Chapter 109: Honey Chicken Wings
Jiang Huaizhen got up early in the morning and went to Caitou’s house with Ping’er. She took a few of the little children with their tools and rushed up the back mountain.
After Caitou had pointed out the place, Jiang Huaizhen went to the top of the mountain, checked the hemp rope and tied it, then tied a wooden bucket around her waist, and lowered herself down from the top of the mountain with the rope, reaching the place where the bees had built their nest.
Unexpectedly, there was a lot of honey there. She collected half a bucket of honey and lowered it down, then climbed back up with the rope.
When she got down to the foot of the mountain, the few little ones gathered around her, jumping up and down, chattering and asking questions.
Ping’er asked, “Big sister, where did you get this thing that’s covering your head?”
Jiang Huaizhen replied, “Your aunt made it for me last night. With it on, the bees can’t sting me.”
Ping’er pouted. “Auntie is so good.”
Auntie hadn’t even thought of making one for her. Auntie was so biased.
When they got to Caitou’s house, Zhang Mainiang saw that they had really come back with honey. She said that just one bowl would be enough for the children to satisfy their cravings, but she didn’t expect Jiang Huaizhen to pour half of it for her and take the rest back herself.
Ping’er was thinking of the honey chicken legs that Lin Shuang had mentioned and didn’t even care about playing with Dahua and Xiaohua. She ran after her, chasing her home.
The little yellow dog from last night had also come back with them this morning. Now, seeing them leave, it turned to look at Caitou, wagged its tail, and then also followed them toward the West Mountain Valley.
When they got home, Lin Shuang saw that there was so much honey and smiled. “It seems that the honey chicken legs are a sure thing today.”
Ping’er urged anxiously, “Auntie, hurry up and make the big chicken legs—”
Lin Shuang said, “I haven’t even bought the chicken legs yet.”
They could kill a chicken at home, but there were only two chicken legs. With the front legs with the wings, there were only four. How could that be enough for a dish? With that, she went to the stable to get the horse, wanting to go to the city to buy chicken legs.
Jiang Huaizhen said, “I’ll go. It’s almost noon. You still have to prepare the meal at home.”
With that, she took the reins and got on the horse.
Lin Shuang could only instruct, “Since you’re buying them, buy a little more. If there aren’t enough chicken legs, you can buy some chicken wings too. We can make a big meal for everyone.”
“I know.”
Jiang Huaizhen was not gone for long and came back in less than an hour, with a carriage behind her.
Lin Shuang looked at Xue Luan, who was getting out of the carriage, and smiled as she greeted her. “A’Luan is here. You’ve come at just the right time. Your Sister Jiang went up the mountain this morning and got some honey. We’ll be having honey chicken legs later.”
Xue Luan’s face instantly lit up with a smile. “I told you, it’s better to be lucky than to be early.”
“Have some honey water first to soothe your throat,” Lin Shuang went to pour some water for her and Xing’er.
When Jiang Huaizhen had gone to the city just now, she had made some tea with some kumquats and honey water. The workers had all said it was delicious.
Xue Luan took a sip and was also full of praise.
“Why are you here? Don’t say you missed Sister Shuang and Sister Jiang. I don’t believe it.”
They had just met the day before yesterday when Feng Er was selling the ox-bezoar. Xue Luan usually liked to play with her little sisters and would not have come to the countryside to find her for no reason.
“I really can’t hide anything from you, sister,” Xue Luan chuckled, revealing two cute little canine teeth. “Didn’t you and Sister Jiang go to Yinzhou to buy medicine seeds a while back? How are they growing?”
Lin Shuang had mentioned the trip to Yinzhou to Mrs. Xue, so it was not strange that Xue Luan knew.
Hearing her ask this, Lin Shuang raised an eyebrow. “Is our little A’Luan also going to start helping out at home?”
Xue Luan’s face turned red. “I’m idle all day, and Father is very busy. I have to find something to do for myself.”
Yesterday, after she had come back from Li Changyu’s place, she had told her parents about her thoughts. If it were in the past, Mrs. Xue would have probably refused at once. A little girl, with her father to support the family, why did she have to go out and show her face? Even if the family was not rich, she would not be short of a meal.
But ever since the argument with her mother-in-law that day, she had been worried about her daughter’s future. She was worried that she would not want her to marry out and be a stepmother, and she was also worried that if she didn’t get married, how would she live in the future?
After the couple passed away, who knew how her younger brother would treat his older sister? After all, people’s hearts were unpredictable. There were even conflicts between parents and children, let alone between siblings.
These things were endless, and she was so worried she couldn’t eat or sleep. But she thought that if her daughter could have a skill to rely on, this situation might not be so difficult to solve.
Who knew who would be relying on whom in the future?
Although she still had doubts about her delicate daughter’s ability, she still had the mentality of letting her try.
Doctor Xue had been a little wavering ever since the conversation with his daughter in the carriage. Now, seeing his wife’s attitude, he tacitly agreed.
He would give A’Luan ten years. In ten years, he would be fifty and could still fight for a while. Even if she couldn’t do it, he could still earn some family property to leave for her, so she wouldn’t be without support in her old age.
So when Mrs. Xue mentioned that Lin Shuang and Jiang Huaizhen had gone to Yinzhou before, she had come.
Hearing her words, Lin Shuang smiled. “Why not? Who says a woman can’t be the head of the household? To be your own head of the household, that’s wonderful.”
“I was originally thinking of talking to your father about the medicine field after some of the medicinal herbs have been harvested next year. Since you’re here, we can just discuss it directly with you. But sister has to cook first. After everyone has eaten, we can have a good chat with you.”
Xue Luan quickly said, “Sister is cooking. I’ll help you.”
“Where do you need to help? Go and talk to your Sister Jiang,” Lin Shuang began to process the chicken legs and wings that Jiang Huaizhen had brought back.
What could Xue Luan say to Jiang Huaizhen? Before, when she had clung to Jiang Huaizhen and had gone to the execution grounds to watch her carry out the sentence, it was a few little girls who were egging each other on to watch the fun, all for Jiang Huaizhen’s good looks.
But Jiang Huaizhen had a deep personality and didn’t like to talk. The two of them had nothing to say to each other.
It was better to be with Li Changyu.
Li Changyu’s mouth was venomous, and she would occasionally say a word or two to tease her, but she could also give people a full sense of security. Not to mention anything else, she had helped her solve her problems twice and had personally sent her home.
As for Sister Jiang, she could also protect her when she was with her, but her personality was distant, and she didn’t like to joke. It was as if there was a wall between the two of them, and they were very far apart.
There was a sense of security, but not much. Sister Jiang’s sense of security was all for Sister Shuang.
At this thought, Xue Luan couldn’t help but size up Lin Shuang, who was busy in front of her.
Her looks were, of course, not to be mentioned. Although she was not as stunning as Sister Jiang, she was also a beautiful woman, with a gentleness in her eyes, but also a hint of stubbornness.
When she was with Sister Jiang, how should she put it? It could only be described with one word.
That was “coquettish.”
A woman being “coquettish” in front of another woman, what could be the reason?
Xue Luan was a little startled by the thought that had suddenly come to her.
She inexplicably thought of Li Changyu and her performance when she had met her a few times, and she also broke out in a cold sweat.
Just as she was wandering around the kitchen door, Jiang Huaizhen came in from outside with some vegetables. Lin Shuang said to her, “Come and help me roll up my sleeves.”
Jiang Huaizhen put down the vegetables in her hand, walked over, and folded her loose cuffs, one circle at a time.
Their bodies did not touch, and after she had rolled up her sleeves, their gazes only met briefly, but Lin Shuang’s eyes clearly held an indescribable meaning.
It was like two broken pieces of lotus root, with layers of invisible silk inside.
Jiang Huaizhen didn’t say anything and reached for a bamboo sieve on the shelf above her head. Her clothes just brushed against her, but the moment the cloth touched, Xue Luan felt an intimacy that an outsider could not penetrate.
Her heart pounded, and just as she saw Ping’er pass by with the little yellow dog, she quickly turned and followed.
Hearing the movement outside, Lin Shuang turned and looked at the door. Seeing no one, she didn’t pay any attention and lowered her head to coat the chicken legs and wings with batter, preparing to deep-fry them.
After the chicken legs were deep-fried, she drizzled them with the prepared honey sauce, and the dish was done.
Today’s lunch was white rice and a large pot of vegetables. The large pot of vegetables had pork, meatballs, shiitake mushrooms, and cabbage. A large pot had over ten catties of meat, which was quite a sumptuous meal.
The honey chicken legs were served, and each person had a chicken leg and a chicken wing. Everyone couldn’t help but lick their fingers.
She had originally wanted to set up a separate table for Xue Luan, but she was unwilling and said that she wanted to eat with the villagers.
She had been living in her boudoir for a long time and had only been with little girls of her own age. Now that she was planning to find a way out for herself, she couldn’t still have the attitude of a young lady from a wealthy family and not have contact with anyone.
The villagers knew that she was Doctor Xue’s daughter and were also extremely friendly to her.
Xue Luan just had little experience in interacting with people like this, but she was very clever. She was a little shy at first, but she soon became poised and graceful.
Her upbringing was excellent, and she was well-mannered. She got along very well with the villagers.
Seeing this, Lin Shuang didn’t interrupt and just smiled as she watched them talk, greeting everyone to have some food.
In her opinion, everyone had a stage of going from naive to mature. Xue Luan was only two years younger than her. If it weren’t for her rebirth, at her age, what she had seen and heard would have been limited, her horizons would have been even narrower, and she would have been even more at a loss.
Huaizhen had given her a pull, and she had given Wang Xiuxiu a pull, and Zhang Mainiang a pull, influencing the people around her with her small efforts. Now, she was happy to see a girl like her growing up at an extremely fast speed.
She considered herself to be a small blade of grass, with no great ambitions. But the girls around her might be the saplings of large trees. If she could protect them as they grew, when the large trees grew up in the future, they could also provide a patch of shade and shelter the small grasses from the wind and rain.
The chicken wings were very sweet, and Ping’er was so happy she beamed.
Old Madam Jiang scooped the sweet honey sauce into her rice and ate with relish.
The little yellow dog had healed a little on its face today and was hiding under the table, eating chicken bones, so busy it didn’t even have time to look up.
After they had finished eating, Lin Shuang took Xue Luan to the fields.
The seeds that had been planted two months ago had already sprouted.
The one-year-cycle medicinal herbs, such as isatis root and schizonepeta, had now grown to be as tall as a palm, with lush green leaves. The two or three-year-old ones were growing a little slower and were still in a relatively tender state.
Other than a few that had been burned during transportation and could not be planted, the rest of the transplanted ones were growing well.
“These three mu are planted with isatis root, angelica dahurica, danshen, schizonepeta, prunella, and motherwort. They can be harvested at the end of summer next year. The two mu over there are planted with astragalus, codonopsis, angelica, and licorice, which will take two or three years to harvest. And that taller patch over there is the medicine seedlings we brought back from Yinzhou. They were directly transplanted. Half is astragalus, and half is he shou wu.”
Xue Luan had been raised by Doctor Xue since she was little and had been influenced by him. She was also intelligent and was familiar with these medicinal herbs. As soon as Lin Shuang said it, she understood and nodded repeatedly.
“Those one-year-old ones, if they can be grown well, we will lead the villagers to plant them together next year.”
Xue Luan smiled. “I see that sister’s ambition is not in business. In that case, little sister is in a favorable position. Will sister fulfill my wish?”
Lin Shuang gave her a mock-stern glance. “Otherwise, why would I have brought you to the fields?”
When they had been selling mohele in the prefectural city, Xue Luan had already seen Lin Shuang’s sense and methods and was full of admiration for her. Now, seeing her agree to cooperate with her, she was naturally overjoyed.
This way, the first step she had taken was quite smooth.
Cooperating with the villagers was nothing more than the problem of seeds and procurement, and what to plant and how much to plant. After a detailed chat with her, Xue Luan had a rough idea in her heart. But after all, she was a novice and did not dare to make her own decisions. She said that after she had discussed it with her parents, she would make the next plan.
Having a good start had slightly calmed her originally anxious heart about the future and had also strengthened her belief in walking this path to the end. But thinking of what Li Changyu had said to her yesterday, “but I have to see what chips A’Luan has,” her heart suddenly pounded.
Sister Changyu was not short on money, nor was she short on power. What could she want from her?
And what could she give her?
