In the middle of September, the area around Mount Yan was already mottled with reddish-gold. Withered leaves fell off naturally and drifted to every house.

This year, the cold came earlier than in previous years, so people changed into autumn clothes early.

The chill of the morning was still there, and the cold wind blew into the courtyard. Banzi curled up under the blanket and rubbed her face against the pillow. This was a rare place where she could relax.

Since the Heliotropia led by Nara moved to Konoha, Whirlpool Mito returned to Whirlpool Village and somehow convinced the elders of the clan to bring a branch of the Whirlpool Clan to join. As the first clan to join Konoha, they naturally received a considerable amount of benefits. As if this was a signal, the other clans that were eager to leave the war extended an olive branch to Konoha. Since then, more than ten clans of various sizes have settled in.

As the patriarch of the Uchiha clan and one of the two founders of Konoha, Uchiha Macula was basically busy these days. He couldn't wait to move his bedroom directly into his office. The consequence of severe sleep deprivation was that even in this world, he was still sleepy.

Banzi didn't know how long she slept until she vaguely heard the conversation between a man and a child in the hallway.

Hashirama was wearing a light-colored apron and a light-colored blanket. He was holding a recipe in one hand and adding various ingredients into the pot with the other.

In the cold morning, the sun hadn't completely risen yet, and the fragrance of food wafted out from the kitchen.

The last batch of rice, millet, buckwheat, and other grains were used to make porridge. When the grains were completely soft, honey and a little sugar pickled kidney beans were added. The refreshing sweetness of the grains and the fragrance of the honey intertwined. The sweetness melted on the tip of the tongue and warmed up the whole body.

Naruto pulled on the cotton slippers and put on the new clothes that Uncle Kashiwa brought from outside a few days ago. Naruto moved closer to him and looked at the gurgling breakfast in the pot.

When Banzi rubbed her sleepy eyes and walked into the kitchen, the sweet porridge had just finished cooking. The adult and the child gathered at the table, and the dim yellow light filled the whole room.

Banzi sat down on her seat and drank two mouthfuls. She stood up and asked, "Do you want me to cut some pickles?"

She preferred sweet and sour food, but these two opposite her were thoroughly salty.

"Naruto wants cherry radish and soft-boiled egg!"

Banzi liked to use a small amount of soju when making soft-boiled eggs. This wine was more cloudy than ordinary sake, and correspondingly, the aroma of wheat.

Hashirama said, "I want soft-boiled egg."

She placed the two side dishes on the table and took out the leftover tofu skin sushi from the fridge. Adding the small and large plates, the monotonous rice porridge suddenly had a different feeling.

Banzi woke up before she had enough sleep. Yawning, she took a bite of porridge and asked the man who lived in her house, "Why did you think of making breakfast recently?"

Hashirama scratched his head and smiled innocently. "You've been very sleepy recently, and I happen to know how to make some simple dishes."

After saying that, he quietly watched the girl of his dreams eat porridge seriously. The girl's long hair was tied into a ponytail, and the fine hair on her forehead was sticking up. Her cheeks were moving as she chewed, making her look like a hamster eating.

Hashirama couldn't help but ask softly, "Is it good?"

Banzi's eyes sparkled. "It's good." It was especially to her taste.

Thinking of the advice of the dog-headed strategist Mito, Hashirama took advantage of the opportunity to ask, "Why don't I bring Naruto home in the future? My class is in the last period."

"Eh?" Why did he suddenly mention this?

Naruto understood. After all, he had received a lot of tributes from Uncle Kashiwa. At this time, he blinked his big, watery eyes and said coquettishly, "I'll come back with Uncle Kashiwa, so mom doesn't have to go so far!"

Is that okay?

The man showed his super obedient dog eyes. "Absolutely no problem. Just treat it as a small favor for me to stay here temporarily."

Kashiwa Moritte's face was full of sunshine. For some reason, every time he showed a pitiful expression, Banzi couldn't bear to reject him.

However, Mr. Kashiwa was already helping her tidy up the shop after work every day. Banzi waved her hand and said, "Don't bother."

"Mom, just listen to Uncle." Naruto grabbed Kashiwa Moritte's clothes.

Especially when Uncle Kashiwa promised to teach him ninjutsu.

Banzi rubbed her aching forehead. Looking at the adult and child in front of her, she felt that something was wrong.

After sending Naruto to school, Banzi took out the list she had made a few days ago and checked the food she needed to buy one by one.

Hashirama looked over and said in surprise, "Are these for the Moonrise Festival?"

Banzi nodded.

Every mid-to-late September, before and after the Moonrise Festival, the village had the custom of making Moonrise Dumplings. This was the biggest festival of the entire autumn. Many residents would wear special clothes and carry the altar to the shrine to burn incense and drink wine to taste the delicious food under the moonlight.

Out of respect for Banzi's cooking, many neighbors came to her place to order Moonrise Dumplings. This was a kind of white dumpling made of glutinous rice. It was generally tasteless. Of course, one could add red bean, matcha, soybean powder, and so on according to personal taste.

Hashirama didn't have class in the morning anyway, so she called him over to do the hard work.

There were two or three supplementary ingredients left on the list. Hashirama held the bag with one hand and asked curiously, "Isn't this a little too much?"

Banzi bought five kilograms of glutinous rice, which was enough to feed a family of three for more than half a month.

"On the day of the Moonrise Festival, not only Konoha's residents, but also many commoners and nobles from other places will come."

Excluding the portion reserved by the guests, the remaining amount could be sold out on the day of the festival. The closer it was to the festival, the higher the price of these ingredients.

Hashirama, who had no concept of price, pretended to agree. The two of them walked one after the other. The woman looked down at her notes and walked forward quickly, while the man carried a large pile of things and followed behind unhurriedly.

It was like a newlywed husband and his young wife.

After returning to the courtyard, Hashirama was called away by a few ninjas.

Taking advantage of the dry weather, Banzi dried the glutinous rice on the ground facing the sun. After the glutinous rice was completely dried, she put it in a dry cloth bag, which could be stored until early winter.

There was still about half a month left before the Tsukigami. During this period of time, she could brew fruit wine with a low alcohol content. She preferred this kind of food that she could make herself, especially fruit wine, which was easy to make and suitable for both young and old. Due to the inconvenience of her identity in the Uchiha Clan, she could only enjoy it here.

Autumn was the season for loquats and pears to ripen. Early persimmons were still a little astringent, so it would take a few weeks for them to be added to the wine.

Banzi picked up the pears planted in the courtyard with a bamboo basket. Because of its white color, some places called it a snow fruit. After removing the skin and core, she cut it in half, mixed it with distilled yeast and placed it at the bottom of the pottery jar. Half a day later, she added rock sugar, red fruit and so on. The fruit wine would be filtered every week, and it would be ready to eat after half a month.

Ban Zi held the jar and put it in the shade of the courtyard. As soon as he looked up, he saw a smiling face on the short wall.

"Miss Banzi, long time no see." The young man jumped over the wall and landed lightly on the ground.

"Shisui -kun …" Banzi pulled the corner of her mouth politely, almost covering her face.