The three sisters-in-law began to bustle about in the kitchen, and it was then that Xiaoxiao learned how the debt of five taels had come about.
Yang Ming's grandfather had five sons and two daughters. A few years ago, they had divided their property. The land was divided based on the number of people; each person received several acres. The two daughters, having married off, were not involved in the division. Since the grandparents went to live with the eldest uncle, the grandparents' main house and two acres of land also went to the eldest uncle. The other sons received Silver to buy their own land and build their houses, except for Yang Ming's father.
The reason turned out to be Yang Ming because Yang Ming had spent quite a bit of money since he was a child. So, at the time of division, they used the excuse that he had spent too much of the family's Silver to leave Yang Ming's family without any Silver to divide. Not only did they not receive any Silver, but they also had to pay an extra ten taels.
Since they had nowhere else to go, the old master gave them the old house. However, the other sons disagreed. In the end, it was decided to settle with ten taels of Silver paid to the eldest uncle's family as support for the old couple for five years, equating to two taels per year. During these five years, no one else needed to contribute to the support fee. After five years, each family would pay another five hundred Wen of support fee annually! This year just happened to be the fifth year, and during these five years, because of house repairs, their son's marriage, having another child, and providing for Yang Ming's education, the family had barely managed to pay off the five taels.
Xiaoxiao was very surprised after hearing this. It turned out that Yang Ming was to blame. She was technically Yang Ming's wife, so it wasn't wrong for her to pay. However, she still felt that her mother-in-law and father-in-law were too honest. How could they be bullied like this? She definitely wouldn't have agreed if it were her! And shouldn't Yang Ming have stepped up? Just like this! Bad review! Bad review!
"Sister-in-law, are we out of rice?" Xiaoxiao began cooking and found that there was no rice!
"You used all the rice this morning. We don't usually eat rice; it's too expensive, costing twenty Wen per pound! We bought a few pounds because you and your third brother were hosting important guests for your wedding. This morning, you were so eager to cook for us that we did not have the heart to tell you!" explained the sister-in-law.
"…" What a kind-hearted family! She had not realized that was the only rice they had at home. The village did not have any rivers nearby, so there were no paddy fields. Due to the soil quality, the yield of wheat was also low; hence, the area only grew maize. Each family could just about get by growing maize, making rice and flour very precious commodities here!
From now on, they could only eat coarse maize flour. But luckily, Xiaoxiao loved eating flour-based foods and could still accept it.
"Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, will we make flatbreads or maize flour buns today? I'll handle the dishes," Xiaoxiao said.
Speaking of which, everyone got busy. Xiaoxiao used the bought fat to render oil, saving the residue for soup later. The pork belly and big bones she bought were left outside; the cold winter weather would keep them fresh, so they did not need to be cured. The plan was to eat the ribs today.
No sooner said than done, she peeled the potatoes, chopped them up, cut the ribs into pieces, blanched them in water, and prepared scallions and ginger. She sautéed the scallions and ginger in oil, then added soy sauce and rock sugar. She stir-fried the rib pieces until they were colored, added water, and once it boiled, added the potatoes and stewed everything in one seamless motion!
The two sisters-in-law watched agape! Was this their young sister-in-law? The one rumored to be incapable in the kitchen? The way she cooked just now, didn't look like it at all! It was like she was a master chef! They definitely couldn't cook this type of dish!