"This is a recipe the doctor taught me, containing some nourishing medicinal ingredients," Chiang Xiao said casually.
Chiang Songhai hadn’t seen what medicine she had picked up today, so he didn’t know exactly what had been prescribed. Hearing her say this, he didn’t inquire further and instead drank more than half a cup of Ganoderma water in one go.
After applying medicinal oil for him, Chiang Xiao told him that starting from tomorrow, she would begin painting the wall outside the school.
She didn’t tell Chiang Songhai that she had asked for a week off.
Chiang Xiao had decided that she must go to Bai Gu Mountain again tomorrow. If she didn’t, where would their family earn money from? She needed to make money not only for buying meat, rice, flour, and drawing paper but also for tuition fees. Moreover, after her grandfather had been injured by Chiang Baohe, a new plan had formed in her mind.
She absolutely must raise the height of the walls around her home; otherwise, she wouldn’t feel safe there.
Furthermore, she was also planning to save up to buy a house, although this plan, in comparison, seemed more difficult. She was still hesitating whether to buy a house in the town or just go straight to buying one in the provincial city.
For now, these could only be plans, but no matter what, making money was an urgent matter.
On this day, the Chiang family’s dinner time was a bit earlier than usual.
Since the three pounds of meat they bought couldn’t be kept for long, Ge Liutao cooked it all, then meticulously rubbed it with salt, hooked it with an iron hook, and hung it under the eave outside the door.
Treated in this way, after being aired out overnight, the meat would tighten up and absorb some of the salt, allowing it to be preserved for a longer period. When it was time to eat, they could slice off a piece, cut it into thin slices, and stir-fry it with garlic to savor the rich, original meat flavor that was so delicious it felt as if one could swallow their own tongue.
However, Chiang Xiao, unable to help herself, glanced at the hanging meat and said, "Grandma, perhaps we should hang the meat in the kitchen instead. It’s not safe outside."
Her implication was very clear.
After all, Song Xiyun had a history of climbing over walls. With such a big piece of meat hanging there, how could her foodie nose not smell it?
Besides, there was no need to rely on smell; the people from Old Chiang’s family could see the meat just by looking over.
Therefore, Chiang Xiao was doubtful about the safety of the meat. Unexpectedly, just as she raised her concern, Chiang Songhai glanced at her somewhat disapprovingly, then sighed and told her, "Little, Grandpa knows you hold a grudge against your uncle’s family and have complaints, but as the younger generation, even Baoguo’s wife is your elder aunt, a senior family member. You shouldn’t suspect them . It’s just a piece of meat—could they really resort to stealing it?"
How can one suspect the elders of stealing meat without any reason?
To Chiang Songhai, this seemed far too excessive.
If they were to find out, who knows how insulted they would feel? Then, if they cursed Chiang Xiao for this, he would be too ashamed to defend her.
Chiang Xiao took a deep breath and said indifferently, "Alright, let it hang then. I’m stepping out for a bit."
She just couldn’t stay any longer.
She decided to go and return the money to Song Tianyang first, and also to clear the frustration bottled up in her chest.
As for the piece of meat, let it hang. Her grandparents had to suffer a few more losses to truly see the true colors of Old Chiang’s family.
If they couldn’t come to their senses on their own, even if they moved to the town or the county city in the future, it was very likely they couldn’t get rid of this family’s ridiculous behaviors.
Thus, Chiang Xiao decided not to interfere too much anymore.
Only, Chiang Xiao was mistaken this time—it wasn’t Song Xiyun who climbed the wall, but Chiang Baohe!
That day, Chiang Baohe was pestering Liu Caiyun again.