Chapter 136

Yusuo's intended words were swallowed back as he met Luyan's serious gaze. After careful consideration, he spoke again, "I know you're not cold, but you need to change this habit of clinging to people."

Luyan: "I'm not ill."

Yusuo: "... I know you're not ill. I mean, this habit of yours isn't good."

Luyan didn't think there was anything wrong with his habit, but he knew if he opposed Yusuo, Yusuo would definitely get angry. So, he just nodded.

Yusuo, seeing him agree so readily, breathed a sigh of relief.

But, for some reason, his mood suddenly became a bit dull.

He couldn't help scratching his head, wondering if he had been indoors for too long and needed to go outside.

...

However, Yusuo hadn't gone out for a walk these past few days. Every time he wanted to go out, something came up. Either Luyan wanted advice on cultivation techniques, or Yuzhou voluntarily asked him to teach calligraphy, or Shanyang and others sought advice on medical skills.

Early on the third day, Yusuo woke up to an unusually quiet morning. Jian Yunchuan and Yuzhou were not around, only Luyan was in the room.

"Wash up, then come have breakfast."

"Okay."

Yusuo freshened up quickly and sat down at the dining table.

Breakfast consisted of fresh meat soup with generously stuffed buns. The aroma made Yusuo feel hungry.

"Where's my dad and Xiaozhou?"

"They've already eaten and went to the village head's house."

"They went there so early? Is something happening?"

"I don't know. After eating, let's go and see."

Yusuo vaguely felt something was amiss, but he didn't think much of it. Since the snow had stopped this morning, the weather was clear, and he assumed everyone was just coming out to enjoy the day.

As they walked into the village, he began to sense that something was off.

The villagers were dressed festively, and upon seeing him, they congratulated him:

"Lord Yusuo, congratulations!"

"You've grown another year older."

"Lord Yusuo, may the Mountain God bless you with happiness every day."

At first, Yusuo was a bit confused, but gradually, he realized.

Everyone was congratulating him on his birthday.

In the village square, a platform had been set up, surrounded by rows of seats. The surroundings were decorated festively with colorful fabric flowers hanging everywhere.

"Lord Yusuo has arrived!"

"Lord Yusuo, happy birthday!"

The villagers cheered loudly as they saw him.

Some were beating animal-skin drums, creating a rhythmic sound.

Xin Ya and the others had prepared fist-sized colorful fabric flowers, which they now tossed towards Yusuo.

A purple one landed near his ear, getting caught.

"Wow! Lord Yusuo looks so good!" The children exclaimed in joy.

Yusuo raised his hand, took off the flower by his ear, and felt a touch of warmth in his heart.

He hadn't expected the villagers to organize such a lively birthday celebration for him, explaining why Luyan and the others had kept him indoors for the past couple of days.

"Thank you, everyone."

"If we're thanking anyone, it's you we thank. Thank you for bringing prosperity and abundance to our village."

"That's right, we're a big village now."

The villagers surrounded him warmly, sincerely offering their blessings and thanks.

At this moment, someone shouted, "Lord Yusuo, Yuyong and the others have prepared a dance for you!"

Yuyong and a group of men ascended the platform, facing Yusuo. They began a dance, primal and rhythmic, with a peculiar charm. The accompanying song, shouted out in a rhythmic manner, added an interesting touch.

Yusuo hadn't noticed that Yuyong and the others had prepared this. After their dance, the women also took the stage, led by Yushi and Yuzhu.

Their dance was more graceful, with clear and melodious voices, not losing at all to the men's performance.

Yusuo couldn't help applauding.

After the dance, Yuzhu and the others, smiling, left the stage.

Originally, Yusuo thought it would end there, but to his surprise, a group of children took the stage. Leading them were Yuzhou, Yujiao, and Yukui, three little rascals. They imitated the adults, shaking their heads and limbs, dancing in a well-coordinated and amusing manner. While dancing, they even shouted short cheers, making the performance lively and cheerful.

Yusuo was pleasantly surprised and asked who taught them.

Yuzhu and the others stepped forward, "Lord Yusuo, we taught them."

Yusuo sincerely said, "You're really amazing."

Yuzhu and the others smiled shyly.

Everyone watched with relish, occasionally cheering for the children.

After the performance, Yuzhou jumped off the platform and ran to Yusuo, panting. "Brother, was my dance good?"

Yusuo gave him a thumbs-up, "Very good, all of you danced wonderfully!"

Yuzhou and the other little ones, seeing Yusuo praising them, immediately jumped and cheered in joy.

"Lord Yusuo praised us!"

"I knew our dance must be better than the adults'!"

...

Around noon, a sumptuous feast was brought to the banquet.

Several large iron pots of beef stew had been prepared, and the fragrance filled the square.

In addition to the fresh game brought back by the patrolling team today, roasted lamb and roasted pig also made their appearance, filling the air with a delightful aroma, making people's mouths water.

Yusuo first drank a bowl of beef soup, feeling comfortable and squinting his eyes.

Fragrant and tender grilled meat was delivered to him without him having to lift a finger.

There was also a batch of newly brewed fruit wine this year, with a full fruity flavor. Paired with the grilled meat, it was simply perfect.

Seeing him finish a plate of meat, Luyan went to shave some more for him, placing it in front of him. He also grabbed a skewer of roasted lamb, placed it on a wooden tray, sprinkled it with ground spices, and the aroma wafted directly into Yusuo's nose.

Yusuo ate a skewer, "Delicious."

The spices on this lamb skewer, although not cumin, had a similar magic, with a fragrance not much different. There was also some chili powder made from thumb-sized lantern fruit peels traded from the barbarian forest – fragrant and spicy, especially invigorating.

After trying a skewer, Yuanshou found it too spicy and gave it to Jian Yunchuan.

Jian Yunchuan said, "I never realized that the peel of these lantern fruits could be ground into powder and sprinkled on food. Everyone used to treat it as poison."

Yusuo felt that this lantern fruit was essentially the chili pepper of later generations, just with a different name and some variety differences.

"This is a great seasoning. By the way, in a couple of days, let's have a hot pot."

"What's a hot pot?"

"It's the pot we used before, but this time, we can have a double-flavor hot pot."

Yusuo couldn't help but salivate at the thought of the spicy and fragrant hot pot.

Coincidentally, there was butter available, so they could start by sautéing the base ingredients.

This method wasn't difficult either. The database of the comprehensive elves contained various methods for sautéing base ingredients. Some spices were currently unavailable, but they could be omitted, and Yusuo believed that they could still sauté a good base. The sautéed base could be preserved even in winter and could be enjoyed multiple times.

Alternatively, they could sell it to the barbarians and villages in the northern wilderness. Perhaps, they might even get a good price.

While thinking about it, Yusuo felt that, besides the hot pot base, other ingredients and condiments could also be traded or maybe he could just sell the recipes.

If it were before, Yusuo wouldn't have considered selling these things. The villages in this land were not very prosperous; surviving without starving was considered good. Where would they find the means to exchange for these things?

However, this whole year, the Ironsmith Village had sold quite a few advanced production tools, coupled with the things traded by the Yusuo Village's merchant caravan, including the imparted knowledge like the cellar technique. All of this had improved the living standards of many poor and backward primitive villages. At least, this winter, their lives would be much better, and they should have some extra money to exchange for good things.

Apart from that, it was also time to expand the trading range of the Yusuo Village's merchant caravan. The vast plains beyond the eastern mountains and the numerous villages on the plains were all business opportunities.

When the road was opened next year, and the crops were planted, they could open a trade route leading to the eastern mountains. They could build a road over the southern swamp or cut a road through the mountains in the eastern mountains. The specifics could be planned after the spring of next year.

"What are you thinking about?" Luyan saw Yusuo lost in thought while eating. The skewer of lamb in front of him had cooled down, so he reheated it and brought it back, but Yusuo was still absent-minded, so he spoke up.

Yusuo snapped back and said, "I'm thinking about things after next spring."

Jian Yunchuan, who was on the side, overheard and asked him, "About opening a road or the salt lake?"

Yusuo replied, "Both, and also about the caravan."

Yusuo decided to chat with Luyan and the others while eating. After a while, Yu Feng and the others also joined, followed by the village chief. They all chatted together about the plans for next year.

"Opening a trade route to the plains behind the eastern mountains? Can that work?"

"Yes, the mountains are big, and crossing them is too difficult, not to mention the dangers."

Yusuo drank a sip of beef soup and said, "Rest assured, these are not problems. Now we have two salt fields, and the salt produced must be exchanged to bring more value."

Yusuo said it was not a problem, and everyone felt relieved.

The ones responsible for the caravan, such as Yuye, said, "In the latter half of this year, our salt has indeed not been selling well. Almost every village has exchanged for salt. This thing can't be eaten as a meal. One pottery jar can be used for a long time. We should indeed trade with other villages now."

"Besides salt, we have other things

to exchange."

"I haven't seen what the plains behind the eastern mountains look like. I also want to go and see."

Everyone was full of curiosity about the plains behind the eastern mountains, and the decision to open a trade route in that direction was settled.

After roughly discussing plans for next year, everyone had also had enough to drink.

Because there was hope, everyone had smiles on their faces.

In the afternoon, Yusuo's birthday celebration for this year also came to an end. Everyone pitched in to tidy up, and as the sky gradually darkened, it started snowing again.

At this time, everyone had returned to the warmth of their homes, lying comfortably on the warm kang, snoring.

Yusuo changed his clothes, wiped his body, and after the alcohol on his body dissipated, he also nestled into the warm kang. Comfortably listening to the sound of snow falling outside, he took a belated nap until the evening.