Fan Erzhu and Fan Sanzhu dared to argue with others and didn't care about Ding Jiajia's aloofness and dislike, but when they saw Hu Wenhua, they couldn't help but shrink back, stop in their tracks, and dare not approach.
Zhang Chunhua was very pleased to see that Hu Wenhua had stopped Erzhu and Sanzhu but not her.
She walked briskly towards where the mung bean soup was placed.
Zhou Yu and Zheng Yan each took a bowl and spoon out of a bamboo basket, while the other was responsible for ladling out mung bean soup.
Li Dani and Wang Qiuyue first brought a bowl to Ding Jiajia, then to Fan Jiang and Fan He, then to Hu Wenhua, and the rest were for themselves.
Seeing Zhang Chunhua swallowing her saliva, the five pretended not to notice—there were only nine sets of bowls and spoons; the lady hadn't prepared anything for anyone else.
Ding Jiajia held the large bowl and slowly drank the soup, spoonful by spoonful. The mung bean soup was cooked by Sister Shuiqing, and only Jiang He and the other two main characters were entitled to share it. She was just one of the freeloaders, and each person only got one serving. She wasn't good enough to give her share to Zhang Chunhua.
She glanced furtively at Hu Wenhua; he didn't need a spoon, and drank in large gulps, showing no sign of offering one to anyone.
For some reason, Ding Jiajia felt a little at ease.
From what she knew, Hu Wenhua was a very generous person. If he truly liked Zhang Chunhua, he wouldn't be stingy with a bowl of mung bean soup. His not giving it to her, did it mean he didn't have any romantic feelings for her...?
Hu Wenhua was also very satisfied. Erzhu and Sanzhu didn't come forward, and Jiajia didn't even look at them, which proved that he had made the right decision!
Jiajia didn't even like those two.
This realization made him inexplicably happy.
Zhang Chunhua glanced at Ding Jiajia and then at Hu Wenhua. Seeing that neither of them spoke, she stomped her foot, turned around, and ran away.
Fan Jiang and Fan He were unaware of each other's thoughts; they only thought that their mother's mung bean soup was delicious!
It was really worth the trip to accompany Aunt Jiajia to deliver mung bean soup!
Li Dani shared the same thought: "Madam's mung bean soup is so delicious!"
The others nodded vigorously.
"It's so sweet! I've seen Madam make mung bean soup. She puts in a lot of sugar, white sugar, and she says it tastes better with white sugar than brown sugar," Wang Qiuyue exclaimed in amazement.
She knew that white sugar was more expensive than brown sugar.
She felt extremely distressed about the amount of sugar added, yet the lady of the house gave them all the mung bean soup with so much sugar to drink together—she was so generous.
Ding Jiajia took another sip. She had made mung bean soup before, adding a lot of sugar, and it was white sugar, but it still didn't taste as good as Sister Shuiqing's.
There's always a slightly astringent taste from the mung beans.
"The lady also soaked mung beans, then poured out the soaking water, saying it was to remove the bitterness, and then added spring water again to boil them. It was not only expensive, but also a lot of effort," Li Dani added.
The deliciousness of the stew isn't just because the lady is willing to add sugar, but also because she spends a lot of time on it!
Ding Jiajia quickly remembered it.
“No wonder!” Zhou Yu said knowingly.
They used to dislike eating beans in the village. They didn't like soybeans, mung beans, or red beans. The main reason was that beans were never tasty no matter how they were cooked, as they had a bitter taste and needed a lot of sugar to go with them.
But sugar is a precious commodity, who would be willing to part with it? Besides, even if they were willing, they wouldn't have it.
I only learned that mung beans and soybeans can be sprouted and eaten; they're so tender and delicious!
Soybeans are ground into a paste, which makes delicious tofu, tofu pudding, dried tofu, and tofu skin, and also makes delicious soy milk.
Red bean buns and red bean rolls were made with red bean paste. The lady also said that red bean soup warms the stomach in winter and mung bean soup cools the body in summer. Different foods are eaten in different seasons. Only then did they realize that there are so many ways to eat and cook beans!
“The old folks in the village used to say that those who survive a great calamity are destined for good fortune. Is this what they mean by ‘good fortune’?”
"Definitely!"
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