Chapter Nine: Improving the Meals

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As she passed Uncle Zhao’s house, she saw the elderly couple eating dinner in the courtyard and called out to them.

“Grandpa Zhao, this is a pheasant I caught. I cleaned it by the river. I was lucky enough to catch a few fish as well, so I brought you two to stew into soup!”

“Don’t refuse to eat them. I kept another pheasant and some fish for myself. I’ll head home now—my little brother is waiting for me!”

With that, she turned on her heel and hurried away.

“Jinyu, come over and have dinner with us!”

By the time Uncle Zhao stepped out of the courtyard, all he saw was a plucked country chicken lying by the gate, its feet tied together with rope. Beside it, two plump silver carp were flopping vigorously on the ground.

Watching the little girl’s brisk retreating figure in the distance, Uncle Zhao felt both touched and heartsick. He carried the chicken and fish inside, where he exchanged an amused yet helpless glance with his wife.

“That girl Jinyu really has grown capable! She hasn’t even been up the mountain for long, yet she’s already brought home a pheasant and silver carp. She’s just a little too impatient, that’s all.”

…

With the wind at her heels, Su Jinyu soon arrived home.

The door was tightly shut, and nothing seemed amiss inside.

“Sister, you’re finally back!”

Hearing the door open, Su Jinxiao happily came out of the kitchen.

“Sister, I was afraid you’d come home too late and go hungry, so I took the liberty of roasting a sweet potato. I just took it out of the stove, and it’s still warm. Eat it first.”

Her little brother’s curious gaze fell upon the basket on her back. When he saw the country chicken inside and the two silver carp still thrashing about, his mouth fell open in astonishment.

“Sister, you’re amazing! Both the chicken and the fish can be sold for money!”

“I’m not planning to sell them. We’re having meat for dinner tonight.”

Su Jinyu took the scorching sweet potato and tossed it from one hand to the other as she casually began boasting.

“I suppose Heaven must be looking after me. As soon as I went up the back mountain, I happened upon two pheasants. Then I caught four fish in the river. I gave Grandpa Zhao a pheasant and two fish. As for this piece of pork, I found it in the woods after some wild beast had finished feeding. It still had fur and blood on it, so I figured it must be fresh enough and brought it home after cleaning it up.”

“Wow! We really get to eat pork!” Su Jinxiao leaped about in delight.

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The freshly roasted sweet potato steamed furiously when its skin was peeled away. The orange flesh was fragrant, sweet, and soft, though hot enough to sting the tongue. Su Jinyu split the sweet potato down the middle and gave half to her little brother.

She thought to herself that the old Su family probably had not made their move yet. To put her mind at ease, she still needed to go to their house and investigate.

“Jinxiao, I’m going out for a little while. I’ll be right back.”

Avoiding everyone along the way, Su Jinyu reached the wall outside the old Su family’s house. With nimble movements, she climbed onto the roof, quietly lifted a roof tile, and observed the activity inside.

“Eldest, Second, when are you planning to act?” Su Pinggui demanded angrily.

The Su family was drinking thin gruel inside. Su Pinggui had injured his right hand when he fell into the pit, so he could only hold his chopsticks in his left hand. Even eating had become difficult for him.

Old Madam Sun was even less mobile. She could only lie on the bed while Madam Zhao fed her with a spoon.

“Father, once night falls and those two little wretches are sound asleep, Elder Brother and I will put the poison in their room. We can kill the two little wretches silently in the middle of the night!” Second Son Su declared viciously.

Every time he took a sip of gruel, he had to scratch at the scabs covering his body. After a few scratches, his skin and flesh began to hurt, yet the itching throughout his body grew even worse.

He blamed all of it on Su Jinyu. If that wicked girl had not used such a devious trick, why would he have to suffer like this?

Quietly listening to the old Su family’s scheme from inside the room, Su Jinyu curled her lips into a cold smile.

Since you insist on courting death, then this old lady will gladly oblige!

She quickly returned home and prepared to make dinner. Although half a sweet potato had given her stomach some weight, she still felt that her mouth was tasteless without any meat.

Before leaving, she had instructed Su Jinxiao not to touch anything, so the chicken, fish, and pork in the basket remained untouched.

From the space, she bought ten pounds of white rice. From the refrigerated cabinet, she purchased two cucumbers to make stir-fried pork with cucumber, along with several cloves of garlic, two pieces of ginger, and some dried chilies for seasoning. Since she planned to stew the silver carp into soup, she also bought tofu and a handful of scallions.

She intended to use the country chicken to make chicken stewed with mushrooms, so she bought some mushrooms as well. Most indispensable of all were the cooking oil, salt, soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, and other seasonings. Altogether, these purchases cost 105 Marketplace Coins, leaving her with 2,443 Marketplace Coins.

The feeling of having savings in her purse made Su Jinyu feel exceptionally secure.

“Huh? Sister, where did you get the white rice, lard, salt, and sugar?”

At that time, salt and sugar were extraordinarily precious. Ordinary farming households were reluctant to add seasonings when cooking, and even soybean paste was used sparingly.

“I happened to run into a traveling peddler near the village entrance, so I paid him some silver and bought these things,” Su Jinyu said, casually brushing off the question as she hurriedly prepared the ingredients.

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Fortunately, her little brother did not press her further. The silly boy was immediately captivated by the bright red pork on the chopping board, and when he saw the golden chunks of country chicken piled in the large bowl, his eyes shone with excitement.

“Wow! So much meat! Sister, are you going to cook all of it?”

Su Jinxiao rested his two little paws on the stove and drooled hungrily.

“From now on, I’ll make sure you have meat every day. Stick with your sister, and you’ll eat nine meals in three days!” Su Jinyu patted her chest and confidently promised him.

She lifted her little brother away and set him aside, keeping him safely away from the dangerous stove.

She washed the white rice clean, placed it in an earthenware pot, added two bottles of Nutritional Water, and set it on the stove to cook.

The Nutritional Water stored in her space was colorless and odorless. To the naked eye, it was indistinguishable from spring or well water, but it was packed with abundant nutrients. If she and her little brother ate food prepared with it every day, their physical condition would improve steadily.

Chicken stewed with mushrooms required the longest cooking time, so Su Jinyu decided to prepare it first.

She scooped a spoonful of lard from the jar and put it into the iron pot. Once the lard had melted over high heat, she added the chopped country chicken and stir-fried it, cooking off the excess moisture. When the chicken pieces had turned golden brown, she added the chopped scallions, ginger, and garlic and fried them together.

The country chicken sold in the refrigerated cabinet of her space was exceptionally fresh and had no unpleasant odor, so she did not add cooking wine.

After stir-frying everything a few times, she quickly added soy sauce for seasoning. Once the rich fragrance of the sauce rose from the pot, she added the mushrooms, a handful of dried chilies, cinnamon, star anise, and a small pinch of five-spice powder to deepen the flavor. Then she poured in an appropriate amount of boiling water, enough to submerge the chicken.

She covered the pot and let it simmer over low heat for fifteen minutes.

Su Jinxiao rummaged through the house and found two small wooden stools left behind by the previous owners.

Carrying the stools into the kitchen, he was greeted by a strange and wonderful fragrance, one he had never smelled before.

“It smells so good! I want to eat it!”

Su Jinxiao placed the stools beside his elder sister. As he spoke, saliva helplessly trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Su Jinyu smiled without saying anything.

“Sit down, Jinxiao. I still have fish soup to make, so I’ll be busy.”