She quickly washed her hands, took the child into her arms, and walked over to the stove. “Mother, I’ll tend the fire for you!”
For the sake of a good meal, she was really giving it her all.
Ye Wen first picked out the loaches. She marinated them with scallions and ginger to remove the fishy smell, then fried them in lard until fragrant. After adding water, she simmered them into a milky-white broth, then added the tofu she had asked Tian Chunhua to buy that morning. Before long, a pot of snowy-white, rich tofu-and-loach soup was ready.
Jiang Lian had just given birth, so Ye Wen needed to help nourish her body. She also made a mental note to remind the eldest son later that until Jiang Lian had fully recovered, he absolutely must not share a bed with her. This era had no effective contraception—what if she got pregnant again?
According to the system’s prompts, in the original storyline Jiang Lian would become pregnant again before long, her body depleted, and she would die from a difficult childbirth.
If that happened, her mission would fail. After all, she had to make sure this entire family lived well and had proper values in order to complete the task.
The loaches she caught today were fat and large. Though loaches lived in the mud, they were still high-quality protein—perfect for replenishing Jiang Lian’s nutrition.
One pot of soup was enough for the mother and daughter, so she didn’t make any other dishes. After serving rice, she placed everything on a tray and delivered it to Jiang Lian and her daughter.
When Jiang Lian saw that there was fish soup today, she was deeply moved.
Although she spoke even less with her mother-in-law now than before, she felt that her mother-in-law was actually easier to get along with.
At the very least, she no longer scolded her and Xiaocao with a dark face like she used to.
Ye Wen returned to the kitchen and continued processing the eels.
Following the same steps as before, she made spicy stir-fried eel strips again. But today’s portion was much larger—she fried an entire potful. This was the big iron pot that used to be used for cooking pig feed. Since the family no longer raised pigs, it had been thoroughly cleaned and repurposed for cooking.
With such a huge pot of eel strips, if the family ate it themselves, they would probably have to eat with abandon for three meals before finishing it.
Knowing that the second son wanted to sell it, she secretly exchanged some points in the system shop for a block of hotpot base and added it in. It cost her more than ten exchange points.
With the beef tallow hotpot base added, today’s eel strips smelled even better than before.
After finishing, she called out toward the doorway, “Second daughter-in-law, go to the fields and call the eldest and second sons back! We’re eating at home for lunch today—I have something to say!”
“Alright!” Tian Chunhua answered loudly. When it came to good food, she was extremely enthusiastic. Hugging the baby, she briskly headed for the fields.
Soon, the eldest and second sons hurried back from the fields.
The moment the second son got home, without even washing his hands, he rushed straight into the kitchen.
“Mother, you’ve already cooked all the eel strips!” he said in delight, staring at the full pot and taking a deep breath of the aroma.
He didn’t know how his mother did it, but the smell was even better than before.
Seeing the excitement in the second son’s eyes, Ye Wen thought to herself that the hotpot base really was unbeatable—no one could resist this fragrance.
“Mother, dish out what we’re eating for lunch first. Pack the rest for me—I’ll take it all with me later,” he said impatiently.
If he weren’t afraid of giving himself away, he would have liked to skip lunch altogether and take the whole pot straight to the county.
But after he said this, there was no response. Sensing something off, he looked up.
Seeing his mother staring at him with a scrutinizing gaze, his heart skipped a beat.
“Second,” Ye Wen asked, locking eyes with him, “what do you plan to do with so much eel?”
“Th-this…” For some reason, under his mother’s gaze, he couldn’t utter a single lie. Knowing it wouldn’t be easy to fool her but still unwilling to reveal his true intentions, he forced himself to say, “I’m taking some to share with Huzi and the others… they’re good brothers, let them have a taste…”
His voice grew smaller and smaller under Ye Wen’s stare.
“Oh? You’re that generous to Huzi and the others?” Ye Wen said with a half-smile. “Our own family eats one big bowl each, but Huzi and the others get a whole pot?”
The second son felt as if his little schemes were completely exposed in front of his mother. His face flushed red, and he stammered, unable to speak.
Seeing his embarrassment, Ye Wen stopped pressing him and said directly, “I don’t care where you plan to sell it, but I paid the costs for this whole pot. If you want to take it, pay five hundred copper coins.”
“What?!” The second son jumped in shock. “Five hundred coins? Mother, why don’t you just rob me? Even if I sell the whole pot, I might not make five hundred coins!”
The eels were caught for free. Mother just stir-fried them—how could it be worth five hundred coins? Five hundred coins was enough to buy fifty dou of rice!
He had calculated it carefully. At most, this pot could sell for six or seven hundred coins. If his mother asked for five hundred right away, after a whole day of hard work he’d only earn one or two hundred coins—far too little.
But seeing his mother’s sharp gaze, he suddenly realized he had fallen into her trap. Provoked just a little, he had blurted out his real plan.
Still, how did Mother know what he was planning?
Scratching his head, he asked, “Mother, how did you know I was planning to sell it?”
“You’re my son—do you think I don’t know your temperament?” Ye Wen replied. “You wouldn’t get up early without profit. Suddenly taking so many good things to give away? I don’t believe it. And don’t think I’m asking for too much—those five hundred coins still have to be shared with your elder brother and little sister.”
Having his little trick exposed made the second son feel ashamed. He had always secretly done business behind the family’s back because he didn’t want to share profits. This time, he had planned to do the same, only to be seen through so quickly by his mother.
The thought of sharing money with the family made his heart ache. Suddenly, like a thief, he glanced around. There was no one outside; only the two of them in the kitchen. He lowered his voice. “Mother, sharing is fine, but can we keep it quiet? Just the two of us, split it privately…”
He began calculating again. Even if he split it fifty-fifty with his mother, it was still better than her original plan. Besides, why should his elder brother and little sister get a share of his money?
Ye Wen had long seen through him. This boy was used to keeping everything for himself. Forget sharing with siblings—even giving her a share was reluctant. She said sternly, “That won’t do. And don’t think Mother is greedy. This pot wasn’t the result of your effort alone.”
How wasn’t it his effort? The second son sulked. He had caught the eels himself for a long time and even gotten bitten several times. Sharing with his mother was fine—she was his mother, after all. But what had his elder brother and little sister done? Why should they get a share?
Seeing his displeasure, Ye Wen seized the opportunity to teach him. “Think about it. My cooking skills are part of this, aren’t they? Besides me, no one can make it taste like this.”
The second son had no choice but to nod. That was true—his mother’s cooking was special. If it were someone else, it wouldn’t sell at a good price.
“Also, you stopped working for half a day to catch eels, delaying the autumn harvest. Your elder brother did your share of the work—he deserves a portion. And your wife cleaned the eels, your sister helped tend the fire. All of this was everyone’s effort.”
Ye Wen counted on her fingers. “Now you want to take everyone’s hard work and make money, but keep it all for yourself. Does that make sense? I’m only asking for five hundred coins. The rest is yours. When you calculate it, you’ll still net at least two hundred coins.”
The second son was left speechless.
Indeed, because of catching eels, he hadn’t cut rice that morning, and his elder brother had done double the work. His mother’s cooking was truly unique—otherwise he wouldn’t have thought of selling it. As for his wife and sister, they really had helped.
But the thought of sharing the money with the whole family felt like knives cutting into his heart. Still, no matter how painful it was, there was nothing he could do. His mother was clearly determined. If he didn’t listen to her, he wouldn’t earn a single coin.
“Mother, are you really sure I can sell it all?” He finally gave in, but another worry surfaced. What if he could only sell half? Wouldn’t he suffer a huge loss?
Ye Wen smiled. “How about this—you go sell it first. No matter how much you sell, you only need to hand over seventy-five percent. How does that sound?”
She was extremely confident in her cooking skills. It would definitely sell. And given how shrewd the second son was, if he planned to sell this, he must already have thought through the sales channels.