Finally, just before it got completely dark, the Lu family arrived at a hilltop.
Jiang Tangtang was exhausted, but in order to avoid being so tired tomorrow, she had to continue doing the tasks.
I have to raise my character rating to 50% tonight, and make a horse appear.
So as soon as the group stopped, Jiang Tangtang started acting up.
"My husband, I want to eat beggar's chicken."
Su whispered, "Third son's wife, look, the chicken is still alive. It can be kept for a few more days. Why don't we eat the beef first? So much beef will spoil if we don't eat it."
Jiang Tangtang hadn't eaten properly all day and was starving. She glanced at the skinny pheasant, then at the large chunk of beef wrapped in cowhide, and said decisively, "Then, husband, go find some spices, and we'll have stewed beef."
"The ones we found at noon should also be usable." After saying that, Lu Shiyan sat down to the side, closed his eyes, and began to meditate.
Jiang Tangtang guessed that he was too tired in the afternoon and needed to cultivate quickly to recover his strength, so she didn't disturb him anymore.
She looked through the spices he had brought back at noon that day and found that she didn't recognize any of them except for Sichuan peppercorns and cinnamon.
But thinking that with his abilities, he certainly wouldn't make a mistake, he didn't interfere any further. He simply said to Madam Su, "Then tonight, let's take a few pieces of beef, wrap them up like we would for beggar's chicken, and roast them over the fire."
Mrs. Su said repeatedly, "This method is good; this method saves water."
Luo Taohua had been craving beef all afternoon, and now she was very diligent, saying repeatedly, "I'll go find some firewood."
Zhou Qiongniang also came over to help, "Third sister-in-law, how do you make beggar's beef? Tell me, I'll do it."
"Marinate the beef with salt and spices, then wrap it in layers of leaves, and finally cover it with thin yellow mud. Then bury it in the fire to roast."
Zhou Qiongniang said, "Third sister-in-law is truly a discerning person, she knows so much. But I'm afraid it will be hard to find thin yellow mud."
Jiang Tangtang took out the map and glanced at it. She pointed to a piece of land with green grass in the distance and said, "Second sister-in-law, that used to be a paddy field. You can try looking there. Maybe you can find yellow mud."
"Then I'll do as you said and marinate the beef."
After rummaging around for a while, Zhou Qiongniang emptied an earthenware pot. Using weeds as a tool to clean the pot, she wiped it clean and then chopped up the spices and put them in the pot. She then picked out a few pieces of beef and mixed them together.
She looked at Madam Su: "Mother, could you give me some salt?"
In farming families, salt is a precious commodity. The Su family usually kept it very tightly under control and rarely shared it with others.
However, beef is precious, and since it was Jiang Tangtang's request, Madam Su was unusually generous and took out the salt jar so that Zhou Qiongniang could scoop it out herself.
Knowing the value of salt, Zhou Qiongniang didn't take too much, only scooping out a small spoonful to marinate the beef.
She took five pieces of beef and only scooped out a small spoonful of salt.
Jiang Tangtang, who was standing nearby, said, "Second sister-in-law, you can't put too much salt in, but you also can't put too little, otherwise it will be tasteless and won't taste good."
“Third sister-in-law is right.” Zhou Qiongniang added a little more salt to the earthenware pot, carefully rubbed it evenly, and then went to find the yellow clay.
Brother Lu, along with Li Shi and others, went to search for a water source nearby.
Old Man Lu and his second brother Lu found some mud and sand and began to vigorously rub the cow intestines to clean them.
Madam Su then asked Jiang Tangtang if the leaves her third son had picked at noon were enough, and if so, she would pick some more.
At noon, Lu Shiyan only planned to wrap one pheasant, so there weren't enough leaves.
Upon hearing that it wasn't enough, Mrs. Su took several of her grandchildren to the mountains to pick tree leaves.
Since the resting place was at the foot of the mountain and the Su family hadn't gone far, there was no need to worry about safety.
While the Lu family was busy, the Fang family also arrived at their resting place.
Lu Cuilan harbored resentment towards Lu Shiyan, feeling that he hadn't helped her find the robbers and recover her lost property.
But this resentment only strengthened her resolve to marry her daughter to Lu Shiyan. In her view, although she was Lu Shiyan's aunt, she was still a step below him as a son-in-law.
If he were not only a nephew but also a son-in-law, would he disobey me and hurry after those bandits to retrieve my belongings?
Seeing that everyone in the Lu family except Jiang Tangtang was extremely busy, she couldn't understand why the Lu family was treating this vixen so well.
Lu Cuilan composed herself and went to Luo Taohua to inquire about the reason.
“Eldest nephew’s wife, you and the second son’s wife are like old oxen, always busy. The third son’s wife does nothing and treats you like servants, yet your sister-in-law greets her with a smile. Aren’t you angry at all?” Lu Cuilan said while helping Luo Taohua gather firewood.
How could Luo Taohua not be angry? She opened her mouth to list all of Jiang Tangtang's faults, but the words caught in her throat as she suddenly remembered her mother-in-law's threat.
If she doesn't listen to her mother-in-law and reveals Jiang Tangtang's secret, she won't get any of the prey her third brother catches in the future.
And today's beef, I'm afraid as punishment, she won't get a single bite.
Then her expression changed instantly. "What's there to be angry about? My third sister-in-law is smart; one of her heads is worth five or six of ours. What does it matter if she does a little less work? Besides, we're family. What does it matter who does a little more or less work? If we have to be so clear about it, won't that create distance?"
Lu Cuilan felt like she had seen a ghost. Was this still the same Luo Taohua who was so calculating and would gossip for half a month if anyone drank an extra sip of soup when they ate meat at home?
Lu Cuilan made no attempt to hide the surprise and confusion in her eyes, "Is your whole family possessed by evil spirits?"
"Aunt, what are you saying? Can't you wish for something better for our family?"
Luo Taohua suddenly felt that it would be more pleasant to say nice things instead of bad things about her family. "Our Lu family has a good family tradition, unlike your family. Look at you, you and your cousin got into trouble, and not only did no one come to your rescue, but a bunch of people were making sarcastic remarks. If I were you, I would first sort out the mess that's going on in front of my own house before I talk about this."
Lu Cuilan not only failed to find out anything, but was also scolded by her nephew's wife.
Her face nearly contorted with rage, and her lips trembled as she said, "Mrs. Luo, you...you ungrateful, disrespectful wretch! I was just trying to stand up for you, and instead of being grateful, you're making fun of me! You..."
Luo Taohua was in a hurry to go back and cook beef, so she didn't have time to chat with them. "Aunt, do you know why everyone dislikes you? It's because you meddle too much."
After saying that, Luo Taohua ran off with the firewood, ignoring Lu Cuilan.
At this moment, Zhou Qiongniang had returned with the mud. Following Jiang Tangtang's instructions, she was applying the thin yellow mud to the already wrapped beef chunks.
Luo Taohua quickly started a fire and asked, "What do we do now?"
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