After digging up sweet potatoes, Zhen Wanwan and A Yue went to the kitchen.
When Aunt Ma from the kitchen saw the two of them coming over, she quickly took the basket and said, "Madam, what good things have you brought back?"
Zhen Wanwan held up a sweet potato and said to Aunt Ma, "Aunt Ma, please wash the sweet potato and potato and peel them while you're at it."
"By the way! Do you have any fresh pork ribs or chicken?"
Aunt Ma paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "There's still one chicken that hasn't been killed. Ma Xiaosi, go buy some spare ribs!"
Zhen Wanwan said "Oh," and then said, "I'll cook dinner tonight. Tell Ma Xiaosi to buy more meat!"
Aunt Ma obediently went out to find Ma Xiaosi and told him to hurry to the county to buy meat.
After explaining everything, she came back and washed the sweet potatoes and potatoes thoroughly.
Aunt Ma and Aunt Wang prepared all the side dishes and other ingredients, just waiting for Zhen Wanwan to cook for them later.
Zhen Wanwan went back to her room and spent some time helping her child learn to read. When she saw that it was almost time, she went to the kitchen.
She plans to make stir-fried potatoes with pork, stewed pork ribs with potatoes, steamed corn, steamed sweet potatoes, and so on tonight…
In short, she made every dish she could think of that could be paired with these three ingredients.
With Aunt Ma and Aunt Wang helping her, she felt much lighter.
Because she was going to introduce these grains to everyone that evening, Zhen Wanwan arranged for Rou'er to go to Meizi Village early to call Old Lady Li and the others over for dinner.
Seeing this, Old Lady Li left Wang Cuihua to watch over everyone's work and came over to help herself.
She went to see her beloved grandchildren first before going to the kitchen to find Zhen Wanwan.
Seeing her skillfully busy at work, Grandma Li felt a pang of heartache.
She couldn't stand seeing her daughter use vulgar language!
I always felt that my daughter was destined to enjoy a life of luxury and shouldn't be doing the work of a servant.
"Hey! Wanwan, what kind of meal did you make?"
Zhen Wanwan glanced at the door and saw it was Grandma Li. She smiled and explained, "Mom! You're here! The sweet potatoes and potatoes I planted are ripe. Everyone should try them tonight!"
Grandma Li looked around and saw that Aunt Wang and Aunt Ma were doing their best to help and not let her daughter suffer. The slight discomfort in her heart faded away.
She stepped forward, lifted the lid of the pot, and looked inside.
Seeing the plump sweet potatoes, I was surprised: "This grain looks quite substantial!"
"Absolutely! Don't let its small size fool you, it's very filling! And it's high-yielding too!"
Grandma Li didn't completely believe her. How high could the yield be?
But this was her daughter's first time growing grain, and she didn't want to discourage her daughter's confidence.
"Then I'll eat a few more later!"
Upon hearing this, Zhen Wanwan laughed and joked, "Eat as much as you want! I'll have Aunt Ma pack some for you to take back later. You can steam them for breakfast before you go to work in the morning!"
Grandma Li smiled and agreed, feeling warm inside because her daughter was so filial.
With Grandma Li joining in, dinner was quickly prepared.
Zhen's family also came.
Fifteen minutes later, Yuan Huizhou and the others finished school and returned home with Zhen Xiaohu and the other three children.
Smelling the delicious aroma wafting from the kitchen, a group of children crowded together at the kitchen entrance.
They stared longingly, their mouths practically watering.
"Auntie! Are we going to eat?"
Zhen Wanwan said with a smile, "Alright! Come over here and help your aunt carry the dishes to the table. Be careful! Don't spill them!"
At her command, the children excitedly went to serve the dishes and bowls.
"It smells so good! Are you making spicy chicken again tonight?"
Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice rang out, and Zhen's family members all looked outside curiously.
The herbalist swaggered in, showing no surprise at seeing the Zhen family.
With a polite smile, he bowed to Grandpa Li and Grandma Li, and then nodded to Zhen Fugui and Wang Cuihua.
"Hello, Uncle! Hello, Aunt! Hello, Big Brother! Hello, Big Sister-in-law! Hello, all the children!"
Looking at the generous and open-minded herbalist, Zhen Wanwan felt as if she were in her own home, without any restraint or awkwardness.
Grandpa Zhen looked at the refined and polite herbalist and liked him very much.
"Hello, hello! You must be my son-in-law's good friend!"
The herbalist's smile was incredibly infectious; he didn't look down on Old Master Zhen for being just a commoner.
"Uncle! Zhuyuan is my junior brother! I came here today hoping to seek refuge with him!"
Grandpa Zhen suddenly realized what was going on and looked at Zhen Wanwan and her husband with some displeasure.
"Xiao Yuan's family came to visit, why didn't you inform us?"
There was no one left in Zhuyuan's house. The young man in front of him said that his son-in-law was his junior brother. The master was like a father, and the junior brother was like a brother.
Then this person must be a member of the son-in-law's family!
Grandma Li had always felt sorry for Zhu Yuan, who had no parents or relatives. Now that a junior brother had appeared, she was happy for her son-in-law.
"Young man, from now on, make yourself at home here. Your uncle and I live in Meizi Village. Come over and visit whenever you have time!"
The herbalist's smile grew even more sincere, and he readily agreed, "I'll definitely visit you two more often in the future, but please don't mind if I come too frequently..."
Grandma Li was amused by his words. This child was good-looking and had a good temperament, just like her son-in-law.
"I'm overjoyed! Don't be angry!"
Zhu Yuan silently watched this scene, and when no one was paying attention, he gave Bai Caoshi a warning look.
The herbalist pretended not to see it and continued to chat amiably with Grandpa Zhen and Grandma Li.
Anyone who didn't know better would think he was a long-lost relative of the Zhen family!
Zhen Wanwan learned about Baicaoshi's background last night. Seeing that he was quite polite and posed no threat to her family or her husband, she did not deliberately isolate him.
"What a sumptuous dinner tonight! It smells wonderful!"
The herbalist steered the conversation to the dinner table. He had already smelled the aroma of the food and had eaten several packets of spicy strips. Finally, it was time to eat!
Zhen Wanwan observed everyone's reactions and was quite satisfied.
She pointed to the dishes on the table one by one, saying, "This is stir-fried potatoes with shredded pork, this is stewed potatoes with pork ribs, this is fried potatoes... this is steamed corn... this is sweet potato..."
Everyone watched as Zhen Wanwan introduced the dishes one by one, finding it all quite novel.
Judging from the names alone, they all seem to be made from the same dish.
Potatoes alone were used to make six or seven dishes, followed by corn, while sweet potatoes were steamed or baked.
In short, each one has a unique flavor.
"Everyone can eat now! Remember to peel the roasted sweet potatoes before eating!"
Zhen Wanwan took a corncob, broke it in half, and prepared to let it cool down a bit before giving it to her two babies, Guabao and Tianbao, who had just grown their milk teeth.
This corn is sweet and tender, perfect for teething children to chew on!
The herbalist first offered food to Grandpa Zhen and Grandma Li, and then generously started eating with his chopsticks.
He first ate fried potatoes with chili peppers; the crispy, sweet, and spicy taste made his eyes light up.
"This is so delicious! Sister-in-law, this is the best dish I've ever eaten!"
"Hmm... Uncle and Aunt, you should try some too..."
Dog Egg and the other kids had already eaten until their mouths were all messy, but they just couldn't stop!
Boys like spicy chicken with potatoes, fried potatoes, etc.
The girls, on the other hand, were happily munching on the corn.
Grandpa Zhen and Grandma Li, whose teeth aren't very good, prefer steamed sweet potatoes that are sweet and soft.
That feeling of liking someone can't be hidden no matter what!
Wang Cuihua preferred potato and pork rib soup, and she ate three bowls of rice in a row!
Zhen Fugui preferred roasted sweet potatoes, and because it was his first time eating them, his mouth was covered in charcoal ash, which made everyone laugh.
Zhu Yuan tried everything, and didn't particularly like any of the dishes, nor did he particularly dislike any of them.
Guabao and Tianbao had been craving it for ages, and today was their first time having a main dish. The two of them gnawed on the corn with gusto, enjoying it immensely.
As for Granny Zhang and the others, they were arranged to eat in the kitchen.
Zhen Wanwan did not treat either side differently; the dishes were the same for both sides.
As Grandma Li was eating, tears suddenly welled up in her eyes and fell, startling everyone.
"Mother, what's wrong?"
"Mother! Are you feeling unwell?"
"Grandma! Is the sweet potato too hot? Let me blow on it for you..."
“…”
Everyone gathered around Old Lady Li, and upon seeing this, she quickly wiped away her tears.
She looked around sheepishly and explained softly, "I'm happy! Thinking back to this time last year, we were starving in Lijia Village, eating only one meal a day to save food, and going to bed before dark just to conserve energy..."
As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes again. Most of the people present had experienced famine.
Grandpa Zhen and Wang Cuihua, who are also wealthy, had a stronger sense of experience and seemed to recall that desperate time.
Grandpa Zhen sighed and stopped trying to persuade Grandma Li, letting her vent her emotions.
"Those days are over. No matter how hard it was, things are better now. We survived a great calamity and are bound to have good fortune in the future. There's a long road ahead, and a life of enjoyment is yet to come! If you start crying now, won't you cry your eyes out when your children and grandchildren become officials?"
Seeing the children's collective disappointment because of Grandma Li's crying, Grandpa Zhen still opened his mouth and said a few words.
Grandma Li glared at him with displeasure, but she knew in her heart that what he said was true.
The children are all successful, but she is always crying because she is afraid of hurting their feelings.
Thinking of this, Grandma Li stopped crying. She held the half-eaten sweet potato and looked at the other dishes on the table.
He sighed and said, "You know what, this stuff warms you up after just a few bites, and it tastes sweet and fragrant—even better than rice!"
Grandpa Zhen nodded in agreement, saying, "I'm already seven or eight tenths full after eating just one sweet potato. If the yield of sweet potatoes is really as Wanwan said, we can plant them all and have enough to eat every day of the year."
"The most important thing is that sweet potatoes grow in the mountains. Now we can't buy farmland, but there is plenty of mountain land. If our family works hard, we can clear some wasteland and plant these sweet potatoes. I think we will have a bumper harvest."
"After paying the taxes, we'll keep the grain for our own consumption and sell some to others to earn money."
Zhen Fugui looked at the grain on the table thoughtfully, some thoughts flashing through his mind, but he did not speak.
Zhu Yuan glanced at Zhen Fugui, then looked at the smiling Zhen Wanwan.
He hadn't expected that his wife would do what she said so quickly.
He remembered what Zhen Wanwan had told him the day before yesterday about building a "Happiness Home".
He still remembers the look on his wife's face when she said those words—confident and determined. At that time, he was afraid that his wife would encounter difficulties when she was doing things properly, and that she would be disappointed and saddened because of it.
Now it seems he's being narrow-minded. With these sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn, feeding all the people of Anqing Prefecture would be a piece of cake.
Ah Yue had already told him about the amazing yield of sweet potatoes and potatoes.
He now has complete trust in his wife and firmly believes that she can do it.
Looking at the petite woman before him, he suddenly realized that his wife was not as fragile as he had imagined.
Perhaps even without him, the lady can manage on her own.
Zhen Wanwan felt a burning gaze beside her, and she turned her head to look at Zhu Yuan.
Seeing his eyes shining brightly, I couldn't help but touch my own face, wondering if I had accidentally gotten my face dirty while cooking.
She turned slightly to the side and asked in confusion, "Husband, is my face dirty?"
Zhu Yuan paused slightly, a slight smile playing on his lips; he was determined to tease him.
He hummed in agreement, then suppressed a laugh and wiped it himself.
Zhen Wanwan gave an embarrassed laugh, not expecting that her face was actually dirty, and A Yue didn't even remind her.
A-Yue was in the kitchen, holding a sweet potato in her left hand and eating a fried potato in her right, when she suddenly sneezed.
She wondered if she had caught a cold, and after thinking about it, she decided to take some cold medicine after finishing her meal.
If I miss taking care of Lady Zhen because of a cold, that would be terrible!
The world is vast, but her mission is to save only one person!
Everyone ate their fill at today's meal, and each of them sported a large belly.
Zhen Wanwan had someone arrange tea and snacks after dinner, and the family sat in the courtyard chatting and eating melon seeds.
Zhen Wanwan couldn't help but laugh as she watched the children running around the yard.
As if she had thought of something, Zhen Wanwan suddenly spoke up: "Father, Mother! There is something I need to tell you."
The elderly couple looked at Zhen Wanwan at the same time, while Zhen Fugui and Wang Cuihua also looked at her with puzzled expressions.
Zhen Wanwan straightened her expression, tossed a melon seed shell aside, and said calmly, "Mom and Dad, the soap business at home is on track and we've made quite a bit of money. Have you ever thought about buying a shop and becoming your own boss?"
These words silenced the noisy courtyard for a moment.
The crowd's expressions varied, but only Old Lady Li, after a moment of surprise, broke the silence with her voice.
"Wanwan, did you hear someone gossiping about you? Don't be afraid, your mother is still very healthy. Even if someone is talking behind your back, I can still sit still!"
Old Mrs. Li glanced at Wang Cuihua with a sinister look, which made Wang Cuihua tremble. She hurriedly denied it, saying, "Mother! Even if you gave me a hundred lives, I wouldn't dare say such things in front of my little sister!"
Wang Cuihua was truly terrified. She had grown accustomed to her comfortable life, and if she were kicked out, jumping into the river would probably be her only option.
Moreover, the sister-in-law is good at making money, and the husband is capable. He also occasionally helps the family by buying them gold and silver jewelry.
Even if she had the guts to say these things, she would never say them!
After all, her sister-in-law bought her a gold bracelet!
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