Chapter 172

The Ding family is currently in high spirits.

The scent of honey filled the entire house.

“Jiajia, this honeycomb is wonderful! Your father and I have been thinking about it for a long time. Who would have thought that a heavy rainstorm would help us out,” Aunt Ding, Qin Yilin, said with a beaming, plump face.

She felt no guilt at all about having destroyed the bees’ nest.

Ding Heli was cutting the massive honeycomb into small pieces and putting them into a wooden bucket. When he saw his precious daughter looking uninterested, he called out, “Jiajia, try it. It’s especially sweet.”

He and Yilin had gone out early in the morning and spent a long time bringing it back.

Ding Jiajia looked at the wooden bucket almost full of honey, picked a piece with a bamboo stick, and put it in her mouth, as usual, showing her support: “You two are amazing. This honey can be sold for a good price at the grocery store, and the beeswax can be sold to the cosmetics shop for a good amount as well.”

Beeswax can be made into lip balm, which keeps the lips moist, and those ladies love it.

She could make it too, but her parents wouldn’t let her.

Actually, her parents were very skilled, far beyond just gathering herbs and simple preparations, but they didn’t use their skills. Whenever she asked about it, they would only say that as long as they had enough to eat and use, any more would be a burden.

How could having more money be a burden? However, now that life was better, it was normal for her parents not to want to work too hard to earn money.

Qin Yilin looked at her precious daughter, who had recently lost weight again, and revealed a surprise: “Jiajia, mom is making roasted rabbit for you tonight. Your father caught a very fat wild rabbit, and it will surely be delicious.”

The villagers would trade rabbits with Hu Shuiqing to raise them, but their family didn’t need to because the man of the house was skilled at catching wild game! This saved the family the trouble of raising rabbits and ensured a constant supply of meat, making it much more comfortable and cost-effective than raising rabbits.

Hearing that there would be roasted rabbit for dinner, Ding Jiajia’s face showed not joy but obvious worry.

Her mother’s roasted rabbit, well, she’d eaten it many times, and it was always burnt on the outside and raw on the inside, really not tasty. She would rather eat green vegetables and radishes.

Qin Yilin, recalling the past unpleasant experiences for Jiajia, quickly added, “This time is different. Do you know why your father and I got honey today? Because mom heard from Aunt Zhang in the village that Shuiqing’s honey-glazed roasted rabbit is delicious. If she can make it taste good, so can I!”

Ding Jiajia suddenly looked up and blinked, softly asking, “Shuiqing?”

Her sister?

Was her mother familiar with her?

Qin Yilin saw that her precious daughter was finally interested. Indeed, the honey-glazed roasted rabbit worked, so she happily said, “Yes, her family raises rabbits, and many people in the village trade rabbits with her. Your Aunt Zhang is one of them. Shuiqing not only teaches them how to raise rabbits but also how to cook them deliciously. This recipe was taught by her to your Aunt Zhang, and then Aunt Zhang told me. It’s guaranteed to be delicious.”

Ding Jiajia was cautious and gently asked, “Mom, are you sure Aunt Zhang taught you well and you can make it taste good?”

Qin Yilin looked up, a bit puzzled, thinking about the steps. Was she really taught well?

Why did she feel a bit uncertain?

Can she make it taste good? She was even more uncertain.

She looked at her husband, worried, and asked, “What if I can’t make it taste good?”

Ding Heli wanted to say that she had never made anything tasty before.

However, he couldn’t do it either. At least Yilin could cook the food well enough to eat without causing stomach issues, which was already pretty good.

He looked at Jiajia, who had lost some weight again, and suggested, “How about this? We’ll pack two big jars of honey for you to take to her. Get to know her and learn directly from the expert?”

Hopefully, she can learn, maybe, possibly, hopefully?

Qin Yilin’s plump face beamed with a bigger smile, continually praising, “The head of the house is really thoughtful!”

“Yes, although they don’t raise rabbits or pick mushrooms and can’t use those to interact with Hu Shuiqing, they can give gifts.

Gifts are always well-received.

And from what Aunt Zhang said, Shuiqing is a generous and straightforward person, a kind soul.

Following the expert to learn cooking, she’s absolutely confident she can make the dishes well!

Their family is small, and they can’t finish all these things anyway. Giving two large jars of honey is quite cost-effective.

Ding Jiajia initially wanted to say that they didn’t need to go to such lengths just for her to have a tasty meal, but she held back.

She thought it would be good to get to know Shuiqing and make more acquaintances in the village.

Thinking about meeting Shuiqing, she nervously asked, ‘Mom, can I go with you?’

Qin Yilin looked over in surprise, ‘You usually don’t like going out.’

Her daughter only loved those herbs, tending to them like treasures every day, putting all her attention into them. She even suspected her daughter would spend her whole life with herbs.

‘Okay, okay, if Jiajia wants to go out, just take her. Why ask so many questions?’ Ding Heli quickly interrupted, afraid that his daughter might change her mind about going out.

Qin Yilin snapped out of it, ‘Right, right, mom will hurry up, and we’ll take you there in a bit.’

She aimed to learn it before dinner so they could have honey-glazed roasted rabbit that evening!

‘Ding family, good news, great news!’ came a dramatic woman’s shout from outside.

The Ding couple looked at each other. Qin Yilin wiped her hands and walked out.

Seeing Sun Jinhua and Fan Erzhu outside the house, she narrowed her eyes and spoke with a harsh tone, ‘What is it?’

Last time, she had listened to her husband, softening her heart and giving a light amount, which led this family to pester them from time to time.

As expected, men only influenced her ability to handle things firmly.

Aunt Fan face was full of smiles, her voice loud, ‘It’s about your daughter Ding Jiajia’s marriage. Isn’t that great news?’

Qin Yilin took a deep breath to calm herself, or else she feared she might throw some medicinal powder and send the three of them to the afterlife.

No, she had to stay calm. It wasn’t easy for them to escape their past troubles, settle down here, and raise their daughter. If they were exposed, it would be bad.

It wasn’t easy to live a good life.

‘Haven’t you had your eye on the Fan family’s boy for a while now? Look, I brought him today. Their family agrees.

But let me make it clear, it’s a marriage, not a matrilocal residence. There’s no bride price, and after the marriage, they’ll live in your house. The children will take the Fan family’s surname. But don’t worry, a son will eventually take care of your funeral.’ Fan Damei’s face was beaming, thinking this marriage was a done deal. She would at least be considered a matchmaker.

A matchmaker would get a matchmaker’s gift, including a set of clothes and shoes.

Oh, this solid marriage was such an easy way to get her matchmaker’s gift.

‘What? Will a son taking care of the funeral bring my husband and me back to life or prevent us from dying?’ Qin Yilin’s face was as dark as the stormy sky a few days ago, and she retorted.

They didn’t want a matrilocal residence, didn’t want to pay a bride price, yet wanted to live in her house, have the children take their surname, and only mentioned a funeral but not supporting them in their old age. What? Her daughter couldn’t take care of their funeral?

This family had not only big but thick-skinned faces. Did they really think their son could marry a princess?

She waved her hand like swatting flies, ‘Get out, get out. I’m busy and don’t have time to waste on you.’

She needed to hurry and pack the honey to go to Shuiqing’s house and learn to roast the rabbit~”