The dead general was kidnapped by his husband and taken to farm.

There was no other sound in the house or yard except the sound of the rain falling again.

Jiang Shian closed the book on the desk, stood up and stretched.

Without the sun, he really couldn't tell what time it was. He felt a little hungry. There were some leftover vegetables and meat at home, so he guessed it was time for dinner.

Ji Yinghuai was really exhausted yesterday. He has been quiet for the whole morning, so he must still be resting.

He hasn’t touched the bacon that Aunt Huang’s family sent him last time, so he wanted to save it for when Ji Yinghuai comes back to eat it together. So he might as well fry it and try it today.

The puppy lying on the ground barked twice when he saw him stand up, then climbed up and followed him to the kitchen.

The puppy has been very well behaved since it came. He read a book all morning. Except for the time when he gave the dog two steamed buns, the puppy whimpered while eating, and the rest of the time it lay obediently on the ground.

While steaming the dry rice, Jiang Shian picked a few green peppers and put them in a wooden basin.

He bought this in town. It was just shipped here from some other place. The pepper vines they planted here have not yet started to produce peppers, and it is estimated that it will take more than a month before they can be picked.

There are also two bamboo shoots. There are many bamboos on their mountain, and you can go and dig spring bamboo shoots if you want to eat them. These were sent by Aunt Huang and others.

He picked two small cabbages from the vegetable field, washed them, and carried them back to the kitchen.

My cold symptoms have improved a lot, except for a stuffy nose, I have no other discomfort.

You don't need to take this medicine anymore, you will be better tomorrow.

Steam the rice, boil water in a pot to clean the bacon, and then boil it again before taking it out. Cut it into slices and stir-fry it with chili peppers.

This smoked bacon is actually streaky meat, each piece is just the right amount of fat and lean, and it smells especially fragrant. Since it's cooked anyway, Jiang Shian simply tasted a piece first.

After chewing it for a few times, his eyes narrowed. It was indeed delicious. This year he bought more and smoked some for hanging at home.

You don’t need to add much oil when stir-frying meat. Just fry the chili peppers and garlic cloves until fragrant, then pour the meat in and stir-fry evenly. Since it’s marinated, you don’t need to add salt or other seasonings.

Just as I put the food into the bowl, I heard a man's voice behind me.

"I can smell the fragrance even in the yard. What did Shi An cook?" Ji Yinghuai asked as he walked in from the door.

"I couldn't bear to eat the bacon that Aunt Huang sent me two days ago, so I waited for you to come back and fried a piece for you to try." He put the meat into the bowl and then turned around to look at the man.

After a good sleep, Ji Yinghuai looked refreshed, and all his morning fatigue was gone.

Ji Yinghuai was in a good mood. Hearing the boy say, "I'll wait for you to come back before eating," a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. It turned out that the other party was also waiting and thinking about him coming back. This feeling made him feel warm in his heart.

"Yes, it's you, Shi'an, who misses me." He walked over and sat down in front of the stove to help light the fire.

The puppy whimpered when he saw him, stood up and walked towards him, then continued to lie down and sleep at his feet.

Jiang Shian was not angry even when being teased. He was clearly telling the truth. The man had helped him so much before, he couldn't just eat it all alone.

The bamboo shoots have been blanched in water, and the oil in the pan is hot. Add the dried chili peppers and minced garlic, and then pour the garlic slices in and stir-fry. When cooked, serve, and only the last cabbage is left.

The home-grown Chinese cabbage is tender and juicy, and is best used in making soup.

Jiang Shian likes to use lard when cooking soup. After the water boils, put the oil in, and then add the cabbage after the oil melts. Just boil it for a while.

"Okay, let's eat!" He brought the dishes to the table and turned around to see Ji Yinghuai taking the medicine jar that he had placed in the corner to the stove and boiling it.

Jiang Shian: “…”

The smile on his face disappeared instantly, so he put it in the corner where the man could still see it at a glance.

If he had known earlier, he should have left it outside the door. Really.

Ji Yinghuai put the medicine pot on the stove, turned around and saw the man standing there grinding his teeth. He sighed helplessly and said in a low voice: "Good medicine tastes bitter. Drink the medicine so that you will have the energy to go to town tomorrow."

Jiang Shian curled his lips and was too lazy to argue any more. The two sat down to eat. He roughly asked what Ji Yinghuai had been doing for the past two days.

Ji Yinghuai briefly explained that his younger brother had murdered him for money, and now he even coveted the money of other people in the same clan. He tried to be brief, mainly because this matter involved a lot of things, and he didn't want Jiang Shian to fall into danger.

Jiang Shian nodded. He was a smart man, so he could naturally hear it. The main purpose of asking was to find out whether the man was in trouble and needed help or something. Although he might not be able to help, it was still necessary for him to show concern as a friend.

Gouzai also got a few pieces of meat, eating them with gusto and nudging Jiang Shian with his head. He got some meat again this morning and looked much happier than he was this morning.

"Good boy!" Jiang Shian touched its head.

Talking about the business he had thought of in the past two days, he told Ji Yinghuai that he wanted to make soap and needed badger oil.

He asked, "Can we still hunt badgers in the mountains these two days?"

"Of course they can. Badgers will come out to look for food, but they are not as fat as they were before winter, so the oil they can produce is limited." He put a piece of meat into Jiang Shi'an's bowl, then said, "It's raining today, so it's inconvenient to go up the mountain. I'll go look for them tomorrow."

"Okay. But there's no rush. Our toothbrush and tooth powder business is pretty good right now. A lot of merchants have come to place orders these past two days! If we can't catch them in the mountains, we can go to the hunters' houses to buy them."

This is one of his ways to make money. If it doesn’t work, he will go up the mountain to hunt badgers in the autumn and do other business first.

With the news from his elder brother, he didn't have to worry too much for the time being and could invest the money he had in the shop first.

He talked to Ji Yinghuai about opening a shop to sell cold dishes. Nowadays, the weather is getting hotter, and many people who work as helpers in the town will provide a meal if they meet a good customer. Coarse grain steamed buns and cold rice may not be enough to fill them up.

If there was no food, the most they could do was go to roadside vendors, steamed bun shops, etc. Most of the food they sold was cooked food, and he had never seen cold food in the town.

This can be eaten directly, with wine or as a side dish. It is also easy to make. As long as the spices are sufficient and the dish is fresh, there will be no shortage of people who will eat it.

He could try setting up the stall for two days first, and if the products sold well, he could open a shop.

The shop doesn't have to sell only cold dishes. When the customer flow increases, you can sell braised meat and dishes. The clams that I wanted to sell before are still in abundance in the river, and they are even fatter. You can also open a hot pot shop in winter.

Ji Yinghuai listened to him talking without interrupting him.

Looking at the young boy in front of him, he was a little confused. There were so many things. Braised meat was also sold in Beijing, and the cold dish was not difficult to guess based on the name. I had never heard of hot pot, so how did this guy come up with so many ways to eat it?

There was a double-boiled pot, red soup, clear soup, and tomato soup base. These were all words I had never heard of, but after the boy described it like this, I felt that it would definitely taste good if it was made.

After getting Ji Yinghuai's affirmation, Jiang Shian's smile became even brighter.

Ji Yinghuai had slept enough in the morning. After eating and cleaning up the kitchen, he urged Jiang Shian to take his medicine and rest for a while.

Jiang Shian swallowed the medicine with a bitter taste, and before he put the bowl down, he quickly stuffed four or five fruit candies into his mouth with his other hand.

After the bitterness subsided, he dragged Ji Yinghuai to the study.

"Why are you wasting time sleeping in broad daylight? I've read a lot of books these days and copied down the words I don't know. You can teach me how to recognize them. I've also thought of a few more storybooks. I'll tell you and you can write them down..."

A lot of things were added to the study. The writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone were placed on the desk, and two more bookcases were added, on which a lot of books were placed.

Ji Yinghuai walked over and looked through it. It was quite a mix of books. Some of the books he had seen before at the teacher's place were said to be out of print and could not be found. He did not expect that Jiang Shian would find them in this small place.

Jiang Shian told him the story he had come up with over the past two days. Ji Yinghuai listened while writing on paper with a brush in his left hand.

Jiang Shian speaks in plain language, which lacks a lot of plot coherence and details, but Ji Yinghuai can fill in the gaps very well.

He held the brush in his left hand, and whenever he encountered any obstructions or logical problems, he would discuss them with Jiang Shian.

Jiang Shian has not stopped practicing calligraphy these days. In the evening, when he has free time in the yard, he would take a branch and write and draw on the ground.

The words written now are much better than the horrible drawing at the beginning. At least you can tell what the words are.

So there were two people in the study, one was writing a storybook, and the other was sitting there practicing calligraphy.

Ji Yinghuai looked up at Jiang Shian from time to time, his eyes full of tenderness and love.

Only Jiang Shian, who was so careless, didn't notice anything was wrong and just kept grunting with his head buried.

The paper he used was given to him by the owner of the bookstore. Although it was the lowest quality straw paper, it was more than enough for practicing calligraphy.