Chapter 10: Cooking

Aunt Wang was so frightened that she shrank back.

"Stop… stop talking nonsense! I'll return you the money, rice and flour now. From hereon, I don't owe you anything!" Aunt Wang finally admitted defeat and didn't dare to push her weight around in front of Qin Xiaoyao anymore.

Qin Xiaoyao's eyes flashed with contempt.

"This will depend on my mood," she said slowly.

Aunt Wang was shocked.

"I've already paid you back. What else do you want?" she asked Qin Xiaoyao angrily.

She really regretted it now. If she had known that this fiend was so difficult to deal with, why would she have bothered with her?

Her Dashan had finally found a good job, so she couldn't let this wretched girl ruin it.

Qin Xiaoyao looked at Aunt Wang with disdain.

"Nothing else. In the future, just avoid me when you see me!"

Aunt Wang became infuriated again.

She wanted to rush up and tear Qin Xiaoyao to pieces.

However, Qin Xiaoyao's physical strength far exceeded hers, so she could only swallow her anger back.

Just when she thought she was about to be driven to her grave by Qin Xiaoyao, Wang Dashan finally returned.

He was also holding two wooden basins in his hands.

"Using your bowl, I scooped eleven bowls of brown rice and five and a half bowls of flour, more than what you asked for. Also, here are the seventy-five copper coins, not a single coin less!" With that, Wang Dashan handed over two wooden basins.

When Aunt Wang heard this, she wanted to scold her son for failing their family.

However, after thinking about it, she held back.

Since they had fallen head first this time, they could only treat it as giving an offering to ward off the God of plague.

Qin Xiaoyao's face lit up.

She didn't take the wooden basin but picked up the bowl in the basin.

Then she began to count the copper coins inside.

One by one, she counted them very seriously, which made Wang Dashan frown.

Did this woman think that he would scam her out of a few coins?

Qin Xiaoyao didn't care and continued to count.

This was not a joke, as these were the only money she had.

Tomorrow, she needed to use this money to go to town and find a doctor for her attractive husband.

After counting twice and making sure that the number of copper coins was correct, Qin Xiaoyao then put the bowl containing the copper coins back into the wooden basin.

Only then did she accept the two wooden basins.

"One of you, come with me. After I've emptied the wooden basins, you can bring it back yourself," she said.

When Aunt Wang heard this, the anger in her heart rose again.

However, Wang Dashan grabbed her arm.

"I'll let my little sister go with you." 

Following that, Wang Dashan looked in the direction of the main door.

"Little sister, you go with her." He said to Wang Xiaomei, who was peeking from behind the door.

It was not convenient for a man like him to go.

As for his mother, he was afraid that if she went, she would cause trouble again.

Wang Xiaomei glanced at Qin Xiaoyao, her face full of fear.

However, she was still sensible and walked out.

Then, she left with Qin Xiaoyao.

Along the way, Qin Xiaoyao didn't make things difficult for the little girl.

Under the shocked gazes of Madam Liu and the two children, she brought the little girl into the kitchen.

After that, Qin Xiaoyao put the rice and flour into the corresponding jars and kept the copper coins in the empty purse.

"Take them." After that, she returned the two wooden basins to the little girl.

"Thank you, Mrs. Song!" The little girl said with a red face. She took the two wooden basins and quickly left.

Qin Xiaoyao stood where she was and watched the little girl leave. A smile appeared on her face.

Though Aunt Wang herself wasn't that good a person, the two children she raised were pretty good.

Qin Xiaoyao didn't think too much about it and went back to the courtyard.

She had no choice. There was only one wooden basin in the house. She had to put the pheasant meat into the pot before emptying the wooden basin to knead the dough.

At this moment, the three of them had almost plucked all the feathers from the pheasants and birds.

When they saw Qin Xiaoyao come out, they all became nervous.

"It's been hard on Mother, Yun'er, and Ye'er," Qin Xiaoyao said with a laugh.

When no one answered, she helplessly sighed in her heart.

"No... It's not hard." At this moment, Madam Liu opened her mouth.

Qin Xiaoyao's eyes flashed with a hint of liveliness.

"I'll go get some dry grass and light a fire to burn off the soft fur. After that, we can clean up the things and put them in the pot," she said quite joyfully.

With that, Qin Xiaoyao swung into action.

After a short while, she started a fire expertly with the fire sparks retainer and prepared the two pheasants and eight birds.

After that, Qin Xiaoyao took the wooden basin with the pheasants and birds, grabbed the wild hares, and went to the stream.

The next step was to disembowel and arrange the internal organs of the pheasants and birds.

Furthermore, she had to skin the wild hares and sort out their internal organs.

Next, she cleaned up the site and buried the unwanted things.

After that, Qin Xiaoyao brought the things she had packed home.

When the three of them saw Qin Xiaoyao return, they followed her into the kitchen.

They wanted to help, but no one dared to say anything.

"Mother, come and boil the pot inside. Let's stew the chicken soup first," Qin Xiaoyao said to Madam Liu, laughing silently.

As she spoke, she began to mix water into the pot.

"Okay," Madam Liu replied and quickly went to the stove to start a fire.

Song Yun immediately looked at Qin Xiaoyao nervously, waiting for her sister-in-law to assign the tasks to her.

Unfortunately, she didn't assign any.

"Yun'er, you can take Ye'er out to play first. When I'm ready, I'll call for you to put this pot to boil." Not surprisingly, Qin Xiaoyao noticed the little girl's expression, so she gave her these instructions with a smile.

The little girl's face turned red when her name was called.

"Alright," she said. Thereafter, she brought Song Ye out.

The little child looked at the wooden basin in front of Qin Xiaoyao with a reluctant expression.

To be more precise, it was the birds in the wooden basin.

He wanted to ask his sister-in-law when she would help him roast some birds.

However, he didn't dare open his mouth because he was fearful.

Qin Xiaoyao was in a good mood at the moment and started to busy herself by the stove.

As her kitchen knife sliced expertly, she quickly chopped up the two pheasants and three birds before putting them into the pot.

After that, she took out the washed Chinese yams, peeled them, and cut them into pieces.

Just as she was about to put the cut pieces of yam into the pot, Madam Liu, who had been struggling to speak but didn't dare, finally opened her mouth.

"What… what's this thing?" Madam Liu asked nervously.

Actually, she did not want to interfere with her daughter-in-law's work, but meat was precious. If this thing could not be eaten and was put into the pot, wouldn't it destroy the pheasant meat?

She had never thought that she would be able to taste the pheasant meat herself.

However, although her daughter-in-law did not treat them well, she still cared about her eldest son.

If the pheasant was stewed, her eldest son would probably get a share.

Her eldest son was still injured, and it was a rare opportunity for him to nourish his body.

Qin Xiaoyao was stunned.

She looked at her mother-in-law, who didn't dare to look at her anymore.

Then, the corners of her mouth curled up.

"This is Chinese yam, also known as Huaishan." After that, she put all the cut Chinese yams into the pot.

Qin Xiaoyao was confused when she saw Madam Liu looking at the pot with fear in her eyes.

She recalled something, then said, "Don't worry, Mother. This thing is edible. Not only can it be used as a dish, it can also be used as a medicinal herb. "

Madam Liu was shocked.

"This Chinese yam strengthens the spleen, nourishes the lungs and strengthens the kidneys. It is really good stuff."

"Also, the taste is not bad. You'll know when you have a taste later after I'm done cooking it."

Madam Liu's expression changed drastically.