"How does it taste?" Li's mother's expression said it all, yet Tian Jing still asked for an answer.
"Delicious, delicious," Li's mother praised. "Very sweet and crispy."
"I'll take some to Li Min, and to the people working outside," Tian Jing said, already reaching for some.
Li's mother had finished kneading the dough and went to wash her hands to prepare the vegetables.
Tian Jing first gave Li Min a couple of handfuls, then took the enamel basin to Li Zhengguo. "It's very delicious, you can share it with them."
In this era, one had to be mindful of the distance between oneself and male comrades, especially with her current appearance.
Li Zhengguo paused for a moment at the contents of the basin, then took it and offered it to Chen Suozhu. "Have a taste."
This person could trust her without hesitation; good. Tian Jing was satisfied and returned to the kitchen to continue her work.
Seeing her mother-in-law preparing vegetables, Tian Jing took out more than half of the ground cherry fruits from her back basket, put a small portion of wild vegetables back, and, under Li's mother's curious gaze, carried them to the west room to store.
She chopped some wild vegetables for the pancakes, blanched some for a salad, and added some to the pork and vermicelli stew.
On the dinner table, a porcelain basin of pork and vermicelli stew, an enamel basin of wild vegetable salad, a wooden basin of wild vegetable pancakes, and a bowl of kudzu starch jelly for each person, stunned the four helpers. How much grain and meat would this meal consume?
Li Zhengguo called everyone to sit. "The meat is from a wild boar, the vermicelli is made from sweet potatoes, the wild vegetables are dug up, and the jelly is made from kudzu starch."
"Only the dark flour for the pancakes is bought, and a lot of wild vegetables are added. Don't worry, we can afford this meal. Eat to your heart's content."
Li Zhengguo's explanation finally put the four people at ease.
"We were just worried this meal would use up several days' worth of your grain."
Brother Wang was the first to pick up his chopsticks. "Let me try this jelly, I've heard it tastes very good and I finally have the chance to try it."
Having already eaten a meal at the Li's, Chen Suozhu was not as relaxed as Brother Wang. He only picked up his chopsticks after the others did.
"There's also wild vegetable soup in the pot. You can help yourselves after you finish the jelly," Li's mother said to them as she entered the main hall.
Li's mother's words made Brother Wang and Yang Jianjun, who were engrossed in the delicious food, look up. They wanted to invite Aunt Li to sit with them in the main hall to eat, but saw her walk into the east room in a few steps. Su Dan Novel Network
What? Aunt Li was better?
Indeed she was. Her mood was pleasant, she was drinking her herbal tea, and had been forced to drink three doses of tonic medicine. If she didn't get better, she'd likely have to keep drinking the bitter tonic. Once she was completely recovered, she would share it with Tiantian and Minmin, as Tiantian was also very thin.
In the east room, the three women had their own separate table.
All the food on the dinner table in the main hall, except for a few remaining pancakes, was finished by the six men.
The five men, with their bulging stomachs, felt a little embarrassed; they hadn't held back.
Li Zhengguo was also stuffed. The wild vegetables today were particularly delicious. He stood up to clear the table.
Chen Suozhu quickly followed to help, and Yang Lei also used his sharp eyes to help tidy up.
Yang Jianjun looked around the floor for his eldest son.
Brother Wang kicked his son. Wang Hongwei wanted to help but it was too late; everything had already been cleared away. He scratched his head, having never done such a thing at home and lacking the awareness for it.
Li's mother took over the task of washing the dishes. She was able to do things now and didn't need her son to do these kitchen chores.
With their bellies full and energy replenished, the four men finished building the fence around the yard in the afternoon. The eighteen-foot-high bamboo fence completely enclosed the yard.
Li Zhengguo began weaving bamboo baskets with Chen Suozhu. Chen Suozhu split the bamboo, made strips, and scraped them smooth, while Li Zhengguo busied himself with weaving. They made two large baskets and one small one, which his sister could use when she 'recovered'.
As the men who helped build the fence were leaving, Tian Jing asked Li Zhengguo to give each of them a handful of the remaining ground cherries from the kitchen to take home to their children.
Yang Lei: "..." I'm a child.
Chen Suozhu also received a handful of ground cherries as he was leaving, to take home to his grandfather.
The last remaining ones were given to Li Min, the eldest child who was bedridden.
Li Min: "..." Everything my sister-in-law brings back is delicious.
In the evening, Li Min, who was confined to her bed, was taken out to roll noodles.
Being asked to do chores? Li Min was overjoyed. She had been lying in bed for two days and her bones ached. It was her sister-in-law who cared for her, having the yard fenced early so she could get up and work.
Li Zhengguo: "..." His sister had high aspirations.
Pure white flour noodles?
Li Min looked at her sister-in-law. "Didn't you say I would eat dark flour noodles separately?"
"It's too much trouble to mix dough twice. Next time, we'll talk about it when you're mixing dough."
Li Min, who was looking down and rolling noodles, curved her lips. Her sister-in-law was just putting on a tough act.
After a dinner that Li Min called a "happy dinner," Tian Jing called Li Zhengguo back to the west room and pointed to the back basket. "There are some wild vegetables and ground cherries here. Take them."
"Thank you, Tiantian."
Li Zhengguo was very efficient. As soon as Li Min finished boiling water, he returned to fetch hot water for Tiantian.
Tian Jing was trying on a bamboo basket. It fit perfectly. Li Zhengguo's bamboo weaving skills were also good. Seeing Li Zhengguo enter with the water, she even praised him. Li Zhengguo's eyes narrowed into slits with happiness.
Tian Jing couldn't help but pinch his face. "How many faces do you have?"
"Besides the ones I show outsiders, all the others are only for you."
This man really knew how to flirt without even trying.
Tian Jing let go and put down the bamboo basket, changing the subject. "When you have time, weave more things that are commonly used in the household, like small flat baskets and winnowing baskets. They are very useful for holding pancakes and washing vegetables."
"Okay."
Li Zhengguo's smile widened. The more Tiantian assigned him tasks, the more she treated him as one of her own.
The next day, upon hearing the commotion from the west again, Tian Jing remembered to ask Li's mother. "Mother-in-law, it seems like three more house foundations have appeared to the west. Whose are they?"
"Oh, I forgot to tell you about this."
Li's mother patted her forehead. "Yang Jianjun, who helped with the fence yesterday, is the eldest son of Secretary Yang. The two families next to them are Yang's second and third sons. The third family is the captain's youngest son. They already divided their households and only recently came to demarcate their foundations."
"Don't they need to choose foundations? Are they just going along with it?" Tian Jing felt something was amiss.
"Generally, that's how it is. It's been years since anyone divided their household and took a foundation."
Li's mother's words were incomplete, but Tian Jing understood. "Then our family won't be expanding anymore?"
Tian Jing felt that the grounded, single-story houses were very good, but now, there was no room for expansion if they wanted to.
Li's mother paused. "Every household in the village has this size of foundation. There's no excess. Anything beyond that has to be bought."
Just then, Doctor Yang arrived for a house call. Tian Jing decided not to continue the topic. If she really wanted to expand in the future, she could find another place. She was just casually asking. By the time she left, the Li family's situation might be entirely different.
"Doctor Yang, for Li Min's 'injury', how many days will it take for her to be able to go outside and feel the sun?"
Tian Jing asked loudly. Doctor Yang replied loudly, "A week. Have Li Zhengguo come with me to get today's medicine."
Upon hearing this, Li's mother immediately took Tian Jing's arm. "Doctor Yang, please check on me. I'm already better."
Looking at the bewildered Tian Jing, Doctor Yang chuckled. "No need to change the prescription. It's all fine."
Li's mother breathed a sigh of relief. She could finally pass the responsibility on.