It's no wonder that Grandma Xie is worried. The atmosphere in Tianshui Village is not bad. A few days ago, there was a rumor that a female educated youth in the village was bullied when she was left alone in the fields, and in order to preserve her reputation, she had to marry that gangster. Grandma Xie was terrified when she heard it, and she has been worried about letting Cheng Yaoyao deliver meals these days.
Now hearing that Cheng Nuonuo broke into his home in broad daylight, he was even more frightened.
Cheng Yaoyao sighed and buried his face in the bowl. The countryside is very peaceful these days, and every household leaves their doors unlocked. There is nothing to steal at home anyway. It is impossible to prevent it - the wall is so high and there is no surveillance.
But I am not afraid of thieves stealing, but I am afraid of thieves thinking about it. Cheng Nonuo is so crazy about the spiritual spring. If it doesn't work this time, he will definitely think of other ways next time.
Grandma Xie said, "I will talk to Auntie Yingui and the others tomorrow and ask them to keep an eye on us. Yaoyao, from tomorrow on you are not allowed to go out by yourself. If you go to work to collect pig grass, you must go with Zhao Ge'er, or go with Goudan and the others."
Xie Zhao said, "Don't worry. I have informed the captain and others that the village militia will pay more attention to our house during night patrols in the future."
Grandma Xie finally breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good."
After dinner, Xie Fei still looked troubled. She had done something wrong today and almost harmed Cheng Yaoyao, so she felt so guilty. Although Yaoyao's sister, brother, and grandmother did not blame her, Xie Fei was still in a heavy mood.
Cheng Yaoyao knew that she was worried, so he deliberately ordered her: "Xiao Fei, I want to make goat milk pudding, please help me."
"Okay!" At this moment, Xie Fei wished he could do more for Cheng Yaoyao to offset some of his guilt.
The can of goat milk that Cheng Yaoyao brought back today was still bubbling in the jar. Cheng Yaoyao poured the goat milk into the pot. The cold goat milk had a unique smell of goat milk.
Cheng Yaoyao said: "Xiao Fei, light up a little."
Xie Fei pulled out a piece of thick wood, keeping the fire in the stove in a state of burning but not yet burning.
Cheng Yaoyao added two spoonfuls of sugar and a pinch of tea leaves to the milk to remove the smell of mutton. She held an egg in one hand and knocked it against the edge of the bowl. With a flick of her wrist, the egg white fell into the bowl, while the egg yolk fell into another bowl. Cheng Yaoyao's hands were fast, and she knocked four eggs in the blink of an eye and quickly broke them up with chopsticks.
At this time, the goat milk in the pot was already covered with dense bubbles, rolling up and down layer by layer, as white as frost. Without waiting for the bubbles to grow bigger, Cheng Yaoyao poured the goat milk into a large bowl.
After the goat milk cooled down a bit, Cheng Yaoyao removed all the tea leaves and poured the beaten egg white into the goat milk and mixed it evenly: "Alright. Filter the egg white twice and remember to remove the foam on top."
"Hmm!" Xie Fei boiled a piece of gauze in boiling water, squeezed it dry, and filtered the mixed egg and milk liquid twice. Then she took out five small bowls, carefully poured the egg and milk liquid into the bowls along the edges, picked off the foam on the surface, and put it into the boiling water pot to steam.
Cheng Yaoyao has already cleaned another pot and started to boil caramel. Cheng Yaoyao is a master at boiling caramel. The caramel he boils is slightly red in color and full of flavor. No matter how long it is left, it will not solidify.
While she was making caramel, she shared her experience with Xie Fei: "Watch carefully, this is my exclusive secret. The most important thing in making caramel is the heat. The chef must judge based on his own experience. There can be no delay for even a second..."
Xie Fei couldn't help but ask, "Sister, if it's a secret, why did you teach me all of it?"
"Because you are my family." Cheng Yaoyao said as a matter of course, "So you don't have to be unhappy. We are a family. It doesn't matter if you cause me trouble. I won't remember it."
After a pause, Cheng Yaoyao continued, "Anyway, you definitely don't cause as much trouble as I do."
Xie Fei's eyes turned red, and she burst into laughter. The pressure in her heart disappeared instantly. She couldn't help but hug Cheng Yaoyao: "Sister Yaoyao, you are so kind! Even if you don't marry my brother, I will still recognize you as my sister."
Cheng Yaoyao couldn't stand other people's tears, so he said shyly: "Don't let your brother see it, he might misunderstand."
Xie Zhao stopped at the kitchen door, turned around and walked away quietly, with a smile on his lips.
Cheng Yaoyao said that she was one of their own.
After five bowls of hot goat milk puddings came out of the pot, Cheng Yaoyao poured caramel on them. The goat milk puddings, like white jade tofu, trembled and seemed to break when blown, with caramel flowing on them, shining.
The sweet aroma of milk and caramel lingers on the tip of one's nose, and just smelling this aroma makes one feel warm all over in the cold night. With a gentle stroke of the spoon, the solidified jelly breaks open, and a ball of snow-white trembles on the spoon. With a sip of the tongue, it slides into the throat, and the sweetness of caramel dances on the tip of the tongue, followed by the slowly blooming milk aroma.
Everyone sat in the kitchen together, eating hot desserts and chatting casually, with the fire in the stove dancing on the wall. There was no warmer and more harmonious time than this.
Jianjian's bowl did not have caramel in it, but two crushed hard-boiled egg yolks. Jianjian was so happy that his face was covered in milk and his furry tail was flapping happily on the ground.
Grandma Xie exclaimed in amazement: "Goat milk has a strong smell, and no one in the village likes to drink it. Yaoyao's soup doesn't smell at all, and it's so tender!"
Cheng Yaoyao said: "I added some tea leaves to remove the mutton smell."
Grandma Xie said, "We have used this method before, and it still tastes good."
Cheng Yaoyao added: "There is a pasture in Ningxia that is full of herbs. The goats eat the herbs, and the meat doesn't smell smelly at all."
Grandma Xie sighed, "How much medicinal herbs will be wasted!"
Xie Zhao and Xie Fei were both eating pudding quietly, listening with smiles as Cheng Yaoyao seriously coaxed Grandma Xie.
Cheng Yaoyao took a bite of the pudding, put the spoon to his lips and smiled, "Don't bother. In fact, the mutton smell comes from the ram. As long as you make sure the ewes don't get the mutton smell when they produce milk, the goat milk won't smell mutton."
"You are a young girl, but you are so outspoken!" Grandma Xie raised her hand and gave Cheng Yaoyao a slap.
Cheng Yaoyao cried out in grievance and hid behind Xie Zhao. Grandma Xie couldn't help laughing and said, "Okay, go wash up and go to bed after eating. Zhao has to go to work tomorrow morning."
Cheng Yaoyao quickly ate the pudding in the bowl and went to wash the dishes with Xie Fei.
Xie Zhao took the bath water to the utility room and filled the tub. In the countryside, people who washed their feet before going to bed at night were considered hygienic people. In winter, people rarely took a bath once every ten days or half a month. The Xie family was also a family that paid attention to details. Xie Zhao would always take a bath after working in the fields.
But Cheng Yaoyao never left her house without taking a bath. Her own bathtub was very large, and she had to carry it back and forth three or four times to fill it with hot water. She was afraid of the dark, so Xie Zhao prepared the bath water for her every night and watched over her.
She was like a precious and delicate flower, unable to bear the slightest grievance, and had to be carefully nurtured with fine clothes and delicious food. One day, her fate was wrong, and she fell into the dilapidated house of Xie's family. Xie Zhao had obtained a treasure from heaven, so how could he not hold it in his palm and cherish it?
Two drops of rose essential oil were added to the hot water, and the rich aroma and steam made people feel relaxed. Cheng Yaoyao soaked in the water, but felt that he could not enjoy this happiness alone, so he ordered Xie Zhao to capture Jianjian and ask Jianjian to take a bath as well.
With a pair of piercing amber eyes, he lowered his front paws and was about to launch a night raid on the chicken coop. Suddenly, his four paws were empty and he was grabbed by the back of the neck and dragged into the utility room.
As soon as he smelled the hot steam, he felt something was wrong. Sure enough, the next moment, he was mercilessly pushed into the hot water.
Jianjian hated taking a bath the most! Xie Zhao pressed him into the wooden tub and made him roll around, struggle, and scream like a murderer.
Cheng Yaoyao lay on the edge of the bathtub, stretched out a wet white arm, and pressed the stubborn head into the water.
Xie Zhao: "Sister!!!"
He uttered a stubborn "hmm" and then miraculously calmed down.
Xie Zhao held his breath, lifted up Jianjian's buttocks which had not shrunk at all after being soaked, while Jianjian's head was still in the water.
Upon closer inspection, I saw that Jianjian was burying his head and drinking the bath water with relish.
Xie Zhao: “…”
Cheng Yaoyao said, "Hurry up and wash it. It's been in the chicken coop all day long, it's so dirty."
Xie Zhao glanced at her arm resting on the edge of the bucket. Cheng Yaoyao's arm was slender and boneless, with the delicateness unique to a young girl. The water droplets slid across her skin without leaving a trace of moisture, and flowed down along her pink fingertips, drop by drop.
It was as if the water was flowing from the fingertips.
Cheng Yaoyao took his hand back, scooped water with a gourd and poured it on his shoulders, and said casually: "Xie Zhao, if you look at me again, I will make you cover your eyes."
Xie Zhao suddenly came to his senses, put aside those absurd thoughts, and concentrated on washing the cat. The stubborn fur was tangled in clumps after getting wet, and the first application of soap did not produce any foam. The second application produced foam, and after rubbing it carefully for a long time, dark gray water and foam squeezed out of the fur.
What a dirty little cat.
Cheng Yaoyao said decisively: "Jianjian is the dirtiest cat I have ever seen! Even stray cats will lick their own fur!"
Xie Zhao said: "It has never seen other cats, and no mother cat has ever taught it."
Cheng Yaoyao stopped talking and squinted his eyes to look at Xie Zhao.
Xie Zhao uttered a syllable to show his doubt, changed the basin of clean hot water and continued to wash the cat.
Cheng Yaoyao leaned his face on his arm and suddenly smiled, "Xie Zhao, when you have children in the future, you will definitely be a father who is used to children."
Xie Zhao's mind went blank for a moment because of the implication of this sentence. He made a stubborn "chi" sound in his hand, turned around and hugged him.
Xie Zhao came back to his senses with a pained look. There were two small red spots on his wrist, but the skin was not broken. He rubbed Jianjian's head and Jianjian groaned and stopped moving.
Cheng Yaoyao said in surprise: "Jiangjian is treating you better and better now. It seems that your licking is effective."
"Lick? I haven't licked it." Xie Zhao answered subconsciously.
His serious tone made Cheng Yaoyao laugh while splashing water in the tub. With this interruption, the topic about the child could not continue.
Cheng Yaoyao is like a flying flower. Her topics are always wild and unrestrained, jumping here and there and going far away. Xie Zhao himself is a man of few words. Sometimes he would worry whether Cheng Yaoyao would be bored when she was with him.
But he can talk a lot about children. For example, whether Cheng Yaoyao prefers boys or girls, and how many children he wants to have. The Xie family names their children according to the family tree, and the next generation is the "Ming" generation. If Cheng Yaoyao doesn't like it, he can choose not to.
Xie Zhao pondered these questions for a long time. On the wedding night, he finally had the opportunity to ask Cheng Yaoyao all of them. Cheng Yaoyao thought for a long time and looked at him seriously: "Xie Zhao, if you don't want to be married, just say it. Get off my bed!"
Xie Zhao rolled out without hesitation, holding Cheng Yaoyao, from the bed to the carpet, from upstairs to downstairs, and rolled all night long. This is a story for later.
At this time, Xie Zhao washed Jianjian into a creamy white color, and then wiped her clean and held her by the stove to dry. Cheng Yaoyao lay on the bed with a quilt rolled up, her black hair lingering on the pillow, her cheeks fumigated by the water vapor exuded a rosy color, and her lips became even redder.
She tossed and turned in bed, refusing to sleep, and turned over to stare at him, her passionate peach eyes hidden under her dark eyelashes.
That look again.
Xie Zhao couldn't stand Cheng Yaoyao looking at him with such eyes, innocent and straightforward, passionate and ignorant. The first glance in the heavy rain struck him directly, causing him to feel a shock and a desire to conquer from the depths of his soul.
Stubbornly, it was suspended over the stove, slowly turned over like a roasted duck so that it could be roasted more evenly. Its sharp claws stretched and retracted in its claws, ready to give Xie Zhao a hard blow at any moment.
But Xie Zhao had recently built a beautiful cat house for it and was very respectful to it (except when bathing it), making him a qualified servant. I stubbornly thought, wait a little longer, or you will be in big trouble if I don't let you go!
Xie Zhao's grip suddenly loosened, and Jianjian raised his ears and took the opportunity to escape from Xie Zhao's grip. A white-orange shadow passed through the room and rushed out the door with his fart and urine flowing.
"Hey! Jianjian ran away!" Cheng Yaoyao shouted.
"It's already dried." Xie Zhao came back to his senses, stood up and walked to the bed and sat down.
Cheng Yaoyao said with disdain, "How can a cat be so unclean? No wonder no female cat wants to date it."
Cheng Yaoyao had a reason to be so disgusted. A few days ago, a beautiful white female cat suddenly came to the village, causing the wild cats and domestic cats in the village to meow every night. As a young male cat entering puberty, Jianjian naturally joined this large-scale courtship and blind date activity.
Of all the cats in the area, Jianjian is the best-fed, the smoothest, the fattest... ahem, plump and round. But Jianjian always returns home empty-handed every time he goes out to pick up girls these days. Once, his nose was scratched and he came back with his head down. He threw himself into Grandma Xie's arms and meowed for a long time, feeling wronged, which made Grandma Xie very distressed.
From then on, Jianjian stopped going out to chase girls and just stayed at home eating and drinking lazily every day, which seemed like he was giving up on himself.
Xie Zhao raised the corners of his lips slightly and ruffled Cheng Yaoyao's hair: "Why aren't you sleeping yet?"
Cheng Yaoyao grabbed his hand and sniffed it cautiously. She only smelled the soap on Jianjian's body. She felt relieved and hummed, "I can't sleep."
Xie Zhao's rough and warm hands gently stroked her cheeks. His palms were rough, with bruises and scars from years of rough work, and the tingling and slight pain caused by rubbing against her face made Cheng Yaoyao feel at ease.
Cheng Yaoyao closed his eyes and listened to Xie Zhao's charming voice falling from above his head: "Don't be afraid, I will check the front and back of the house every night. There are also militia patrolling outside."
"Who said I was scared?" Cheng Yaoyao opened her eyes unconvinced. How could she be afraid of Cheng Nonuo?
Xie Zhao chuckled and continued, "When the bitch at the fertilizer factory gives birth, I'll take one back to raise."
"Ah?" Cheng Yaoyao's eyes widened.
Seeing her interest, Xie Zhao explained carefully: "That's a wolfhound, it's very alert when guarding the door. With a dog, you can go out with peace of mind."
Cheng Yaoyao smiled and blurted out another important point: "I am now a person who has both cats and dogs!"
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