Chapter 194: Stewed Lamb Pot

By the time Mother Rong and the rest returned from the docks, night had just fallen and they saw something erected on the wall outside the house. The sharp edges were shining under the moonlight.

Mother Rong was surprised. What was that on the outer wall? It looked sharp and frightening, but it was also enough to guard against people.

They were even more satisfied and felt completely at ease at home now.

After a tiring day, they still had to cook when they reached home. It was not that Guan Chibei and Father Guan were unwilling to try cooking, but Mother Rong felt that it was better for her to come back every day to make some simple food like porridge and noodles or stir-fry some vegetables.

There would also be leftover ingredients when they go out to set up the stall. It was not fixed every day, and the farmers could not waste them. Because of their business credibility, they could not use overnight ingredients.

However, just as Mother Rong was about to go to the kitchen, a strong fragrance wafted from it.

Mother Rong was surprised to see that Ye Lulu was dressed very thick and had a hat on her head. She was carrying a small bowl of fragrant soup. Mother Rong opened her eyes and asked, “Lulu? You’re out?”

Ye Lulu nodded. She had been cooped up in bed for more than two months. Although she had suffered another injury in the middle, she had almost recovered. She felt that as long as she was careful, it would be fine for her to come out and walk around.

Especially since Guan Chibei had been spending too much time in the house lately, she didn’t know if it was her illusion, but her body strangely seemed to be recovering faster.

She felt inexplicably relaxed being in the same house as the babies every day.

She came out because she felt that she had quite some energy left for the day.

Guan Chibei wanted to stop her, but he could not do so.

“Nothing’s wrong with my body.” Ye Lulu replied, “It’s cold today, so I made dinner. We can start eating now!”

Even when other people’s wives gave birth, they would at most recuperate for a few days before having to go to work.

Very few people did a full month of confinement.

Most people would even work on the day that they give birth. Some harsher families would get the women to return to their usual state of work after one or two days.

However, the Guan family had been busy with various things. Ye Lulu had been lying in her house for more than two months. No one had urged her to do anything, so she could rest indefinitely. That day, she had come out to do something. The entire Guan family was shocked and marveled at her.

Mother Rong looked at her helplessly and her tone almost exploded with heartache. “Lulu’s so nice. You even cooked. Has your body really recuperated? Don’t force yourself. You don’t have to work at home.”

Ye Lulu nodded lightly. “I’m really fine. I only cooked a meal and didn’t walk much. Hurry up and wash your hands. Let’s eat in the house. It’s too cold outside.”

Ye Lulu did not feel flattered. Many people easily neglected women’s contributions and felt that what women did was worthless. Not to mention that she insisted on giving birth to three children with her life because she also had a share in the children, so she did not take credit for it, but in reality, Ye Lulu did not feel that she had been resting just by taking care of the three babies.

Was it that easy to take care of the babies? Of course not. Even with Guan Chibei’s help, she had always been worried.

The Guan family was a little surprised. Ye Lulu had always been the one who provided the cooking methods, but they had never tasted her real cooking!

Previously, Ye Lulu had married into the Guan family. Thinking that she had wandered over from a foreign land, she did not dare to touch the stove at all.

Ye Lulu knew so many ways to eat, so how would her food taste when she cooked?!

At that moment, even the men from the Guan family were curious.

Ye Lulu first carried a small bowl of soup into her house and placed it on the small table on the bed.

This was left for the babies. It was not the time to eat other food for now since they were just three months old. However, the babies had already tried some soup the last time. There was no problem at all. Instead, they liked it very much.

Ye Lulu thought for a moment. If it was fine for the children to drink it, she could let them have some.

They returned to the kitchen and started eating.

Mother Rong helped carry the big casserole pot out of the fire and placed it in the middle of the table.

As soon as she opened the lid… she could not suppress the strong fragrance.

This fragrance was especially intense, tempting, and a little soul-stirring. Why was it soul-stirring? It was too fragrant! They had never smelled such a fragrant scent in their lives!

It was so fragrant that her stomach felt empty. She was very hungry!

Looking inside, she saw a pot of meat. The sauce was deep and alluring. Green onions and coriander were scattered in the meat, and the sauce beneath was especially strong.

“Stewed lamb pot,” Ye Lulu said. According to the cooking method of the restaurant she frequented in the modern world, this was the taste of the stewed lamb pot.

One word: amazing.

As to why she knew the secret recipe of that restaurant?

It was very simple. The owner of that restaurant was her uncle…

In the modern era, Ye Lulu’s aunt and uncle were good at cooking. They specialized in opening restaurants and were the most popular and longest-running in their city.

This meant that the taste of the recipe had been tested. The restaurant where most locals went to would definitely have the best taste.

But her uncle and aunt did not have children.

It was not a special reason. It was purely because her aunt did not want it.

Her uncle didn’t care and supported her aunt. Therefore, they didn’t have any children by the time they were fifty years old. Ye Lulu was a university student. She was beautiful and had an obedient personality. Her uncle and aunt treated her like their own child.

Ye Lulu herself loved to eat… Who in the modern world didn’t?!

Ye Lulu naturally had the same language as her aunt and uncle, who were good at cooking. Every time she returned home from university, she would eat at her aunt and uncle’s restaurant.

Her uncle and aunt had taught Ye Lulu all the secret dishes in their restaurant. They even said that Ye Lulu’s children would be their grandchildren in the future.

Ye Lulu had always advocated self-will. She felt that true freedom was that she could choose whether to give birth or not.

It was not that one had freedom only if one didn’t give birth or that one was obedient only if one gave birth.

She felt like she was being coerced for both cases.

Hence, it did not matter to Ye Lulu in the modern world. If she wanted to give birth in the future, she would do so. After giving birth, she would acknowledge her aunt and uncle as their godparents.

What? They were already relatives, so it messed up their seniority?

True freedom should not transcend certain standards. One should do whatever they wanted. Was acknowledging godparents a hindrance? No.

Then it was up to her to decide, and the children and her aunt and uncle to be happy.

This was why Ye Lulu, a female university student, knew so much about cooking.

One of the reasons was that recipes were publicized everywhere on the Internet. The other was that her uncle and aunt had passed down their legacies.

That day was the first time she had cooked after leaving the house and she made stewed lamb pot.

It was one of the most popular dishes in autumn and winter in her aunt and uncle’s restaurant.

The Guan family was shocked. Ye Lulu looked at Guan Chibei meaningfully. The reason why stewed lamb pot was made tonight was also that Guan Chibei had gotten revenge on the Xiong brothers that day. He was very tired.

One could not ignore the problem of whether a man was tired just because he might be strong enough. Just the two brothers from the Xiong family alone were ridiculously heavy, even more so because they were unconscious.

It was no different than carrying two mountains.

Guan Chibei must have spent a lot of effort to avoid the villagers all the way to the Xiong family. His body was exhausted.

Red meat could replenish the greatest strength and energy. In ancient times, beef was very difficult to eat, so naturally, she made mutton.

It was especially nourishing to eat mutton in winter.

Hence, Ye Lulu made stewed lamb pot first.

Ignoring everything else… this stewed lamb pot had been tested by the citizens of the city for a long time…

It was already amazing when the smell had just risen. The entire Guan family was so hungry that they cried out and subconsciously sucked in that rich and alluring fragrance.

The second dish Ye Lulu served was stewed pork ribs.

The stewed pork ribs were also made specially for Guan Chibei because they were nourishing.

Next was stir-fried spinach.

Their family’s vegetables were all in large basins. This huge portion was enough.

When Ye Lulu placed the dishes on the table, everyone in the Guan family was stunned.

The layered feeling and richness of the taste of the dishes bloomed on the tip of their tongues. One was not bragging about Ye Lulu, but there was a huge difference between the secret formulas of the modern era and the ancient times when most people only cooked to fill their stomachs.

The seasonings in Yuan City were already very cheap. The Guan family was very focused on the seasonings when it came to doing business. However, when they ate the dishes that Ye Lulu had made herself, everyone in the Guan family was shocked.

It shocked the whole family.

Guan Chibei glanced at Ye Lulu. Could it be that she was a chef?

After being stunned for a while, the Guan family finally started to eat heartily. They had a taste of food that they had never experienced before. All of them were dancing crazily in their minds.

However, when they thought of the cooking methods Ye Lulu had previously provided, it was easy to understand how she knew so many recipes. Her cooking skills were extraordinary!

Mother Rong ate the delicious stewed lamb pot and said to Ye Lulu, “No one in Yuan City can compare to this taste if we go out and open a restaurant.”

Ye Lulu smiled at her.

Who said it was impossible for her to open a restaurant?

However, Ye Lulu did not say anything.

Guan Chibei looked at her with dark eyes but did not say anything.

After the meal, Ye Lulu went into the house and fed the babies pork rib soup. The soup was placed on the bed and the temperature was just right.

This pork rib soup was scooped out when the pork ribs were stewed to their strongest. The bone fragrance was rich and mellow. The Guan family had also drunk a bowl of it first.

Guan Chibei entered shortly after. Ye Lulu smiled and said to him, “You ate so much meat tonight, so you should have replenished all the energy used during the day, right?”

Ye Lulu felt very happy after teaching Auntie Tian, who had always schemed against her family, and the two ruthless brothers of the Xiong family a lesson.

It was time to compensate Guan Chibei who had spent so much effort on this.

Guan Chibei’s eyes darkened as he looked at her in surprise. He did not expect that she had cooked these dishes for him tonight.

…

The news of Auntie Tian and the Xiong brothers spread throughout the entire village and even to Yuan City overnight like wildfire. Even the merchants who stopped heard about it and it seemed like the entire Shang dynasty would hear about it soon.

It turned out that it was because of the erotic nature of the news. Since ancient times, it had always been the most enticing gossip. Furthermore, this matter was the most exciting one.

An old auntie VS three strong men from the mountains?

Other people’s romantic affairs were all about beauties, officials, nobles, children of the royal family, or scholars. However, in Yuan City, there was an old auntie and mountain men!

Upon hearing this, everyone could only stare, but they couldn’t seem to laugh. The corners of their mouths twitched. How wild!

Last night, Auntie Tian had already been divorced by Tian Laoqi and could not return to the Tian family anymore. However, the Xiong family did not want her. She could not leave and refused to leave when asked. She curled up outside the Xiong family’s door the entire night.

On such a cold night, Auntie Tian went to the Xiong family’s kitchen to grab some dry straw to cover herself. She was so cold that she trembled. Only then did she manage to survive the night.

The next morning, when the Xiong family opened the door, they were almost scared to death by Auntie Tian, whose face had turned pale from the cold. They thought that a corpse was placed in front of their house. When they saw that it was Auntie Tian with a running nose, the Xiong brothers were immediately angry and kicked Auntie Tian away.

“What are you doing? Do you want to die?! Who are you? Why are you lying on our doorstep? How unlucky!”

Auntie Tian gritted her teeth. If she couldn’t enter the Xiong family’s door, there would be no place for her to go. She steeled her heart and said with a trembling voice, “If you don’t want me, I won’t have anywhere to go. The entire village saw me with the three of you… I can only die in front of your house.”

Then, she said, “Although you don’t want to marry me, the three of you don’t have a woman now. I, I can at least serve you… Besides, look at my big buttocks. It’s easy for me to give birth. Maybe I can even give birth to children for you. What if I also give birth to triplets? Coincidentally, the three of you are so strong. You can definitely give birth to sons.”

It was useless no matter what Auntie Tian said. If the Xiong family wanted to give birth to a son, they could just go to the city and find a woman. However, when these two sentences were placed together, the former was threatening while the latter was enticing.

The Xiong family also thought that it would be at least three months before winter ends…

They glanced at Auntie Tian with an ugly expression. They actually wanted her.

Auntie Tian smiled happily and entered the Xiong family’s door.

The villagers of Yunwu Village had been paying close attention to the Xiong family’s movements this morning. Last night, Tian Laoqi didn’t let Auntie Tian come home. The entire village knew.

Therefore, all the villagers immediately knew that Auntie Tian had moved into the Xiong family!

Wow, how wild!

Then who did Auntie Tian belong to?

Moreover, was she getting married? When would she be getting married?

The villagers started to discuss among themselves. This kind of gossip that shocked the whole family was very rare in Yunwu Village. The last time was probably when Ye Lulu had given birth to triplets and Guan Chibei had come back to life.

This storm similarly swept through the entire Yunwu Village.

As for Auntie Tian, she naturally believed that she had married into the Xiong family. No matter who it was, now that she was staying in the Xiong family, she would have the intention of remarrying.