Xiao Yunying washed her hands and started steaming buns.

After shaping the steamed buns and letting them rest for a while, I boiled water and blanched the cauliflower to avoid uneven heating and undercooking when stir-frying it directly.

After washing his face and composing himself, Luo Chen came in to start the fire. Luo Li followed behind him, hesitantly holding the bamboo tube and saying to Xiao Yunying:

"Stepmother, I've spilled all my bubble solution."

Xiao Yunying picked up some steamed buns from the pot: "If you want to play, go play with your sister first. I'll make you some after I finish cooking."

Aren't you going to hit me?

"Why would I hit you? It's just a little bubble solution, it's not that serious."

Luo Li gripped the bamboo tube tightly: "I'm talking about the matter of you protecting me today."

Xiao Yunying put the pot lid on and turned around: "You call me stepmother, so it's only right that I protect you. As long as you don't bully others on your own initiative, I will always protect you."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." Xiao Yunying smiled slightly and ruffled Luo Li's hair. "How are you? Are you injured?"

Luo Li blushed slightly when her head was patted for the first time: "No, I was leaning against the haystack. There were many of them, but even when they were all squeezed together, not two of them could reach me."

"Not bad, quite clever, but you can't do this kind of thing again, you know? It's not worth it if you get hurt as a result."

"knew."

"Also, your older brother's concerns are not without merit. Right now, your so-called revenge is just childish squabbles. Over time, it may develop into a petty and vindictive personality. But I believe in you. You will manage your emotions. You are a smart child and won't turn yourself into that kind of person, right?"

"Don't worry, stepmother, I won't become like that."

Xiao Yunying was very satisfied with Luo Li's attitude and patted his head again: "Good boy."

"But stepmother, what do you mean by the spider you mentioned, with its bared teeth...?"

Xiao Yunying's smile froze. She used this opportunity to ease the tension with Luo Chen: "Luo Chen, do you know what this means?"

Luo Chen didn't hold a grudge and ignore him: "I know, Dad taught me that before."

"Great, Luo Li, go ask your brother."

Luo Chen explained the meaning of the two idioms and then asked Luo Li to leave. For a while, the only sound in the kitchen was the crackling of the burning firewood.

The atmosphere was a bit awkward. Xiao Yunying dragged a small stool to the doorway and sat down, watching the three children play in the yard.

Luo Li was mischievous and deliberately teased Luo Xin. When the little girl blew a bubble, he popped it with a bubble wand, which made the little girl angry, and she chased after him to hit him.

As Xiao Yunying watched, she couldn't help but laugh.

This peaceful and idyllic rural life is quite nice.

Money was easy for her to earn; she wasn't greedy, just enough for her needs.

Her parents and brother treated her very well, making up for the lack of family affection that her parents couldn't convey here.

Once she's married, she won't have to be pressured to get married anymore. She doesn't mean to curse Luo Sheng to have some kind of accident, but it would be best if he didn't come back. If he does come back, it would be best if he gave her a divorce agreement.

If all else fails, a letter of divorce is fine; she's not picky, as long as the relationship is severed.

If he doesn't come back, as long as she raises the children to adulthood and they can support themselves, she will retire early and travel the world.

"sorry."

Xiao Yunying snapped out of her daze: "Huh? What?"

Luo Chen didn't dare look at her, only at the fire in the stove: "I know you're doing this for our own good, I shouldn't have snapped at you just now."

"It's alright, I didn't take it to heart. It was my oversight that I didn't consider things from your perspective."

"You..." Do you really want to leave?

"What?"

"nothing."

He dared not ask, afraid of hearing an answer he didn't want to hear.

Xiao Yunying just felt that this child was really awkward. She couldn't force him to talk if he didn't want to, so she leaned against the door and stopped talking.

Once the steamed buns were ready, Xiao Yunying took them out and made stir-fried cauliflower with pork and stir-fried pork liver with green peppers.

I stir-fried all the pork liver at once, set some aside for the children, and then threw in a few pieces of red chili pepper.

The pungent, spicy aroma wafted out, and Xiao Yunying took a deep breath.

This is the taste!

As she ladled out the pork liver with chili peppers, she heard her older brother's voice: "It smells so good, little sister, what are you making?"

Xiao Yunsong's voice preceded his arrival; he entered the room after speaking, carrying a skinned and cleaned rabbit.

"I stir-fried some pork liver and added some chili peppers. What do you think of the taste, brother? Is it too pungent?"

She didn't know about other places, but at least no one near Donglin City ate chili peppers. She wanted to develop an industry that used chili peppers as a raw material in the future.

"It's a bit pungent, but it tastes really good. What is chili? It makes stir-fried pork liver so fragrant."

"It's a type of vegetable seed I bought in the city. We don't have it here, so I bought it because I thought it was novel and wanted to try it out."

Xiao Yunying handed him a pair of chopsticks: "Big brother, try them. The green ones aren't spicy, but the small red ones are."

"My mother asked me to deliver this rabbit to you."

Xiao Yunsong gave the rabbit to his sister, picked up his chopsticks and ate a piece of pork liver, then separately picked up some bell peppers and chili peppers to taste.

"Wow, is this chili pepper? It's really flavorful. What does this taste like? I've never had it before."

"This is spicy, just like sour, sweet, bitter, and salty."

Xiao Yunying couldn't explain that spiciness is actually a type of pain, so she simply categorized it as a taste, which would make it easier for the people here to accept.