Grandma Wang held Yan Qingqing's hand and said, "Oh, why are you being so polite? There are plenty of bamboo trees on the mountain. It just takes a little time. Da Gang is free anyway, so why would he ask for money?"
Yan Qingqing knew that this old lady Wang was a kind-hearted person, but one thing is one thing, so she smiled and said, "Auntie, please don't refuse me. This is just a small token of my appreciation for Da Gang's hard work."
Soon Wang Dagang's wife brought him back, and Yan Qingqing repeated her requirements to him.
After listening, Wang Dagang nodded and said, "These are the simplest ones, so there's definitely no problem making them. It's just that you need a lot, so it will take me a few days to make them."
Yan Qingqing replied, "It's alright, you make the bowls and chopsticks first. I need a batch tomorrow. We still have two wooden buckets at home that we can make do with."
Grandma Wang slapped her thigh and said, "Wooden buckets are easy to find. We have two ready-made ones at home. You can take them and use them first."
Yan Qingqing did not refuse and paid Wang Dagang 100 coins in advance before leaving.
Wang Dagang's wife's eyes nearly popped out when she saw the hundred coins. She hadn't done anything and yet she got a hundred coins. Was Yan Qingqing just rich and stupid?
After Yan Qingqing pushed the cart away, Wang Dagang's wife said sourly, "Sigh, where did this widow Yan get so much money?"
"It can't be from some shady background, can it?"
Upon hearing this, Old Mrs. Wang shouted, "Hao Shi! Shut up! You never keep your mouth shut. How could I have been so blind as to marry you!"
He's always causing trouble by gossiping about the Dong family and the Li family!
If I ever hear you gossiping behind my back again, I'll divorce you!
Upon hearing this, Hao was startled and repeatedly said she would never dare to do it again. Actually, Hao herself didn't have any bad intentions; she just liked to gossip and spread rumors all day long, and Old Madam Wang had scolded her for it countless times.
After Yan Qingqing returned home, Yuan Huiniang and the others had already gone to the river to clean the pig offal.
Seeing that it was getting late, Yan Qingqing thought she would cook something nice for the children.
There were still several carp in the bucket, but Yuan Hui's mother hadn't been willing to let them eat them. Now that her second and third sons were back, Yan Qingqing was going to eat the fish.
She was preparing to make boiled fish, and Yan Qingqing's mouth watered at the thought of its spicy and fragrant flavor.
So he rolled up his sleeves and quickly grabbed two from inside.
With one blow, the fish lost consciousness. As Yan Qingqing cleaned the fish, she muttered to herself, "Survival of the fittest, the strong prey on the weak. The only thing I can do for you before you die is to knock you unconscious and reduce your pain."
Yan Qingqing kept muttering to herself while butchering a fish; if an outsider heard her, they would definitely think she was crazy.
Next comes slicing the fish, which is a skill, especially since the knife at home isn't very good.
Yan Qingqing could only bend over and grit her teeth to persevere. Just when she was about to give up, she finally finished cleaning the two fish.
Yan Qingqing straightened up and rubbed her lower back with her hands, sighing inwardly that she was indeed getting old, as her back was already aching terribly in such a short time.
Just then, Li Xiangkang's cheerful voice came from outside the door: "Mom, we're back. Look, Third Brother even found a few bird eggs. Can you ask Sister-in-law to make me some steamed eggs?"
After saying that, he ran up to Yan Qingqing and presented her with a dozen or so bird eggs as if they were treasures.
Yan Qingqing looked at Li Xiangkang, who had an innocent expression, and said gently, "Okay, I'll have your sister-in-law make it for you later."
Li Xiangkang nodded happily, then looked at Yan Qingqing and said, "Mom, I also brought back a little bird, but my second brother said that we can't even support ourselves, let alone have the time and energy to raise a bird."
"Mother, that little bird is so pitiful. It has no home. Please let me keep it. I can catch insects for it."
A fondness for small animals is probably in a child's nature, and keeping a bird as a pet is perfectly fine. However, Yan Qingqing wanted to tease Li Xiangkang, so she asked, "How do you know it doesn't have a home?"
Li Xiangkang curled his lip and said, "Third Brother destroyed its entire nest, and the bird's nest is scattered everywhere."
Yan Qingqing: ……
Seeing that Yan Qingqing didn't speak, Li Xiangkang pleaded again, "Mother, please, just let me raise her."
Yan Qingqing hadn't intended to refuse him in the first place, but she still took the opportunity to make a request: "It's fine to raise him, but you can't let this interfere with the tasks your mother assigned to you."
Otherwise, you'll have to give it away.
Li Xiangkang jumped for joy, repeatedly saying, "I knew Mom loved me the most."
Yan Qingqing glanced at the bird, whose feathers hadn't fully grown in yet. It looked similar to a sparrow, except its beak was hooked. She didn't know what kind of bird it was.
Yan Qingqing took out a piece of fish and put it in its mouth. It stretched its neck and swallowed it in one gulp. Then it looked at Yan Qingqing with shining eyes, its expression clearly indicating that it wanted more.
Yan Qingqing looked at the bird and inexplicably felt that it was also a glutton.
After feeding the birds two more pieces of fish, Yan Qingqing said to her three sons, "Your eldest sister-in-law and the others have gone to clean the pig offal. One of you stay here and help me tend the fire, while the other two go and dry those fragrant leaves."
Today I'll make you a boiled fish dish.
Finally, Li Xiangjian stayed behind to help Yan Qingqing tend the fire. As he did so, he asked, "Mother, will this fish taste good if it's just boiled in water?"
Yan Qingqing laughed and said, "You'll find out how delicious it is in a bit."
Immediately afterwards, Yan Qingqing started by heating oil in a wok, adding star anise, bay leaves, cinnamon, and dried chili peppers. After stir-frying until fragrant, she added the prepared side dishes.
Then, take out the side dishes, add the fish slices, and cook until they are slightly curled up.
Li Xiangjian's mouth watered at the aroma, and he even forgot to light the fire.
After preparing the boiled fish, Yan Qingqing also steamed rice in the pot. Since she was going to improve her life, she decided to have a good meal.
Thinking that Xiao Jinxiu was too young to eat spicy food, I picked up a few bird eggs and made steamed eggs.
By the time Yan Qingqing had finished cooking, Yuan Huiniang and the others had already washed the pig offal.
Yan Qingqing urged the three of them to wash their hands and eat quickly.
In her past life, Yan Qingqing often cooked. That scumbag boyfriend was from the South and liked spicy food, so she specially learned many Southern dishes. Who knew that in the end she would still be cheated on.
While eating, Yan Qingqing resentfully thought about how blind she had been back then.
Seeing her mother-in-law's great resentment, Yuan Huiniang secretly thought that things were not good. Not only had she disobeyed her mother-in-law, but she had also failed to cook lunch. Her mother-in-law must be disgusted with her now.
Thinking of this, tears streamed down my face again.
This startled everyone at the table. Yan Qingqing slammed her chopsticks on the table and asked, "Hui Niang, what's wrong? Did someone bully you? Tell your mother, and I'll stand up for you!"
Upon hearing this, Yuan Huiniang burst into tears, as if she had suffered a great injustice.
Yan Qingqing was at a loss; she really couldn't soothe such a big crying child.
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