Chapter 33

Each person had a bowl of mutton noodles. The soup was milky white, the mutton was soft and glutinous, and there were two or three pieces of soaked white radish at the bottom of the bowl.

Xu Ning’s nose was sweating as he ate the food. It was delicious, really delicious!

The soup made from sheep bones tastes better than the one made with messy technology, especially the white radish, which seems to melt between the teeth with every bite.

Seeing how delicious she was eating, He Beian rarely took the initiative to speak: “The chef who made mutton noodles is an old craftsman. I have been eating it since I was a child.”

Xu Ning took a break from her busy schedule to look up at him, her eyes and eyebrows widened with a smile, as if she was dazzled by the aroma. “It’s delicious, better than any mutton noodles I’ve had before.”

She really thought so. It tasted better than anything she had eaten in her previous life.

But when He Beian heard these words, he remembered what his mother said about Xu Ning not having a good life at home, and perhaps she had never eaten mutton noodles in her life.

Feeling a little reluctant, he generously said, “It’s delicious, come back next time.”

Xu Ning just took it as a casual remark. She didn’t want to receive anything without doing anything. She wasn’t that thick-skinned.

···The reason why she agreed today was because she went with me to buy vegetable seeds, and would help plant them after she returned.

This bowl of noodles will be my service fee.

After dinner, the two took a bus home. He Beian took the initiative to pay for the tickets for two people. Xu Ning had just eaten mutton noodles that someone treated him to, so he felt a little guilty. Perhaps this is the legendary “the mouth that is soft when the food is eaten”…

Fortunately, she had a conscience but not much, and she didn’t impulsively pay for the ticket herself. She saved every penny she could.

She still owes He Beian forty-five dollars!

When they got home, Hu Xianglan had already returned and was turning the soil under the fruit trees with a hoe. The two fruit trees were next to the wall, and there was a large area underneath.

Seeing the young couple come in, Hu Xianglan stood up with the help of her hoe, and said in a friendly and kind manner: “Are you back? How was the rapeseed you bought? Have you eaten? There is food left for you in the kitchen.”

“I ate some mutton noodles.” Xu Ning said as he walked towards the fruit tree, pretending to go over to help with the work.

As soon as she entered the yard, she began to observe her mother-in-law’s expression, trying to tell from her face the result of her trip. Unfortunately, the old lady hid it very deeply, and she couldn’t see it at all.

If Qian Sanhong was found and the two hundred yuan was returned, there was no way the old lady would start turning the soil. In all likelihood, she would be ordered to do this job.

But if she said she didn’t find it, she didn’t look unhappy at all. If it were Xu Ning, she would probably be lying on the bed like an emo.

He Beian put the paper bag in his hand on the windowsill, and then took the other things in his hand to the kitchen.

After coming out of the kitchen, he said to his mother who was trying to snatch the hoe from his daughter-in-law, “Mom, don’t do this little work, I’ll do it.”

Hu Xianglan looked at the hoe held by Xu Ning, sighed and gave up: “Okay, you two can do it, I’ll go back to the house and rest for a while.”

After saying that, he really turned around and walked back.

“······” Xu Ning looked down at the hoe in his hand, then looked at Hu Xianglan who seemed to be forced to go back to the house…

No, this hoe was forced upon her!

She didn’t want to take it!

She had just walked over and hadn’t had time to say anything when a hoe was stuffed into her arms. Before she could return it, He Beian spoke.

Besides, He Beian was talking about him doing it, but as soon as the old lady started talking, it became something they did together.

He Beian agreed with the other people in the cafeteria that he would not go there at noon. He found an easier job for Xu Ning: “I’ll turn the soil, you sort the rapeseeds, and then go to the kitchen to get the egg shells.”

“Yeah.” Xu Ning put down the hoe, went to the windowsill, took the paper bag and sat down at the stone table.

The seeds in the paper bags were mixed together. She put the seeds of the same kind into a small pile like picking beans. After she had sorted them all out, she went to the kitchen and took out a small bamboo basket of egg shells.

These egg shells must have been saved for a while. Before planting the seeds in the ground, they need to be germinated first. The survival rate of germinated seeds is much higher than that of directly planting seeds.

Xu Ning also found the method of growing vegetables from her original body’s memory, and she is basically the one who does all this work in their family.

If the seeds are relatively large and have a thick skin, you should make a small cut on the edge to allow the small teeth to grow out. When cutting, be careful not to damage the embryo inside the seed.

As long as the smaller seeds are kept moist and at a suitable temperature, they will quickly grow small teeth.

Xu Ning placed the eggshells neatly in a bamboo basket and threw two or three seeds into each eggshell. Before all the seeds were thrown in, He Beian had finished his work.

Seeing her throwing seeds, He Beian went into the house to prepare water and put the rapeseed in. The next step was to water the plants.

The water should not be too much but not too little. It all depends on experience.

Seeing him get the watering can, Xu Ning breathed a sigh of relief. She had just been wondering whether she should ask him to water the rapeseed since he had not finished his work after throwing the rapeseed. Xu Ning knew the process just by looking at her memory, but she didn’t think she could do this kind of work that relied entirely on experience.

Just like the right amount mentioned in the cooking tutorial, how to do it right is a century-old problem for people who don’t know how to cook. Even being accurate to grams is much better than the right amount.

He Beian came over with a watering can, squatted beside the bamboo basket and sprinkled water into the eggshells. The amount of water varied depending on the seeds in the eggshells.

After sprinkling the water, he held the bamboo basket and placed it in the kitchen where the sun could shine, then found a piece of cloth to cover the bamboo basket.

After he moved the bamboo basket away, Xu Ning got up and rushed into her mother-in-law’s room next door. Although she looked as calm as a mountain while working, she was actually very anxious.

Regardless of whether it is Qian Sanhong or not, there must be some definite news.

How could Hu Xianglan not know that Xu Ning was anxious? She just didn’t say it on purpose to make her anxious.

After all, she suffered such a huge loss, and she would feel unhappy if she didn’t get it back from somewhere else.

As soon as Xu Ning entered the room, she was fixed by Hu Xianglan’s gaze who was sitting behind the sewing machine. The half-cut clothes she had cut in the morning were spread out on the empty space next to the sewing machine.

“You placed the scissors crookedly when you were cutting. The upper and lower pieces of cloth are different sizes. If you make a piece of clothing, the left and right lapels will be different lengths.”

“?” Xu Ning really didn’t notice it, so he walked over to take a look, and it was true!

The upper one is slightly larger than the lower one. If you don’t notice this, the left and right sides will be of different sizes when you make it.

Xu Ning picked up the two pieces of cloth and studied them carefully, praising them casually: “Mom, you are really good. I didn’t even notice the difference in size. Please teach me how to hold the scissors.”

So easy to talk to? Hu Xianglan’s tone was not very good when she spoke. She thought Xu Ning would be reluctant and upset with her, but she ended up just teaching her how to hold the scissors in a simple way?

“You don’t even know how to use a pair of scissors, and you want to learn how to make clothes.” Glancing at Xu Ning secretly, Hu Xianglan grumbled in dissatisfaction. Her voice was not loud, but people around her could definitely hear it.

Xu Ning heard it clearly, but she had a hunch that Hu Xianglan was deliberately trying to make her angry.

Why do you want to make her angry on purpose? What good would it do for her to be angry?