There was no helping it. Aside from little Pingping and Hehua, the three women in the family either had no natal family left or might as well not have one. Their hearts were entirely devoted to this small household. Only Shen Tiechui, the family’s main pillar, still had an older brother and a mother.
Meng Chunxing knew her mother-in-law all too well. It was true that the old woman loved her youngest son, but her eldest son was just as precious to her. Besides, she was now living under her eldest son’s roof. Most importantly, she favored sons over daughters. Meng Chunxing was afraid that if her mother-in-law learned about Hehua’s strength, she would force Hehua to hunt and provide meat for the eldest son’s family.
If the eldest son’s family had been decent people, she wouldn’t have minded. But there wasn’t a single good person among them. Once they found out about Hehua’s ability, she didn’t even want to imagine the consequences.
If Hehua refused to hunt for them, Meng Chunxing believed that family would not hesitate to report Hehua.
She didn’t mind giving her mother-in-law some good food, but she would never sacrifice her daughter.
Everyone in the room stared at Shen Tiechui, waiting for his response.
Shen Tiechui: “…”
His heart ached.
He could understand his eldest daughter-in-law and second daughter-in-law, but why didn’t even his wife, daughter, and eldest grandson trust him?
He loved his mother and respected his older brother, but his daughter was just as precious to him.
After years of sharing the same bed with his wife, he knew she wasn’t criticizing his mother. She was simply worried about their daughter. As for his older brother’s family… there was no point talking about them.
“Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing. I’ll invite my mother over for a meal. If she asks, I’ll just say I managed to get the meat myself because I wanted to treat her and the family.”
Surely his mother wouldn’t betray her youngest son.
Once Shen Tiechui said that, everyone relaxed.
Little Pingping nodded seriously.
“Don’t tell.”
Although Pingping was young, he was very protective of food. He knew meat was delicious, and if other people found out, they might take it away. His lips were tightly sealed. Even when Hehua secretly gave him candy, his mother could never trick the truth out of him.
Now that everything had been explained and everyone had made their promises, Meng Chunxing started assigning tasks.
Hehua ate dinner while Pingping kept his aunt company. The three women went into the kitchen and got busy.
As they worked, Meng Chunxing loudly reminded Hehua not to fall asleep yet because she needed a bath later. She also called out to Lu Shufen, telling her to bathe Pingping as well.
The activity caused anyone who noticed smoke rising from their chimney to lose interest.
So they were just boiling bathwater.
People had thought they might be secretly cooking something delicious.
Shen Tiechui wandered around the yard twice. Meng Chunxing grew so annoyed by his pacing that she shoved him several times. Finally, with no other choice, he walked over to Hehua, who had already finished her porridge and was sitting on the doorstep entertaining Pingping. After asking exactly where his eldest son was, he headed out to meet him.
Outside the gate, Shen Jiandang pushed on the front gate several times in confusion.
He hadn’t even come home yet, so why was the gate already locked?
Had they started forgetting about him that easily?
Before Shen Jiandang could sink into self-pity, Shen Tiechui opened the gate.
The moment he opened it and saw someone standing there, Shen Tiechui—already feeling guilty because of everything Hehua had done today—jumped in fright.
Shen Jiandang quickly caught him and said,
“Dad, it’s me. What’s going on? Why is the front gate locked so early?”
His tone sounded a little hurt.
“I haven’t even come home yet.”
Annoyed, Shen Tiechui smacked the back of Shen Jiandang’s head.
“Couldn’t you knock? Standing there like a post trying to scare people! Your sister’s taking a bath. What’s wrong with locking the gate?”
Shen Jiandang: “…”
Could you at least make your lie believable?
His little sister never bathed in the yard. She always washed in her own room or inside the kitchen with the door closed. There was absolutely no reason to lock the front gate.
Knowing his third son was too clever to fool, Shen Tiechui first pulled him into the yard, grabbed his ear, and quietly whispered the whole story.
The more Shen Jiandang listened, the brighter his eyes became.
He couldn’t stop glancing toward his younger sister, who was sitting on the doorstep of the main room entertaining his nephew.
His heart screamed.
A true master has been hiding right beside me!
He had originally wanted to spend some time chatting with Hehua, but his father dragged him back outside. On the surface, they were simply taking a walk, but in reality, they were waiting for the eldest brother.
Once it was completely dark and the streets were empty, the father and his two sons quietly climbed the mountain. The three of them hurried back down and returned home with the meat.
Watching the three of them sneaking around like thieves, Hehua covered her face.
She couldn’t bear to look.
Now she finally understood where her eldest brother got it from.
He had inherited it from their father.
Fortunately, no one saw them. If anyone had caught sight of those three shadowy figures sneaking around in the dark, they definitely wouldn’t have assumed they were decent people. Someone would have shouted for help.
Next time she’d either go herself or ask her mother to come.
These three…
Even Meng Chunxing looked at them speechlessly.
Why did the three of them look so suspicious?
Although they weren’t good at doing anything underhanded, they were very efficient when it came to work.
Without any help from the women, they quickly cleaned all six rabbits and the pheasant.
Looking at the large basin full of meat, Meng Chunxing smiled so widely that her eyes nearly disappeared.
She waved her hand decisively.
“We’ll eat the organs over the next few days. Smoke everything else.”
Hehua handed the sleeping Pingping to her sister-in-law before walking over to Meng Chunxing.
“Mom, with me around to keep hunting, there’s no need to smoke it. We can just eat it slowly.”
Meng Chunxing glared at her daughter, who clearly had no idea how to manage a household.
“There’s so much meat. Even if we ate it every day, it would still take forever to finish. The rest would spoil. Listen to me. We’ll smoke these and save them for later. We’ll eat the organs first. Besides, there are sixteen eggs too. Next time, just catch one or two. Don’t bring back so many all at once. You won’t always be this lucky. If you keep going back, the rabbits will get smarter and start avoiding you.”
Hehua felt her mother made sense, but…
“Mom, you’re right. But now that you mention it, I think I should catch even more rabbits before they learn to avoid me.”
Meng Chunxing: “…”
That was exactly something her daughter would say.
After thinking for a moment, she nodded.
“That works too. Then we can mail more to your second brother. He’s had a hard life and has done so much for this family over the years. We couldn’t give him much before. Now it’s time he felt the strength of his family.”
No one in the family could object to that.
Everyone had benefited from Second Brother’s help, even their eldest uncle’s family.
Besides, Shen Jianjun was serving in the army and often went on dangerous missions. He needed good food to stay healthy.
Second Sister-in-law Xia Xiaohe was so touched that her eyes turned red as she thought of her husband, worry filling her heart.
Hehua walked over and hugged her.
“Don’t worry, Second Sister-in-law. Based on Second Brother’s abilities and how often he goes on missions, he’ll probably be promoted to company commander this year. Then you’ll qualify to move and live with him.”
Xia Xiaohe shook her head.
She had never doubted her husband’s abilities.
She was simply worried because missions were always dangerous.
Hehua understood what she was worried about, but she didn’t know how to comfort her.
She could tell her that next month Second Brother would send a letter asking her to move in with him, but even if she said it, Xia Xiaohe would only think she was trying to comfort her. It was better to say nothing.
After all, it wouldn’t be long now.
Thinking about her second brother reminded Hehua that she should study cooking in the system’s learning room.
If they sent smoked rabbit meat, Second Brother wouldn’t have much chance to eat it himself. He would probably hand it over to the mess hall for everyone to share.
It would be much better to make meat sauce instead. Even if he shared it with others, he’d still have some left for himself. He could spread it on steamed buns, flatbread, or mix it into noodles.
Having made up her mind, Hehua decided to start learning that very night.
Mastering cooking wasn’t something that happened overnight, but if she focused only on meat sauces and similar dishes, it shouldn’t take too long or cost too many points.
Eventually, only the old couple remained in the kitchen. Hehua and the others were chased back to their rooms to sleep.
After returning to her room and locking the door, Hehua climbed onto the heated kang bed and entered the learning room.
She was serious about studying.
Although “cooking” sounded simple, Chinese cuisine was incredibly vast. The system’s culinary knowledge included not only Chinese cooking but many other cuisines as well.
If she tried to learn everything, not only would she never master it all, she wouldn’t even have enough points.
Fortunately, Hehua only planned to learn home-style dishes along with essential pickles, sauces, and preserved foods, so she still had enough points.
Niuniu was also very generous when it came to her studies.
Although it was called home cooking, there were countless varieties. Time flowed differently inside the learning room, and because time there felt vague, when Hehua woke up the next morning, all she knew was that she had studied for nearly ten years. The remaining time had been spent refining and perfecting her skills.
In a single night, she had spent fifty points.
Hehua’s heart ached.
She needed to earn a lot more points.