But the kitchen is still the same as before. The only meat dish is chicken, and the taste is relatively poor if you use chicken to make filling.
Min Yueqing was unwilling to settle for less, so when she and Xiao Wei returned from the mountains today, she brought back a prey with her.
The prey wasn't very big, weighing around thirty pounds. When they got near the patrol station, she simply put the prey on the ground and gestured for Xiao Wei to take it in.
For the past month or two, the gatekeepers have seen Xiao Wei coming and going alone almost every day, and they've gotten used to it. Occasionally, when they see Xiao Wei returning with his trophies, they'll even discuss it with admiration.
Min Yueqing herself remained the same, finding a secluded spot where no one was around and quietly flew over the courtyard wall into the main house.
After lunch, Min Yueqing instructed Amei to have the kitchen prepare the game and make some steamed buns with shredded radish and meat filling and celery and meat filling. They would steam the buns for dinner and wouldn't even need to cook rice.
Two men went to the kitchen to deliver something and overheard Ah Mei relaying a message. They went outside and spread the word.
Before long, all the servants and waiters in the courtyard knew the good news that there would be an extra meal that evening. Everyone was overjoyed, and even those who were called to help in the kitchen had smiles on their faces.
And sure enough, the stone was tempted again tonight.
Besides steamed buns, there was also a clear chicken soup and several vegetarian dishes on the table.
After the meal began, Pei Ji wasn't very interested in the chicken soup and vegetarian dishes that appeared every day, but he was full of anticipation for the plump, white steamed buns that were a rare sight.
Pei Ji picked up a bun from the bowl and took a bite. The soft outer skin and juicy radish and meat filling were both tender and fragrant, and tasted quite good. It made you want to have another bite after finishing the first one.
Seeing that the little one was only focused on eating the steamed buns, Min Yueqing reminded him, "Lele, drink some chicken soup."
There's no need to worry about the intake of leafy greens, as the filling of the buns already contains two kinds of vegetables.
Pei Ji was rather troublesome when it came to meals.
If the adults don't notice, the child will likely just eat plain rice, and the reason is obvious: there are no dishes he likes on the table. Even his favorite dishes shouldn't be made repeatedly, otherwise he'll quickly get tired of them.
Min Yueqing has always been very tolerant of her little one. Regarding this issue, she usually only offers timely reminders rather than making rigid demands.
Since she's quite free now, she might as well take the time to figure out how to improve her meals.
Upon hearing Min Yueqing's words, Pei Ji obediently picked up a spoon and drank the soup. He didn't want to eat the chicken, but he could still drink the soup.
Shi Tou ate seven or eight steamed buns and drank a bowl of chicken soup. He was still not full and was gnawing on a piece of chicken. He planned to eat two more steamed buns later.
Before he knew it, more than a year had passed since he met Min Yueqing.
Over the past year, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he has undergone a complete transformation. He has changed from his previous skinny and short appearance to a height of nearly 20 centimeters, his frame has grown larger, and his body has become much stronger.
Although the stone's appearance has undergone tremendous changes, one thing remains unchanged: he is still not interested in reading and gets a headache whenever he hears words like "classical books".
Pei Han had clearly discovered this characteristic of Shi Tou long ago. He never made any demands on Shi Tou regarding literary creation, but focused on cultivating Shi Tou's reading and comprehension abilities, while also requiring him to persist in practicing calligraphy.
In this way, at least when others talk about poetry and literature, Shi Tou won't be completely ignorant, and when he wants to write something, he won't have to ask others for help.
After discovering that Shi Tou was particularly interested in martial arts, Pei Han consciously guided him to read more military books, and it turned out that Shi Tou was much more enthusiastic about this than reading literature and history.
That evening, Pei Han couldn't hide his joy when he mentioned the upcoming autumn harvest.
"Madam, I recently visited several villages to inspect the rice harvest. The villagers were all beaming with joy, saying they had never seen rice growing so well before and that this year's harvest would be bountiful."
Min Yueqing joked, "Isn't that great? It's all thanks to our Lord Pei's excellent management!"
Pei Ji nestled in Min Yueqing's arms and giggled.
Min Yueqing took the opportunity to pinch her little boy's tender face and his soft arms, and Pei Ji laughed even more happily.
Pei Han looked helplessly at his wife and children, who were making a ruckus. After they calmed down, he continued, "The common people's wishes are actually very simple. They just want to stay at home and farm in peace. As long as there is no official obstruction or external interference, they can live a good life on their own. But in many places, people can't even fulfill this small wish."
Upon hearing this, Min Yueqing instantly understood what Pei Han truly meant. Seeing Pei Han's serious expression and worried eyes, Min Yueqing silently took his hand.
Pei Han was still deep in thought, but subconsciously he gripped it back, firmly holding onto the warmth and softness in his hand.
Everyone knows that the corruption in officialdom has a long history, but in the past, for Pei Han, it was just a line of small words on documents or case files. He knew it in his heart, but he did not have a deeper and more real feeling about it.
Suddenly demoted from the Hanlin Academy to this remote southwestern mountain region far from the capital, Pei Han once harbored deep hatred for Jia Ren and resentment towards the current emperor's incompetence and negligence.
However, Pei Han was a resilient man with strong likes and dislikes, and he never easily admitted defeat. The more people like Jia Ren wanted to see him bow down and submit, the more happily he wanted to take up his post, so he inevitably came with a bit of defiance.
But once he arrived here, Pei Han quickly abandoned his previous naive ideas, and even temporarily put aside his disgust for Jia Ren and the others. He found what he really wanted to do.
In Pei Han's eyes, the people of Sanping County were no different from the people of the capital. They were all subjects of the Great Gan Dynasty and were also objects that he needed to manage and protect.
But the people here are living in great misery.
They didn't even have a proper county town, and the county government was just a formality. They could only endure the humiliation they suffered. They didn't have much arable land to begin with, and they were still subjected to the harassment and plunder of mountain bandits.
Pei Han vaguely remembered that when he first went down to the village, the villagers were like frightened birds when they saw the government's carriage. They were afraid that the government would arrest them for no reason, or that they would come to their door to rob them of something they wanted.
Pei Han wanted to explain that he had only come to learn about their living conditions, but the language barrier made the mountain people even more frightened. The timid ones even trembled and knelt down in front of him with a thud.
Seeing their genuine joy at the prospect of a bountiful harvest, Pei Han felt a mix of emotions.
His first feeling was one of relief, seeing the people under his rule living in peace and happiness, which was more meaningful than any reward from the imperial court. But then a bitter feeling welled up inside him.
Pei Han didn't think his actions in Sanping County were anything special. It was hard to imagine that such a few mediocre bandits could have harmed the people of Sanping County for so many years, making the local people live in misery.
He really didn't know what the previous officials had been doing. Were they secretly colluding with bandits, or were they just naturally cowardly and incompetent? For a high-ranking official of the imperial court to be so scared of a few bandits was simply the most ridiculous thing in the world.
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