Chapter 9: The Food Made by Comrade Xi Youyou Smells So Good

The shopkeeper’s wife put the electric fan into a box. Xi Youyou smiled and said: “Please plug it in and test it for me. I need to make sure there’s nothing wrong with this fan.”

“You’re such a smart girl! If you hadn’t reminded me, I would’ve forgotten!” The shopkeeper’s wife responded with a cheerful smile.

She had indeed forgotten just a moment ago. Now, she took the fan out, plugged it in to test it, and confirmed that it worked properly. Only then did Xi Youyou accept it and paid for it.

These small-scale vendors sold household appliances that were usually acquired through informal means. The price they sold at was nearly double the actual cost, so the ten yuan that Xi Youyou bargained off only meant they earned a little less. They sold so many every day that they didn’t mind the small loss.

Just as Xi Youyou was about to leave with the fan in her arms, a young couple entered the shop and bought three at once.

She watched them for a moment, then carried her fan and left. On the first floor, she bought some snacks.

Money in this era really went a long way. She bought a big bag of snacks and spent only a few yuan.

She also bought some pork ribs and a bit of pork belly at a nearby meat stall.

She picked up a few condiments that were running low at home.

After buying the meat, she saw some bone-in pork shanks nearby. Xi Youyou thought about buying them to make soup for the two children, since pork shank bones were quite nutritious.

In this era, pork bones were scraped clean and glossy, not a bit of meat left on them. When the vendor heard Xi Youyou asking about them, he charged her only one jiao and gave them to her.

After all, she had already bought quite a bit from him.

Occasionally, people came specifically to buy just the bones to make soup. Using the broth to cook vegetables gave them a hint of meatiness.

If a customer didn’t buy any meat, he would charge a bit more for the bones.

After buying everything, Xi Youyou carried several big and small bags, walked through a small alley, and when there was no one around, she took some fruit out of her spatial dimension and added them to her haul.

She placed the fruit into the mesh bag where she had packed the snacks, and even took out a can of preserved fruit.

Carrying everything, she found the bicycle she had parked earlier and rode back home.

Although she still sometimes felt that transmigrating into a novel was hard to believe, her current life was actually quite enjoyable.

So, she decided to just go with it for now.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆

When Xi Youyou brought the things home, the two little ones were already awake.

Seeing her come back carrying so many bags, Xiao Bao ran up to her and asked: “Comrade Xi Youyou, what did you buy?”

“I bought some snacks for you two, and some fruit. I also bought meat. This afternoon we can cook a meat dish.”

As Xi Youyou spoke, she placed the bags on the steps and shook out her sore hands. She hadn’t expected it to be so tiring.

But that was because the Original Owner used to enjoy benefits without doing any actual work, practically glued to the bed every day, never doing any exercise. Of course she was out of shape.

She figured she’d have to incorporate some exercise from now on, get her body in shape.

She came from a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, and she valued health and wellness.

With good health, everything else was possible.

“Brother, come quick! There’s snacks!” Xiao Bao, upon hearing there were snacks, immediately called out for her brother.

Da Bao came running out of the room and, upon seeing all kinds of delicious treats in the bag, exclaimed: “Wow!”

Even the usually reserved Da Bao couldn’t help but let out a surprised cry. They had never seen these kinds of snacks before.

Xi Youyou smiled. She had bought some at the department store and taken out some from her space—these were the ones she used to store for herself back then.

Of course the two children had never seen them before.

“New stock at the department store.” she casually explained.

The two kids grabbed the snacks with big grins and laughed loudly. Inside the house, Xu Xiu, who was still working on a shoe sole, glanced outside but didn’t say anything.

As long as she saw that the children were being bought things, that was enough.

She also noticed there was meat and fruit in the bags.

It seemed that Xi Youyou still had this family on her mind. Compared to before, she had improved quite a bit.

“The snacks are for you two, but don’t eat too much. Don’t finish them in a day or two—you should make them last a few days. Otherwise, your teeth will go bad!”

Xi Youyou handed the snacks to Da Bao and added: “Share some of the canned fruit with Grandpa and Grandma. No eating everything by yourself!”

Eat everything by yourself?

Hearing that, Da Bao looked up at the person standing in front of him. In the past, the one who always ate everything by herself in this house had been this very Comrade Xi Youyou!

Only then did Xi Youyou realize her own words and gave herself a light smack on the forehead.

What was she even saying just now?

“I was wrong. I won’t eat everything by myself anymore, and I hope you two won’t be like I was either.” she confessed.

Only then did Da Bao take the snacks and walk away.

Watching the two little ones look so happy, Xi Youyou unpacked the electric fan box and carried it to the main room, where she turned it on.

As soon as it was turned on, the fan started spinning, and a cool breeze filled the room. Da Bao and Xiao Bao quickly dropped off their snacks in the bedroom and came running.

The weather was unbearably hot. Big drops of sweat dripped from their heads. Da Bao’s hair was soaked.

Xiao Bao’s braids had stuck together, and her bangs clung to her forehead uncomfortably, damp and sticky.

Feeling the refreshing breeze, the two of them stood right in front of the fan.

“You can’t stand so close to the fan.” Xi Youyou said, pulling them back by the hand. “Don’t stand too close. You’re hot from running around, and if you get too much of the cool air, you’ll catch a cold.”

Hearing the word “cold.” both children immediately stepped back a little. They were afraid of getting sick and needing injections.

Especially Xiao Bao—she would cry for a long time whenever she got a shot.

Watching Xi Youyou interact with the kids, Xu Xiu, having just finished a shoe sole and set it aside, also walked over to enjoy the breeze.

Even though the fan would probably be moved to Xi Youyou’s room at night, everyone could use it during the day, so it was still acceptable.

“Dad, Mom, have some fruit first. I bought some meat—we can cook some this afternoon. I also got two bones so we can make bone broth for the kids!”

Xi Youyou handed over two fresh fruits, but the elderly couple seemed hesitant to take them.

“Are these fruits expensive?”

Sometimes they also bought things for the children, but fruit really was quite pricey. They had always been reluctant to spend on it.

In this era, fruit wasn’t widely circulated. People might get to taste a few wild fruits from the mountains, but not many actually bought fruit, which naturally made the prices go up.

But the fruit Xi Youyou had brought out was taken from her space—it hadn’t cost her anything.

“It’s fine. I bargained with the vendor. She said these had been sitting out for a few days and weren’t selling well, so she let me have them for cheap. Come on, eat up!”

Hearing Xi Youyou say that, the elderly couple, though still a little hesitant, joined the two children in eating a few pieces of fruit.

The fruit was sweet. After finishing, the two little ones squinted their eyes and smiled. “The fruit is so sweet!”

Seeing the joy on their faces, Xi Youyou truly felt happy. Just a few pieces of fruit, and they were this delighted.

Without even thinking, she said: “Then I’ll buy fruit for you more often.”

The two kids jumped up and down with excitement. The elderly couple sat off to the side, saying nothing. It was true that it was good for the children to eat more fruit, but since fruit was expensive, they rarely bought it.

The fan had now been brought home. Though it was placed in the living room for now and blowing cool air around, which made everyone feel much more comfortable, they knew that at night it would go into Xi Youyou’s room.

When that happened, they would still have to suffer the heat.

Xi Youyou sat quietly off to one side. The elderly couple remained silent as well. The two children, on the other hand, happily ran around the main room.

With the fan blowing, they no longer felt overheated as they had earlier. Their hair wasn’t sticking to their foreheads anymore, and naturally, they were full of joy.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆

In the afternoon—

Xi Youyou brought out the meat and pork ribs she had bought. In this time period, most people’s lives were hard, and few households could afford to eat meat every day.

She set aside the ribs, planning to use them to make soup the next day. As for the pork belly, she had bought quite a lot. She sliced off half of it to stir-fry that afternoon and planned to salt the rest the next morning to preserve it.

From then on, they could eat preserved meat.

When she cooked, her use of seasoning was moderate. Plus, the ingredients in this era were fresh, without the futuristic high-tech enhancements of later generations. Keeping the original flavor was enough.

She sliced the pork belly thinly and marinated it with a bit of salt first.

Then, she heated oil in the wok, added the seasonings, and tossed in the pork belly. A mouthwatering aroma soon drifted from the kitchen.

The two little ones in the main room could already smell it. Xiao Bao tiptoed as she looked toward the kitchen and said: “Grandma, Comrade Xi Youyou’s cooking smells so good!”

“Of course it does.” Da Bao scoffed. “She’s stir-frying meat, after all!”

That made sense.

Their family’s conditions were considered pretty good—every few days, they could have a meal with meat. But even so, Xiao Bao still really wanted to eat some.

As she sniffed the delicious aroma, drool started slipping uncontrollably from the corner of her mouth.

“Hahaha!”

Da Bao saw his sister’s reaction and laughed heartlessly. “Xiao Bao, you’re way too greedy! Even if her cooking really does smell good, you’re already drooling? Isn’t that a bit too soon?”

“Brother! You’re bullying me!” Xiao Bao stomped her foot and frowned like a little angry doll, making Xu Xiu burst out in laughter.

She pressed her lips together to hide her smile. Xi Youyou’s cooking had indeed improved a lot. The meals over the past few days had all been delicious—and stir-frying meat this afternoon? Needless to say.

The aroma could practically knock someone over.

Once the meat was mostly done and had changed color, Xi Youyou began adding other seasonings one after another. Then she tossed in the green peppers and continued to stir-fry.

The moment the green peppers hit the pan, the rich scent of the meat was brought out even more. Saying the fragrance wafted for miles wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

Earlier, while slicing the pork, Xi Youyou had deliberately set some aside and chopped it into minced meat.

She had cooked the main dish with a spicy flavor, but she knew the kids might not handle spicy food well. So, she mixed the minced meat with flour and formed them into small, round meatballs.

She then boiled them into a meatball soup.

To go with it, she made a light porridge and prepared some simple side dishes. When the elderly couple brought the children over for dinner, they were stunned.

They had already guessed from the mouthwatering aroma and the kids’ excitement that the meal would be something special today.

And now, seeing the dishes on the table, they nodded deeply.

It truly was!

“It smells so good, Comrade Xi Youyou! You’re amazing!” Xiao Bao’s eyes sparkled as she stared at the meatballs in the bowl. “What are these? I’ve never had them before!”

Xi Youyou walked over and served food into the two children’s bowls. “Try them first. This is meatball soup—I mixed some flour into minced meat and cooked them into these little meatballs. They’re easier to digest this way.”