Her Cultivation Diary
Chapter 1038 - 1018. Sauerkraut

Chapter 1038: 1018. Sauerkraut

Secretary Xiaozu quickly gave the group a look, and with that, everyone hurriedly climbed back into the car.

Before the car started, she got out again, took the pickled radishes from Qiaoqiao’s hands and said, "Qiaoqiao, can you scoop us up a bowl of pickled vegetables? After we change clothes, I’ll bring Grandpa and the others over to eat."

"Sure!" Qiaoqiao nodded. "Do your brothers eat a lot? Should I use that big stainless steel basin?"

There’s no shortage of pickled vegetables at home; they’ve made several large vats this year.

Secretary Xiaozu took a bite of the pickled radish, which was simultaneously crunchy and resilient, and deliberated, "That’s not necessary... We still have to eat dinner later!"

When she finally got back in the car with half a radish in her hand, Lao Zhu immediately reached out, "Smells amazing! Let me have a taste."

"Wait, wait..." Secretary Xiaozu turned her head away and shoved the radish into her mouth in a few quick bites. Chewing as she spoke, she mumbled, "When we change clothes, there’ll be plenty to eat. I already bit this one!"

Lao Zhu stared at her puffed-up cheeks, his mouth watering uncontrollably before reluctantly sitting back.

Zu Jun chewed while humming, "And you’re upset? I should be the one upset! I’m standing there, a whole living person, and you didn’t even recognize me... Am I even your granddaughter?"

Lao Zhu quickly deflected, "Xiaodu was driving too fast, I didn’t notice."

The car didn’t have a rearview mirror, so Xiaodu couldn’t see the expressions on the backseat passengers, but from the sound alone, he could tell the atmosphere was lighthearted. This made him unusually cheerful:

"Jun, you’ve really changed from how you were before."

Xiaodu had been following Grandpa for years, and he was familiar with Zu Jun. At this moment, she smugly said, "Of course! Would you look at what I’ve been eating every day—oh, right, Xiaodu, did you stash away that wine properly?"

Lao Zhu beside her let out a long sigh.

Xiaodu laughed bitterly, "How long could I possibly hide such good wine? The old man practically turned the house upside down... Finished it in two months flat."

Talking about this still made Lao Zhu upset: "Lucky I finished it! Storing such fine wine in a plain mineral water bottle, isn’t that just wasting it? Besides, just a mere half kilo of wine, and I stretched it for two months—this life I’m leading is worse than the hardship days of the ’60s."

Secretary Xiaozu finally swallowed all the radish, leaving a lingering tangy taste from the pickled vegetables. Relishing it again, she started craving more.

She hurriedly said, "That wine is aging beautifully now! Song Tan said it’s been cellared in their underground storage; they’ll open a vat of it for everyone to drink at the kill-a-pig feast."

"Since it’s been aged longer, it doesn’t have the harshness it used to, so this time it won’t knock people out."

Lao Zhu’s eyes lit up upon hearing this:

"Xiaojun, do you think we can trade for a few more kilos of wine this time with all the things we brought?"

Zu Jun sighed, "Grandpa, maybe you should focus on trading for more meat when we leave!"

"If that doesn’t work, even a couple of sacks of radishes would be great."

With that, she leaned forward toward the front seat, "Xiaodu, there’s not much else I’m counting on, but on the day of the feast, you need to help us get a pig leg or something. We might come away with more stuff than others."

For Xiaodu, pig slaughtering was still novel. He nodded, "Sure. We’ll all pitch in."

"Oh, come on!" Secretary Xiaozu rolled her eyes at him. "Don’t you get it? You need to stand out—do better than the rest! Otherwise, we won’t make an impression!"

Lao Zhu also nodded, "Exactly, exactly! This is the place my precious granddaughter found, and we can’t let those others take advantage. Xiaodu, make sure you kill that pig well."

Xiaodu, who had no experience slaughtering pigs: ...

Secretary Xiaozu flipped through a pile of padded cotton pants next to her, "I’ve got five pairs... Xiaodu, did you all bring warm clothes?"

"We did," Xiaodu was always reliable. "There are two suitcases in the trunk, with clothes for me and the old man—thermal underwear, insulated pants, fleece-lined pants, all included."

"We’ve even got lightweight sweatpants. I’ll wear those; I’m not afraid of the cold, and wearing too much is inconvenient."

"Alright." Secretary Xiaozu waved her hand dismissively, "Grandpa’s always going up and down mountains, so those cotton-padded pants will do since they’re easier to wash."

Lao Zhu and the others didn’t have strong opinions about clothes, nodding casually as they heard this, "We’ll borrow these for now. Do they have more? Or how much are they, Xiaojun? You can pay for them."

Secretary Xiaozu shook her head, "What’s the point of paying? Forty yuan per pair—if you pay, my aunt will pitch a fit."

"Song Tan brought back dozens of them, planning to give them as gifts to the elderly in the village for New Year. A few pairs won’t matter... Worst case, we can return them cleaned when we leave."

Lao Zhu nodded at that, "Giving them to the elderly in the village? Not bad, not bad."

He glanced at her again, "You really handled this low-profile trip well. No one here seems to suspect our identity."

Choosing cars with inconspicuous license plates turned out to be a smart choice.

Secretary Xiaozu sighed, "My Song Family uncle and aunt are just regular folks; regular people don’t just randomly guess that our family’s from the mountains. You can just treat this like a casual visit."

"Xiaodu, don’t be nervous; it’s truly peaceful here."

"Yeah." Xiaodu nodded, "This mountain village hasn’t been developed yet, but the air quality is great. The old man hardly ever gets winded here."

Age always brings its share of health issues, and Lao Zhu’s body wasn’t exactly in prime condition—otherwise, he wouldn’t have come to the mountains.

In the urban area, his breathing would often feel smothered even with indoor air systems.

Now, as the car headed up the mountain, he was genuinely surprised, "Indeed, when I got out of the car earlier, the air felt cool. But my chest felt open and clear—comfortable."

No one here would guess that the intermittently imbued Spiritual Energy spring and the gushing streams laced with rare gathered Spiritual Energy were the true reasons for the mountain’s refreshingly pure air. People simply thought the mountain air was great, making the trip well worth the effort.

Suddenly, everyone’s spirits lifted.

As they got out of the car, the first thing they saw wasn’t the plain-looking building ahead but the vast stretch of green in the distance.

"What’s planted here?"

Old Li stepped out of the car, taking a deep breath as he looked out into the distance.

Secretary Xiaozu took a glance, "The corner should be Lin Grass planted in early winter. Their family works with the elderly in the village to weave grass mats. Song Tan’s grandparents made quite a bit of money this year."

"Farther out is wheat."

"As for what’s on the mountain, that’s just all sorts of vegetables."

As she said this, she couldn’t help feeling proud. Quickly sending Song Tan a message, she saw his reply and pretended to sigh dramatically:

"Song Tan went to the Imperial City for a few days previously, and the meals at home were pretty lackluster—green radishes for two days straight."

I have to say, they really were delicious!

But Secretary Xiaozu made it sound like she was complaining, adding casually for everyone:

"After changing clothes and shoes later, I’ll take you to the fields to pull some radishes. Dinner isn’t ready yet, so let’s all fill our bellies for now."