As Zhou Chenyu watched the two figures walk away, a smile appeared on her face, and her vigilance relaxed. Suddenly, a loud clanging sound of metal falling came from the dark alley behind her, jolting her on the edge of her seat.
"Who?" She turned around quickly. Old Zhang, whom she hadn't seen for many days, stood at the alley entrance, his eyes filled with fear. A rusty kitchen knife lay at his feet, and the sound from earlier must have come from it.
When Zhou Chenyu saw it was him, she smiled and picked up the kitchen knife. "Uncle, why didn't you say anything behind me? You startled me."
Zhang the Deaf looked at Zhou Chenyu in terror, his body trembling violently, and he cried out uncontrollably, "Bad guy! There's a bad guy!"
Bad guy?
Zhou Chenyu was puzzled. Old Zhang hadn't been here long. The only people who had visited the stall were Yang Xi, Xiao Qi, and Qian Rushan. Qian Rushan was a notorious street bully. If he wasn't the bad guy, who else could it be?
Seeing his nervous and frightened expression, she glanced down at the kitchen knife and said in disbelief, "Uncle, the reason you stood behind me without saying a word with the kitchen knife was to protect me and prevent Qian Rushan from hurting me, right?"
Zhang the Deaf nodded frantically, "Bad guy! Stay away from him!"
A warm feeling welled up in Zhou Chenyu's heart. She never expected that her previous intentional act of kindness would receive such care from Old Zhang.
She handed the cleaver back, saying, "Uncle, don't worry, I'll take good care of myself. Here's the cleaver back."
Zhang the Deaf bit his filthy fingers, shook his head blankly, and left without a word.
Zhou Chenyu originally wanted to chase after him, but the wild deer and rabbits at the stall were unattended. After thinking it over, he could only temporarily keep the kitchen knife for Old Zhang and return it to him at a suitable time.
Not long after, Baoyu returned after lunch, bringing some food for Zhou Chenyu.
Zhou Chenyu munched on the pancake he gave her, while the siblings sat in front of the stall, exchanging a few words here and there.
In the afternoon, Xiao Qi indeed called her uncle to come and buy wild deer, and deliberately concealed his identity.
Zhou Chenyu had no idea that this was someone arranged by Yang Xi. She only saw that the other party was generous, and she quoted a price of two taels of silver for the wild deer, leaving some room for bargaining.
Without even blinking, the man readily agreed to the deal.
There were still two wild rabbits left at the stall that no one had bought. Baoyu couldn't wait to count the silver he had earned that day and said happily, "Sister, we were really lucky today. The customers we met were all generous and kind people. We earned a whole tael more silver than we expected."
"Okay, hurry up and put the money away." Zhou Chenyu had been sitting in the noisy market all day, and her muscles were aching. She couldn't help but stretch, and only when she stretched did she realize that the sky was covered with the glow of sunset.
She nudged Baoyu's shoe with her toe. "It's already dark, and we've been waiting for so long without anyone buying wild rabbits. Anyway, it's Mid-Autumn Festival in a couple of days, so why don't we keep these two for ourselves? What do you think?"
“Sister, that’s fine.” Baoyu rubbed his sore shoulders. “That way, we can go back sooner.”
The siblings, having reached a consensus, quickly emptied their stall and rushed to the market to buy some pork bones and pork, as well as some assorted mushrooms.
After they finished shopping, they wanted to detour to buy some mooncakes, but the weather was getting cold and it was getting dark too quickly. They didn't want to walk in the dark, and since they could buy mooncakes the next day anyway, they pushed their cart back to Zhoujia Village first.
As autumn arrived, the corn stalks planted in the vegetable garden behind the house bore fruit, but the loofahs were all old, and some of the peppers had turned red. The dry and brittle leaves were covered with holes bitten by insects.
Li Xiuju carried a basket, picked a basket of chili peppers and a few ears of corn, and then took a knife to cut off the old, hard loofahs. She took them home and hung them on the rafters outside the kitchen to dry.
Zhou Chenyu carried a string of meat and pork bones into the house, and Huang Dou ran over and sniffed them hard.
The stool under Li Xiuju's feet was wobbling, so Zhou Chenyu quickly put down the pork bones and meat, ran over to support it, and said helplessly, "Grandma, these loofahs are all too old, why did you pick them? Just throw them away. We made about three taels of silver today selling wild deer and pheasants, so we have money to spend."
"Really? So many!" Li Xiuju smiled and tightened the rope binding the loofahs. "Alright, these old loofahs aren't edible, but we can keep them to wash the pots."
Li Xiuju stepped off the stool, patted the dust and cobwebs that had accidentally gotten stuck to her sleeves, and asked, "Three taels of silver. Have all the live animals been sold?"
Upon hearing this, Baoyu returned carrying two wild rabbits. "Mother, the pheasants and deer are all sold out, but there are two wild rabbits left. Shall we keep them for ourselves to eat during the festival?"
Li Xiuju glanced at the cage. The price of the prey sold for far exceeded their expectations, which was already a pleasant surprise. Moreover, with the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, killing a couple of wild rabbits to add another dish was not a bad idea.
She smiled and said, "Alright, then let's keep it in the yard for now. It's getting late, and you must be tired and hungry after a long day. I'll make you dinner."
The mother and son stayed home to cook, while Baoyu took a bamboo pole and went outside to look for chickens, ducks, and geese.
Zhou Chenyu rubbed her hands, unable to help: "What are we having for dinner tonight?"
Li Xiuju already knew what to do, and smiled: "Mother, make two dishes and a soup, one wild loquat and pork bone soup, one mixed mushroom and tofu stew, and a spicy stir-fried twice-cooked pork."
Li Xiuju blanched the newly bought pork bones and put them into a pot along with wild loquats, soybeans, and sliced corn, simmering the soup over medium heat.
Zhou Chenyu squatted in front of the stove, watching the fire while picking the mixed mushrooms she had bought from the old lady. After peeling off the outer skin of the mushrooms, she took them out to wash them clean and put them on the cutting board.
Li Xiuju was worried that they would go hungry, so she quickly started cooking. "Chenyu, watch the tofu in the pot. Once one side is golden brown, flip it over. I'll chop the meat and chili peppers."
"good."
Zhou Chenyu took the spatula from Li Xiuju and watched the white tofu in the pan. After frying for a while, the edges of the tofu turned golden brown. She flipped the tofu from the center to both sides one by one.
All the tofu was pan-fried until golden brown and slightly charred. Li Xiuju smelled the aroma, took a spatula, and poured a plate of chopped mixed mushrooms into the pot. The thick tofu sauce softened the mushrooms, and the savory sauce mixed evenly with the tender and crisp mushrooms. Finally, they were all taken out of the pot.
Zhou Chenyu carried the stir-fried mixed mushrooms and tofu into the main room and covered it with an empty plate.
The sound of pork belly hitting the pan came from the kitchen, the hot oil from the frying fat crackling and popping. Then, chopped tender green peppers were added, the glistening hot oil coating the peppers, and the fragrant juices from the peppers seeping into the pork belly. The pungent aroma was something you both loved and hated.
"Cough cough cough, cough cough cough." Zhou Chenyu and Li Xiuju choked on their coughs in the kitchen until tears streamed down their faces.
Baoyu could smell it from afar, and walked over happily without any reaction. "With this stir-fried green peppers and pork, I can have a few more bowls of rice tonight, hehe."
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