Stepmother in charge: Making a fortune through farming and raising her children to fight back

"Here, who is it?"

Aunt Zhao opened the door and was a little surprised to see Yun Zhenzhen.

In the past year, Yun Zhenzhen has become famous in the village for her harsh treatment of several children, and many people are unwilling to pay attention to her.

But Aunt Zhao was kind-hearted and didn't want to make enemies, so she spoke in a friendly manner.

"Hey, you from the Rule family, what happened?"

"It's like this, Aunt Zhao. I went to the mountains today to find some food and wanted to cook it for the children, but I don't have any seasonings at home. Can I borrow some from you?"

Fearing that the other party would not lend it, Yun Zhenzhen quickly said, "I really don't have time to buy it right now, so I'm bothering you. I'm so sorry."

There was a hint of surprise in Aunt Zhao's eyes. It was rare for her to take the initiative to cook a meal for the children. She acted like a mother, so how could she be unwilling to lend the money?

"Just wait." After saying that, he turned and went back to the house.

Yun Zhenzhen stood there for a moment, and Aunt Zhao came out with a bowl of seasoning. "This is dried tangerine peel, star anise, and bay leaves. Add some Sichuan peppercorns. Everything will taste good. You're out of salt, right? I don't have much at home either. Take some. It'll be enough for two meals."

At the end, he even gave her a handful of chopped green onions in his hand.

Yun Zhenzhen thanked her repeatedly, and when she was about to leave, Aunt Zhao called her back and handed her a bowl.

"I don't have any extra food at home. Here are a few sweet potatoes. Share them with you mothers. And don't eat that koji. It's useless and bitter. Even adults can't eat it, let alone the children."

After saying that, he turned around and went back to the house.

Yun Zhenzhen looked at the sweet potatoes in the bowl and it took her a long time to react. The last time she went down the mountain and met Aunt Zhao, she must have seen the radish in her backpack and misunderstood her.

After closing the door, the head of the Zhao family quietly came out from the inner room and asked her quietly, "What's going on? Did the man next door beat the child again?"

"No, I'm cooking for the kids." Aunt Zhao smiled. "She still remembers to cook for the kids. She's much better than before."

Uncle Zhao said angrily, "How can she be so kind? She's lucky enough to give the child a full meal every day. This is the second time she's fired today. Has she really found her conscience?"

Aunt Zhao smiled and patted him, but did not refute.

The fire in the stove was burning fiercely. Yun Zhenzhen washed the seasonings and threw them into the pot.

However, stewing meat alone doesn’t taste good. It would be better if there were mushrooms. Stewing a whole chicken with mushrooms makes me drool just thinking about it.

Qin Li was standing by helping out. When he heard something about mushrooms, he remembered that the bag he had found contained mushrooms, so he quickly went out and brought it back.

Yun Zhenzhen looked at the big bag of matsutake mushrooms in front of her and couldn't help but sigh at the boy's good luck. These mushrooms are much more valuable than ordinary mushrooms and can be exchanged for money. How could she bear to eat them?

It’s time to buy some new things for the house.

Yun Zhenzhen scooped out the oil on the surface. She could use it to make soup tomorrow, and the wild vegetables in the soup would have the aroma of meat.

Pour out four bowls of the remaining chicken soup and have each person drink some to moisten their body so they can enjoy the meat later.

The fragrant chicken soup, with a layer of shiny oil on the surface and bubbling with steam, attracted Qin Nan who was outside the door and stared at it, but did not dare to touch it.

Meat was so precious that they never got to eat the leftovers from their stepmother.

"Why, don't you want to drink?"

Yun Zhenzhen asked deliberately.

This time, it was Qin Li who picked up the bowl first. He lowered his head and took a sip regardless of the heat.

Seeing that their eldest brother had already taken action, the two children were no longer afraid. They quickly picked up the chicken soup and drank it in big gulps. Soon they had finished it all.

Yun Zhenzhen smiled and shook her head, "Drink slowly, no one is trying to snatch it from you, there's plenty in the pot." As she said that, she took out the coarse salt that Aunt Zhao had given her and added some to the pot.

"Since I've made it today, I'll definitely let you eat it."

Qin Nan nodded repeatedly as he listened.

After about half a minute, Yun Zhenzhen estimated that it was ready to be served, so she opened the lid and sprinkled some chopped green onions on it, and the aroma of the chicken soup was instantly released.

Just smelling it has already aroused the gluttony in my stomach.

Before serving, Yunying served a bowl to Aunt Zhao's family.

"Shouze family, what's the matter..." Aunt Zhao was a little surprised when she saw the bowl of meat in Yunying's hand.

This is the return of the seasoning to the meat. It is so solid and the meat is so precious.

"Aunt Zhao, we just killed a pheasant at home. I'll bring you a bowl to try." Yun Zhenzhen handed over the bowl with a smile.

Aunt Zhao refused again and again, but she couldn't resist her enthusiasm, so she took it.

After returning to the house, Uncle Zhao looked at the meat in front of him and muttered, "How strange! Could this person have really become a better person?"

After coming back, he asked Qin Wen to continue to heat the pot and prepare to stir-fry some wild vegetables. He heated the pot and poured the oil in. Half a bowl of chicken oil made Qin Wen, who was stoking the fire, open his eyes wide and feel a little distressed.

Normally, I just cook boiled cabbage, which has no oil at all. But today, my stepmother poured out half a bowl of it. The oil is enough for the family to save for a month.

Only when you don’t manage the household do you know how expensive firewood, rice, oil and salt are.

Forget it, the pheasant was caught by my stepmother herself, and it has nothing to do with me. It’s good enough that I can have a taste of it. But the smell of the hot oil in the hot pan is so delicious that I can’t stop drooling.

Throw in the remaining chopped green onions. The combination of green onion and oil will add to the aroma, and the small kitchen will be instantly filled with fragrance.

Yun Zhenzhen didn't know what the second child was thinking. If she hadn't taken into consideration that the two children had been hungry for a long time and couldn't eat too greasy food at once, Yun Zhenzhen would have wanted to have another ladle of oil.

After the dishes were served, they were placed on the table. There was a pot of chicken and a plate of shiny fried wild vegetables on the table, which whetted people's appetite. The sweet potatoes given by Aunt Zhao as the staple food were so delicious.

The three siblings looked at the chicken on the table in a daze. They were still hungry two days ago, but how come in just one day, they had a meal that was even more sumptuous than during Chinese New Year?

Yun Zhenzhen picked up a piece of meat with chopsticks and chewed it carefully. Seeing this, the three siblings couldn't wait to pick up the chopsticks, picked up the chicken in the bowl, and put it into their mouths carefully.

"Is it delicious?" Yun Zhenzhen asked casually while looking at them.

Qin Nan's heart and eyes were filled with meat, and he nodded decisively, "It's delicious, it's so fragrant."

This was the first time she knew that her stepmother’s cooking could be so delicious.

Yun Zhenzhen couldn't hide the smile in the corner of her eyes after receiving the affirmation, and looked at the two brothers Qin Wen and Qin Li with full of expectation.

Qin Wen looked at his stepmother who suddenly looked at him and her face turned red. He didn't want to admit that this bad woman's cooking was delicious, but the taste was indeed...

After hesitating for a moment, he calmly replied, "Not bad."

He regretted it as soon as he finished speaking. What if the bad woman heard this and stopped cooking for him? It didn't matter to him, but it implicated his younger sister. He frowned and smacked his lips nervously.

puff--

Yun Zhenzhen couldn't help laughing. They were really just children, unable to hide their thoughts.

"Okay, I'm just kidding, hurry up and eat!"

Seeing that their stepmother was not angry, the three men picked up their bowls and started eating with relish.

After a while, there were only three empty bowls left on the table, and there was no need to wash the clean ones.