Chapter 57: I Want to Break Off Our Friendship

Qin Baiqiu had always been somewhat uneasy about Tang Lin and her daughter. When she finished her morning chores and wanted to find Tang Lin for a chat, she discovered their courtyard gate was locked.

It was nearly noon, and rice was steaming on the stove. She sat in the courtyard, picking vegetables while keeping an eye on the movement outside.

She noticed them the moment the three carts and four people appeared at the entrance of the alley.

"Comrade Tang, where did you all go up the mountain this morning?"

The bicycles were laden with baskets, tubs, and containers, all overflowing with mushrooms.

Qin Baiqiu's eyes darted in shock between their baskets. "Which mountain did you go to this morning? How did you pick so many?"

In this era, urban resources were scarce, and city dwellers loved heading to the mountains outside the city, especially during spring and autumn.

Qin Baiqiu hadn't seen anyone gather this many mushrooms in years.

Initially, when she saw Qi Nuanyang and Jiang Jingtao, she had wanted to ask who they were, but her attention was so captivated by the mushrooms that she had no time to focus on them.

Tang Lin did not hide anything and told her directly which mountain it was.

This morning, while she was absorbing the wood element essence on the mountain, she had returned a significant amount of pure wood-element energy to the surrounding plants, causing many mushrooms to grow.

Rather than letting others pick them, she figured it was better to tell Qin Baiqiu so she could pick some to improve their family's meals.

Seeing that Tang Lin was being so candid, Qin Baiqiu was naturally very grateful.

Once the group returned home, they tossed the wild chickens wrapped in wild grass onto the ground, took down the baskets tied to the bicycles, and began processing the mushrooms.

If left unprocessed, mushrooms would slowly rot. They had to be spread out to be dried into dried mushrooms.

"How should we handle the wild chickens? Should we scald them with boiling water to remove the feathers, or just skin them?" Tang Lin first slaughtered the two wild chickens, bled them, and tossed them on the ground to the side.

"Wild chicken skin is edible, so let's use boiling water to scald the feathers." Qi Nuanyang rolled up his sleeves and went into the kitchen to boil water.

He had learned his lesson from Tang Lin's cooking yesterday; the food had only been barely cooked through. Today, they had managed to get two wild chickens, and he couldn't let her ruin them.

As Leng Hui carefully took the mushrooms out of the baskets one by one and laid them on the ground to dry, she said, "There are plenty of mushrooms. After we eat, Jiang Jingtao, you and Uncle Qi should take some back to eat."

The main path into the courtyard was already paved with tiles, and Leng Hui had used leftover bricks to pave a small path to the backyard, which made drying the mushrooms much more convenient.

Jiang Jingtao said, "I'll just take enough for one temporary meal tonight. You guys should dry the rest and collect them to eat slowly later."

Leng Hui shot him a glance. "When you go back later, your mother will think you've just been idling around all day. Taking only a bowl of mushrooms is too little; take more back."

"I idle around at home every day, and I never hear my mother complain," Jiang Jingtao said self-deprecatingly.

He felt that since Leng Hui and the others had just moved out and were lacking everything, these dried mushrooms could provide her with food for a while.

Leng Hui didn't want Auntie Li to misunderstand that she was specifically taking advantage of Jiang Jingtao. During the construction of the courtyard wall a few days ago, Jiang Jingtao had helped a lot, contributing both labor and food, and she was deeply grateful.

She only wanted to find ways to repay them in the future. Having picked so many mushrooms this time, how could Leng Hui possibly keep them all for herself?

The mushrooms from the two baskets filled the courtyard paths. Ideally, the best tools for drying mushrooms would be bamboo winnowing trays, but since they had just moved in, they hadn't had time to acquire such utensils. They could only dry them temporarily on the brick-paved ground.

Once the mushrooms were laid out, Leng Hui and Tang Lin washed a basin of fresh mushrooms. Qi Nuanyang planned to stew the wild chicken with the mushrooms for lunch.

The chicken would be stewed first, and the mushrooms would be added near the end; fresh mushrooms don't need much cooking, just enough to be done.

The staple was sorghum pancakes. Qi Nuanyang kneaded the dough by hand, and once the chicken was nearly cooked, he pressed the dough against the side of the iron pot.

With the staple and the chicken stewed together in one pot, the flavor was so delicious it nearly made them swallow their tongues.

After the meal, Jiang Jingtao rubbed his stomach and said, "After eating all this, meat is still the best!"

Wasn't that obvious?

Qi Nuanyang shook his head with a smile.

After cleaning up the kitchen, Leng Hui brought out two lunch boxes and gave Jiang Jingtao a kick. "Stop lying around like a corpse. Hurry up and go back. Before your parents go to work, take this box of chicken back for them to taste."

There were two lunch boxes: one for Jiang Jingtao and one for Qi Nuanyang.

Qi Nuanyang said sheepishly, "This isn't right. We're eating and taking food at the same time. You guys should keep it for dinner."

Leng Hui didn't bother arguing with him and handed the lunch box directly to Tang Lin to handle him. Regardless, they had been busy in the house all morning; taking back a box of chicken wasn't excessive.

A box of chicken and a basket of mushrooms were used to send Jiang Jingtao on his way.

Blushing, Qi Nuanyang picked up his lunch box and a bucket of mushrooms and also left.

After seeing the guests off, Leng Hui stretched, her eyelids feeling heavy. After a full meal, one naturally wanted to sleep; this life was truly heavenly.

Just as Li Xiangru had closed her eyes for a moment, she heard the courtyard gate being pushed open, guessing that her "little ancestor" had returned. However, before she could get up to check, she smelled the aroma of chicken.

"What's that smell?"

Without needing her to remind him, Jiang Yulin was already up, sniffing the air as he walked out of the bedroom.

"You brat, where did you get chicken? Did you go out and rob someone at noon?"

Jiang Jingtao retorted, "Don't talk nonsense. No one has extra food for me to rob. This chicken is what we caught on the mountain this morning, and the mushrooms were also picked this morning. How is providing for oneself considered robbery!"

"Is this wild chicken? Wild chickens aren't that easy to catch. With your spindly arms and legs, how could you catch one?"

Jiang Yulin didn't believe for a second that Jiang Jingtao could catch a wild chicken; how could the boy's reaction speed compare to the wild animals on the mountain?

"Dad, stop looking down on me!" Jiang Jingtao indignantly gestured to his whole body. "And besides, I'm big and strong, how am I small?"

Any man could not stand being called small.

"In my eyes, you're small everywhere."

Jiang Jingtao was furious. "Dad, I'm cutting ties with you!"

Li Xiangru walked out and gave Jiang Yulin a heavy slap on the back. "You're at your age, how is your speech becoming so tactless? The child is being filial by bringing back some chicken, and even then, you can't keep your mouth shut!"

Afterward, Li Xiangru comforted Jiang Jingtao for a while and then asked about their morning.

Upon learning that the wild chicken had been knocked down by Leng Hui using stones, the couple was stunned.

They asked in disbelief, "That girl Huihui is that capable?"

"Right? I'm telling you and you won't believe it. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me at the time, but the truth is, her wrist strength is incredible. With one forceful throw, a stone can render a wild chicken immobile."

As soon as Leng Hui was mentioned, Jiang Jingtao tossed his earlier annoyance aside and began to brag. His "sharing in the glory" expression was truly obnoxious!

Jiang Yulin and Li Xiangru exchanged a glance and shared the still-warm chicken.

Li Xiangru told Jiang Yulin to wash the lunch boxes, while she herself took advantage of the time before work to quickly spread out the brought-back mushrooms, otherwise they might spoil.

Jiang Jingtao grew anxious. "Hey, hey! You guys finish the chicken and don't even have an opinion?"

(End of Chapter)