Good Luck Tonight, Chicken Dinner

Produced by Tomato Listening, Episode 20: Good Luck Tonight, Chicken Dinner!

After finishing her rice, Lin Yuzhu started thinking about the little hen in her space again, nearly drooling.

Sigh, she still couldn't eat it for now. If she took it out and stewed it into soup, the aroma would fill the whole courtyard. When that happened, it would be hard to explain where the hen had come from. She could only wait until the Thatched Cottage was built and see whether she could cook inside it. Then, in the future, she could prepare strongly scented meat dishes in her space without worrying about anyone smelling them.

After two days of eager anticipation from Lin Yuzhu, the Thatched Cottage was finally completed.

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

Lin Yuzhu had built the little thatched house beside the stream. Viewed from afar, it had quite the charm of a peaceful home by flowing water.

The thatched house did not look large, but once she entered, it was far better than her little mud room at the Educated Youth Dormitory. Though the room was completely empty, it felt wonderfully spacious!

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

The bedroom was right inside 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, making the place look very comfortable.

When she entered the kitchen, she found 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 ignited it. Her mouth fell open as she opened the cabinet beneath the stove, but she saw nothing inside. What was this gas stove using for fuel?

It uses Caesar Continent Energy Blocks. They're installed beneath the stove, and a single 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 other kitchenware 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, eager to look. Before her was a screen filled with an overwhelming array of household goods. Pots, bowls, ladles, kitchen knives, and every kind of kitchen utensil were available. There were even small appliances such as pressure cookers, rice cookers, and ovens.

Lin Yuzhu's eyes immediately gleamed, and when she looked back at the kitchen, she discovered there were even electrical outlets!

What did that mean?

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

Very gratifying. Her host was becoming smarter and smarter. As she scrolled further down, she found washing machines, refrigerators, and other large appliances. Furniture was available as well. As long as she did not look at the Contribution Points, she 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, cosmetics, and more. The key was that they were all fully unlocked. As long as she had Contribution Points, she could buy them!

Lin Yuzhu was so excited she nearly went mad. Then she took a closer look at the Contribution Points required and backed off.

Not only were the items in the Household Goods Shop expensive, but they could not be taken out for use in real life. Their workmanship was still different from what existed now.

But Lin Yuzhu could enjoy them in her space, as long as she had money—no, Contribution Points.

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

When she inspected the bathroom, Lin Yuzhu was even more satisfied. The bathroom had a sink, toilet, and shower—everything. She only needed to buy some furniture and kitchen supplies before she could move in with her bags.

This little thatched house was such a darling. Just thinking about it, she would never have to use the latrine at the Educated Youth Dormitory again.

Lin Yuzhu let out a deep sigh of relief.

When she returned to the bedroom, she found a chubby little 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 one Small Robot. Please accept it.

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

Sure enough, a few seconds later, the Small Robot opened its eyes and looked at Lin Yuzhu. A screen opened on its chest, displaying a line of text: Master, what do you need me to do for you?

Lin Yuzhu froze. This Small Robot seemed different from the ones that had been in her space before. The robot rewarded by the Thatched Cottage was more intelligent. It could carry out simple conversations and had many skills. The host could slowly discover them.

Lin Yuzhu clicked her tongue and reached out to touch the little chubby thing's smooth head. Not bad—the feel was quite nice.

Hmm, can you kill a chicken?

The plump white Small Robot blinked. After a few seconds of processing, it nodded. Then this would be easy. She was having chicken tonight.

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

It could not be helped. Lin Yuzhu truly did not know how to kill a chicken.

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

Since another batch of crops had ripened, Lin Yuzhu did not keep any this time. She sold all of them.

Then she bought some kitchenware and small appliances?

Mm... maybe later.

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

The Small Robot had some difficulty with that task, so she still had to do it herself.

After cleaning the chicken, she put it into a clay pot, added water, and dry-stewed it.

There was no helping it. The seeds from her crops only came in a few varieties, and the vegetable garden at the Educated Youth Dormitory did not have ginger.

Was that all?

Being able to drink chicken soup was already quite good.

Why ask for so much? Once the high heat was turned down to low, she had the Small Robot watch the fire and left her space.

By then, the sky had already darkened. Every household was lighting fires to cook, and wisps of smoke curled upward in a tranquil, peaceful scene.

With yeast powder, steaming buns became much easier.

Lin Yuzhu deliberately steamed a huge pot of buns. They turned out soft and fluffy. Her skills had not gotten rusty, and they tasted quite good.

The rich wheat fragrance carried a faint sweetness that spread through her mouth as she chewed, making her want to finish an entire large bun in one go.

Now she had both chicken soup and steamed buns. This dinner was pretty great.

Logically speaking, now that her space had a Thatched Cottage, she could cook entirely inside it. But after thinking it over, Lin Yuzhu felt that the little mud room in reality still needed to have its stove lit. Other people might not enter her room, but 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 kind of fairy maiden?

Details mattered. She simply put the steamed buns into the clay pot to keep warm, then boiled some hot water.

Sigh, speaking of hot water, she wanted to buy an iron kettle for boiling water. But after thinking it over, she decided against it. Even Qian Yuan still used a large 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, fill a thermos with it, and then take it outside. It was the same either way. She was becoming fonder and fonder of her little thatched house.

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

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

The little system silently said nothing. The chicken soup would still need quite a while before it was ready.

With nothing to do, Lin Yuzhu carried a small stool outside and sat in front of the house to rest.

It could not be helped. It was too dark inside. The village had not gotten electricity yet, and she did not have a kerosene lamp. It was brighter sitting outside.

Only after sitting down did she realize how awkward things were.

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

Because Li Xiangbei could get pheasants, hares, wild ducks, and such whenever he had nothing to do, he invited Wang Yang to eat with him every time.

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

Previously, when Lin Yuzhu had been eating with them, it had not felt like anything. But now that it was just the three of them, it seemed 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 pheasant today."

Li Xiangwan was feeling troubled at the moment. Previously, in the front courtyard, everyone had eaten in the same room, so splitting off to cook together had not seemed like much. Now, though, things were different.

She did not know who had spread the gossip, but there were already rumors in the village saying that she lived with two men. No matter how one heard it, those words carried a suggestive meaning. They were only eating meals together—how had that become living together?

Li Xiangwan felt that the people saying these things had filthy minds, but she could not think of a good solution.

Then, when she saw Lin Yuzhu sitting in the courtyard, an idea flashed through her mind. Why not pull her in and have her join them?

With more people, the gossip would fade. At that thought, she felt resentment again. Whoever had spread those rumors 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 often enough, the villagers naturally noticed. Quite a few were jealous. Perhaps because the ingredients were good, the aroma of stewed meat could drift for nearly a mile. Within half an hour, the entire village would know whose home was stewing meat.

The Educated Youth Dormitory gave off the scent of meat every few days, tempting the village children to come sniffing around. After smelling it, they would go home crying and clamoring for meat, making the villagers feel even worse.

At the end of the day, these educated youths were outsiders. Why should they get to eat the game from the mountains around their village?

When some unhappy aunties and older women went to work, they directly made snide, sarcastic remarks about the educated youths. Wang Xiaomei would not stand for it. She had barely gotten any meat herself, so why should she have to take that attitude?

The moment she heard the sarcastic comments, she snapped back.

Only then did the villagers learn that the educated youths had split up their meals.

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

Then the aunties and older women lit up with blazing curiosity.

Weren't they educated youths who had arrived together?

Li, the educated youth, caught prey but did not even share any with Zhang, the educated youth?

Before long, every last detail of the Educated Youth Dormitory's affairs had been pried into, and the gossip slowly spread.

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

Now that they had completely split up, Lin Yuzhu was too embarrassed to keep taking advantage of them. She was no longer someone lacking chicken meat. If she ate their food, she would owe them. Paying them back would cost both meat coupons and money, so it was not worth it.