That afternoon.
Once work was over, the Lin Family hurried back home without stopping.
The fellow villagers watched as the Lin family rushed home as if chased by a dog, giving each other puzzled looks, not understanding the reason.
"What's the occasion at the Lin family? Why are they moving so fast?"
"Could it be that they are going to eat meat? Otherwise, why the rush?"
"You're thinking too much. Apart from people in the city who get to eat meat, us farmers... better not dream about it!"
"Speaking of city folk, isn't someone from the Liu Family about to become a regular employee? Wonder how that's going now?"
"No matter what, even if they don't get regularized, just being a temporary worker there is better than us."
"True that..."
...
The Lin family turned a deaf ear to the villagers' whispers – what did it matter if they were gossiped about a bit?
Eating meat was what mattered most!
Li Xiuli, carrying her family's anticipation, washed her hands and entered the kitchen.
The chicken was no small bird; she decided to make a stew with pheasant and potatoes.
At that time, condiments were scarce, so cooking truly tested one's skills.
Li Xiuli had been cooking for fifteen or twenty years, and her culinary skills were quite good.
Today, as she was cooking a special meal, she didn't skimp on ingredients like she usually did; she cooked generously.
First, Li Xiuli rinsed the chunks of pheasant meat that Lin Qingmu had previously chopped, with clean water.
Then she scalded it with boiling water before setting it aside.
She instructed the eldest child in the house to peel the potatoes and cut them into chunks.
"Tangtang, make the fire bigger!" Li Xiuli said to Lin Tang, who was tending the fire.
While speaking, she put some lard into the wok to heat it up.
She took out the precious white sugar her family stored and caramelized it to make a sugar color.
She then put the pheasant meat into the wok and stir-fried it until colored.
Afterward, she added water and put in scallions, ginger, Sichuan peppercorns, and other spices.
The fire was strong, and it quickly brought the stew to a boil.
A tempting aroma slowly escaped from beneath the lid of the pot.
Wisps of smoke laced with tantalizing fragrance filled the entire kitchen.
Li Xiuli, fearing the aromatic scent might cause trouble if it wafted outside, had already tightly closed all the doors and windows in advance.
If it were pork bought from the market, it would have been fine.
But this was game meat found in the mountains.
To avoid unwanted attention, eating meat quietly was the smart way to do it.
If someone did find out, it wouldn't be too hard to make up an excuse.
After simmering on low heat for about half an hour,
Li Xiuli lifted the lid and added the chunks of potato.
Lifting the lid released an even more enticing aroma!
Even the usually calm and composed Ning Xinrou couldn't help but swallow her saliva.
It smelled so good!
It was so tempting!
"Mom, it smells amazing!"
Lin Tang sat in front of the stove, looking up at her busy mother, swallowing her saliva.
To be honest, she didn't expect to crave it this much.
It wasn't a lack of resilience if her stomach craved oil and moisture.
Li Xiuli, seeing her petite daughter sitting on a small stool, her face weathered by hardship brimming with a smile,
said, "Tangtang, wait a little longer, it will be ready in about ten minutes. I'll save the big chicken leg for my girl."
When Lin Tang heard her mom cajoling her as if she were still a child, her fair and pretty face blushed slightly.
"Mom, let Goudan and the others have the chicken legs, I'll just have the wings, I like them."
After such incredible experiences, having suffered quite a lot,
Lin Tang thought she would no longer act childishly.
But to her surprise, in just a short two days,
she had returned to being the coddled Lin Tang under the affectionate care of her father and brothers.
At that moment, she had a realization—
No matter how old she grew,
No matter what she had been through,
In front of her family, she could always be that child who never grew up!
Li Xiuli had no idea what her daughter was thinking, she just felt Tangtang was so sensible it made her unsure how to properly lavish her with love.
"Mother will listen to Tangtang."
Ning Xinrou, looking at her mother-in-law and younger sister-in-law, felt an indescribable sense of emotion.
She had never imagined that she could marry into such a family before she turned eighteen.
But now, she had finally clearly understood her own heart's thoughts, and she did not regret it.
"On behalf of the children, I thank Mother and Tangtang."
Lin Tang smiled, "Big sister, there's no need to be so polite, we are family after all."
They were the closest of kin in the world!
Ning Xinrou softly replied, taking her little sister-in-law's words to heart.
She planned to use the cloth her husband had given her a few years back to make an article of clothing for Lin Tang.
Meanwhile, outside the kitchen,
Lin Qingmu, with his two little nephews, was sticking close to the crack of the door, earnestly sniffing the fragrance wafting from within.
"Uncle, do you smell that? I can smell it, it's so good!"
Goudan touched his empty stomach, his saliva almost dripping to the ground.
Why is it not ready yet!
Stressed...
Lin Qingmu calculated the time, then smelling the subtle fragrance coming from the kitchen, said, "It should be ready soon."
Lin Lu saw his unruly youngest brother dragging the two nephews so close to the kitchen door, completely lacking in image.
He simply couldn't bear to look.
He walked over and without holding back, gave Lin Qingmu a smack on the back.
"You scamp, it's bad enough that you're unreliable.
But to even take Goudan and Choudan along with you, what kind of almost-twenty-year-old acts as unreliable as you?"
He worried whether such an unreliable son would become a burden.
Lin Qingmu, after being hit, quickly stepped back, keeping a two-meter distance from his father.
"Dad, am I your real son? How come you don't hold back? You're going to break my bones," he said with a pained expression, baring his teeth in grievance.
In those days, people couldn't even get enough to eat.
So even without holding back, there wasn't much strength in the strike.
It didn't really hurt.
But Lin Qingmu, always apt to play up drama, accordingly made a fuss.
"If I held back, how could I discipline you? You rascal, you only remember the good and forget the beatings. In the future, whatever unreliable things you do, don't drag your nephews into it."
Goudan, seeing his uncle get hit, his eyes swiveled, pulling his brother towards the house.
Meanwhile whispering to Choudan, "Brother will get you some food."
Lin Qingshan and Lin Qingshui, guessing that the meal was almost ready, exchanged glances and went to wash their hands.
And as for their beaten brother?
Cough, after all, the brother had thick skin and wouldn't be hurt.
Lin Lu didn't pay attention to them.
He smelled the fragrance seeping through the door crack and couldn't help but twitch his nose a few times.
Licking his lips, he also went to wash his hands.
So delicious!!
Zhou Mei returned home with her two children, finding the courtyard gate closed.
Thinking that the family had already started eating, she became anxious and banged on the door noisily.
Lin Qingshui, hearing his wife's roar and commotion, hurried over to open the courtyard door.
"Can't you be gentler? You're about to smash the door," he scolded, glaring at Zhou Mei with a face full of exasperation.
Then, paying no further attention to his feisty wife,
he picked up his watery-eyed little daughter, with a face full of fatherly affection.
"Does Niuniu miss Daddy?"
Niuniu was five years old this year.
Her features, inherited from Zhou Mei, were quite pretty.
Big round eyes and a little mouth, she was very adorable.
If only she weren't so thin and dark, she would be even more adorable.
Hearing her father's words, she said in a childlike tone, "I did, and I also missed Grandpa, Grandma, Brother, Uncle… and Aunt Tangtang too."
She thought of everyone in the family.
Hutou looked up at his father picking up his sister and didn't fuss, instead tugging at Lin Qingshui's hem.
"Daddy, I missed you too."
The grandmother's house was nice, but he missed home, and he missed Brother Goudan and the others.
Lin Qingshui glanced at his son and responded absently, "Mm, Daddy missed you too."