Back home, Jin Shanyao stared at the wild rabbit and pheasant on the ground, lost in thought. What should she do first? Pluck the feathers? Skin the rabbit?
While she was thinking, Meng Anzhi came in dragging a dustpan. She squatted down with practiced ease and began scooping out the ashes.
"Auntie, it's smoky in here. Go wait outside for a bit."
Once she had cleared the ashes, Meng Anzhi directed her younger brother to come carry the dustpan like a little grown-up. Jin Shanyao might not know how to do the work, but she wasn't stupid. How could she let children do it?
She picked up the dustpan and hurried out of the kitchen. By the time she returned, the fire was already burning, and Meng Anzhi was standing on a stool, pouring water into the pot.
Jin Shanyao hurried over and scooped her down. "Stand to one side and tell me what to do."
Little Meng Anzhi stood there, somewhat uneasy. When Mother was alive, she never let Auntie do any work. Could she manage?
After adding the water, Jin Shanyao bent down to tend the fire.
Looking at the trees that had been torn to pieces, she felt a pang of pain. She closed her eyes, grabbed a piece and shoved it into the firebox... how cruel.
While the water heated, she began skinning the rabbit. By the time she finished, the water was boiling.
Following Meng Anzhi's instructions, Jin Shanyao stripped off the pheasant's feathers and cleaned it. Then she pulled a burning stick from the firebox and singed off the down.
She put it on the chopping board and chopped it into pieces with several loud thunks.
Meng Anci squatted in the courtyard, cleaning mushrooms. He carefully picked the dirt and bits of leaves from their roots, then blew on them for good measure.
Just as he was getting into his work, laughter came from the entrance. "Sister, your second sister-in-law has come to see you."
Wang Guihua, Meng Hongyi's wife from the Meng family's second branch, walked in carrying a basket. She glanced at Meng Anci and the mushrooms, then hurried toward the kitchen.
At the sound of her voice, Meng Anzhi's heart tightened. She hurriedly grabbed a wooden basin and turned it over the pieces of meat, then quickly stepped in front of the chopping board, her fingertips trembling slightly.
"What are you doing here?"
"Tsk... you can't even call me Second Aunt anymore? And here I was, thinking of you all."
Wang Guihua strode into the kitchen, her eyes darting everywhere. "I went back to my parents' home today and didn't know what my husband had done. I only heard that you risked going into the mountains for something to eat."
With that, she thrust the basket forward. "See? My family gave me some lotus roots, and I brought them all to you."
When Jin Shanyao didn't take it, she simply set it on the ground. Two blackened, scrawny half-pieces of lotus root rolled around in the basket with the movement.
"Let me see what you've made for Anci," Wang Guihua said, lifting the pot lid in one swift motion. There was nothing inside.
Her eyes wandered. That wasn't right. Matchmaker Gao had said Jin Shanyao had brought back plenty of game. Unwilling to give up, Wang Guihua put the lid back on the pot.
She began rummaging around and caught sight of a greasy mark on the chopping board out of the corner of her eye.
Her eyes lit up at once, and she reached for the wooden basin, only for Jin Shanyao to clamp a hand around her wrist. To her surprise, Wang Guihua quickly lifted the basin with her other hand.
Pieces of meat lay exposed before her eyes. She even spotted two drumsticks. Thinking of her children at home, crying out in hunger, her heart grew hot.
Wang Guihua instantly put on a fawning smile. "Sister, as the saying goes, courtesy calls for a return. I gave you lotus roots, so could you give me a little meat? The innards would do too. I'm not picky."
As she spoke, she broke free and grabbed the basket, ready to fill it with meat.
But a powerful hand seized her by the collar, and she toppled backward. Wang Guihua was just about to curse when she met Jin Shanyao's icy eyes.
That gaze was like countless vines wrapping tightly around her, a suffocating sensation sweeping over her whole body.
She was too frightened to resist.
Wang Guihua shook her head. It had to be an illusion. This was just a slip of a girl. How could she have such a terrifying gaze?
"Want some meat?"
The sudden voice made Wang Guihua's heart skip a beat. She looked at Jin Shanyao warily. "What are you going to do?"
Jin Shanyao picked up the knife from the chopping board and slowly approached Wang Guihua. Wang Guihua let out a scream and turned to run, only to find her feet rooted to the spot, unable to move.
"Sister," she said in a trembling voice, "let's talk this over. You can't go waving a knife around."
Jin Shanyao thrust the knife into Wang Guihua's hand and said calmly, "Cook. Chicken stewed with mushrooms. Once it's done, I'll give you a bowl."
Wang Guihua would do the work, and Jin Shanyao would give her a bowl of meat. Jin Shanyao felt that would settle the karma between them.
"What..." Wang Guihua gripped the cleaver and stared at Jin Shanyao in shock.
Jin Shanyao frowned. Had she said something wrong again? That couldn't be...
She put on a stern face and asked Wang Guihua, "You didn't understand?"
"I did, I did..." Wang Guihua nodded hurriedly. She washed her hands, tied on an apron, and said to Meng Anzhi, "Go on, go on... don't get in the way."
Jin Shanyao stood awkwardly beside Wang Guihua, wanting to learn how to cook. Hearing that, she said unhappily, "Who are you calling a nuisance?"
Wang Guihua abruptly came to her senses. "Oh! Listen to my mouth. I'm the one in the way, I am..." As she spoke, she bent down to tend the fire. Her movements were deft; she was clearly used to working.
She looked around and saw no oil, so she simply tipped all the meat into the pot and stir-fried it. "There's no oil at home. Luckily, this meat is fatty enough to render plenty."
Jin Shanyao said nothing, watching her without blinking. Wang Guihua's hair stood on end under her gaze. Beside them, Meng Anzhi hated to part with that bowl of meat. Second Aunt's family rarely had anything to do with them.
But whenever they had something good at home, Second Aunt's family would come and snatch it. Meng Anzhi was a hundred times unwilling to let Second Aunt have meat, but she also knew no one at home could cook.
She could only keep a close eye on Second Aunt and memorize the steps. If she cooked it herself next time, she could save a bowl of meat.
The chicken and rabbit meat were mixed together and stir-fried in the great iron pot. The pieces sizzled against the sides, and soon a fine, dense layer of fat rendered out.
The meat gradually turned golden, crisp on the outside and tender within, its fragrance wafting everywhere. The family of three gathered around the stove, swallowing their saliva.
Wang Guihua suffered the most. If Jin Shanyao hadn't been there, she would have wanted to sneak bites of the raw meat. It smelled too good...
She glanced at Jin Shanyao and ventured, "Sister, if I cook for you, will you really give me a bowl of meat?"
Jin Shanyao watched her work and gave a soft hum of assent. There was plenty of game in the mountains, and she didn't care about this little bit of food. Besides, she was an immortal who had successfully ascended.
Why would she deceive a mortal?
At that, Wang Guihua said excitedly, "I'd like a drumstick. The children at home are too hungry to get off the kang. I want them to have a filling meal."
Her eyes were pleading, and her hand unconsciously tightened around the spatula. Afraid Jin Shanyao would agree, Meng Anzhi was just about to object when she heard her aunt say,
"No. The two drumsticks are for Anzhi and Anci. You can only have meat."
The weight hanging over Meng Anzhi's heart finally lifted. She exchanged a look with her brother, and they grinned.
Wang Guihua's eyes dimmed. Her son loved drumsticks best. What a pity. She stared at the meat sizzling in the pot and swallowed. Pieces of meat would do too.
When the meat was nearly done stir-frying, Wang Guihua added a ladleful of water, then poured in the mushrooms and covered the pot to simmer.
Taking the opportunity, she cleaned the kitchen inside and out, and even washed the clothes the two children had changed out of.
Steam gradually rose around the edge of the pot.
The aroma of chicken stewed with mushrooms filled the kitchen and drifted into the courtyard, making the big yellow dog sniff the air nonstop.
Wang Guihua opened the pot, added a little salt, gave everything a quick stir, and dished it up.
She then washed the pot and bowls she had used. With nothing left to do, she stood awkwardly beside the pot. "Sister, is there any other work?" As she spoke, her eyes never left the basin of meat, and the sound of her swallowing was especially loud.
Jin Shanyao was not stingy. She took a bowl, filled it with two heaping spoonfuls of meat, and handed it to Wang Guihua.
Wang Guihua accepted it in delight, a glimmer of tears appearing in her eyes. Her throat tightened as she continued to fawn over her.
"Sister, I owe you a great debt, a great debt! If you have any work in the future, come find me. I can do anything, and I'm not afraid of dirt or hard work. Just give me something to eat."
Jin Shanyao said nothing and waved for her to leave quickly.
Wang Guihua hurried home with the bowl of meat in her hands, unable to suppress her smile. They hadn't eaten their fill in half a year. If they ate this bowl of meat sparingly, it could last a day.