A few women scolded Second Sister Song to the point where she didn’t dare to raise her head.
Even after finishing, they still weren’t satisfied, so they turned to Wang Yongzhu, "Wang Yongzhu, don’t be foolish. Don’t just listen to what people say about scholars needing a good reputation and let those leeches from the Song Family stick to you! Once you get stuck with the Song Family, they’re like plasters that never come off! Do you hear me?"
"Right, you better smarten up! Don’t think now that your family is rich everything is fine, and forget the pain once the wound is healed. People like the Song Family are not to be entangled with!"
"Scholar Song is such a good man, and since he married you, that’s that! But if you can’t protect him, don’t blame us for not being polite..."
The two exchanged puzzled looks.
Wang Yongzhu suddenly laughed out loud, never expecting that in this era, there would still be such die-hard fans! These women, who sounded harsh and spoke unpleasantly, truly cared for Song Chongjin!
This laugh, however, left the women bemused, and one of them, with a fierce face, said, "Wang Yongzhu, what do you mean by that? Do you find our words funny?"
Wang Yongzhu hurriedly shook her head, "No! I’m happy for my husband! You all genuinely care about him and have his best interests at heart! Thank you, sisters!"
The feisty women were made uneasy by the thanks, "Who’s your sister? Who asked for your thanks? Don’t think that by grinning and bearing it we will... we will..."
Unable to think of anything to say, they huffed and glared at Wang Yongzhu, sparing a reluctant extra glance at Song Chongjin before stomping off.
Before they left, they didn’t forget to drag Second Sister Song, who was sprawled on the ground, away with them.
They didn’t forget to leave a message, "It’s getting dark, aren’t you going home to cook for Scholar Song? Look at you, going up the mountain and not knowing to pick some wild products to nourish the body for Scholar Song. Tomorrow, up the mountain, and we guarantee you won’t come down empty-handed!"
With that, they left with their heads held high.
From a distance, they could still be heard discussing what mushrooms to pick from the mountains the next day to bring over.
Wang Yongzhu turned her head and looked at Song Chongjin with a smile, without saying a word.
Song Chongjin felt panicked inside, "Yongzhu, I’ve never even spoken to those people, really!"
Wang Yongzhu didn’t take their words to heart and actually found it quite interesting. She hadn’t known there were such intriguing women in the village before; in the past, she was only focused on making money and stayed at home, missing out on this.
"It’s alright, I actually think these sisters are quite nice. When you go back to the county town, I’ll go up the mountain with these sisters!"
When they returned home, Liu Xiaoqiao and Lady Jiang had already prepared dinner.
The family washed their hands and gathered around the table, talking about the day’s foraging in the mountains.
Wang Yongfu and Wang Yonggui had been at home collecting mountain goods today, and although they didn’t find anything particularly valuable or rare, they did gather a couple of handfuls of ferns and two pounds of fresh mushrooms.
Even though they weren’t as tasty as Yellow Pine Mushrooms, the mushrooms of spring were inherently delicious.
They were given to Liu Xiaoqiao to make the dinner on the table.
The ferns were also blanched in boiling water, chilled in cold water, and then cut into appropriately-sized pieces after being lifted out.
Then, crushed garlic, finely sliced pepper rings, chopped green onions, vinegar, salt, and sesame oil were mixed together evenly, before being poured over the chilled ferns.
The resulting fern dish was crisp and refreshing, with a sour and spicy flavor that was very appetizing.
Accompanied by several pickled side dishes, there was also a big bowl of fried eggs with Chinese toon, and a big basin of freshly fried mushrooms with chili, both fresh and spicy, the perfect complement to a meal!
A large pot of dry-steamed rice was steaming hot, exuding a fragrant aroma.
Liu Xiaoqiao had grown up in the mountains and was raised on a diet of wheat-based food and coarse grains. After coming down the mountain, she fell in love with eating rice, especially the dry-steamed variety which was fragrant and fluffy—she could eat two big bowls of it.
Today, in order to treat her mother-in-law and sister-in-law, she simply steamed rice, The snow-white rice was even dotted with golden corn kernels, making it all the more appetizing.
Wang Yonggui from the third room preferred noodles and ate rice less often, but even the children couldn’t help but salivate at the smell of the rice.
Each person filled their bowls to the brim, taking large bites of the fragrant eggs with Chinese toon, and paired it with the spicy fried mushrooms, everyone dug in hungrily.
Without a doubt, this authentic delicacy could not be found in the town.
There was no need to overdo it with the seasonings, the natural flavors of the ingredients were enough.
Even Old Granny Zhang ate two bowls of rice in one go.
Liu Xiaoqiao finally breathed a sigh of relief, and seeing that her mother-in-law liked it, she cautiously suggested, "I see that the elm seeds are also out, and the locust flowers are budding. Do you like those, Mom? If you do, I can make steamed buns filled with locust flowers tomorrow!"
Before Old Granny Zhang could respond, a few of the children couldn’t restrain their drooling, "Auntie Four, Auntie Four, we want to eat locust flower buns! Elm seed rice!"
In the past years at this time, not to mention those homes with no food reserves, the elm seeds, locust flowers, and wild vegetables from the mountains were literally life-saving sustenance for them.
Elm seeds just needed a bit of flour mixed in and then steamed. The aroma was irresistible.
It was the same with locust flowers. After being picked and washed clean, wealthier families would either add meat to the locust flowers or fry a few eggs, mixing them with locust flowers and chives or other wild vegetables for the filling.
For those families going through rough times, they would simply make vegetarian fillings with locust flowers and wild vegetables.
When Old Granny Zhang was in charge, they would always have elm seed rice or locust flower rice during this season.
Old Granny Zhang and Lady Jiang were both skilled with their hands, and every year their elm seed rice and locust flower rice were delicious and served in abundance, so at this moment, both adults and children felt a wave of nostalgia.
Jinhoo was the quickest to react, "Come and eat at our place tomorrow! Big brother and I will go pick elm seeds and locust flowers early in the morning! We are experts at this, knowing where to find the tenderest and sweetest elm seeds! The locust flowers are good too!"
While hinting to Lady Lin with his eyes.
Lady Lin scraped up her last bite of rice and, unable to part with the fried mushrooms, picked all the dried chili from the bowl to eat, the spice bringing tears to her eyes, yet she refused to spit them out.
She didn’t notice Jinhoo’s hinting looks.
Having no other choice, Jinhoo made it explicit, "Mom, let’s have elm seed rice and locust flower buns tomorrow, okay?"
Only then did Lady Lin snap out of it, vaguely nodding, "Okay, got it!"
Both Wang Yongfu and Jinhoo breathed a sigh of relief.
Only Old Granny Zhang sneered, "This old lady isn’t so destitute that she has to suck up to others just to eat a few wild vegetables. What kind of act is this meant for? If you don’t like to cook, the old lady doesn’t even want to eat it! What’s the matter? You think that since the family split, the old lady can’t control you anymore, is that it?"
Saying so, she reached for a broom.
Lady Lin quickly put down her chopsticks and rushed to the doorway, keeping a wary eye on Old Granny Zhang.
Wang Yongfu promptly knelt before Old Granny Zhang, "Mom, it’s all my fault for being unfilial! Please calm down! If you’re upset, just hit your son to vent your anger! I will deal with Lady Lin later!"
Old Granny Zhang let out a cold snort and tossed aside the broom, "Now that we’ve all split up, everyone’s wings are hardened. This old woman can’t manage you anymore! Stop playing these insincere games in front of me! Get out of here, all of you, you’re just making me irritated!"