The kang (heated brick bed) for left-behind women

then.

Li Ruoxue then examined Lin Dachun to see if there were any internal injuries or overlooked physical abnormalities.

Carefully examine your entire body to check for bruises, wounds, etc. In case of infection, you could get tetanus, which can be fatal.

"How is it? Is everything alright?" Lin Dachun asked.

"Hmm, I didn't find any problems," Li Ruoxue said, blushing.

Let me rub your back.

"Well, that should be fine. It's just that the dry rations and water we ate and drank on the mountain might not be clean, and my stomach is a little upset. Can you massage my stomach?" Lin Dachun said.

"OK."

So, Li Ruoxue started rubbing Lin Dachun's stomach again.

Li Ruoxue's palm applied just the right amount of pressure, gently kneading the muscles along their texture.

Lin Dachun's body was initially a little stiff, but he gradually relaxed under the warm and soft touch and rhythmic kneading, letting out an unconscious, pleasant hum.

"ah!!"

Lin Dachun cried out while rubbing his stomach.

"What's wrong?"

"It hurts here!" Lin Dachun replied.

"Was that where you got punched?" Li Ruoxue asked.

"Yes, that kid punched me squarely in the stomach, and then kicked me in the stomach. Damn, it still hurts," Lin Dachun explained.

"Will everything be alright? Should we go to the town hospital in case there's internal bleeding?" Li Ruoxue was very worried.

"It's alright, just massage it gently. It's probably just clearing away the bruising; it won't cause serious internal bleeding," Lin Dachun explained.

"Really? Don't push yourself too hard." Li Ruoxue said, continuing to massage downwards.

This process involved kneading the dough carefully for a long time.

Li Ruoxue moved a small stool and sat by the bathtub, lifting Lin Dachun's calloused, veiny, and slightly swollen foot and placing it on her knee.

"Let me give you a foot massage. You must be sore from walking so far."

As Li Ruoxue spoke, she poured some of the fatigue-relieving medicated oil she had stored at home into her palms and rubbed it to warm it up. Then, starting from her ankles, she used her thumbs and knuckles to press and massage along the meridians and acupoints.

The soles of the feet are where acupoints converge, and also where fatigue settles.

Li Ruoxue's technique wasn't professional, but her strength lay in her dedication and patience.

The initial soreness and pain made Lin Dachun flinch, but she persevered. Gradually, the sharp pain subsided and transformed into a deep, relaxing sensation that soothed her muscles and improved her circulation.

The pain spread up my calves, and even the soreness in my lower back seemed to be relieved quite a bit.

Lin Dachun's eyes remained closed, but the lines between his brows, which had been furrowed by fatigue and stress for years, were now completely relaxed.

"By the way, come to town with me tomorrow. We'll buy some daily necessities, meat, and eggs. While we're at it, I'll see if I can find any other connections related to sea buckthorn," Lin Dachun said with his eyes closed.

"Okay. I think Sister Guihua will come tomorrow. She brews wine, and we'll see if sea buckthorn wine will work." Li Ruoxue also had her own ideas.

"Sure," Lin Dachun nodded.

Lin Dachun opened his eyes, glanced at Li Ruoxue, and felt very happy and gratified.

Li Ruoxue's face remained flushed, her chest heaving, and she kept her head down, looking very shy.

next morning.

Lin Dachun and Li Ruoxue went to town together.

When we arrived at the town's market, we found some agricultural products and deer antlers on display.

"Selling deer antlers! They were just harvested yesterday. They're precious herbs, and the quality is top-notch," Lin Dachun shouted.

"Dad, if you have something to do, go ahead and do it. I'll keep an eye on things here," Li Ruoxue said.

"Okay, I'll go take a look around the winery." Lin Dachun stood up.

The distillery was filled with a rich, complex aroma of fermenting lees and grains.

Lin Dachun found the shopkeeper, handed him a small bottle of sea buckthorn syrup he had brought, and explained his purpose: he wanted to inquire whether it was possible to make wine using sea buckthorn, a wild fruit, or whether their winery accepted such special fruits.

The shopkeeper was an old man with a goatee. He took the syrup, smelled it, dipped his fingers in it, tasted it, and squinted his eyes as he savored it for a while.

"Sea buckthorn? This stuff is very sour. If you use it alone to brew alcohol, the yield is low and the taste is too strong. Most people can't get used to it," the old shopkeeper said slowly. "However... your syrup is quite good. It's sweet and sour, which reduces the astringency a lot. If you use it as a starter or blend it with grain liquor, it might produce a unique flavor."

"Shopkeeper, do you think it can work out?" Lin Dachun asked.

"Disaster."

"Do you have any sea buckthorn wine?" Lin Dachun asked.

"No, this stuff is sour, you can't drink it," the shopkeeper said.

"What if you add sugar? I've heard that in the South, bayberry wine and osmanthus wine are also made with sugar," Lin Dachun replied.

"Then it's not authentic baijiu or liquor. It's just some kind of 'flower wine,' all childish stuff. People who drink don't drink that kind of stuff, haha," the shopkeeper joked.

This sarcastic remark left Lin Dachun quite embarrassed.

Sea buckthorn is really a troublesome thing; it seems the road to making wine won't be easy.

Can it only be used to make beverages?

Sea buckthorn beverages are unheard of in the market, let alone produced and sold.

"Dad, you shouldn't have hit me so hard."

At this moment, the shopkeeper's daughter came out and said, "Your thinking is outdated. Those spirits and liquors are high-proof alcohols, so of course they are good for people who love to drink."

"But I did some research in the city, visiting sake bars and nightclubs. These days, young people drink low-alcohol beverages, you know? They don't drink strong liquor either. They like sake, and sea buckthorn wine fits that demand perfectly," the shopkeeper's daughter said.

"It's so sour, who would drink it?" the shopkeeper said, not believing it.

"Taste can be changed, there are many ways to change taste, taste is not a big deal at all, Dad, it's such a simple principle, and you, a master chef, don't even recognize it, that's not professional." The shopkeeper's daughter mocked her old father.

"Hehe." The shopkeeper chuckled.

"Uncle, don't listen to my dad. They're so old-fashioned. They only know the old-fashioned ideas about baijiu and spirits. If you can solve the taste problem and make a low-alcohol, mass-market sea buckthorn wine that appeals to young people, then it's no problem at all," the shopkeeper's daughter said.

These words greatly encouraged Lin Dachun.

"Is that right? That's what I thought too. Hehe." Lin Dachun said awkwardly.

"Hey girl, I'm buying some wine. Can you tell me which type or flavor is most similar to sea buckthorn wine?" Lin Dachun asked.

"Flower wine, osmanthus wine, we don't have much of that here. We have plenty of sorghum wine, white wine, yellow wine, osmanthus wine, and very little sweet wine, but we do have some. We also have snake wine and ginseng wine, which are homemade," the sensible girl said.

"Okay, very good. Order all of these for me: osmanthus wine, sweet wine, snake wine, baijiu, etc. I want a little of everything. I'll try them when I get back," Lin Dachun said.

Lin Dachun wanted to ask some more questions, but he was still too embarrassed to ask.

The shopkeeper's daughter poured wine for Lin Dachun.

Lin Dachun paid for the drinks.

"If you have any questions, feel free to contact us," the shopkeeper's daughter said.

"Girl, your service is really good," Lin Dachun said. "I actually have a lot of questions. I just want to try brewing, but I don't know how, haha."

Lin Dachun also mentioned it briefly, but was too embarrassed to ask for details.

"Hehe, brother, you've come here to steal my skills? My daughter's brewing techniques are not to be passed on to outsiders. Haha," the shopkeeper said with a laugh.

The goatee shopkeeper was quite old.

Clearly, he must have passed on his winemaking skills to his daughter.

This also suggests that the old man probably doesn't have a son; otherwise, he should have passed the throne to his son.

"Hehe, no, no, it's not that bad. I'll be going now."

Regardless of whether the other party was joking or not, Lin Dachun stopped there.