Chapter 177: Chapter 98: It’s So Hard to Cook Like This (Part 2)

Juhua held back a laugh. “You just said I didn’t know how to run a household and that I should save these to make tofu, and now you want to make snacks out of them.”

Liu Xiaomei said sheepishly, “Well, they just smelled so good! Sigh! Now that your family has bought this wasteland, you have so much more room. You can plant more of these soybeans, peanuts, yams, and whatnot. You’ll always have something to harvest, and you’ll have food for the New Year.”

Seeing her envious expression, Juhua comforted her, “If your family works hard for a year, you’ll be able to buy a few mu of wasteland too. Buy a few mu one year, and after a few years, life will get better. I heard the village chief is planning to properly cultivate these oak trees. Life in our village is going to get better and better.”

Liu Xiaomei’s eyes curved into crescents as she smiled, nodding repeatedly. “That’s right. My brother even dug up two small oak saplings and planted them by the side of our house, and he planted some more in the backyard. It’ll probably take a few years for our lives to really improve, but at least we have something to look forward to, right? Besides, if we don’t have enough grain, we can eat the acorn flour, and it even tastes pretty good. Isn’t that better than anything?”

Juhua saw how logical the young girl’s calculations were. ’With her four older brothers,’ she thought, ’life must be a real struggle. It’s amazing her parents are managing to hold on. Still, having a big family has its advantages. If they organize things well, they could get rich quickly.’

The two of them chatted as they cooked, and after a while, Mrs. Yang returned to help. Even though there were only three people, the kitchen seemed bustling with them weaving back and forth. The little Black Dog joined the fun too, running back and forth at Juhua’s heels.

It had taken several days of recovery for the dog to get back to its old self, a clear sign that the kick from the woman of the Lin Family had truly injured it. But no one knew anything about veterinary medicine, so they had no idea where exactly it was hurt. Because of this, Juhua didn’t dare give it a gentle nudge with her foot like she usually did. This leniency spoiled it a bit, and now it was always circling around Juhua.

By the time the land-clearing crew came back for their meal, the three of them had rushed and hurried, but they finally managed to get all the dishes on the table.

Juhua and Liu Xiaomei sat in the kitchen, listening to the boisterous noise from the main hall. They exchanged a smile, feeling a great sense of accomplishment. They brought out the dishes they had set aside for themselves, placed them on the chopping block, and started their own little meal. Eating and laughing, they agreed that this was just as good as the feast on the main table.

Mrs. Yang busied herself with serving everyone before finally coming over to eat as well. She smiled and said, “It’s a good thing we had Mei to help. Otherwise, the two of us would have been worked to death.”

Liu Xiaomei was a sweet and well-spoken girl. She laughed and said, “Oh, Auntie, listen to you, making such a fuss over a little help. Besides, think of this as a favor I can cash in! In the future, when my family needs something, I’ll have the nerve to come ask Juhua for help.”

Juhua let out a PFFT of laughter at her words. “What could your family possibly need help with? Hmm, the next big thing coming up is your second brother’s wedding. I’ll come help you when he gets married.”

Mrs. Yang chuckled. “A wedding means a banquet. There will be a lot of guests. Young girls like you usually aren’t assigned to do that kind of work—it’s not proper for you to be out in public like that. It’s the married women who do the cooking, dishwashing, and serving. Now, if it’s just guests visiting the house, or hiring help during the busy farming season, then it would be fine for you to help.”

Liu Xiaomei nodded in agreement. She soaked some of her rice in the loach soup and shoveled a few bites into her mouth before saying to Juhua, “Making the loaches this way is so much easier to eat. The way I usually cook them is fragrant too, but they’re a pain to nibble on.”

Juhua said, “That’s because your loaches are pickled, so you can only dry-fry them with chilies. They might be a pain to eat, but the more you chew, the more flavorful they get. I actually like eating them that way. For this red-braised loach, you have to use fresh ones, or else they won’t be tender and savory.”

Mrs. Yang said, “I like fish cooked with pickled vegetables. Juhua, tomorrow let’s cook that big black fish with pickled greens. It’ll be so satisfying and go great with rice. With this many people, everyone can eat three big bowls of rice. We can’t do that without good side dishes.”

Juhua nodded. “When I cured the fish, I didn’t use much salt because I was planning to cook it with pickled greens. Mom, is there enough rice?” Hearing Mrs. Yang say that everyone could eat three big bowls, she worried that the huge pot of rice might not be enough.

Mrs. Yang smiled. “This is our first time cooking for so many people, so I wasn’t sure how much to make. We’ll see in a bit if it’s enough and how much we’re short. Then I’ll have a better idea for next time. We have to make sure everyone gets to eat their fill.”

Juhua asked, “Can’t we just cook another pot right now?”

Mrs. Yang chuckled. “Silly girl! Once they’re done eating, they’ll go right back to the fields. Who’s going to wait for you to cook more rice? Let them fill up on the rice crust and fruit pastries for now. I estimate we’re not short by much anyway.”

Sure enough, there wasn’t enough rice. Big Mouth Zhao was the first to come over for the rice crust. He chuckled and said to Juhua, “Don’t you and Auntie worry. We’re actually full, we just want to munch on some rice crust. It’s delicious soaked in vegetable broth.” He explained this when he saw Juhua looking anxious and about to grab the fruit pastries.

Hearing this, Mrs. Yang quickly scraped the entire sheet of rice crust from the bottom of the pot. She had Big Mouth Zhao carry it into the main hall to share with everyone, adding that if it wasn’t enough, there were also fruit pastries.

Liu Xiaomei added, “Those are for you to eat in the afternoon! If you eat them now, there won’t be any left for later.”

When Big Mouth Zhao heard that, he quickly said, “This is enough, this is enough! We should save the pastries for the afternoon.” With that, he hurried off, carrying the huge, pot-shaped sheet of rice crust.

Seeing him like that, Juhua couldn’t help but laugh. It reminded her of the time Meizi and the others had fought over rice crust. She said to Liu Xiaomei, “Just you watch. They’re definitely going to fight over it. They’ll fight for it even if they’re full.” ’Food is always livelier when there are more people scrambling for it.’

Liu Xiaomei nodded. The two of them pricked up their ears, listening to the sounds coming from the main hall. A moment after Big Mouth Zhao went in, they heard someone shout, “Hey! Changxing, don’t tear off such a big piece! We haven’t had any yet!” “Big Mouth, save a piece for me!” “One piece each, don’t fight!”

The two of them burst out laughing together.

Finally, they heard Huang Dagunzi bellow, “I’m telling you, you young whippersnappers have no respect for your elders! You’re young, so it’s fine if you eat a little less. Let us old folks have some more!”

Amid the roaring laughter that followed, it was impossible to tell if anyone actually let him have more. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian.com to vote for recommendations and monthly passes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep