Chapter 138: Angry
Editor: Atlas Studios
Extremely worried about rabbits running rampant in the mountains, Mu Yangling couldn’t ask for more if someone was willing to enter the mountains to hunt rabbits. If not for the fact that she didn’t have time, she would definitely take the lead and not take a single cent. It had to be known that out of the 83 acres of land that the Mu family had planted, 40 acres of land were in the south, accounting for half of the land.
As soon as the rabbits headed down the mountain, the first to bear the brunt was her family.
Mu Yangling hugged Madam Ma-Liu’s arm and said, “Great-aunt, since you chat with them, do invite the men in their family who can make the decisions. We’ll treat them to a meal with rabbit meat. After entering the mountains in the past two days, I more or less know where there are the most rabbits. I’ll teach them to set up some simple traps and make markings so that people don’t fall into the traps. They’ll definitely catch a lot of rabbits.”
Madam Ma-Liu pulled her back resentfully and said, “Silly child, hunting is your forte. In such a time of lack, our family relies on your skills. Why are you still teaching others? You should think for yourself.”
“Great-aunt.” Mu Yangling said anxiously, “The situation in the mountains isn’t as simple as you think. Now that there is an overpopulation of rabbits in the mountains, those creatures will eat everything. After they finish eating the grass in the mountains, won’t they come and harm our crops? Moreover, now that the grass has been eaten by the rabbits, the only fate that awaits other animals that eat grass is death. You yourself said that my specialty is hunting. Surely I can’t hunt rabbits all year round, right? It’s so much work and doesn’t even fetch as much as a deer.”
Great-aunt immediately stopped talking. Mu Yangling looked at her eagerly.
“Alright, alright. I’ll go, alright?” Madam Ma-Liu stood up and said, “But I don’t have the strength to cook for them.”
Mu Yangling patted her chest and said, “Don’t worry. Leave the cooking to me. Our family doesn’t have much grains, so we won’t treat them to rice. We’ll just have meat.”
Great-aunt muttered in dissatisfaction, “They’ll be even happier if the entire meal consists solely of meat. I wonder how much these rabbits will fetch if they’re sold.”
Mu Yangling sent her great-aunt out happily before turning around to skin and cut the rabbits’ flesh.
Mu Yangling was good at cooking a large pot of meat. She would cut the rabbits clean and wash them before chopping them into large pieces. After using some fat to season the pot, she would pour a large basin of rabbit meat and add some ginger and garlic. When she felt that they were cooked, she would take the pot off the fire. Before Great-aunt returned, she had already finished cooking the third pot.
After helping her to start the fire, Xiuhong looked worriedly at the chunks of rabbit meat rolling in the pot.
Xiulan and Little Bowen stood at the kitchen door hand in hand, their mouths slightly open. Their stomachs, which had originally felt quite hungry, instantly stopped feeling hungry.
Little Bowen looked at the spatula Mu Yangling constantly flipped, and then at the two pots of rabbit meat on the stove. He decisively turned around and ran to find his mother. “Mother, what are we eating for lunch?”
Shu Wanniang was stunned. “Isn’t your sister cooking in the kitchen?”
Little Bowen pouted and said, “I don’t want to eat Sister’s cooking. Mother, go cut some shredded radish and make porridge for us.” He thought to himself, ‘Sister is really too scary! I might as well eat Father’s cooking.’
“Doesn’t your sister’s cooking taste good?” Shu Wanniang placed her baby twins on the brick bed for them to climb on. She got up and went to the kitchen, just in time to see her daughter pour a spoonful of water into the pot. Then, Mu Yangling used the lid to cover the pot before clapping her hands and saying to Xiuhong, “Alright, it should be cooked in another 15 minutes.”
Shu Wanniang pointed at her daughter, speechless. After taking a deep breath, she said angrily, “Ah Ling, who taught you to cook like this?”
Mu Yangling was startled. Only then did she see her mother standing in the kitchen. Shrinking her neck, she said, “Mother, I think the dishes made this way are quite delicious. This is called home-cooked food.”
Mu Yangling could swear that this was what home-cooked dishes were like. In her previous life, whenever she went home to cook, her father would bring his old comrade home and kept showing off. Those uncles also ate with relish.
Why was she so despised here? Although her cooking was far inferior to her great-aunt and mother’s, it was really not bad at all.
However, Shu Wanniang could not accept such culinary skills. She said to her daughter, “From tomorrow onwards, you have to take time out every night to learn culinary skills from me. Ah Ling, you’re capable, and I won’t stop you from doing those things, but I hope you become even more outstanding. At the very least, you can’t fall behind in the culinary skills and needlework that girls should know. Otherwise, I’ll confiscate your bow and arrow. Even if our family has to eat chaff and vegetables, I won’t allow you to enter the mountains again.”
When Shu Wanniang got angry, everyone shrunk their necks and became cautious.
Although Shu Wanniang usually let the kids be and allowed them to develop freely, it was also terrifying when such a person flared up, because they would never change their minds once they decided on something. Shu Wanniang was such a person.
Sighing, Mu Yangling looked at the rabbit meat in the pot. She asked Xiuhong, “Is my cooking really that bad? It’s clearly moderately oily and salty. It’s very tasty.”
Having been eating Shu Wanniang’s dishes for almost half a year, Xiuhong’s taste buds had become rather picky. After hesitating for a while, she did not go against her conscience to comfort her cousin. Instead, she whispered, “Your cooking is alright. Those who don’t get to eat meat much will definitely think that your cooking is especially delicious. But anyone who’s tasted Aunt’s cooking won’t want to eat what you make anymore.”
Later on, Mu Shi summarized the difference in one sentence: His daughter’s cooking was like the big pot of dishes he ate in the military camp these days, while his wife’s dishes were like the most exquisite banquet dishes in the prefectural capital’s top restaurant. How could Mu Yangling’s culinary skills compare to hers?
Anyway, this was a matter for the future. Now, although Mu Yangling’s culinary skills were despised by the Mu family, it was well-received by the men of Chenggu Garrison. Those who came could not help but swallow their saliva when they saw the meat on the table. When they heard that it was for them, no one could help but snatch it.
Three full pots of rabbit meat entered everyone’s stomachs, but no one was full. Everyone looked at Mu Yangling, and Old Hu said in embarrassment, “Ah Ling’s culinary skills are so good that we almost forgot where we are. By the way, Ah Ling, where did you get so many rabbits from?”
Xiuhong scoffed at Old Hu’s question. The Hu family was the closest to the Mu family. Wasn’t it Old Hu who discovered and spread the news that Mu Yangling had gone into the mountains to hunt rabbits?
However, Mu Yangling didn’t mind. She told them about the situation in the mountains, but didn’t mention the potential impact on the Mu family. She only said, “I also know that the villagers are having a difficult time, too. There are many rabbits in the mountains, so everyone can enter the mountains to try their luck in their free time. However, there are also many ferocious beasts in the mountains. Therefore, it’s best for everyone to enter the mountains in groups and not go too deep.”
Mu Yangling poured a glass of water and raised her glass. “Everyone knows that my father is a section commander. Since all of you here are under my father’s command, only when you guys do well can my father do well. Since I have discovered good stuff, I naturally won’t forget everyone. I just hope that everyone can get along harmoniously. I don’t wish to hear about scheming and dirty things. Otherwise, I, Mu Yangling, won’t give others face.”
Someone secretly glanced at Old Hu, causing him and a few others to blush and lower their heads to avoid Mu Yangling’s gaze.