Shooting the Goose

"Yes."

Su Qing gave a perfunctory "uh huh" and buried her head in work. She washed the brown rice with water and poured it into the big pot, then poured water into the big pot once again. Her first meal was as simple as making porridge, but she saw that the progress bar in the cooking skills column had increased.

Su Qing was very dissatisfied with the progress, but there was nothing else she could do other than making congee. She looked around and thought that she could pick some wild vegetables and put them in the congee. Perhaps making a wild vegetable congee would make her progress faster?

She put her thoughts into action. She hung her basket and went to the river to pick wild vegetables, causing the progress bar to start growing once again. Su Qing was very satisfied. She could progress by working, and there was no waste.

The setting sun dyed half of the sky red, and a flock of wild geese flew in a zigzag formation towards the south.

Su Qing looked at the flock of fat geese and thought of braised goose meat. She squinted her eyes at the sky. 

If only there were guns.

Just as Su Qing was about to shoot the geese down, an arrow whizzed through the air and hit the leading goose.

Without the leader, the flock of geese was instantly thrown into chaos. Immediately after, two more arrows were shot out, and two wild geese fell from the sky.

Su Qing noticed that it was the bearded man who shot the arrow. His archery skills were not bad, and the second arrow was obviously shot with both arrows.

 "Brother Shui Sheng, you're amazing."

Qiu Yue ran over excitedly when she saw the wild goose landing on the ground. When she picked up the wild goose, she looked at Ji Shui Sheng with a pair of adoring eyes. Her voice was clear and sweet, as if it had been dipped in honey.

Su Qing's eyes lit up as she looked at the wild geese. It didn't matter who had shot it, what was important was that she could now make a pot of stewed wild geese. This would help her cook quickly.

"I'll clean up. "

She volunteered to take care of the wild geese, which was beneficial to the growth of her cooking skills. Of course, she couldn't let go of it.

"Is your body okay?"

Qiu Yue hesitated for a moment. The wild geese meat was delicious, but it had to be blanched with hot water before it could be plucked out. The smell of the hot water was so pungent that it could kill.

"I'm fine," Su Qing took the wild geese and said indifferently. Qiu Yue was very beautiful, but her smile gave people a feeling of pretentiousness.

Su Qing was too lazy to please someone she didn't like. She picked up the goose and left. Qiu Yue wanted to help, but when she saw Su Qing leaving, she didn't seem to have any trouble carrying the geese, so she didn't follow.

A wild goose weighed more than ten pounds. The meat of birds was much more delicious than domestic poultry. Su Qing decided to stew it to a good level so that he could save up on cooking in the future.

Peach Blossom Cove had brought out a total of three large woks, and there were also more than a dozen jars and pots. It was barely enough to cook the rice for more than a hundred people.

Su Qing boiled a large pot of water, and Aunt Li called two other women to help. The four of them picked up the goose feathers, with Su Qing picking up the goose feathers much more quickly in order to get more.

"Looking at how well-practiced you are, you must have done a lot of work in the past, right?"

Auntie Li started to chat with Su Qing , but Su Qing only snorted and didn't reply, continuing to work.

"I'll cook later. When I stewed chicken at home, my grandfather said that it was even more delicious than dragon meat. "

Seeing that Su Qing didn't want to talk, Auntie Li changed the topic of their conversation to include the other two young women. She rolled up her sleeves, wanting to show off her skills.

 "I'll do it," Su Qing suddenly said.

Aunt Li saw that she was going to take her job and reminded her, "Young lady, if it's not stewed well, this wild goose will be wasted."

"My grandfather used to be a Royal Chef,"

Su Qing's random lie stunned Auntie li. She looked at Su Qing from head to toe. 

When she was rescued yesterday, she was dressed in rags. Wasn't the royal chef rich? How could she be dressed in such rags?

While she was studying Su Qing, Su Qing had plucked all the feathers off the wild geese in one go. He found a tree stump and washed it clean with water. Then, he placed the wild geese on it and started chopping it with a vegetable knife.

She had played with knives for so many years. Wasn't it easy and pleasant to kill a wild goose?

This really shocked Auntie Li and the others. Her cutting skills were really good, even the size was the same.

"Auntie Li, just let her cook. We want to try the taste of dishes made by the descendants of the Royal chefs."

 The two young women whispered to Auntie Li, their eyes full of yearning.

 "Then... Let her do it."

Auntie Li's heart was also touched by their words. The descendant of a Royal Chef cooked for her, and her status rose in a flash.

Su Qing heard their conversation, but her face remained calm. She chopped up the wild geese and washed them by the river. She watched as her cooking progress bar increased rapidly.

Indeed, as long as it was kitchen work, it counted as cooking. Even chopping meat and washing vegetables counted.

Su Qing brought the wild goose meat back and saw that Auntie Li and the two young women were staring at her from behind. 

She poured water into the pot expressionlessly.

"Blackie. So the royal kitchen also uses Blackie for their stewed meat," Auntie Li was still explaining to the two wives. 

Su Qing frowned. It was uncomfortable to be surrounded by people while she was working.

Su Qing took out the boiled wild goose meat, and Auntie Li rushed over to work.

"I'll get you some water. You're still weak, don't tire yourself out. "

Su Qing glanced at her. She was a straightforward person. Other than her broken mouth, she was also a warm-hearted person.

Ji Xiao Ying and Auntie Li's daughter, Li Shuang 'er, ran over to see the children's feet. Seeing that the blisters on their feet had healed, they helped them put on the straw shoes that Su Qing had woven for them. The children were overjoyed when they saw the new shoes and insisted that Ji Xiao Ying lead them to thank Auntie. 

"Sister, the children insisted on coming to thank you. They like the shoes you made for them!"

Ji Xiao Ying's voice was pleasant to the ears. A bunch of little kids followed behind her. The children in Peach Blossom Cove were all good-looking. The boys were strong and the girls were cute. They were not afraid of strangers like the other children. Their big eyes were black and bright as they looked at Su Qing curiously.

"Thank you, Auntie."

Old Master Qiu's grandson was the first to thank Su Qing. 

The rest of the children followed suit and shouted in unison, "Thank you, Auntie."

The childish and innocent voices of the children made Su Qing's heart feel warm. This was the life she wanted to live. Her lips moved as she said stiffly, "No need to thank me. If you wear them out, I'll make new ones for you."

"That's great! Auntie even made us new shoes!"

The children clapped their hands happily when they heard that. They immediately drew closer to Su Qing and surrounded her.

"Auntie, what are you cooking?"

"Aunt, it smells so good!"

Who would have thought that the God of War would become the king of the children? A smile flashed across Su Qing's eyes as Auntie Li picked up her grandson.

Her grandson was called little tiger. He was three years old, his eyes were big and bright, and he had a long braid on his head. Aunt Li pulled the child's feet up to have a look. She had never seen straw shoes like those that Su Qing had woven. They wrapped around the feet like a small boat. They fit the feet well and you didn't have to worry about the feet rubbing.

"Su Qing, your skills are really good. Teach us after dinner. Cloth shoes can't be worn, and our shoes are almost leaking."

How could she let go of such a good opportunity? This was a skill that could increase both weaving and merit!