My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 32: Wine and Meat
There was only one small shop in Chenwangzhuang, run by a lame man surnamed Cui.

It has almost everything you need for everyday items like cigarettes, alcohol, and general merchandise.

Whenever the villagers of Chenwangzhuang wanted to buy something, they would first go to Cui the Cripple's shop to ask if they had it.

If there's nothing left, head towards the county town.

When Liu Nier returned from buying cigarettes, Chen Ling was cleaning fish, and the aroma of stewing pheasant wafted from the casserole.

Wang Jusheng would occasionally add a couple of pieces of firewood to the fire, and secretly swallow his saliva a couple of times.

"Uncle Jusheng, here's a cigarette for you."

Liu Nier walked over with a flashlight tucked under her arm and handed a cigarette to Wang Jusheng.

Wang Jusheng took the cigarette, then suddenly noticed the two small sticks in Liu Ni'er's hand and chuckled.

"Why did you buy syrup? This is homemade by Cui the Cripple, it's not worth much. If you want to buy something, buy milk candy, that's tastier."

"I bought the milk candy. I bought two pieces for one cent. I ran into Xizi on the way and gave them to him."

"This syrup was a gift from my lame uncle."

Liu Nier sniffled and stirred the syrup as she spoke.

"Wow, Brother Xian, your Liu Ni'er is quite something! She's only so young, but she already knows how to give gifts to little girls!"

Wang Jusheng laughed as soon as he heard this and couldn't help but tease him.

Wang Lixian was helping Chen Ling kill fish when he heard this, so he looked up and glared at Liu Nier.

Liu Ni'er was terrified of her father, and was immediately startled.

"I don't."

“Xizi got scolded by her aunt again and was too scared to go home. She was hiding outside the door crying. I felt sorry for her, so I gave her all the milk candy.”

Liu Nier said, her face flushed.

"What? Xizi got scolded and is too scared to go home. It's so dark outside, where is she?"

Chen Ling stood up as soon as he heard that.

He remembered the little girl, Xizi. She often wore a dirty red cotton-padded jacket, had pigtails, and was usually timid and didn't dare to speak much.

Even when Wang Susu praised her, she would get shy; she was a very introverted little girl.

"Wealth."

Wang Jusheng stopped him and, seeing that he was quite worried, said, "This is not something you can handle. That family is more unreasonable than anyone else. Don't get yourself into trouble later."

These words made Chen Ling's expression turn a little unpleasant: "But we can't really just ignore it, can we? It's so late, the little girl is afraid to go home, what if wolves come into the village?"

Chenwangzhuang is surrounded by mountains on three sides. In spring and winter, when prey is scarce, wolves often enter the village, which is no joke.

"It's alright, with Xizi's grandfather around, the old man is more worried about his granddaughter than you are."

Wang Lixian cleaned the fish in his hands without looking up and said, "Just listen to Jusheng, don't worry about it."

Even Wang Lixian said so, which made Chen Ling a little confused.

But he knew there was definitely something wrong with this.

Just as he was wondering, Wang Susu pulled him aside and whispered something to him.

Chen Ling then realized what was going on.

It turns out that Xizi was an abandoned child.

It was found by Chen Sangui, an old man from the east of the village, who then adopted it.

Raising this child from age two to six was a labor of love.

Chen Sangui had already treated Xizi as his own granddaughter.

Coincidentally, his son and daughter-in-law have been married for almost ten years but can't have children.

They wanted to adopt Xizi as their daughter.

Upon hearing this, Chen Sangui was overjoyed and naturally agreed.

Unfortunately, she wasn't his biological daughter, and being a girl, Chen Sangui's daughter-in-law would beat and scold her at the slightest displeasure.

Xi Zi lived in constant fear and dared not speak too loudly. He would have been better off enjoying life with Chen Sangui.

But outsiders can't say anything or offer advice, otherwise Chen Sangui's daughter-in-law is not someone to be trifled with.

Sister Xiuying, who lives in the north of the village, is a well-known kind-hearted and gentle woman. Seeing that Xizi was pitiful, she spoke up for him.

As a result, Chen Sangui's daughter-in-law went crazy with anger, blocking Xiuying's door and cursing for a long time. Chen Sangui's son even threw stones into the well.

Wang Lixian tried to offer some advice, but the woman nearly scratched his face. After that, no one dared to say anything more.

However, given how things had escalated, Chen Sangui could not possibly be unaware of it.

But Xizi was adopted by his son and daughter-in-law, and the procedures were completed. Even if he took Xizi back to live with him, how many days could she stay?
Besides, he's old and doesn't have many days left to live. In the future, he'll have to rely on his son and daughter-in-law to support Xizi.

There was no other way but to run to my son's house two or three times a day, for fear that my granddaughter would be wronged.

"Ugh……"

Chen Ling sighed, feeling quite helpless.

Fortunately, Xizi still has Chen Sangui, her grandfather, to take care of her; otherwise, with such adoptive parents, it would be difficult for outsiders to help her.

"Uncle Fugui, I told Xizi I'll bring her to see the puppy tomorrow..."

Liu Ni'er chuckled.

"Okay, come on."

"You're here, Uncle will cook you something delicious."

Chen Ling smiled again and then began to cook the remaining two dishes.

It has to be said that Chen Ling's cooking skills improved dramatically after he acquired the Sun and Moon Cave.

Perhaps it was the addition of the ingredients from the cave that made the food taste so good, which boosted his confidence day by day.

Not only have my cooking skills improved, but I've also become much faster.

I quickly cooked the braised rabbit and sweet and sour carp, and the pheasant stew with mushrooms was also tender and flavorful.

As soon as the lid of the clay pot was lifted, the aroma wafted straight into my nose.

"Ah, so fragrant! So luxurious!"

"Let me taste it and see how it is..."

Wang Jusheng swallowed hard, his stomach growling loudly.

Liu Ni'er was drooling and sniffling, biting the wooden stick used to stir the syrup all over with teeth marks, as if the stick were a chicken leg.

Seeing this, Chen Ling quickly called everyone to start eating.

"Sixth Sister, this chicken leg is yours!"

"It smells wonderful! So fragrant!"

"I never knew you could cook such delicious food!"

They were enjoying their meal, but almost everyone in the eastern part of the village, near Chen Ling's house, was cursing.

It was mealtime, and wow, the aroma wafted over and filled my nose, making the coarse flour buns and millet porridge in my hand suddenly seem less appealing.

Damn it, which spendthrift son of a bitch is stewing meat out of the blue? It smells so good, it's making my mouth water.

Across the street, Qin Dongmei was having dinner with her daughter and sister. There were scrambled eggs and vegetables on the table, and they were eating steamed buns. This was much better than what other families had.

But after smelling the fragrance, Qin Dongmei immediately knew where it was coming from.

"Eat, eat, eat! All this son of a bitch knows is how to eat. He eats meat every day. How come he doesn't just die from overeating!"

"Goooooooooo."

Chen Ling turned on the light in the courtyard, and placed the steaming clay pot on the stone table with a damp cloth underneath.

Pheasant stew with mushrooms, braised rabbit, sweet and sour carp.

Goodness, it's not only incredibly fragrant, but it also looks, smells, and tastes amazing.

"Brother Xian, start eating!"

"You guys drink, don't worry about me..."

"Liu Ni'er, come here and get a steamed bun. Eating only meat will give you an upset stomach tonight."

Eating food and drinking wine, the steaming hot meat dishes and fiery liquor going down together, it was so comfortable.

That's awesome! So awesome!
"Fugui, give me another steamed bun!"

"Your cooking smells so good, I wish I could come to your house for meals every day..."

Wang Jusheng's face was flushed from drinking, but he kept eating, finishing four large steamed buns in a row, and then asking Chen Ling for more.

Liu Ni'er was stunned by what she saw.

Uncle Jusheng is amazing; even the pigs in the pigsty can eat this much.

(End of this chapter)