It's really hard to just farm peacefully.

"Half an hour ago, the kitchen steward came to complain that you two had recklessly snatched two baskets of food and were going to cook yourselves. Now that so much time has passed, where are the things you two made? Let me see."

As soon as Chang Ruxing and Chang Ruyue stepped into the courtyard, they heard faint interrogation coming from the small garden on the left.

The two of them lowered their heads and moved towards there little by little. Even though they didn't want to face it at the moment, they soon came to their mother who was sitting in the rattan swing chair.

"Don't play dumb. Come into the house and tell me the truth. What bad things have you two done secretly?" Mrs. Chang Er stood up and walked towards the living room, leaving the swing behind her swaying in the cold wind.

……

In the guest house, Jiang Yan and her friends were almost halfway through preparing dinner.

Jiang Yan and the other two brought back the food, and according to the division of labor, Baoqin and the others should take over the preparation. Jiang Yan could have gone back to the house to rest, but she was very concerned about the contents of the basket and its weight. Only by looking at it and knowing the amount could she feel at ease.

Fu Nulang, who was still at the courtyard gate, was forgotten for a moment, and everyone squeezed into the small kitchen that had been quickly opened - a small side room that also served as a place to store buckets and charcoal.

Perhaps because they were afraid that others would see what was in the basket, the young masters of the Chang family carefully covered it with two pieces of white cloth.

Tingying clasped her hands together and bowed to the outside, then quickly uncovered it.

The first basket contained a few sticks of firewood, with the gaps filled with charcoal. If used sparingly, it could keep the yard warm for two more days.

The contents of the second basket were...more scattered.

The first thing that caught my eye was five scattered eggs. Tingying picked them out carefully and examined them carefully under the oil lamp. They were good, with no cracks.

Then came a small cloth bag of snow-white flour that smelled of wheat. Jiang Yan took it and weighed it with his bare hands. It was about two kilograms.

Then came a small cloth bag of crystal clear rice, weighing about one pound and six ounces.

Further down was a young hen that was being marinated in a wooden basin but not yet cooked. The basin and the chicken weighed three and a half pounds, with the basin taking up at least two pounds.

There are three more sections that should be lamb ribs, but judging by the darker color of the meat, they could also be from cows, donkeys, or deer, weighing less than three pounds.

What was left was half a white radish, a small jar of soybean paste the size of a rice bowl, and some unnamed dried vegetables that were almost crushed into pieces at the bottom of the basket.

Jiang Yan sniffed hard and could only barely make out a hint of mushroom scent.

The ingredients were smaller in quantity and could not be eaten by eight people in two meals, but the variety was very rich, especially the meat. Jiang Yan felt hungry just by looking at it.

When she was in Dongshan Village, she could occasionally enjoy some wild game. When she came to Fang Mansion, she could eat a few grains of oil residue a week, but there were also meat dishes that Fu Nulang had not touched, which the maids could share.

After arriving at Fu's maternal grandfather's house, there was no meat or fish at all, and even starvation was a common occurrence, just like the surname of this mansion.

Thank you Mr. Chang Ruxing and Ms. Chang Ruyue for your generous gift.

Jiang Yan was satisfied and was about to leave, leaving space for Baoqin and the others to show their skills, but unexpectedly -

"Say it again! You don't even know how to cook!?" Jiang Yan really wanted to ask them how they survived before becoming maids.

"I do cook a little, actually. But the way I cook for myself and the way I cook for girls are completely different."

Baoqin explained in a low voice that in the past, when the maids were not full or did not receive servants' meals, they would only use the clay pots in the house to cook some porridge or paste, and at most add some salt and dried vegetables, and they had no cooking skills at all.

They've seen the finished product of slightly more advanced ingredients, but know very little about how to process them on a daily basis. Even if they've seen them in the kitchen a few times, they wouldn't dare practice with these hard-earned ingredients until they've learned the full process.

It's not that they are afraid of wasting it. No matter how bad the food tastes, the maids can swallow it with their eyes closed. But the girl Fu, who is dressed in fine clothes and eats delicious food, can't do it.