Travel to the mountains and make a fortune in silence

Wang Qing'er helped Zhou Shi into the courtyard, with Mu Yan following behind them.

"This little courtyard is nice, with trees and flowers, and a waterside pavilion. Yao'er and the others should like this swing. This courtyard is very small and exquisite."

As Zhou walked, she looked around at the layout of the small courtyard.

"Grandma, not only Yao'er likes it, but Muqin and Zitong, the two older girls, also love this swing. And in that waterside pavilion, we even raise a few red carp."

The fish in the waterside pavilion were red carp that I specially bought last time I came. When I left, I specifically told the girls in the shop not to forget to feed them.

"Grandma, let me show you the room."

"it is good."

"This is where Zihao lives."

Wang Qing'er pushed open the door of a room and said, "You and your aunt will stay in this room tonight. Muqin and Zitong stayed in this room last time."

"Good, very nice, very spacious," Zhou said with a smile after looking around the room.

“My room is here, and the kitchen is over there.”

Wang Qing'er led Zhou Shi around the courtyard, introducing each room to her.

After looking at the courtyard, Zhou smiled and said, "This courtyard in the county town is indeed nice, but there are too few rooms. If your mother had come today, there would have been nowhere for her to stay."

Wang Qing'er said with a smile, "How could there be no place to stay? Zihao and Mu Nan can share a room, and my mother, Yao'er, and I can stay together."

"Grandma, please go sit in the yard first. I'll go to the kitchen to see if there's any hot water."

When Wang Qing'er left last time, she told them they could come to the backyard to cook.

When they went to the kitchen, they saw that there was hot water on the stove. Wang Qing'er washed a few cups, made a cup of tea for each of them, and took out some snacks from the carriage and put them on the table.

"Grandma, Auntie, please have something to eat first. Brother Mu Nan went to Fu Xiang Lou to get some food back."

Considering Zhou's advanced age and Mu Yan's poor health, the carriage traveled very slowly on the way there, and it was past noon when they arrived in the county town.

Wang Qing'er didn't feel like cooking today, so she discussed with her husband on the way to go to Fuxianglou to get food to take back to the courtyard to eat.

“Mother, waaaaah…” A cry came from the doorway, and then Ziyuan was seen standing there crying, wearing only socks.

"Yuan'er, you're awake! Don't cry. Your mother is sitting over there. I'll carry you over to her."

Wang Qing'er quickly ran over, picked up Yuan'er, gently comforted her, and wiped away her tears with a handkerchief.

Ziyuan woke up in an unfamiliar room and couldn't see her mother, so she got out of bed and cried, looking for her mother.

"Mother, sob sob sob..." Ziyuan buried her face in Muyan's arms and sobbed.

"Yuan'er, don't cry. Mother is here. We've arrived in the county town. This is where we'll stay. Yuan'er, look, do you like it here? There's a swing over there. Yuan'er and Yao'er can swing together later, okay?"

Mu Yan gently coaxed her youngest daughter, pointing to the swing in the yard and explaining it to her, while Wang Qing'er brought her shoes and helped her put them on.

"Yao'er, Yao'er is over there." Ziyuan suddenly stopped crying and pointed to Wang Qing'er's door.

Wang Qing'er looked towards her room and saw Mu Yao leaning against the door frame, looking at her sleepily with messy hair.

"Yao'er, you're awake too?" Wang Qing'er hurriedly went over and picked up her daughter.

"Mother, I heard Ziyuan crying. What's wrong with her?" Yao'er said, nestled in Wang Qing'er's arms. She had been woken up by Ziyuan's crying and was clearly still sleepy, but she was still concerned about her little friend.

"Ziyuan woke up and didn't see her mother, so she cried," Wang Qing'er said as she carried her daughter to the bedside and put on her shoes.

"Mother, I'm still sleepy." Mu Yao rubbed her eyes, still looking sleepy.

"Yao'er, shall we not sleep? Daddy will be back with some delicious food soon. Mommy will take you to wash your face, and then you can play with Yuan'er, okay?"

"Okay," Mu Yao obediently agreed.

"Our Yao'er is the best girl." Wang Qing'er kissed her daughter's cheek, but Mu Yao hugged her mother's neck and kept kissing her face.

The mother and daughters played and joked for a while. When Wang Qing'er saw that her daughter was no longer sleepy, she took the two little girls to the washroom to wash their faces and then helped them tie their hair.

The two little girls couldn't wait to climb onto the swing and play, but they couldn't get up!

Zhou smiled and helped them sit up, then gently pushed them around.

"Grandpa, higher."

"I want to be tall too."

"Hehehe, this is so much fun."

"Isn't it fun? Hehehe..."

Watching the three generations having so much fun, Wang Qing'er sighed inwardly, thinking how quickly children's troubles come and go.

Just a moment ago they were crying and sobbing, but in the blink of an eye they're all smiles and having a great time!

"The food is here." Mu Nan carried the food box into the courtyard, followed by Zi Hao and a waiter from Fu Xiang Lou, each carrying two food boxes.

"Daddy, you're back! Dinner's ready!" Mu Yao called out happily as she slowly slid down from the swing. After sliding down herself, she didn't forget to help Zi Yuan, and then the two of them stood there hand in hand, waiting for dinner.

The food was laid out in the dining room: a sauerkraut fish, a cold shredded chicken salad, a tofu dish with tree leaves, a braised beef, a spicy rabbit, a mushroom chicken soup, and a stir-fried water spinach.

Of these seven dishes, only the mushroom chicken soup is a dish originally from Fuxianglou; the rest are from recipes written by Wang Qing'er.

The braised beef and water spinach were provided by the Mu family.

The production of water spinach, red amaranth, and bok choy has increased significantly, so some of them are sold daily at Fuxianglou Restaurant in the county town.

In a while, when cucumbers, loofahs, cowpeas, and tomatoes are in season and available in large quantities, they can also be sent to the county town.

Wang Qing'er was also quite hungry. After setting out the food, she picked up a piece of fish and ate it. It was tender and smooth, with a sour and spicy flavor, just like the fish she made herself. No wonder she was the head chef of Fuxianglou Restaurant in the county.

Wang Qing'er modified the recipe for Spicy Rabbit Cubes. Because she didn't have enough chili peppers yet, she used less chili peppers and added more peanuts, but the taste was still good.

The chili oil in the cold shredded chicken salad and the tofu with tree leaves was all made by Wang Qing'er, who sold it to Fuxianglou in jars. Other seasonings, such as minced garlic and soy sauce, were written in the recipe.

Therefore, the taste was similar to what she made, except that the chef at Fuxianglou made it a bit saltier.

Wang Qing'er tasted every dish. It seemed that the dishes at Fuxianglou were generally on the salty side, even the water spinach was salty. Fortunately, the chicken soup was relatively light.