Fu Jingwen snorted disdainfully and fell silent when he noticed a slight furrow forming on his elder brother’s brow.
Lady Shao was not one to talk much and remained quiet, so Lady Guan told her two sons about Qin Xiaoruo going to the bamboo forest.
Fu Hanwen’s eyebrows furrowed once more as he cast a disapproving glance at Qin Xiaoruo.
Seeing her guiltily lowering her head, he chose not to say anything.
“Don’t even mention it, bamboo shoots paired with pickled vegetables have a unique flavor indeed,” said Fu Zhiwen after tasting a piece, “It’s been so long since I’ve had such a delicious dish.”
When the conversation turned to food, Qin Xiaoruo’s eyes lit up: “Actually, the flavor would be even better if some pork belly were cooked together with the bamboo shoots and pickled vegetables.”
There wasn’t much oil left at home, and she hadn’t dared to use any for fear that Fu Jingwen would criticize her for not managing the household properly, which is why the bamboo shoot pieces tasted crisp yet somewhat astringent.
However, for the Fu Family who were accustomed to eating only greens and wild vegetables year-round, this was already something novel and fresh.
Fu Zhiwen smiled enigmatically: “It seems our sister-in-law is quite knowledgeable about food.
We’ll be in for a treat from now on.”
Accidentally meeting Fu Hanwen’s scrutinizing gaze, Qin Xiaoruo suddenly remembered the Qin Family was even worse off than the Fu Family.
Where would she get the pork belly to cook with the bamboo shoots?
Her heart skipped a beat, and she could only laugh awkwardly, “Heh, it’s alright.”
This Fu Zhiwen really knew how to bring up the most inconvenient topics!
Qin Xiaoruo grumbled in her mind.
“By the way, Xiao Ruo,” said Lady Guan as something occurred to her, “I saw you shred the two bamboo shoots left over.
What are you planning to do with them?”
“Auntie, I’ve heard that if bamboo shoots are left for too long, they’ll get tough.
If they’re shredded and dried, they can be preserved to eat over time.” In reality, Qin Xiaoruo wanted to tell Lady Guan that duck meat cooked with shredded dried bamboo shoot and ginger was even more exquisite.
Lady Guan smiled and nodded: “It’s good to have a change in taste after a while.”
Having a bride-to-be who was thrifty and good at managing the household pleased Lady Guan greatly.
Having a rare tasty meal, Changer would have overeaten if Lady Shao had not stopped him.
He held his belly and said to Qin Xiaoruo with a muffled, breathy voice, “It’s really great to have Aunt Xiao Ruo around.
We can eat our fill every day.”
Before, they ate only two meals a day at home, but since Aunt Xiao Ruo came, they could eat three!
Qin Xiaoruo chuckled to herself, satisfied with so little?
If she brought out some fish from her space to cook for him, wouldn’t that make him overjoyed?
After finishing their meal, Fu Jingwen took it upon himself to collect the dishes and carried them to the kitchen to wash, while Lady Shao picked up two wooden buckets to fetch water from the village well.
After taking her bath, Qin Xiaoruo was about to return to her room when she saw Fu Hanwen waiting at the door of her room with a cloth bundle in hand.
Seeing her, he quickly pushed the bundle into her arms and said earnestly, “If the house is lacking in food, tell me.
Don’t go to dangerous places anymore.”
Hearing the concern in his voice, Qin Xiaoruo’s eyebrows curved, and an idea formed in her heart: “What if I want to eat bamboo shoots?”
Fu Hanwen looked at her, “Are there many bamboo shoots in the bamboo forest behind Zhenxi Village?”
“Those are all gone, I’ve brought back the only three left!” In order to avoid giving herself away, Qin Xiaoruo quickly added, “We definitely shouldn’t go to the bamboo forest near Zhenxi Village in the future because of the poisonous snakes.
I was thinking, don’t we have a large empty space behind our house?
What if we planted some bamboo?
Then we’d have bamboo shoots to eat in the future?”
Our house?
Behind?
Fu Hanwen’s gaze flickered subtly: “I’ll go and get some bamboo to try planting.
But I can’t promise that they will grow.”
“Great.” Qin Xiaoruo felt she must have been seeing things, otherwise, how could she have thought that this serious and reserved man just smiled a moment ago?