“Really?”
Grandma Sui still looked doubtful as she watched Wuyou take command.
She sliced the pork belly and rendered some fat in the pan, then added slices of wild ginger to sauté until fragrant.
Liu Cuier sniffed the aroma and smiled:
“Wuyou was right—it really smells wonderful.”
Grandma Sui busied herself in the kitchen, speaking up:
“This naughty girl has such an appetite. Spending all day in the mountains, she’s almost a wild child now.”
Li Meihua added a handful of firewood to the stove and shouted:
“No worries, our Wuyou is lovely. When marriage proposals come, they’ll have to break the threshold to get in!”
Liu Cuier didn’t respond but glanced at Wuyou, dutifully helping Grandma.
Since recovering from her trance-like illness, Wuyou had quickly become a local celebrity in Yuliu Village.
She spent every day outdoors but showed no signs of tanning. Silent, she still appeared as pure and refined as a jade sculpture, a fairy child under the Bodhisattva’s gaze.
Considering all she had done, it was beyond words. Even the two unruly Shi brothers now avoided her.
The kitchen filled with the tantalizing aroma of cooking.
Sui Changan and Sui Changjian fidgeted impatiently, peeking around the doorway.
Wuyou took a bite from a chicken leg and stepped out of the kitchen:
“Eldest Brother, Second Brother, Changan, Changjian! Time to eat! Set the table!”
The four boys hurriedly carried tables and stools.
Liu Cuier and Li Meihua brought the dishes out from the low kitchen counter and set two tables: one for adults, one for children.
On the tables were braised rabbit, wild chicken with mountain mushrooms, pork belly, and a basket of freshly steamed buns.
The aroma made the children almost cry with hunger.
The four brothers sat properly, their eyes glued to the dishes, swallowing hard.
The adults refrained from touching their food first—nobody dared take the lead. The children understood the rules.
On the adults’ table, Sui Jiaxing carefully poured a small jar of wine, first filling a bowl for Grandpa Sui:
“Father, thanks to the kids, today’s meal is more lavish than during the New Year. How could we not have wine for such good food?”
Grandpa Sui’s eyes lit up, grinning:
“Good, good, let’s drink a bit.”
Sui Jiawang licked his lips, eager:
“Hehe, Eldest Brother, pour me more.”
Jiaxing rolled his eyes, filled his own bowl, then handed him the rest along with the jar:
“Here, here. I finally managed to get some; I wouldn’t give it up otherwise.”
The wine in Zhaoguo, where Wuyou had crossed into, was extremely precious.
Though she was new to this world, she had heard of it: northern Chen Prefecture favored alcohol, but production was low, making it rare.
Wuyou’s curiosity sparked. She leaned toward Grandpa Sui with a grin:
“Grandpa, let me taste a little!”
Back in her original world, Wuyou’s family had run a winery. She had grown up immersed in the craft and was familiar with fermentation.
After her parents died in an accident, she had lived with her grandmother, before eventually being taken by that beastly scientist.
Grandma Sui pretended to scold her:
“Go away, little one, what are you doing trying wine?”
Grandpa Sui chuckled and held the bowl to her lips:
“Let her try! The more you forbid, the more curious she becomes.”
Wuyou sipped cautiously. The strong, pungent taste burned her nose, sour and acrid, stinging her throat.
She teared up and coughed.
Jiaxing and Jiawang laughed at her reaction.
Grandma Sui, worried, quickly served a bowl of chicken soup, scolding gently:
“You wouldn’t listen to the elders and look! You had to try—see what happens?”
After sipping the soup, Wuyou stuck out her tongue:
“Phew… this is awful! You call this wine?”
Grandpa Sui sipped happily, eyes half-closed in pleasure:
“You little one don’t know. This is a treasure; we can hardly drink it in daily life.”
Wuyou thought: …I wouldn’t pay for this taste, let alone buy it. Still, if mastered, maybe it could improve the family’s situation. She’d think about it tonight.
Grandma Sui rolled her eyes at Grandpa and called the boys:
“What are you standing there for? Eat!”
At her words, the four boys grabbed their chopsticks and dug in, eating like a whirlwind. By the time Wuyou passed by, three dishes were already half-empty.
Liu Cuier watched Wuyou in amusement:
“Wuyou, sit away from them—they’re gluttons, and will eat everything in sight.”
Grandpa Sui and Jiaxing laughed heartily.
Grandma Sui, seeing the joy in the house, felt warm inside. Since Wuyou’s birth, it had been a long time since the family had been this happy.
After the meal, the four boys, rubbing their full bellies, competed to clean the table and dishes.
It was the best feast they’d ever had. If they behaved, next time Wuyou might take them hunting for more rabbits and pheasants.
The adults chatted casually while Wuyou leaned on Grandma’s side, joining in the fun.
Grandpa Sui sat under the pear tree, puffing his pipe and sighed:
“Alas, this year’s harvest doesn’t look promising.”
Although it was still summer, the crops seemed weak and struggling. The land was poor, producing little.
Jiaxing sighed too:
“Father, don’t worry. Everyone is in the same boat. Every year is like this—never enough to eat, but never starving.”
Watching the children grow up, he felt anxious. While education might offer a path out, the family couldn’t even afford the tuition for the third son during the famine years.
He glanced at the boys, realizing no one could guarantee success in exams.
If only the third son were alive, holding a scholar’s title, life would have been much easier. But…
He kept his thoughts to himself, not wanting to upset the elders.
“Everyone, go rest!”
Grandpa Sui tapped his pipe and slowly stood:
“Tomorrow we have to work the fields again.”
Sui Changan, the cleverest, sneaked to Wuyou and whispered:
“Sister, are we going hunting for rabbits again tomorrow?”