Pastoral Splendor

A large basin of hot water was steaming with white mist. A sheep was soaking in the water, completely clean, with not a single hair left on its body. Next to it was a long bench with a whetstone on it. Yan Ying held a knife in her hand, sharpening it to a fine point with a sharpening sound.

"Third Sister, we're really getting meat to eat!" Liu Hua stood happily to the side watching Yan Ying sharpen the knife, smacking her lips: "Third Sister is amazing, she keeps her word!"

As long as there is meat to eat, Rikka doesn't care what kind of meat it is or where it comes from.

Yan Ying bit her lip and smiled slightly. She bent down, picked up the sheep, gutted it, and cut it into eight pieces with great speed and dexterity. Liu Hua watched from the side, her eyes wide with amazement: "Third Sister, you can do everything!"

“What’s so difficult about this? Didn’t you see people slaughtering live pigs and sheep when you went to the market before? Just do it like them.” Yan Ying picked up a leg of lamb: “We’ll have this for lunch.” In her previous life, she graduated from agricultural college and returned to her hometown to lead her fellow villagers to prosperity. She could do anything, from going up mountains to going down rivers, so slaughtering sheep was naturally no problem for her.

"Third sister, I want to learn from you too. Can you teach me how to cook? That way, I can help out at home when you all go out." Liu Hua looked up and said very seriously. Yan Ying reached out and patted her little head: "We'll talk about it when you grow up to the height of the stove."

Yan Ying deftly removed the mutton from the pot, cut it into suitable sizes, and wiped the bottom of the pot with a tiny bit of fat that was used as lard at home. The mutton was put into the pot, and wisps of white smoke rose up. Si Hua and Liu Hua stared at the few pieces of meat in the pot without blinking, and their fingers involuntarily went to their mouths.

Yan Ying felt heartbroken. The Xiao family had six daughters, and now Xiao's mother was pregnant with another one. It was said that the poorer they were, the more children they had, and the more children they had, the poorer they became. With so many mouths to feed, the family relied entirely on Xiao's eldest son working outside. It was already a miracle if they could fill their stomachs; how could they afford meat?

"Third Sister, something terrible has happened! Old Lady Sijin is rushing over to our house!" Wuhua rushed in in a panic, holding a bunch of cilantro, still covered in yellow dirt. She squatted down, swished the cilantro leaves in the basin of water, and quickly threw them into the pot: "Third Sister, hurry up and take the mutton out of the pot, before Old Lady Sijin comes and takes the whole pot away."

"She dares?" Yan Ying put one hand on her hip and banged the pot with a spatula in the other. "If anyone dares to come to our Xiao family to steal our things, Third Sister will fight them to the death!"

"Sanhua, what are you cooking?" A large pregnant woman appeared at the kitchen door. Yan Ying was startled when she saw her. Aunt Xiao was standing there, holding onto the threshold, looking this way.

"Sihua, quickly help your mother inside to rest. Later, bring her some food." Old Mrs. Sijin is coming over soon. We can't let her disturb Aunt Xiao. It would be a big deal to startle the baby in her belly. Her baby is almost eight months old now, which is the time when she needs the most care.

Sihua understood and quickly ran to Aunt Xiao's side: "Mother, go and rest in the back yard. We happened to catch a wildcat, so we'll have meat for lunch later."

Yan Ying gave Si Hua a thumbs up as a reward. Si Hua was such a clever girl; she could lie without even blinking.

Not long after Aunt Xiao was helped inside, she heard curses coming from outside: "That heartless, short-lived bastard chopped up my sheep! He's really asking for it! No wonder he's childless and his family line is so short!"

Yan Ying wiped her hands and strode out: "Who has a mouth on their ass and dares to cause trouble at our doorstep?"

Grandma Sijin was standing outside the courtyard wall, trembling and stamping her feet, with several grandsons beside her: Wumu, Liumu, and Qimu. Seeing Yanying come out, Qimu pointed at her and said, "Grandma, it was she who chopped down our sheep!"

"Your sheep?" Yan Ying pursed her lips. "Try calling out to it and see if it responds."

"You!" Qi Mu glared angrily, panting heavily. He couldn't beat Yan Ying, nor could he win an argument, which made him feel truly aggrieved: "She's clearly one of our sheep!"

"Your sheep? Why are they eating vegetables in our garden? In our garden, of course they're our sheep. I can cut them down if I want, eat them if I want, what's it to you?" Yan Ying looked at Gou Dan with a smile, quite pleased to see his face turn red and his neck bulging.

"Eat it if you want?" The old woman thought something was wrong with those words. She took a deep sniff and smelled a delicious aroma coming from inside the house. Her face turned pale instantly: "You, you, you actually killed and ate my sheep?"

“I already said they’re our sheep.” Yan Ying put her hands behind her back and looked at the old lady with a smile: “Shouldn’t your sheep be in your own garden?”

The old woman, Sijin, trembled with rage, her eyes darting around for a stick: "It only ate a few blades of grass! Xiao Sanhua, you heartless thing! Did you fall off the mountain half a month ago and lose your mind? How dare you kill our sheep?"

"You only ate a few blades of grass? Are you getting senile, Four-Jin Old Lady? You can't even tell the difference between grass and vegetables?" Yan Ying threw the vegetables in her hand directly at Four-Jin Old Lady's face without hesitation. Just because she has a relative who is a registrar in the Yuzhou government office? A nobody, she dares to use his position as a big shot. Bah!

"You, you, you brat!" Old Mrs. Sijin was trembling with rage, pointing a finger at Yanying, unable to speak: "How dare you talk back to me? Have you got some nerve? Let me tell you the truth, our sheep eating your garden's vegetables is an honor for you! Your family is almost extinct, what are you so arrogant about? Hurry up and burn some incense in front of the Buddha, so she can give birth to a son!"

The old woman, Sijin, was spewing vulgarities, which made Yan Ying's anger rise. She angrily threw the vegetables on the ground and stared at the old woman with wide eyes: "Stop gossiping here. I've told you several times already. If you don't keep an eye on your sheep, don't blame me for being impolite."

A crowd of onlookers had gathered outside Old Master Xiao's house. Hearing that Yan Ying's voice seemed even louder than that of Old Lady Si Jin, they were all astonished: "Old Master Xiao's third daughter's personality has completely changed!"

"Isn't that right? Before, she didn't dare to say much to anyone, but now she can actually argue with Old Lady Sijin. I don't know where she got the guts?"

The onlookers marveled, "Could it be that he damaged his brain when he fell down the mountain last time?"

"Did she break her brain?" Yan Ying pursed her lips. Her brain wasn't broken; it was just that the third daughter of the Xiao family had become a different person. Anyone who still thought she was the original Xiao Sanhua was sorely mistaken!

Seeing that Yan Ying stood before her without flinching or showing the slightest fear, and finding no stick to punish the brat, Old Lady Si Jin simply sprawled on the ground, pounding her fists and wailing, "That wretched family stole and killed our sheep! Fellow villagers, everyone, be the judge! All we did was eat a few of their vegetables, and they killed my sheep!"

"Who's yelling like that?" A young girl stormed through the crowd, glaring angrily at the old woman lying on the ground, clapping her hands and feet. "Old woman, you're really like that old cucumber on the vine, still trying to act tough even when you're about to fall off! What nonsense are you spouting? My mother is still pregnant, why are you calling her childless? Let me tell you, if my mother gives birth to another girl this time, I guarantee I'll go to your doorstep and curse you for three days and three nights!"

When Yan Ying saw the girl with her hands on her hips, she smiled and said, "The second daughter of the Xiao family is back."

Erhua was the most shrewish of the sisters. She had been influenced by the women of Xiaojia Village who used to curse since she was a child. She was straightforward and smart. She remembered all the curse words and could even create her own. Her cursing skills were so good that Yanying could only look up to her.

Yan Ying had heard Er Hua argue with people several times. She could curse fluently and without needing to drink a drop of water. What she admired most about Er Hua was that she could use a lot of vulgar words to curse, some of which Yan Ying had never heard of in her previous life. Although sometimes it made her blush and her heart race, when Yan Ying saw Er Hua cursing with great satisfaction, she couldn't help but give her a thumbs up and praise her.

After Erhua unleashed her long string of curses, the villagers watching couldn't help but nod in agreement: "Old Lady Sijin's cursing was indeed inappropriate. Xiao Liushi is pregnant with a child, how could she curse her as having no descendants?"

Sihua peeked out from behind Yanying and shouted at the top of her lungs toward Erhua, "Second sister is right!"

Yan Ying gave a bitter smile. The Great Zhou Dynasty was truly patriarchal; a family without a son was condemned as having no descendants. No wonder Boss Xiao kept having children. Did only sons carry on the family line? Yan Ying felt somewhat frustrated. Wasn't it because boys were strong and could farm? But what use was just farming? Wealth wasn't built on endless farming; one had to find other ways to prosper. In her previous life, she was a top student in agronomy. If she could utilize her strengths, why should Boss Xiao's family be prosperous?

Old Mrs. Sijin had already gotten up from the ground, her small eyes gleaming fiercely as she stared at Erhua. She had argued countless times in her life and was already an old sparrow, so why would she be afraid of Erhua, this young bird? Besides, she really felt sorry for the sheep at home. That damned Xiao Sanhua actually dared to kill her sheep!

"Who are you calling an old cucumber? You're calling someone childless? If you don't have a son, aren't you childless?" Old Mrs. Sijin was as nimble as a monkey. She leaped in front of Erhua and poked her face with one hand: "You'd better tell your parents to go to the temple to burn incense and pray that you give birth to a son. Otherwise, you'll be stuck with the name of childless!"

Erhua's face turned red with anger, and she was panting heavily. Yanying stepped forward and pulled Erhua back: "Second sister, don't pay attention to her, let's go inside and eat mutton."

Erhua stared wide-eyed at Yanying: "There really is mutton to eat?"

"Yes, there really are!" Yan Ying smiled and glanced at the old lady Si Jin, who was sweating profusely. "Some people like to bring sheep over, and it wouldn't be right for me not to accept them!"

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