Gu Nanjiao was about to make some pancakes. After eating noodles twice in a row, her mouth felt slightly bitter, and she wanted to try something stronger.

Although the kitchen on the north side was small, it was kept very clean, which showed that Lu's mother was a diligent person.

Gu Nanjiao circled the kitchen and found only a bowl of wheat flour and half a bag of coarse flour. The only seasonings were oil and salt. To make matters worse, there wasn't even a single scallion.

Even a skilled cook can't cook without rice, so let's just have noodles.

Gu Nanjiao made mixed grain noodles, which are noodles made by combining half wheat flour and half coarse flour.

When Lu's mother arrived, Gu Nanjiao had just placed the noodles she had prepared on the table.

"Jiaojiao, leave this to your mother. You're feeling much better now." Lu's mother was genuinely surprised that Gu Nanjiao could cook, and she was also worried about her health, afraid that she would overwork herself.

At this moment, Lu Yanzhao and Lu Xiaomei also arrived.

Lu Yanzhao raised an eyebrow at Gu Nanjiao, a cold smile playing on his lips. Someone who usually expects everything to be done for her is now cooking for her? It's simply unbelievable.

Is this yet another of Gu Nanjiao's new tricks to attract my attention?

The Lu family had excellent family manners; Lu's mother started eating first, and only then did Lu Yanzhao and Lu Xiaomei pick up their bowls and chopsticks to eat.

After eating, Lu Yanzhao tidied up before heading to the school. The village was very close to the academy in town, only a half-hour walk away.

The village is called Toad Village, and the town is called Luojia Town. As for why it's called Toad Village, it's said that every year in March and April, the village is infested with toads. Those things are ugly and big. Nobody dares to eat them, hence the village's reputation.

Watching Lu Yanzhao's departing figure, Gu Nanjiao thought of his injuries and wanted to say something, but after thinking about it, she decided against it.

After watching Lu Yanzhao walk away, Lu's mother looked puzzled. Turning back, she saw Gu Nanjiao looking at her. Lu's mother smiled and asked, "Jiaojiao, Yanzhao didn't eat dinner last night?"

Gu Nanjiao felt a little guilty when asked: "He... he was probably too tired, so he went to bed early."

Thinking of the scratches on her son's face, and having just happened to see Gu Nanjiao at Lu Yanzhao's door this morning, Lu's mother didn't think much of it. She just looked at Gu Nanjiao with the same smile she had that morning.

When Gu Nanjiao saw that smile, her heart skipped a beat. Oh no, could it be that he misunderstood me and his son doing *that*?

Back in her room, Gu Nanjiao opened the bedside table, which contained over twenty taels of silver and some plain silver hairpins and bracelets. This was the dowry given to her by her scholar father when she married into the family.

Eating vegetarian food every day was getting boring; there were no ingredients at home, not even oil, salt, soy sauce, or vinegar. This was unbearable for Gu Nanjiao, who loved food.

After walking for an hour, we finally arrived at Luojia Town.

Gu Nanjiao felt like her feet were about to give out, and she really didn't know how Lu Yanzhao managed to keep going back and forth every day.

Ancient vegetable markets were quite chaotic, with things scattered haphazardly and without any order.

The winter market wasn't very busy; it mostly sold radishes, cabbages, and potatoes. Seasonings, however, were plentiful, all dried for easy storage.

Winter has just begun, and the real cold hasn't arrived yet. When it snows heavily, no one will go out, let alone buy groceries.

Why not stock up on radishes and cabbages now and store them in the cellar to eat when it snows heavily?

Gu Nanjiao approached a vegetable vendor and began to haggle over the price.

"Make it cheaper, make it even cheaper."

"Oh dear, this is just a small business, I don't make any money."

"I'll take all these radishes and cabbages from you, can you give me a discount?"

"Alright, if you want them all, I'll give you half a penny per pound."

Gu Nanjiao spent 150 coins to buy 300 catties of cabbage and another 100 coins to buy 100 catties of radishes.

Seeing that I bought so much, the vegetable vendor offered to deliver it to my doorstep.

Gu Nanjiao bought a bunch of garlic, ginger, seasonings, potatoes, chili peppers, soybeans, flour, 50 jin of pork, three chickens, and two strings of candied hawthorns.

I happened to be coming back with the vegetable vendor's truck, so my feet didn't have to suffer.

When Lu's mother saw that Gu Nanjiao had brought back so many things, she was so shocked that her mouth could fit an egg.

"Jiaojiao, how much did this cost?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Nanjiao smiled at Lu's mother and said, "Mother, it didn't cost much. I was thinking that if it snows heavily in winter and we can't go out, it would be better to stock up on more vegetables for our family."

Hearing Gu Nanjiao say this, Lu's mother felt very embarrassed: "Jiaojiao, how can we spend your money?"

Lu's mother was gentle and kind, and treated the original owner of the body sincerely. She always put the original owner first when it came to good food and drinks, and never thought of spending a penny of the original owner's money.

"Mother, we are family, why distinguish between yours and mine? Don't say such formal things, or I'll get angry." Gu Nanjiao knew Lu's mother's temperament, so she had to speak more harshly.

Mother Lu naturally knew that Gu Nanjiao said this on purpose to avoid making her feel embarrassed. She pursed her lips and said nothing more.

Lu's mother, Lu Xiaomei, and Gu Nanjiao worked hard carrying vegetables for half an hour, and they were so tired that they were covered in sweat and could not straighten their backs.

While they sat down to rest, Gu Nanjiao took out two strings of candied hawthorns, one for herself and one for Lu Xiaomei. Lu Xiaomei was overjoyed to receive the candied hawthorns, her bright eyes filled with excitement.

"Thank you, sister-in-law! You're so kind!"

Gu Nanjiao...

A string of candied hawthorns was all it took to bribe him?

Gu Nanjiao deftly plucked the chicken feathers and removed its internal organs. She washed the chicken clean, chopped it into small pieces, and prepared to make braised chicken in a clay pot.

Heat oil in a wok, add chopped scallions, ginger, garlic, and chili peppers and sauté until fragrant. Then add the chicken and stir-fry continuously. Finally, add Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, and cinnamon. Since cooking wine was unavailable at that time, white wine was used instead.

Lu Xiaomei, drawn by the fragrance, looked at Gu Nanjiao with adoration and joy.

"Sister-in-law, what delicious food are you making? It smells so good, my mouth is watering."

Gu Nanjiao was making pancakes when she heard Lu Xiaomei's words and couldn't help but laugh: "Hold your drool in, you can drool when you eat them later."

Once the chicken is almost cooked, place flatbread on top, add chopped potatoes and pre-soaked dried shiitake mushrooms, simmer over low heat for a while, and then it's ready to serve.

Wow, the aroma is irresistible, and the taste is simply divine. It's heavenly!

This was the first time Lu's mother had ever tasted such novel and delicious chicken. Although she would kill a chicken she raised herself to stew during festivals, it was nowhere near as delicious as Gu Nanjiao's cooking.

Gu Nanjiao had eaten too much at lunch, and her stomach was bloated. She felt the urge to relieve herself, but the thought of the bamboo strips in the outhouse gave her a headache. She could only blame herself for forgetting to buy toilet paper today.

"Paper?" Gu Nanjiao suddenly thought of something and looked at Lu Yanzhao's room with shining eyes.