The Spirited Daughter-in-law and the Mountain Man

Since Li Wangcai’s wife said that the fern was hard to eat and bitter, and no other villagers objected, it means that many in the village, even beyond, don’t Imow how to properly stir-fry fern.

If she were to sell fresh fern directly, nobody would be interested in buying it.

Actually, once the bitter taste of the fern is removed, it is delicious when stir-fried or made into hot and sour fern.

Hot and sour fern requires time and a jar to pickle.

There are no jars at home, so she plans to cook stir-fried tasty fern tomorrow to sell.

When she shares this idea with the three men at home, Xiao Yuchuan disagrees, “Wife, fern is really not tasty, and nobody will buy it. Don’t waste your time.”

“Third brother is right.” Xiao Yishan also persuades, “Nobody likes to eat it.”

Xiao Qinghe doesn’t say anything, his serene gaze falls on Su Qingyue’s face. He thinks that his wife wouldn’t do anything she’s unsure about.

Su Qingyue is not annoyed, “I’ll cook a dish of stir-fried tasty fern tonight. If you don’t think it’s tasty, I won’t sell it tomorrow. First, I need to buy some garlic and radish. Whose family sells them?”

“If you don’t need much, Aunt Zhang’s family has some.”

“Okay. I’ll go and be back soon.” Su Qingyue leaves the yard and originally planned to go to Aunt Zhang’s family. On the way, she runs into Wang Cuihua, carrying water from the village well.

Cuihua stops her, “Qingyue, where are you going?”

“I was going to Aunt Zhang’s house to buy some garlic and radish.”

“You don’t need to buy them, my family has some. Come to my house to pick them up.”

“I can’t just take them for free, I need quite a lot, at least five to six jin of each.” “I plan to stir-fry a basket of fern to sell.”

“Nobody wants that kind of vegetable…” Wang Cuihua realized, “Are you going to sell cooked fern?”

“Yes.”

Wang Cuihua wants to persuade her otherwise but sees her determined face and says nothing. Coincidentally, she had already fetched the well water, ‘Go with me, I’ll carry the water home first. The vegetables you need are in the field, we can pick them together.”

Su Qingyue goes with her to the Zhou Family’s house.

Wang Cuihua is married to Zhou Fuquan. The Zhou Family’s yard is not as big as the Xiao Family’s, but having a yard in the middle of the village is not bad.

It’s also an adobe house, but the root is covered with tiles. Looking into the living room and bedrooms through the open windows, the furniture is complete. The conditions are probably slightly above average in the village, otherwise there wouldn’t be one and a half taels of silver to lend.

An old woman, about fifty years old, is playing with a three-year-old child in the yard.

The child is wearing a short-sleeved cloth shirt and open-crotch pants that reach halfway down his knees. His little arms and legs are exposed, and his entire skin is tanned very dark, making him look neither cute nor too ugly.

Seeing Wang Cuihua, the child calls out innocently, “Mom.”

Su Qingyue remembers that Wang Cuihua had mentioned that her son’s name is Fuwa when she brought dinner to the Xiao Family once before, so she remembers it. It must be the child she is looking at now.

“Fuwa, call her Auntie!” Wang Cuihua says.

Fuwa sees the stranger and hides his face in the old woman’s arms.

“If you want him to call Auntie…” Cuihua wants to say something, but Su Qingyue quickly says, “It’s okay.”

The old woman looks at Su Qingyue with a stern gaze, “Wife of the Xiao Family, what are you doing here at our house?”

Seeing her mother-in-law’s stern face, Wang Cuihua timidly says, “Grandma,

Qingyue just came to visit our house for a while…”

“Hmph, as long as you’re not here to borrow money..” Zhou Hu-shi snorts, “Wife of the Xiao Family, when will you pay back the one and a half taels of silver you owe us?”