Tao Wanniang chatted with Bai Yumei for a while longer before leaving to go to the kitchen to get busy.
First, cut two qian of pork into chunks, heat oil in a pan and fry it, add some salt, some Shaoxing wine, and a spoonful of soy sauce, stir-fry evenly, then add water and cook.
There's not much else to do with mallow, so I just stir-fry it.
Beat two eggs, add some water and salt, and put the bowl directly into the rice cooker after the water boils.
When the Ling brothers returned, the aroma wafting from the kitchen almost made their mouths water.
"This smell... it shouldn't be my wife's cooking."
Ling Dahu sniffed the air and finally said definitively, "Dapeng, do you really think it's your wife who cooks?"
"Impossible, Xiaoyun couldn't do it either."
Ling Dahu immediately shook his head, but the next moment, the two looked at each other and immediately felt that something was wrong. If they asked their mother to cook, she would probably get so angry that she would scold them!
The two immediately went to the kitchen to take a look and saw Tao Wanniang coming out of the stove.
"Mom, did you make lunch?"
Ling Dahu steeled himself and stepped forward. "Hongyu isn't going to help either? I'll go and talk to her!"
"Stop!" Tao Wanniang said calmly. "I'm the one who's going to cook this meal. With your two wives, all you can make is enough to fill our stomachs. We're not fleeing from disaster anymore, so there's no need to make ourselves suffer like this."
"Wash your hands and go call people to eat."
Tao Wanniang washed her hands, then took a bowl, ladled out some of the vegetables, and filled a bowl with rice, which she was going to give to Bai Yumei.
She had just carried the dishes to the front yard when she ran into her son and daughter-in-law. Tao Wan's mother wasn't embarrassed at all; she simply told them to take the dishes to the back yard and then left.
"Are there guests in the backyard?" Ling Dahu scratched his head and looked at his wife.
Wang Hongyu shook her head, and taking advantage of Tao Wanniang's absence, she couldn't hold back any longer.
"Mom said she has some. She even bought a bed and a wardrobe today, saying she'll let everyone get to know you when you come back. Doggy's dad, I feel a little uneasy."
"A bed, a cabinet?" Ling Dahu was speechless. How much would that cost?
"Mother also bought eggs, pork, and sunflowers. How much silver do you think Mother has?"
Zhou Xiaoyun muttered under her breath, "They even bought combs, hair oil, and soap for us. I just don't think our family has that much money!"
The Ling brothers were also puzzled, until Ling Dapeng had another flash of inspiration.
"Do you think Dad gave them the money?"
“What Dad gave me, is that something a person can spend?” Ling Dahu retorted.
The group looked at each other, none of them daring to think any further.
Soon, Tao Wan's mother brought Xiao Qiao'er to the kitchen. Seeing her son and daughter-in-law looking a little cautious, she cleared her throat.
"Before we eat, I have something to say. From now on, Xiao Qiao'er will be part of our family. You can treat her like your own sister."
"Xiao Qiao'er's father gave her five hundred taels of silver, saying that it was inconvenient for him to raise Xiao Qiao'er. From now on, anyone who doesn't treat Xiao Qiao'er as family can get out!"
Five hundred taels of silver—this was undoubtedly the most shocking thing the Ling family had ever heard.
"Mother, how much? How much do you want?"
Ling Dahu clicked his tongue in amazement. They were still struggling for a few hundred coins, while his mother already had five hundred taels.
"Money is not a problem, and you shouldn't even think about it. Let's eat. After we finish eating, I'll introduce you to someone else!"
Upon hearing this, Ling Dahu and Ling Dapeng were startled. Ling Dapeng asked weakly, "Mother, is the person you want us to see the one from the backyard?"
"Yes, it's the one in the backyard."
Tao Wan's mother glanced at her youngest son; his mind was working pretty fast.
"Don't say anything else, just eat quickly, we can talk about anything else after we finish eating!"
After Tao Wanniang said this, the others stopped being so reserved.
"Mom, is this an egg? Can I have a bite?"
Ling Dahu looked at the smooth, oily egg custard and asked.
"Give the children some to eat first!"
Tao Wanniang rolled her eyes. "Don't you want to eat this meat?"
"Yes, yes, yes! This meat with the sauce is so delicious with rice!"
Ling Dahu immediately picked up a piece of meat, shoveled a large mouthful of rice into his mouth, and said...
The dishes made by Tao Wanniang were simply the most delicious food the Ling family had ever tasted in their lives!
Not to mention Gouwa and Huani wolfed down their food, even Xiao Qiao'er, who was in a bad mood, couldn't resist the temptation of the delicious food. As for Er Gou, who had no teeth, he kept making noises after taking a bite of the steamed egg custard, and Zhou Xiaoyun couldn't even eat her own meal, she was too busy feeding him.
Soon, not a drop of soup was left on the table, and the whole pot of rice was eaten clean.
"Alright, have you finished eating? Before we moved in, didn't we hear that this place was haunted? The ghost living in the backyard is what outsiders call a ghost, but it's actually just a pitiful person!"
Tao Wanniang gave a general account of Bai Yumei's situation, and finally said solemnly, "This young lady has a hard life, and her appearance is ruined. She can't go anywhere else, so I've let her live in the backyard. Don't bother her unless you have to!"
“She’s not just eating and living here for free. She gave Mother two hundred taels of silver. As long as we live here, we have to take care of her, understand?”
"How much?" Ling Dahu wondered if he was deaf. One minute it was five hundred taels, the next it was two hundred taels. Were all the people in the provincial government rich?
"Don't worry about the amount. In short, we can eat meat thanks to Sister Yumei and Xiaoqiao. I don't expect you to treat them like goddesses, but take care of them as needed, understand?"
"I understand, I understand!"
The Ling family members exclaimed in unison, "Gods of Wealth! These two are both Gods of Wealth!"
"Tell me, how did it go when you went out to look for work this morning?"
Seeing this, Tao Wanniang glanced at her two sons and asked.
Immediately, Ling Dahu and Ling Dapeng's faces fell.
“Mother, they say that those who unload cargo at the dock can earn twenty coins a day.”
Ling Dahu tentatively asked, "How about I go to the dock with Dapeng to unload the cargo?"
"Ha!" Tao Wan's mother scoffed. "If you're going to be successful, then you're just a laborer. Keep looking, don't you still have to support your wife, children, and mother?"
"Mom, don't joke around. Do you still need us to support you?" Ling Dapeng muttered in a low voice. "Besides our strength, we don't have much else to offer!"
Tao Wanniang was speechless. She said she was giving money so that the family would treat Xiao Qiao'er and Bai Yumei more politely, not so that her two sons would become complacent!
"All of you, go wait up front. I'm going to ask Sister Yumei to come out. I'll say it again: Yumei's face is ruined. Don't be so ungrateful as to poke at her sore spot!"
Tao Wanniang solemnly reminded her son and daughter-in-law, then got up and walked away.
"How much money do you think Mother has?"
After Tao Wan's mother left, Ling Dapeng chuckled and said, "We don't have to worry about not being able to pay rent next month and having nowhere to go!"
Upon hearing this, the Ling family members all showed expressions of relief. At least, they no longer had to worry about where to live or about running out of food!
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