The stove was set up in the evening, but it couldn't be used immediately; it needed to be dried out first.
During this time, the roe deer, which had been knocked unconscious by Amuer's punch, slowly woke up.
"Second Sister, I always feel like that roe deer was begging me for mercy," Qi Xuanxuan ran to tell Qi Zhenzhen. "Its eyes were so wet, as if it could cry at any moment."
Qi Zhenzhen took a look, then quietly called Qi Yi and Amuer to send the roe deer back into the mountains.
Qi Zhenzhen could understand the roe deer's plea; it was carrying a fawn in its belly.
The roe deer had said it didn't mind if they wanted to eat its meat, but could they please not eat it before the fawn was born?
Qi Zhenzhen herself was pregnant, so how could she be so heartless? They weren't starving, so why insist on eating it?
Qi Yi and Amuer didn't understand, but they couldn't refuse Qi Zhenzhen's orders.
It was just a roe deer; if they didn't eat it, they didn't eat it.
As Qi Yi lifted the roe deer, it struggled and nudged its front paws towards Qi Zhenzhen, its posture clearly conveying gratitude.
"This roe deer must have become sentient," Qi Yi muttered.
"That's why we definitely can't eat it. It lives in the mountains behind the temple; perhaps it's been listening to Buddhist chants every day and gained spiritual awareness," Qi Xuanxuan chimed in.
Amuer wasn't one for such complicated thoughts; he simply followed what Xuanxuan said about not eating it.
Since they couldn't roast roe deer meat, Qi Zhenzhen taught Qi Xuanxuan how to bake old-fashioned bread. After kneading the dough, ice cubes were piled around the wooden basin to create a zero-degree fermentation. They would bake it the next morning, which would be just right.
As she slept that night, Qi Zhenzhen vaguely heard rustling sounds. She didn't hear Er Xi or the others get up to check, assuming it was just noise outside the window.
"Madam, what a large ginseng!" Er Xi exclaimed.
A plump, complete ginseng root lay beside Qi Zhenzhen's pillow.
So, the rustling sounds she heard last night were from someone bringing the ginseng?
Looking at the fresh soil on it, it seemed to have been dug up recently.
Considering the roe deer was released just last night, and she found the ginseng this morning. It was indeed a little creature that knew how to repay kindness.
"Send it to the monastic physician. The ginseng is fresh, and if it's not handled properly, it will be wasted. It has little value in our hands, but with the monastic physician, it can be used for those in need."
The monastic physicians at Taihe Temple not only treated the monks but also opened their doors monthly to see patients from the villages below. Because many people were poor, the temple often provided medicine for free. Minor ailments could be cured with ordinary herbs, but some difficult illnesses required precious medicinal ingredients like ginseng.
Qi Xuanxuan came in with a bowl of tremella soup. "Second Sister, drink it while it's hot."
Qi Zhenzhen couldn't stomach the taste of bird's nest, so as a compromise, Qi Xuanxuan brought her a bowl of soft, stewed tremella soup with red dates and lotus seeds every morning.
"Such a large wild ginseng, did those two go digging for ginseng last night?" Qi Xuanxuan asked.
"Wild ginseng like this is not easily found these days. Even if they searched the mountains for days and nights, they might not find it. I suspect it was sent by the roe deer we released yesterday," Qi Zhenzhen said with a smile.
"It certainly knows right from wrong," Qi Xuanxuan said after a moment of silence.
People usually called roe deer foolish, but how were they foolish? Second Sister had spared its life, and it knew to repay the favor. It seemed animals were more reliable than people.
"Second Sister, drink up quickly; there'll be delicious food soon," Qi Xuanxuan urged.
That stove was truly magical; it was worth her getting up before dawn to busy herself. The old bread Qi Zhenzhen mentioned was golden in color and enticing in aroma. It was made with the same flour used for steamed buns, yet it tasted so wonderful.