Splendid peasant girl busy farming

Chapter 12060

Upon learning that he was going to visit Zuo Family Village, Luo Wuyou entrusted the affairs of the camp to Hongxiu, while he and Ping An rushed back to the village before sunset.

Because Da'an had already returned to Changhuaizhou ahead of time, Yang Ruoqing readily accepted the invitation from Yang Huazhong and Sun Shi to come over for dinner that night.

This time, Xiao Duo didn't come, so He Lian'er treated her like a giant panda and protected her.

Xiao Hua was in charge of cooking, with Yang Ruoqing helping her. As for Madam Sun, as the grandmother, she had many things to do, including taking care of Jun'er and Niu Niu.

Fortunately, the two little brothers from Tuanyuan came, and Ronggu and Shaoyao also came along, so there were plenty of people to take care of the children.

In the kitchen, Yang Ruoqing watched Xiao Hua busy at work. To be honest, Xiao Hua was indeed a hardworking and good woman.

Although she wasn't well-educated, wasn't from a scholarly family, and didn't know anything about music, chess, calligraphy, or painting, Xiaohua was truly a virtuous wife.

Such a little flower... I only wish she would never know what Da'an was doing outside.

However, Yang Ruoqing felt that her wish had now become somewhat selfish...

Sigh, what can I do about being selfish? She's Da'an's older sister, she can't control what Da'an does in his crotch! So annoying!

I don't want to think about it anymore. Everyone has their own script and their own tribulations!
Xiao Hua was engrossed in cooking, perhaps because of the words Da An had said to her privately when she saw Da An and the others off that morning. They had comforted her and made her feel familiar and at ease again. So, while cooking, Xiao Hua and Yang Ruoqing chatted and laughed, and her eyes shone brightly once more.

A short while later, He Lian'er also came to the kitchen.

"Sister, sister-in-law, is there anything I can help with?"

Hearing the cheerful laughter mixed with questions behind them, Yang Ruoqing and Xiaohua both stopped what they were doing.

Yang Ruoqing smiled as she watched He Lian'er approach. Xiao Hua quickly put down the spatula in her hand and walked briskly towards He Lian'er: "Lian'er, slow down! You are now our family's top priority for protection. We can't afford to have any mishaps."

He Lian'er blushed completely after Xiao Hua's words of concern for her.

"Sister-in-law, please don't say that. It's just that Mom is protecting me because I'm still less than three months pregnant. Actually, I'm not that delicate. When I was pregnant with Niu Niu, I did everything I was supposed to do, and Niu Niu was still healthy!"

Xiao Hua said, "Lian'er, it's best to be careful. These things can't be judged by the number of pregnancies."

Yang Ruoqing said, "Although Lian'er needs to be cautious right now, what Lian'er said is also right. Appropriate exercise is better for the health of both adults and children."

Yang Ruoqing patted the small stool next to her. "Come on, Lian'er, sit down next to me. I'll leave the fire in the stove to you. I'll go to the backyard and pick some chives."

"Okay, sister."

He Lian'er sat down at the stove to tend the fire, while Xiao Hua returned to the stove to continue cooking.

Yang Ruoqing picked up a small bamboo basket and hurried to the backyard.

The backyard, along both the inner and outer sides of the courtyard wall, was entirely planted with all sorts of seasonal vegetables by the Sun family.

The lettuce is growing well, sprouting like scallions from dry land, its thick and sturdy body looking particularly plump.

Chives and spinach, so green and lush, make your eyes feel clearer just by looking at them.

With cilantro garnishing the spinach, Yang Ruoqing sometimes really couldn't understand why women like Sun Shi liked to plant spinach and cilantro together.
This forces her to spend time carefully picking the cilantro out of the spinach every time she stir-fries it.

Fortunately, she later grew to like the taste of cilantro, so she stopped picking it and just threw a handful into the pan and stir-fried it. And surprisingly, it tasted amazing.

However, in the vegetable garden at this time of year, the dominant vegetable is always the cauliflower of the cabbage.

Cauliflower is also called white cabbage shoots here, and it is the most common and indispensable dish on the dining table of every household during the first month of the lunar calendar.

Especially after being tempered by the rain, snow, and frost of the coldest days of winter, the white cabbage shoots are tender and sweet, and they are delicious whether stir-fried with rapeseed oil or a small piece of lard.

Take the Luo family as an example. These days, they've been stir-frying a big plate of cabbage sprouts almost every night. They stir-fry cabbage sprouts with leftover rice, make cabbage sprout soup with rice, stir-fry cabbage sprouts with salted pork, stir-fry cabbage sprouts with pork cracklings... Oh dear, no, no, if Yang Ruoqing thinks about it any further, tears will start flowing from her mouth!
So she quickly squatted down, picked a few bunches of cilantro, cut two bunches of chives, glanced at two bunches of bok choy, and finally couldn't resist chopping two lettuce stalks before leaving.

The bamboo basket in his hand was already full. When he passed by the well, he filled a bucket with warm water and washed the freshly picked vegetables on the spot.

Don't throw away the plucked lettuce leaves, peeled lettuce skin, and broken lettuce leaves; put them on a rolling stone next to the well.

Later, chop it up and mix it with a ladle of bran and a ladle of corn kernels, then take it to the chicken coop to feed the chickens. Chickens raised this way are purely natural free-range chickens, and they lay free-range eggs. The chicken soup made from this will be even more authentic and original, without any technology or grueling work involved.

Look how wonderful life is in the countryside in our time and space! What people eat and what poultry eat have formed a wonderful ecological chain.

"Sis, is the food ready? We need to start stir-frying the vegetables." Xiaohua's voice came from the small window behind the kitchen.

As Yang Ruoqing rinsed the vegetable basket in her hands one last time with clean water, she looked up at the window and called out, "Okay, I'll be right there."

Half an hour later, it was still not dark, but dinner was already on the table.

There were several small clay pots on the table, containing duck, chicken, fish, and beef.

Surrounding the pots are earthenware bowls filled with farm-style stir-fried dishes.

Tender braised pork belly, pork belly stir-fried with farm-grown chili peppers, deep-fried river shrimp, and farm-grown chicken and duck eggs stir-fried with farm-grown chili peppers.

Eggplant stir-fried with pounded chili peppers, braised pork with dried green beans, and large, fragrant, and spicy fish chunks.

Then came scrambled eggs with chives, cold lettuce salad, stir-fried spinach with cilantro, stir-fried bok choy, and finally a mushroom and egg drop soup to finish off.

Look, people live off the land and water. In Yang Ruoqing's memory, ever since she transmigrated here, the food culture of the people in Mianniu Mountain has consisted almost entirely of things that run on land and grow in the fields.

Even if fish and shrimp are involved, they are freshwater fish and shrimp.

For 90% of the villagers, seafood is something they have probably never seen or even heard of before.

When people are working in the fields, they joke that the most delicious thing in the world is dragon meat from the sea!
Look, in everyone's mind, seafood is dragon meat.

However, jokes aside, Yang Ruoqing did prepare some seafood for her family to try.

For example, squid, ribbonfish, abalone, and the like.

Guess what?

Not only did my family refuse to eat, but even our orange cat, who can't get enough of anything, ate an abalone and then went under the table to vomit...

After that, Yang Ruoqing and Luo Fengtang stopped bringing seafood home. The transportation and preservation costs were exorbitant, and even if they finally managed to get it home, it would clash with the tastes of these mountain people. It was embarrassing; it was like paying money to suffer.

Look at them now, all gathered around this clay stove and pot, eating so happily.

Therefore, the saying goes that different places nurture different people. What suits your own taste and stomach is the best. You shouldn't blindly compare yourself to others.

"Qing'er, your mother and I have also prepared some things. Tomorrow when you go to Huguang County, please help us take them to Old Madam Zuo!"

At the dinner table, Yang Huazhong addressed Yang Ruoqing.

Although the father-in-law had already explained this matter to his son-in-law Luo Fengtang before, Yang Huazhong still habitually repeated it in front of his daughter.

"Dad, what is it? You should have told me beforehand, if it's anything heavy like rice or something, I'm not bringing it!"

The horse was exhausted, and those things were nothing to the Zuo family.

Huguang County is a place with mountains and rivers, a true land of fish and rice, and the Zuo family was a leading landowner in the area.

With Zuo Jinling now a third-place finisher in the imperial examinations, the Zuo family has become a renowned clan in Huguang County, owning countless estates, and the villagers in that area are all tenants of the Zuo family.

Why would you bring several bags of grain all this way over there?
“It’s not rice, it’s chickens, ducks and geese that your mother and I raised.” Yang Huazhong was somewhat smug about his arrangement, which had defied Yang Ruoqing’s expectations.

"In addition, there are some dried goods, which your mother and I usually pick in the mountains: wild mushrooms, bamboo shoots, eggplants and green beans, dried pickled vegetables, and so on."

"And there's sesame oil fermented bean curd," Mrs. Sun reminded from the side.

Yang Huazhong nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, and fermented bean curd too. Prepare an extra carriage and bring it all along!"

Yang Ruoqing was completely overwhelmed.

"Dad, can we not bring these? The Zuo family has more of these things than we do, not less," she said helplessly.

Yang Huazhong's face fell: "No, you have to bring it. I've already discussed it with Tang Yazi, I just wanted to let you know."

Nani?

Everything was agreed upon? So I was the last one to be notified?

Yang Ruoqing's gaze immediately swept towards Luo Fengtang.

Luo Fengtang was eating leisurely when his wife's gaze swept over him, and he immediately became reserved.

He glanced at Yang Huazhong and immediately chose to betray his father-in-law.

“Qing’er, my father-in-law mentioned this to me earlier, and I said that Qing’er should be in charge of this part, and I will be responsible for moving it.”

Yang Huazhong immediately turned his head and glared at Luo Fengtang, opening his mouth as if to speak.

Xiao An laughed: "Haha, Dad, what did I tell you? Our brother-in-law is all-powerful outside, and his word is law, but at home, you have to go to my sister!"

Luo Fengtang cast an approving glance at Xiao An: "That's right, at home, my Qing'er is the eldest."

Is he really going to praise his wife to her face like that?
Everyone present was stunned.

After staring in disbelief, the men all cast approving glances at Luo Fengtang, while the women looked at Yang Ruoqing with envy.

Pampering your wife is a timeless virtue and an honor.

As for Yang Huazhong, his glare and bluster towards his son-in-law earlier were just for show.

Hearing Luo Fengtang say this, Yang Huazhong was happier than anyone else!
My son-in-law, whom I personally chose, is indeed a man of excellent character and dotes on my daughter!

"Qing'er, don't be lazy. Just say the word, and Tang Ya will help me carry my things upstairs," Yang Huazhong said.

"Tang Yazi doesn't need to lift a finger, your brother Xiao An and I will carry it together!"

Yang Ruoqing said, "Dad, it's not that I'm lazy, it's just that there's really no need to bring those grains and stuff."

"I'll take the dry goods for you, but let's forget about the grain. If you bring it and they don't eat it, it'll feel like a waste of your good intentions. As for the grain, to be honest, the taste isn't as good as their fish, shrimp, and rice. When I go there, I wish I could buy hundreds of pounds of fish, shrimp, and rice to bring back and eat slowly!"

Yang Huazhong's face turned truly dark now.

This girl is actually complaining about the rice?
Sun tugged at Yang Huazhong's sleeve from the side: "I think Qing'er is right. If we're going to give gifts, we should give things that they don't have, or things that are local specialties."

"Otherwise, sending it over would only cause trouble for the other party, which would be counterproductive."

"Then what do you suggest we send? The Zuo family has everything they could possibly want!" Yang Huazhong glanced at Madam Sun with a hint of displeasure in his voice.

"Ahem, let's talk things over, no blaming!" Old Sun, sitting in the main seat, suddenly coughed twice, his displeased gaze sweeping over Yang Huazhong.

Yang Huazhong was startled, only then realizing that his father-in-law was also there!

He was a doting father to his daughter and loved seeing Luo Fengtang spoil his Qing'er in everything. Similarly, his father-in-law was also a doting father to his daughter. No wonder his father-in-law was unhappy when he spoke to Sun Shi in such a distant tone!

Realizing his mistake, Yang Huazhong immediately explained to Sun Shi, "Wife, I'm not blaming you, I'm angry with myself for not being able to give them anything decent. Alas, I'm so useless!"

Madam Sun smiled gently, "If you're so capable, then you're not allowed to say anything that belittles yourself."

"Then what do you suggest? You know better than I what we have at home, so you should make the decision. I'll listen to you!" Yang Huazhong said to Sun Shi again, this time in a particularly gentle tone, with a consultative tone.

Glancing at his father-in-law's face out of the corner of his eye, Yang Huazhong noticed that Old Sun's previously dark expression had returned to normal, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

The others at the table also noticed all these little interactions between the elders and their grandparents. They exchanged glances discreetly, and Xiao An even winked at Yang Ruoqing. Yang Ruoqing glared at him, and Xiao An finally behaved himself.

Sun was unaware of the younger generation's reactions, because her mind was fully engaged, racking her brains to figure out what the Zuo family needed, following the line of thought given by Yang Huazhong.

"I will definitely send two bottles of sesame oil fermented bean curd. Before the New Year, the old lady came to visit and tasted our sesame oil fermented bean curd. She praised the taste and said it was delicious. I promised her that when I make new tofu in the twelfth lunar month, I will make two bottles of fermented bean curd for her as well. She said it was a good idea."

Yang Huazhong slapped his thigh: "Then send two bottles of fermented bean curd! No, send more! Two bottles are too few, they'll be gone in a few sips, send... ten bottles!"

(End of this chapter)