Braised Lion's Head

"Wang Danian's family is slaughtering a pig. Anyone who wants to buy pork, hurry up!" someone shouted at the door.

Yuan Doudou realized that there was no meat at home, and she was worried about what to eat for dinner.

"Anji, stop reading and come with me to buy meat." Yuan Doudou picked up her bamboo basket and excitedly set off.

Anji was surprised: When did Mommy start to love eating meat so much?

Oh well, let her buy whatever she wants. Women should be pampered.

Anji ran to the door first to open it for his mother, but unfortunately, he couldn't open it.

"Little guy, let's talk about it when you're taller," Yuan Doudou joked, not wanting to dampen his enthusiasm.

Anji nodded vigorously: "Mom, don't worry, it won't be long before I grow tall."

My mother said that as long as I eat more meat and vegetables, I will be very healthy and growing taller will be a dream come true.

As they were talking, the two arrived at Wang Danian's house.

A white pig weighing over 500 pounds had been gutted, and blood was flowing everywhere.

"Why kill such a big pig now?" someone asked.

That's true. Pigs are usually slaughtered before the Spring Festival or when there's a major event in the family.

"You don't know yet? I heard Wang Danian's son is getting married." Someone with inside information eagerly answered.

"Really? His mentally challenged son actually managed to find a wife?" another person exclaimed in surprise. "Getting married is so easy these days!"

"Don't you even know who he is? He's going to marry Wang Cuihua's daughter, Li Xueqing. She's a perfect match for this idiot." An idiot wouldn't know that his wife is impure.

Yuan Doudou was too lazy to listen to these people gossiping, so she squeezed to the front and asked Li Danian, "Uncle Danian, how much is this hind leg meat?"

“I’ll keep the hind leg for myself. If you want to buy, buy the front leg meat. I’ll give you a discount, twenty coins a pound.” Wang Danian was very honest.

It's cheaper than the meat in town, so it's definitely worth buying.

"Okay, give me five jin." Yuan Doudou prepared to take out the money.

"If you want to buy meat, you'll have to see if I'm even selling it."

Li Xueqing walked out of the crowd with a disdainful look. These were pigs prepared for her wedding, and she had the right to decide who to sell them to and who not to sell them to.

"Xueqing, what are you doing?" Wang Danian's wife, Li Guihua, came out from behind and grabbed Li Xueqing's arm.

Sigh, this future daughter-in-law is really troublesome. If it weren't for the fact that my son's brain was damaged when he was a child, I would never want a woman like her.

"I just can't stand her. She doesn't deserve to buy our meat." Li Xueqing wasn't wearing a veil, and the red marks on her face were deep and shallow.

Yuan Doudou's lips slowly curled up, her eyes not looking at Li Xueqing: "Uncle Danian, Aunt Guihua, you are the heads of the household. Whether to sell this pork or not is up to you. If you let your wife, who hasn't even entered the family yet, lead you by the nose, she might keep riding on your head and bullying you in the future."

Upon hearing this, Aunt Guihua immediately put on airs. Yuan Doudou was right; she was the mother-in-law and had to keep an eye on her daughter-in-law, otherwise her son would never have a good life.

"Xueqing, this is none of your business. Go back and recover." Li Guihua felt even more upset when she saw Xueqing's battered face. She didn't even bother to cover her face with a cloth when she came out; she wasn't ashamed at all.

Li Xueqing's face twisted in rage: "You won't let me interfere, but I'll do whatever I want. If you dare to sell your body to her today, don't even think about making me marry your stupid son."

"Li Xueqing, don't go too far!" Wang Danian, an honest man, couldn't stand it anymore.

"Guihua, quickly call Wang Cuihua over and take her good daughter away."

Wang Guihua responded and was about to leave when Wang Cuihua arrived.

"What are you doing! What happened to my daughter? Yuan Doudou's cat scratched my daughter's face. My daughter didn't want to sell her meat. What's wrong with that?" Wang Cuihua started to cry as she spoke.

Yuan Doudou watched coldly; they were treating her like a thorn in their side, blaming her for everything.

“Wang Cuihua, we know all that you’re saying. Isn’t it the work of the cat demon? The cat demon has already been punished by Heaven. What are you doing here shouting?” Even Wang Danian, as her in-law, couldn’t stand it. He was slaughtering a pig today for a happy occasion, and everyone in the village came to share in the joy. But these two women came to cause trouble.

"Oh, I heard that the cat didn't die, but was taken home by Yuan Doudou. Many people can testify to that." Wang Cuihua seized on this point, her face full of pride.

Yuan Doudou's heart skipped a beat; sure enough, someone had their eye on her.

"Wang Cuihua, what do you mean by all this? Even if I keep a cat, it's to catch mice, not to scratch your daughter's face, unless she's done something shameful." Yuan Doudou's lips curled up almost imperceptibly.

She was implying something, and everyone present understood, secretly chuckling to themselves.

Enraged, Li Xueqing broke free from her mother's grasp and rushed forward to strike Yuan Doudou: "I'll tear your mouth apart! You're a widow, what's so high and mighty about you? You're always hooking up with Brother Wang, you're more despicable than anyone else at heart."

Yuan Doudou's eyes narrowed, the surrounding temperature dropped, and the chill went straight to the other person's heart.

Seeing the outstretched hand, Yuan Doudou remained calm, grabbed Li Xueqing's wrist, and pushed her away, slapping her own face and leaving five finger marks.

Immediately, Li Xueqing felt pain in her face, hands, and everywhere else.

Wang Cuihua never expected that her big, strong daughter would be at a disadvantage, so she quickly stepped forward and pretended to hit her.

"Is hitting people a tradition in your Li family? Li Xueqing is my peer, so it's only natural for me to hit her back. But you are the elder, and you hit a junior like me without even asking what happened. Everyone, please judge for yourselves, should I fight back or not?"

Yuan Doudou's words left Wang Cuihua's outstretched arm frozen in mid-air.

When did this girl become so eloquent? I couldn't argue with her for a moment.

Everyone nodded and stood on Yuan Doudou's side. They all said she was a jinx, but after seeing her today, they realized that Yuan Doudou had an extraordinary temperament and the demeanor of a well-bred lady.

Especially her composed and unassuming demeanor just now.

"Wang Cuihua, that's enough! Take your daughter away and stop causing trouble." Wang Danian was really annoyed by the mother and daughter, and his mind began to waver. Should he reconsider this marriage?

Wang Cuihua's face darkened, her lips trembled, she wanted to say something but held back, gave a cold snort, and dragged her daughter out of the crowd.

Yuan Doudou ignored it; she came to buy meat, and everything else was just a passing fancy.

"DouDou, I'm really sorry about what happened earlier. I feel bad about it. Here, take this piece of pig liver." Wang Danian cut off the pig liver and put it in the basket along with three pounds of pork leg meat.

Yuan Doudou smiled brightly: "Then I won't be polite, thank you Uncle Danian."

She paid and took Angie home.

"DouDou, you're here to buy meat too?" Zhang Aiju walked towards us, carrying a bamboo basket.

Yuan Doudou smiled and said, "Yes, Auntie, freshly killed meat is just the best. Look at the color."