Although Li Xiulan was simple and down-to-earth, she was not stupid.
Her eyes immediately widened in shock.
Song Yutang smiled and shook her head, signaling for her not to say it aloud. She only instructed, "Remember, you must find an opportunity to let Grandpa see this part."
Li Xiulan instantly grew so nervous that she did not know what to do with her hands and feet, but she still nodded firmly. She found something else to do to ease her nerves. "We're having hot pot tonight. I-I'll go pick some vegetables from the garden. Besides the pea shoots we mentioned earlier, what else would you like?"
Song Yutang took the opportunity to link arms with her. "I'll go with you, Mom."
Chen Ruyin and the other mothers- and daughters-in-law of the Jiang Family were all wealthy society ladies.
Every day brought shopping, tea parties, jewelry exhibitions, art exhibitions, and endless social engagements.
Only Li Xiulan came from the countryside and could not fit in at all.
All she could do was housework and watch television to pass the time.
Lately, Song Yutang had been busy learning to fit into this new era and had hardly spent any proper time with her mother-in-law.
Since the opportunity had presented itself, she would keep her company a little longer.
Li Xiulan glanced at her cream-colored long dress and hurriedly waved her hands. "No, no. It just rained in the garden. There's mud everywhere, and it's filthy. We mustn't ruin your clothes."
"If my clothes get dirty, I can wash them. Wait a moment. I'll go upstairs and change into something practical." Song Yutang hurried upstairs.
She soon came back down in light gray sweatpants and a sweatshirt, her hair tied into a neat ponytail. "Let's go."
Li Xiulan's eyes brightened, and her smile grew much more genuine. "Oh, all right, all right."
On the way to the vegetable garden, Li Xiulan opened the floodgates of conversation. "I heard they set aside plenty of vegetable plots when this estate was first built. Your grandmother liked eating homegrown vegetables when she was alive too, but after she passed away, the whole place was left to go to waste. Even the servants who grew the vegetables were dismissed.
"I thought it was a shame, so I tidied it up again. My family's from the countryside. There were eight of us siblings, and I was a good hand at chores from the time I was little. Growing vegetables, raising chickens, feeding pigs-there's nothing I can't do..."
Song Yutang praised her sincerely. "Mom, you're amazing. No wonder the vegetables at home taste so good."
Li Xiulan was a little embarrassed by the praise, but the smile lines at the corners of her eyes deepened. "As long as you enjoy them. Really, when you grow these natural things, the most important thing is letting them grow naturally in the soil. Use more farmyard manure and fewer pesticides..."
As they talked, they reached the edge of the vegetable garden.
Li Xiulan bent down and picked a few bright red cherry tomatoes, washed them under the irrigation tap, and handed them to Song Yutang. "Try these. They're every bit as good as the imported ones."
Song Yutang took them and bit into one.
Its skin was extremely thin, and juice burst out with a single bite.
Sure enough, it was sweet and tart, with a rich, fruity fragrance.
"Delicious," she praised sincerely.
Li Xiulan smiled so broadly that her eyes all but disappeared. She took down her basket and began picking with practiced hands. "This crop of tomatoes is nearly out of season. Once I pull up the vines, what would you like? Cucumbers? Green beans? Or should I plant more leafy greens? I'll plant another two rows of those pea shoots you like... But pea shoots go out of season so easily. Before you know it, they've gone tough. Do you like green peas?"
"Mom, I love anything you grow." Song Yutang copied her, carefully picking tender flowering cabbage shoots.
"Such a sweet-talking child." Li Xiulan worked deftly, and before long, the basket was full.
More than a dozen kinds of vegetables were lush and green, so fresh that a pinch could squeeze water from them.
When they returned to the kitchen, Jiang Guoqiang was simmering bone broth.
Seeing mud on the cuffs of Song Yutang's pants, he could not help fussing. "Look at you. The garden's so slippery. Why did you let our girl go along? What if she'd fallen?"
Li Xiulan set the basket on the counter. "You're the only one who fusses so much. Our girl wanted to keep me company, and I was happy. Hurry up and wash the vegetables. Slice some more beef tripe and aorta, and another couple of plates of beef too... Less of the fatty meat. Do you think everyone likes fatty meat as much as you do? You should eat less of it too. You're missing a kidney, yet you still won't watch what you eat..."
Song Yutang stood beside them munching on half a cucumber. Watching the two of them chatter away, she could not help laughing.
This simple, warm family atmosphere, filled with the bustle of everyday life, was something she had never experienced deep within the imperial palace in her previous life.
Jiang Muyan...
What kind of person was he, really?
Her parents-in-law were simple and kind, and her younger sister-in-law and brother-in-law were not bad by nature either.
Having grown up in a family like this, he presumably could not be all that bad.
If he were not in a vegetative state, even if the two of them could not raise the tray to eyebrow height in mutual respect, they should at least be able to live like ordinary married couples in this world.
For the first time, Song Yutang felt a little regret that she could not be a normal married couple with Jiang Muyan.
If he could wake up, that did not seem like such a bad thing...
Jiang Guoqiang and his wife spent the entire afternoon busy in the kitchen and finally had the hot pot on the table before seven that evening.
Besides dozens of fresh ingredients, they had specially prepared three kinds of broth.
The family sat around the table and was just about to start eating when Jiang Qingyu and Jiang Sinian returned.
Jiang Guoqiang quickly stood to greet them. "Qingyu, Sinian, you're back? You haven't eaten yet, have you? Come join us. The broth has only just come to a boil. We haven't started yet."
Li Xiulan hurried to add, "What would you like to eat? I'll go slice a few more plates in the kitchen."
The couple were simple-minded and softhearted.
In their view, when it came to meals, anyone who was there deserved a share.
Jiang Sinian's face darkened, however. Turning to Butler Wang, he snapped, "Have all the chefs in this house dropped dead? Why isn't there a single proper dish?"
Caught off guard by the scolding, Butler Wang quickly bowed. "Third Young Master, neither you nor Second Master said you would be coming home today..."
"I told the kitchen not to prepare dinner," Jiang Guoqiang quickly interjected, rubbing his hands awkwardly. "Aunt Chen and the others aren't eating at home, and you and Sinian didn't call to say you'd be back. The old master has his nutritional meals. It was just the four of us... so I thought I'd make something simple myself."
Chen Ruyin and the other women of the family often ate out, while Jiang Qingyu and his son rarely came home for a meal even once a week.
So ordinarily, if they wanted to eat at home, they would always give advance notice.
Today, none of them had said anything.
Naturally, the household had assumed there was no need to prepare their meals.
Jiang Sinian glanced over the tableful of food and gave a smile that did not reach his eyes. "Uncle, how can you like something like hot pot? Everything gets swished around in the same broth, mixing everyone's saliva together. Every bite you put in your mouth is full of bacteria."
Jiang Qingyu gave him a mild rebuke. "Sinian, if your uncle likes it, let him be."
Jiang Guoqiang's face flushed crimson. "I-I'm very clean when I cook..."
Jiang Sinian scoffed. "However clean you are, it's still all mixed together, like pigswill."
Jiang Guoqiang did not know what to do with himself. "Then-then I'll have the servants bring some little pots and make fresh broth for you, so you can cook your food separately..."
Jiang Sinian would not let up. "Even if we cook it separately, isn't it still all one pot of broth? Dad, let's just eat out. The food in this house isn't fit for human beings."
Jiang Guoqiang and Li Xiulan had never been good with words, and his barbs left them unable even to raise their heads.
Jiang Sinian was looking like a victorious rooster, his face full of smug satisfaction as he prepared to leave.
Song Yutang slammed her chopsticks onto the table. "A concubine's son is still a concubine's son. That old concubine really did teach you bad manners. We people of Huaguo have valued reunion since ancient times. Gathering around the hearth to share a meal on holidays is one of the joys of family life. Yet in your mouth, it becomes pigswill?"