Xu Chunxia was about to leave with the empty bowl and plate, but when she reached the door, she stopped and gave Chang Lu some instructions.
"Okay." Although Chang Lu didn't think he would touch it, his mother-in-law had already brought it up, so he might as well listen to her. After all, it would only be one night.
Time flies, and as the couple fantasized about what kind of wife their child would marry when he grew up, it was already half dark outside.
A horse-drawn carriage stopped in front of the Wang family's house.
Wang Yuanshan walked in.
"Mother, have my sister and brother-in-law returned?"
Upon seeing the familiar carriage, Wang Yuanshan knew that his younger sister had returned to her parents' home.
However, he wasn't sure, so he asked again.
"Yes, your sister is back. Oh, by the way, she's newly pregnant. Keep your voice down when you go in, don't scare her with all your noise." Xu Chunxia came out of the kitchen with wet hands; she was making dinner.
"What? My sister is pregnant? Really?"
Wang Yuanshan was both surprised and delighted.
"Would your mother lie to you? Go inside and see your sister. While you're at it, tidy up the table in the main room. I've already taken the bowls and chopsticks over there. Come and serve the dishes in a quarter of an hour."
After saying this with a smile, Xu Chunxia went back to cook.
To nourish her daughter, she specially stewed chicken soup. Worried that her daughter would find it too oily, she skimmed off the surface oil and added a lot of bamboo fungus. This stuff absorbs oil and tastes delicious, but it's extremely expensive. If it weren't for the bamboo forest on the hill, she probably would never have been able to eat it in her life. Bamboo fungus is hard to find, and many people in the village are eyeing that bamboo forest. She was lucky this year and only managed to pick about ten. She originally intended to sell them, but after drying them, she forgot about them until now.
Bamboo fungus has a faint bamboo fragrance that balances out the greasiness.
Crisp, refreshing, and sweet.
The last time I ate it was when I was a child.
Xu Chunxia's mouth watered at the smell of the chicken soup.
When her children are not home, she usually eats a bowl of wild vegetable porridge by herself.
Therefore, only on the nights when they returned from the distant mountains could they find a little meat in the dishes.
The chickens were raised by her to lay eggs.
But since her daughter was pregnant, she immediately killed a cat to make soup.
This shows how much she loved Wang Jingshui.
"Dinner's ready! Yuanshan, come and serve the dishes. Changlu, help Jingshui into the main room—"
After cooking the last dish, Xu Chunxia stood at the kitchen door and shouted into the house.
"They're here, they're here—"
Wang Yuanshan responded loudly.
Once all the dishes were served, the bowls were also filled with rice.
The four of them then sat down and began to eat.
"Jingshui, I've skimmed off all the oil from the chicken soup, it's not greasy at all. Have a bowl, and here, these two chicken legs are for you. I know you love chicken legs the most. Changlu and Yuanshan each get one chicken wing." Xu Chunxia took an empty bowl, filled it with more than half a bowl of chicken soup, tore off two chicken legs and put them in the bowl, then handed it to her daughter.
Then she put two chicken wings into her son and son-in-law's bowls.
She herself was eating chicken feet with no meat.
"Mom, it's really not greasy at all, it's delicious. By the way, what is this mushroom? I've never seen it before. It's crunchy and quite tasty."
Wang Jingshui had never eaten bamboo fungus before. Looking at the fungus, which resembled a loofah sponge, she asked Xu Chunxia curiously.
“This is called bamboo fungus. It grows in bamboo forests and is rarely seen. It’s normal that you’ve never eaten it. I’ve only eaten it once in my life when I was a child. I was lucky to be able to pick some. Here, I’ll stew it all for you.”
As she spoke, Xu Chunxia placed another piece of bamboo fungus into her daughter's bowl, while she herself ate one and refused to eat any more.
"Changlu, Yuanshan, have a bowl of soup after you finish your meal. You've also eaten the chicken. I made a whole pot of chicken soup, and I left half of it in the cupboard. I'll make chicken noodle soup for you tomorrow. Finish this tonight, and don't leave any leftovers." Xu Chunxia said this when she saw that her son and son-in-law weren't putting any of their chopsticks into the chicken soup.
"Yes, Mother."
"OK."
Only after hearing their replies did she feel at ease enough to continue eating.
On the table were chicken soup, stir-fried greens, steamed eggs, and stir-fried garlic sprouts with cured pork. The garlic sprouts didn't taste as good as in spring, but with the addition of cured pork, everyone ate with relish.
In less than half an hour, the food and rice were completely eaten.
The two young men finished off all the leftovers.
Wang Jingshui and Xu Chunxia only ate half a bowl of rice and drank a bowl of soup.
"Changlu, take Jingshui out for a walk. She's eaten too much, so a little walking won't hurt her. Remember to come back after a quarter of an hour, don't tire her out. Make sure you hold her tight, okay? Yuanshan and I will wash the dishes and chopsticks, and then we won't go for a walk with you."
Seeing her son-in-law start clearing the table after finishing his meal, Xu Chunxia quickly stopped him.
There's no reason to make the son-in-law do the work.
She asked Changlu to accompany Jingshui for a walk, and after the two left, she took her son to tidy up.
"Your mother is too kind. We're all family. It's no trouble for me to do some work." Chang Lu said to Jing Shui as they walked along the village path.
"Alright, that's just how Mom is. You know that. Not everyone is as open-minded as your mother-in-law."
Compared to Yan Xia, Xu Chunxia's thinking belongs to this era; she is conservative and feudal, and her bones reveal a deep-seated patriarchal mentality.
But it's still much better than others.
At least in her eyes, her daughter and son are both her precious children.
They will not favor one side over the other, nor will they mistreat Wang Jingshui simply because she is a woman.
Wang Jingshui, who was spoiled by Xu Chunxia, had a cheerful personality and a bit of a shrew, which made many people in the village dislike her. Otherwise, with her looks, her doorstep would have been worn down by suitors long ago.
Not to mention that she chose this marriage herself.
If this happened in someone else's house, their legs would have been broken.
"Let's go for a walk at the beginning of the village, it's brighter there. It's too dark at the end of the village, and it would be bad if we stepped on a stone and fell."
“Okay, whatever you say.” Wang Jingshui didn’t care where they went. The two chatted as they walked toward the village entrance.
There is a big tree at the entrance of the village.
It's been at least a hundred years.
As soon as it gets dark, a lot of women gather under the big tree, chatting about all sorts of things.
Anyone who passes by.
His ancestors for eighteen generations could be brought up and talked about for a long time.
"Tsk tsk tsk, look, he's back with another child. Liu Wangtao's son was born sickly. They say seven-year-olds live, eight-year-olds don't. Although he survived, he gets sick all the time. The family's savings are all gone. It would have been better if he had died. If you ask me, he should have another one."
Liu Cuihua watched Liu Wangtao return from the village entrance carrying the child, pointed at him, and said to everyone.
"That's right. I've seen it three times already. It's not good for them to be sick all the time. If this continues, the Liu family will starve to death before the child is even grown up."
Aunt Big Feet echoed her.
"Luckily, the autumn harvest is coming soon, so the Liu family can hold on for a while. I saw their Liu Kang last time. He has a nice name, but I think it's not as good as my Fenquan. A humble name makes a child easier to raise. Look at my Fenquan. He's tall and strong. He's never even caught a cold since he was born. He's incredibly healthy. He can eat two big bowls of rice at a meal."
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