Chapter 116 : No Human Touch

When Jiang Yu brought out chestnuts and persimmons, many people were staring at her.

Before long, a woman approached, saying, “Girl, will you trade your chestnuts and persimmons? I’ll give you some red dates in exchange.”

“Red dates?” Jiang Yu glanced over.

The woman opened her bag, “Look at my red dates, they’re big and sweet. Try one! With these, you can make a delicious red date and chestnut cake at home.”

Jiang Yu took a bite of the red date and it was indeed quite sweet.

But she was more interested in that red date and chestnut cake.

“How do you make that red date and chestnut cake?”

She had never heard of it before.

The woman was enthusiastic and, seeing Jiang Yu’s interest, explained the recipe in detail.

So, Jiang Yu exchanged three pounds of chestnuts and three large persimmons for two pounds of red dates, planning to try making that red date and chestnut cake at home.

Once back in the city, Jiang Yu, with Jiang Ye, lugged big bags home.

Luckily, they had a bicycle otherwise, it would have been quite a struggle.

Xu Lihua came down the steps, eyes wide open.

“Wow! How come there are three chickens? Didn’t you say you’d only bring two hens?”

Jiang Yu smirked, “I got lucky and found a wild chicken and a rabbit on the mountain.”

“There’s a rabbit too?” Xu Lihua was astonished. “Where is it? Let me see!”

Jiang Yu ignored her, “Aunt Xu, I’m busy. We’ll talk later!”

She took Jiang Ye inside, and as soon as she closed the door and set her things down, she hurriedly gulped down two large cups of water.

Just then, He Tingyue finished dinner with his three younger siblings and saw Jiang Yu like this, and he felt really sorry for her.

“Slow down, it’s bad for your stomach.”

Exhausted, Jiang Yu sat down on the steps, pointing to the stuff on the ground.

“I’m out of energy, you all take a look.”

He Feiyan and the two younger siblings couldn’t sit still and rushed out to check what Jiang Yu had brought back.

They had heard from Xu Lihua about the wild chicken and rabbit, but seeing how plump they were up close was another story.

All three of them swallowed hard in unison.

This was all meat!

He Lilan licked her lips, “Sister-in-law, there’s still one chicken left!”

They had eaten at the cafeteria for lunch today since Jiang Yu was not home, and He Tingyue didn’t feel like cooking.

As a result, the chicken they brought back yesterday was still alive and kicking today.

Jiang Yu leaned against He Tingyue as he massaged her shoulders.

“Okay, tonight we’re having meat. Let’s see what to eat first.”

Since everything was still alive, they could manage it.

He Feiyan and He Lilan cheered, jumping for joy.

He Zhengdong, who was a bit awkward but clearly pleased, watched them.

“Zhengdong, Lilan, you two empty out the basket of mushrooms. I picked a lot of matsutake, and they need to be spread out to dry otherwise, they’ll spoil.”

Collecting matsutake didn’t take much effort, but it was rare to find.

He Feiyan’s eyes sparkled with admiration. “Sister-in-law, you’re amazing!”

Jiang Yu felt a bit shy, “It’s not all my credit. Ah Ye, Liu Zi, and Tieniu helped a lot.”

The three siblings were busily taking care of the chicken and rabbit Jiang Yu brought back, placing them in a corner of the yard.

They sorted the chestnuts and persimmons from yesterday, spreading out the matsutake, lion’s mane mushrooms, and various other mushrooms to dry.

He Tingyue asked, “Have you eaten yet?”

Jiang Ye shook his head, “With so much stuff, it wasn’t convenient.”

Jiang Yu looked up with a pitiful expression, “I’m so hungry I could faint.”

“What do you want to eat? I can make it?”

Jiang Yu replied, “Just steam some sausages for us to eat with buns. You all should go to work or school, while Jiang Ye and I stay home to peel the persimmons. The weather is nice these days, perfect for drying them into persimmon cakes.”

He Tingyue quickly got up and went to the kitchen to steam sausages and warm up the buns.

Besides that, he also made them a tomato egg drop soup.

“Where did the tomatoes come from?” Jiang Yu’s eyes lit up.

He Tingyue served her a bowl, “I heard from Sister Lin that they had some, so I bought a few with the grocery voucher. I’ll make you some sweet tomato salad later.”

“Great.”

Jiang Yu and Jiang Ye gobbled down the sausages and buns.

Climbing the mountain was hard work, and they were both starving.

After eating and drinking their fill, Jiang Yu said, “Can Jiang Ye stay over tonight? It’ll be convenient to take him to report tomorrow.”

“Sure, he can share a room with Zhengdong.”

He looked at the time and stood up.

“Everyone go to school.” He had to go to work too.

He Feiyan reluctantly withdrew her gaze, “Sister-in-law, can I take two persimmons for my teacher?”

“Sure, take a few more, there are plenty.”

He Feiyan shook her head, “No need, two is enough.”

He Tingyue followed the three younger siblings out, and the house finally quieted down again.

“Ah Ye, go get some water, and I’ll clean these matsutake and lion’s mane mushrooms.”

She planned to dry those two types of mushrooms first and save the assorted ones for now.

While she was washing the mushrooms, many people were watching, wondering if Jiang Yu would give them some like she did yesterday.

They waited and waited, but Jiang Yu didn’t come out.

Xu Lihua made several rounds and finally couldn’t help but approach Jiang Yu.

“Wow, is this matsutake? It looks so fresh.”

Jiang Yu smiled but didn’t look up.

“Aunt Xu, this was just picked, so it’s definitely fresh.”

Xu Lihua looked enviously, “Jiang Yu, how about giving me some? I haven’t had matsutake in a long time.”

Jiang Yu frowned in distress, “Aunt Xu, that puts me in a tough spot. If I give you some, what about the others in the courtyard? If I give to everyone, I won’t even have enough for myself.”

Xu Lihua hurriedly said, “Just give me some, why worry about them?”

Jiang Yu shook her head, “I have a lot of kids at home, and this isn’t enough for us to eat. I really can’t give any away. If you want some, you can also take a trip to the mountains.”

Xu Lihua’s face darkened, “At my age, with my old arms and legs, how can I go running around?”

“Then Aunt, don’t be greedy. I’m busy, so I won’t keep you.” Jiang Yu directly ushered her away.

Xu Lihua huffed in annoyance and left grumbling.

So stingy! With so much stuff, she wouldn’t die from it.

Lin Hongxia scoffed, “Old Xu, did you get anything?”

Xu Lihua coldly huffed, “She’s getting stingier by the day. Yesterday there were chestnuts, and today she won’t even give us those! Being neighbors with her is such bad luck, no sense of human kindness! Today’s young people, tsk tsk, they just don’t measure up.”

“You don’t know, last time I saw Zhengdong and Lilan crying because Jiang Yu made clothes for her brother but didn’t make any for them! I told you, she doesn’t treat those two well. Who knows when she’ll send them back to their hometown.”