the trough nimbly, then lower its head and drink happily. It looked so happy.

Acai accidentally caught a glimpse of this scene and couldn't help but glare at it fiercely.

However, when the big-tailed squirrel noticed Acai's gaze, it just continued to drink water as if nothing had happened, with no intention of leaving.

In fact, Acai doesn’t really hate this big-tailed squirrel.

After all, although this guy is a bit naughty, every time he comes to drink water, he always brings some delicious dried fruits such as pine cones and hazelnuts in exchange.

Moreover, his two elder brothers had gone into the mountains to collect herbs or hunt many times, and this clever big-tailed squirrel had enthusiastically guided them on the way!

There were even several times when, thanks to its help, the brothers were able to successfully collect precious wild Ganoderma lucidum and other rare mountain delicacies.

As night fell and the lights came on, Gao was busy preparing dinner in the kitchen.

She carefully selected fresh ingredients and cooked each dish with care, hoping to let her family enjoy a delicious meal.

In a short while, the table was filled with delicious food.

The first thing that caught my eye was the stir-fried lamb with scallions. The tender lamb was perfectly matched with the fragrant scallions, and after being stir-fried over high heat, it exuded an enticing aroma.

Next is the bright red braised eggplant. After a long stew, the eggplant has absorbed the rich broth and has a soft and glutinous texture with a mellow flavor.

There is also the steaming pot of pickled cabbage and bacon. The sour and refreshing pickled cabbage and the salty and fragrant bacon blend together, which greatly increases your appetite.

The stir-fried potato shreds are fresh and refreshing. The crispy and tender potato shreds are quickly stir-fried in the pan, retaining their original nutrition and taste.

The seaweed fish ball soup is even more delicious. The round fish balls float in the seaweed soup, as if they are jumping happily.

In addition, there are fragrant pancakes and sweet bean buns on the table as staple foods for everyone to choose from.

The family sat around the dining table, laughing and talking happily.

They enjoyed the sumptuous dinner and shared interesting stories of the day, and a warm atmosphere filled the whole room.

At this moment, a familiar shout suddenly came from outside the yard. It was the voice of the eldest son of the Shen family.

After hearing this, Li Jinghong quickly put down his bowl and chopsticks and ran out the door. After a while, he saw him leading the eldest son of the Shen family in strides.

"Oh, you are having dinner, I'm so sorry to bother you! Brother Li, my father has something to ask you, can you come to my house after dinner?" The eldest son of the Shen family said apologetically.

He saw the Li family members sitting around the dining table enjoying delicious food, so he quickly explained his purpose and then tactfully withdrew.

Seeing this, Li Huaishan quickly sped up his eating speed. He devoured the pancake in his hand with big mouthfuls, and then picked up the bowl of hot soup in front of him and drank it all in one gulp.

After hurriedly filling his stomach, he stood up, brushed off the non-existent dust on his body, straightened his clothes, and prepared to go to the Shen family to find out what Doctor Shen wanted to ask him.

Meanwhile, Gao gently served Ah Cai a bowl full of fresh and delicious fish ball soup and softly consoled her, "Don't worry. The Shen family only eats two meals a day, while we eat three, so our meal times are naturally different. Perhaps they forgot about this for a moment!"

After hearing what Gao said, Ah Cai remembered that she had heard before that since the Manchus entered the Pass, they brought the habit of eating two meals a day with them.

Many families in the capital followed suit and changed their original tradition of three meals a day.

But then again, although those families had one less main meal, they still had a lot of snacks in between.

Otherwise, how could they be raised to be strong, tall and mighty, with the energy to spend the whole day fighting cocks or walking the dog and playing?