After lunch, Lin Yan fed the chickens and pigs at home, then went back to his room to pack some clothes, washed them briefly by the well, and hung them on bamboo poles.

There was no fresh meat left at home, except for a piece of bacon. They still had to cook some meat. They had worked hard harvesting soybeans, so they needed to eat some meat to replenish their energy. Lin Yan thought for a moment and decided to kill a chicken to make steamed chicken with mushrooms.

He wasn't in a rush to catch the chicken, so he went back to his room and napped for half an hour. When he woke up, his neck was covered in sweat. That was the downside of sleeping during the day: you'd sweat all over while you slept. Lin Yan used a cloth to collect water and wiped himself clean.

The sun began to set, and the noisy chirping of cicadas came to his ears. Lin Yan scooped a bucket of water from the large vat and poured it into the courtyard and the main room little by little to dissipate the summer heat.

After the ground was completely watered, Lin Yan began preparing dinner. He first took a few dried shiitake mushrooms from the cupboard and soaked them in warm water, then went to the backyard to catch chickens.

Since there was no one at home to help, Lin Yan stepped on the chicken wings and feet with his feet, grabbed the chicken head, plucked the fluff on the chicken neck, and slid the knife back and forth. After a while, the chicken blood flowed along the knife into a bowl prepared in advance. Some water and salt were added to the bowl so that it would solidify faster.

After killing the chicken, Lin Yan first threw it into a bucket and covered it with a basin. He was afraid that the chicken would come back to life, so he also found a stone to press it down. Then he went to the kitchen to boil water.

While the water was boiling, Lin Yan went to the vegetable garden to pick some onions and a head of lettuce, and picked two loofahs. In addition to steaming the chicken, he also planned to stir-fry the lettuce and make some loofah soup.

When he came back, the water was already boiling. Lin Yan scooped two spoonfuls of water into the bucket. When the water was no longer so hot, he started plucking the chicken feathers.

Chicken feathers are easier to pluck than duck feathers. Lin Yan took about a quarter of an hour to clean them up. He gutted the chicken, cleaned up the offal, and then took it back to the kitchen to chop the chicken into small pieces.

Put the chopped chicken in a bowl, add ginger slices, scallions, soy sauce, chopped mushrooms, salt, and tsaoko powder, then drizzle with a layer of cooking oil, mix well, and marinate for about 15 minutes. Lin Yan took out the chicken offal and chicken feet and cooked them with the loofah in the soup.

Peel the lettuce and cut it into slices diagonally. Don't throw away the lettuce leaves, they are also delicious when stir-fried together.

Lin Yan washed the rice, lined the steamer with a cloth, poured the rice in, and then added another layer of steamer paper. Later, the chicken would be steamed on top. By then, the chicken was also marinated. He found a large plate, poured the chicken into it, spread it evenly, and placed it in the steamer paper. He steamed it over high heat for about 15 minutes.

The pigs in the backyard started squealing, probably because they were hungry. Lin Yan hurriedly got up to prepare food for them. He took out a piece of firewood and made the fire a little smaller, fearing that he would not pay attention while feeding the chickens and pigs and the pot would get burnt.

When he came back and smelled the fragrance of the chicken, Lin Yan opened the lid and turned the chicken over with chopsticks to allow it to be heated evenly, otherwise the bottom part would not be cooked well.

There were voices outside, and Lin Yan, figuring his family would be home soon, began to cook some loofah soup. He added water to the pot, threw in the chopped chicken offal and chicken feet, covered the pot, and blanched them first to prevent them from tasting fishy.

After blanching the chicken giblets, Lin Yan rinsed them clean and added water to the pot. Sitting on a small stool, he waited quietly for the water to boil. Soon, the pot began to gurgle. Lin Yan tossed in the chopped chicken blood and loofah. Soon, the hot steam, carrying the aroma of the loofah and chicken giblets, filled the air.

At this moment, the family members pushed open the door and walked in. The four tired people smelled the aroma of food filling the yard, and their stomachs instantly started growling. "It smells so good, brother-in-law, I'm hungry. What's for dinner tonight?" Yu Ge'er asked loudly. Lin Yan poked his head out of the kitchen with a smile on his face, "Steamed chicken with mushrooms, stir-fried lettuce, and loofah and chicken soup."

By the time everyone had cleaned themselves up, Lin Yan had already brought the dishes over, and Yu Ge'er hurried over to help get the dishes and chopsticks.

"Eat quickly, you must be starving." Lin Yan first served everyone a bowl of loofah soup. Zhao Shiyun was indeed very hungry, so he picked up the bowl and started to eat. Lin Yan gave him a few pieces of chicken. The steamed chicken was very tender and smooth, and Zhao Shiyun loved it. "Delicious! Brother Yan, this is the first time I've eaten this dish. I've always eaten chicken either boiled or cooked in soup, but I've never eaten it steamed."

"I made this steamed chicken when I was at home and was lazy, so I steamed rice and chicken in one pot. It turned out surprisingly delicious, so I make it every now and then," Lin Yan explained. Everyone started eating, and before long, half the food on the table was gone. The steamed chicken was a favorite, and Yu Ge'er couldn't stop eating it.

"Will this be sold in the food store?" Li Yuemei suddenly asked. Lin Yan actually started to think, "This steamed chicken is all chicken. If it's just chicken, the cost will be quite high. We need to add some side dishes, but I haven't thought of what to add yet."

"It's okay, take your time to think about it. If you can't think of anything, don't add it. The dishes in the shop are pretty good now." Li Yuemei comforted.

"Yeah, but we have to innovate, otherwise we won't be able to keep our customers."

After the family finished their meal and cleared the dishes, they prepared to boil water for washing up. It had been a tiring day, so they needed to rest early.

Lin Yan thought that there was no meat at home, so he had to go to the town to buy some meat tomorrow. However, he did not tell Zhao Shiyun. Anyway, the town was close, so he could just buy some and come back quickly, and it wouldn't take much time.

Zhao Shiyun didn't know what his husband was planning. He was rummaging through his clothes in the room, preparing to take a shower.

"The water isn't hot yet." Lin Yan reminded.

"Hey, I'm a man, I can just wash with cold water." The weather was too hot, and Zhao Shiyun wanted to go to the village river to take a bath, but he was afraid of being seen, after all, he was not a child anymore.

"Okay, okay, don't take too long, or you might catch a cold."

"knew."