Chapter 176

Ding Jiajia’s face turned red. She sneaked a glance back and found that he was looking at her too.

Their gazes collided, and they quickly looked away.

Ding Jiajia bit her lip and asked her mother beside her, “Mom, what do you think of him?”

“Good, very good!” Qin Yilin replied without hesitation.

Ding Jiajia smiled brightly.

Qin Yilin continued, “Although he didn’t choose you, any girl who marries him in the future will be very fortunate.”

Ding Jiajia’s smile faded, and she looked at her mother with her mouth slightly open.

He didn’t choose her?

How did her mother know?

Did Sister Shuiqing tell her?

She asked hesitantly, “Mom, how do you know?”

Qin Yilin thought her daughter was asking how she could tell that a girl who marries into the Hu family would be fortunate, so she explained her observations one by one: “Isn’t it obvious to anyone with eyes?

Look at your Sister Shuiqing, how wonderful she is, generous and straightforward. When we visited to ask about roasting rabbit, she not only taught us that but also how to roast lamb skewers, bread slices, chives, and more.

Then she even showed me how to make the soup base. Jiajia, I learned that there’s a sequence to making it; you don’t just throw everything together and add water to stew. Ah, I’m getting sidetracked.

When we left, she gave us a big jar of mushroom oil and even sent her brother to deliver pickles to our house. With such a sister-in-law, who wouldn’t want her? The more, the better.”

“And Hu’s mother knows how to make side dishes. If the daughter cooks well, the mother’s cooking can’t be bad either. As long as the three meals a day are good, isn’t most of life taken care of?”

Ding Jiajia mumbled, “It’s also possible that the daughter cooks well but the mother doesn’t.”

“If I, your mother, cook poorly and you, my daughter, cook poorly, then if another mother’s daughter cooks well, the mother must cook well too, right?

Oh, now that I think about it, this family is really good! It’s a pity he didn’t choose you.” Qin Yilin felt a bit regretful. Why didn’t Hu Wenhua choose her daughter? If he had, she could have often visited under the pretext of her daughter to enjoy meals.

No, this thought is wrong. How could she frequently visit her daughter’s in-laws to eat? That would put her daughter in a difficult position.

“Forget it, let’s not think about it. Our family should still work on maintaining a good relationship with Shuiqing. From now on, Mom will make you delicious food!”

Today, she had learned so many things!

She felt enlightened and refreshed.

Hu Wenhua was not too close. The two were speaking softly, so he couldn’t hear clearly. He only saw that the previously lively girl now had a heavy step, and the side profile he occasionally saw was no longer rosy but carried a trace of sadness.

What were she and her mother talking about…

Ding Heli saw his wife returning joyfully but noticed their daughter looking downcast. Before he could figure out what was going on, he was startled by the burly man following behind!

Qin Yilin quickly introduced, “This is Wenhua, Shuiqing’s brother. He came to help us carry things.”

She heard Shuiqing calling him that.

Ding Heli immediately stepped forward to invite him in for tea.

Hu Wenhua glanced at the dejected Ding Jiajia, put down the two jars of pickles he was carrying, and took out an oil-paper package. “These are some roasted foods. Try them;

Uncle Ding, we’re slaughtering a pig tomorrow and having a whole pig feast. Please come, and after the meal, we can have tea together.”

Before the couple could react or refuse, he turned and quickly left.

Her parents would come, so she would definitely come too. He would see her again tomorrow.

Inside the house, watching Hu Wenhua leave with agile movements, Ding Heli smiled and said, “This kid looks sturdy but is surprisingly agile.”

“I heard he’s practicing martial arts,” Qin Yilin replied casually.

Ding Heli was surprised, “To practice martial arts, they must be quite well-off.”

Qin Yilin, while bending over to inspect the pickle jars, recalled what Shuiqing had said and explained briefly, “He didn’t start learning martial arts from a young age. It was only at the beginning of this year. He probably does half chores and half learning. The Hu family’s financial situation wasn’t good before, but they made some money from brewing wine last year, which allowed Wenhua to start learning.”

Shuiqing might have revealed everything to put her at ease. She thought Shuiqing was indeed very considerate.

Ding Heli remarked, “He’s a sensible young man, and the whole family seems diligent and ambitious.”

Although their family could make a hundred or so taels a year, it was considered very good in the village where most people could save only three to five taels a year. They knew how hard it was for farming families to save money.

He opened the oil paper package and exclaimed.

Qin Yilin curiously leaned over to look.

Even Ding Jiajia, who had been quietly listening, glanced over.

Inside the large oil paper package was a whole roasted rabbit, crispy and oily, along with over thirty skewers of lamb, each perfectly balanced with fat and lean meat.

It was all rich meat, still warm and greasy.

Ding Heli stammered, “Isn’t this too generous?”

People in the village rarely had meat, typically only during busy farming periods or festivals. Giving such a large amount of meat to ‘outsiders’ seemed overly generous.

“Do they treat everyone in the village like this?”

Qin Yilin didn’t know either, and it was tricky to ask around. If others didn’t receive as much, it would be awkward.

“Regardless of how they treat others, we mustn’t be disrespectful tomorrow!”

Ding Heli nodded emphatically. They even sent pickle jars, treating them as insiders.

“We must prepare tomorrow’s gift carefully. I see they don’t lack food, and we can’t cook as well. Let’s give something we’re good at.”

Their specialty was medicinal herbs and finished medicinal balms and powders, which might be useful for the Hu family.

Ding Jiajia watched her parents enthusiastically discuss various medicinal balms, powders, and pills they could use, possibly use, or might use in the future.

They were more excited than ever and looked forward to tomorrow with great anticipation.

Would the whole pig feast tomorrow taste like the dishes from Shanhailou in the provincial capital?

Their home-cooked meals could never compare to those made by professional chefs. As long as it tasted better than her mother’s cooking, it would be fine.

She wondered how different the taste would be compared to her mother’s cooking.

·

Early the next morning, Shuiqing’s yard was surrounded by villagers from every household.

There wasn’t much to do in the village, so pig slaughtering was a big event, especially today since it involved distributing pork.

As the villagers gathered to watch, Butcher Hu and Hu Wenhua had already slaughtered the fat pig early, cleaned it, and placed it on a wooden table, chopping bones and dividing it into pieces.

The pig head, offal, and blood were placed separately in wooden tubs, while the table was piled with pork.

The sight of the lard and suet, glistening white on the table, was particularly eye-catching in the morning sunlight.

Even the adults couldn’t help but swallow in anticipation at the sight of the lard and suet.

“Can we really exchange for this lard and suet?”