Chapter 96 A Cow Eating Peonies? A Waste of Money?
"Ah Nuan! Ah Nuan! What are you thinking about? Where should we put this big bathtub?"
Lu Shizhu waved his hand in front of Jiang Nuanzhi, interrupting her reverie.
Jiang Nuanzhi's grin immediately disappeared, and she stared at the large bathtub, looking troubled: "How about we put it in the kitchen first?"
"Oh," Young Master Lü responded, then craned his neck to ask, "Where do we put this stone mill? And these big iron pots?"
Jiang Nuanzhi also looked around, but finding nowhere to put it, she simply carried it along with Young Master Lü to the kang (heated brick bed) in the pharmacy.
Anyway, no one is staying in this room for the time being, so let's just leave it there.
It's convenient to use it whenever you want.
There was only one table outside, with a graphite stone on it and a pot set up.
After everything was settled, the day had passed, and it was getting slightly dark.
Jiang Nuanzhi made braised pork for dinner.
The meat had been in the pot long in advance, and now it's stewed until it's trembling, easily broken with a chopstick, and the amber-colored broth is rich and flavorful. The few hard-boiled eggs placed inside have also blended into the same color as the meat.
The potatoes were so soft they almost melted.
When it's served in a large wooden basin, the aroma immediately fills the entire yard.
I also made a light, refreshing, sweet and sour shredded radish and steamed a large pot of red bean rice.
The rice was cooked together with the pre-soaked red beans, and now the rice is cooked, with a light and enticing pink color, mixed with the rich aroma of red beans. This red bean rice not only looks tempting, but it can also nourish the blood and qi, making it perfect for their family.
I also cooked a pot of egg drop soup. Dinner was now ready.
The children couldn't wait any longer; Xiao Er and Bao Zhu were already circling around Jiang Nuanzhi.
Jiang Nuanzhi also enjoys being surrounded by children, mainly because her children genuinely help her with chores. The fire is always managed by Xiao Er; whether Jiang Nuanzhi wants a large or small fire, she only needs to give the order.
Little Baozhu kept running around helping her get chopsticks and hand her spatulas. Although her movements were a little clumsy, with this little tail following her around, Jiang Nuanzhi didn't even feel tired from cooking.
Young Master Lü was looking at the plate of braised pork in front of him with a look of pure bliss.
Jiang Nuanzhi shook her head and chuckled. For the sake of this meat, Young Master Lü didn't go home even after dark, and A Yong had already come to urge him twice.
He even kept saying that he wanted to stay here.
Xiao Xuanting was much more reserved than the others, though his dark eyes would occasionally dart toward the plate of braised pork.
Jiang Nuanzhi had prepared food for Ping'er and then urged them to come and eat quickly.
Seeing that it was almost time, she went out herself, and sure enough, she saw Li Junping riding back on horseback in the distance. Jiang Nuanzhi smiled and waved to him.
"Ping'er, come back for dinner."
In the countryside, you can hear anyone who shouts.
As dusk approached, Li Junping froze.
This was an experience he had never had before; it seemed as if no one had ever stood at the door, smiling at him from afar, telling him to hurry back for dinner.
His younger siblings had waited for him like this before, but they were still young and always waited for him to come back and take care of them.
He responded almost instinctively, but without spurring his horse's flanks. Little Li, seemingly impatient, neighed and galloped home.
As soon as they arrived at their doorstep, they could smell the aroma of meat and see wisps of smoke rising from the chimneys. Ping'er felt a lump in her throat, jumped off her horse, and walked over to Jiang Nuanzhi.
"How was your day? Were you tired from school?"
Jiang Nuanzhi took his small cloth bag. She handed Xiaoli a carrot and patted her long face. Seeing Xiaoli happily spinning around while exhaling through her nose, she couldn't help but laugh as well.
"Not tired." Li Junping looked intently at Jiang Nuanzhi.
"Let's go quickly, let's go eat."
Behind them, mother and son, were Xie Liangchen and his servant, who had followed Ping'er back.
The two of them naturally saw this scene as well.
Afu sniffed, "Master, I wonder what delicious food Jiang Pangya made. It smells so good! She must have been hiding something; I've never seen her cook this good before!"
As she spoke, she clutched her rumbling stomach and peered longingly into Jiang Nuanzhi's courtyard.
He only ate a quick bite at school, barely filling his stomach, but his stomach was already rumbling with hunger.
Xie Liangchen secretly touched his belly, pursed his lips, and couldn't help but glance at her courtyard.
In the countryside, people are quite frugal with oil lamps, so no one has lit one yet at this hour. But a light is shining from the window of Jiang Pangya's house.
Jiang Pangya had her back to him, her arm around Li Junping, and seemed to be saying something with a faint smile, but he couldn't hear her clearly.
But at first glance, it felt very warm and comfortable. Even the dilapidated courtyard looked more pleasing to the eye, which made Xie Liangchen pause in surprise.
Afu, standing beside him, started to scoff again: "Tch, does Fatty Jiang really think she's going to put all her eggs in one basket with this wolf cub? Does she really think everyone can study as well as the young master?"
That little wolf cub, I saw him secretly beat up the Wu family boy from the village before, and even threatened him not to tell anyone. Clearly, he's not a good person. And she's treating him like a precious treasure, showering him with care and attention, seemingly even more attentive than she was to the young master before!
"Say less and no one will think you're mute!" Xie Liangchen said, his face ashen.
Afu pretended to slap his mouth: "Young master, it was my fault for being so talkative. It's just that watching this stupid woman do things really makes me angry. Just wait until next spring's children's examination, and Jiang Pangya will know how much difference there is between her wolf cub and you."
"Young master, you should do well on the exam. She should know who deserves to be in the main hall and who is just a country bumpkin destined to serve others their whole life."
"When did I ever stoop to being compared to a child?" Xie Liangchen said in an unfriendly tone, "If you dare say another word, you won't be eating dinner."
Seeing that Xie Liangchen was really angry, Afu shrank back and didn't dare to say anything, but in his heart he thought that Jiang Pangya was not very bright.
Instead of helping their young master, who has a bright future, they're praising that country bumpkin from their own family.
He saw it clearly at the school today; the things that wolf cub used were even better than what the young master used. It was truly a waste of money, like a cow chewing on a peony!
Xie Liangchen didn't want to watch anymore and quickly drove his carriage home.
But once inside, he found the house deserted, with no sign of human presence.
Inside the side room, Chun Tao was still lying on the bed with her head tilted back, groaning and crying out in pain as she held her back.
Xie Liangchen sat down, looking a little tired, and took a sip of cold tea. In the end, he gave one of the cakes he had bought during the day to Chun Tao.
Chun Tao took the cake and began to wolf it down.
"Young Master, you're finally back! If you hadn't come back, you wouldn't have seen Chun Tao again!"
Xie Liangchen frowned: "Didn't I ask Zhao Yuniang to take care of you?"
Chun Tao cried and snot streamed down her face: "Young Master! That wicked woman is two-faced! She doesn't care whether I live or die! She made promises to you so readily, but when you weren't home, she started abusing me, beating and scolding me. I haven't eaten all day."
As she spoke, she burst into tears again.
Xie Liangchen frowned slightly, but before he could speak, he heard a affected female voice coming from outside.
"Liangchen, are you back? I knew I arrived at the perfect time!"
Immediately afterwards, everyone saw Zhao Yuniang enter carrying a food box. When she saw Xie Liangchen, she smiled as if she were in a flower garden.
"Hurry up and eat dinner. I made sugar pancakes today, and I added extra pieces of meat to the stir-fried cabbage, especially to nourish your body. Come and have a taste."
After saying that, he placed the food she had brought on the table without asking.
(End of this chapter)
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