24

With this big fish, it was unquestionable that it would be the main dish for lunch.

Lin You split the crucian carp in half, making one half into braised carp and the other into carp tofu soup. She also stir-fried river shrimp with chives, made a plate of chive pockets, and steamed some rice.

Yao Jiu, who had just returned from the town, ate hungrily, devouring the fresh crucian carp in a braised style. The fish was tender, fragrant, and delicious. Lin You added a few lantern peppers, making the sauce extra spicy and aromatic. When placed on top of the rice, it had a unique flavor. The river shrimp had been deep-fried and were only the size of a fingertip, with soft shells. The chives were homegrown, without pesticides, so they were finer than the thick ones sold in the market but had a much stronger, fresher taste. The chive pockets oozed juice as soon as they were squeezed.

Yao Jiu ate two bowls of rice, two chive pockets the size of his palms, and continued drinking a bowl of fish soup, burping as he ate.

After Lin You had eaten, she slowly savored the milky white carp tofu soup. The fish she had caught herself made the soup taste even better.

Lin You originally thought there would be leftovers when she saw Bo Chuan had almost finished, but as soon as she started drinking the soup, Bo Chuan unknowingly sped up his eating pace. By the time Lin You finished her soup, only empty plates were left on the table.

The tabby cat beside her meowed lazily and continued eating the fish.

Lin You sighed, “Fortunately I saved some food for Furball.”

Otherwise, the little one would really be hungry.

Bo Chuan paused for a moment before continuing to clean up the dishes.

Today, it was Yao Jiu’s turn to wash the dishes. Once Yao Jiu stood up, Bo Chuan said, “The things from home are here. I’ll bring them over later.”

Lin You looked horrified. She hadn’t even finished the dried goods Bo Chuan had given her last time, and the beef had lasted her several days. Now, more was coming?

Before she could refuse, Bo Chuan had already brought over a full package of deliveries.

The good news was that only a small portion of the package contained expensive seafood. The bad news was that there was a whole ham inside.

The aroma of the ham was irresistible. Lin You, ashamed of herself, couldn’t bring herself to refuse.

Well… she could always include Bo Chuan’s breakfast too!

After lunch, the three of them went to the field together to check on Lin You’s beehive.

Yao Hongxia, the owner of the local delivery point, had kept her word and quickly sent over a box of bees from her family. Lin You had placed it temporarily on her land, and today she was going to check how the bees were adjusting.

Speaking of which, the bees Yao Hongxia sent were of great quality. They were from this year’s division, with a very young queen, and though the colony was small, the brood area was large, so it wouldn’t be long before some little bees would be emerging.

The bees raised locally were wild bees. Although they were smaller, they were very adaptable. After arriving at Lin You’s place, they quickly settled in. The worker bees buzzed around looking for nectar and didn’t panic even when someone approached.

The three of them stood at a distance from the beehive, discussing how to find a suitable location for the bees.

Bo Chuan said, “I know of a few locust trees on the mountain. They just started budding recently.”

Locust trees require high conditions for nectar flow. From the time the buds form, they have strict temperature and sunlight requirements. Despite the locust trees blooming and covering an entire tree, the flowering period could be cut short by a single night of wind or rain. Even if it didn’t rain, locust trees didn’t always produce nectar. The age of the tree affected its flowering period. If the conditions weren’t right, the locust trees would stop producing nectar. This is also why locust honey is more expensive than other kinds.

However, other flowers on the mountain hadn’t bloomed yet, so even though there were only a few locust trees, it was better than nothing.

Lin You nodded, “Let’s give it a try. I’ll go up every few days to check. If it doesn’t work, we can feed them some sugar.”

Flower nectar isn’t just the bees’ product, it’s their food as well. If they can’t collect nectar, they can’t be left hungry.

Bo Chuan moved the beehive towards the mountain. Lin You knew Bo Chuan had some strange qualities, but seeing him carry the hive without protective gear or a mask, just holding it with both hands, still startled her.

Although the bees seemed a little uneasy, they didn’t chase after Bo Chuan to sting him. Instead, they hovered around him, buzzing, which looked quite intimidating.

Bo Chuan, however, was completely calm, walking leisurely without being affected.

Lin You and Yao Jiu followed behind at a distance, and it wasn’t until they reached the locust trees that Bo Chuan finally set down the beehive. The trees were clearly quite old, with the branches full of locust flowers. Although many of them were still buds, the fragrance had already spread.

The bees seemed to love the place, buzzing around and flying from flower to flower.

Seeing the locust flowers, Lin You became excited and asked Bo Chuan to pick some flowers, planning to make some locust flower rice later.

The tabby cat, not sure when it had followed, saw the locust trees and immediately sharpened its claws on the trunks, scratching from one tree to another, leaving no tree untouched, and even urinating around the base of the trees.

Lin You was so amused and frustrated that she shoved the fat cat into the basket, saying, “Let’s go home!”

If it stayed any longer, there wouldn’t be a single decent tree left around.

Meanwhile, at the kindergarten in Fangping Town, Yao Yun was riding a small tricycle with the vegetables she had bought today.

Just as she entered the kindergarten, a teacher from a younger class called out to her.

“Sister Yao Yun, do we have lettuce and bok choy today?”

Yao Yun frowned, “I bought some, but it’s not from the usual place.”

The teacher visibly sighed, “Well, okay. I’m afraid some kids in our class will ask again at lunch.”

Yao Yun was helpless. She had bought vegetables from Lin You twice. The first time, she was just guessing, but the second time her guess was confirmed.

She stir-fried the regular bok choy she bought from the market, and after comparing it with the bok choy from Lin You’s, the difference was obvious.

Lin You’s vegetables, just the freshness and crispness alone, were far superior to those from other sources.

Even though they were almost the same vegetables and she used the same seasonings, the taste was worlds apart.

The three baskets of vegetables Yao Yun bought were eaten over three days, and some were even taken by the teachers at the kindergarten for various reasons. Yet, the kids never seemed to get tired of them.

Even the parents noticed and praised the kindergarten’s canteen. Some parents, who lived nearby, even commented when picking up their children, saying the vegetables at lunch were particularly delicious, and the kids ate them all up.

Thinking about this, Yao Yun felt both happy and a little troubled.

Since taking over the kindergarten kitchen, her cooking skills had improved quite a lot, and most importantly, the kindergarten staff had recognized her skills. So even though her husband had recently started testing her, subtly asking if he should return home first to take care of the kitchen duties, Yao Yun hesitated but didn’t agree.

After visiting her family’s home, Yao Yun no longer felt that staying at home to take care of the child was such a good deal.

Cooking was hard work, but it was work that was acknowledged.

The kindergarten’s director had also learned that there seemed to be some tension between her and her husband. However, since Yao Yun hadn’t made any mistakes and had even received praise from the parents, the director tacitly allowed her to continue as the head cook. The kindergarten teachers also reported that Yao Yun paid attention to details when cooking, and the dishes were cleaner than before.

As a result, Yao Yun had gained more recognition than her husband.

So, even when her husband and mother-in-law, realizing they couldn’t control her, started trying to play the “emotional” card to get things back to how they were, Yao Yun wasn’t willing to go back.

She realized she had been a little foolish before. Her husband would constantly complain about how tough his work was outside, and she had believed him, not letting him handle anything at home and taking care of everything herself, even matters from her side of the family.

Now she wondered, why had she done that?

Working in the kindergarten kitchen didn’t seem that difficult.

In fact, having worked in the kindergarten for some time, Yao Yun had noticed some issues. The kindergarten had daily meetings to summarize things. Before, her husband would always use the excuse that, as a man, he didn’t need to attend, and since Yao Yun wasn’t working there, she didn’t know about it.

Recently, after getting involved in the kindergarten work and listening to the teachers’ summaries, she also reflected on her own child.

When she thought carefully about it, Yao Yun broke out in a cold sweat.

Compared to the other parents at the kindergarten, her parenting methods were clearly problematic.

It wasn’t that no one had subtly expressed this to her before, but back then, Yao Yun was always at home, and whenever she discussed it with her mother-in-law, her mother-in-law would start criticizing others for meddling, saying how good and obedient her grandson was.

This can’t continue!

Yao Yun decided that once her son was discharged from the hospital, she would bring him to the kindergarten. If he wasn’t old enough for the younger class, that didn’t matter—she would be there with him, learning with the other children. Whether he learned a lot or a little didn’t matter, as long as he wasn’t staying with his grandmother.

Yao Yun placed the vegetables into the kitchen, feeling a bit uneasy.

The matter with her child could be dealt with later, but the immediate concern was that she thought Lin You’s vegetables were good and wanted to buy some from her.

But would Lin You agree?

If it were before, she could have asked her parents to help mediate, but…

Yao Yun smiled bitterly. Stepping out of her old circle had cleared her mind a lot, but it also made her feel even more ashamed to face her parents. Just think about it—she had spent so many years focused on her small family, neglecting her parents’ feelings, and demanding so much from them.

When it came to buying vegetables from Lin You, there was no way she could have her parents involved.

Yao Yun clenched her fists. No matter what, she should go ask Lin You. If Lin You still remembered the past and didn’t want to help, she wouldn’t say anything.

In the afternoon, Yao Yun went to Lianhua Town. This time, it was different. She went low-key, riding the small tricycle she used for buying vegetables, carrying half a pig and a few fish. When she entered the village, she no longer had the same proud air she once had when coming back.

Aunt Chunling saw her daughter, who had lost weight and looked a little better, and felt both heartbroken and relieved that she had finally made some changes.

“Come in, is Duoduo feeling better lately?”

Yao Yun almost couldn’t hold back her tears. “Much better, he’ll be discharged in a couple of days.”

Aunt Chunling glanced at the things in the tricycle. “Next time, don’t buy so much. Your dad and I can’t eat it all.”

“By the way, there’s something I need to tell you. Your dad and I have jobs now.”

Aunt Chunling’s face lit up with joy. “Lin You hired your dad and me to help raise cattle.”