With two fewer people, the house suddenly felt much quieter. With some free time, Xiaoli wanted to cook something delicious. Looking at the spring tea she had picked from the mountaintop last time, she thought of making milk tea.
There was no milk, but luckily the goat in the space had just given birth, so goat milk was readily available. After boiling it, adding some almonds would remove the goaty smell.
Xiao Li steamed sweet potatoes, pumpkins, and taro until cooked, then added glutinous rice flour to make taro balls. She also started cooking red beans.
After the taro balls were made and the red beans were cooked, she started to stir-fry the tea leaves, add the prepared goat milk, and cook for five minutes.
Add raisins, red beans, taro balls, and some osmanthus sauce, and a delicious bowl of milk tea is ready.
I brought a small bowl to the neighbor, and when I came back, I saw Xiaojiu eating it with a satisfied look on her face.
"Sister Li, how did you make this? It's so delicious."
"Eat more if you like it, I'll make it for you again next time." Xiao Li also picked up her bowl and started eating. It tasted similar to grass jelly, but it lacked the milky flavor and wasn't as rich and fragrant. It seems that milk is still better.
Mo Qingshan didn't like it much, and only took a small bite before putting down his bowl. Yun Yuniang, on the other hand, liked it very much and ate two small bowls.
"Xiaoli, the milk tea you made is really delicious. This is a cloud cake made by Aunt Sun. Try it." Xiao Sang returned the bowl, bringing a bowl of snacks.
"Thank you, Brother Sang. Is the old man feeling better?"
I just delivered the milk tea and found out that the old man is sick.
"I'm feeling much better. Aunt Sun made some yam porridge, and the master drank some. He doesn't have a good appetite, but he tried the taro balls you made and said they were delicious." Xiao Sang also liked this neighbor girl very much; she was kind and had good cooking skills.
"It's a good deal for me. Aunt Sun only ate one bowl, and I ate the rest." Xiao Sang took out a few round things from her bosom and handed them to Xiao Li.
"Here, have some of this. It's delicious. My young master sent it to me. We don't have this kind of food here."
Xiao Li took it and saw that it was a lychee. This was really a rare thing. Although it was close to the south, there were no lychee trees here, and she had never seen lychees for sale.
"Thank you, Brother Sang."
"Don't mention it, I'll save some for you next time I have something delicious."
Seeing the little girl's sweet smile, Xiao Sang felt a warm glow in her heart. She waved and went back to her room next door.
Xiao Li shared the lychees and buried the seeds in her spatial dimension, hoping they would sprout and grow so she could have lychees to eat in the future.
☆
"Is the Qingshan family member home?"
Shouts came from the doorway, and Yun Yuniang responded and came out.
"Come in, the door is open."
A woman dressed in a bright red, double-breasted ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) walked in. Her hairstyle was quite elaborate, and she wore a silver hairpin with a phoenix holding a pearl—a rare pearl the size of a fingernail—that swayed as she walked. Behind her ear was a velvet flower made of gauze.
"I was wondering why the magpies were chirping outside the window all morning. It turns out it was Sister Jin who came." Yun Yu Niang quickly invited Jin Hongyu in and had her sit down in the main room.
This woman is a well-known matchmaker from the next village. A while ago, someone asked her to find a good marriage for their son, and now there's news.
Yun Yuniang poured a bowl of tea from the teapot on the table and handed it to Jin Hongyu. Jin Hongyu drank it all in one gulp before slowly speaking.
"Hey, Qingshan, I've got news about what you asked me to do last time. I've come to tell you all about it. I have two nice girls here, both suitable. Let me tell you about them, and you can see if you like any of them."
The two men, one speaking and one listening, with another eavesdropping, didn't see the matchmaker off until noon.
Xiao Li then came out and, seeing her mother's happy face, joked, "It seems that Mother will soon be able to welcome my sister-in-law into the family, and I, her daughter, will have to step aside."
"What nonsense are you talking about? Our precious baby is the most important person in my heart, and will always be number one." Yun Yu's mother reached out and pulled her daughter into her arms, comforting her.
As daughters grow up, it's inevitable that they'll have all sorts of wild thoughts, but her family isn't one that favors sons over daughters; daughters are just as important.
"Mother, I was just joking." Xiaoli sensed her mother's nervousness and quickly changed the subject.
“Last time, when Daya was chatting with me, I heard her mention her maternal grandmother’s neighbor, whose name was Chunyan. It sounds like her family’s values aren’t very good. Mom, we should probably go and find out for ourselves.”
She felt something was off when she was eavesdropping, and then she remembered that one of the blind date matchmakers mentioned by Jin was the same person Da Ya had been gossiping about.
It's said that they wanted to find a wife for their eldest son, but they were short of the bride price, so they wanted to sell their second daughter for a better price. Although the girl was quite capable, her parents and relatives were a huge burden. Such in-laws were not easy to deal with.
Yun Yu Niang also wanted to find a capable and intelligent wife for her son, but her future in-laws couldn't be troublesome either. Upon hearing this, she immediately objected, leaving only another woman named Xiang Ling. She planned to inquire about her further before making a decision.
When the whole family returned home that evening, they talked about the girl introduced by the matchmaker, but this time Mo Yunxiao frowned. It turned out that this Xiangling was already quite famous in the town, which was why Mo Yunxiao had heard of her.
At the beginning of the month, the second son of the Zhou family, the richest family in town, made a fool of himself at a restaurant, where he was caught cheating by his wife and taken to the restaurant.
When the door opened, the two were still inseparable, clinging to each other. Young Master Zhou was immediately dragged home by the ear. The girl, however, was unlucky; she was not only slapped but also stripped naked, left only in her undergarments, and subjected to stares and whispers. It was the landlady who took pity on her, finding her an outer robe and sending her home. This girl's name was Xiangling.
Yun Yu Niang was trembling with anger. She was about to go find the matchmaker, Jin, to get an explanation. How could someone like that be introduced to her? It was too much of a bullying!
"Mother, don't be angry, we will never agree to it." Mo Yunxiao quickly grabbed his mother and said what was on his mind.
“I’m not that old, I can look for someone in a couple of years. I’m also looking forward to exploring the world, so I shouldn’t delay any girl’s prime.”
Yun Yuniang looked at her serious son, then turned to look at Mo Qingshan.
Mo Qingshan also took his wife's hand and comforted her, "It's a good thing that the child wants to go out and explore. Maybe he'll find a good match in the future. Don't get upset. We won't hire a matchmaker like Jin anymore. She's too unreliable."
Xiao Li also lit a candle for her brother's luck; he was having such bad luck, not a single good thing.
Actually, she also felt that her brother was still young, but people here were already arranging marriages early. If she didn't make a move soon, all the good ones would be taken, and it would be even harder to find a spouse later.
The marriage was temporarily put on hold.
Since telling his parents what was on his mind, Mo Yunxiao has been busy pursuing his dream. He handed over the rice shop in town to Manager Wang Gui, and only needed to check the accounts every month.
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