Bai Zhi saw her grandfather frowning with a very angry look, seemingly lost in his thoughts again. Her grandfather was a good man in every aspect, just a bit too imaginative.
She didn't wait for him to respond and directly put the pork belly she bought into the pot to remove the hair.
Since the skin of the pork sold at markets has a lot of hair, it needs to be dealt with. Then she added water, washed it clean, and started boiling it with fresh water.
Bai Dan tended to the fire, while Bai Zhi, with the vegetable basket in hand, went to pick vegetables following the locations she remembered. Her grandpa was very diligent; eggplants, chili peppers, tomatoes, and green beans were all in season and perfect for eating now.
Once she got to the field, she saw everything was there and quickly harvested some of each; soon, her basket was too full to carry any more.
And there was the winter melon—although it wasn't the time to eat them yet. In just over a month, they would be ready.
On the way back, she saw Bai Ye and his crew again, but only from a distance, not on the same path. They seemed to be digging for fish mint, something they did often since it could be sold for money.
But alas, they never invited the original owner along. Actually, the original owner didn't have time, her days were filled with endless chores,
cleaning, serving them, and still doing homework. Raising chickens and pigs, they could earn money to buy candy, treating the original owner to a piece now and then, without ever thinking of helping out a bit!
That's what they called not playing favorites.
However, the current Bai Zhi wasn't concerned with these matters. Everyone else might be the protagonist or the male lead, but what about her? She was just cannon fodder, better off keeping her distance from them to live well.
Bai Zhi, carrying the basket, returned home. The cucumbers were especially fresh, so she rinsed one and started crunching on it,
The crispy taste was so delightful it brightened her mood considerably.
The rest would be cooked in the pork broth, which would taste even better.
The chili peppers would be used for stir-fried pork, and she would fry an eggplant. The remaining tomatoes and the green beans would be saved for the afternoon meal.
For the two of them, one dish of meat and one of eggplant, plus the soup, was enough.
In the past, Bai Dan would just eat whatever, but now they had two dishes and a soup, and it was prepared well.
Bai Dan felt, truly, he was living a blessed life.
"Grandpa, it's time to eat."
At home, the chopsticks and the wooden spatula were made by Bai Dan himself. Eating with them, one could still taste the flavor of bamboo.
The pork wasn't all cooked. Bai Zhi cut it into thirds—one part she took to Bai Da and his family, and another cooked part was left for the afternoon meal.
It was now summertime. If left too long, the food would spoil!
That's why she cooked two portions at once. Seeing Bai Zhi distributing everything so logically, Bai Dan wasn't worried and just went along with her.
In the afternoon, Bai Zhi planned to stay home and do her homework. Now in the third grade, she also had to wash clothes, tidy up, and then check nearby for fish mint—not to sell, but for themselves to eat, a really beneficial plant.
And the honeysuckle; she remembered there were honeysuckle plants nearby. That was her real objective; drinking it often would help cool her down.
"Eat up, Xingxing, the meat you made is delicious,"
Bai Dan remarked as he ate, finding it particularly fragrant. If he had made it, it would have just been boiled casually.
"Grandpa will eat too. If not for your hard work, Xingxing wouldn't have meat to eat."
Bai Zhi felt a warmth in her heart. Whether in reality or here, her grandfather was always the one who cared for her the most. She would have to treat him very well in the future.
"After a while, take a piece of meat to your dad and them. Although he's not a good dad."
Bai Dan sighed. This son of his really didn't get it.
"Okay, grandpa, I'll go this afternoon. My dad isn't home now, and I'm afraid."
What if she delivered it, and they didn't acknowledge it? Maybe or maybe not.
"They wouldn't dare. If Grandpa delivers it, you rest at home this afternoon then. After I chop the bamboo and come back, we'll go, okay?"
Bai Dan remembered and became angry. Back then, Xingxing's wound was so frightening. The doctor had said it would likely leave a scar.
A girl, with a future scar, he didn't dare tell Xingxing. What would she do in the future?
"Okay, Grandpa, don't overwork yourself, I'll feel bad for you. You must always stay with me in the future."
Bai Zhi added another piece of meat to Grandpa's bowl. Old people are like that, always wanting to give the best to the children. He would just eat the garlic sprouts in the dish; he wouldn't pick up a single piece of meat.
Bai Dan kept putting meat into Bai Zhi's bowl,
"Grandpa doesn't eat meat, it's too rich."
Bai Zhi put down her chopsticks, pouted, and looked unhappy,
"If Grandpa doesn't eat, neither will I. I find it rich too."
How could she not like it? She was just saving it for her.
"Alright, alright," Bai Dan's nose felt sour; Xingxing felt for him, and he was too happy to have time to respond.
"Grandpa eats, Grandpa eats."
With tears in his eyes, he ate the meat. It was the most delicious meat he had ever tasted, without exception.
After dinner, Bai Zhi cleaned up the bowls and chopsticks, then she put the meat away in the cabinet, which was made of bamboo by Grandpa and was convenient with a door to close it.
Because it was made of bamboo, it was breathable, so the meat wouldn't spoil.
That afternoon, Bai Zhi started doing homework. She sat in the main room, opened the window, and a refreshing breeze came through. There was a pear tree, a loquat tree, and a grape trellis in the yard; it was so cool.
Homework for the third grade was, of course, effortless for Bai Zhi. Doing unit exercises, she picked up the pen and began working on them immediately. The young girl had never done them before, not because she couldn't, but because there was no time.
After working on the homework for over an hour, she put it away. She picked up a basket and a sickle, ready to head out toward the bamboo forest.
There was plenty of fish mint there, and next to the bamboo forest, a large swath of wild honeysuckle grew. She would pick them, prepare them, and then sell them at the pharmacy in town.
In reality, she lived with her grandfather, who planted honeysuckle, so she was very familiar with processing it, as well as tea leaves. If she had tea leaves, she would also fry them.
Speaking of which, there seemed to be tea trees on the mountain, unattended and in unknown condition. She definitely planned to check them out someday soon, pick some, process them, and then brew them to drink properly.
She didn't like drinking plain water; where there was tea, it was much more comforting.
She knew how to make Honeysuckle Tea, Jasmine Tea, and others.
Finding the spot, indeed there was plenty of honeysuckle. Bai Zhi was delighted and hurriedly picked them all.
While it was still early, she would go back and process them; the fish mint could wait a little longer to avoid mixing flavors.
The freshly picked honeysuckle needed cleaning and then drying. Actually, it was best to pick honeysuckle before noon to prevent it from blooming, but since no one tended these, they were already open, and picking them now was about right.
After everything was prepared, it was already afternoon. Now, without a watch or a mobile phone, she could only estimate the time by looking at the sun.
It was time to dig up the fish mint. After bringing it back and cleaning it, it only needed a bit of soy sauce to taste delicious.
Bai Dan had brought the bamboo back by this time and taken the piece of meat over to Bai Da.
Bai Da had returned too; she worked at a cement factory and had come back earlier than usual since it wasn't busy. Seeing her father bring back a piece of meat, she was somewhat surprised.
"Dad, why have you brought meat over?"