Is the beginning of a catastrophe? The little farm cook is raising a family with a full warehouse.

Everyone sat around the steaming hot pot in the cave, enjoying the delicious food in front of them.

For a moment, the cave was filled with the rich aroma of meat. After the hot pot feast was over and the dishes were put down, everyone was still in high spirits, so they moved around and sat around the fire to warm themselves.

The flickering firelight illuminated everyone's face. As light and shadow intertwined, the subtle details of the eyebrows and eyes gradually became hazy, leaving only a warm orange halo outlining the contours of the face.

The feeling of fullness made her feel sleepy. After digesting the food by the fire, Zhou Xiufang was the first to give up and got up to rest.

Cheng Jingzhu and Cheng Yueli also dozed off. The two of them snuggled together and fell asleep quietly.

Their breathing was soft and even, clearly audible in the quiet cave, interweaving with the occasional crackling of firewood in the fire to form a peaceful melody.

The faint firelight fell on their young faces, reflecting a faint golden-red glow, and their long eyelashes cast a small shadow under their eyelids.

Everything around seemed to be still, only the light and shadow of the flames swayed on the wall of the cave.

Cheng Yuntao stood up, and Shen Shulan also stepped forward to lend a hand, carrying the brother and sister to their respective small beds, taking off their outer clothes, shoes and socks, and stuffing them into the warm quilt.

When they returned to the fire, only their intertwined figures remained.

Shen Shulan also felt a lot more relaxed. Looking at Cheng Yuntao's profile, she felt a desire to confide in her, wanting to tell her what had happened during this period of time.

But when she was about to speak, she was afraid that she would be too inappropriate and annoy others.

When Shen Shulan hesitated, Cheng Yuntao saw what she was thinking and said, "Sister Shen, do you have anything to say to me?"

Shen Shulan nodded slowly: "I..."

"Just say whatever you want to say. I can't do anything else to help you, but I can listen to your concerns and help you solve your problems."

"I've already considered you my friend. Friends can say whatever they want to say. Don't restrict yourself too much."

"Or...would you like to have a bowl of refreshing cold shrimp and chat while we eat?"

Cheng Yuntao turned sideways and looked straight at Shen Shulan. Her long, ink-black hair fell softly on her fox fur coat, and a few strands of hair were dyed a light golden red by the firelight.

Her face was faintly pink in the interweaving of light and shadow, her eyes were bright and lively, just like a clear spring in the mountains, her lips were slightly raised, revealing a bright smile.

Shen Shulan was stunned for a moment, a little confused: "Cold shrimp? What is cold shrimp?"

"You'll know later. Just tell me if you want to eat something sweet." Cheng Yuntao raised her eyebrows.

Shen Shulan smacked his lips. He had just eaten a lot of salty condiments, and now his mouth was indeed a little dry.

So she followed her heart and nodded honestly: "Yes."

"Okay, I'll do it right away, just wait."

Cheng Yuntao has always been very proactive. After making up his mind, he immediately got up and went to get the materials.

Shen Shulan stared at her back, silently thinking about how to tell her about his own affairs later.

……

This cold shrimp refers to food that is made by carefully pulping and cooking rice, then cleverly filtering it through a colander and pouring it into cool water to set.

These short and round snacks with pointed heads and tails look like a group of shrimps swimming leisurely in the water. Because of their shrimp-like shape and unique taste, they are named cold shrimps.

Cheng Yuntao stood by the stove and started making brown sugar cold shrimp.

First, weigh out rice flour, corn flour and pea starch according to the proportion, pour them into a large bowl, add clean water and stir until the flour and water are evenly mixed and there are no particles.

Then add clean water to the pot and put firewood into the stove to heat it. When the water is about to boil, Cheng Yuntao quickly pours the stirred starch water into the pot, and stirs it quickly with the stirring stick in his hand.

The liquid in the pot gradually becomes thicker under the action of high fire. After about two minutes, a translucent and viscous liquid is formed. At this time, you must turn off the fire decisively.

Cheng Yuntao prepared a basin of ice water early in the morning. She picked up a colander, scooped up a spoonful of starch paste, and held it steadily above the ice water, allowing the starch paste to slowly leak through the holes in the colander and fall into the ice water. Under the influence of the low temperature, the paste curled up into the shape of cute cold shrimps.

By the way, use the brown sugar that I made a few days ago to make the syrup, sprinkle some chopped hawthorn and peanuts on it, and a sweet and sour cold shrimp is ready.

The white and tender cold shrimps swim in the clear and rich brown sugar water, which looks both refreshing and thirst-quenching, and full of fun.

"Here, take it."

"You talk and eat, and I'll listen."

As soon as the words fell, Cheng Yuntao couldn't wait to scoop a spoonful of cold shrimp into her mouth. The cool feeling instantly hit her. The taste was delicate and the sour and sweet taste was moderate. It was very refreshing, causing her to curl her eyes happily.

Shen Shulan also scooped a spoonful and tasted it. As a rice product, the cold shrimp naturally has the aroma of rice. Although the skin is slippery, the inside is extremely soft, chewy and flexible.

When your teeth finally catch these slippery cold shrimps, take a few bites, and the glutinous and cool rice aroma will spread in your mouth and slide into your stomach along with the sweet brown sugar water.

The coolness that spread all the way instantly dissipated the previous heat in the body, making people feel refreshed.

Shen Shulan's heart instantly calmed down a lot, and he no longer hesitated. He slowly expressed his thoughts in a low voice.

"That day, after I waved goodbye to you, I followed the mountain road down. The journey was quite smooth, and I finally arrived near Junhua City after spending a night there."

"Because of my special status, I couldn't go directly into the city, so I went to the house I bought to clean up first. After confirming that everything was fine, I went back to the city."

"When I returned to the mansion, everyone looked surprised. After asking, I learned that they had received news early in the morning that I had accidentally fallen off a cliff while out and about and had died."

"After hearing the news, my father sent several teams out of the city to search for me, but to no avail. When he saw me return unharmed and alive in front of everyone, he was overjoyed and praised me as a blessed person."

Cheng Yuntao nodded from time to time, indicating that she had been listening carefully: "And then?"

Shen Shulan sighed, the gloom between his brows deepened a little, and continued.

"The matter was temporarily put on hold, and my second brother didn't show anything wrong on the surface."

"I knew he was involved in both my brother's accident and my attack, so I began a secret investigation... But I never imagined he would be so treacherous! He would resort to such tactical tactics against me..."