It's called braised pork, but it's actually made with white radish and various seasonings. Of course, it tastes better than boiled or stir-fried radish.

Although Zhang Xiue can cook, she is not a professional chef and naturally does not understand the secrets of cooking.

In modern times, Song He'er lived alone. Because of her poor digestive system, she couldn't always eat takeout. She even went abroad to study cuisine and cooked for herself every day. So even in this era of scarcity, she could still make delicious food.

Qin Xiaoniang and Zhang Xiue were busy with the new house and didn't pay attention to the stove, which gave Song He'er plenty of time to take out the seasonings from her space to cook.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the fragrant, bright red sweet potato starch stewed with radish was ready.

The aroma of the dish filled the air, attracting several children nearby to come and take a look.

"Fifth Sister, the colors of this dish are so beautiful today! Why are there bean sprouts and noodles in it? I remember when Mother made it, it was just white radishes." Nianjie stared longingly at the dish in the pot.

Song He'er smiled and patted her forehead. "You little glutton, this isn't noodles, it's sweet potato starch. We bought it from those merchants in Nanzhao a few days ago. As for why we put bean sprouts in, it's because it makes the dish more fragrant!"

"Oh, I see! Then let Fifth Sister cook from now on. Anyway, my mother and stepmother's cooking is not as good as yours. Even Fourth Aunt and Fifth Aunt can't cook this kind of dish. Fifth Sister, you are really amazing!"

Song He'er was overwhelmed by all the flattery. Nian'er was so young, yet she already knew how to coax people. She had truly inherited all the good qualities of her parents.

"I just improvised. Who knows, I might make such delicious food every day in the future. You little glutton, stop nagging and go call your parents to come eat!"

"good!"

After saying that, Nianjie ran happily to Song Xiaoyu's side.

They usually can't bear to eat white rice. Even when cooking rice, they mix it with sweet potatoes and a lot of water so that they don't waste rice and can still fill their stomachs.

Today, when no one was paying attention, Song He'er took out some extra white rice from her space and put it into the pot, making a pot of sweet and sticky white rice.

"He'er, what are you doing? It smells so good." Qin Xiaoniang came over carrying Huan Ge'er.

"Look! A big radish!"

Qin Xiaoniang glanced at the food in the pot, her expression somewhat surprised. "Did you make this?"

"yes!"

"It smells so good, unlike what we usually make!"

Hey! Come on, have a taste!

Qin Xiaoniang put Huan Ge'er down. Although Huan Ge'er was not yet a year old, he was already able to slowly learn to walk while holding onto something.

Therefore, Qin Xiaoniang no longer needed to carry him around all the time in her spare time, which made her much freer.

Chun Di was in charge of serving rice to everyone, and they all ate around a dilapidated wooden table.

Tian Niangzi glanced at the white rice in the bowl and frowned. "There shouldn't be much white rice. Eating dry rice is too extravagant. Li Qiang and I will add some water to it, and that way the savings will be enough for the children to eat for two meals."

Li Qiang and Tian Niangzi were servants in the general's mansion, used to hardship, so they were a little unaccustomed to eating such a luxurious meal with their masters.

Song Xiaoyu turned around and looked at the rice in the rice jar, and smiled, "There's still a lot left. There's no need to be so frugal with this meal. It's not like we eat like this every day. I see that not much rice has been used up. I think it should be enough for ten or fifteen days. We can go back to work tomorrow and still earn money!"

As she spoke, Zhang Xiu'e pushed the food towards Tian Niangzi again, saying, "You eat yours. It would be a loss to starve yourself by saving food."

Tian Niangzi smiled, took the rice bowl, and fed Hua Hua first.

Song Xiaoyu rummaged through the food on her plate, then randomly picked up a piece and put it in her mouth.

"It's delicious; it doesn't look like something a child would make."

Zhang Xiu'e nodded in agreement, "Yes, although we bought soy sauce, this dish tastes a bit like meat today. He'er, what did you put in it?"

Song He'er shook her head. "Nothing was added, just soy sauce and salt. I think Aunt and Uncle are just too hungry to be thinking like this. Where is there any meat?"

"Strange...it really is strange, but it tastes absolutely delicious!"

Song He'er breathed a sigh of relief. It must be delicious, otherwise the oyster sauce, chicken essence and semi-finished soup base would have been wasted!

After dinner, it got dark. It was unusually cold that night, so much so that even though the children in the tent were wrapped in several layers of blankets, they were still shivering.

"It's windy today, so the fire outside needs to be extinguished to prevent sparks from blowing in and burning down this only tent!" Qin Xiaoniang reminded her from the side.

"Yes, it's already out. It'll just be cold all night. I didn't realize it before, but it looks like it's really going to snow," Zhang Xiu'e replied.

Song He'er then realized that they had no charcoal fire and had been relying on a bonfire for warmth. However, the wind was too strong today, and the flames were flying everywhere. For their safety, they would have to spend the night in the cold.

"Third Aunt, when Third Uncle went to buy things from those merchants, why didn't he think to buy a few pounds of charcoal? If the days continue to be as cold as today, won't we freeze to death!"

It would have been better if they hadn't brought it up, because once it was, Zhang Xiue got angry again.

"To be honest, he can't do anything right. That day I left a little early, and he completely forgot what he was supposed to buy. He's incredibly stupid!"

"Alright, alright, stop talking about this useless stuff. We'll buy it tomorrow." Qin Xiaoniang yawned, hugging Huan Ge and snuggling under the covers.

"Go to sleep!"

No one slept well that night. The next morning, Song Xiaoyu cooked a pot of hot soup for everyone outside.

Sure enough, the sky was exceptionally clear after the wind blew. Song Xiaoyu and Li Qiang also wanted to go to the riverbank and see if they could catch a couple of fish to eat while the river was still unfrozen.

Song He'er huddled inside the tent, constantly researching how to earn more money.

If you only make oiled paper umbrellas, the money you earn will only be enough for your daily meals, not enough to buy anything else, and you won't be able to improve your lifestyle.

Although she had Jiang Huaifu's help, she didn't want to get something for nothing and live off other people's charity. She wanted to rely on her own abilities to make a name for herself here.

In the end, Jiang Huaifu was still the middleman, and it was still up to him to contact the merchants of Nanzhao, since he couldn't go to Nanzhao himself!

She needs to find a way to go there in person...