Chapter 116: Stir-fried Lamb with Scallions
The two of them bought three catties of lamb at the market, and also replenished the rice, flour, and sauce that they had run out of at home.
Although it was already winter, there were still people selling cold melons. She didn’t know how they were grown.
The two of them bought five, planning to share them with the workers when they got back.
Just like that, they drove the carriage out of the market and headed for the village.
When they got home, Old Madam Jiang saw that Lin Shuang had recovered her vitality and smiled. “Doctor Xue is really a miracle worker. You’re all better after just one trip.”
Lin Shuang smiled guiltily. She and Jiang Huaizhen unloaded the things from the cart and then took a few of the cold melons to the new house to share with everyone.
The workers had never had such a rare thing before. The melon flesh went down their stomachs, and it was cool and sweet. They couldn’t help but click their tongues in amazement.
Lin Shuang said, “Everyone can save the melon seeds and plant them in the fields with the vegetable seeds. If you apply some fertilizer on ordinary days, they will grow.”
“Oh my, I just spat them out. I have to go and pick them up quickly.”
“I ate this one with the flesh. I can’t even pick it up.”
The crowd laughed heartily and squatted on the ground to pick up the melon seeds.
Lin Shuang was holding a piece of cold melon in her hand and also smiled. “It’s alright. I’ve saved some. I’ll plant them later. If they grow melons next year, I’ll share some with everyone then.”
Just as she was speaking, Old Madam Jiang came over and instructed her, “You’re not feeling well, and it’s cold. This melon is cold. Eat less of it, so you don’t cry and make a fuss in the middle of the night.”
Her words sounded disgusted, but they were filled with a deep concern. Lin Shuang was moved and linked her arm, acting coquettishly. “I know, Grandma. I won’t eat any more after this piece.”
Old Madam Jiang said grumpily, “You look like a perfectly fine girl on ordinary days. How can you get sick just like that? You’re not even as good as this old woman.”
Ping’er squeezed in. “Grandma, don’t say that about Auntie. Auntie works so hard to earn money every day. She’ll get sick if she’s tired.”
Jiang’s older sister-in-law smiled. “Look, this little girl even knows how to protect people. Your aunt can’t eat too much, and a little child can’t eat too much either.”
Jiang Dalang and Jiang’s older sister-in-law were helping here, and Dongzhi would also come over to play when she had time. At this moment, she was holding a melon and eating, and she chimed in, “I’m not a little child anymore. I can eat two more pieces.”
Jiang’s older sister-in-law knocked her on the head. “What’s it to you? I told you to stay at home and take care of your younger brother and sister, but you didn’t. You’re running around like a mad thing. See if your grandmother doesn’t deal with you when you get back at night.”
“Blah, blah, blah,” Dongzhi stuck out her tongue. “Anyway, she can’t catch me, and she can’t hit me. If she scolds me, I’ll just pretend I didn’t hear.”
Jiang’s older sister-in-law was helpless with her daughter and could only look at Jiang Dalang.
Jiang Dalang said, “Don’t look at me. I can’t say anything to her. If I say a couple of words to her, she’ll want to fight with me. Then Father will say that I’m hitting a child. I can’t provoke her.”
Just then, Jiang Huaizhen called out to Dongzhi from the other side of the house.
Hearing her voice, Dongzhi shot up and ran into the house.
Jiang’s older sister-in-law raised an eyebrow. “So there is someone who can handle her.”
A few of the workers, while eating the melon, also started to talk about Feng Er.
“I heard that the ox-bezoar sold for two hundred taels. As soon as they got the silver, they bought two houses in the city, added a horse, and also bought a little yellow ox. The money was almost all spent.”
“It’s good that it’s spent. Otherwise, with such a large sum of money at home, it would attract thieves.”
“That day, when he was confronting the Zhang family, and someone spoke up for him, after he came back, he invited them all to his house and treated them to a good meal, and also gave them a lot of good things. My father-in-law said a few words for him that day, and he sent a bag of over fifty catties of white flour, ten catties of meat, and a bolt of cloth. I think he’s quite generous.”
“Our family also has some. It seems that only the Zhang family and the Zhang family’s relatives were not invited. Now those people are all regretting it.”
“They only regret not getting that old ox. Otherwise, the pie that fell from the sky would have hit their family on the head.”
“It’s a good thing that Feng Er saved that ox. Otherwise, how could we have benefited from this?”
“In the end, it’s all thanks to Miss Shuang. Otherwise, how would Feng Er have known that there was something good in the ox’s stomach, not to mention that she also helped to invite Doctor Xue.”
Lin Shuang was on the side, gathering the wood chips to burn. Hearing them talk about her, she just smiled and didn’t interrupt.
Dongzhi trotted to the main hall and, seeing Jiang Huaizhen packing a cold melon in a net bag, asked, “Sister, did you call me?”
“Take this to Dahua and Xiaohua’s house with Ping’er and say that Aunt Shuang sent it.”
Dongzhi was very willing to run errands. Jiang Huaizhen gave her a copper coin and said, “Go on. I won’t let you run for nothing.”
Dongzhi quickly said, “No need for money.”
“Take it. I can’t just order you around because you’re a child. Helping is one thing, and working is another. One thing is one thing. I can’t be indebted to you.”
“How can I be indebted to you for doing something for you, sister?”
“You’re so talkative. Go on.”
Dongzhi chuckled, took the copper coin, and carried the heavy melon. She shouted at Ping’er outside, “Ping’er, let’s go to Dahua’s house.”
Last time, Aunt Shuang had hired her and a few of her little friends to keep an eye on Lin Mancang. She had gotten ten copper coins a day, and after giving some to her little friends, she still had five left. After all, she also had to set the mousetrap, so of course, she had to take the main share.
After squatting for a few days, she had now saved up thirty copper coins. Plus the new year’s money from her grandparents and her maternal grandfather’s family, she would be able to save a sum by the end of the year. Her little treasury was full, and she was so happy just thinking about it.
Ping’er, who was in the new house, heard her say that she was going to Dahua’s house and ran over with a skip in her step.
By evening, the workers had all gone home, and Lin Shuang was also packing up to make dinner.
Just as she had washed the rice and put it on the stove, someone came from outside.
It was Feng Er and Xu Huigu.
They had been working here for the past few days, so Old Madam Jiang naturally recognized them. Seeing them come in a carriage, and carrying a pile of things down from the cart, rice, flour, cloth, and a basket of cured meat.
Finally, they also led a sheep.
With such a generous gift, Old Madam Jiang couldn’t suppress the corners of her mouth, but she still said polite words.
“What’s this? Why did you even bring a sheep?”
“Miss Shuang has helped us so much. She wouldn’t take the silver. We don’t have anything good at home, so we’re just sending some food and things. Please don’t mind.”
Xu Huigu continued, “I heard the old lady nagging about wanting to eat lamb a while back. Our family just happens to have a few sheep. This one has been raised for two years and is at its prime. You can kill it and eat it whenever you want.”
Lin Shuang and Jiang Huaizhen walked out the door and, seeing this pile of things, were at a loss for words.
But she had just heard from the people in their village that they had sent gifts to everyone in the village who had not been at odds with them. Since they had already sent them, it was not good to have them take them back.
Mainly because the old woman was happy.
So she had no choice but to smile. “You’ve really spent a lot.”
“What are you talking about?” Feng Er rubbed his hands. “These are all worthless things. If it weren’t for Miss Shuang, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”
“That’s right,” Xu Huigu chimed in, looking at them. “Miss Shuang, Miss Little Jiang, if there’s anything you need our help with in the future, you can just let us know.”
After chatting for a while, the couple was about to take their leave.
Old Madam Jiang quickly said, “The food is ready. Why don’t you stay for dinner before you go?”
“No, no. We still have a pile of things to deal with at home. We’ll treat you to a meal in the city another day.”
With that, they drove away.
Seeing them leave, Old Madam Jiang walked to the sheep, looked at it from left to right, and felt a little reluctant.
“Why don’t we just keep it and raise it?”
Jiang Huaizhen said, “We have two pigs, a horse, and a large group of rabbits at home. We have to cut grass to feed them. And another sheep—”
“So what if there’s another sheep?” Old Madam Jiang glared at her. “I’m the one cutting the grass, not you.”
Jiang Huaizhen said helplessly, “When you’re tired later, you’ll just scold me.”
“What, can’t I even scold you now?”
Jiang Huaizhen shut up, led the sheep to the stable, and let the two herbivores stay together for the time being.
Lin Shuang held back her laughter and carried the things into the house. “Grandma, it’s getting cold now. If we make a hot pot with lamb spine and lamb slices, it will be so delicious. If we buy lamb outside, it will cost fifty or sixty copper coins per catty.”
Old Madam Jiang swallowed and changed her tune. “Alright then. We’ll wait until the new year and have a hot pot.”
Jiang Huaizhen had dealt with the sheep. When she reached the front door, she saw that Lin Shuang had already packed up the things and had carried them into the house. She went back to the kitchen to help wash the vegetables.
She had bought over three catties of lamb today. Lin Shuang planned to cook the lamb in two ways. The one with skin would be made into a braised lamb pot, and the more tender part would be sliced thinly and stir-fried with scallions. Then she would stir-fry a vegetable dish, and that would be it.
Old Madam Jiang knew that they were cooking her favorite lamb today. She moved a small stool and sat at the kitchen door, talking to them while she waited for dinner.
Ping’er was also drooling and went in and out, asking when dinner would be ready.
Old Madam Jiang said, “This Feng Er is really a good person. He knows that raw meat is not good to keep, so he just brought a sheep. The meat is also cured meat.”
Lin Shuang smiled. “We just finished the cured pork trotters. I was thinking that we might not be able to have cured meat before the new year. I mentioned it to Sister Hui when we were chatting, but I didn’t expect her to remember it.”
“They’re so thoughtful. I don’t know if they cured it themselves or got it from someone else.”
With that, she said to herself, “Twenty catties of cured meat. Their family has many children. It’s unlikely that they would still have so much cured meat. They probably bought it from someone else and then sent it over.”
Lin Shuang nodded. “I think so too. Anyway, we did help them. These things are not that valuable. Since they’ve given them to us, we can just accept them with peace of mind.”
Old Madam Jiang said, “You have to have the ability for us to be able to accept their kindness.”
The old woman was extremely satisfied with her and praised her a few more times.
Jiang Huaizhen was on the side, watching her skillfully stir-fry the vegetables. She thought of her crying and tear-streaked appearance in the morning, and then she recalled her haggard look in the dream. Her lips were pressed tightly together.
It wasn’t until Lin Shuang called her, “The lamb pot is ready. Bring it to the table.”
Only then did she come to her senses, moved the fire to the side stove, wrapped a cloth strip around the handle of the clay pot, and brought the steaming hot lamb pot to the table.
The stir-fried lamb with scallions was also ready soon, and then the rice was served and brought out.
Lin Shuang stir-fried the last vegetable dish, and the old woman and Ping’er were already waiting at the table.
Jiang Huaizhen turned to go to the kitchen.
Seeing her enter, Lin Shuang said, “It’s just the last dish. What are you doing here?”
Jiang Huaizhen didn’t speak and just stood beside her, watching her stir-fry. When she was done, she reached out from behind to help her untie her apron.
Lin Shuang turned and shot her a look of playful reproach. “Don’t I have hands?”
Jiang Huaizhen replied with a question, “I said before that I wanted to learn to cook. Who knew that we would have to build a house later? Grandma didn’t agree and said that I was wasting food… When the house is built, I’ll try again then.”
The corners of Lin Shuang’s lips curled up. She turned and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “What’s there to try? I love to cook for you.”
Jiang Huaizhen took the opportunity to hug her and said nothing, just held her tightly.
Lin Shuang felt her sudden surge of love, and her heart was filled with joy.
The uneasiness that had come from confessing her rebirth to her in the morning also disappeared without a trace. She reached out and patted her back, saying softly, “Grandma and Ping’er are waiting for us to eat.”
Jiang Huaizhen hummed in agreement, let go of her hand, and carried the last plate of vegetables out of the kitchen.
Lin Shuang bit her lip and followed.
