Ugly girl only wants to farm

Xu Chaoyan realized she had misunderstood; wasn't that exactly what he meant? Speechless for a moment, she buried herself in his arms to hide her embarrassment, muttering, "Sleep, sleep."

Meng Jiuhe chuckled: "Okay, time to sleep."

The next morning, the driver went to town early to bring back some things for people, saying that it was cooler to travel in the morning.

Xu Chaoyan was probably too tired from working in the village yesterday, because when she woke up, Meng Jiuhe had already left.

Meng Jiuxia was feeding the chickens in the yard when she saw her stretching at the door and greeted her: "Sister-in-law, you're awake. I've kept your food warm on the stove. Let's go to the butcher's to buy some meat later! The lard we rendered last time is almost gone. My brother said he would let the butcher know before he left."

Xu Chaoyan nodded. Every day or two, they would give these craftsmen some meat. These were all physically demanding jobs, and they couldn't do without some oil. They would also put some lard in their dishes. Before, they had been using taro to fill their stomachs.

Recently, her family's food reserves have been running low, so she plans to buy some more to steam some mixed grain buns.

“Meng family daughter-in-law, you’re back. The carpenter who made the wooden barrels we asked you to make has finished them and delivered them. Come over when you have time and take a look so we can see if there’s anything that needs improvement,” Uncle Zhang told her through the fence.

She had almost forgotten about it if her uncle hadn't mentioned it. These past few days, because of her second aunt's family's antics, she had completely forgotten about her own affairs.

"Okay, Uncle, I'll be there in a bit. I'll go to town first and buy some things."

Xu Chaoyan was thinking to herself that she would buy all the rice, flour and meat in a while, and she would also need to buy some soybeans. She also needed to install a stone mill in the yard. Although these things were not urgent, it would be much more convenient to have one at home. She would borrow her aunt's for the time being.

He had only briefly explained these matters before because he had to go back to the village. Among her craftsmen, there were several stonemasons who could make stone mills. He had previously discussed with that person about making a smaller stone mill for her. There was no need to rush; they could just do it during their rest time.

When they left the village, it was already a half-finished product; they should be almost done when they went back to check.

They now have to share a side room as their living quarters. The kitchen is too cramped, making it feel cramped, and they're also worried about making too much noise and disturbing Meng Jiuhe's rest.

When the two women, sister-in-law and aunt, returned to the courtyard with a wheelbarrow full of things, sweat dripped from their foreheads, their clothes were sticky, and Meng Jiuxia's face was sunburned.

Xu Chaoyan felt a pang of sympathy seeing her sister-in-law doing so much work at such a young age; she truly felt bad for her.

She took out a bag of candy from her pocket and handed it over: "Here you go, sister-in-law."

Meng Jiuxia stared at the oil paper package in her hand for a long time without taking it. Xu Chaoyan thought that she didn't like it and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, sister-in-law. I didn't know what you liked to eat, so I just bought some random things. Please tell me next time, okay?"

Meng Jiuxia shook her head anxiously: "No, sister-in-law, I'm a grown woman now, I don't eat candy. Besides, you don't earn money easily, so don't buy me candy. Save those for my older brother."

Xu Chaoyan breathed a sigh of relief, unwrapped the oil paper package, picked up a piece of candy and put it in her mouth: "In my eyes, you are still a child. It is normal for you to eat candy at this age. This is a reward for your hard work today."

The subtle sweetness melted in her mouth, and Meng Jiuxia smiled brightly: "Thank you, sister-in-law."

The little girl's skin has become fairer these days, and she got some sun after going back to the village. Xu Chaoyan plans to make some paste for her to apply tonight. Young girls love beauty, and her sister-in-law used to be very self-conscious because of her skin tone.

"By the way, what should we do with the tallow trees that my sister-in-law brought back yesterday? There are still some that we didn't clean up properly when we left yesterday."

As Xu Chaoyan carried things into the house, she replied, "No rush, you rest for a while, we'll have hot pot tonight."

As she spoke, her mouth started to water. She had just bought some pig offal from the butcher and also got some pig blood. Xu Chaoyan was getting restless.

Luckily, she still had a lot of pickled vegetables and ginger at home. Just thinking about the sour and spicy taste made her mouth water. She planned to make a base of pickled pepper pork intestines and add some fresh and tender pig's blood. It would be so delicious! When she got back, her uncle brought her some tofu. She also had some dried tofu left over from a few days ago. She could just pick some greens from the garden and have a simple hot pot.

She had just bought some spices from the grocery store, planning to stir-fry a spicy dish for dinner. Since arriving here, she felt she hadn't been able to enjoy a proper meal as she pleased.

Meng Jiuhe prefers light flavors, so she always cooks according to their tastes.

In addition, her face was pitted and oozing pus, so she hadn't dared to eat too much oily food before. Now her face had improved a lot, and some places only had some light marks left. She couldn't help but see the butcher worrying that he couldn't sell the pig offal. She used to buy these things herself.

She hadn't bought any for a long time, and the butcher's eyes lit up when he saw her. He said he only needed to give her a few coins. These craftsmen had never eaten pig offal before, and she was afraid they wouldn't be used to it and would say she was being stingy, so she didn't make any. But she had bought pig lungs today, so she would make a pig lung and radish soup for them to drink tonight.

When Meng Jiuhe returned from school, he smelled a pungent, spicy aroma as soon as he entered the courtyard. Although it was pungent, the fragrance carried far. His younger sister was also picking vegetables in the garden.

Xu Chaoyan simmered a large pot of pork lung soup with radish for two full hours. The rich aroma made her mouth water. The radish was soft, tender, and flavorful. She also steamed some mixed flour buns and added some sweet potatoes to the soup.

While fanning away the pungent smell with his hand, Meng Jiuhe gently pushed open the kitchen door, and couldn't help but sneeze several times. He sniffed and asked in a muffled voice, "Wife, what are you doing? This spicy and pungent smell is so strong."

Xu Chaoyan was seen wielding an iron spatula at the stove, and a rich aroma wafted over, while a plume of smoke shot straight up to the roof in front of her.

Xu Chaoyan couldn't help but cough a few times, raising her sleeve to cover her nose. She never expected the chili to smell so pungent; she had thought the owner was just trying to fool her.

Upon hearing his voice, Xu Chaoyan quickly put down the spatula in her hand, scooped a ladle of water into the pot, wiped her hands on her apron, and pushed him out the door.

"Don't come in yet. It's all greasy and smelly inside. You'll get your clothes and hair all dirty."

Meng Jiuxia came over with a basket and skillfully filled a bucket with water, pouring it into a wooden basin: "Brother, don't go in and bother my sister-in-law. She said she's going to cook something delicious for me tonight. Can't you smell the aroma? It's making my mouth water. By the way, the food for the craftsmen is almost ready. Could you help me deliver it to them later? Those uncles are also getting ready to come back."

The brother and sister pushed a wheelbarrow to deliver food to the Zhang family next door. Xu Chaoyan quickly came out of the house and handed them a plate of braised pork intestines and liver.

"Give this to Uncle Zhang to have with his drinks later."

Meng Jiuxia glanced at the dried tofu on top and smacked her lips a few times: "Sister-in-law, you can eat dried tofu like this."

Xu Chaoyan tapped her forehead: "I saved these for you. I also braised several chickens for you. They're very flavorful, so go ahead and eat them."

Meng Jiuxia smiled broadly: "Okay, sister-in-law, I'll go right away."

Meng Jiuhe glanced at his smiling younger sister and felt very happy. After their parents left, it was she who stayed by their side and healed them.

Meng Jiuxia banged twice on the handlebars, and Meng Jiuhe finally came to his senses.

"Brother, are you jealous that you left? My wife prepared something for me, but not for you."

Xu Chaoyan looked at him in astonishment: "There's plenty left in the pot. I even left you a pot of soup with some cabbage leaves, all of which are your favorites."

She knew Meng Jiuhe preferred light flavors, so she prepared it especially for him.

Meng Jiuhe took the plate from her hand, gently ran his fingers across her palm, and said softly, "Thank you for your trouble, my lady."

Meng Jiuxia clicked her tongue a few times: "You two are so lovey-dovey, I'm still here."