After Jiang Lin left, Sun looked at the two wild animals and said, "They're already cleaned up. We can't sell them anyway, so let's stew them all. Our family hasn't tasted meat in a long time."
So stew it was. Yu Changhe chopped the wild chicken and rabbit into small pieces while Yu Xiaolian helped Sun with the fire. Sun put the meat in the pot to stir-fry, adding spices bought from the town. Soon, the fragrant aroma of the meat filled the air.
A big bowl full of meat was brought to the table, and the three started politely offering each other the food. Finally, Sun spoke up, "The reason we cooked it all is because we knew we couldn't keep it. Instead of benefiting others, we might as well eat it ourselves. Let's enjoy it to our hearts' content."
Although Sun's words didn't target anyone, Yu Changhe couldn't help but blush. In the past, his mother wouldn't start trouble over a bit of food. Perhaps everything changed since he couldn't earn money anymore.
Sun placed a chicken leg into Yu Xiaolian's bowl without saying a word.
Yu Xiaolian took a bite of the chicken leg, and it was so greasy and flavorful, leaving a lingering taste. This wild chicken was really different. Even without spices, it tasted exceptionally delicious. The taste couldn't compare to those modern farm chickens.
The three of them ate to their satisfaction, yet there were still leftovers. Yu Xiaolian knew that Yu Changhe and Sun hadn't truly eaten freely because they saved some for Yu Xiaolian's next meal.
Yu Xiaolian watched Sun place the leftover meat on the wooden box, covered with a woven bamboo lid.
After cleaning up, Sun took advantage of the daylight and began working on her embroidery again, with Yu Xiaolian helping her with the knots.
"Mom, your embroidery is beautiful!" Yu Xiaolian knew how to make knots because, in her previous life, she liked crafting Chinese knots and similar handicrafts.
But asking her to pick up an embroidery needle would be a disaster. Her eyes claimed to know how, but her hands said otherwise.
"Why is your clothes so dirty again today? Did you go picking wild vegetables or wander in the wasteland? You even have a smell of grass ash on you."
"The wild vegetables I picked today, my grandma fed them to the chickens. Initially, when Yu Zishu and the others returned, Grandma planned for Uncle to kill a chicken, but after plucking the neck feathers, they let it go.
Mom, I'm going to wash up!"
Women have a keen sense, even picking up the Mugwort ash scent on her. Yu Xiaolian went to the backyard to fetch some water for a simple wash.
Having been here for so many days, she hadn't brushed her teeth and hadn't seen Yu Changhe or Sun doing so either. Do ancient people not brush their teeth?
She took out a toothbrush cup, a toothbrush from her space, squeezed on some toothpaste, and brushed her teeth efficiently, then put the items back into her space.
She took out a face wash, cleaned her face, and used a new towel from the supermarket to dry it.
When she finished washing up and returned to the room, she saw Yu Zishu standing there talking to Sun.
Seeing her return, Yu Zishu stepped forward to take her hand, but she dodged.
Yu Zishu's eyes showed a hint of disappointment, "I have something to tell you. Could you come out for a bit?"
When Yu Xiaolian and Yu Zishu stood in the backyard of the Yu Family, Yu Zishu suddenly said, "Lian'er, I'm about to take the autumn examination soon, and I need someone to take care of my meals and daily life. Grandma has already agreed to let you go to the town with me."
"Grandma agreed?" Yu Xiaolian was quite surprised. How could Madam Yu possibly agree to let her, this little jinx, accompany her eldest grandson?
"Grandma...will agree. I'm working hard to persuade her. First, tell me, are you willing to come with me?"
Yu Xiaolian frowned. This part wasn't in the book. Or had she read it and forgotten?
No matter the case, Yu Xiaolian shook her head, "I don't want to!"
It sounds good, going to town with you. Isn't it just to make me your free little maid?
I can't even be bothered to take care of myself, let alone you.
If she had been a bit more diligent in her previous life, she would have become a doctor, not just because forensic work paid more for less work.
Yu Zishu opened and closed his mouth, wanting to say something but swallowing it back. After a while, he said again, "Not wanting to is fine, not wanting to is fine..."
What a weirdo!
After Yu Zishu left, Yu Xiaolian realized that in the book, Yu Xiaolian tortured Yu Zishu to death. Could it be because Yu Zishu was the one who sold her out to Jun Mobai?
Thinking of how Yu Zishu spent years in the town and later got into Qingquan Academy in Yangcheng, he was probably the first to see Jun Mobai's reward notice.
Alas, it's her fault for skimming the book and only focusing on the love story between the protagonists.
Even if she wanted to reread it now, she couldn't. She tried flipping through the eBook on her phone, but it was stuck on the same page, motionless.
Now she missed the benefits of having a physical book.
Seeing Yu Zishu's earlier hesitant look, her guess was probably right.
Yu Xiaolian returned to the room, feeling heavy-hearted. The oil lamp was already lit because the room was dark. Sun was sitting by the lamp working on her embroidery, and Yu Changhe was trying to persuade Sun to stop.
Yu Changhe first mentioned straining her eyes, but Sun ignored him. Then he mentioned the cost of the lamp oil, which finally made Sun stop. After laying out the bedding, Sun blew out the oil lamp.
The floral curtain was drawn by Yu Changhe. Yu Xiaolian lay at the end of the bed, listing various possibilities in her mind, thinking of many survival tips.
Humph, she won't be a stepping stone for the love story of the main characters.
Suddenly, she heard rustling sounds and Sun's soft breathing, making Yu Xiaolian hold her breath.
Good grief!
Thinking no one would notice, Yu Xiaolian quickly disappeared into her space.
Upon entering the space, Yu Xiaolian found that the bag of Golden Monkey Milk Candy she had eaten while picking wild vegetables yesterday was back on the shelf intact.
Could she have remembered wrong?
Yu Xiaolian checked the number of candy bags, five bags.
To verify her guess, Yu Xiaolian tore open a bag of candy, sat on the ground, and finished it in one go.
When she went to check the candy shelf, there were still four bags, unchanged.
Yu Xiaolian thought about how her family didn't have enough grain for the winter and owed a lot of money to others. She wanted to help Sun a bit. She wandered around the supermarket and finally picked some goji berries, gold and silver flowers, American ginseng slices, and Chicken Blood Vine. These were things modern people used to make tea or soak in wine.
And bringing these things to ancient times wouldn't attract attention. She planned to tear off the outer packaging and take them to the town's pharmacy to see if she could exchange them for money.
Once she decided, Yu Xiaolian checked the goji berries, a total of six bags, not much, with each bag only containing two hundred and fifty grams.
In total, just three pounds of goji berries. This stuff probably wasn't a big seller; her mom didn't stock up on it much.
There were more gold and silver flowers, twenty bags, but each bag only had one hundred and fifty grams, also making three pounds.
There weren't many American ginseng slices either, only five boxes, with each small box having just fifty grams, totaling only half a pound.
The Chicken Blood Vine was the least, only two bags, but each bag weighed a pound, totaling two pounds. Few people used it to brew tea; most used it to make wine, and some health enthusiasts used it for foot baths.
Yu Xiaolian glanced at the price tag. American ginseng slices were the most expensive, ninety-nine yuan per box. A pound would cost nearly a thousand yuan. This ginseng might sell for a good price.
Yu Xiaolian found some ziplock bags and ripped off the small packaging, pouring them all into the ziplock bags. When she had the chance to go to town, she could just wrap them in cloth.