Splendid peasant girl busy farming

Chapter 11997

When it comes to ingredients, what is the most delicious?
Perhaps everyone has a different answer, but for the Luo and Zhou families who are visiting the Zhou family today, the most delicious ingredients are fish and lamb, which can be broken down into their respective parts.

More than an hour later, Xiao Huan and Zhou Wang cleared out the table in the main room, and the aroma that had been lingering near the kitchen suddenly entered the main room.

Xiao Huan selected a fish weighing four or five pounds from the fish brought by the Luo family and stewed it directly in an iron pot.

Inside the large fish, there were also a series of ingredients such as pickled cabbage, tofu, tofu skin, and bean sprouts. Cornmeal pancakes and pure wheat flour pancakes were pasted on the edge of the iron pot.

She chopped up a few pieces of lamb leg bones, added some white radishes she dug up from her own vegetable garden, and simmered a whole earthenware pot of lamb bone and radish soup, sprinkling a handful of bright red goji berries on top. It was truly beautiful and nutritious; the lamb bone soup, even whiter than milk, was mouthwatering, even Yang Ruoqing, who didn't particularly like soup, was tempted.

You think that's the end of it? Not at all!
They also killed two chickens, and used one old hen to make soup. The soup made from the original, pure, natural farm-raised old hen was so delicious that even the gods would be amazed.

Another young chicken was killed, and Xiao Huan stir-fried it with dried red chilies, ginger, and garlic until the oil was rendered out. She then plated it and sprinkled some chopped cilantro on top. It was a vibrant and colorful dish, so delicious that it made you want to eat three big bowls of rice to match such a plate of spicy stir-fried chicken.

After the snow, Xiao Huan picked a whole basket of cabbages and cauliflowers. She shook off the snow, washed them thoroughly in clean water, then heated oil in a wok, grabbed a handful of cauliflowers, and stir-fried them until they sizzled. She added a suitable amount of salt, and within a minute, she took them out of the wok and plated them. She filled two large plates and placed them on the table, where they became two eye-catching green accents in this delicious meat dish.

"There's way too much food! How can we possibly finish all this? Didn't we tell you to cook just a couple less dishes?" Luo the blacksmith said, looking at the table full of food.

Luo Da'e beamed, "Brother, this is all just a way to present what you've already brought. The fish and sheep were all brought by you."

Of course Luo the blacksmith knew. He shook his head and said, "It was brought here for you to eat during the New Year. It's not right to give it to us in advance!"

Luo Da'e continued to laugh and said, "There's still plenty left in the kitchen. Let's eat together; it's like celebrating the New Year early!"

“My mother is right, Uncle. Let me ladle you a bowl of mutton soup. It’s delicious.” Zhou Wang got up and took the empty bowl from in front of Luo the blacksmith.

Because of a throat ailment that occurred two years ago, the old man, Luo the blacksmith, dared not touch tobacco or alcohol. So, at such a meal, everyone would tacitly and considerately prepare a bowl of soup for him to soothe his throat.

"Brother, how's your throat this year? Has it relapsed?" Luo Da'e asked again.

Luo the blacksmith took the mutton soup from Zhou Wang, placed it in front of him, and turned to Luo Da'e, saying, "My throat used to be a real scare, it gave Qing'er and Tang Yazi a lot of trouble, and we had to go to the county clinic several times."

"With medication and treatment over the past two years, it has almost never recurred. Sister, don't worry. We siblings are alike; we both have sore throats, probably a family ailment."

"Oh? So that's quite possible?" Luo Da'e's eyes lit up. She also had a throat problem, and so did her brother.

"Brother, my problem got better with time, and you can too. The important thing is to take the medicine, keep a good mood, and avoid spicy food."

"I will, don't worry, brother."

Watching the brother and sister earnestly exchanging experiences, with the blacksmith Luo even sharing his own experiences, Luo Da'e listened intently, receiving rays of hope from her brother's examples.

This scene drew secret glances from the others at the table, who all hoped that things would turn out this way.

After eating and drinking their fill, Luo Xia, the blacksmith, stayed at the shop for a few days, while Luo Fengtang and Yang Ruoqing went back ahead of time.

Xiao Huan took out a large bag of melon seeds, weighing about three or four pounds, from the side room and stuffed it into Yang Ruoqing's hands, saying, "Don't refuse, take it back for your aunt and uncle to eat."

"Okay, I won't refuse, thank you very much."

When they arrived at the door, they found that there was an extra basket on the carriage, containing two old hens and two ducks.

Ping An, who was standing guard beside the carriage, bowed slightly and said with a smile, "Madam, this was placed here by my uncle earlier."

"My goodness, cousin, what are you doing now?" Yang Ruoqing was both amused and exasperated. The Luo family didn't need to buy chickens anymore. Seriously, the chickens and ducks that the Zhou family occasionally gave them were enough to cover the Luo family's expenses...

"It's just a small token for the New Year." Zhou Wang wasn't good with words, but he was a very honest and straightforward person.

Luo Fengtang stepped forward and gently patted Yang Ruoqing on the shoulder. "Qing'er, get in the car."

"Okay." Yang Ruoqing did not refuse the Zhou family's kindness again, accepted the basket of chickens and ducks, and got into the carriage with a few pounds of melon seeds in her pocket.

After waving goodbye to the Zhou family, the carriage slowly drove out of Zhoujia Village.

This time, they arrived safely again. Luo Fengtang sat with Yang Ruoqing in the back carriage, and the two chatted casually about Luo Da'e's situation.

Luo Fengtang said, "I always felt that my aunt's illness was still not very stable. I had a bad feeling when I saw her getting thinner and thinner."

Yang Ruoqing nodded, "We feel the same way, but some things are just hard to say."

"I've heard people say before that when faced with the same serious illness, a thin person might lose their life, while an overweight person might have their fat shield them from the calamity of the illness. At worst, they'll just become thin again after recovering from the illness!"

“So, it’s also possible that Aunt Da’e will be the lucky one!” Yang Ruoqing looked up at him and said.

Luo Fengtang seemed to be deep in thought, and finally patted Yang Ruoqing's head, "If it could really be like that, I would be very happy, at least Uncle would be very pleased."

"Are you sleepy? If you are, take a nap. I'll wake you up when we get home," Luo Fengtang said.

Yang Ruoqing yawned and lay down in Luo Fengtang's arms. He pulled the blanket next to him over her.

"My hands are a little cold," she said. "Would you mind if I borrow yours to warm them up?"

"Whatever," he said, bowing his head.

Yang Ruoqing's lips curled up slightly, and her hand slipped under the blanket inside his shirt, groping along his muscular physique through the thin white undergarment. Ah, that author is so good to me! I'm really enjoying this!

Since the food is good, let's eat more. Hmm, touching it is really enjoyable.

"Weren't you sleepy? Why are you so restless?" Luo Fengtang's deep voice suddenly came from beside my ear.

The intense gaze fell on her cheeks, making her feel a little embarrassed.

"Hmm, once my hands are warm, I can sleep better." She mumbled casually, pretending nothing had happened, and quietly opened one eye, only to meet his eyes, which seemed to be smiling but weren't.

Her little thoughts, under his deep gaze, were like a blank sheet of paper exposed to the scorching sun; no secret could be hidden from him.

"If I said I lost control of that hand, would you believe me?" Yang Ruoqing said innocently.

“I believe you. I happen to have some experience treating out-of-control hands.” He said, grabbing the delicate, white hand that was trying to slip away, then tucking it inside his undergarment and pressing it directly against her warm, firm chest: “Wife, please do as you please…”

……

Ping An drove the carriage ahead, and gradually the sounds of the lady and the general's conversation faded from the carriage behind him.

But then a strange rustling sound came out.

Although Ping An is unmarried and still a young man, he is not completely ignorant.

After all, everyone could see the love between the lady and the general. He dared not eavesdrop, for that would make him feel guilty and remorseful. However, he was also a martial artist, especially since his lady had taught him some boxing techniques in recent years. As his skills improved, his hearing naturally improved as well.

He pulled the cotton hat off his head with all his might, trying to cover his ears, and then concentrated on driving the carriage...

The rustling sounds in the carriage soon ceased; even with a thousand kinds of affection, they wouldn't be so desperate as to act recklessly in any situation.

The two simply snuggled together for a while, and then Yang Ruoqing finally succumbed to sleepiness and fell asleep in Luo Fengtang's arms, leaving Luo Fengtang alone sitting there, trying to calm the restlessness that had just been stirred up in his body by taking deep breaths and drinking tea.

This daughter-in-law is too much of a tormentor. I'll definitely punish her properly tonight.

Changping Village.

Today in Changping Village, from morning till night, the sounds of firecrackers, trumpets, suonas, and the noise of guests never stop.

After all, the daughter's wedding and the son-in-law's wedding both happened on the same day. It wasn't until after noon, when the sun was setting, that the main banquet at Sixi's house ended, and the guests slowly dispersed. Especially after a string of loud firecrackers sent off the procession from Old Yang's side, most of the day had passed, and the hustle and bustle finally came to an end.

The old house of Sixi's family is the courtyard house at the south end of the village where Sixi's parents and three older brothers lived together.

Today, Si Xi is getting married, but the banquet is being held at the old house.

The reason is simple: although Sixi and Xiuhong's new house has been completed, the pots and pans in the kitchen are not completely dry yet and need to be dried for a while longer.

Besides, the walls inside the house, as well as the bed, tables, and chairs coated with tung oil, are not yet usable. So when Xiu Hong married into the family today, all the dowry she brought was sent to the new house for storage, but she herself moved into the old house. The banquet was also held here. Moreover, during the period before the New Year, she and Sixi were staying in the old house in the room where Sixi used to live.

At this moment, the guests had all left, and some of the women from the family and several of Sixi's sisters-in-law were still busy with the remaining tasks in the kitchen, tidying up the courtyard and main hall, and returning the square tables and benches that had been borrowed for the banquet.

Sixi, along with his father and several of his brothers, had all gotten quite drunk at the midday feast. They were now being helped back to their rooms by the women to take an afternoon nap. Sixi, the groom, was also in high spirits and had drunk quite a bit at midday as well.

At this moment, Sixi lay fully clothed on the bed. The quilt on the bed today was the one from Xiuhong's dowry, a brand new bright red satin quilt embroidered with two green mandarin ducks playing in the water, and a large double happiness character embroidered on the heads of the two mandarin ducks.

Si Xi was sleeping soundly under the fragrant and warm quilt, while Xiu Hong was busy tidying up things in the room.

When she came here before, she brought a wooden box with her. Inside the box were wedding cakes to be distributed to everyone, as well as a jewelry box filled with velvet flowers. The velvet flowers were also to be distributed to the female relatives and friends, as well as to the children who wanted flowers.

At this moment, she was tidying up the remaining things. The velvet flower pies had been almost all given away, with only one or two left. She planned to keep the last one or two as a souvenir.

There were about ten cakes left. Before she got married, her father specially ordered them from a small cake-making workshop in the county town. They were Yunpian Gonggao (a type of traditional Chinese cake), which was very delicious and much better than the moldy, stale cakes with insect eggs that the villagers used to pay New Year's visits to relatives and friends.

Xiu Hong planned to save these cakes so that she could bring them when she went back to her parents' home and her sister's home for the New Year during the first month of the lunar calendar, thus saving herself the expense of buying them again.

In addition, these cakes have a good texture and can be stored for a month in a dry wooden box without any problems.

She and Sixi kept them as snacks, and whenever they got hungry at night or in the morning, they would open a box and eat it—how pleasant!

After tidying up these things, Xiu Hong started tidying up the teapot and teacups on the table. Although she was wearing a red wedding dress and heavy jewelry, it didn't stop her from doing these chores at all.

However, after standing and washing for a short while, she felt a soreness in her lower back and a discomfort in her right shoulder.

She stopped and gently patted her lower back, wondering what was wrong with her and why these two places suddenly felt uncomfortable.
Then she remembered that it was probably the two women who helped her when she entered the old house courtyard earlier today. They seemed to be Sixi's two aunts. They each helped her on one side, and there was a brazier on the ground when they crossed the threshold.

According to local custom, it's considered auspicious for the bride to step over a fire basin. As she was stepping over it, her two aunts, as if by prior arrangement, suddenly exerted force, pressing down on her shoulders and pulling her down so that she almost bent over as she stepped over the fire basin into the courtyard...

Xiu Hong knew these rules. She had seen many new brides do this on purpose when they entered the family, in order to suppress the bride's fiery temper and make her live an honest and obedient life in her husband's family, and abide by the rules for new brides.

As a native of Mianniu Mountain, Xiuhong naturally understands and respects these rules.

The two aunts pressed down on her so suddenly and with so much force, as if they were afraid she would resist, which caused her to have pain in her shoulders and lower back.