Mountains and giant beasts, cabins in the woods

The oil lamp was not very bright, and the three people in the office had different expressions.

Sumali wasn't fixated on her husband's situation; instead, she focused on three other, slightly more ornate desks.

A glass vase, a bamboo pen holder, and an exquisite paperweight. This is the desk of the young woman, Liu Huimin.

Sumali sat in her husband's female colleague's chair, sniffing the perfume lightly before frowning and saying, "This perfume is very unusual. It's clearly designed to seduce men. We can't keep this employee..."

Unexpectedly, his own wife was just as troublesome. Liu Xingmo sighed, "Ugh! That's a reporter's seat at our newspaper. She'll be running around the city, gathering news. How can she not look her best?"

"News should be serious, and journalists should dress formally." Su Mali sat upright in her chair, her face indifferent.

"We're just a run-down village in a remote mountain village, how could we possibly have any big news every few days?" Liu Xingmo said with a wry smile. "It's all just gossip and rumors we hear from this family and that family, all put together to make up the word count."

Sumali said coldly, "You can simplify the content and dismiss unnecessary employees."

Liu San Niang, who was by the window, spoke up: "What are you saying? This 'people's livelihood' segment is much more popular than the regular news. We ordinary folks don't care about those big events."

"I think we should at least let this employee know that there are some things she can do and some things she can't do." Su Mali picked up a pen and paper, ready to leave a letter for Liu Huimin.

Liu Xingmo felt his head was about to explode: "Stop messing around, hurry up and heat up some food, I'm starving."

Sumali regretfully put down her pen and paper, took out a basin-sized amount of walnuts from her luggage, and held them in her hands.

Her palm radiated a strange heat, and soon, steam hissed out of the cracks in the walnut, and the hard shell gradually turned charred black.

Seeing that the time was right, Liu Xingmo reached out and took the scalding hot walnuts, placed them on a lotus leaf laid flat on the floor, then wrapped his fist around an iron chain and smashed them down.

With a loud "crack!", the aroma of roasted walnuts filled the entire office, and the juicy, uneven walnut kernels were scattered on the withered lotus leaves.

Liu Xingmo picked out a small piece from the crumbs and put it in his mouth.

The sweet and bitter taste, accompanied by a hint of astringency, mixed with a rich oily aroma, melts in your mouth, dispelling the chill of the winter night.

Liu Xingmo mumbled, "It smells so good! No wonder these walnuts are roasted in the steel mill's cauldrons; they taste much better than the ones sold at roadside stalls!"

Sumali also picked up a walnut, put it in her mouth and chewed: "I feel that it would taste even better if there was cocoa powder."

"That thing is really rare. You can buy it by flying halfway around the world on a big bird." Liu Xingmo's cheeks were stuffed with walnut meat, like a squirrel.

"Let me try some!" Liu San Niang came over at some point, quickly grabbed a walnut, and put it in her mouth. "This stuff is a bit greasy. It's okay if you eat a little, but you can't swallow too much."

She reached out and picked up an unassuming earthenware pot: "I have something here that's good for cutting through the richness, have a taste."

She uncorked the red cloth stopper of the earthenware pot, took out a thin, pink, bulging strip, sucked it into her mouth, and began to chew.

"What is that? The intestines of a sick animal?" Sumali immediately frowned.

"No, those are squid tentacles!" Liu Xingmo recognized them and reached into the earthenware pot to pull out a strip of meat.

The chewy and tender texture, along with the tangy vinegar and spicy Sichuan peppercorns, washes away much of the greasy taste of the walnuts in your mouth.

"It's quite delicious, and it would be good with drinks." Liu Xingmo sucked on a squid tentacle from head to tail. "Where did you buy this? I'd like to get some too."

"These are fish caught by the fishermen; they eat them themselves and don't sell them. If you're on good terms with them, you can go to their place and ask for some." Liu San Niang placed the earthenware pot between the three of them.

Sumali looked left and right, and finally picked up a squid tentacle, put the small tip into her mouth, and bit off a small piece with her white front teeth.

Her high, straight nose wrinkled. "How strange...it feels like eating live intestines...is this thing even cooked?"

Liu San Niang laughed: "Where at sea can you cook a meal with a fire? It's all just pickled in vinegar and salt. I'm telling you, you've been in the Central Plains for quite a few years now, shouldn't you be used to it by now?"

"This strange thing isn't common even in the Central Plains!" Sumali moved the squid tentacles from its left cheek to its right cheek, chewing them repeatedly. "I've seen squid before, aren't those creatures huge? This piece of meat looks quite small."

Liu Xingmo picked up another stalk, put it in his mouth and savored it: "Different varieties, some can only grow this big. This thing is not bad to stir-fry if it is cut into strips, but it is too difficult to preserve, and fresh goods cannot be transported."

"Huh? You know a lot!" Liu San Niang said in surprise.

"That's right. Don't you know who I am? How can you write a good article if you don't have some knowledge?" Liu Xingmo pointed to the door. "See the library outside? I've skimmed through every book, and I've even memorized the important parts."

Liu San Niang swallowed the squid meat with a gulp and muttered, "Liu Xingmo, you really are a storyteller..."

"That's right, I really am a storyteller," Liu Xingmo replied calmly.

After eating and drinking to our hearts' content, we tidied up the room.

Move the desk aside to make some space, and spread the straw mat and old cotton quilt from the cabinet on the floor.

Liu Xingmo burrowed into bed: "This is the first time I've ever slept this early in the office!"

Su Mali sat down beside him: "Xingmo, how do you usually work?"

Liu Xingmo rested his head on his wife's lap: "I'm rushing to finish my manuscript before the deadline. I won't have a chance to get into bed until everyone turns off their lights."

"My dear husband, you've worked so hard." Sumali reached out and gently stroked the young man's head, smoothing his messy short hair.

"Making money is easy, it's not hard work." Liu Xingmo rolled over and snuggled into his wife's arms.

"Ahhh..." Liu San Niang shook her head and sighed, "It was this kind of person who wrote a story for the whole village..."

I slept soundly through the night.

the next morning.

Liu Xingmo got out of bed, tidied himself up quickly, and prepared to fetch water to wash his face.

At the door, a voice suddenly called out to him, "Wait a minute."

Liu Xingmo looked up and saw a young man dressed in a green brocade robe sitting on a stool in the dimly lit corridor, having been there for an unknown amount of time.

"Great-Grandpa! What brings you here? You didn't even say a word!"

"I saw you and the girl being affectionate, how could I possibly interrupt?"

"You arrived last night!"

"Yes, I heard you encountered the Nian beast, so I came to check on you."

"Whatever you want to know, I'll answer it to the best of my knowledge!"

"Relax, I'm not here to interrogate you." Great-Grandpa smiled warmly, then lifted the hem of his robe, crossed his legs, and said, "I'm just here to try and catch that Nian beast. I'm quite curious about these things myself."

"What? Capture the Nian beast!"

Liu Xingmo couldn't help but scream in surprise.