20demayo Chapter 240 Eat What I Tell You
Chapter 240 Eat What I Tell You
Lin Chang'er watched Gu Xiaoman mutter to herself, turning into a chatterbox and showing off her older brother. Zhou Yi followed closely behind them like a little fanboy, occasionally looking up and smiling at Gu Xiaolu.
Li Qingyang was always gentle and polite, always responsive to questions, and attentively listening even when not speaking.
Seeing the four children looking so harmonious and loving, I felt at ease and went to change my clothes.
Zhou Hai had a few women cook the wild boar that Little Goldfish had killed into braised pork.
But after the Gu family came down the mountain, they carried the food back to the Gu family's house, because Sister-in-law Gu's cooking was so delicious!
The men were busy cleaning up the battlefield. Upon receiving the notice, the women from each household brought their own rice, flour, and other rations. Some had even gathered wild vegetables from the mountains, and those who had nothing brought firewood to help at the Gu family's house.
At times like these, Lin Chang'er is never stingy.
Ten buckets of white rice were steamed in wooden steamers, and the aunties were asked to make brown sugar steamed buns from white flour.
From mid-afternoon until dusk, the smoke from the chimneys above the Gu family's house never stopped.
Because the floodwaters had just receded, Lin Chang'er was unable to buy any fresh vegetables even though she had entered the city today.
Fortunately, she had stocked up on a lot of dried vegetables and dried fish beforehand. Sister-in-law Gu added spices and steamed wild boar meat with dried vegetables.
I also made two big pots of spicy baby fish soup, with wild vegetable soup and dried clams added for extra flavor.
Even before mealtime, the aroma of food wafted out of the yard and reached the noses of the men cleaning up.
"To be honest, Sister Gu's cooking skills are truly..." one man gave a thumbs up.
The man next to him chimed in, "It's not good if it's too delicious. I don't dare to eat my fill unless the Gu family invites me to stay for dinner."
"Haha, what are you saying? You make it sound like Chang'er is so stingy. When has she ever not been given enough rice to eat?"
The man chuckled sheepishly, "That's because he's afraid of eating and afraid of Chang'er!"
"Feeling embarrassed? Then bring your own rice next time."
"Haha, you're right, bring the rice yourself."
"That would be insulting Chang'er! I'd better eat less."
"Hahaha..." The men nearby burst into laughter.
Just then, someone called out from afar, "Hurry up, everyone, finish what you're doing and it's time to eat."
"Dinner's ready! Dinner's ready! Hurry up!"
"Yes, yes, I've been drooling for half the afternoon."
When Wu Qingfeng arrived, the men from Linshui Village were going home to get their bowls and chopsticks and were lining up to eat at the Gu family's house.
Liu Zi had already sent A Da to the county town to report the news after defeating the pirates.
Today, the pirates not only landed during the day and raided two villages, but also staged a grand scheme to lure the enemy away from their stronghold. This is no small matter.
Wu Qingfeng also received the news and wanted to send people over, but unfortunately, the county government was also in charge of distributing lime.
There were simply not enough people, so in the end they asked Old Zhu to bring in servants from various households to fill the yamen runners' shifts before they could lead the men down to verify the situation.
Originally, we should have gone to Zhoujia Village first, but when we passed Linshui Village, it was getting dark, and we remembered that Linshui Village and Zhoujia Village had intermarried for generations and had the most relatives by marriage.
Zhou Hai could come along later; having an acquaintance would make communication easier, so they simply came to Linshui Village first.
The villagers of Linshui Village have seen him many times and consider him one of their own.
When they saw him, they did not kneel down or perform a grand ceremony; they simply bowed and called out "Lord Wu" as a greeting.
Wu Qingfeng didn't mind. Instead, he waved to the villagers in a friendly manner and led his men straight into the Gu family's courtyard.
Even so, with so many people, it still took some time to get there.
By the time he arrived, Lin Chang'er had already heard about it.
Several meals were prepared early and were waiting in the main room.
As usual, County Magistrate Li accompanied Wu Qingfeng today, and the constables were all familiar faces.
After exchanging greetings, everyone was at ease and took their own portions of food before finding a place to sit and eat in the courtyard.
Lin Chang'er also ordered a dish, but she didn't order rice. Instead, she took two steamed buns and ate them with the wild vegetable soup.
Although Wu Qingfeng was also hungry, he still ate elegantly. However, he was too busy to care about the rules of not speaking while eating or sleeping.
While eating, he talked to Lin Chang'er, "I heard that you and Uncle Hai led people to provide support to the Zhou family today?"
Lin Chang'er nodded, "I'm afraid the pirates will raid our home. Old Huo is very experienced, so it's safer for him to stay."
Wu Qingfeng nodded. "Are you injured?"
Lin Chang'er laughed, "Do I look injured?"
Wu Qingfeng paused, "Swords have no eyes. We still need to be more careful when Shao'an and I are not around."
Lin Chang'er broke off a piece of brown sugar steamed bun and stuffed it into her mouth. "Don't worry, I don't care about my life. I won't be stupid enough to throw my head away."
Where are the children?
"Li Ge'er has an arm injury and a leg bruise, but he's already been treated with medicine. He'll be fine after resting for a while. The little goldfish are all alright."
Wu Qingfeng grunted in agreement, picked up a piece of braised pork with his chopsticks and ate it. Finally, he asked Lin Chang'er, "This meat is good. I've never seen my sister-in-law cook it before."
Lin Chang'er laughed, "A new dish, braised pork with preserved mustard greens. I was originally planning to have it at Sihai Restaurant these next few days."
"Didn't the flood submerge all the vegetables? I couldn't buy any vegetables in the county town, so I just ate them myself to go with my rice."
"What a coincidence that you arrived just in time! Was it delicious?"
Wu Qingfeng nodded, "Delicious!"
Lin Chang'er leaned closer and said, "Let me tell you, this is wild boar meat. It was hunted by Little Goldfish."
Wu Qingfeng turned his head, "A little goldfish?"
Lin Chang'er nodded, "Yes, it's Little Goldfish." She immediately told him about how the wild boar had rushed into the tree shed and how Little Goldfish had fought it off with his bare hands.
This kid is a promising talent. If he's properly nurtured, he'll have a bright future. Wu Qingfeng was very proud of him, saying, "He's incredibly capable."
Lin Chang'er smiled and said, "That's my son!"
Wu Qingfeng suppressed a laugh. It was the first time she had ever seen a stepmother and stepson get along so harmoniously. It was good. This boy would be her source of confidence in the future.
As Lin Chang'er spoke, she picked up some dried vegetables and braised pork from her plate and gave Wu Qingfeng a brown sugar steamed bun as well. "After you finish here, you still have to go to Zhoujia Village, right? It'll be late at night by the time you get back. Eat more!"
Wu Qingfeng accepted the steamed bun and handed the braised pork sandwich back to her, saying, "You eat too."
Lin Chang'er ate steamed buns with soup, saying, "There's more in the pot, so eat it if I tell you to."
"Okay." Wu Qingfeng didn't refuse anymore. It wasn't that she didn't understand; with so many people sharing a pig, each person getting such a large piece of meat was already the limit. How could there possibly be any left in the pot? She was just being considerate of him.
Since it was her wish, he accepted it to avoid making her worry, which would be unpleasant.
Remembering the unfamiliar faces she'd seen in the yard, she smoothly changed the subject, "Why do I see a few strangers in the yard? Are we having guests today?"