Good Fortune Tonight, Chicken for Dinner

This program was produced by Tomato Listening. Episode 20: Good Fortune Tonight, Chicken for Dinner!

After eating her rice, Lin Yuzhu started thinking about the little hen in her space again and nearly drooled.

Sigh, she couldn't eat it just yet. If she took it out and stewed it into soup, the fragrance would fill the whole courtyard. Explaining where the hen had come from would be difficult. She could only wait until the Thatched Cottage was built and see whether she could cook inside it. That way, she could prepare strongly scented meat dishes in her space in the future without worrying about anyone smelling them.

After two days of intense anticipation from Lin Yuzhu, the Thatched Cottage was finally complete.

Lin Yuzhu happily entered her space to inspect her little thatched hut. From now on, she could be considered a homeowner even in her space.

Lin Yuzhu had built the little thatched hut beside the stream. From a distance, it had quite the charm of a quaint home amid flowing water and little bridges.

The hut did not look large, but inside, it was far better than her little earthen room at the Educated Youth Dormitory. Though it was completely empty, it felt wonderfully spacious!

The little thatched hut had one bedroom, one kitchen, and one bathroom. The layout was fairly square and practical.

The bedroom was right through the entrance. Lin Yuzhu estimated that after placing a double bed inside, there would still be room for a sofa and coffee table. The space was ample, and the windows were bright and clean, making it look very comfortable.

When she entered the kitchen, she found that it was decorated in a modern style. Cabinets, countertops, a sink, and a gas stove were all there.

Lin Yuzhu walked over to the gas stove and found that it actually lit when she turned it on. Her mouth fell open as she opened the cabinet beneath the stove, but she saw nothing inside. What was this gas stove using as fuel?

It uses Energy Blocks from the Caesar Continent. They are installed beneath the stove. One Energy Block can supply the host for ten years without any problem!

The system explained proudly.

Lin Yuzhu clicked her tongue. Black technology, truly black technology. It seemed she only needed to buy pots, bowls, and utensils for the kitchen. Congratulations, host. The Household Goods Shop has been unlocked as a reward for your Thatched Cottage set!

Lin Yuzhu's eyes lit up. She opened it at once. She wanted to see! The light screen before her displayed a dazzling array of household goods. Pots, bowls, ladles, kitchen knives, and all kinds of cooking utensils were available. There were even small appliances such as pressure cookers, rice cookers, and ovens.

Lin Yuzhu's eyes instantly gleamed, and when she looked around the kitchen again, she discovered that there were actually electrical outlets!

What did that mean?

The little thatched hut had an electrical system. She did not even need to ask to know that it was probably powered by a special Energy Block system.

I'm very pleased. My host is getting smarter and smarter. Scroll down further, and you'll find washing machines, refrigerators, and other large appliances. There is furniture of every kind as well. As long as you don't look at the Contribution Points required, you could furnish the entire house luxuriously.

The most delightful surprise was that there was toothpaste, toilet paper, sanitary pads, soap, body wash, laundry detergent, skincare products, makeup, and everything else. Best of all, everything had been fully unlocked. As long as she had Contribution Points, she could buy them!

Lin Yuzhu was ecstatic, but when she looked closely at the Contribution Points required, she immediately backed off.

Not only were the items in the Household Goods Shop expensive, they also could not be used in real life. Their workmanship was still different from what existed in the present era.

Still, Lin Yuzhu could enjoy them in her space, provided she had Contribution Points.

It had to be said that the system was tempting her even more aggressively to sell crops and the like.

When she inspected the bathroom, Lin Yuzhu was even more satisfied. It had a sink, toilet, and shower—everything she could need. She could practically move in with just a few pieces of furniture and kitchen supplies.

This little thatched hut was such a darling. Just thinking about never having to use the Educated Youth Dormitory's outhouse again made her happy.

Lin Yuzhu let out a deep breath of relief.

When she returned to the bedroom, she found a chubby white Small Robot in the corner. Only then did Lin Yuzhu remember that this was also one of the Thatched Cottage's benefits.

You have received one Small Robot. Please check it.

Lin Yuzhu walked over to the Small Robot and found that it was powered off. Tilting her head to inspect it, she spotted an inconspicuous button on one of its arms and pressed it.

Sure enough, within seconds, the Small Robot opened its eyes and looked at Lin Yuzhu. A screen window opened on its chest, displaying a line of words: Master, what would you like me to do for you?

Lin Yuzhu froze. This Small Robot seemed different from the previous ones in her space. The robot rewarded by the Thatched Cottage is more intelligent. It can communicate with you simply and possesses many skills. Host, you may gradually discover them.

Lin Yuzhu clicked her tongue and reached out to stroke the little chubby thing's smooth head. The feel of it was actually quite nice.

Hmm, can you kill a chicken?

The plump white Small Robot blinked. After a few seconds of processing, it nodded. That made things easy. She was having chicken tonight.

So, at Lin Yuzhu's command, the Small Robot went to the Pasture to kill a chicken.

There was no helping it—Lin Yuzhu truly did not know how to kill chickens.

It was not that she had never seen it done. She had watched her parents kill chickens when she was young, but asking her to do it herself... well, she was a little too scared.

Since another batch of crops had ripened, Lin Yuzhu kept none of them this time and sold them all.

Then she bought some kitchen utensils and small appliances?

Eh, maybe later.

She might not dare kill a chicken, but she could still boil water and scald off the feathers.

Preparing the chicken was somewhat difficult for the Small Robot, so she still had to do it herself.

After cleaning the chicken, she placed it in a clay pot, added water, and stewed it plain.

There was no helping it. Her crops only produced a few kinds of Seed, and the Educated Youth Dormitory's vegetable garden did not have any ginger.

Was that all?

Being able to drink chicken soup was already very good.

Why ask for more? After turning the heat from high to low, she had the Small Robot watch the fire and left her space.

By then, the sky had already dimmed. Every household was cooking, wisps of smoke rising from their chimneys. The village was peaceful and tranquil.

With yeast powder, steaming buns had become much easier.

Lin Yuzhu deliberately steamed a whole pot of buns. They came out soft and fluffy. Her skills had not deteriorated, and they tasted quite good.

The rich wheat fragrance filled her mouth, and a faint sweetness spread across her tongue as she chewed, making her want to finish an entire big bun in one go.

With chicken soup and steamed buns, this dinner was quite decent.

Logically speaking, now that she had the Thatched Cottage in her space, she could have cooked there entirely. But after thinking it over, she still needed to light the stove in her little earthen house in reality. Though no one entered her room, they could see the chimney.

If no smoke came from the chimney, how could she prove that she had cooked?

If you did not eat, were you some little fairy?

Details mattered. She simply kept the steamed buns warm in the clay pot and boiled some more hot water.

Sigh, speaking of hot water, she wanted to buy an iron kettle for boiling water too. But after thinking about it, she decided against it. Qian Yuan was still using a big iron pot to boil water. Wealth should not be flaunted; keeping a low profile was better.

Fortunately, she could buy a kettle in her space, boil water there, pour it into a thermos, and bring it out. It was the same thing. She was growing fonder and fonder of her little thatched hut.

Friendly reminder: The more advanced the house, the more functions it will have!

Lin Yuzhu merely smiled without saying anything. Her pockets were cleaner than her face. She did not even have enough Contribution Points to reclaim more farmland, let alone anything else.

The little system fell silent. The chicken soup would still take quite a while.

With nothing else to do, Lin Yuzhu carried a little stool outside and sat down to rest in front of her house.

There was no helping it. The room was too dark. The village had not yet been connected to electricity, and she did not have a kerosene lamp. It was brighter outside.

Once she sat down, she realized things were a little awkward.

Li Xiangbei had caught another wild Chicken today and was currently squatting in front of Li Xiangwan's room, cleaning it.

Since Li Xiangbei could often get wild chickens, wild rabbits, wild ducks, and the like, he invited Wang Yang to eat with him every time.

Over time, he simply split off from the front courtyard and ate separately.

When Lin Yuzhu had been eating with them before, it had not felt like anything. But now that there were three of them, it was somewhat inappropriate.

Li Xiangwan happened to come out carrying a basin of water. When she saw Lin Yuzhu sitting in the courtyard, her thoughts turned, and she smiled at Lin Yuzhu. "Want to come eat with us?"

"Brother Li caught another wild chicken today."

Li Xiangwan was somewhat troubled at the moment. Back when they had lived in the front courtyard and everyone ate in the same room, splitting up to cook separately had not seemed like much. Now, however, it was different.

She did not know who had spread the gossip, but rumors had already started circulating in the village that she was living with two grown men. No matter how one heard it, the words carried an ambiguous implication. They were just eating meals together—how had it become living together as a household?

Li Xiangwan felt that the people saying such things had filthy minds, but she could not think of a good way to resolve the situation.

Seeing Lin Yuzhu sitting in the courtyard, an idea suddenly flashed through her mind. Why not bring her into their meal arrangement as well?

With more people, the gossip would naturally fade. At that thought, she once again secretly resented whoever had spread the rumors. They had better not let her find out. Otherwise... it was also quite a coincidence that Li Xiangbei could catch prey every few days.

After it happened enough times, the villagers naturally noticed. Quite a few were jealous. Perhaps because the ingredients were good, the scent of stewed meat could drift for nearly a mile. Within half an hour, the whole village would know which household was stewing meat.

The Educated Youth Dormitory gave off the smell of meat every few days, drawing village children over to sniff it. Afterward, they went home crying and clamoring for meat, making the villagers feel even more displeased.

These Educated Youth were outsiders, after all. What right did they have to eat the game from the village's mountains?

Whenever some unhappy older women and aunties gathered together, they would directly make sarcastic remarks about the Educated Youth. Wang Xiaomei would not stand for it. She had barely gotten any meat herself, so why should she take that kind of abuse?

Whenever she heard those sarcastic comments, she immediately snapped back.

Only then did the villagers learn that the Educated Youth had split up their meals.

By coincidence, Zhang Yanqiu had recovered and returned to work. Whether intentionally or not, she said that she had not eaten a single piece of meat, so they should not be sour toward her.

The older women and aunties were immediately consumed by blazing curiosity.

Hadn't the Educated Youth arrived in the same batch?

Li, the Educated Youth, had caught prey but did not share any with Zhang, the Educated Youth?

Bit by bit, every little detail about the Educated Youth Dormitory was pried out, and the gossip slowly spread.

Before the house had been built, Lin Yuzhu had bought pork several times and eaten with the people before her. How could she have felt right about it? She had been constantly mooching off their meat.

Now that they had completely separated, Lin Yuzhu was too embarrassed to keep taking advantage of them. She was no longer someone lacking chicken meat. Besides, taking food from others meant owing them a favor, and repaying it would cost both meat coupons and money. It was not worth it.