The girl had her own pride; how could she allow herself to be a beggar for a living?

She would rather go...

When the thought of death crossed Jiang Mingzhu's mind, she heard that familiar voice, "Don't talk about death so easily; there is hope as long as you live. And when it comes to survival, you have to learn to compromise, like your older brother's obsession with cleanliness. If he were a prince or a royal, perhaps such obsession wouldn't be a big deal, but what can you do when he's just the son of a peasant family?"

Gu An'an patted the girl on the shoulder and went inside with a smile.

It was cold after the snow, and Jiang Mingzhu saw her brother crawling out of the cellar and rushed over to help him.

My brother, who is usually very clean, had tattered cobwebs in his hair and some dust on his arms.

She stared at it in a daze, then quickly helped wipe it away.

Jiang Mingyi then realized something was wrong, but the young man simply comforted his sister, "It's okay, why are you crying?"

It's just that my clothes got dirty. "I have new clothes, I can change into something later."

The words "new clothes" made Jiang Mingzhu momentarily dazed. After a while, she smiled, her beautiful face streaked with tears, like a graceful lotus flower holding a single tear.

"I'll help you."

Jiang Mingyi smiled as he looked at his younger sister, ultimately not refusing her kind offer.

...

Gu An'an had bought some spices at the market earlier, including cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, and bay leaves. Although it wasn't a complete set, she didn't insist on buying more since it was just a small county town.

I added a nutmeg when I made braised pork before, and that brought out the flavor.

This time, when stewing pheasant, Gu An'an specially sewed a small bag out of white cloth, took some of these spices, stuffed them all in, and threw them into the pot.

It can be reused, although it won't taste as rich as when it was first used to make soup, but it'll still be usable.

If all else fails, you can grind it up and make it into a sachet.

Gu An'an is just that frugal.

There's just not that much money right now.

Pheasants are good at running, so their meat is firmer than that of domesticated chickens.

In less than fifteen minutes, the pot was filled with aroma. "Just use medium heat, don't use such high heat, or you'll boil all the broth away and then there won't be any chicken broth left to cook noodles."

Jiang Mingzhu, a skilled fire starter, quickly agreed and pulled out a piece of firewood to reduce the fire.

The aroma wafting from the kitchen made Uncle Li, who lived nearby, wrinkle his nose. "What delicious food is the Gu family making now? Look at Da Huang, it keeps barking."

Aunt Li also smelled the delicious aroma. She wrinkled her nose and said, "It smells like stewed chicken?" It did, but she wasn't sure.

"How can you be so bad at managing your household? This must be from an old hen. If you buy an old hen, you should raise it properly. You can feed the eggs to the children and then hatch chicks. Instead, you stewed it so soon. You can't keep a hot bun in your doghouse."

The family's old yellow dog was scolded for no reason and started barking.

Aunt Li chuckled, "Dogs can't eat hot soup anyway, so they have to let it cool down before eating it?"

Uncle Li: "..." His wife has been arguing with him for so many years, she really doesn't give him any face at all.

The old couple had been married for decades, and Aunt Li didn't care. "I'll go over this afternoon. It's not appropriate to go now; it's like eyeing someone's food." She looked at the old yellow dog barking incessantly because of the aroma of meat and suddenly became worried. "You know, even though Xiao Gu built a wall around the yard, it's only good for keeping honest people out, not thieves. What if a thief sets his sights on it?"

She was somewhat worried, "How about we get her a guard dog? At least it can keep us alert."

Uncle Li frowned. "We'll see. We don't know if she's really reformed or if it's just a matter of time before she gains popularity."

"Why do you say that? Little Gu has been such a good person this past month. He even promised me yesterday that he would help us figure out how to build a kang (heated brick bed). It's really a great thing, warm and cozy. Your legs won't suffer so much in the future, you old man."

Uncle Li didn't realize that Gu An'an was a good person, but he knew that his wife was considerate. "I'll just eat something hot. Let's cook something too."

No way, how did Jiang Laosan's family cook this meat? It smells so good!

He really couldn't stand it.

Uncle Li wasn't the only one who couldn't stand it; all the dogs in Jiangjia Village were barking incessantly.

It smells so good, so delicious!

Isn't this just luring them away?

The village dogs couldn't stand it, and some of the ones that weren't leashed secretly ran out. When they saw a large, somewhat unfamiliar gray dog ​​heading in that direction, they quickly followed the scent.

Gu An'an had just built a wall around the yard a while ago, and now the two-meter-high wall is finally able to keep the dogs out. However, after Jiang Yongshan and his wife left today, neither Gu An'an nor Jiang Mingyi came to visit.

The dogs, lured by the aroma, easily slipped through the crack in the door.

Jiang Mingxu, who was building a snowman with Bao'er in the yard, was startled when he saw the big dog suddenly come in. He quickly threw a snowball at it and said, "Let's go."

These dogs are obviously no good; they're trying to steal their meat.

Just like my second aunt.

The dogs were suddenly attacked and took a step back. When they realized that the person who hit them was a child, the lead gray dog ​​bared its teeth at Jiang Mingxu, looking very threatening.

Jiang Mingxu quickly made a snowball and threw it, but the child's aim was obviously lacking. The black dog didn't take it seriously at all and ran towards the kitchen, ignoring the two little brats.

The fragrance was coming from there; it smelled so good that the dog couldn't resist.

As soon as the big gray dog ​​rushed in, it bumped into Jiang Mingzhu, who was coming out to call for Gu An'an, and knocked her to the ground.

The screams from the kitchen and the cries of the two little siblings in the yard startled Gu An'an, who was busy in the main room. She immediately ran out and saw several more dogs in the yard.

Jiang Mingxu shielded Bao'er behind him and threw snowballs with trembling hands, hitting the dogs as if they were being tickled.

It's completely useless.

Jiang Mingxu panicked and was about to shout for help when he saw a blur before his eyes as his mother's little shovel flew out.

It was much more powerful than the snowball he threw, hitting the dog squarely.

Bright red marks were splashed in the snow.

Bao'er was stunned. "Wow, that's amazing!"

The dogs in the yard all ran away when they saw their companion in this state.

Jiang Mingxu remembered his older sister in the kitchen, "Mother, there's another one in the kitchen."

Gu An'an quickly picked up the entrenching tool and headed into the kitchen.

She loves children and animals, but when these guard dogs run wild in her home and scare her children, Gu An'an can't care less.

Gu An'an's anger reached its peak when she saw Jiang Mingzhu lying on the ground with a shocking scratch on her face.

The big gray dog, which was circling the stove, suddenly sensed something, turned around, and heard the angry bark, "Go to hell, you bastard!"