Grandma Zhao was startled for a moment. "Where did the money come from?"
Zhao Sidan's voice was clear. "Mother said we have to use money to exchange for radishes."
Grandma Zhao always felt her ears were deceiving her. That shameless little hussy, the eldest daughter-in-law, had cried and wailed in front of the old house last year during the locust plague, just to drag away twenty catties of millet and buckwheat flour from the cellar, without giving a single coin in return.
It was precisely because she was afraid that shameless hussy would come to the old house to cause trouble again that last night she had secretly sent over three catties of millet.
"Grandma, I'll go now."
Zhao Sidan walked out, but was called back.
Grandma Zhao was not one to take advantage of others. One wen coin could buy at least three catties of radishes, and the few she had just given weren't worth three catties. Moreover, she always felt the eldest daughter-in-law was hiding some kind of scheme.
She returned four wen coins, but Zhao Sidan refused to accept them, even if it killed him. "Mother said if I don't give the money, she'll beat me to death."
Grandma Zhao knew the eldest daughter-in-law often beat the child. She turned and went into the yard to pick a handful of green beans, then fished out an egg from the chicken coop and handed it over. "Alright, hurry up and go home, you're an eyesore!"
Zhao Sidan's eyes went wide when he saw the egg.
Before, all the eggs in the house went into Mother's stomach. He would, when Mother wasn't paying attention, pick up eggshells from the ground and lick them. There was a bit of flavor on the shells, so he would keep licking and licking... Now Mother had become better, he wondered if this egg might allow him a small bite...
Zhao Sidan returned, carrying a pile of vegetables.
Cheng Loanloan saw the pile of vegetables in his hands and quickly took them. "Did your grandma give these to you?"
"Grandma said she couldn't let Mother suffer a loss." Zhao Sidan grinned, taking a round egg from his pocket. "Mother, an egg!"
In this era, eggs were valuable items. Villagers couldn't bear to eat them, saving them to trade for a bit of oil and salt at the market.
Cheng Loanloan delved into the original owner's memories and immediately her face darkened.
Half a month ago, when there were still chickens in the house, one egg every day went into the original owner's stomach. There was a pregnant woman and a child in the house, she couldn't understand how the original owner could so comfortably eat all the eggs...
"Mother..." Zhao Sidan dared to speak up. "Can I have a small bite of the egg, just a tiny little bite..."
He wasn't really greedy; he just wanted to taste what an egg was like.
"Of course you can," Cheng Loanloan nodded. "Go outside and play, I'll call you when it's cooked."
Wu Huiniang was busy cutting up the rabbit meat. For some reason, she always felt this rabbit had grown bigger. When it was on the mountain, it was just a small one, but now, after skinning it, it felt like it weighed at least five or six catties. After she finished cutting the rabbit meat and placed it on the kitchen counter, she carefully asked, "Mother, how do you want to cook the rabbit meat?"
Cheng Loanloan's culinary skills were limited to fried rice with egg. Not knowing how to cook didn't mean she didn't know how to eat. Moreover, her theoretical knowledge was very rich.
But there were no seasonings in this house, not even oil or salt.
The rabbit was very fat, so its fat could be rendered. Salt could only be bought in a pack from the system store, then she quietly poured it into the salt jar. Immediately after, she quickly bought some cinnamon bark, star anise, and bay leaves from the system store, and casually placed them on the kitchen counter.
Cheng Luanluan stood by, giving instructions: “First, fry it until the fat renders out, then add these leaves and stir-fry until fragrant… I just picked these from the mountain; I heard they’re very aromatic, so they should make the food taste delicious. Don’t ask so many questions, just do as I say.”
Wu Huiniang dared not ask any more questions.
Before long, the fragrant aroma of meat began to waft from the kitchen…