Pampered by the Toughest Man After Divorce
Chapter 1361 - 1183 Xiao’ai, Dabao, Xiaobei

Chapter 1361: Chapter 1183 Xiao’ai, Dabao, Xiaobei

"I’ve only ever eaten the ones sold outside," Long Aixi said, and then looked at Xia Dabao, who continued to gather firewood. Whenever she had piled up a certain amount, he would take it from her hands and stack it into a pile.

"The children in our village can play with this all day, especially in winter, which is the sweet potato season. I’m not sure about the quality of this batch, but let’s just burn some and see how they taste..." Xia Dabao said while picking up firewood.

Although it had rained yesterday, the morning sun had dried some of the surface firewood, which could be burnt.

At the foot of the mountain, one could hear a lot of insects chirping and birds singing. Long Aixi enjoyed moments like these, picking up firewood while listening to Xia Dabao’s constant chatter, as if time itself slowed down.

"Actually, the reason I asked you to come up the mountain to chop firewood with me was to discuss Axiang’s situation. Sigh, I’ve watched her go through a lot. Although she’s now living with the simpleton, you’ve heard how the people in the village talk about them. People’s words can be fearsome, and my mother says sometimes it’s rumors that destroy a person. I do want to help her, but if everyone in the village keeps adding their bit, how can one help, right?" Xia Dabao said, helpless.

After hearing this, Long Aixi also commented, "This matter needs long-term planning."

"Do you have any ideas? You’ve seen more of the world than I have. If something similar happened in Jianghu, what would you do?" Xia Dabao asked.

After thinking for a while, Long Aixi said, "Men and women of Jianghu are not entangled by these worldly concerns. If they really can’t stand the rumors, they can simply step away and become a happy and carefree couple, just like your parents."

"But that’s the way of the people of Jianghu. Axiang and the simpleton still need to live in the village," Xia Dabao shook her head and sighed again before continuing to gather dry firewood.

When she was focused on something, she would immerse herself in that one thing and was unaware that Long Aixi had been watching her all along.

Long Aixi thought even her frowning was adorable and couldn’t help wanting to share her burdens. He suggested, "How about we discuss this at length after we bake the sweet potatoes and return home?"

"Yes, that’s all we can do!" Xia Dabao said. "We have enough firewood now. Let’s head back."

As Xia Dabao was about to pick up the firewood, Long Aixi quickly intervened, "Let me do it!"

He had been stacking the firewood neatly and tied it into a bundle. He then lifted it with ease. Impressed, Xia Dabao complimented him, "Bringing you along to gather firewood was indeed a very wise decision."

...

Xia Dabao returned with the firewood. The simpleton and Axiang had dug up the clay but hadn’t yet built the kiln. When she saw this, she went to help build the fire kiln.

Long Aixi found it quite fun and joined in on the work.

Building a kiln involved stacking moist clay one piece at a time, leaving only a hole for the firewood. With several people working together, the kiln was quickly completed, and they began to light the fire.

They waited until the clay turned red from the heat before throwing in the sweet potatoes one by one. Once all the sweet potatoes were inside, they collapsed the kiln so that the heated clay would cover the sweet potatoes. With the fire extinguished, the sweet potatoes would then be cooked by the heat of the clay.

The children who grew up in the village had all baked sweet potatoes this way before, so they were familiar with the process. Only Long Aixi was curious. He had eaten roasted sweet potatoes cooked with charcoal on the roadside, but he had never eaten those baked in clay.