Old Wang was a local of the village, and since he did business delivering goods by ox cart, even the educated youths were familiar with him.
But who was the woman on the ox cart?
And that whole cart of goods, everyone’s eyes were practically glued to it.
Heavens, that’s meat!
Even though the Forward Brigade was a relatively well-off village nearby, not every household had meat to eat. Even the village chief’s family only had it once every ten or fifteen days.
Seeing the meat, one couldn’t help but swallow instinctively.
Wow!
Whose daughter-in-law could this be to spend so extravagantly?
Because Gu Yunsheng had not yet met the villagers, no one recognized her.
Gu Yunsheng didn’t mind, and Old Wang didn’t stop either, leaving only a cloud of dust behind.
But once the ox cart left, the fields erupted in chatter.
“Who just went by? I’ve never seen her before.”
“She’s really pretty, and her skin, so fair and smooth.”
“Pretty doesn’t matter. Look at that whole cart of goods. She must be from a wealthy family.”
“That’s true, that cart is worth quite a lot!”
“But that’s strange, everyone’s already at work. Why isn’t she working?” a young woman asked.
Everyone froze for a moment, having been too focused on the goods on the cart to notice.
Being reminded of it sparked another round of discussion.
Gu Yunsheng had no idea about any of this. She had already returned to the Educated Youth Point.
Old Wang parked the ox cart directly at the point and kindly mentioned it to Gu Yunsheng at the entrance.
After she placed one bag down, she took another large bag from him, handed him the money, and smiled,
“Thank you for your trouble today, Old Wang.”
“You’re welcome, girl. I should give you a piece of advice,” Old Wang said, noticing her polite demeanor and speaking a bit more than usual.
“You must hide these things carefully. If someone sees them, it won’t be good.”
Gu Yunsheng listened patiently and nodded.
If her whole family had been there, things could have gone wrong. They weren’t like the educated youths who had come to the countryside.
If someone envious reported her, it could have caused trouble for her entire family.
Of course, Gu Yunsheng had considered this, but with Huo Chengxuan’s military status, it should be fine.
Although Huo Chengxuan wasn’t in the army at the moment, his position remained, and his monthly allowance continued as usual.
This was personal business, so Gu Yunsheng didn’t need to discuss it with Old Wang.
Seeing her humble attitude, Old Wang turned and drove the ox cart away.
Gu Yunsheng moved the goods inside and began organizing.
She had been to the town, and these items had gone through the regular roads. But she had also bought many things from the space’s market.
Especially rice, and some fabrics.
She picked items suitable for the era, like dark-colored fabrics and some seeds.
Seeing the time, she began cooking.
The Huo family had taken several days of train travel without rest, and now they were heading to the fields early. They needed a good meal to replenish their energy.
She wasn’t sure if Huo’s mother and Wan’er could handle it, but her hands didn’t pause.
She took out a piece of meat to make braised pork.
The pork belly was washed and cut into pieces. Water was added to a pot with the meat, brought to a boil over high heat for two minutes, then removed, rinsed with warm water, and drained.
The pot was heated with oil. When it reached fifty percent heat, star anise and slices of ginger were added to release their aroma.
The pork belly was added and fried on high heat until both sides were golden and the fat rendered. Some oil was removed and saved for stir-frying vegetables later.
Soy sauce was added for color, followed by cooking wine, salt, and rock sugar. Spiritual spring water was poured in to cover the meat, brought to a boil, then simmered on low heat.
A pair of tongs were placed on top, and steamed buns from the space were placed above to steam.
The public kitchen had two pots. Since the educated youths had not returned, Gu Yunsheng could stir-fry the vegetables.
The oil just removed was poured into the pot, and bok choy was stir-fried.
She also made a soup. She wanted to use tomatoes, but there were none, so she made a simple egg soup, also using the spiritual spring water.
Gu Yunsheng brought the vegetables and egg soup back inside. The braised pork was ready as well.
She quickly served the buns and the braised pork, then returned to the kitchen to clean the pot.
After finishing, she boiled a pot of water and filled the thermos bottles she had bought in town.
The water was from the spiritual spring, which could reduce fatigue for a few people.
Gu Yunsheng had been cautious about using it, worried the spring would run out, as it had been described in the book.
Gu Yunzhao’s spiritual spring only appeared as a small cup each time.
But over the past few days, she realized that no matter how much she used, the pond remained the same the next day.
So she didn’t worry or dwell on it. Besides, things were different now; she even had a large market!
As she finished, the brigade horn sounded.
Work was over.
Luckily, the meal was ready. Gu Yunsheng had opened the windows for ventilation, though she knew it didn’t help much.
It would help a little and reduce the smell.
She couldn’t always avoid others. The best solution would be for her family to live separately.
After the autumn harvest, she planned to discuss this with Huo Chengxuan.
If only there was a kitchen in the space, she could cook there.
Gu Yunsheng carried two thermos bottles back, and soon people began returning to the yard.
Unexpectedly, the first to return was Wang Huijuan.
Gu Yunsheng looked at her wobbly frame and felt it was hard to watch.
Following closely were the Chu Ziheng siblings.
Her eyes felt much more at ease seeing them.
This brother and sister were pleasing to look at. Though Chu Rongrong spoke harshly, one had to admit she was attractive.
Wang Huijuan brought ingredients into the kitchen and sniffed the aroma of the meat.
Her figure had come from eating.
She searched the kitchen for a long time but found nothing.
She leaned closer to the pot, sniffing, possibly noticing the subtle fragrance from the spiritual spring water Gu Yunsheng had used.
There was no smell of meat, only a sweet, delicate aroma.
For a moment, Wang Huijuan thought she had imagined it.
Just as she was about to look into the Huo family house, she heard her husband shout,
“Wang Huijuan, what are you doing? Hurry up and cook. Do you want to starve us?”