Chapter 46

The fear of snakes remained, and Hè Yúnqí stepped back in fright.

“How come there’s another snake?”

“Aunt, there are so many snakes in the countryside!”

Hè Yúnqí gasped and exclaimed in awe.

Lù Bái Wēi explained to him, “It’s not a snake, it’s a yellow mud loach.”

“The yellow loach lives in muddy fields, and its meat is very tasty.”

The two little ones were so scared of snakes that Lù Bái Wēi was already thinking about asking Hè Tíng to go to the field bunds and plant a few bunches of snake-repellent plants around the house, then make them a couple of snake-repellent sachets to wear.

“Wēi Wēi, are these the two little ones from the Hè family?”

Táng Yúnlíng, who loved children, said, “The children from the capital are really good-looking.”

“Of course, just look at whose children they are.”

Lù Bái Wēi nailed a wooden board with a nail, then, without noticing Hè Yúnqí’s expression or what he might be imagining, she grabbed the yellow loach and skillfully gutted it.

She continued working while chatting, “My husband, Hè Tíng, looks so good. His niece and nephew can’t be bad-looking, can they?”

Did Wēi Wēi just praise him in front of her cousin?

When Hè Tíng returned from the creek after killing the chicken, he heard Lù Bái Wēi call him “husband” as he reached the door to the stove room. A smile spread across his lips.

It was still the sweet honeymoon phase, and even though he didn’t notice Hè Yúnqí’s terrified look while watching Lù Bái Wēi gut the loach, his focus was entirely on Lù Bái Wēi.

He took over her task, saying, “I’ll do it, you help your cousin with the vegetables.”

After witnessing how terrifying Lù Bái Wēi was while grabbing snakes and gutting loaches, Hè Yúnqí was even more afraid of his uncle, and he now thought the countryside was very scary. His little aunt was terrifying and not someone to mess with.

His uncle had also become scary!

If he caused trouble, would his aunt and uncle gut him like that?

He decided he needed to be good and listen to them from now on…

When Hè Yúnqí stiffened his face, he looked just like Hè Tíng, and no one could tell what he was thinking.

Lù Bái Wēi had no idea that her five-year-old nephew was such an imaginative child.

She hadn’t even figured out how to deal with the mischievous little boy, but after witnessing her grab snakes and gut loaches, Hè Yúnqí had mentally labeled her as the most terrifying person, quietly resolving to always listen to his little aunt from now on.

He would never make his little aunt angry.

He also planned to be on his best behavior with his sister, making sure neither of them made their aunt angry.

In his imaginative mind, Hè Yúnqí was already convinced he would never eat snakes or loaches. They were too slippery and scary. Snakes were terrifying, and loaches were just as bad.

But his strong resolve was soon broken.

He caught a whiff of the chicken stew Lù Bái Wēi was making and the stir-fried yellow loach with water celery.

It smelled so good, it made his mouth water.

As he swallowed saliva in sync with his growling stomach, he became dizzy with hunger.

As he swallowed hard, his head grew dizzy from hunger.

What was worse, Lù Bái Wēi, worried that the child might be hungry, scooped out a bowl of the stewed chicken for Ránrán before it was even fully ready.

Taking care of the child, Lù Bái Wēi was naturally meticulous.

The chicken meat was tender and soft, and Lù Bái Wēi carefully removed the bones for Ránrán. The meat from the pine snake had no bones, making it perfect for a child to eat.

Ránrán, a little confused, didn’t know how the snake turned into meat. When Lù Bái Wēi fed it to her, she simply opened her mouth and chewed the tender snake meat, swallowing it. Her eyes lit up in delight.

“Aunt, this is so delicious.”

“It’s tasty, right? Then eat more, Ránrán.”

Lù Bái Wēi smiled and coaxed her, “Come on, open your mouth, have another piece.”

She had Táng Yúnlíng help her with the spoon, scooping chicken meat from the bones and feeding it to Ránrán.

The little one was very satisfied, her eyes squinting with enjoyment as she swayed her little head.

Hè Yúnqí knew that his sister only swayed her head when she was eating the best food.

He was so hungry he swallowed loudly.

“Hmph, Aunt, you’re biased.”

“You don’t like me, only like your sister. I don’t want to eat the snake. It’s so scary.”

“Really?”

Lù Bái Wēi teased him by picking up a piece of meat, “I was going to give you a piece to try, but since you don’t like it, I’ll give it to your sister.”

“Well, I’ll try one bite. Just one.”

The little guy was quite proud, “Uncle said, boys shouldn’t be scared, they should protect their little sister.”

“I’ll try a bite for my sister, to see if the snake meat is poisonous or if it tastes bad.”

Táng Yúnlíng couldn’t help but burst out laughing at Hè Yúnqí’s antics.

Seeing her about to speak, Lù Bái Wēi quickly shot her a look to stop her.

Hè Yúnqí had some pride, after all!

Táng Yúnlíng struggled to hold back her laughter, biting her lip.

When Hè Yúnqí saw Táng Yúnlíng holding back her laughter, he was about to say he wouldn’t eat the snake meat anymore.

But when he saw she wasn’t laughing, he proudly opened his mouth, putting on a little act to give Lù Bái Wēi face.

Hè Yúnqí’s eyes and brows were somewhat similar to Hè Tíng’s.

Lù Bái Wēi thought a smaller version of Hè Tíng was simply too adorable.

She couldn’t bring herself to tease him any longer, so she picked up a piece of meat and fed it to the little guy.

As soon as he bit into the tender meat, Hè Yúnqí’s eyes widened in surprise, making noises of enjoyment as he chewed.

“I announce, I’m going to eat all the snakes from now on!”

“Ha ha ha!”

“Ha ha ha!”

Táng Yúnlíng couldn’t hold back any longer and burst into laughter. “Wēi Wēi, this little guy is such a treasure, he’s hilarious!”

“Xiǎo Qí, if you hang out with Auntie in the future, Auntie will catch snakes for you to eat.”

Hè Xiǎo Péng thought coming to the countryside was all about hardship. Back at the compound, he had often heard adults say that his little uncle had suffered a lot when he went to the countryside as an educated youth.

What hardship?

It was all about eating the happy snakes.

He quickly realized how great it was to have an aunt who could cook.

“Little Master, there’s more in this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading, there’s more exciting content ahead!”

Especially since Lù Bái Wēi, in order to accommodate the children’s taste, made a non-spicy celery and yellow eel dish for him and Ránrán, and also made a fresh, delicious mudfish and egg soup, along with tender meat slices stir-fried just for them.

Hè Xiǎo Péng suddenly understood how wonderful it was to be in the countryside—there was good food.

No wonder his little uncle, who went to the countryside as an educated youth, didn’t want to return to Beijing.

He made up his mind: from now on, he and Ránrán would stay with their little aunt, just like their little uncle, and never return to Beijing.

Lù Bái Wēi got along so well with the two kids, and Hè Tíng was deeply moved. At the dinner table, he poured wine for the uncles, occasionally casting a gentle glance at Lù Bái Wēi as she fed the children.

“Ahem, these two kids…”

Táng Jǐng Hé cleared his throat and reminded Hè Tíng, “Nephew-in-law, where are you pouring the wine? This wine isn’t cheap.”

Hè Tíng, not paying attention as he watched Lù Bái Wēi with the children, accidentally spilled the wine over the table.

He hurriedly tilted the bottle back.

Not just the uncles and aunts, but even Lù Bái Wēi’s cousins couldn’t hold back their laughter.

Táng Jǐng Chuān was very pleased.

The difficult person from the big compound in Beijing seemed destined to be their Táng family’s nephew-in-law.

The bond between the two kids was so strong that he could have eaten several more bowls of food.

Of course, it was also because his niece made such delicious dishes.

The pine snake stew with chicken was very fresh, and the celery and cucumber eel slices were just like his old family’s specialty, made just as well as his father used to make. He hadn’t had them in years, and his niece prepared them perfectly.

The stir-fried spicy pork was also tasty. The peppers grown at home had a distinct flavor that was completely different from those bought outside.

Not to mention the stir-fried rabbit meat with chili, the eggplant and green beans stew, and the stir-fried loofah, which he loved.

In addition, his niece’s bitter melon stir-fry was even better than others’—she must have heated the pan first to dry out the bitterness in the melon, then added pork fat to stir-fry it. The red chili pepper added made it so appetizing.

The meal left the Táng family completely satisfied, but Lù Jiāo Jiāo, who was outside and could smell the food, was left hungry.