Chapter 15 Chapter 15 Waaaaah~ Sister, it's so delicious…………

Lin Chuntao led her younger sister along the mountainside. Pei Ying was already waiting at the crossroads, carrying two pheasants caught in a vine net.

"Did you weave a vine net?" Lin Chuntao asked as she approached.

"Hmm, first weave the vines into a trap, then catch it quickly while it's stealing the wheat."

Pei Ying repeated it once more, and Lin Chuntao could only think about it. When she lived with her grandmother before, the villagers had caught pheasants, but they used traps instead of the traps. Pei Ying's method required even more skill.

"Brother-in-law, are you still going to take these two pheasants to the city to sell?"

Pei Ying didn't want to sell them. If he wanted money, he could go out and do odd jobs. He only wanted to cook and eat the mountain produce he got.

But now that he and Lin Chuntao are husband and wife, after observing her these past two days, he feels that Lin Chuntao is more interested in making money; she has taken all the mushrooms she picked to sell.

The butcher used to tell him that he was an orphan and that he would have a family when he got married.

Now that you have a family, you can't just go your own way.

Seeing Pei Ying looking at her again, Lin Chuntao smiled helplessly and looked at Lin Duo'er: "Your brother-in-law made the decision, but you still have to ask him if he knows how to kill a chicken."

Before Lin Duo'er could ask, Pei Ying looked at her and said, "If I can kill, I can do it too."

"I'll kill and prepare it as soon as we get home."

Lin Chuntao chimed in, "Wash the mushrooms in the bamboo basket, then scoop out a bowl of chicken soup and cook them. The taste will definitely be extremely delicious."

Hearing her say that, Lin Chunhe and the others swallowed hard.

Pei Ying had never eaten mushrooms before, but since they were mountain delicacies, their delicious flavor was a given, and he suddenly began to look forward to them.

Because they were going to kill chickens, Lin Chuntao and the others walked very fast when they came back. As soon as they entered the yard, Lin Duo'er went to fetch firewood to boil water to scald the chicken feathers.

But they didn't have buckets; the only things they could use to carry water were an iron pot and two earthenware basins, which were simply not enough for boiling and carrying water.

Lin Chuntao thought she needed to quickly get two buckets to fetch water, otherwise carrying water would be too time-consuming and laborious.

Although they didn't have much work to do and were mostly idle, they weren't just doing unnecessary trips to fetch water.

Pei Ying also felt that carrying water over was too troublesome and time-consuming. It would be better to wait until everyone was asleep, kill the animal, take the pot to the back of the well, light a fire, and quickly finish cooking before bringing it back.

He thought to himself and then told Lin Chuntao.

Lin Chuntao agreed with the suggestion after listening.

Lin Duo'er was a little disappointed, but Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Tonight we'll have pork cracklings and rice mixed with lard. We'll also boil water and soak the rice."

Hearing about pork cracklings and pork lard rice instantly perked him up and he started working again.

After soaking the rice, Lin Chuntao asked Pei Ying for a knife and simply diced the small piece of lard, then put it in an iron pot to render the oil.

A pound of fatty meat is very little. In order to render more oil and ensure that the cracklings are golden and not burnt, Lin Chuntao still used the water-based cooking method.

Simmer over low heat until the thick, white broth gradually becomes clear, and the lard will be rendered out. The cracklings that slowly float to the surface will still be white.

Lin Chuntao stirred gently, keeping a close eye on the heat. She needed to quickly remove the pot from the heat before the cracklings turned golden brown, otherwise they would start to burn.

If there were a strainer, the oil residue would be scooped out as soon as it turns yellow, but since there's no strainer now, she can only judge by sight, then take it off the plate and slowly pick up the oil residue, so it won't burn.

Lin Chuntao put the fried pork cracklings into a bowl, sprinkled in a little salt, and stirred it. The whole room was filled with a rich aroma, and the sisters stared at the bowl of fried pork cracklings, their mouths watering.

"Take it aside to cool down a bit before you eat it." She said, handing the bowl to Lin Chunxing. Chunxing took the bowl, and Duo'er's eyes followed the bowl. Chunhe also swallowed and looked at Lin Chuntao, "Sister, can we have a few pieces?"

There's hardly any crackling from a pound of fatty pork.

"Each of us can have two pieces. We'll also have rice with lard later."

After receiving the message, the two followed Lin Chunxing away. Lin Chuntao placed the iron pot steadily. The freshly rendered oil was still very hot and needed to cool down before being poured into an earthenware jar for storage.

She got up to check on the soaking rice, which was almost ready, and prepared to take the steamer and earthenware basin to the well to wash it.

Lin Chunxing hurriedly called out, "Sister, have a piece before you go."

As she spoke, she picked up a piece of fried pork fat and handed it over. Lin Chuntao opened her mouth and ate two pieces. Seeing Pei Ying tying up the two pheasants, Lin Chuntao said, "I'll take it over to your brother-in-law later and give him two pieces too."

Lin Chunxing turned around, glanced at Pei Ying, and nodded.

Lin Chuntao chewed on the fried pork cracklings and quickly left the courtyard.

As evening fell, people from all over came to fetch water. Villagers lined up at the well to draw water, including Zhang's youngest son, Lin Jiabao.

They were all surprised to see her carrying a brand-new steamer and earthenware pot.

"Chuntao, what's wrong?"

Looking at the person who asked the question, Lin Chuntao replied, "Auntie, there are no water buckets at home, so I'll wash the steamer."

The woman nodded after she finished speaking. Lin Jiabao, who was in line, peeked out and looked at the steamer and earthenware pot she mentioned. He then smiled and said, "Lin Chuntao, you keep saying that your grandparents kicked you out of the house and didn't give you anything. Where did you get this steamer and earthenware pot?"

Lin Chuntao frowned, looked up at him intently, and after a long while said, "Lin Jiabao, is your brain filled with intestines? Are you trying to say that this was given to you by your grandparents? Everyone in the village saw us being kicked out. We were carrying a steamer and a clay pot out of your house."

After being scolded, Lin Jiabao's face turned ugly. He pointed angrily and said, "You didn't bring out the steamer, but you must have stolen money. Otherwise, where would you have gotten the money to buy a new steamer and earthenware pot?"

Hearing this, Lin Chuntao felt that talking to this kind of person was a complete waste of breath.

Looking at the villagers lining up to fetch water, she thought for a moment and then laughed, "Lin Jiabao, you're not trying to frame me as a thief because I saw you stealing eggs from the villagers, are you?"

"Dear aunties and sisters-in-law, you must keep a close eye on your chicken coops. Lin Jiabao will take his younger brothers to search everyone's chicken coops. After finding the eggs, they sometimes eat them raw, and sometimes they take them to the mountains to cook and eat them!"

Upon hearing this, the women all looked at Lin Jiabao and began to chatter amongst themselves.

“I was saying that my six chickens should have laid five or six eggs, but recently when they came back from the fields, they only laid two or three.”

"My family is the same; sometimes there's only one person."

"Oh my, I never would have guessed. Jiabao, you're a grown man, how come you're doing petty theft?"

"So that's where all my eggs went! They ended up in your stomach, you little rascal!"

Lin Jiabao was surrounded and berated by the women. His face turned red as he explained that he hadn't done it, but no one believed him. He was so angry that he ran away without even fetching water, carrying the buckets with him!

Seeing Lin Jiabao run away, the women looked at Lin Chuntao.

"Peach Girl, why didn't you tell me sooner that you saw him stealing eggs? He got to eat them for nothing."

Lin Chuntao sniffed and squeezed out a few tears. "Aunties, please forgive me. I'm a motherless child struggling to make a living under someone else's control. How could I dare to say anything? Besides, catching a thief red-handed is the best way to prove it. Even if I told him and he denied it, I would definitely get a beating. Maybe I would have been kicked out long ago."

Seeing Lin Chuntao's pitiful state, everyone quickly chimed in, "You can't blame Chuntao for this. Look at how those four sisters are living at home. If anyone wants to beg, they should go to Lin Changhai and Zhang Shi!"

"That's right, Chun Tao, come and get some water for you to wash."

Lin Chuntao carried the earthenware basin over, and the man poured a bucket of water into her basin. She then took the basin to the side and began washing the steamer and the basin.

After she finished washing, the people who were carrying water had already left. She fetched a bucket of water, poured it into an earthenware basin, and carried it back.

After returning home, Lin Chuntao quickly started steaming rice and led her younger sisters to squat in the yard to start washing mushrooms.

As for that little incident by the well, it's not worth mentioning.

Washing mushrooms is a skill; they must be cleaned thoroughly, and you can't crush the caps with your hands.

Lin Chuntao, who loves picking mushrooms, has to wash a lot of mushrooms every year, and she's become quite skilled at it.

Lin Chuntao squatted down beside her three younger sisters, and Lin Chuntao taught them how to wash the clothes, and they quickly got the hang of it.

Seeing that they had washed themselves clean, Lin Chuntao got up to check the rice in the steamer.

Rice cannot be fully cooked in a steamer in one go. After steaming one batch, pour it out, loosen the rice grains, sprinkle with warm water, and then pour it back into the steamer. This way, the steamed rice will be soft and fragrant.

The rice was steamed twice, and soon the aroma of rice filled the entire yard.

The sun had already set, leaving only colorful clouds on the horizon. Lin Chuntao poured the cooled lard from the iron pot into an earthenware jar, scooped in steamed rice, and started mixing it directly in the iron pot. The lard quickly coated the hot rice grains, making them plump, oily, and extremely appetizing.

She sprinkled some salt, stirred it well, and then ordered the people squatting nearby to bring over bowls. Each person filled a bowl, and the rest was poured into a large bowl.

I quickly added a little oil and started stir-frying the mushrooms.

The mushrooms were fresh, and after being put into the pot for a short time, they produced a fragrant mushroom sauce. Lin Duo'er stood next to them, swallowing her saliva like crazy.

After watching it cook, Lin Chuntao quickly added some salt and scooped it out.

"Get your chopsticks and let's eat."

The moment the words left her lips, her sisters had already filled the bowl with rice and brought it over.

There were no tables or chairs in the room, and everyone brought their own small stones to sit on. Pei Ying found a relatively flat stone that could hold three or four bowls, which could be used as a table to place dishes.

The group gathered around the bowl of mushrooms on the stone slab and quickly began to eat.

Lin Chuntao wasn't craving these things, but unfortunately, her body was really lacking in oil and fat, and the pork lard mixed with rice that was fed to her was surprisingly delicious.

The mushrooms are the same; not much oil is used, but the flavor is very fresh. The green-headed mushrooms are crisp and tender, with a smooth texture and a slight elasticity when chewed. Coated in a rich broth, they are extremely satisfying to eat with rice.

"Waaaaah~ Sister, it's so delicious..."

Lin Chuntao knew it was delicious, but seeing Lin Duo'er's chubby cheeks and the sound she made, she couldn't help but laugh and cry.

"No talking while eating."