“But wouldn’t such a large wild boar sell for quite a bit of money?” Yu Banxia still voiced the question on her mind.
Yu Hongwen affectionately patted her head. “As long as our Xiaxia is safe and sound, and our whole family is safe and sound, that’s enough. You’re right, though—over the years, both the clan and the village have helped our family a lot.”
“Now that you’ve returned from the Gate of Hell, regained consciousness, and become sensible, we couldn’t be happier.”
“It’s also true that our family hasn’t celebrated any happy occasions in a long time. Using this wild boar to celebrate our Xiaxia’s safety is also a wonderful idea.”
Hearing Yu Hongwen’s words, Yu Banxia couldn’t help but be moved.
“Father, in the future, your daughter will definitely make sure everyone lives a good life,” Yu Banxia said, her eyes reddening.
Yu Hongwen felt a pang of heartache and quickly comforted her. “Everything’s fine now, why are your eyes turning red? Father believes you can do it.”
“We believe in you too,” Yu Mangui and the others chimed in unison.
The village chief and the others looked at her with smiles, making Yu Banxia feel a bit embarrassed—these kind and lovely people.
With everyone’s help, the huge beast was finally brought down from the mountain.
Many women in the village watched with envy, but after the village chief finished speaking, their expressions of envy faded, replaced by excitement.
“Oh, Sister Cuilan, your daughter is so sensible now,” one woman said as she saw Fan Cuilan and her daughter-in-law approaching, quickly stepping forward to praise them.
Fan Cuilan was still a bit confused but soon learned the reason from the woman and couldn’t help but smile.
Wu Zhuxiang felt a twinge of resentment—if such a large wild boar were sold, her son might have been able to attend school.
However, seeing the joy on her family’s faces, she quickly suppressed the feeling.
She happily stepped forward. “Our Xiaxia really is a little lucky star. The three of you went up the mountain and managed to hunt such a large wild boar.”
This wasn’t wrong. Shortly after Yu Banxia was born, Yu Hongwen passed the imperial examination at the county level.
It was only due to some later events that he didn’t continue his studies.
After Yu Banxia was born, good things kept happening in the family, which was why she was called the little lucky star.
Perhaps this was also part of the reason why the family doted on Yu Banxia.
But regardless, the Yu family genuinely adored Yu Banxia—this was beyond doubt.
Soon, Anping Village became busy. Some slaughtered the boar, while the women gathered vegetables from their own fields.
People from nearby villages, hearing that the third son of the old scholar’s family in Anping Village had hunted a wild boar, came to watch the excitement.
Some, seeing how large the boar was, stepped forward to ask if they could buy some meat to taste.
The village chief said to Yu Hongwen, “This wild boar is so big. Why not sell half and keep the other half for yourselves? That way, you can also earn some money.”
“That works too,” Yu Hongwen agreed. The wild boar was indeed too large. Even if the whole village ate it, they might not finish it all. Rather than wasting it, it was better to sell half.
After the boar was slaughtered, half was sold to nearby villagers who wanted it.
The remaining half was kept for cooking. Wu Zhuxiang was among the women preparing the dishes, while Yu Banxia took a small basket and rummaged through the seasonings.
Finding that a few ingredients were missing, she thought of Doctor Zhao and pulled Yu Banyue along as she headed toward Doctor Zhao’s house.”It’s little Banxia, coming to see me?” Doctor Zhao happened to be drying medicinal herbs in the courtyard. Seeing the two sisters approach, he smiled warmly at Yu Banxia.
Yu Banxia nodded: “Doctor Zhao, I’d like to buy some black pepper, Sichuan pepper, tsao-ko, licorice root, star anise, cinnamon bark, and bay leaves from you.”
“What do you need these for?” Doctor Zhao asked curiously.
“For seasoning, to make braised meat.”
“Braised meat, using these?” Doctor Zhao was astonished. Having traveled far and wide, he had seen some places use these ingredients in cooking.
But this young girl had always lived in the village. How did she know about this?
The corners of Yu Banxia’s mouth lifted slightly, revealing a meaningful smile. The old fox had taken the bait.
She wanted him to be curious. Doctor Zhao looked up at Yu Banxia, who squinted her eyes and smiled at him. Yet Zhao Boxian felt her earlier smile had been strange. But upon closer look, it was just a simple, ingratiating grin. Could he have been mistaken?
“Wait here.” Doctor Zhao turned and went inside, retrieving the items she wanted from the medicine cabinet.
“I heard your family hunted a wild boar today and are hosting a feast for the whole village. I won’t charge you for these, since I’m going to join the meal anyway.”
Doctor Zhao said generously.
Yu Banxia smiled as she accepted the items, repeatedly thanking him: “Then thank you, Doctor Zhao. Please come over early.”
“Alright.” Doctor Zhao also smiled and agreed.
The two sisters turned and left directly. Doctor Zhao watched their departing figures, shook his head with a smile, and went back to sorting his medicinal herbs.
“Sister-in-law.” Yu Banxia took the seasonings and found Wu Zhuxiang, who wiped her sweat and looked at her.
“What is it?”
Yu Banxia pulled Wu Zhuxiang aside and began explaining: “Sister-in-law, I’ll teach you a braised dish. Later, could you follow the steps I tell you?”
“Since when do you know how to cook?” Wu Zhuxiang was slightly taken aback, asking curiously.
Yu Banxia whispered: “I don’t. I learned from an Imperial Chef in the Ghost Realm, but I have no talent for it. However, I remember all the steps.”
Wu Zhuxiang was stunned for a moment. After regaining her composure, she also whispered: “Will the method you described really taste good?”
“Of course.” Yu Banxia puffed out her small chest and nodded confidently.
Seeing this, Wu Zhuxiang didn’t insist further.
Following Yu Banxia’s instructions, she brought two pig’s trotters, along with the prepared pig’s head, large intestines, and other ingredients.
She followed Yu Banxia’s steps: blanching the meat, caramelizing sugar, placing the wrapped seasonings into the pot, adding soy sauce and other flavorings, then putting the pig’s head and other ingredients into the pot.
Yu Banxia noticed that the soy sauce in this world was quite simple. Perhaps later she could teach the villagers how to brew soy sauce and vinegar.
But that was for later. Soon, a rich aroma of meat wafted through Anping Village.
Xu Xiucai sat by the window, unable to focus on his studies. He had heard earlier that the Yu family in Anping Village had hunted a wild boar.
Originally, he was confident that Yu Banxia would surely bring him some pork. But even after the aroma reached his home, no one had come. He couldn’t sit still any longer.
What was wrong with Yu Banxia?
Xu Xiucai stood up and left his house, heading toward Anping Village.
Yu Banxia happened to be at the village entrance, watching her nieces and nephews playing. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a familiar figure.
She immediately felt disgusted. She hadn’t even sought him out for trouble, yet this person had the nerve to show up in front of her.
“Miss Yu, I heard earlier that you injured your head. Are you feeling better now?”Xu Xiucai hadn’t expected to see Yu Banxia at the village entrance either. He quickly straightened his faded, well-washed clothes and walked up to her, deliberately adopting a gentle tone.
“If you’re so concerned, why haven’t you brought anything to visit?”
“Haven’t you taken plenty of things from me in the past?” Originally thinking Yu Banxia had simply forgotten and would rush to fetch wild boar meat for him upon seeing him, Xu Xiucai was instead met with such a reply. He stood there dumbfounded, as if he no longer recognized Yu Banxia.