In the evening, besides the Wang family, the village head's family was also among those who stayed for dinner.
Zhou Chuangen sat down at the head of the table without any hesitation, picked up his wine glass, and drank it all in one gulp.
"Qiqiang, your mother's winemaking skills are absolutely superb." No one in the surrounding villages can surpass her.
Wang Qiqiang smiled politely and said, "Village Chief, please drink more if you like."
"Okay, we should have a drink today, this dish is really delicious." After finishing the shredded potatoes, which were sour, spicy and refreshing, Zhou Chuangen picked up another big piece.
"Uncle Chuan Gen, you don't know yet, do you? This dish was cooked by Sister Dou Dou." Wang Qisheng said proudly.
Zhou Chuangen's eyes widened in surprise as he asked, "DouDou, did you really cook this?"
Yuan Doudou placed a large bowl of oyster mushroom and meatball soup in the middle of the table and generously admitted, "Village head, how is it? Is it delicious?"
Her cooking skills aren't outstanding, but she's confident in her few signature dishes.
Zhou Chuangen nodded repeatedly after hearing this. He had eaten Yuan Doudou's chicken stew with mushrooms before, but he didn't think it was this delicious.
To be able to make something as coarse as potatoes so exquisite is a skill comparable to that of a chef in the palace.
"I think you could go to town and be a cook," Zhou Chuangen said, offering his sincere advice while enjoying his meal.
Zhang Aiju laughed when she heard this, "Don't listen to what you're saying about Uncle Gen, I've never heard of a woman becoming a cook."
Women are good at embroidery and often do odd jobs, but a proper tailor has to be a man.
Only imperial concubines would use women's clothing.
“I’m telling the truth, and you still don’t believe me. Who says women are inferior to men?” Zhou Chuangen himself has no sons and also opposes the old custom of valuing sons over daughters.
Zhang Aiju quickly waved her hand, "That's not what I meant."
No matter how capable a woman is, she can't make a big splash, let alone those at the bottom of society who have no such opportunity.
Even if someone does rise to the top in one step, they will still fall into the mire due to rumors, infighting, and the test of time.
Yuan Doudou quickly tried to smooth things over, saying, "Try the soup I made; it won't taste good when it's cold."
Upon hearing this, everyone turned their attention to the meatball soup.
The clear broth was topped with a layer of glistening oil, and meatballs the size of a thumbnail were scattered among the oyster mushrooms.
Zhou Chuangen picked up a meatball first before the others dared to pick up their chopsticks.
"How about it?"
Zhou Chuangen chewed slowly, the aroma of the meat spreading in his mouth.
"Tender, smooth, and refreshing, fragrant but not greasy." Zhou Chuangen nodded in praise, "This is completely different from anything I've had before."
Everyone else who tried it gave it rave reviews.
“I was worried about Dou Dou and her orphan mother, but now that I see Dou Dou has this skill, she’ll never have to worry about food or drink in the future.” Zhang Aiju’s eyes reddened with emotion.
Seeing his mother crying, Wang Qiqiang quickly comforted her, "Mom, Dou Dou is so capable, you don't need to worry about her."
“Yes, their greenhouses are all built. They’re going to become wealthy men in our village.” Wang Qisheng had a sharp eye and saw things very clearly.
Yuan Doudou raised her glass to express her gratitude to everyone at the table: "Everything is understood without words. I'll drink this, you can drink as you please."
After her mother-in-law passed away, she realized how many people cared about her, which made her feel really bad.
She can't be too selfish. One person's wealth is not true wealth. Only when the whole village is wealthy can it be considered true wealth.
"Okay, I'll do it."
"I'll do it too."
Everyone at the table was deeply moved. Before Wang's coffin, they were paying their respects to each other, and also to the deceased.
After a few rounds of drinks, Wang Qiqiang took the drunk village head back home, while Zhang Aiju helped Yuan Doudou clear the dishes.
Everyone else went back to rest, as they would have to come back to help before dawn the next day.
"Dou Dou, wash up and go keep vigil before the coffin. Don't leave for too long," Zhang Aiju reminded Dou Dou as she placed the bowl and chopsticks in the wooden basin.
Anji was sleepy and had already been carried to bed by Yuan Doudou to rest.
"Auntie, thank you for your hard work here." Yuan Doudou was very grateful.
Zhang Aiju smiled without saying a word.
This child is being too polite. We all live in the same village, so it's only right that we help each other out at a time like this.
After washing up and tidying her appearance, Yuan Doudou knelt upright before the altar.
Recalling those past moments, tears welled up in my eyes.
These are the original owner's tears; she can feel them.
"Mom, I miss you," Yuan Doudou murmured softly.
She still can't accept that her mother-in-law is really dead and will never come back.
“Mother, if Anrong doesn’t come back now, he may never come back. If you are watching over him from heaven, please bless him to be safe and sound.”
Yuan Doudou, relying on her woman's intuition, could tell from Zhao Anling's face that An Rong was not dead, but for some reason, he could not come back.
This reason might be a shocking secret, one that even Zhao Anling probably wouldn't know.
Stacks of paper money burned, and Yuan Doudou talked a mile a minute, her mouth practically spitting fire.
She wasn't the original owner of this body after all, so she didn't have high expectations for whether An Rong could come back.
Angie is still young; perhaps in the future, he will go out and search for his father.
In short, she should be concerned about the present situation.
Zhang Aiju packed up and planned to go back, but she was worried about leaving Yuan Doudou alone.
After thinking for a while, she decided to go find An Bihuai.
"DouDou, I'm going back now. Take care of yourself." Zhang Aiju said goodbye and walked out the door.
Yuan Doudou waved towards the door: "Auntie, take care."
Zhang Aiju rushed to An Bihuai's house, but no one answered the door after knocking for a long time.
"You're asleep so early?" Zhang Aiju asked in surprise, and continued knocking on the door.
Finally, someone spoke: "Look at you, you don't do good deeds, and now you're afraid to hear knocking on the door as soon as it gets dark."
Zhuang Shuhui retorted, "Stop talking nonsense and go see who it is. Don't they know how to let people sleep at night?"
An Bihuai put on his clothes and came out to open the door. He was a little surprised to see Zhang Aiju. "Sister-in-law Wang, what's the matter so late?"
Zhang Aiju's husband is three years older than An Bisheng, so it's not wrong for An Bihuai to call her sister-in-law.
"Yes, something's up." Zhang Aiju stood outside the door, not intending to go in.
She briefly explained her purpose for coming.
An Bihuai was in a dilemma. It wasn't that he didn't want to help, but his wife wouldn't allow it. He had kept his trip to dig up the grave a secret from her.
"Sister-in-law Wang, I can't go. I'll have to trouble you to help me." It's so late at night, if he goes to the house, there will be a huge uproar.
Zhang Aiju looked down on him. A man should know when to be soft and when to be hard. Shouldn't he be the one to take responsibility for this? Keeping vigil is such an important matter, and he, as the uncle, is just sitting idly by. What kind of behavior is that?
“Second Brother An, if you really can’t go, then let Anping go. You have three children, at least one of them should go.” Especially Anping.
Zhang Aiju's words made sense, and An Bihuai agreed to let Anping go.
If I sneak away in the middle of the night, Zhuang Shuhui won't notice.
"Thank you, Sister-in-law Wang," An Bihuai said, feigning politeness.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
