Jiang Yuwei felt angry whenever she saw Ning Huaizhi. She had never liked to fight for relationships. She believed that what was hers could not be taken away by others, and what was not hers did not need to be cherished.
Right now, she felt a little awkward sharing a room with Ning Huaizhi, so she moved her own quilt to the newly built west room, tidied up a bit, and then went to sleep.
Jiang Yuwei didn't say a word to Ning Huaizhi when she got up in the morning. She just quietly did her work and prepared lunch in advance. She was thinking of going to the pond to catch some more fish to cook.
So he told Ning Zhao, picked up his basket, and went out.
Ning Huaizhi could clearly sense that Jiang Yuwei's attitude towards him had changed. Last night, she even moved to the west room, separating herself from him and the child. This made Ning Huaizhi very uncomfortable, but he couldn't figure out what Jiang Yuwei was angry about.
As soon as Jiang Yuwei arrived at the pond to catch fish, she saw crayfish scurrying around everywhere, which instantly improved her mood. It seemed that she would have something new to sell at the next market!
Jiang Yuwei quickly caught a loach, chopped it into several pieces with a stone, then tied it up with a stick and straw rope, and threw it into the water to start fishing for crayfish. Unexpectedly, these crayfish were very silly and couldn't wait to pounce on the fish meat. Before long, Jiang Yuwei had filled her entire basket with fish.
Jiang Yuwei was satisfied and prepared to go home with her basket on her back. After walking a few steps, she noticed that the grass in a patch of land was strange, so she went to check it out.
The leaves of the grass were marked with flame-shaped marks, and the fruit was a small black berry. Jiang Yuwei picked a leaf and put it in her mouth and chewed it a few times, immediately feeling a slight coolness.
Jiang Yuwei then realized that this was *Polygonum chinense* that could be used to make herbal tea. Just thinking about selling herbal tea with spicy crayfish made Jiang Yuwei laugh out loud. Wouldn't that make her a fortune?
With that in mind, Jiang Yuwei kept busy picking a lot of charcoal buds to take home.
When Ning Huaizhi saw Jiang Yuwei return, he was about to greet her with a smile, but before he could even speak, Jiang Yuwei acted as if she didn't see him at all, walked straight to the kitchen, closed the door, and didn't come out again.
Jiang Yuwei was only focused on researching how to make herbal tea and spicy crayfish, and had no time to care about Ning Huaizhi.
Jiang Yuwei first picked and washed all the leaves of the fire charcoal mother tree, then found a stone mortar and pestle to crush it, wrapped it in gauze and squeezed out the juice. In no time, she squeezed out a large basin of herbal tea juice. Jiang Yuwei tasted it and felt that the taste was not very good.
Then I added some honey, which not only made it refreshing but also added a touch of sweetness, making it very delicious. If you can drink it with spicy crayfish, it will not only cool you down but also relieve the spiciness, making it a perfect match.
After the herbal tea was ready, Jiang Yuwei started preparing the crayfish. She first poured the crayfish into a basin and rinsed them several times with water. Since the water source was clear and unpolluted, the crayfish were naturally clean without needing to be scrubbed.
Jiang Yuwei took out the scallions, ginger, garlic, chili peppers, and cilantro she had grown in her space, and also took out the cardamom, nutmeg, and bay leaves she had sold at Huichuntang. She crushed what needed to be crushed and sliced what needed to be sliced.
After everything was prepared, the base sauce was first stir-fried, and then the lobsters were deep-fried again before being taken out and put into the seasonings to start stewing.
After finishing her tasks, Jiang Yuwei walked out of the kitchen and met Ning Huaizhi staring at her pitifully with a hurt expression. Before she could figure out how to handle their relationship, Jiang Yuwei turned her head away and refused to look at him.
Seeing this, Ning Huaizhi quickly called out:
"Yuwei..."
"Brother Huaizhi, look what I brought you."
Xu Qianqian wiggled her hips as she ran in, handing Ning Huaizhi a pancake wrapped in a handkerchief, and said with a smile:
“Brother Huaizhi, look, these are the pancakes you loved to eat when you were little. I made some for you to try.”
Looking at the pancake in Xu Qianqian's hand, Ning Huaizhi seemed to recall the days when he was a child, eating only one meal every three days. Back then, the pancake that Xu Qianqian shared with him was the best thing he had ever eaten.
As Ning Huaizhi thought this, his gaze towards Xu Qianqian softened involuntarily.
"Qianqian, we have plenty of food at home, so there's no need to go to the trouble of cooking and bringing food over in the future. Stay here for lunch today and try your sister-in-law's cooking."
Xu Qianqian was annoyed that Ning Huaizhi always talked about Jiang Yuwei, but seeing his expression today, it seemed he was recalling their childhood. She thought that this would make her even more important to him. Xu Qianqian smiled and said:
"Alright, I'll stay and have dinner with Brother Huai today."
Jiang Yuwei overheard their conversation as she passed by. Speechless, she found their affectionate behavior utterly offensive. Now that she had to cook for them, she felt even worse off than Wang Baochuan, who was digging for wild vegetables.
However, since the courtyard was currently filled with villagers who were helping out, Jiang Yuwei really didn't want to embarrass Ning Huaizhi in front of everyone, so she had no choice but to acquiesce.
By noon, Jiang Yuwei's spicy crayfish stew was ready. Ning Zhao and Ning Wan had already smelled the aroma and rushed to the kitchen to get their food.
Jiang Yuwei was busy greeting everyone to eat and helping to set the table.
After a busy morning, everyone was faced with another dilemma when it came to lunch:
"Eldest daughter-in-law, you can't eat this."
"Yes, it looks scary."
"Yes, it's very aggressive. We're afraid of these things in our rice paddies. If you get pinched by one, it will hurt for a long time."
"But it smells quite nice."
Seeing this, Jiang Yuwei quickly smiled and said:
"Don't be afraid, folks. These spicy crayfish are delicious. I've already prepared them. Besides, the crayfish are all dead, so what's there to be afraid of? Dead crayfish won't pinch you."
Xu Qianqian snorted coldly upon seeing this:
"Oh, sister-in-law, is this how you treat your guests? I heard people say you're rich, that you serve them well, and that you're willing to give them meat. But it seems you're just trying to fool us country folk with things we wouldn't even eat."
Jiang Yuwei glared at Xu Qianqian, who was just there to freeload and did nothing, and said:
"You dare to make such a judgment before you've even tasted it? Ask these villagers who came to help with the work how my cooking is?"
"The eldest son's wife's cooking skills are truly impeccable."
"Yes, I've gained quite a bit of weight since I started working here."
"That's right, I trust my eldest son's wife's cooking skills, I'll try it first."
Seeing everyone siding with Jiang Yuwei, Xu Qianqian felt angry and looked at the person who had said they wanted to try it, advising them:
"Brother, be careful not to eat anything you shouldn't. If you get an upset stomach, you won't be able to work, and you won't get paid for today."
The man looked troubled after hearing Xu Qianqian's words. He glanced at the crayfish on the plate and then looked up at Jiang Yuwei.
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