Chapter Seven, The First Voice of Mother

Yet he saw Wang Rouhua staring blankly at him, her eyes filled with a look of surprise. Tie Xinyuan let out a gentle sigh and resignedly closed his eyes

Wang Rouhua's expression suddenly changed, and she turned around to enter the room, dragging the fox out from under the bed and glaring at it fiercely, saying: "Did you open the door for Yuan'er?"

At this moment, a beam of residual light shone in from the door, illuminating the proud and somewhat arrogant little face of Tie Xinyuan. The little fox let out a cry and then burrowed into the basket under the bed, only its head visible as it watched Tie Xinyuan carefully tear apart the mushrooms and then place them on the brazier to roast.

As a farmer's wife, Wang Rouhua is acutely aware that autumn is the time for storing grain, especially in this year of famine when grain prices are bound to rise quickly. No one understands better than a farmer's wife the importance of grain to a family

On this night, Wang Rouhua was so excited that she stayed awake all night, continuously enticing Tie Xinyuan to talk. After Tie Xinyuan patiently accompanied her in calling out "mother" dozens of times, he could no longer resist the invasion of sleep and fell into a deep slumber.

Impatiently, Tie Xinyuan kicked the hedgehog away with his tiger-head shoes, took out the toy bamboo tube that his mother had made for him, carefully picked off a few mushrooms, and then plugged it up, feeling that heaven seemed to treat him quite well.

He wanted to grind these dried mushrooms into powder, but the young Tie Xinyuan was simply unable to do so. He carefully placed the dried mushrooms into a bamboo tube and signaled for the fox to go out and hide them. He was very worried that if his mother accidentally discovered them, she might make soup with these fragrant dried mushrooms for herself.

The room is filled with a sour smell, a scent that lingers after Wang Rouhua has thoroughly infused the entire space with vinegar three times.

Indeed, my small body was lifted by my mother, spinning rapidly in the air, her lips falling on my face, my head, my belly, and my bottom like raindrops

A faint voice came through, and Tie Xinyuan, in a daze, called out "Mother!" Then he jolted awake and sat up.

As a form of gratitude, Wang Rouhua assisted those guards in the capital who had no family by mending and washing their clothes. Although she repeatedly insisted that she did not want any payment, each time the guards would not let her work for free, and there would always be three to five copper coins lowered in a basket along with the clothes that needed washing and mending.

The statement that mushrooms produced in the north can withstand the cold wind is completely incorrect

Wang Rouhua, who had not slept all night, emerged from her house just as the sky was beginning to brighten, and excitedly shouted to the guard standing on the city wall: "Brother Zhang, my Yuan'er can talk now"

This time, the source of the epidemic was found, and it must be said that the Kaifeng Prefecture is indeed a very efficient government department. In the end, it was discovered that it was merely a case of enteritis (dysentery) and not a severe epidemic (cholera), which relieved everyone.

Seventh Brother, did you see it? Did you hear it? Our child can speak now...

Wang Rouhua planted a fruit seedling in front of her house, which sprouted a tender green shoot. Such tender branches are unable to withstand the impending cold winter, which left Wang Rouhua, who was determined to plant a fruit tree for her son to enjoy the fruits, feeling extremely disappointed

The little fox seemed to be frightened, suddenly darting to Iron Heart's side, crouching by his legs and whimpering towards a spot covered with many dry leaves

At the same time, Bao Zheng sat in the main hall, rendering judgments with his mouth while writing verdicts with his hand. A thick stack of case files was quickly processed, and then he tossed aside his pen, laughing heartily as he left, leaving behind countless common people in the hall, their cries of injustice nearly overturning the roof

The remaining poisonous fly agarics have turned into spores, which is not a major issue. By next spring, after being nourished by the rain, they will surely grow back.

Soon arriving at the place where the long mushrooms grow, Tie Xinyuan felt such disappointment. The straw mushrooms were abundant everywhere, yet the poisonous fly agaric had long since withered, with black spores scattered all around, but not a single mature mushroom in the process of growing could be seen

My source can now speak

Wang Rouhua watched the street ahead with her own eyes; this street had not transported any corpses for three days, which finally put her mind at ease

A brand new mosquito net almost occupies half of the room, and Wang Rouhua does not allow Tie Xinyuan to come outside the mosquito net at all. Every day, she must thoroughly inspect the mosquito net until no mosquitoes are found, at which point she can feel at ease

Although Tie Xinyuan was eager to revisit the mushroom field filled with toxic fly agaric, he could not find any opportunity; as soon as he dared to crawl out of the mosquito net, Wang Rouhua would give him a few hard slaps on the backside

At nine months old, Tie Xinyuan can now stand steadily on the ground. After four months of continuous training, he no longer needs Wang Rouhua's assistance to walk, except that he cannot run yet

However, she immediately locked her son and the little fox in the house, hurriedly pushed the chicken cart, and went to the horse-drawn carriage street.

The guard laughed heartily and said, "For over ten years, my son has called me 'father.' Shouldn't I still beat him when the time comes? Since your precious little one can now speak, it indicates that he has grown up and reached the age to be punished. Just yesterday, I saw him running around by the city wall, hahahaha..."

Among these, the contributions of the Kaifeng Prefecture are noteworthy. The area surrounding the imperial city is a highly guarded zone under strict vigilance, and now it is prohibited for anyone to step within ten paces or even one hundred paces.

After completing all of this, Tie Xinyuan felt extremely tired. He climbed onto the low bed, not even having time to take off his tiger-head shoes, and fell into a deep sleep.

Wang Rouhua filled the water tank to the brim; the water inside is not from the sweet water well, but rather spring water fetched from the palace by the guard brother stationed at the top of the imperial city wall.

If it is a fierce epidemic, only heaven knows how many people will die in Tokyo...

Upon learning that it was a case of intestinal dysentery, Tie Xinyuan would be bathed three times a day in warm water with added salt by Wang Rouhua. Naturally, the little fox would receive the same treatment. Every day at sunset, when Wang Rouhua bathed Tie Xinyuan and the little fox, the guards on the city wall would watch and laugh heartily.

The guard on the city wall chuckled, "Your son is quite the clever one; even the fox you keep at home seems to be turning into a spirit, as it can open the door for your son. Hehe, with a son like that, Iron Family Lady, you will have plenty to endure in the future"

The autumn breeze has finally arrived

The little fox is very good at hiding things, and no one knows where it hides them.

However, there is also a positive aspect, which is that the epidemic is gradually disappearing

My son is indeed the smartest, while the dog at Tie Laowu's house, even at the age of 2, still cannot bark at people, always calling his father Duoduo. Hahahahaha, my son is indeed the smartest...

Wang Rouhua also heard that the nobles in the palace have gone to Cuiwei Mountain to avoid the epidemic, and they will not return to the palace until at least the weather turns cold

Yuan'er, wake up, Yuan'er, wake up...

The little fox was savoring the straw mushrooms, and sometimes it would bite off a straw mushroom and bring it to Tie Xinyuan's side. It found it strange that Tie Xinyuan did not eat these delicacies

The epidemic in the city of Tokyo has become increasingly fierce, and even during the day, one cannot see even a few pedestrians on the streets; if there are any, they appear hurried and anxious

His heart is as desolate as the autumn wind—what a wonderful mushroom, how suitable it is for children to defend themselves, why can't it grow for a little longer

Running around? This is impossible, I locked the door.

Wang Rouhua's transition from ecstasy to sorrow was remarkably swift, and Tie Xinyuan felt her warm tears falling on his face. With a sigh, he reached out and embraced this woman who was his only companion in life. In this lifetime, the bond between the two of them was likely no longer merely one of blood relation, but also one of emotional connection. These ties bound their two lonely lives together like ropes.

Wang Rouhua also became extremely cautious, never stepping more than ten paces outside the foot of the imperial city. The imperial city encircled the Zhao royal family, conveniently providing a natural layer of protection for Wang Rouhua and her son. As a result, there had not been a single dead body found in the vicinity of her home.

The wind blew from afar, lifting the fallen dry leaves that struck against the high walls and fell to the ground. Soon, the dry leaves nearly covered the feet of the iron-hearted source.

In four months, Tie Xinyuan has only grown slightly larger, while the little fox has already matured into a beautiful young fox. Once the light yellow down on its body sheds and new fur grows in during the winter, it will have completely transformed into a true silver fox.

My child can speak now, and last night called me mother dozens of times

Peering through the crack of the door and seeing that his mother had already gone far away, he waved to the fox. The fox skillfully squeezed out from under the door, climbed to the top of the door, used its mouth to lift the latch, and then pushed the door open with its paw

After a long time, Tie Xinyuan finally removed the handkerchief tied to his nose, leaned over the doorway, took a deep breath of fresh air, and looked at the pile of yellowed dried mushrooms resting on the tiles above the fire pit, laughing triumphantly.

The wealthy families have all departed, and those remaining in the city each have their own reasons for staying, enduring the wait for the arrival of the autumn breeze.

In his dream, he saw Yang Huaiyu, wielding a long spear and covered in wounds, fighting fiercely like a mad tiger against the fully armored guards. In the end, he was pierced in the thigh by the guards' long spears and fell to his knees, still babbling incoherently and yearning to continue the fight

The guard on the city wall rubbed his sleepy eyes and yawned, saying: "Iron Lady, it is not surprising that your son can speak, but it is quite astonishing that you are shouting everywhere so early in the morning"

My source will call me mother

Walking along the city wall towards home, Tie Xinyuan showed no signs of fatigue. After entering the house, he instructed the fox to secure the door latch again before squeezing back in through the bottom of the door.

A gray-brown spiny ball rolled out from the dead leaves. Tie Xinyuan glanced at it and realized it was just a hedgehog. His eyes quickly brightened as several red mushrooms appeared among the dead leaves where the hedgehog had rolled out.

The room is very dark. In order to enhance thermal insulation, my mother sacrificed the essential feature of windows, merely using some branches to create a makeshift partition at the entrance. This house faces the same direction as the royal palace, both oriented towards the south and with the north at their backs.