Chapter 56

Lin Daniu kept her gaze fixed in the direction of the kitchen, wanting to help, but Shen Yiyi stopped her. “You’re not in a condition to move around, so just stay put.”  

Lin Daniu looked at Shen Yiyi’s matter-of-fact expression, then glanced at Li Chen and Chen Qiang, who were busy in the kitchen. She gritted her teeth and sat down.  

Meanwhile, the Three Baos were in the courtyard looking at picture books. A few days ago, when they were chopping firewood, they had eagerly shown off to Wangcai how their mother had bought them picture books, boasting about how beautiful they were. Wangcai had been thinking about them ever since.  

Now, they were discussing the contents of the books. Er Bao had a different opinion from Da Bao and Wangcai, and the three were passionately arguing their points.  

Lin Daniu saw their faces turning red from the argument and worried they might start fighting. Instinctively, she wanted to call Wangcai over.  

Shen Yiyi stopped her. “It’s fine, let them argue. They won’t fight.”  

Over these past days, she had come to understand her sons more or less.  

Xiao Bao needed no explanation—he was a cheerful little foodie. As for his other traits, he was still too young to tell.  

Er Bao was mischievous and lively, bold and full of quirky ideas. He was unafraid of trouble and even had a tendency to stir things up.  

Da Bao, on the other hand, was sensible and steady, with a gentle personality. However, when his little face was expressionless, he carried an air of authority just like his father.

If he got serious, even Er Bao didn’t dare provoke him.  

So, this argument wouldn’t escalate into a fight.  

As long as they didn’t start fighting, Shen Yiyi fully approved of this kind of “constructive” brainstorming. It was good for their thinking skills and cognitive development.  

Lin Daniu had initially been worried that Shen Yiyi would be upset by the commotion—after all, Da Bao and Er Bao were her own children.  

But Wangcai was not.  

Seeing that she didn’t mind, Lin Daniu breathed a sigh of relief, feeling even more fond of Shen Yiyi.

The two of them chatted idly for a while. By the time Li Chen and the others had finished preparing the chicken and rabbit, it was already evening.  

It was time to make dinner.  

They had two wild chickens and one wild rabbit.  

Shen Yiyi planned to make braised chicken. She heated oil in the pot, added star anise, dried chili, Sichuan peppercorns, and ginger slices, stirring until fragrant. Then, she added the chicken, frying it until the moisture evaporated.

She coated it with rock sugar, soy sauce, and pepper powder for color, then tossed in potatoes, shiitake mushrooms, and other vegetables.

After mixing everything well, she poured in a bowl of water and let it simmer on low heat for ten minutes before turning up the heat to reduce the sauce.  

The rabbit meat was cooked in a red-braised style. After blanching it to remove any gamey taste, she drained the water.

Then, she heated oil in the pot, sautéed scallions, ginger, garlic, and Sichuan peppercorns until fragrant, and stir-fried the rabbit meat.

She added seasonings and let it braise on low heat for twenty minutes before throwing in fresh chili and dried chili, then finished it off with high heat to thicken the sauce.  

The aroma was absolutely mouthwatering!  

Chen Qiang smacked his lips.  

He turned to look at Lin Daniu. His wife was quick and efficient at housework—so why was she so lacking in cooking skills?  

As a true food lover, Chen Qiang felt a deep sense of regret and decided to eat two extra bowls to make up for it!  

That evening, the two families planned to have dinner in the courtyard. After setting up the tables and chairs, they all gathered around.  

White rice, braised chicken, red-braised rabbit, and the spicy-sour pickled radish that Lin Daniu had specially brought over…  

Everyone swallowed hungrily, waiting. The moment Shen Yiyi picked up her chopsticks, the others—Da Bao, Er Bao, Chen Qiang, and Wangcai—immediately followed suit.  

The first bite—so fragrant!  

Since Li Chen and Chen Qiang had hunted the chicken and rabbit, it was only right to set aside a portion for the elders of both families.  

Chen Qiang’s family had a food storage jar that could keep the dish preserved for a year, so he planned to bring some home for his mother to try later.  

As for Old Li’s Family, Shen Yiyi had sent Er Bao over with their portion before they even started eating—of course, only for the two elders.

Originally, with so much game caught, it wouldn’t have been impossible to make a little extra and share some with the rest of Old Li’s Family. However, Shen Yiyi simply didn’t want Jiang Ailing to have any.  

Of course, she couldn’t outright say that Jiang Ailing wasn’t allowed to eat… That wouldn’t be very reasonable.  

Besides, the wild chickens and rabbits had been caught by Li Chen and Chen Qiang together. There was no reason to take what belonged to both families and give it away to others.  

So, she simply chose not to send any at all.  

This made Jiang Ailing bitter with jealousy. At the dinner table, right in front of Father Li, she couldn’t help but sarcastically snipe at Li Sanhong. “Chopping firewood together, getting invited to meals… If I didn’t know better, I’d think Chen Qiang was Second Brother’s real sibling!”  

Li Sanhong felt a headache coming on and scolded his wife. “Can you stop talking for once? Why did Second Brother gather firewood with Brother Qiang’s family? Because they have a wooden cart! And those wild chickens and rabbits—they caught them together.”  

“Oh, please.” Jiang Ailing scoffed, unconvinced. “Chen Qiang’s family only has him as a laborer. His burden of a son doesn’t count. Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law both went, so who really benefited here? Besides, when Chen Qiang wasn’t with Second Brother, did he ever manage to catch wild chickens or rabbits? He’s just riding on Second Brother’s luck! If he had taken you along instead, you would’ve caught some too!”  

“Clack!”  

Father Li, who rarely showed displeasure toward his daughter-in-law, put down his chopsticks.

His cloudy eyes fixed on Jiang Ailing.  

On the surface, Mother Li appeared to be the head of the household, but in reality, Father Li was the one with the most authority.  

With just that one look, Jiang Ailing didn’t dare to continue.

She awkwardly shut her mouth, though inwardly, she was cursing.  

In the past, disciplining daughters-in-law and grandchildren had always been Mother Li’s responsibility, while Father Li hardly ever got involved. But lately, for some reason, he seemed to have changed, suddenly taking control of family matters.  

It was bad enough that he forced her precious Tiezhu to go up the mountain to chop wood every day, but the last time Tiezhu ran back home for a drink of water, he was beaten so severely he was nearly killed. She had felt absolutely heartbroken!  

Mother Li took in Jiang Ailing’s timid expression and let out a chuckle.  

Just a typical bully who feared the strong and preyed on the weak—she should be properly kept in check by the old man!

As she thought about it, Mother Li picked up a piece of red-braised rabbit meat and chewed it—delicious!  

Of course, she had no idea what was going through Jiang Ailing’s mind. If she did, she would have scoffed at her. Tiezhu ran back just to drink water? That boy had clearly sneaked off to slack!  

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Three catties of rice, two wild chickens, one wild rabbit, and a plate of spicy-sour pickled radish—everything was completely eaten up by the eight people from both families!  

After the meal, Chen Qiang’s family didn’t leave right away. They stayed to wash the dishes before heading home. And surprisingly, it was Chen Qiang who washed them!  

Was it because Chen Qiang was particularly considerate? Of course not!  

After dinner, Lin Daniu had rushed to wash the dishes. But how could Shen Yiyi let her? Putting aside the idea that it was improper to let a guest wash dishes, Lin Daniu was heavily pregnant—Shen Yiyi couldn’t possibly make her do such work.  

But Lin Daniu insisted, saying that she did the same at home.  

Her reasoning was solid, and she was already holding the dishes. Shen Yiyi couldn’t bring herself to snatch them from her and had no choice but to turn to Li Chen for help.  

Li Chen caught his wife’s glance, then promptly kicked Chen Qiang. “Get over there and wash the dishes for me!”  

Lin Daniu hesitated for a moment when she saw it was Chen Qiang, but eventually handed him the dishes.  

Chen Qiang could only accept his fate and wash them with a bitter expression.  

—  

There were still three nests of bird eggs, one wild chicken, and one wild rabbit left. Shen Yiyi asked Wang Chai whether he wanted the chicken or the rabbit, and he chose the rabbit.  

She then gave them two nests of bird eggs, not leaving them any chance to refuse, and sent them on their way.  

Not long after they left, Shen Yiyi heard a knock at the door.  

When she went to open it, she was stunned to find that it was Zhou Fengshou!  

For a brief moment, Shen Yiyi froze. Then, almost instinctively, she touched her face.  

Had she been exposed?!