No one expected that the moment Chen Shi put the Huobao Feichang into her mouth, she froze. How could it not smell foul at all? The Feichang that had smelled so pungent just moments ago now carried only a rich meaty aroma, subtly infused with the tangy heat of pickled peppers and ginger. The texture was surprisingly delightful, immediately making her lips and tongue tingle with spiciness. In just a few bites, the heat traveled down her throat into her stomach, spreading a gentle warmth that was thoroughly enjoyable. It was truly the perfect dish to accompany rice.
“Mother, how is it?” Su Tao looked eagerly at Chen Shi, hoping to hear her verdict.
Chen Shi tilted her head slightly, her eyes glimmering with quiet satisfaction, and murmured vaguely, “Good.”
With that, she took the chopsticks from Su Li’s hand and picked up another bite. This time, she didn’t just take a piece of Feichang but also scooped up some of the sour and spicy pickled peppers along with it, bringing it all to her mouth.
Sure enough, the flavor was just as she had imagined—utterly addictive. She even felt the urge to quickly serve herself a bowl of Hong Shu Fan to eat with it, certain it would be a perfect match.
Seeing Chen Shi’s reaction, Su Tao didn’t need further convincing. She turned around to grab a pair of chopsticks and went straight for the Feichang in the bowl. Still, as she brought it to her mouth, she braced herself mentally.
Yet, the temptation of the delicious food was too strong. The spicy, fragrant aroma kept wafting into her nostrils, and in the end, she gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and placed the Feichang—coated in fiery red chili flakes and minced ginger—into her mouth. But the very next second:
“Hot, hot, hot…”
Oh no, she’d forgotten to blow on it! Su Tao’s eyes welled up with tears from the heat, but she couldn’t bring herself to spit it out. After all, the Feichang was incredibly fragrant and delicious, without even a hint of any unpleasant odor. The more she chewed, the more flavorful it became, making her reluctant to swallow. It was even better than the previous Stir-fried River Clam Meat with Chili.
Su Tao’s face glowed red—whether from the heat of the stove or the spiciness of the dish, it was hard to tell.
In contrast to Su Tao, Chen Shi felt a sense of relief aside from marveling at how delicious the Feichang was. If nothing else, this dish was exceptionally tasty. Perhaps it really could be sold tomorrow?
A cool breeze drifted into the kitchen, bringing with it a refreshing chill—the most comfortable moment of the entire day.
Su Li, Chen Shi, and Su Tao gathered around the stove, enjoying their meal heartily. When the Hong Shu Fan was ready, they paired the sweet, tender sweet potatoes with pieces of Feichang. Both Chen Shi and Su Tao ate two full bowls of rice, completely satisfied. In the end, they didn’t even leave behind the sauce, dividing it between them to enjoy with their rice.
After the meal, Su Tao washed the dishes while Chen Shi heated water. Su Li was the first to bathe. Originally, Su Tao was supposed to go first, but she had eaten so much that she volunteered to walk off the fullness before bathing.
The Su Family didn’t have a dedicated bathing room. They either used a bathtub in their room or washed in the Maoce. Having spent the day cleaning Feichang and reeking of odor, Su Li absolutely refused to bathe in the Maoce. In the end, she brought out the bathtub and washed in her room. Chen Shi thought her younger daughter was becoming increasingly fastidious but didn’t say anything. Instead, she helped Su Li heat and carry water. Su Li ended up using two full buckets of water before she felt clean.
Truth be told, if Chen Shi hadn’t given her a disapproving look, Su Li would have washed even more. She always felt that the Soap Pods of this era didn’t clean thoroughly, but given the Su Family’s circumstances, they certainly couldn’t afford to buy any good Scented Soap.
After bathing, Su Li dried herself with a cloth and put on sun-dried clothes still carrying residual warmth, feeling completely revived. She then washed the dirty gray coarse linen garment with clean water. She currently only owned two sets of clothes—when one was worn, the other had to be washed immediately, or she’d have nothing to wear the next day.
The Su Family was too poor. The original owner of this body had always worn hand-me-downs from her older sisters. Su Li’s outfit had been passed down from the eldest sister, altered to fit the fourth sister, Su Tao, and then handed to her. It was already several years old. Fortunately, all three sisters took good care of their clothes; aside from a few patches, the garment was still decent. The only issue was the underwear, worn thin from daily use, which had become quite shabby.
While carefully washing the clothes, Su Li mentally added new items to her growing list of necessities.
Since they needed to leave early the next day, Su Li, Chen Shi, and the others finished washing up, secured the doors and windows, and went to bed early. However, perhaps due to the sudden thunderstorm, Chen Shi tossed and turned from the heat, only falling asleep well past midnight. Even then, her rest was troubled—she dreamed strange dreams all night, one moment of her husband and son meeting with misfortune, the next of her eldest daughter, tormented by her mother-in-law, jumping into a river with her granddaughter. All in all, it was an extremely uncomfortable night.
The next morning, Chen Shi woke to rustling sounds. She heard her fourth daughter calling the chickens to eat and the sizzling of stir-frying from the kitchen, along with the familiar, assertive aroma carried on the wind.
Right—today they were going to sell food. How could she have forgotten and slept so late? Chen Shi patted her head, quickly dressed, and got up.
By then, the sky was bright, the rising sun fiery red and brilliant, signaling another sunny day. Little trace remained of last night’s rain, except for puddles in low-lying areas; the rest had been baked dry by the sun. Only a few bamboo trees leaning haphazardly in the distance served as reminders of the previous night’s storm.
Rain was good—it had been a long time since the last rainfall in this summer heat. The fields in the village were nearly parched, so this rain had come just in time. The wheat seeds sown a couple of days ago would likely survive now.
“Why didn’t you wake me?” Chen Shi asked as she entered the kitchen, where Su Li was chopping and stir-frying, a one-woman whirlwind of orderly chaos.
Turning her head at her mother’s entrance, Su Li smiled and said, “Mother, you’re awake. There’s congee on the table—have you eaten?”
“I have.” She’d also eaten two of those large pancakes called Scallion Pancakes. They were incredibly delicious, rich with scallion flavor, soft yet chewy, leaving a fragrant taste in the mouth. These past few mornings, eating Su Li’s Scallion Pancakes, Chen Shi never felt she’d had enough. Paired with rice congee full of creamy starch and Su Li’s pickled short-cut yardlong beans, the experience was simply delightful.
“Next time I oversleep, you two must wake me,” Chen Shi insisted again as she sat down to tend the fire, feeling guilty for having risen late. With so much to do at home, sleeping in was truly inexcusable.
Su Li agreed, mainly because there wasn’t much work involved—just stir-frying two dishes and cooking a large pot of rice. For someone as accustomed to these tasks as Su Li, it was truly a trivial matter. Besides, Su Tao had just been helping her tend the fire and wash vegetables, so she wasn’t particularly tired. Thus, she didn’t wake the soundly sleeping Chen Shi, as Chen Shi had been the most exhausted these past few days—delivering meals, managing household chores, and busy picking fruits to sell without a moment’s rest. Even the old ox in the village hadn’t worked this hard.