Chapter 15: Grandma’s House – Wuyou Grass

“Where are your elder brother, sister-in-law, and several nephews?” Mrs. Shen asked.

“Your elder brother and sister-in-law went to the fields, and Brother Lin accompanied his wife and children to her parents’ house.”

“Brother Jiang found a job as a waiter in a tavern in town. He usually stays there and only comes home at the end of the month during his days off…”

When Shen Qiusheng and his wife returned, they saw a cart under the eaves and a roe deer tied nearby.

Shen Chunxue was immediately attracted by the cute and dumb-looking roe deer. She went over and fondly patted its head.

“Uncle, Aunt, Cousin, you’re back!” Li Guo’er said as she came out for some fresh air.

“It turns out that it’s my sister and brother-in-law who have come. I was wondering why there were so many things in the yard,” Shen Qiusheng said, pointing to the cart and the roe deer.

“Guo’er, your mother really came,” Shen Qiusheng patted his wife, saying, “If my sister and brother-in-law hadn’t come, who would have brought all these things?”

“Brother, sister-in-law, you’re back,” Mrs. Shen said, walking out of the main room with Li Xing’er and Li Youyin.

“Big Aunt Cui is a lively person. She came forward, grabbed Mrs. Shen’s hand, and said loudly, ‘It hasn’t been long since I last saw you, and your complexion seems to be much better than before.'”

“Yes! You really look a lot more flushed,” Shen Qiusheng said, talking about the farm work with Li Youyin while adding his own comment.

“Your two daughters are both getting prettier, they look so lovable. And Chunxue isn’t bad either, she’s kind and gentle.”

Mrs. Shen looked at her two daughters not far away with affectionate eyes and said to Big Aunt Cui.

“By the way, where’s Wen Ge?!” Mrs. Shen asked. “He was called away by Hao’er from second sister-in-law’s house to catch crickets when he just reached the village entrance,” she replied, looking at her elder brother and sister-in-law.

“You should have seen my mother just now when she saw Aunt, the excitement was so obvious. As her daughter, I was almost jealous.”

“Jealousy is useless, who made Big Aunt love her little sister so much!”

Watching her lively and playful cousin, Shen Chunxue inwardly complained, “Sun Wenjie really isn’t worth it. A cousin like this is much better than that fat and ugly woman.”

“Chunxue, go to your second uncle’s house and tell him that your aunt and uncle have come. Ask them to come over for lunch,” called out Big Aunt Cui.

The shout woke Shen Chunxue, who had been complaining in her heart. She quickly responded, “Okay, I’ll go now.”

Seeing that Shen Chunxue had gone to her second uncle’s house, Li Guo’er went to the kitchen to help Big Aunt Cui.

Grandma’s house is located at the east end of the village, while Second Uncle’s house is at the west end. By the time Shen Chunxue returned, Big Aunt had already finished cooking four dishes.

Scrambled eggs with cucumber, cold wood ear mushroom salad, stir-fried green peppers with cured meat, and stir-fried mustard greens with pork cracklings.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, little cousin Shen Chunhao swallowed his saliva. Second Aunt pointed at his nose and said, “You little glutton.”

Second Uncle’s family, like Big Uncle’s family, has three children. Big Uncle’s eldest son, Shen Chunlin, is 18 years old; second cousin Shen Chunjiang is 16; Shen Chunxue and Li Guo’er are both 15, with Shen Chunxue being a month older than Li Guo’er.

Second Uncle’s family includes third cousin Shen Chunyang, who is 17 years old, cousin Shen Chunjiao, who is 14, and little cousin Shen Chunhao, who is only 6 years old.

Third cousin Shen Chunyang didn’t come today. According to Second Uncle, he has been doing odd jobs in the town recently.

Today, only their family of four came. Second Uncle is a simple and honest man who gives off a very friendly feeling when he smiles, while Second Aunt is a gentle woman who always speaks softly.

Cousin Shen Chunjiao takes after Second Aunt in her gentle and lovely appearance. Every time she smiles, it’s like a glass of fine wine, making people feel refreshed and at ease.

Little cousin Shen Chunhao looks just like Second Uncle, with a round face and a lovable appearance.

Looking at the dishes on the table, Shen Chunhao’s mouth watered, but he didn’t move his chopsticks. Though mischievous, he was a well-behaved and polite child.

When Grandpa and Grandma sat down and asked everyone to start eating, Shen Chunhao finally picked up a piece of the long-anticipated cured meat and put it in his mouth. Watching his grandson eat, Old Man Shen softly said, “After the meal, you two brothers and Youyin should kill the roe deer. Youyin and Dongsheng can also take some meat back to let the children try it.”

Li Youyin and Shen Dongsheng both said in unison, “Dad, we don’t need any, leave it all for you and Mom to eat!”

“Let’s do as Dad said. Just leave us some, and take the rest back to both families,” Shen Qiusheng said as he picked up a jar and poured his brother and brother-in-law another cup of wine.

After eating and drinking, the family stood up from the table, and the three women went to kill the roe deer.

Li Xing’er was very skilled at embroidery, and Shen Chunjiao liked it very much. So every time they met, Shen Chunxue would ask this younger cousin, who was two years younger, to teach her some embroidery techniques.

The roe deer wasn’t big. After skinning and removing the internal organs, it weighed about 40 jin (roughly 20 kg). Shen Qiusheng divided a back leg for each family.

The remaining part was kept in the kitchen, to be eaten the next day when the youngest son came home. The rest of the meat, fearing it wouldn’t keep well in this season, was salted by Cui Shi and hung on the beam in the storage room.

It was getting late, and the family began to leave. Li Wen and Shen Chunhao were reluctant to part, and seeing the little expressions on the two younger brothers, Li Guo’er couldn’t help but smile. Children’s friendships form so quickly.

When they got home, Li Guo’er went to the kitchen to check on the rice field snails soaking in water. She saw that the sand had already been expelled.

She called her younger siblings to trim the tails of the rice field snails.

Then, she went to the garden to pick a few small chilies, cleaned the snails thoroughly, blanched them in boiling water, and took them out. In the pan, she added scallions, ginger, garlic, red chili peppers, and mountain peppercorns she had picked to sauté. She then added the snails, stir-frying them, worried that there might be an earthy smell. Li Guo’er poured some homemade yellow wine, which her father drank, into the pan, and finally added some perilla leaves from the garden.

A spicy and fragrant aroma filled the air, which quickly entered Li Wen’s nostrils and made him cough for a while. But that didn’t affect his eagerness to eat the snails.

The snails tasted fresh and delicious, with an irresistible fragrance that made people’s mouths water. It was impossible to stop eating them.

The family had no idea that rice field snails could be cooked so deliciously, and they unknowingly ate until they were full.

Li Wen’s little mouth was reddened from the spice, but he was still shouting that he wanted to go gather snails again tomorrow.

Not just the children, but even Li Youyin and his wife felt the meal was too delicious to leave, so they decided to go gather snails with their youngest son the next day.

While they were still savoring the spicy flavor of the snails, an angry voice suddenly yelled out in the distance.

“You white-eyed wolf! There’s delicious food at home, and you didn’t even think to bring any to your father and me. Instead, you’re hoarding it all for yourself! How could I have given birth to such an ungrateful child? Why didn’t I just strangle you when you were born!”

The family snapped out of the enjoyment from the spicy snails as the harsh yelling broke through. Li Youyin furrowed his brows at his furious mother.

Since he was little, he had become accustomed to his mother’s indifference and cold words, but even so, it still pained him.

Deep down, he still longed for some affection from her.

Seeing her husband saddened, Shen Shi subtly squeezed his hand to offer comfort.

“It’s all because of you, you fox spirit. If it weren’t for you, how could he treat me like this?”