Chapter 33: The Twins’ Magic

“What did he see?”

Yan Xiaoyue glanced at the man beside her and muttered to herself.

If she hadn’t seen the fleeting fear in Zhu Qiang’s eyes, she wouldn’t have known why he left.

“Maybe he’s afraid there are too many of us,” Yan Shu leaned over, but was gently pushed away by Jin Chao.

“Guilty conscience.”

Jin Chao looked coldly at the door, then sat back down.

“Have dinner here before you go back,” Old Man Yan stood up. The family was all together, lively and warm.

“Okay.”

Jin Chao decided to stay.

Yan Xiaoyue decided to let her older brother take charge of cooking tonight. He was probably a decent cook, just stingy with ingredients. It’s different from running a business; some things can’t be saved.

“We’ll have sauerkraut fish and a big plate of chicken tonight.” These two dishes are generous with ingredients, especially the fish, which is usually a whole fish.

If they could find a fish farm, they could use fresh fish every day.

She had a fish pond in her space; she didn’t know how many fish were in it. If there weren’t many, she would buy some fish fry to raise.

“More!”

Yan Heng’s hand trembled, and under his mother’s gaze, he added another spoonful of oil.

“More!”

These dishes require a lot of oil and salt. If you’re stingy, they won’t taste good, especially this step of pouring hot oil.

“Nier, we don’t have much oil left. When we cook at the shop, we can add more, right?”

Mu Fangru felt it was wasteful, looking at the half-gone oil, she wanted to beat her unfilial children with a branch.

She also wanted to throw away the worn-out shoes in her other hand.

“Mom, just wait and taste it, it’ll be ready soon.”

Yan Xiaoyue pulled her mother away. Seeing her brother’s hesitant manner, she was worried he would be too stingy with the oil.

“Xiaoyue, isn’t this too wasteful?”

Yan Heng also felt it was too much.

“Big brother, this is high-quality black fish, we’ve raised it for several days. With so much oil, if you don’t cook it well, guess how Mom and Dad will scold you?”

Yan Xiaoyue remembered that her parents’ combined scolding was very painful.

“Okay, I’ll listen to you.”

Yan Heng began to put the fish into the bowl, the hot oil began to sizzle, and the fish was topped with scallions and chili peppers.

The hot oil was poured over, filling the entire courtyard with aroma.

The essence of the big plate chicken is to stir-fry the chicken until fragrant, then add tomatoes and onions. Locals reportedly call it “pijiazi”!

She directed from the side as her brother wielded the spatula.

“Big brother, in a few days I’ll buy more fish, shrimp, and chicken. Practice these dishes at home. Once you master these, the rest will be easy.”

Yan Xiaoyue remembered that these dishes were popular. But many people still ate braised pork, so she would have to buy a few more pigs to raise.

When the big plate chicken was ready, a circle of people gathered outside the house, and some even went to find Old Man Yan.

“Your family isn’t planning to live a proper life, eating so well without any special occasion?”

Linshui Village was poor, and their family was especially poor. Their uncle and aunt lived elsewhere, occasionally eating meat, so no one questioned them.

But they were different. One meal attracted so many people criticizing them for not living frugally. It was truly laughable.

“Oh, sister-in-law, you don’t know. Our family is struggling. We were lucky today; my father caught a fish, so I stayed for a meal. We had no choice; our only laying hen died today, its body covered in blood from some bite. Sister-in-law, you should watch your chickens when you get home.”

Yan Xiaoyue’s tearful account stunned everyone.

Hearing her, the crowd lost interest and went home to count their chickens.

“Humph! They can’t stand to see others doing well.”

Yan Xiaoyue clapped her hands and ran into the kitchen, carrying the freshly served chicken. She ran into Old Man Yan.

The two stared at each other. Yan Xiaoyue wondered if it was still possible to retreat.

Then she thought, this is her home, why should she leave?

“What business do you have?”

Yan Xiaoyue calmly placed the chicken on the table in the main room. The old man’s arrival ruined the meal.

She had planned to give the old man some as a filial gesture, but now he came himself.

He looked furious, but she didn’t know why.

“Your family is doing so well now?”

Old Man Yan’s questioning tone left her speechless. What did he mean?

“Grandpa, where did you hear that? We’re not as well-off as Uncle’s family. My cousin even opened a shop in the city.”

Yan Xiaoyue glanced away. It was truly a joke. To expect their family to contribute was wishful thinking.

Her parents had always stayed home because of the old man, checking on their sons who weren’t around. Which one wasn’t doing better than Old Man Yan?

His heart was biased to the moon.

It was because Old Man Yan was favored, while his identical uncle who fell into the water and died was ignored. They should have loved Old Man Yan even more in that situation.

Instead, his grandparents seemed to ignore Old Man Yan.

Her uncles’ houses were brick houses, while their house was a mud house.

Her uncle’s family was rarely home, and their four children lived with their grandparents. Unlike their three children, who had never seen a grain of rice from their grandparents’ house.

It was truly laughable. Now he was pointing fingers at their family. Why?

Was he worried that their family would be better off than the other three?

“Your cousin opened a shop because she’s capable. She got into Kyoto University. If you get into a university, I won’t care about your family anymore.”

Old Man Yan sat down in the house, watching her brother bring in a bowl of chicken. Seeing his grandfather sitting at the door, he said, “Grandpa, you’re here. Just eat here, so I don’t have to send it to you.”

Yan Heng put the bowl of chicken on the table, even bigger than the bowl Yan Xiaoyue had carried earlier.

“This is for me? Then I’ll take it back.” Old Man Yan picked up the bowl and left.

Watching his back, Yan Xiaoyue frowned.

“This is interesting. I wonder what magic those twins have that makes Grandpa so devoted to them. But they’re also interesting, not knowing how to care for their grandfather.”

In the original owner’s memory, the twins didn’t show up when their grandparents passed away.

She wondered if Old Man Yan would be so angry that he couldn’t even keep his coffin lid closed if he knew.

“Let’s just live our own lives and not worry about others.”

Mu Fangru patted her head, handed her a pair of chopsticks, and urged her to eat quickly.

“Otherwise, it’ll be dark when we get home.”

Seeing the darkening sky, the two ate much faster.