Liang Hui unloaded everything from the basket and carried it into the west room.
He said to Zhao Chunhua, “Anyway, Second Aunt doesn’t get along with Yu Yao. Separating meals will save everyone the trouble.”
Zhao Chunhua watched helplessly as Liang Hui handed a heavy cloth bag to Yu Yao.
She could tell there must be good food inside—maybe even wild boar meat. Instantly she became unhappy.
“Liang Laosi! So you were hiding food outside!”
“You heartless thing! You married a wife and forgot your aunt!”
“All these years I fed good food to a dog!”
Before she could continue yelling, Liang Hui walked over.
“Second Aunt, I want to divide the family property—grain, bowls, farm tools, furniture…”
Zhao Chunhua felt as if she’d been stabbed and nearly jumped up on the spot.
She immediately forgot about the food Liang Hui brought back and focused on protecting her own things.
“You ungrateful beast! Your uncle and I raised you, and you still dare ask for a share of the property?”
“Not a chance! You won’t get a single scrap from me!”
“Stop dreaming!”
Liang Hui didn’t get angry. He walked straight toward the main hall.
“I’ll go ask Second Uncle and Grandma to judge this fairly.”
Zhao Chunhua hurried after him. “Go ask whoever you want! Even if the Emperor comes today, I won’t give you even a needle!”
..
While Zhao Chunhua was distracted arguing with Liang Hui, Yu Yao began preparing breakfast.
Although she came from a wealthy family, she wasn’t someone who didn’t know how to cook.
In her real world, besides studying art and design, Yu Yao loved exploring gourmet food.
She had high standards for taste—if chefs couldn’t meet them, she cooked herself.
She even moved out of the dorm and rented a place near campus, honing excellent cooking skills.
But cooking in the 1980s wasn’t easy.
No gas, no running water, not even a drainage system.
Everything had to be adapted from scratch.
She began sorting the items Liang Hui brought back: a half-new coal stove, ten honeycomb coal briquettes, a pair of fire tongs, a small iron pot, a small aluminum pot, a spatula, and a small washbasin.
A small cutting board, a kitchen knife.
Two slightly worn bowls, two pairs of bamboo chopsticks, and a greasy old oil bottle.
Yu Yao guessed these were probably borrowed or temporarily exchanged, since none of them were new.
Tigers’ Pit Village was remote and underdeveloped. To buy these things, one would have to go to town.
Another bag contained a small sack of white flour, half a sack of corn flour.
There were also fresh vegetables with dew on them—scallions, ginger, garlic, and a packet of coarse salt.
Most importantly, there was a skinned and cleaned wild rabbit wrapped in taro leaves.
Yu Yao used fire tongs to pick up a coal briquette and walked toward the kitchen.
By then, the eldest and second daughters-in-law had already prepared breakfast.
Seeing Yu Yao exchanging a nearly-burned coal briquette for a new one, they didn’t object.
The eldest daughter-in-law even helped move the coal into the west-room stove and taught her how to use it.
At that moment, shouting and the sound of objects being thrown came from the main hall—Zhao Chunhua was still making a scene.
The eldest daughter-in-law hurried back.
Yu Yao began cooking.
She kneaded dough quickly, washed scallions, and made scallion pancakes.
She also boiled corn porridge in the small aluminum pot, adding a bit of “spiritual spring water.”
She chopped the rabbit and stir-fried it over high heat—the aroma quickly spread.
By the time Liang Hui finished the family division and returned to the west room with his share of goods, breakfast was ready.
Liang Hui had received a bag of sweet potatoes and a small sack of sweet potato flour—less than twenty jin in total.
He also got two chipped plates, a bunch of mismatched old chopsticks, a washbasin, and two small stools.
“This is all we got,” Liang Hui said calmly.
Yu Yao didn’t say much and took the plates.
She placed rabbit meat on one plate and scallion pancakes on the other.
She propped up a wobbly table leg with a stone so the table stopped shaking.
They sat on the newly obtained stools and ate breakfast together.
The scallion pancakes were crispy, the rabbit meat tender and fragrant, and the corn porridge slightly sweet. The meal was surprisingly delicious.
Liang Hui ate a few bites and was visibly surprised.
He looked at Yu Yao for a long time, his beautiful peach-blossom eyes slightly widened.
Yu Yao smiled. “Eat. Why are you looking at me?”
“I didn’t expect your cooking to be this good,” he said.
“I used to cook often,” Yu Yao replied truthfully.
She loved food and spent her free time thinking about what to eat.
But Liang Hui assumed she had been forced to cook at her family home because of her stepmother’s abuse.
“In the future, we’ll just take care of our own little household. No one will make you do anything anymore,” he said.
Yu Yao blinked and suddenly fed him a piece of rabbit meat.
“Eat, husband.”
Liang Hui, suddenly fed, couldn’t help but imagine something inappropriate.
Last night’s wedding night had no real progress—tonight, it would need to continue.
..
Meanwhile, Zhao Chunhua hadn’t eaten properly because she was angry. But the smell of meat drifted from the west room.
Her stomach growled.
Soon, the two grandsons and two granddaughters each came back holding pieces of rabbit meat, saying it was given by the third aunt.
Especially the youngest girl, Jiaozhi, had the biggest piece.
The eldest and second daughters-in-law exchanged looks—they knew Yu Yao was returning the favor for the morning coal they lent her.
Meat was a luxury in this era. Only Liang Hui, who was skilled at hunting, could frequently catch wild rabbits and ducks.
He could sell them for money and improve meals.
But now that the family had split, such benefits would no longer be shared.
Zhao Chunhua cursed again.
“Bah! Who cares about that little bit of meat!”
“Just after splitting the family, she’s already eating alone and not respecting her elders…”
Before she could finish, Yu Yao walked into Grandma Liang’s room carrying a bowl of rabbit meat and a small aluminum pot.