Xu Qinghe muttered on about a lot, Ji Ying was fine listening to the start, but as it went on, she more and more wanted to roll her eyes. She looked at the drunk Xu Qinghe and couldn’t help saying, "Can it be the same now as before? Yicheng isn’t you; he protects Nianhua. Besides, I asked Nian’an, Yicheng lives separately, doesn’t he? Not living together with his dad?"
"You’re just worrying blindly; if in the early years you could be as resilient as now, we wouldn’t have suffered grievance?" Ji Ying recalled the old days, and couldn’t help feeling sad. Xu Qinghe had no other faults: he worked diligently and cared for her and the kids a lot, yet he kept indulging his father Xu Zhong and stepmother in the extended family.
"All the things of the past are over, I don’t want to talk about them; I only hope for the children’s happiness."
"..."
"Nianhua likes Yicheng; the way she looks at him is different. Although she never explicitly says so, I’m her mom, even if not her birth mom, I raised her since she was little; her temperament, I’m sure I know it."
"..."
"Qinghe."
Ji Ying babbled on for half a day without a single response from him. She lowered her head, Xu Qinghe held her hand, sleeping soundly.
Ji Ying: "..."
Turns out all she said was for nothing?
...
On the 29th of the month, the Xu Family became even busier. Ji Ying and Xu Nianhua busily fried crispy meat and lion’s head meatballs together.
Pei Yicheng and Du Chang were also kept by the Xu Family until noon, just in time to take some of the fried crispy meat and lion’s head over.
Oil boiled in the pot, and the flour-coated pork belly was cut into pieces and tossed into the oil pot, frying to a golden color, the scent of meat permeated the kitchen.
"Smells so good!" Xu Nianhua took a deep breath, and after the first batch of crispy meat was fried, she ate a piece while it was hot, biting into the delicious crispiness, making one wish to swallow their tongue.
"Delicious."
Xu Nianhua smacked her lips and started eating a second piece.
Ji Ying looked at her greedy appearance and reminded, "You should eat less; freshly fried food might cause heatiness."
"It’s okay, I’ll just have a few pieces."
Xu Nianhua ate several pieces in a row before reluctantly putting her hand down. She started to prepare the lion’s head meat stuffing, and the water caltrop, peeling the water caltrop wasn’t easy. Xu Nianhua sat by the fire, chatting with Ji Ying while peeling, feeling incredibly comfortable.
Pei Yicheng followed Xu Nianji and Xu Nian’an to the mountain to dig winter bamboo shoots. Although it was Pei Yicheng’s first time digging for winter bamboo shoots, he was very eager to learn.
Xu Nianji and Xu Nian’an exchanged glances. Seeing how seriously Pei Yicheng learned, they were very happy; he truly wanted to integrate into their family.
Yet, even with Pei Yicheng’s hard work, digging winter bamboo shoots wasn’t his talent; he often dug large pits but couldn’t find the edge of a bamboo!
A wild pheasant came out to feed, making the three of them very happy. Under Pei Yicheng’s guidance and with Xu Nianji and Xu Nian’an’s help, they really caught this pheasant.
Xu Nian’an took the pheasant home early to add to lunch.
"Wow, you guys are impressive." Ji Ying saw the big pheasant he brought back and couldn’t help praising, "Today we’ll add it to lunch, you guys better not come back too late."
"Got it." Xu Nian’an put down the pheasant and ran up the mountain again, seizing the time to dig more winter bamboo shoots for eating throughout the New Year, cooking with bones; the taste is delicious.
"Nianhua, let’s get the pheasant killed first." Ji Ying already started frying lion’s heads, and the water in the pot behind was boiling, just right for scooping this boiling water out to pluck the pheasant’s feathers.