Cucumbers were placed in a bucket of water to chill, then smashed and mixed with cilantro and minced garlic, with a little salt. This made for crispy, refreshing, and cool smashed cucumbers.
Green beans were stewed directly with animal fat, with pieces of pork skin added. They would be tender as soon as they boiled...
A pot was placed at the bottom to stew dishes, and a steamer rack was put on top. Washed sweet potatoes were placed on it.
By the time the green beans were stewed, the sweet potatoes would also be steamed.
The staple food was cornmeal pan-fried cakes.
When the green beans were almost done, a circle of these cakes was stuck around the edge of the pot. They cooked very quickly...
Lunch was prepared quickly, but no one in the family was willing to sit at the table.
Gu Shi lay on the heated brick bed in the inner room, her eyes dark from exhaustion. She drank pot after pot of strong tea.
She didn't want to sleep; as soon as she closed her eyes, her mind was filled with her little daughter's smiling face...
Her heart ached so much.
Old Man Yun sat on the threshold, stroking Xue Ling's fur and puffing on his pipe.
He had no appetite at all.
"Dad, you should at least eat something. If you continue like this, your health will fail..." Yun Daman came over to persuade him.
"Yes, Dad!" Zhao Guihua walked over after washing her hands. "You love pork skin the most, and it's very tender today. Please try some!"
Old Man Yun knocked the ash out of his pipe and glanced at Yun Daman. "Go and call your mother to eat!"
If the old woman had no appetite, he also had no desire to eat...
"Understood, Dad!" Yun Daman replied, turned, and went into the inner room.
Hu Xi'er stared at the food on the table, her lips watering with desire.
Since the masters hadn't sat down yet, she, as a maid, certainly wouldn't dare to eat first.
Alas, really, why was everyone so glum...
If a child died, they could just have another one!
Besides, Sister-in-law Guihua was still young, and hadn't she just given birth to a son a few days ago?
After she recovered for a year or so, she might even have twins.
A moment later, Yun Daman helped Gu Shi out. The old lady was so thin she looked like she would float away with a gust of wind. The whole family felt heartbroken seeing her.
"Xi'er, go ask Aunt Jin if they've eaten. If not, invite them over to share a meal!" Gu Shi sat down and instructed.
Hu Xi'er pouted.
Being sent on errands again was so annoying.
She walked out sullenly, her expression clearly unhappy...
"What's with her, who is she giving a dirty look to?" Yun Daman was taken aback.
Had the Old Yun family mistreated her?
"Daman, sit down and eat!" Gu Shi frowned.
After she found her little daughter, she would deal with Hu Xi'er.
She had even driven Liu Cuirong away, let alone a mere maid...
No matter who in the family did anything that harmed the reputation, prestige, or interests of the Old Yun family, Gu Shi would not keep them.
"Old man, you should smoke less. Your throat will be so hoarse when you sleep at night. Smoking too much isn't good!" Gu Shi advised.
Old Man Yun heard this, casually tucked his pipe into his waist, and sat down next to Gu Shi. "This thing is hard to quit, more painful than torture..."
He had started smoking when he was young, and after so many years, it was naturally difficult to quit.
"Then control yourself, smoke less. Tomorrow I'll have Daman go to the county town to buy you some candy. Have a piece when you feel like smoking!" Gu Shi picked up her chopsticks and put a piece of pork skin in front of him.
Old Man Yun grinned. "If this trick worked, I would have quit long ago. It's no use..."
Both Daman and Erman in the family smoked, but they didn't have such a strong addiction.
They would smoke a couple of times when they encountered something bothersome, and forget about it if they didn't think about it.
Hu Xi'er wandered around the entrance of the west wing but didn't go in.
She had just looked at the dish of vegetables, and there weren't many pieces of pork skin in total...
If she invited Grandma Jin and the others, she wouldn't get many pieces for herself.
If there was good food, why give it to outsiders? Wouldn't it be more delicious to keep it for herself?
Mistress Gu was truly getting old, her mind was becoming less and less sharp, and she was always confused.
In the west wing, Kong Xingzhuo looked at the two dark guards sleeping soundly, his mood extremely foul.
He walked out of the room with his hands behind his back, wanting to get some fresh air. Unexpectedly, he ran into Hu Xi'er head-on...
"Young Master Kong, Young Master Kong!" Hu Xi'er's cheeks flushed, showing a hint of girlish shyness and redness.
Kong Xingzhuo grunted, and without even looking at her, was about to leave.
"Hey, hey, Young Master Kong, Mistress Gu is calling you to eat!" Hu Xi'er called out.
Good food and drinks should be for handsome and good-looking men like Young Master Kong...
"I've already eaten!" Kong Xingzhuo walked out without looking back.
Having seen countless people, he naturally knew what Hu Xi'er's gaze meant.
A woman like this, he wouldn't want her even if she were given to him for free.
Moreover, he had important matters to attend to in order to protect his young master, and couldn't get involved in relationships...
Hu Xi'er stamped her foot in anger. "Hmph, I offered my good intentions, but you took them for a donkey's liver and lungs. Fine, don't eat if you don't want to. Look at your smug face, as if I'm begging you!"
She returned to the east wing, her eyes slyly glancing at the dish of vegetables.
Fortunately, the meat skin was still there.
"Have they eaten?" Gu Shi asked casually.
"Oh, they've eaten..." Hu Xi'er sat on the long bench, picked up her chopsticks, and began to eat.
Gu Shi looked at her suspiciously, narrowing her eyes.
The west wing where Xiao Jinheng resided was opposite the main hall of the Yun family, visible through the window.
Gu Shi had seen clearly whether Hu Xi'er had entered the room just now.
This maid was now lying through her teeth, not speaking a single word of truth...
She would wait a little longer. Gu Shi didn't have the energy to deal with her now; her little daughter was the priority.
At the same time, Yun Erman had just arrived in Heyang County town when he felt something was wrong with his jujube-red horse.
He tightened the reins and jumped to the ground. "Oh dear, when did this horseshoe fall off?"
It was truly a case of misfortune never coming singly...
If the horseshoe was missing, it was no wonder the horse's hoofs would be worn out.
Yun Erman led the jujube-red horse around the county town for a while, intending to find a blacksmith's shop to re-shoe it.
As he walked, a clear voice suddenly called out from behind him, "Is that you? Turn around and let me see!"
Yun Erman frowned, turned around, and looked...
Good heavens, he almost cried out.
Was the world this small?
He could actually run into her here; what a fated encounter!
"Is it you?" Yun Erman tightened the reins, intending to jump onto the horse and escape.
A woman in a coarse linen skirt, leading a horse, with bright eyes, delicate and plump features, was looking at Yun Erman with pleasant surprise. "I've been looking for you!"
Yun Erman: "..."
What was she looking for me for?
To tie me up and take me to the village of widows to be a stud?
That's right, this woman was Sister Hua, who had forcibly tied Yun Erman to the women's village before.
Her small village had been flooded, and the women in the village had either married or run away, leaving no one behind...
Sister Hua, having nowhere else to turn, had come to find Yun Erman.
She had inquired all the way and finally arrived at Heyang County.
"Come here!" Sister Hua beckoned. "Let me kiss you!"
Yun Erman: "..."
This woman was crazy.