After exchanging a few jokes, Li Zhensheng urged, "Mother, you and your sister-in-law should take Fu Niu'er home. I'll keep an eye on things here. Your sister-in-law has been very tired lately, so she should rest for a few days and think about some new dishes."
"The guests who made the reservation don't have any dietary restrictions, but they especially like duck. Sister-in-law, could you think of a different way to prepare it?"
"Duck?" Several ways of cooking duck flashed through Tao Hongying's mind, but they were nothing more than soup or stew, which was not particularly novel. She frowned slightly.
Jiayin gave her mother a big kiss, blinking her big eyes as if trying to send a signal.
When it comes to eating duck, Kyoto in my previous life was second to none, so there's no reason why it wouldn't be popular in Kyoto during the Tianwu era.
So, I don't need to worry about this. My all-powerful daughter is already sharpening her knives for the duck!
Seeing that her daughter's eyes were about to twitch from blinking so much, Tao Hongying couldn't help but laugh and say, "Alright, let your eyes rest now, Mom knows."
After saying that, she gave a few more instructions on kitchen matters, then took her daughter and mother-in-law home.
The village chief, accompanied by Li Lao Er, strolled around the front hall and the back kitchen twice, looking quite satisfied.
On the way back in the carriage, he discussed with Li Lao Er, "If the boys in the village study for another two years and they are not good at studying, and do not want to go out and make a living, can we send them to work at the Master's restaurant?"
"I don't care about wages, I just want to come here to broaden my horizons, meet more people, and improve my skills."
“Of course it’s settled,” Li Lao Er readily agreed on behalf of his elder brother. “It doesn’t matter who we hire as a helper, they’ll all get the work done. Besides, our own kids can read and write, and they’re much more reliable than outsiders.”
The village chief beamed with joy, "That's right, that's right. I'll make sure the children study hard when I get back."
They chatted and laughed all the way, and soon arrived at the village.
It has to be said that many hands make light work; in just a few days, Li Yong's new house is about to have its roof beams raised.
The villagers were all willing to put in the effort, and Li Yong was also willing to spend money, providing two meals a day, at noon and in the evening, with meat at every meal. Everyone felt sorry for the cost of the food.
But Li Yong and Hui Niang said that they wouldn't have strength if they didn't eat enough, and they needed meat!
With no other choice, everyone ate to their hearts' content at every meal and worked with no effort whatsoever.
The Li family was also worried. Old Mrs. Li didn't even go inside her own home; she carried her granddaughter to the construction site to check on the progress and then went to the Liu family to see the three little children.
Tao Hongying also rolled up her sleeves and went to the village chief's house to help Hui Niang cook.
Hui Niang has lost a lot of weight, she no longer has the puffiness she had during her postpartum period, and she's also gotten much darker, but she looks great, with bright, sparkling eyes.
Clearly, she is full of hope for her new home and for the days to come, and she doesn't care how tired or hard it is!
That evening, the Li family was about to cook dinner, but Hui Niang rushed over and delivered the food first. Even Uncle Zhao and the other old men had already eaten at their house.
The Li family had been busy all day, but without delay, they ate the ready-made meal and went to bed hastily.
Jiayin, using the excuse that she missed her mother, clung to her mother's chest and they went back to the side room together.
As a result, in the short time Tao Hongying turned around to wash her face, a pile of recipes appeared on the kang (a heated brick bed), along with a chubby girl who was staring at her fingers, grinning foolishly and pretending to be well-behaved...
She had no doubts, so she hugged her daughter and kissed her again and again.
"My lucky girl, I will definitely cook delicious home-style dishes for you and earn lots of money to make a big dowry for you!"
Jiayin hugged her mother's neck, rubbed against her like a kitten, and took a deep breath of the faint soap scent on her mother's body before letting out a big yawn.
Tao Hongying patted her daughter's back gently, again and again, until she heard her daughter fall asleep. Then she put her on the soft mattress and carefully took off her clothes.
The little girl is fair-skinned and chubby, with arms and legs as thin as lotus roots. Even when she's asleep, her little mouth moves from time to time. I wonder if she's dreaming about eating something delicious.
They're so cute, they melt your heart at first glance.
Tao Hongying lowered her head and gently kissed her daughter's little hand.
Sometimes, she herself couldn't believe that she could give birth to such a wonderful child, who was filial, sensible, smart and cute, like a little fairy who fell from heaven to earth!
Others might be unhappy that their children are naughty, but she actually hopes for them to be naughty.
Because this child's tantrums, greed, and antics make her feel that this is a real child, the flesh and blood of her own flesh.
"Go to sleep, my little girl."
Tao Hongying pulled her daughter's blanket closer to her before putting all the recipes on the table, preparing to rewrite them.
Although she wouldn't show the recipe to anyone, she wanted to be on the safe side, as she didn't want her daughter to be in any danger.
We have to make a new copy, in her handwriting, so that if anything happens, it will fall on her.
And so she copied the text while keeping watch over the sleeping chubby girl.
The light from the oil lamp cast her shadow on the window frame, making her appear exceptionally tall and solid...
It was dusk again, and the evening breeze was much colder than before, conveying a message to everyone.
That is, winter is just around the corner!
Every household has already chopped firewood and stored up all the odds and ends, just waiting for the first snow to quietly arrive.
In the Li family compound, the old lady, along with Granny He and Shuiyun, laid out all the winter clothes.
The kang (a heated brick bed) was filled with the belongings of several old men, including Uncle Zhao, family members, and even Li Yong, Hui Niang, and the twins.
These are cotton-padded coats for Jiaren and his boys. They've already been sent away, otherwise there would be a huge pile of them on the kang (heated brick bed).
The old lady held a half-baked feather duster in her hand. After tapping each piece of clothing, she felt that her cotton-padded clothes were softer, and then she stopped.
Jiayin had just changed into her own laundry jacket and trousers, and now she was hugging her toes and rolling around on the kang (a heated brick bed).
The old lady found it funny and took a feather duster, pretending to hit her, which made Jiayin roll around even more, giving everyone a real demonstration of what it means to get lost!
Granny He and Shuiyun laughed heartily, occasionally shaking out this cotton coat, lifting up that cotton trousers, pulling on one side to help Jiayin, this "egg," dodge Grandma's feather duster, and continue to cause trouble.
Just as they were laughing and joking, Tao Hongying rushed into the house with a happy expression, shouting, "Mom, it's done! The duck is done!"
Before the old lady could respond, Jiayin had already jumped into her mother's arms, giggling and shouting, "Mom, let's eat roast duck! Fu Niu'er wants to eat roast duck!"
The old lady laughed heartily, "Come on, let's go try it! The aroma has been wafting all afternoon, and my mouth is watering just thinking about it, let alone Fu Niu'er!"
Tao Hongying quickly picked up her daughter and led her mother-in-law outside.
In the corner of the yard, a new oven was built yesterday. Because of time constraints, we didn't make adobe bricks, but took blue bricks directly from Li Yong's house.
Calling it an oven isn't entirely accurate; it's more like a large, sealed container with charcoal burning at the bottom and an opening at the top.
Three plump ducks hung on the side of the jar, their skins roasted to a brownish-red color, sizzling and dripping with oil.
The charcoal fire below still retained a hint of red, and when it encountered the dripping oil, it sizzled and turned into bluish smoke that drifted upwards, making the aroma of the meat even stronger.
Tao Hongying carefully hooked up a roast duck and said excitedly, "The duck this morning was badly burnt, so this time I removed most of the charcoal fire and let it simmer for two hours."
As she spoke, she placed the roast duck on a tray and carried it back to the main room.
The crowd gathered around, inhaling the increasingly rich aroma and secretly swallowing their saliva.
Despite the heat, Tao Hongying first tore off a duck leg for her mother-in-law.
The old lady smiled, took only a small bite as a gesture, and then handed it to her granddaughter.
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