Upon hearing Jiang Yuwei's words, Chen Guixiang's expression changed immediately. She took a few steps back and almost lost her footing. Fortunately, Old Man Ning behind her caught her, which helped her regain her balance.
Chen Guixiang had completely lost her earlier imposing manner, and she stammered as she spoke:
"You, you, Jiang Yuwei, I don't care about eating a meal with you. We'll see!"
After saying that, he grabbed Old Man Ning and stumbled out.
Jiang Yuwei sneered as she watched Chen Guixiang's retreating figure, then turned back to greet everyone. After Chen Guixiang's outburst, no one was in the mood to eat anymore, and they all got up and went back to work.
They all knew that Jiang Yuwei served them well. They were all farmers, and most of them were simple and honest. Since she was so good to them, they naturally wanted to do more for her family. So no one was lazy and they worked very hard.
Because many people were hired and everyone worked diligently, the stove outside the courtyard and the roof that had burned down yesterday were quickly repaired. The village head also brought back the bricks and tiles before dark and personally handed the land deed to Jiang Yuwei.
Jiang Yuwei reheated the leftovers from lunch that evening and killed two wild rabbits to make stewed rabbit meat for everyone. Everyone ate to their heart's content and even began to look forward to what delicious food Jiang Yuwei would make the next day.
After seeing everyone off, the family of four was very happy because they wouldn't have to sleep in the open air today. They had been busy all day and quickly fell asleep.
next day
Jiang Yuwei got up early, opened the courtyard gate, and told Ning Huaizhi to wait at home for someone to come and do chores. She herself was going out for a walk. The pork stored in her space had been eaten yesterday, so she needed to find something else to eat today.
Jiang Yuwei walked to the pond behind the house when a sudden idea struck her. She ran to the pond to look around, thinking how wonderful it would be to catch a fish to cook today. Just then, she saw a large fish swimming by in the pond. Without thinking, Jiang Yuwei reached out to grab it, but the fish was too agile, and she missed.
Having no other choice, Jiang Yuwei went ashore and found a sharp stick to poke at the fish. Fortunately, she had good aim and hit the fish's head right away, catching a big crucian carp. Jiang Yuwei threw the fish onto the shore and caught four or five more in the same way before finally carrying the fish home with satisfaction.
The workers who came to do the work were surprised to see the fish Jiang Yuwei was carrying.
"Eldest daughter-in-law, this fish is inedible. It smells very fishy and bitter, and it has scales on it. It's very unpleasant to eat."
"Yes, no one would eat this kind of thing if it weren't for a famine."
Seeing everyone's strong aversion to the fish, Jiang Yuwei laughed and said:
"Everyone, just focus on your work. Leave the fish to me. I guarantee you'll want to eat it again and again after you've had it once."
Ning Huaizhi had also eaten this kind of fish when there was a shortage of military rations on the battlefield, and it was indeed hard to describe. At this moment, he also looked at Jiang Yu with a troubled expression.
Seeing his hesitant expression, Jiang Yuwei chuckled and said:
Don't you trust my skills?
Seeing that she was so determined to say that the fish was delicious, Ning Huaizhi had no choice but to agree and nodded to her.
Jiang Yuwei took the fish, first used a stone to remove the scales, then used a knife to remove the internal organs, rinsed it clean, then directly seasoned it, and then chopped up the red and yellow peppers she had previously grown in the spiritual spring, sprinkled them on her body, and put it directly into the pot to steam.
Ning Zhao, being very perceptive, came over to help with the fire. Jiang Yuwei stir-fried two green vegetables, made a side dish, and steamed a large pot of cornmeal mixed with white flour buns.
In one morning, everyone worked together and quickly laid the foundation. When it was time to eat, everyone frowned when they saw Jiang Yuwei bring a plate of crucian carp to the table. Farmers cannot waste food, but since Jiang Yuwei had gone to the trouble of making it, they had no choice but to eat it.
One of the bolder ones grabbed a large piece of food with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth. Seeing this, Jiang Yuwei quickly laughed and said:
"These crucian carp have many small bones, so please be careful not to prick your mouth when you eat them."
Just as Jiang Yuwei finished speaking, someone shouted:
"It's delicious. I've never eaten fish like this before."
Seeing that someone had eaten, everyone cautiously reached out their chopsticks and took a bite as well.
"It's so spicy! It's so spicy! What's going on? The spicier it is, the more I want to eat it!"
"This fish is different from the ones I've had before; it's not bitter at all."
"That's right, it doesn't have any fishy smell at all, it's really delicious."
"Delicious, delicious, it goes perfectly with rice!"
Seeing that everyone was enjoying their meal, Jiang Yuwei suddenly realized that if these people didn't know how to eat fish before, then the restaurants in town naturally wouldn't make this dish. She thought she might as well go to the restaurants tomorrow and see if she could sell the recipe for this fish dish to them, which would make her family's life a little easier.
Now that construction has begun, Jiang Yuwei has realized that money is being spent like water. The cost of labor and food alone is considerable, and the purchase of building materials and the acquisition of the land deed have already consumed most of the money.
After the house is built, it will cost a lot to find someone to make furniture. Jiang Yuwei can only sigh helplessly that money is really hard to save once it's spent.
Seeing Jiang Yuwei's worried expression, Ning Huaizhi asked softly:
"Yuwei, what's on your mind?"
Jiang Yuwei looked up and met Ning Huaizhi's eyes, and smiled:
"It's alright. I'm going to town tomorrow. I'll prepare the food in advance. You can just heat it up at noon. You, Ning Zhao, and Ning Wan can stay home and supervise the work. I'll be back in the afternoon to cook dinner."
Ning Huaizhi looked at Jiang Yuwei with concern and said:
"Are you sure you can manage going to town by yourself?"
As Jiang Yuwei cleared away the dishes, she said with a smile:
"I'm not a child anymore. Besides, I've been to that town many times, so don't worry about me. Just take care of the family."
Seeing that she said that, Ning Huaizhi didn't press her further, but went over to help her tidy up the table.
Seeing that everyone enjoyed the fish, Jiang Yuwei prepared another table full of fish that evening, and everyone ate to their heart's content.
After seeing everyone off, Jiang Yuwei looked at her messy little courtyard and could already imagine what it would look like after it was rebuilt. Even if it was tough and tiring now, she felt extremely satisfied.
Jiang Yuwei thought that she would be selling her handicrafts in town the next day, so she had to give a live demonstration. Before it got completely dark, she caught ten more fish and kept them in her spiritual spring.
She picked red and yellow peppers from the fertile fields in the space, chopped them up, made them into chili sauce, and pickled them separately. Today, she used fresh peppers to make the fish. If she could use chili sauce, the fish would taste even better. Jiang Yuwei also named the fish Double Pepper Crucian Carp!
After finishing all that, Jiang Yuwei lit candles and steamed two large pots of coarse grain buns. She also killed two wild rabbits and made stewed rabbit meat with potatoes. She picked some green vegetables from her spatial storage and prepared them in the kitchen. Tomorrow, Ning Wan would wash them and have Ning Huaizhi stir-fry them for the meal.
Jiang Yuwei carefully cleaned and dried all the rabbit skins collected over the past few days, intending to save them for winter coats for her two children.
After finishing everything, Jiang Yuwei finally felt at ease and went to sleep.
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