If Zhang Hongmei knew what he was thinking, she would definitely slap him in the face: Shameless bastard, you want to raise him? Well, that depends on whether your grandma is willing or not.

Da Shan helped him get everything ready and then left with the rabbit skin that Zhang Hongmei insisted on giving him.

Zhang Hongmei soaked the rabbit meat in water to remove the blood. "Brother Zhang, should this rabbit meat be braised or spicy?"

"Spicy, I love spicy food."

"How about pancakes for dinner?"

"Sure!"

When Zhang Xingguo returned, the rabbit meat was already stewing in the pot. Zhang Hongmei only took care of seasoning; Zhang Shouyi did everything else. Zhang Hongmei was afraid of the rabbit head and wanted to throw it away, but Zhang Shouyi stopped her.

Zhang Xingguo entered the kitchen following the aroma, with Wang Xiaoshun carrying a bag behind him.

"It smells so good, this flavor is really strong."

Upon entering the kitchen, Zhang Shouyi was the only one there. "Where's Hongmei?"

"They're making pancakes and cooking porridge in that courtyard."

Wang Xiaoshun took over the work from Zhang Shouyi, and the two of them went into the house.

"Where did the rabbit come from? Did you two go up the mountain?"

"No, it was brought by the villagers. Is the matter resolved?"

"Yeah, that old man was trying to stall, but if we didn't have some leverage over him, it probably wouldn't have worked out."

"It's alright, we're just like grasshoppers in autumn. Dad, shall we leave on the morning of the ninth?"

"What? You don't want to leave?"

Zhang Shouyi was speechless; this father said all sorts of things.

"Shouyi, those guys in the black market are getting a bit too restless."

"Then let's change it. The people I send will be here on the 15th."

"Just keep that in mind. You really don't plan to use this old lady?"

"No, I'll find another way myself."

Zhang Xingguo never had any objections to the decision-making process; he simply supported his son wholeheartedly.

"Dad, I'm going to take action when I get back this time. The sooner it's done, the less trouble I'll have to worry about."

"Okay. I have no objection. You can decide for yourself."

The father and son were chatting inside when Zhang Hongmei returned just as they came out of the house.

She also needs to make a cold dish. Otherwise, the flavor will be too strong, and she won't feel comfortable after eating it at night.

This meal gave Zhang Hongmei a real glimpse into the appetite of a true foodie; it was truly astonishing. She didn't eat much of the flatbread, but she devoured all the rabbit meat and finished off the cabbage hearts she had prepared herself. She rubbed her stomach, feeling uncomfortable even without eating.

Now it's become the rule: Zhang Hongmei is in charge of cooking, while Zhang Shouyi and Wang Xiaoshun take care of all the chores after the meal.

"Hongmei, I brought you back half a bag of flour. There's a bag of rice and a bag of flour in the city, enough for you to eat for a while. Don't eat at the school cafeteria!"

"Alright, now we can eat well."

Zhang Hongmei doesn't care about these fine grains; what she cherishes is the loving heart she receives.

From the age of thirty until today, Zhang Hongmei has been eating large amounts of meat and fish every day, and she feels like she has a sore throat from all the eating. But they are guests, and she can't ask them to eat vegetarian food, can she? It's not like there's no meat at all.

Breakfast consisted of cornmeal porridge, pickled cucumbers, and salted vegetables; not even eggs were prepared.

"Uncle Zhang, are you all feeling hot and bothered? I'm getting hot and bothered from eating so much meat."

Zhang Shouyi smiled slightly. This girl was good; she didn't let anything bad come up just to please or be hospitable.

"I also feel like I have internal heat."

"You two are just being dramatic, why am I fine?"

Wang Xiaoshun closed his mouth as soon as he opened it, not wanting to invite a scolding.

"Uncle Zhang, today we're having sweet potato noodles with dumplings for lunch, and a sauce made with wood ear mushrooms and eggs."

"It doesn't taste good."

"Uncle Zhang, please don't be reluctant. This is for your health."

"Okay, okay."

Because of the lunch she didn't want to eat, Zhang Hongmei spent the entire afternoon playing chess with Zhang Xingguo, and she was so frustrated that she wanted to hit him.

Finally, it was time to make dinner, and Zhang Hongmei was relieved. She quickly got to work in the kitchen. Playing chess with him was more tiring than doing chores.

For dinner, I cooked a porridge similar to eight-treasure porridge, with only sorghum rice, rice, cornmeal, red beans, rice beans, and beans from old green beans.

These were soaked in water in the morning and then boiled for a full two hours.

In the afternoon, Wang Xiaoshun drove Zhang Shouyi out. They returned late, just as the porridge was ready.

For dinner, it was still pickled vegetables, but Zhang Hongmei brought out white sugar and brown sugar, so they could have sweet porridge.

There was really nothing to do on this cold winter night, and I didn't want to chat with them, so I went to bed early on the kang (heated brick bed).

I tossed and turned on the kang (heated brick bed) for over an hour, unable to fall asleep at all. How could I have insomnia? Life is just too comfortable.

I think I'll just wander around in my online space. Maybe I'll get tired from doing some work and fall asleep.

The land in this space is planted with medicinal herbs brought in from the valley. I don't really understand them, but I have almost all the ones that I've heard of most often.

Moreover, they all seem to be quite old, so I'll leave them and not harvest them. I'll just grow some vegetables here from now on; I don't plan to grow grains yet.

There's still a lot of food stored here, but I don't dare to sell it. How long will it take me to eat it all?

I had a nice bath. I ate a cucumber for dinner, and I'm planning to plant carrots and green peppers.

Remember to tell Wang Xiaoshun tomorrow to look for carrot seeds when he gets back to the capital. Otherwise, there's no way to take them out to eat.

It's been a long time since I wielded a pickaxe; I only cleared two vegetable plots before feeling tired. While the saying "Born in hardship, die in comfort" doesn't entirely apply to me, it's pretty much the gist of it.

While looking for rapeseed, I also found raw rapeseed, coriander seeds, and various half-plants.

When I live alone in the city, I'll be able to eat lettuce with sauce.

After being busy for quite a while, I finally took a shower and left the space.

I'm still full of energy, but I can't bring myself to light a candle and take out a book, which would hurt my eyes.

What she took out from her spatial storage was a romance novel. The kind that's naive and sweet, the kind that's easy to read and makes you happy.

Before I knew it, I had finished reading a whole candle. Looking at the time, more than two hours had passed. Time to sleep. I still have to be a chef for another day tomorrow.

I had a restless night and woke up with a headache. I'm so young and I'm already having insomnia. I must have eaten too much and made myself miserable.

Breakfast was cornmeal porridge and shredded mustard greens. No chili oil was added. He ignored Zhang Xingguo's mournful gaze; at his age, he still had no self-control.

For lunch, we had cornbread and stewed cabbage with frozen tofu. We were so tired of Zhang Xingguo's sighs that we ended up stir-frying potato slices with meat.

Just as Zhang Hongmei was about to take a nap after lunch, Zhang Shouyi woke her up and made her drive.

"Where is Brother Zhang going?"

"Hehe, didn't you long for the black market? I'll take you there today. We won't be back tonight."

"What about dinner?"

"It's okay, Xiao Shun can do it. You just come with me. I'll bring you back tomorrow morning and then leave."

"Then let's come back no matter how late it is. If not, we can take turns driving."