The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure-Chapter 86 Is Not Necessary, Right?

Now that everything had reverted to its original state, not only did Old Granny Zhang feel comfortable, but Lady Jiang herself also let out a sigh of relief.

She no longer held any extravagant hopes, as long as the Wang family had a place for her and the three rooms held several children, and they were not short on rations, being able to raise the children well was enough for her to be content.

What was there to fear about doing more chores? Hadn’t she been getting by on chores for so many years?

Therefore, without saying a word, Lady Jiang quickly cleaned up the melon seed shells and other things in the yard.

On the other hand, Lady Lin just felt that this sister-in-law must be foolish, not knowing to cozy up to her little sister-in-law to please the mother-in-law and profit the third branch of the family.

Why didn’t she know that she could take advantage of teaching the little sister-in-law to assert herself? If it were her, forget about other matters, at the very least, she could do nothing else and just focus on teaching sewing, right?

Although Lady Lin thought her sister-in-law was silly, she certainly didn’t have the good intention to remind her. Otherwise, wouldn’t all that extra work fall on her shoulders?

Fearing that she would have to stay in the yard and be ordered around by the mother-in-law to do chores, Lady Lin planned to return to her room.

But then she heard a bustling noise from outside the yard, and then her own Jindou and Jinhu, along with Jinguan, followed by the children of the third room, surrounding the little sister-in-law and little brother-in-law, clamoring about something as they entered the yard.

Lady Lin’s eyes lit up at the sight of the pheasants Laosi was carrying in his hand and the basket on his back; she no longer thought about going back to her room.

"Laosi has returned? You got a pheasant? It looks quite plump——" Lady Lin’s eyes were practically glued to the pheasant, for a person who had gone several months without eating meat could still endure it.

Now, basking in the light of the little sister-in-law, she could get a taste of meat every ten days or half a month, which stirred up the gluttonous worms in her belly, unable to move at the sight of meat.

Old Granny Zhang could not stand Lady Lin’s listless demeanor, and she gave her a scolding glance without saying a word.

The straightforward Wang Yongping handed the pheasant to Old Granny Zhang, "Mother, I see our little sister has become so emaciated these past few days from learning needlework. I think we should make her some pheasant soup to nourish her body. I’ll go up to the mountain in the next few days and see if I can trap some other game to help her regain her health."

Wang Yongzhu wanted to firmly refuse!

She didn’t need it, okay?

Old Granny Zhang narrowed her eyes, weighed the pheasant in her hands, and nodded, "It seems I have not wasted my affection on you. Your sister hasn’t mended your clothes in vain. You have much more conscience than your brothers, always aware of how your sister has wasted away these days."

As she spoke, she cast a pointed glance towards Lady Lin and Lady Jiang.

Lady Lin pretended not to hear, Lady Jiang pretended not to understand, and both kept silent.

Old Granny Zhang harrumphed when she saw Wang Yongping unloading the basket full of Chinese yams almost too dazzling for Old Granny Zhang’s eyes, "These are good stuff, Laosi, did you dig these up in Dahei Mountain?"

Speaking of this, Wang Yongping, in front of everyone, wanted to bring up the matter of the children brazenly going to Dahei Mountain to dig yams and gather mountain goods.

"I met Jindou and the rest on my way down the mountain; they have become too bold, leading the little sister and a few kids to Dahei Mountain to gather mountain goods——"

"What? Jindou, come here, who gave you the guts? Huh? To actually take your old aunt to Dahei Mountain? Are you asking for a beating? If your old aunt loses a single hair, I won’t skin you alive!" The moment Old Granny Zhang heard that her darling daughter had been taken to Dahei Mountain, she immediately exploded.

She picked up a broom, ready to start beating.

Jindou hastily ran while protesting his innocence; in a few words, he brought up Wang Yongzhu, pushing all the credit onto her.

After hearing the explanation, Old Granny Zhang, half-believing and half-doubting, asked Wang Yongzhu and the kids, "Is what Jindou said true?"

The little beans nodded frantically and added more stories to Wang Yongzhu’s glorious achievements.

Wang Yongzhu was just short of being held up to the heavens.

Old Granny Zhang looked towards Wang Yongzhu again, and what could Wang Yongzhu do?

Deny it and her nephews would have to settle for broom-whisked meat stir-fry instead? So she had no choice but to admit it.

Alas, even wanting to keep her accomplishments under wraps didn’t work!

She nodded, yet still wanted to explain a bit, "It’s not as miraculous as they’re making it out to be, it was just a fluke. I don’t know why I’m so lucky."

Old Granny Zhang threw down her hand broom, looking through her basket with joy beaming from her face, "My dear girl is so fortunate! She is the lucky star of our Wang family! Ever since the last time you went to gather Yellow Pine Mushrooms, I knew, oh my! The Bodhisattva is watching over us, our Zhuzhu is blessed by the Bodhisattva!"

Wang Yongzhu was at a loss for words. Okay, there might not have been a Bodhisattva, but she did have a system!

With this modest bounty, and considering how Old Granny Zhang felt that her daughter had lately been overexerting and getting too thin, a good nourishing was in order! A real fortifying meal was needed!

Wang Yongzhu had waited a long time for this opportunity. She thought, with pheasants and exotic mountain delicacies at hand, if she cooked herself, even if the taste couldn’t match that of Lady Jiang’s, given the pheasant’s sake, surely everyone would have positive remarks, right?

Thus, she pestered Old Granny Zhang for a long time until she reluctantly agreed to let Wang Yongzhu take the role of head chef for once.

And with that, a whole room of helpers was assembled to assist her.

Jinguan took charge of tending the fire, Jinhua picked and washed the vegetables, Lady Lin went to chop the chicken, Lady Jiang’s steamed buns were put in the steamer behind the wok, the cornmeal porridge cooking in the pot below. By the time the buns were steamed, the porridge would be ready too.

All the side dishes were also cut and ready, and the wok had been washed clean.

Then all that was left for Wang Yongzhu to do was to take a spatula and give it a quick stir-fry, with Old Granny Zhang and Lady Jiang as her dedicated guides standing by her side.

Such high-standard treatment, rivaling that of a restaurant head chef, left Wang Yongzhu feeling both a little apprehensive and a little excited as she took to the stove.

Fortunately, peasant households didn’t have many seasoning options at that time. First, she stir-fried the chopped pheasant pieces with ginger until the fat rendered out, then added water and brought it to a boil on high heat before letting it simmer. When the chicken was almost tender, she added the diced yam and again boiled it on high heat before transferring everything into a ceramic pot to continue simmering in the stove.

She also stir-fried some yam with wood ear mushrooms. Given the wood-fired stove and its high heat, and the fact that Wang Yongzhu was willing to use a generous amount of oil, she didn’t notice Old Granny Zhang’s pained expression, her face twitching at the sight. If she had been a daughter-in-law, she would’ve already been hit with the spatula and scolded for wasting resources.

But this was her own dear daughter, who she cherished even if it meant spoiling her on her knees.

As she watched, Old Granny Zhang’s heart ached to the point where she felt she couldn’t breathe, thinking watching any longer would shave ten years off her life.

After giving Lady Jiang a few instructions, she left so as to be out of sight and out of mind. freewёbnoνel-com

Wang Yongzhu, completely unaware, focused all her attention on wrestling with the wok and spatula.

With great difficulty, she managed to stir-fry a dish. The yam was slightly burnt, but it smelled alright.

Emboldened, Wang Yongzhu’s hands reached once more for the oil pot.

Lady Jiang could no longer hold back. If her sister-in-law carried on like this, a single meal could deplete a month’s supply of oil. After stuffing themselves today, what would they do for the rest of the month? Eat boiled food every day?

Eager to prevent this, she quickly grabbed the oil pot and wiped the wok with a cotton rag soaked in oil, then gestured for Wang Yongzhu to go ahead and add the vegetables to stir-fry.

Wang Yongzhu looked at the bottom of the wok, then back at Lady Jiang.

Come on, with this little oil, how can you fry anything?

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