CHAPTER 108: CHAPTER 106 WARMTH

Song Xian sat down and then looked up at the people of Chen Family Village who were standing.

Old Mrs. Chen appeared quite courteous and smiled from the side. Chen Yongsheng, Chen Yongyi, and a few children stood a bit further back.

"Madam," Song Xian looked at Old Mrs. Chen, "please have a seat."

Having dined with Song Xian before, Old Mrs. Chen did not stand on ceremony after hearing this.

Song Xian then turned to Chen Yongsheng and the others. Chen Yongsheng smiled and called everyone, "Please, take a seat!"

At the table, age was not a concern as everyone sat together.

Xie Liangchen had worried that Song Xian might dislike the noise, but seeing his relaxed demeanor, she felt more at ease. Today’s General Song seemed to be in a good mood and did not wear a stern expression. Otherwise, even if Hei Dan and the others craved the food on the table, they would not dare sit around Song Xian.

Song Xian noticed Xu Tingzhen beside Old Mrs. Chen.

Without waiting for Song Xian to inquire, Xie Liangchen explained, "This is Mr. Xu. The methods of familiarizing with medicine in our village were all taught by Mr. Xu."

Song Xian nodded towards Xu Tingzhen, "Mr. Xu, your preparation of medicinal herbs is excellent, especially those vinegared ones. Even the medical workers from the Imperial Hospital want to come to learn from you."

Xie Liangchen couldn’t help but glance at Song Xian again. It was quite rare for him to praise others this way.

With these words, even Xu Tingzhen’s expression relaxed significantly.

Xu Tingzhen said, "They are all folk methods, inferior to those of the Imperial Hospital. I hope General Song won’t laugh."

After some formalities, Song Xian was the first to pick up his chopsticks and took a piece of fish in front of him, prompting everyone else to start on the food on the table.

On the long table, there were large platters and small bowls piled up, with the most common being rice, mushrooms, and radishes. However, Song Xian’s eyes could easily pick out which dishes were made by Xie Liangchen.

The golden yellow rice cakes, the steamed meat made with glutinous rice, and those few fish dishes were not just generous with the ingredients, but they were also cooked with enough oil.

The children loved the rice cakes the most, as they would crunch loudly when eaten. If it weren’t for Song Xian being present, Hei Dan and the others would have been gobbling them down voraciously by now.

Song Xian originally didn’t intend to eat the rice cake, but when he saw Xie Liangchen soaking the rice cake in mushroom soup before eating it, he couldn’t resist grabbing a piece and doing the same.

The rice cake was delicious, and so was the steamed meat with glutinous rice. The fragrance of rice and meat blended together, with a melt-in-the-mouth texture — a dish loved by both the young and old.

Unintentionally, Song Xian had already finished a bowl of rice. Chen Zigeng, beside him, promptly served another bowl of rice in front of him.

"Sister’s cooking allows me to eat three bowls," Chen Zigeng said to Song Xian, "but General, today you can only eat two bowls."

Song Xian was about to ask why when Chen Zigeng pointed at the noodles and said, "The General should save some room to eat two bowls of noodles too, my sister’s noodles are also very tasty."

Though Song Xian thought he was full after two bowls of rice, perhaps due to everyone’s joviality at the table, his bowl was empty again before he realized it. Hence, a bowl full of noodles appeared before him.

The noodles were topped with a sauce made from mushrooms and diced meat, and it seemed to also contain stewed soft chestnuts and crunchy dried radish.

Without realizing, Song Xian had eaten two bowls and felt particularly full, with an indescribable warmth spreading through him.

This warmth starkly contrasted with his usual cool demeanor, making him feel comfortable yet slightly uneasy, as if this warmth could pull him to a place beyond his control.

Having eaten her fill, Xie Liangchen put down her bowl and was serving rice wine to everyone, "Previously, Lord Cheng sent us a wild boar, there was too much meat to finish, so I dried it. Today I took it out to stew with mushrooms."

Song Xian thought to himself, it probably wasn’t too much meat to finish, but rather too precious to eat. Although Chen Family Village had sold quite a bit of medicinal herbs, the silver coin was used to build the Familiar Medicine Institute, and currently, the villagers could only fill their bellies. Such meat must naturally be eaten sparingly.

Song Xian nodded, watching as Xie Liangchen served the rice wine. Suddenly, he remembered that night — did Xie Liangchen know he had fainted from the rice wine?

Song Xian kept a neutral expression, but the warm and hospitable Chen Zigeng beside him couldn’t hold back, "General, try the rice wine my sister made."

Song Xian didn’t refuse, watching as Chen Zigeng placed a bowl in front of him.

Xie Liangchen sighed, her brother still didn’t know that the imposing General Song before them could be felled by just two bowls of rice wine. She recalled the punch she had landed squarely on Song Xian’s nose, and such an incident must not happen again.

However, with so many people present, she couldn’t make it obvious, and while serving the rice wine, she discreetly swapped the rice wine in front of Song Xian with mushroom soup when Chen Zigeng was asking Song Xian about riding and archery skills.

Song Xian looked at Chen Zigeng, seemingly unaware but observing Xie Liangchen’s small actions from the corner of his eye.

Song Xian frowned inwardly. Didn’t Chang An say that Xie Liangchen thought he had fallen asleep from fatigue? It seemed that wasn’t true; she clearly knew about his alcohol tolerance.

Chen Zigeng said, "I also taught Hei Dan and the others to use the hunting bow."

Song Xian feigned ignorance, "How did they learn?"

Hei Dan’s face turned red, and he touched the back of his head, "Not as accurate as Brother Geng."

Chen Zigeng showed a hint of pride and looked at Song Xian expectantly, "General, are you in a hurry to go to the government office later?"

Of course, Song Xian was in a hurry, as the government office would have piles of paperwork by now. However, he shook his head, "There’s no rush."

Chen Zigeng’s smile became uncontrollable, "Then later we can show General our archery skills."

Song Xian agreed and reached for the mushroom soup to drink.

Xie Liangchen was glad she had already swapped out the rice wine.

When the bowl in front of Song Xian was empty again, Xie Liangchen quickly refilled it with mushroom soup, lest her brother was too diligent and overtly replaced it with rice wine.

The meal concluded in a lively and warm manner.

Chen Zigeng immediately went to fetch the hunting bow, eager to show Song Xian his progress.

But Xu Tingzhen spoke first to stop him, "General Song, may the old woman check your pulse?"

No one expected Mr. Xu to suddenly want to examine Song Xian’s pulse, and Xie Liangchen put down her chopsticks.

Song Xian met Xu Tingzhen’s gaze and said calmly, "Please do, sir."

Xu Tingzhen got up to go to the east room, and Xie Liangchen hurried to fetch the medicine box.

In the east room, Xu Tingzhen and Song Xian sat down, and Song Xian exposed his wrist. Xu Tingzhen’s hand hadn’t even reached it when he said, "Has the General’s right shoulder been injured? I observe that when the General uses his right hand, some movements seem slightly uncomfortable, so I wanted to check it."

Song Xian’s right shoulder injury had long healed, but to his surprise, Xu Tingzhen detected something amiss. He nodded, "I injured musculature and bones in my youth, but it’s improved now."

Xu Tingzhen nodded, "Some injuries may appear healed but can still leave hidden ailments."

Song Xian said nothing, only watching Xu Tingzhen continue the pulse diagnosis.

After a long moment, Xu Tingzhen moved his fingers away. Though aged, his eyes remained bright as he looked carefully at Song Xian, "The General is young, yet must still take care of his body. The lack of symptoms now is due to strong blood and vitality, but if it continues, it may trigger old injuries, becoming uncontrollable."

Hearing this, Song Xian’s expression remained calm, but Xie Liangchen, standing beside him, was startled. Was Song Xian’s injury so severe? In the previous life, he had always been on the battlefield, invincible.