“So raising rabbits is this troublesome after all.”
But Gu Yanchen wasn’t afraid in the slightest. He patted his chest confidently and promised Gu Xiaoxiao,
“Don’t worry, Big Sister! I’ll take good care of the bunnies!”
When Old Master Gu came back later, they could ask him to build a rabbit hutch and keep the rabbits in a cage.
As the sky gradually darkened, the villagers who had been working in the fields began returning home one after another.
Before long, Old Master Gu and the others returned as well.
Gu Xiaoxiao immediately went forward to greet them.
“Grandpa, Grandma, Dad, Brother—you’re back! Here’s some water for you.”
She handed them the water she had prepared.
Although the weather was gradually getting warmer, the evenings were still a little cool.
They were drenched in sweat from working in the fields, so she urged them to wash up quickly.
“Grandpa, Grandma, Dad, Brother, hurry and take a bath! I’ve already heated the water for you.”
Her sudden thoughtfulness caught them off guard.
Old Madam Gu hesitated.
“Xiaoxiao, I still haven’t made dinner. Let Grandma cook first, then I’ll bathe.”
But Gu Xiaoxiao was firm.
She couldn’t stand the thought of them staying sweaty for even another minute.
“I’ll make dinner! You all go wash up. You’re soaked through. It’s getting chilly, and you’ll catch a cold later!”
Without giving them much choice, she practically tried to push them toward the bath area.
In the end, Old Madam Gu relented helplessly.
“Alright, alright. Grandma will go bathe. But I still need to carry the water in first, don’t I?”
“Oh, right.”
Gu Xiaoxiao stepped aside to let her pass.
While they fetched water and prepared to bathe, Gu Xiaoxiao headed back to the kitchen to start dinner.
Gu Yanchen followed her in.
He felt that cooking alone must be tiring for his sister, so he wanted to help.
Although he was still young, he often helped in the kitchen and already knew how to do many things.
“A-Chen, peel these potatoes.”
The moment he heard his sister’s instructions, he happily grabbed the potatoes and scampered off to peel them.
Earlier that afternoon, the siblings had gone into the mountains.
To their surprise, they had found mushrooms.
Perfect for making chicken stewed with mushrooms.
After washing the mushrooms they had gathered, Gu Xiaoxiao cut them into pieces and set them aside.
The wild chicken had already died.
It had fallen into one of the traps and been impaled by the spikes inside.
All she needed to do was boil water and pluck the feathers.
Growing up in the countryside, this was second nature to her.
Basic skills.
After expertly removing all the feathers, she cleaned out the internal organs.
She removed the chicken’s windpipe and tossed it onto the wall.
In ancient times, people often did this because the windpipe could also be used as medicinal material.
The windpipe stuck neatly to the wall.
Without paying it any further attention, she continued cleaning out the bird.
She was especially careful not to rupture the gallbladder.
If that happened, the entire chicken would turn bitter.
After washing the chicken thoroughly, she cleaned the organs as well.
They would be stir-fried later and would taste even better that way.
Once everything was prepared, she returned to the kitchen and chopped the chicken into pieces.
By then, Gu Yanchen had finished preparing the potatoes.
She cut them into large chunks, which tasted better after stewing.
Gu Yanchen was in charge of tending the fire.
First, she heated oil in the wok.
Then she sautéed scallions, ginger, and garlic until fragrant before adding the chicken pieces.
Once the chicken changed color, she tossed in the mushrooms.
Finally, she added soy sauce, salt, and enough water to cover the chicken before putting on the lid to let it simmer.
In the second pot, she repeated the process.
Oil, aromatics, chicken.
After stir-frying, she added water until the chicken was submerged, then added the potato chunks.
A little salt and soy sauce went in for seasoning.
Then she covered the pot and let it stew.
When enough time had passed, she lifted the lid of the mushroom chicken stew.
A rich, mouthwatering aroma immediately burst forth.
Nearby neighbors who were eating dinner suddenly smelled it again.
Their children instantly started crying and demanding meat.
The adults were furious.
Whose house is it this time?!
How can they be eating meat every single day?!
Old Madam Gu had just finished bathing.
The moment the aroma reached her nose, her stomach growled.
Good heavens!
Tonight smells even better than lunch!
Soon the other three family members emerged after bathing as well.
All of them swallowed hard.
It smelled incredible.
Judging the timing, Gu Xiaoxiao figured the chicken and potatoes should be done.
She opened the lid and poked a potato chunk with her chopsticks.
When it easily broke apart, she knew it was ready.
Meanwhile, Gu Yanchen stood in the kitchen, surrounded by wave after wave of delicious smells.
He felt like he himself had been marinated in fragrance.
Big Sister is amazing now.
Everything she cooks smells so good!
Both dishes were finally ready.
There were no vegetables tonight.
It was a pure meat feast.
She plated the chicken with mushrooms and the chicken with potatoes and carried them outside.
Seeing this, Old Madam Gu hurried over to help.
She brought out the remaining platter of potato stew.
Soon the table was covered with heaping dishes of chicken.
The aroma made Gu Xiaoxiao incredibly excited.
She hadn’t eaten chicken stewed with mushrooms in ages.
“Alright, it’s ready. Eat up.”
The moment she finished speaking, everyone eagerly reached for the food.
Old Master Gu picked up a mushroom first and popped it into his mouth.
The texture was tender and silky.
But the flavor was unlike anything he had tasted before.
“Xiaoxiao, what is this?”
“I don’t think I’ve ever eaten it.”
“That’s a mushroom.”
Gu Xiaoxiao answered casually.
“A mushroom? What’s a mushroom?”
Old Master Gu had never heard the term.
Gu Xiaoxiao pointed to the basket sitting nearby.
“It’s those.”
“A-Chen and I found a whole bunch of them in the mountains today.”
Everyone turned to look.
The moment Old Master Gu saw the mushrooms in the basket, his eyes widened.
He jumped to his feet.
His sudden reaction startled Gu Xiaoxiao.
Before she could figure out what was happening, Old Madam Gu shot up from her seat as well.
Looking anxiously at Old Master Gu, she cried,
“Old man, spit it out! Hurry, spit it out!”
Old Master Gu immediately tried to spit out the mushroom he had just swallowed.
Gu Xiaoxiao stared at them in confusion.
“Grandma, what’s wrong? What are you doing?”
Even Gu Yong’s expression had become grim.
“Xiaoxiao, you can’t eat those.”
“They’re poisonous.”
“During the famine years, someone picked mushrooms like those and ate them. They died from poisoning.”
At that moment, Gu Xiaoxiao finally understood why her grandparents were reacting so dramatically.
Smiling reassuringly, she said,
“Grandpa, Grandma, don’t worry.”
“These mushrooms aren’t poisonous.”
“They’re perfectly safe to eat.”