Chapter 22: Gathering Ingredients, Seafood Skewers

“So, what do you want to do about it?” Xu Shi, Third Brother’s wife, asked with a smile.

“Of course, I’ll expose that girl for being possessed and reveal her true nature!” Lin Shi said, her tone resolute.

Old Madam Gu leaned on her cane and took small steps toward her room.

Third Brother rolled his eyes and left the courtyard, heading back to his room.

Lin Shi stared at them as they left. “Where are you going?! Wait! I’m serious!”

Xu Shi smiled and spoke in a calm voice, “Second Sister-in-law, you suspect ghostly possession? Why don’t you try testing it with the eldest girl yourself? Once you figure it out, Mother will definitely support you. Otherwise, she’s too old to do much herself.”

Lin Shi thought about it for a moment, agreeing with this logic. She was the one best suited to handle the matter, and her expression softened.

She needed to think carefully about how to expose her true nature.

Xu Shi couldn’t help but sneer in secret.

“Mother.”

Gu Jiayi’s younger sister, Gu Jiahui, who had been hiding in her room while listening to the commotion outside, came out.

She was one year younger than Gu Yi, naturally beautiful with a slender frame.

Old Madam Gu never made her work, telling her to stay in her room, embroider flowers, read books, and one day marry a good husband to help her brother and family.

Xu Shi turned to her daughter, smiling. “Good girl, Jiahui. You did well. Keep a distance from your Second Aunt in the future.”

So she wouldn’t be led astray and become foolish like her.

“The sudden change in Big Sister’s personality, and the fact that she knows medicine, is indeed worth suspecting,” Jiahui said softly.

Xu Shi replied, “But we shouldn’t jump to conclusions about ghosts. The girl has always had a reserved personality, and it’s not impossible that she’s been hiding her talents.”

Her grandmother didn’t believe in ghosts. Besides, if it were really a water ghost, wouldn’t it be easy for it to kill someone? Were they just ordinary people, offering food to a malicious ghost?

Since they had severed ties and split the family, they should just live their lives and stay away from trouble.

She paused and added with a chuckle, “Look at your grandmother. Ever since hearing that the eldest girl knows medicine, she’s been unable to sleep, constantly sulking, maybe regretting cutting ties with her.”

Jiahui’s eyes darkened, and she pursed her lips, remaining silent.

She could never measure up to Gu Jiayi. Back in the capital, she had been the daughter of the War God, and her grandmother had doted on her, never scolding her even when she made mistakes. She had been the center of attention.

Her so-called “big sister” had always been so high up, and she had lived her life in her shadow.

Only during this exile did Gu Jiayi finally experience what she had felt when their grandmother had ruthlessly abandoned her.

Grandmother had placed all her hopes on her and her brother, and Jiahui had felt the love and affection.

Now, without her noble status, how could Gu Jiayi rise again?

——

On the mountain.

They had gathered a basket of herbs and mushrooms, and would have a nice bowl of mushroom soup for dinner.

“Mushroom soup, mushroom soup!” Jia Yue jumped up with excitement. “I picked all of it!”

“Good, good, good, Jia Yue is the little girl who picks mushrooms,” Gu Yi always found it hard to say anything harsh to her younger sister.

Second Brother scoffed, unable to resist rubbing his muddy hands on Jia Yue’s face. “Then where do you think all this mud came from?”

Jia Yue screamed, “Stinky Brother! Stinky Brother! I’m going to hit you!”

Dalang immediately grabbed Second Brother. “Come on, Yue’er, if he rubs you, you rub him back with mud!”

Although only two years apart, Second Brother was definitely no match for Dalang and was completely restrained.

Second Brother’s obsession with cleanliness had been somewhat cured under the care of his elder siblings, but his face was absolutely off-limits for dirt. He was on the verge of a meltdown, and when Jia Yue rubbed her face on him, his eyes widened, and he almost shouted.

Dalang quickly let go of him, and Second Brother nimbly ran off.

“He ran away! Second Brother ran away!” Jia Yue’s eyes were filled with fury.

Dalang said, “When we get home, Big Brother will give him a good beating!”

Jia Yue was finally satisfied.

“Hey, do you guys want an extra meal? Want to eat meat!” While they were playing around, Gu Yi had walked off into a nearby bamboo forest and spotted something that made her eyes shine.

The deeper they went into the mountain, the more they didn’t want to leave.

The three siblings all rushed over, excited. “Is it a wild chicken?”

Gu Yi shook her head and pointed at a small dirt hole. “It’s inside there.”

“…A snake?” Second Brother’s voice trembled.

“I don’t eat snakes.”

Gu Yi burst out laughing. “Who said only snakes live in holes? It’s definitely not a snake! It’s a rabbit or a bamboo rat, both are delicious, and unlike pork, they taste different.”

The three of them finally relaxed and happily asked how to catch it.

“Go and check if there are any other holes around.”

There were three holes in total, just the right number for their baskets. Gu Yi emptied the herbs and mushrooms into the baskets and covered the holes with them.

“I’ll light a fire and make smoke to drive them out! You must keep an eye on the holes so they don’t escape.”

Gu Yi lit the fire starter, bundled some nearby weeds together, and set them alight. The smoke quickly billowed out.

“Second Brother, come here and fan the fire! Blow the smoke into the hole!”

Second Brother reluctantly waved the smoke toward the hole using a large leaf.

The other two holes were guarded by Gu Yi and Dalang.

Jia Yue followed closely behind her older sister, and Gu Yi made a hushing motion. Jia Yue immediately widened her eyes and sealed her lips.

After a while, the wind shifted, and the smoke blew directly toward her, making her eyes water and threatening to make her retreat. Just then, there was a noise.

A plump white rabbit jumped out of the hole.

“It’s coming! It’s coming!”

At the sound of her voice, Dalang and Second Brother couldn’t help but look over.

Gu Yi’s eyes lit up, and with quick hands and feet, she covered the rabbit with the basket.

She then reached inside and pulled the rabbit out by its neck, tying its four legs together with a thick vine, then handed it to Jia Yue.

“woahhh！” (And there’s more!)

Another slightly smaller gray rabbit appeared, and Gu Yi skillfully repeated the process, tying it securely.

Dalang, feeling disappointed, suddenly shouted, “I’ve got one too!”

In total, they caught three plump rabbits, tied them together into a bundle, and would have a hearty meal for dinner.

Jia Yue petted the rabbit, thrilled.

Dalang raised an eyebrow. “Yue’er, do you like rabbits?”

Jia Yue nodded eagerly. “Fat rabbits, so tasty!”

Everyone suppressed their laughter, relieved that she hadn’t said she wanted to keep them as pets.

These rabbits would be difficult to keep—feeding them with the wild grass by the sea would last only ten to fifteen days, and they’d have to run up to the mountain again to cut more.

——

On the way back, people who saw the rabbits Gu Yi and her siblings had caught couldn’t help but envy them. “Did you find these in the mountains? Such plump rabbits!”

Gu Yi smiled and replied, “You’ve had quite a haul yourself.”

They arrived home just in time for dinner, and Gu Yi immediately killed the fattest rabbit.

As she worked, she asked, “What do you want to eat? How should we cook it?”

Jia Yue hated soup because she was always forced to drink it. “I don’t want rabbit soup.”

Second Brother shook his head too. “I don’t want meat soup!”

Wang Yulan, annoyed, knocked their heads. “What’s wrong with soup? Soup is nourishing and good for the body. You don’t know how beneficial it is!”

Gu Yi smiled, “It’s not good to always drink soup. Let’s eat something different today!”

“We’ll have barbecue!”

“Definitely delicious!”

Dalang and Second Brother ran to the kitchen to prepare charcoal, while Gu Yi set up a small outdoor fire with stones and added the charcoal.

“Sis, what do we do next?” the younger siblings asked eagerly.

Gu Yi found a lot of wooden skewers and threaded oysters, scallops, snail meat, fish, and big octopus tentacles onto them. She also skewered the whole rabbit, coating everything in oil and soy sauce, then sprinkled some chili powder. The aroma was divine.

She used two large skewers to thread the entire rabbit onto them.

The seafood and rabbit meat skewers were now ready for grilling.

This simple version of grilling was a bit less convenient than the usual iron racks, but it was still manageable.

Each of them took a few skewers and held them over the fire, listening to the sizzling sounds as the meat cooked.

“It’s done, it’s done!”

Gu Yi pointed at the oyster skewers Jia Yue was holding.

Jia Yue carefully removed one, coating it with chili powder.

Seeing her eyes darting around, Gu Yi laughed and asked, “Who are you going to give the first skewer to?”

Jia Yue’s eyes shifted, and she handed it to Wang Yulan.

Although Wang Yulan thought eating skewers wasn’t great for the body, her daughter’s gesture was more important. Smiling broadly, she took the skewer and ate it with big bites. “Thank you, Yue’er.”

The first bite was truly surprising—it tasted amazing.

Jia Yue continued passing skewers to her sister and brothers.

Gu Yi took a bite from her younger sister’s hand. The octopus tentacles were crispy and tender, full of meat, and incredibly fragrant. The taste was far better than any skewers she had eaten in her past life—one hundred times better.