Chapter 10 Chapter 10 Bacon Rice
When Old Mrs. Yu heard that her granddaughter had returned, she called out loudly as soon as she entered the door.
Of course, she didn't rush back just because Yu Li was coming back today, but she heard that she was carrying a basket on the way back. Thinking that the Fu family used to be a traveling merchant family with a strong foundation, she thought that the gift this time must be quite a lot.
In the room, Yu Yin, who heard Old Lady Yu's voice, was filled with panic and was so scared that his body was shaking.
Yu Li held her down with his hand and said, "Don't be afraid."
Yu Yin said nervously: "Big sister, grandma will definitely ask you for a return gift..."
"Yeah, I know." Yu Li said calmly, letting her sit in the room and walked out.
As soon as I went out, I saw Old Mrs. Yu standing in the yard.
Old Mrs. Yu was short and skinny, a typical country old lady. She had a dark, thin face with deep wrinkles, and her hair was sparse and gray, casually tied behind her head. She wore a gray-black coarse linen shirt, and looked in good spirits.
When she saw Yu Li, she said, "Mother Li, you're back. I heard you brought something back?"
Yu Li didn't say anything, but looked towards the kitchen, and saw Yu Jin and Yu Zhu coming out, with fear and worry on their faces.
Although boiled eggs were indeed delicious, they were still afraid that grandma would know they had eaten the eggs and then beat and scold them. That was real beating, the kind with a rattan stick.
Seeing that she was silent, Mrs. Yu was a little unhappy, "I'm talking to you, are you deaf?"
Yu Li turned to look at her and called her "Grandma".
"Where are the things?" Old Mrs. Yu asked directly.
Yu Li didn't say anything and turned back to the house.
Seeing this, Grandma Yu was very satisfied. Although this granddaughter was a weakling, she was very obedient and just like her mother, she was submissive.
Although she married her granddaughter to the Fu family for the purpose of bringing good luck, Grandma Yu felt that her granddaughter could not escape her control. No matter what, she was her grandmother, and as long as she spoke, her granddaughter could not disobey.
Seeing this scene, Yu Jin showed a bit of helplessness in his eyes, and Yu Zhu looked reluctant, knowing that the remaining bacon and fine grains in the basket had to be handed over and would definitely not fall into the hands of the second wife.
Soon they were happy again.
Fortunately, my eldest sister had cooked all the eggs before and hid the rest in the house. Anyway, grandma didn’t see them and I don’t know if there were any eggs today.
Yu Li quickly came out with a basket.
Old Mrs. Yu rushed over immediately. Although she was thin, she was very agile. She stretched out her hand to lift the coarse cloth covering the basket, but Yu Li suddenly stepped back, causing her to almost fall.
"What are you doing, you damn girl?" Old Mrs. Yu scolded.
Yu Li stared at her and said, "Grandma, you took the twenty taels of betrothal money from the Fu family and sold me to them."
Old Madam Yu said angrily, "What do you mean by selling or not selling? Nonsense! You are marrying into the Fu family!"
Yu Li: “Everyone says so.”
Old Mrs. Yu suddenly felt a little uncomfortable. She was usually a shameless person who dared to say anything and did a lot of shameless things.
Ever since the two grandsons of the eldest house started studying with Mr. Chen in the county town, they were said to be extremely talented and might really pass the imperial examination and become officials in the future. So, Grandma Yu began to pay attention to their reputation, fearing that she would accidentally bring trouble to her two grandsons who were still studying.
It would be a bit embarrassing to tell others that he was marrying his granddaughter to a dying man just for twenty taels of betrothal money.
But didn’t Fu Wenxiao wake up?
"Who said that? Tell me, or I'll tear their mouths apart!" Old Mrs. Yu yelled.
Yu Li didn't say who said it, he raised the basket in his hand and said, "This is the return gift my mother-in-law asked me to bring back, I'll give it to you later."
Old Mrs. Yu was puzzled. Why couldn’t she give it now?
However, Yu Li had already turned around and went back to the west room, not giving her a chance to speak, which made her feel depressed.
But thinking of my granddaughter's personality, I don't think she would have the courage to fool me. If she wants to keep it, then she can keep it. When she leaves, won't this thing be handed over to me?
After thinking this, Old Mrs. Yu did not chase after her to ask for it back. In her heart, Yu Li was still the obedient granddaughter.
After Mrs. Yu went back to her room to rest, Yu Li went to the kitchen with a basket.
Yu Jin was chopping a bowl of washed vegetables, while Yu Zhu was sitting in front of the stove making a fire. The kitchen was very stuffy.
Seeing her come in, Yu Jin asked, "Sister, what's wrong?"
Yu Li opened the basket, took out the bag of fine grains and bacon, and said to her, "Second sister, cook this bag of rice and this piece of bacon together."
Yu Jin was stunned. "Cooked?"
"Yes." Yu Li said, "I'll let you eat delicious food today."
Yu Zhu, who was standing in front of the stove, looked at Yu Li with sparkling eyes and said happily, "Sister, I want to eat bacon rice."
The fine grain in this cloth bag is white rice, which is pounded very finely and has no impurities. The cooked white rice is fragrant and soft. Most farmers are reluctant to eat such good white rice and usually eat coarse grains.
Yu Li's eyes lit up slightly, and he made the final decision: "Then let's have bacon rice!"
Yu Jin looked at her elder sister, then at her younger sister, thinking back to what had just happened, and whispered, "Eldest sister, didn't you say you would give it to grandma later?"
"Yes!" Yu Li said as a matter of course, "When the time comes, we can all eat together, and it will also be considered as a gift for grandma."
Yu Jin: “…” Is this possible?
Yu Jin was dizzy and didn't know if he was possessed by a ghost. He actually took it and started to deal with it.
Yu Li was waiting to eat the bacon rice, so he didn't leave the kitchen and stayed in front of the pot.
Not to mention Yuzhu, whose eyes were glued to the stove.
When the bacon rice was cooked, Yu Li first filled six bowls of bacon rice, put them in a basket, and then carried it back to the room.
In the end, only a shallow layer of rice and burnt rice crusts were left in the pot.
Actually, she wanted to eat the rice crust, but thinking that everyone would have to share it, she had to leave it reluctantly.
-
At noon, people working in the fields came back one after another.
Soon the Yu family became lively.
When Yu Laoer and his wife heard that Yu Li was coming back today, they were very happy. They didn't care that they were sweating all over and went straight to the west room.
"Li Niang, you're back."
Yu Li in the room looked at the couple.
At first glance, they were dark and thin, typical appearance of poor country farmers. Although they were only in their early thirties, they looked like old farmers in their late fifties.
Especially Liu, her dark face looked sallow and she looked very weak.
The couple were both honest people. Although they were excited to see their married daughter come back, they didn't know what to say.
They were still a little worried that their daughter would blame them.
In fact, they did not agree to marry their daughter to the Fu family for good fortune, but this was decided by Old Lady Yu, and the whole family agreed. Even they as parents could not object. With Old Lady Yu's words of filial piety, the couple had no choice but to compromise.
They were useless and felt very guilty towards their eldest daughter. They hadn't had a good rest these past few days.
Even when they heard that the young man of the Fu family had woken up, they were not very happy. Any parent who loved their daughter would not be willing to let their daughter marry a sickly man who would not live long.
Yu Li glanced at them and called out, "Dad, Mom."
Yu Laoer and his wife quickly let out a sigh and opened their mouths, not knowing what to say.
Finally, it was Liu who asked, "Mother Li, how have you been these past few days?"
"Very good." Yu Li said lightly.
Perhaps sensing her coldness, the couple didn't know how to start even if they had a lot to say. They were both poor at speaking and usually didn't communicate much with their daughters. Now they felt guilty and didn't know what to say.
Fortunately, Yuzhu came over and asked them to come over for dinner.
Yu Laoer and his wife quickly agreed, went to the yard to fetch water to wash their hands and faces, and then went to the main room to eat.
There was a big table in the main room, and everyone sat together.
Yu Li took a look, his eyes swept over these people, matching their faces with his memories one by one, and found that no one from the Yu family's main branch was there.
Boss Yu was also educated, but unfortunately his aptitude was not good enough and he failed even to pass the examination for becoming a student. He did not want to go back to the village to farm, so he worked as an accountant for a rice shop in the county town, and lived and ate in the backyard of the rice shop.
Later, after Yu Jingde and Yu Jingli went to the county town to study with Chen Xiucai, Yu Lao Da simply rented a house in the county town and lived with his two sons.
Yu Lao Da's wife Chen stayed in the village with her daughter Yu Qin and youngest son Yu Jingzong to serve her parents-in-law. Occasionally, she would take her children to the county town to visit her husband and children and stay there for a while.
It happened that during this period, Chen was in the county town with her children and was not at home.
Although no one from the main room was there, there were still quite a few people in the house.
Whenever it’s time to eat, the Yu family is the most lively.
Yu Jin brought over a large bowl of vegetable soup. As the bowl was too big, she carried it very carefully. Sweat beads appeared on the tip of her nose as she was afraid that she would accidentally drop it.
Yu Li reached out to take it and brought it into the main room.
The people in the room were chatting and preparing to eat. When they noticed that Yu Li was there, no one said anything. Instead, Third Aunt Wang greeted her.
"Oh, Li Niang is back." Then he turned to Yu Jin and said, "Jin Niang, your sister is coming home today, why don't you make some delicious food to entertain her?"
She looked at the dishes on the table. They were almost the same as usual, with pickles, vegetable soup, and not even a dish of cheap tofu.
Having said that, she actually knew in her heart that what meals to cook every day were arranged by Old Lady Yu.
Before going out in the morning, Grandma Yu would take the food for the family to the kitchen and lock up the rest to prevent others from stealing it.
In Grandma Yu's mind, her granddaughter was worthless. She would not ask her family to kill chickens and ducks to entertain her granddaughter who was marrying off for good fortune. That was impossible. She should just eat whatever she wanted.
After Yu Li put the bowl of vegetable soup on the table, he said to Wang: "Third Aunt is right, Second Sister did make delicious food today."
Wang was stunned after hearing this.
Did the old lady really ask Yu Jin to prepare delicious food for her granddaughter who came back to visit? That's impossible, right?
At this time, Wang's youngest son Yu Jingyi shouted, "What delicious food is there? I want to eat it too."
He is only six years old this year and is the youngest of the Yu family's grandchildren. He is usually doted on by Old Lady Yu, and any delicious food will end up in his mouth.
Before Yu Li could say anything, everyone had already seen the big bowl of rice crust being served. There was oily rice on top and a layer of browned rice crust underneath. Even on this hot day, it was extremely tempting and made people drool.
Everyone was a little confused. Where did the rice crust come from?
Just as he was thinking about it, he saw Yu Li bringing in a basket, opening the cloth on it, and then bringing out six bowls full of bacon rice and placing them one by one in front of the people from the second room.
There are six people in the second room, which is just right for six bowls of bacon rice.
Yu Li said to the people in the second room, "Dad, Mom, second sister, third sister, and youngest sister, let's eat."
Everyone: “…”
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