"How long has it been since a whore was examined in the village? Go and check it out quickly!" Aunt Yingui said, and ran away quickly with several women.
Xie Zhao walked to Cheng Yaoyao's side, looked at the excited backs of the women, and frowned.
Cheng Yaoyao was confused: "What bitch?"
"Girls, stop talking nonsense!" Grandma Xie yelled in the yard, "Come in quickly!"
Cheng Yaoyao looked at Xie Zhao innocently, and Xie Zhao said, "Let's go back."
Xie Zhao took Cheng Yaoyao's hand and went back to the yard and bolted the gate. Cheng Yaoyao looked at the gate several times and felt that he had missed a very important clue.
Seeing that she was uneasy, Grandma Xie deliberately said, "Yaoyao, you cook delicious dishes, how do you cook this chicken?"
Cheng Yaoyao's attention was diverted. After thinking for a while, he said, "Let's make some ginseng chicken soup." He glanced at Xie Zhao and said, "Braise half of it, and make braised chestnut chicken."
The family hadn't eaten chicken for a long time. Xie Zhao killed the chicken, bled it, and cleaned it up, and then Cheng Yaoyao took over to cook it.
Cheng Yaoyao chopped the chicken in half and first skimmed off the chicken fat. The hen was very fat, and a large bowl of tender yellow chicken fat was skimmed off. Oil is the most scarce these days, and chicken fat is very rare.
Cheng Yaoyao put half a chicken into the clay pot, poured in the Lingquan and Dangshen, and said to Xie Fei: "Simmer it over low heat, don't add anything. When the soup boils, add the wolfberries."
Xie Fei responded and placed the clay pot on the small hole of the stove. The stove in Tianshui Village has two large pots and a small stove hole. When cooking, the two pots work at the same time, and the stove hole can be used to stew soup, which is very convenient. The Xie family was once smashed, and the family only had a broken big iron pot, which made cooking very troublesome. A while ago, Xie Zhao renovated the stove and bought a big iron pot and a clay pot.
Cheng Yaoyao chopped the other half of the chicken into small pieces, marinated it with cooking wine and ginger slices, and started to make braised chestnut chicken. The chestnuts were picked by Xie Zhao from the mountains last year. The wild chestnuts were small, and it was thanks to Grandma Xie's patience that she peeled them one by one. Cheng Yaoyao washed the chestnut meat and soaked it in the spiritual spring.
Heat the pan, add a small piece of tender yellow chicken fat and melt it, add rock sugar and stir-fry until it turns caramel color, then pour in the chicken. Stir-fry the chicken evenly until every piece is dyed with sugar color, then add soy sauce and cooking wine and stir-fry, pour in chestnuts and two bowls of water, bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat.
Grandma Xie picked a handful of tomatoes and tender greens and said with a smile, "One chicken, two ways to cook. I'm afraid you'll get tired of it, so I'll cook a few different kinds of greens."
Cheng Yaoyao smiled and said, "Then I'll cook the rice."
The three of them were busy in the kitchen, chatting and laughing, and a sumptuous lunch was soon ready.
As soon as the lid was lifted, a rich aroma wafted out of the pot. Xie Fei took a deep breath and exclaimed, "It smells so good! I've never smelled anything so good before!"
"You always say that!" Cheng Yaoyao teased her, "I think you are too greedy."
Xie Fei said unwillingly: "It's because my sister's cooking is so delicious."
On the table was a large pot of ginseng and wolfberry chicken soup, a plate of pink sugar-mixed tomatoes, a plate of tender green blanched tomato, and a plate of tender yellow stir-fried pumpkin flowers. The highlight was of course the large plate of red-braised chestnut chicken. Pieces of chicken were evenly coated in amber sauce, and the hot and fragrant aroma filled one's nose.
Grandma Xie smiled and said, "Today is a festival, let's have a feast. Don't just look at us, just eat quickly!"
The family didn't hesitate to eat the chicken. When the chicken entered their mouths, their tongues could taste the salty, sweet and fragrant rich sauce. When they bit into the chicken, the boiling meat juice splashed in their mouths. The meat was even more tender. They swallowed it before they could taste it carefully. Before they could take a breath, the greedy insects in the Wuhuang Temple started to clamor, urging them to pick up a piece.
Grandma Xie is old and her sense of taste has deteriorated, but she finds the chicken tasty. Xie Fei poured a few spoonfuls of sauce into the rice and ate it. Xie Zhao said nothing, but he picked up his chopsticks faster.
Grandma Xie said, "This chicken is well cooked. Hen meat is tough and not suitable for braised. How did Yaoyao make it so tender?"
Cheng Yaoyao said proudly: "I have a secret recipe."
Xie Fei nodded and said, "Sister Yaoyao must have a secret recipe for cooking. No matter how she cooks the same dish, it always tastes good!"
Cheng Yaoyao's heart skipped a beat, and she glanced at Xie Fei. Did she taste the flavor of the spiritual spring? Unlike Cheng Nuonuo, who used a drop of spiritual spring water to make a pot of soup, she used spiritual spring water to cook and make tea these days, just to take care of Xie's family's health.
Both Grandma Xie and Xie Fei were in poor health. Grandma Xie had an old illness, while Xie Fei had a congenital deficiency. Recently, both of them have become much healthier. As for Xie Zhao, whether it was because he drank too much spiritual spring or because he had a channel to vent his desire, his reaction to the spiritual spring gradually became less.
After Xie Fei finished speaking, she picked up the chestnuts from the chicken and ate them, praising them: "These chestnuts are even better than chicken! They are sweet and pink. Brother, please bring back more chestnuts this year."
"Okay." Xie Zhao naturally agreed. He scooped a bowl of ginseng chicken soup, blew it cool, and handed it to Cheng Yaoyao, and also reminded him: "It's hot, be careful."
The chicken soup was skimmed of oil, and stewed with ginseng and wolfberry until the aroma was fragrant and clear. Cheng Yaoyao blew it carefully and took a sip. It was indeed mellow and warming. The unique taste of ginseng relieved the greasiness and added a light medicinal fragrance to the chicken soup.
Xie Fei and grandmother Xie soon discovered the deliciousness of chicken soup, and drank up the whole bowl of chicken soup. They also ate up the braised chicken, and Xie Zhao even poured rice into the bowl of chicken, mixed it with the remaining soup and ate it all up.
Grandma Xie smiled and said, "With Zhao'er's appetite, he can finish a whole chicken by himself."
Cheng Yaoyao heard this and said, "There are only three left, so eat some sparingly."
Grandma Xie said, "These three are still laying eggs. We can eat them after they lay eggs."
Cheng Yaoyao asked, "What should I do after I finish eating?"
Grandma Xie smiled and said, "After we finish eating, we can catch three more chicks and raise them!"
Cheng Yaoyao thought about the fluffy little chicks and said wistfully, "It would be nice if I could raise a few more chickens."
Grandma Xie sighed, "Who wouldn't want to? Auntie Yingui next door secretly raised one, and after raising it with great difficulty, she had its tail cut off when it was half grown. What a waste of effort!"
Cheng Yaoyao encouraged him, "Don't worry, the policy will definitely be relaxed one day, and then we can raise as many as we want!"
Grandma Xie smiled and said, "You are busy with just three chickens. How can you have time to feed so many chickens?"
Xie Fei quickly raised her hand and said, "I will help!"
Grandma Xie laughed out loud: "You, you will help your sister Yaoyao!"
After dinner, Grandma Xie was weaving straw sandals, Xie Fei was reading in the living room, Xie Zhao took out an axe and started chopping wood, and Cheng Yaoyao was squatting by the vegetable garden observing the melon seedlings.
The twisted melon seedlings have palm-sized leaves with patterns and have already sprouted flower buds. The last time Cheng Yaoyao ate watermelon, he planted a few watermelon seeds, which grew big in just a few weeks.
Xie Zhao said, "Sister, don't squat there, it's dirty."
Cheng Yaoyao turned around and looked at him: "Why hasn't my watermelon borne fruit yet?"
Xie Zhao said: "Not that fast."
"No way." Cheng Yaoyao stared at the tiny flower bud. She used spiritual spring water to water the melon seedlings every day, so it was impossible for it not to grow.
Upon hearing this, Xie Zhao put down his axe and walked over. He and Cheng Yaoyao looked at each other for a while, then reached out and pulled out a few thick grasses around the melon seedlings, and pulled out all the green vegetables around them, and carefully loosened the soil again: "The nutrients have been robbed."
Cheng Yaoyao was satisfied and went to see the little pumpkins. The pumpkin flowers fell and five little pumpkins were formed. They were of different shapes, some round and some flat. The big ones were only the size of a palm and the small ones were only the size of a fist. Each little pumpkin had leaves under it and a small straw hat on top to protect it from the wind and sun.
Grandma Xie said distressedly, "Yaoyao planted melons in the vegetable garden, and Zhao'er followed suit and made trouble! He pulled out so many of my vegetable seedlings."
Cheng Yaoyao said, "Since we can't finish the vegetables anyway, when I grow some melons, I'll give you the first one!"
Grandma Xie snorted and laughed, "Come on, did you plant it? Xiao Fei watered the plants, Zhao Ge'er weeded and fertilized them, and you just opened your mouth."
"Then... then don't eat what I grow!" Cheng Yaoyao hugged his arms, holding his breath.
Xie Zhao pulled her to wash her hands and said, "Grandma is teasing you, don't pout."
Cheng Yaoyao splashed water all over his face.
Just as they were making noise, there was a knock on the door: "Sister Yaoyao, Sister Yaoyao!"
It is Lin Weimin's voice.
Cheng Yaoyao looked at Xie Zhao in surprise and ran to open the door: "Weimin, why are you here at this time?"
Lin Weimin said breathlessly: "The village is investigating a whore and has implicated Sister Yaoyao... My grandma... My grandma asked me to tell her the news!"
"What?!" Cheng Yaoyao was puzzled: "How did it get involved with me?"
Xie Zhao's eyes darkened, and he asked Lin Weimin, "What's going on?!"
Xie Zhao was tall and stern, and all the children in the village were afraid of him. Lin Weimin shrank his neck in fear, and Cheng Yaoyao hurriedly said, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, just speak slowly."
"I...I don't know either." Lin Weimin scratched his head, "My mother wouldn't let us go and see it."
Seeing that Lin Weimin knew nothing, Cheng Yaoyao grabbed a handful of dried waxberries and sent Lin Weimin home.
Grandma Xie was so anxious that her face turned pale: "What's going on? Girls hate being involved in this kind of thing!"
Cheng Yaoyao didn't feel anything: "I don't know either."
Xie Zhao was silent. Grandma Xie glanced at him and suddenly said to Xie Fei, "Xiao Fei, go back to your room!"
Although Xie Fei was anxious, he had no choice but to go back to the house obediently.
Grandma Xie lowered her voice and asked, "What did you do last night?"
Cheng Yaoyao's head buzzed and even his ears and cheeks turned red.
Seeing this, Grandma Xie became even more anxious: "Nonsense! Zhao'er, how many times have I told you not to..."
Xie Zhao held Cheng Yaoyao's hand and said to Grandma Xie, "Grandma, we came back from the cowshed last night and didn't do anything."
Cheng Yaoyao finally realized that Grandma Xie was talking about something else. His heart dropped back to where it was. He nodded vigorously, "Yes, yes."
Grandma Xie shook her head and said, "Tell me the truth. I've been through a lot, and I can handle anything! But if you guys really did something wrong, we have to cover up the lie first!"
Cheng Yaoyao stamped his feet and said, "Really not! We were watching the lambs in the cowshed yesterday, and we came back after buying goat milk. On the way... Oh, by the way, we met a little girl on the way, and we came back together."
Seeing Cheng Yaoyao's words were so convincing, Grandma Xie asked, "Really?"
Xie Zhao said: "Really."
Grandma Xie finally breathed a sigh of relief, but then frowned and said, "How did this matter get dragged up to Yaoyao? The gossips of the villagers... Yaoyao, a girl, cannot be tainted by such a reputation! Let's go to the entrance of the village and see what's going on!"
Xie Zhao said, "Grandma, I will go with Yaoyao."
Grandma Xie has been living in seclusion for many years. She is old and can't go to such occasions. Cheng Yaoyao also said: "Don't worry, I am an educated youth. They dare not do anything to me."
Grandma Xie stopped talking and instructed, "This matter must be explained clearly on the spot. Zhao Ge'er should protect Yaoyao. The team leader and the branch secretary are here. They are jealous of Yaoyao because he is an educated youth, so they will not make too much trouble."
Cheng Yaoyao and Xie Zhao went out together. Grandma Xie chased them to the door and said, "Zhao, control your temper. No matter what happens, you must protect Yaoyao!"
"Don't worry!" Cheng Yaoyao waved her hands at Grandma Xie, her head sank, and Xie Zhao put the small hat on her.
On the way, Cheng Yaoyao asked in confusion: "What exactly is the reason?"
Xie Zhao groaned and said, "It has something to do with what happened yesterday."
Cheng Yaoyao asked, "Are you talking about that little girl?"
Xie Zhao saw a strange white shadow flash before his eyes and shook his head: "More than that."
There was no one in the village except for the sound of cicadas. Before I even reached the entrance of the village, I saw a movement of people in front of me. I guess all the villagers have crowded here.
Xie Zhao secretly held Cheng Yaoyao's hand and whispered, "Don't be afraid, I'm here no matter what happens."
Cheng Yaoyao took off his hat and smiled: "I'm not afraid."
The two walked towards the crowd. The originally noisy crowd quieted down when they saw Cheng Yaoyao, and looked at this Guanyin with interest. Cheng Yaoyao didn't go out often recently, but with her snow-white skin, red lips and peach blossom eyes, she was still beautiful enough to captivate people at first glance.
When the crowd quieted down, they heard a young girl crying, gasping for breath, looking very pitiful. Cheng Yaoyao looked up, but was blocked by the crowd and could not see clearly.
Jinniel greeted her with a smile and winked: "Cheng Zhiqing, you are here."
Cheng Yaoyao smiled and said, "Yes, I heard it's very lively here."
The crowd automatically parted ways, Cheng Yaoyao walked forward, and Xie Zhao followed behind her.
The stage in the village was used for public trials. The team leader Lin Dafu, the village party secretary, and a group of cadres were all there, all with frowns on their faces. Lin Wangshi and Zhang Aihua, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, were also standing on one side. An unknown man was standing there carelessly. The most surprising thing was that Cheng Nonuo was also there. A girl was kneeling on the ground, covering her face and shaking her shoulders, sobbing uncontrollably.
Cheng Yaoyao frowned, and that strange feeling surged up again. What on earth did she miss?
Cheng Yaoyao had a good relationship with the secretary's family recently. When the secretary saw Cheng Yaoyao, he said, "Cheng Zhiqing, why are you here? Girls shouldn't come to this occasion."
Cheng Yaoyao said: "I heard someone mentioned me, so I came to take a look."
Lin Dafu coughed and said to Cheng Yaoyao, "This is what happened. Mrs. Lin came this morning and said that her eldest granddaughter went home with a strange man last night... and just came home this morning. But her eldest granddaughter said that she went home with you last night. That's what happened."
"Bah! Don't listen to this damn girl." Lin Wangshi said hurriedly, "No one in the family heard the knocking at the door last night. Zhao Hai has admitted it, why are you still being so stubborn, damn girl?"
The girl raised her head and cried, "I didn't! I went home a long time ago last night, but grandma didn't open the door for me, so I spent the whole night at the door!"
"How dare you talk back to me!" Mrs. Lin stretched out her chicken claw-like fingers and pinched the girl's arm.
The girl screamed and started crying, not daring to hide. It was obvious that she was used to being beaten.
Cheng Yaoyao frowned: "Why do you hit people?"
Lin Wangshi said: "My granddaughter, I can beat her if I want!"
Lin Dafu scolded: "If you want to discipline your granddaughter, go home and take care of her. The trial is underway now!"
Lin Wang shrank her neck and fiercely shouted at the girl: "You stupid girl, I'll deal with you when we get home!"
Lin Dafu said to Cheng Yaoyao, "Cheng Zhiqing, the eldest granddaughter of the Lin family said that she met you last night. Is that true?"
Before Cheng Yaoyao opened his mouth, Cheng Nonuo said, "It has nothing to do with my sister. Why would my sister go out alone in the middle of the night and go to that small woods?"
Li Goudan shouted in the crowd, "Don't we still have Xie Saner? How can we bear to let Cheng Zhiqing go into the woods alone?"
The men burst into malicious laughter.
Xie Zhao grabbed Li Goudan by the collar and started beating him. The crowd suddenly became noisy. Lin Dafu almost shouted until his voice was broken. Finally, he raised his pistol and fired a shot into the air: "Stop!"
Several men held onto Xie Zhao tightly, and Lin Daguan said repeatedly, "Cheng Zhiqing is still on stage, this is not the time to make trouble!"
Only then did Xie Zhao let go of the bruised and swollen Li Goudan, stood up panting, and looked at Cheng Yaoyao on the stage with a worried look on his face.
The secretary coughed and said, "Today is the Ghost Festival. No one has been going out at night since a few days ago. Why would a girl like Cheng Zhiqing go out so late at night?"
"That's right." Han Yin and several educated youths also squeezed to the front of the crowd, "Don't just talk about other people!"
Cheng Yaoyao understood the secretary's hint. It was simply asking her to protect herself and not get involved in this mess.
Lin Dafu asked, "Cheng Zhiqing, did you go out last night?"
Cheng Yaoyao was still immersed in shock and did not answer for a while.
The girl sobbed, looked at him in confusion for a long time, and finally lowered her head.
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