Chapter 42: “So Delicious!”

Xu Jiaojiao’s face flushed crimson when she was caught gossiping.

“No, no need, I’ll go cook!”

She scurried back to the kitchen.

Qin “Big Bug” Shuo, watching the woman who was so embarrassed she wished she could disappear, couldn’t help but chuckle.

In the kitchen, Xu Jiaojiao, hearing his laughter, felt even more ashamed and furious.

She wished she could shut the door and block out that annoying sound.

Fortunately, the man’s footsteps soon moved towards the outside.

Hearing him leave, Xu Jiaojiao finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Pausing for a moment, she took out the cooking pot and went to a large vat in the corner.

She pulled out a few handfuls of dried sweet potato strips.

She washed them with water, added a large pot of water to the pot, and placed it on the stove to boil.

Usually, they would grate the sweet potatoes into strips and dry them after harvesting.

The fresh sweet potatoes had already been eaten, so now they could only eat dried sweet potato strips.

Dried sweet potato strips are not easy to cook, but they are easy to preserve.

While the sweet potatoes were boiling, Xu Jiaojiao turned around and measured out two pounds of rice.

She placed it in a scoop, rinsed away the sand and stones, and set it aside.

It was June, and the sky was still light.

But the kitchen roof had been smoked by the fire for years, making it look pitch black.

The lighting was already poor, and with the dark roof and walls, the kitchen looked even darker.

However, Xu Jiaojiao had been here for a while.

She knew where everything was in the kitchen, even with her eyes closed, and cooking was no problem.

Besides, there was only one seasoning on the stove, salt.

The oil had been locked up by Wang Fengmei.

It could only be taken out when cooking, to prevent any of the children from stealing it.

“Third Aunt, I’ll help you build the fire.” Suddenly, Erni’s voice came from the kitchen door.

“Okay, thank you so much.” Seeing her, Xu Jiaojiao felt her mood lift.

“I picked up some firewood today and found some Atractylodes.”

Erni was no longer as timid as she was at the beginning. When she talked about the herbs she knew, her eyes lit up.

“You’re so amazing, do you remember what Atractylodes is good for?”

“Treats wind-cold dampness, death…” She couldn’t remember the rest, and Erni bit her lip, looking at Xu Jiaojiao.

“Death, muscle spasm, and jaundice.” Xu Jiaojiao said with a smile, “You’re still young, take your time, don’t rush.”

“I… I’m not young anymore…”

Hearing this, Erni became a little anxious, “I’ll try my best, Third Aunt, teach me.”

Looking at those eyes that yearned for recognition and feared being abandoned, Xu Jiaojiao felt a pang of sadness in her heart.

“If you want to learn, Third Aunt will teach you, but you have to learn to read first.”

Most children in the team went to school at the age of seven or eight.

But looking at Liu Zhaodi, she probably wouldn’t let these girls go to school.

The whole society was filled with the idea that education was useless.

There was no college entrance exam, and even universities were through recommendation, some even had no culture and went.

But Xu Jiaojiao knew that the college entrance exam would be restored in a few years.

The three sisters, Dani, Erni, and Aunt San, if they wanted to escape this patriarchal family, education was the only way out.

Hearing that Third Aunt was going to teach her to read, Erni’s face turned red with excitement.

“I’ll study hard!” Her voice was choked with emotion.

“Third Aunt believes in you.” Xu Jiaojiao rubbed her head, and saw Erni smile.

“Third, what are you standing there for? Did you kill the snake?”

Wang Fengmei had returned from outside and saw her son standing outside the kitchen, asking curiously.

She was holding a basin in her hand, hesitating whether to enter.

Hearing his mother’s voice, Qin Shuo couldn’t help but be silent.

As he raised his eyes, he met those watery eyes, the woman’s eyes filled with embarrassment and awkwardness.

Qin Shuo’s gaze lingered for a few seconds before he looked away, “It’s killed, I’ll cook it later.”

Hearing him say this, Wang Fengmei was surprised.

“You know how to do that?”

Qin Shuo nodded, looking confident.

Seeing this, Wang Fengmei felt relieved, “Then you go ahead and cook it.”

She then went about her own business.

She was a widow raising three children, having to work in the fields and do housework.

The eldest son felt sorry for her and had been helping with cooking since he was young.

As for the second and third sons, she had hardly seen them cook.

But this thing didn’t require any skills, so Wang Fengmei wasn’t worried.

In the kitchen, upon hearing that he was going to cook the snake, Xu Jiaojiao got goosebumps all over.

But Erni was full of anticipation, her mouth constantly swallowing.

“Third Uncle, I’ll help you build the fire.” She looked eager to try.

Qin Shuo glanced at Xu Jiaojiao who was about to run away, paused, and said, “You’re still young, Third Aunt will do it.”

Xu Jiaojiao: ?!

When did she apply to build the fire?

“Jiaojiao, if you make the relationship tense, the mission will be difficult to accomplish, you know～”

In her mind, Feifei’s voice sounded a little bit mischievous.

Xu Jiaojiao: I’m so screwed!

Her heart was filled with anger, but she still forced a gentle smile and said to Erni, “Yes, Third Aunt will build the fire, you go play.”

Erni looked at her Third Uncle, then at her Third Aunt, and finally nodded in agreement.

Only this couple with different thoughts remained in the kitchen.

The strong lines on Qin Shuo’s face softened unconsciously.

And Xu Jiaojiao successfully sent him away, and her mind started to frantically think about how to do the mission.

Knowing that she was afraid of snakes, Qin Shuo didn’t bring the snake meat, which had been cut into pieces, in front of her.

Instead, he put it in a large earthenware pot.

The sweet potato porridge in the pot was already cooked, Qin Shuo grabbed the pot handle and lifted it up.

Xu Jiaojiao was dumbfounded.

Wasn’t he afraid of getting burned?

Every time she lifted it, she had to use something to insulate the heat, and sometimes the insulation wasn’t thick enough and she would get burned.

This man’s hands were so thick-skinned!

Thinking of the calluses on his fingertips, for some reason, Xu Jiaojiao’s heart started to beat a little faster.

Qin Shuo had just placed the earthenware pot on the stove when he saw the woman spacing out again.

And the firewood in front of her was about to fall out.

Qin Shuo reached out, about to push the firewood into the stove, when he saw her suddenly step back.

Xu Jiaojiao: …

“I’m afraid I’ll block you.”

She couldn’t make the relationship tense, Xu Jiaojiao forced another explanation.

“Hmm.”

Qin Shuo nodded, not sure if he believed her or not.

But the atmosphere in the kitchen became stagnant again.

Next, the couple busied themselves with their own tasks, one building the fire, the other preparing the ingredients.

Neither of them spoke.

Half an hour later, the whole kitchen was filled with a strong aroma.

Xu Jiaojiao, the fire-builder, couldn’t help but take a deep breath, it was so tempting.

She completely forgot that she was afraid of this snake at noon.

Once again, they were able to eat meat, even if it wasn’t pork, the Qin family, young and old, were overjoyed.

They all agreed that it was better than beef.

Xu Jiaojiao looked at the snake soup in front of her, the tempting aroma kept tempting her.

Hesitating for a moment, she still picked up the bowl, gritting her teeth, and took a small sip.

“So delicious!” Erhu said with satisfaction.

Xu Jiaojiao: …