My humble days in ancient times

Mrs. Li was very happy and said with a smile: "You will soon be a sister. You must act like a sister in the future."

Li talked a lot, and Xu Ruyi could only listen reluctantly, nodding from time to time to deal with it.

Six tables of food were prepared, eight people per table. Everyone drank mellow wine, ate delicious food, chatted about family matters, laughed and chatted, and was very happy and satisfied. Now they were full of praise for Xu Ruyi's cooking skills.

Some elderly villagers even had tears in their eyes as they said with deep emotion: "Chinese New Year is just like this. It's so rich and delicious."

Wang Erdan's wife, Jiang Xiaochun, hurried into the house, her slightly tired face gleaming with excitement. Wang Erdan, with his sharp eyes, spotted the large basket Jiang Xiaochun was carrying, filled with colorful candies, plump peanuts, and a variety of beautifully shaped steamed buns.

Wang Erdan's eyes lit up when he saw this. He grabbed a steamed bun shaped like a gold ingot and started to eat it in big mouthfuls. His mouth was full and he asked vaguely, "Is the house of that stinky girl lively today?"

Jiang Xiaochun rolled his eyes at him and said unhappily, "How can it not be lively? The firecrackers were crackling today, and it took a full half day to stop. There were so many people there, a huge crowd. Xu Yatou was really thoughtful and prepared a lot of things. The steamed buns alone filled two large buckets, each one was big and white, making people drool. They bought no less than 20 kilograms of candy, and the colorful candies were piled up together like a small mountain. And the peanuts also filled two baskets, each one was round and plump. Oh, and..."

Wang Erdan frowned slightly, thinking to himself that it was such a lively day, but he couldn't go there in person to find out what was going on. This nameless fire began to burn fiercely in his heart.

He suppressed his inner anger and tried to keep his tone calm as he said, "What's going on?... Stop dilly-dallying and explain it to me right away!"

Jiang, standing nearby, looked a little uneasy. She hesitated for a long time before finally mustering the courage to speak: "Also... a lot of money was spent on this celebration."

Hearing the word "silver and money", Wang Erdan's eyes lit up immediately and he asked hurriedly: "How much money did you pick up?"

Jiang timidly held up two fingers and whispered, "There were too many people, and everyone picked up some. I probably only picked up about twenty coins."

Wang Erdan was stunned when he heard this, but then he realized it and said, "Twenty cents is not a small amount. Those odd jobs in our village only earn this much after working hard all day. Besides, you're not the only one picking up the pieces, so this is a very good result."

After saying this, he thought to himself: It seems that this time, the money for raising the beam is really generous. The little girl really made a lot of money. There is no family in these seven miles and eight villages that is so generous.

Wang Erdan, who had gained some weight, took another big bite of the steamed bun in his hand with his cheeks puffed out. After smacking his lips a few times, a hint of satisfaction flashed in his eyes, and he muttered, "Hmm, it's quite delicious."

After saying that, he glared at Jiang who was standing beside him fiercely and shouted in a rough voice: "Can't you see I'm eating steamed buns? You stubborn idiot, why don't you go get me a cup of hot water? Are you trying to choke me to death?"

Jiang was frightened by this sudden scolding, her body trembling slightly, her hands unconsciously tugging at the corners of her clothes, her eyes full of fear. She didn't dare to neglect it for a moment, and hurriedly turned and ran towards the kitchen with a slightly panicked step.

In the kitchen, Jiang hurriedly picked up a clean bowl, carefully scooped out steaming water from the pot, and gently blew away the hot steam on the surface of the water, fearing that the water was too hot and not to Wang Erdan's liking.

Soon, Jiang came briskly to Wang Erdan, carrying the bowl of hot water. She lowered her head slightly and handed the bowl to him with both hands. Wang Erdan took the bowl, tilted his head back, gulped down a few mouthfuls of hot water, and then finished a steamed bun in a few bites.

Still not satisfied, he reached out and grabbed another steamed bun, chewing it in big mouthfuls, mumbling, "This white flour steamed bun is delicious. You little girl, even though you're usually clumsy, you're actually quite skillful with your hands. This steamed bun is really well made."

Huang Guiyun happily set off on her way home with a basket full of steamed buns. When she arrived home, she was pleasantly surprised to find that Dahu and Erhu had also brought back a large number of steamed buns and candies. For a moment, she was overjoyed and could hardly contain her joy.

At noon, she carefully fried two delicious dishes, and then steamed the white flour buns in the steamer. The whole family ate with relish.

Erhu held the steamed bun in his hand, but he was reluctant to take a bite. He kept muttering, "What beautiful patterns! The one that looks like a gold ingot is mine, the one that looks like a rabbit is mine, and the one that looks like a fish is also mine..."

Huang Guiyun patiently reminded them, "Just looking at it won't fill you up. You'd better eat it quickly. Otherwise, the steamed buns and the dishes will get cold, and they won't taste good."

However, Erhu still seemed nonchalant, his eyes fixed on the exquisite patterns, unable to let go. Erhu then said: "The day after tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival, it won't be too late to save it for then."

Huang Guiyun looked at her silly son with a face full of pity. She saw that he was staring at the delicious white steamed buns on the dining table, swallowing his saliva from time to time.

She couldn't help but whisper, "Erhu, there's still some in the basket. Don't just stare at it, eat it while it's hot! It's always better to eat this stuff than to throw it away after it goes bad."

After hearing his mother's advice, Erhu nodded quickly, then couldn't wait to grab the big ingot-shaped steamed bun in his hand and took a big bite.

A large piece of the steamed bun was bitten off. Erhu chewed the sweet and soft bun in his mouth and muttered incoherently: "Hmm... It's delicious! It's much better than what we make at home!" After that, he started to eat it voraciously again.

Huang Guiyun reminded her, "The noodles we have at home are coarse, and they can't compare to the fine noodles you have. Fine noodles make steamed buns that are soft, fluffy, and sweet. That's the taste of big-noodle steamed buns. Rich people eat steamed buns like this."

Xu Shi and Da Hu went to Xu Ruyi's house to build a house. Xu Ruyi was a master at cooking. Unexpectedly, she was also good at making noodles. So he praised her, "These two kids are really generous. They have good food every day, with plenty of steamed buns and rice. And this noodle dish is really beautiful."

"Yes, yes, you and Da Hu have eaten it and praised it every day. We haven't eaten it yet. I wonder if the braised pork is as delicious as you say."

Erhu was eating his meal seriously, but when he heard the words "braised pork," his eyes lit up like stars in the night sky, and he shouted excitedly, "What braised pork? Mom, can we have braised pork for Mid-Autumn Festival? I haven't had it in ages!"

When Huang Guiyun heard Erhu's words, he suddenly raised his head and glared at Erhu fiercely, his eyes seemed to be able to spit fire.

After being glared at by his mother, Erhu was so scared that he quickly shut his mouth and dared not say another word.