After mixing well, pour the mixture into a jar with a spoon, seal it, put on the lid, and marinate for half a month until it is flavorful.

Now that the weather is hot, the meat doesn't keep well, so Wei Yuyan hangs it down into the well.

It's not bad now, but I don't know if it will keep well in the summer. What should I do then?

"Sister-in-law, what are you thinking about? I called you but you didn't answer."

Wei Yuyan left the door open while waiting for them to arrive, and Sister-in-law Xiuhua happened to see her lost in thought.

"I was just thinking about what to do in the summer, since the meat will spoil if we buy it in advance."

Wei Yuyan expressed her concerns.

"Then we'll have your brother Zhang get up 25 minutes earlier to go to town to buy meat."

Sister-in-law Xiuhua didn't think it was a big deal.

"That's too much work. I think I can consider renting a shop in town this summer, otherwise it's really inconvenient."

Wei Yuyan thought that a shop in town would only cost a few hundred coins, which she could afford.

“That would be too costly, sister-in-law. It’s no big deal for me to make a little extra effort to go.”

Brother Zhang figured he was going to get up early anyway, so what did it matter if he got up half an hour earlier?

"Hmm, I'll think about it some more. I'm fine right now."

Wei Yuyan lifted the pork out of the well. She would only feel at ease after Brother Zhang had chopped it up and put it back down.

Let's leave it at that for now. Next month, we'll either rent a shop or give Brother Zhang a raise.

"Qianqian isn't home either?"

While kneading the dough, Sister-in-law Xiuhua chatted with Wei Yuyan, not hearing any sound from Qianqian, who was usually at home.

"Well, staying at home all the time isn't good, so I sent her out to find some friends to play with."

"It will be good to have someone to accompany me in the future, otherwise I won't feel at ease if I go out alone."

Wei Yuyan looked at the red beans in the pot; they still needed to cook for a while.

"Indeed."

Sister-in-law Xiuhua nodded and continued kneading the dough.

"Sister-in-law, I'm back."

As sunset approached, Xiao Lei hadn't returned yet, but Qian Qian came back first.

"Qianqian, how was it? Who did you play with today? Did you have fun?"

Wei Yuyan was just about to stir-fry mushrooms when Xiuhua and her husband finished and returned home. Once Wei Yuyan finished stir-frying the mushrooms, she was done.

"Sister-in-law, I played with Sister Xiaoya and Sister Meihua today. We played hide-and-seek together."

Qianqian was overjoyed, even more so than if she had eaten candy.

"Really? But you only brought two candies."

Wei Yuyan regretted not bringing her two more candies.

“I didn’t eat it, I gave it to the two of them.”

Qianqian said she no longer craves candy because she has it at home every day.

"Well, next time this happens, you can go home and get another one, or let the two of them eat half and you can eat the whole one."

Wei Yuyan was worried that this girl would develop a people-pleasing personality, sacrificing what she liked to please others in order to get them to play with her.

"Okay, sister-in-law, I understand."

Qianqian poured herself a bowl of water and gulped it down.

The next morning, Wei Yuyan and the other two steamed the buns. Wei Yuyan did not go to sell the buns herself, but asked Brother Zhang and his wife to do so.

"Sister-in-law Xiuhua, thank you for your hard work. Please be careful on the road."

Wei Yuyan watched them leave until they were out of sight before closing the door and going to bed.

After a good night's sleep, I went to the vegetable garden to pick vegetables. There were so many eggplants, cucumbers, and green beans that I couldn't possibly eat them all. Today, Wei Yuyan picked some, washed them, and dried them to make dried vegetables.

Eggplant and cucumber are a bit more troublesome. Eggplant needs to be steamed and then sun-dried to taste good.

As for cucumbers, only the peel is needed, not the flesh. Wei Yuyan then had the peeled cucumbers cooked for the small animals.

Otherwise, there would be too much food for us to finish.

Green beans are the easiest to prepare; just wash them and let them dry.

"Sister-in-law, two tomatoes are ripe."

There were no tomato seeds at home originally, but Sister-in-law Xiuhua gave them to Wei Yuyan. She just planted them casually, and to her surprise, quite a few grew.

"So, would you like to stir-fry it or eat it raw?"

Wei Yuyan checked the time; it was time to cook, as they should be back soon.

"Let's stir-fry it."

Xiao Lei doesn't really like eating raw tomatoes.

"Okay, I'll go cook."

Wei Yuyan picked a handful of water spinach and chili peppers and went back to cook.

Today we're having rice, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, stir-fried water spinach stems with chili peppers, and water spinach leaves—three dishes in total.

"Sister-in-law Xiuhua and the others haven't come back yet."

Xiao Lei saw that Wei Yuyan had already cooked the dishes.

"It's okay, it tastes better when it's a little cold in this weather."

Wei Yuyan was sweating profusely from cooking and quickly came out of the kitchen; the kitchen was no place for a person to stay in during the summer.

"Sister-in-law, or we could build a shed outside the kitchen."

I saw that Xiao Pang's house was like this: a shed with a stove built outside the kitchen for cooking.

Xiao Lei suggested.

"Forget it, it's too much trouble. We have to build a shed and a stove."

"It's okay, I only spend half an hour cooking a day, I can just bear with it."

Wei Yuyan found it troublesome.

"Knock knock knock~".

Xiao Lei heard the knocking and quickly went to open the door.

"Sister-in-law, Xiao Lei, we're back."

Sister-in-law Xiuhua was in a good mood, and Wei Yuyan knew it must be because the steamed buns were sold out.

"Perfect timing to wash hands and eat."

Wei Yuyan scooped water into a basin for them to wash their faces and cool off, as the weather was too hot.

"Sister-in-law, here is a total of four hundred and eighty coins. Please count them."

Sister-in-law Xiuhua handed over the money bag, which belonged to Wei Yuyan and was used specifically to collect money.

"No rush, eat first. You must be tired. Eat quickly and go back to sleep."

Wei Yuyan helped serve the rice.

"Sister-in-law, it's so nice to have a hot meal waiting for me as soon as I get home."

Sister-in-law Xiuhua felt so happy; she came back with money and there was a ready-made meal waiting for her.

"There weren't any fancy dishes, so it wasn't exactly a great meal, but it was enough to fill you up."

Wei Yuyan also sat down and ate with everyone.

"Sister-in-law, Xiaohua also wants to eat water spinach."

Qianqian was carrying a bowl of rice, while Xiaohua kept bouncing around beside her. Qianqian picked up a piece of water spinach and put it on the ground. After Xiaohua finished eating, she wanted more and circled around Qianqian's feet.

"It's best not to feed it that, otherwise it will become a picky eater later."

Wei Yuyan confessed.

"good".

Qianqian scooped a mouthful of rice and put it on her plate. Xiaohua and Xiaohei rushed over to grab it, and everyone burst into laughter.

"Your dog is well-cared for; my dog ​​is becoming a bit picky about food."

He doesn't like eating flatbread or cornbread much; he'll only eat a few bites and then stop. But he loves soup and eats a lot of it.

I should have listened to you and not let them eat salt so early. Picky eating is not good.

Sister-in-law Xiuhua doesn't eat dogs anyway, so they eat whatever's in the house, but the little dog has started to be picky.

"If he goes hungry for a day, everything tastes delicious."

Wei Yuyan felt that Xiuhua's sister-in-law's dog was taking advantage of her.

Ordinary people wouldn't dare to feed their dogs grain; they basically eat vegetables and rice bran, just like chickens.

Or they would only feed their dogs spoiled or rotten food.