Goldfield
Chapter 24: The Flattering

The Yu family's food was always lacking oil. There were only two occasions when the family could eat meat, the first was during the new year, and the second was Yu Bo, the hope of the entire family, coming home. Fatty meat and boiled cabbage were Yu Bo's favorite foods during his childhood.

Yu Bo was already used to eating stir-fried dishes in the city, so his appetite had long since changed. But he could not refuse his mother who wholeheartedly took care of him.

Madam Zhao glanced at him then entered the western runag indifferently. Zhao Meilan, who was the only daughter of a district scholar official, insulted the entire Yu family. Her mother-in-law was stingy, while her eldest sister-in-law was extremely vulgar and lazy.sister-in-law was both cowardly and incompetent. In addition, there are no family children who look neat.

If he had a choice, he really did not want to stay in the Yu Family home at all. However they were her husband's family, so she still needed to show her husband's face.

By the time Madam Zhang returned from the butcher's village with half a catties of meat, Ms. Liu also returned after washing the laundry. Without giving her a chance to rest, Madam Zhang had ordered Madam Li, who aimlessly wandered around the courtyard with a broom, "Dry her clothes. Second daughter-in-law, cook it!"

The entire family unanimously approved of Madam Liu's culinary skills.

Madam Zhang personally washed the meat and cut it on the cutting board. After which, he counted the pieces and instructed Madam Liu, "The third child likes the dishes you cook, so cook them well and do not slack off. You guys helped with the preparations!"

Even if Madam Zhang didn't say it, Yu Xiaocao and his sister wouldn't let their mother do all the work alone. After he left, Xiaocao smiled and said, "I doubt Uncle and Young Aunt like 'fatty meat and cabbage' macabs'. Mom, why don't I try making some dishes? I have a lot of recipes in my mind that I haven't tried yet!"

"You can cook, but you can't touch the meat. Your grandmother knew clearly some of the many pieces there were!" When they had good ingredients, Madam Zhang would always count because she was afraid that people would steal some while cooking.

'Booms of large pot mix' are very popular in most villages in the north. However, not all ingredients are suitable for stew blends. Yu Xiaocao desperately wanted a stir-fried dish, but he had no oil. Madam Zhang was so stingy that she didn't even want to buy vegetable oil.

Xiaocao looked at the fatty meat and tried to persuade his mother to make lard with a serving of meat. The meat can be boiled with cabbage, and he can cook with lard.

Liu Muyun pondered the idea for a moment. His flesh would shrink slightly after being taken in his fat, but as long as he cooked it carefully, it would not be too unsightly when boiled. Today, Third Sister and Third Sister-in-law went home, so one meat dish was really not enough. In addition, all other dishes are bland. Therefore, he decided to use the meat to make a small bowl of lard.

There were many people in the Yu family, so they usually used two stoves for cooking. One is used to cook bean porridge, while the other is used to make boiled vegetables and millet pancakes. Madam Zhang was very happy today, so with great mercy, she 'allowed' some pancakes to be made with wheat flour.

He would rather be a miser and suffer, than let his youngest son suffer a little. She was even more unwilling to be underestimated by her youngest daughter-in-law, who was the daughter of a local government employee. He was still waiting for his youngest son to get a noble title for him so that he could enjoy old age with his son's success!

Yu Xiaocao saw his mother use the usual way to boil slices of pork and firefly, which was to just toss them together into one big pot. For fear that the meat dish was broken, he immediately stopped it, "Mother, let me cook this dish. I promise it'll taste better than mom made it!"

Madam Liu was afraid that the old woman would scold Xiaocao, so she rejected the idea at first. In the end, he could not help but give in to Xiaocao and Xiaolian's continuous pleas. But he insisted on watching.

Xiaocao had already instructed his younger brother to borrow some chili from the Zhao Family. Without a little spicy flavor, boiled pork and cabbage will definitely taste bland.

After deciding not to use the usual method of boiling the dish, he used a well-oiled frying pan to saute ginger, chives, chili and Sichuan pepper. After that, he stuffed the meat into the frying pan and soy sauce. Next, he placed the millet cabbage pancake into the pan, and after consideration of the singakat, he of the msytic stone had the ability to increase freshness! The dishes are still the same, but with different cooking methods, the taste is naturally different like day and night.

Before she had the chance to 'sabotage' the food, Madam Zhang, who felt behind her back, had already pulled her ear and dragged her out, "Eat, eat! You only know how to eat! What else can you do besides eat? Go and stay in your eastern room! If you dare to eat her food secretly, I will cut off your hand!"

After which, he glared at Madam Li, who lingered in front of the kitchen. Li Guihua who was lick and lazy hurriedly lowered her head. He began to sweep the floor, while repeatedly looking back.

Madam Zhang looked at the fatty meat stew and cabbage, sniffed it a few times, and softly said, "Hm, your culinary immaturity is increasing! Keep cooking this way in the future!"

Xiaocao interjected, "Grandmother, if you bring back soybean oil, we can cook like this every day. We can't do anything without oil!"

Madam Zhang's heart ached at the thought of how much money it would take to buy oil. However, to keep his pride, he turned away cursing, "Buy oil? Shall I tear this old body of mine to make you some oil?"

Xiaocao's mouth twitched and grumbled, "Even if you want, it doesn't mean we're willing to eat it. You may not be able to get much oil with your dry and thin body.."

"Cao! How can you talk like that to an older person? If this spreads, do you still have a good reputation? You can't act like this in the future." Madam Liu was cleaning the pot as she disciplined her daughter.

Yu Xiaocao did not refute him, but he still felt angry in his heart, 'We need to be filial to the old man, but we also cannot foolishly serve them, right?'

Xiaocao channeled his anger with cooking. Whooshing sound! He immediately finished stir-fried eggplant with garlic, dried fried long beans, fresh vegetables with mushrooms, and boiled meat and cabbage.

In another pan, a mouth-watering aroma emerged from the delicious fish soup. Even Madam Zhao who was napping in her room, was inwardly surprised by the Yu family's 'pork food', why did it smell so fragrant?

"Time to eat!: Little Shitou who obediently helped guard the kitchen fire, exclaimed excitedly. The cooking skills of second brother were so incredible that he could barely hold back his saliva.

Men and women sit at separate tables for breakfast. Today, women's desks also have the same plates as men's desks. Four pans that gave off an appetizing aroma swiftly served on the table. There were many people in the Yu Family, so their food was usually served in a pot.

"There's meat! We're eating meat!" Yu Heizi sniffed his yellow snot, while also wiping his mucus with his blackened sleeves due to dirt from time to time. Instead of washing her hands, Madam Li also just wiped her dirty hands on the front of her worn-out clothes.

Madam Zhao looked at her and felt so disgusted that she almost vomited. There was no way he could have an appetite in front of this dirty mother and daughter duo.

Madam Zhang, who was observing her youngest daughter-in-law, followed her gaze. He frowned, took out a bowl, and took food from every dish. After which, she turned her head towards Madam Li and her son, "The table is too crowded, so you two go back to the room to eat!"

Madam Li gazed towards the alluring flesh and tactfully said, "We have two additional people, so it's a bit crowded. Why do naughty children, who are under ten know, sit on a table?! Aren't you guys gonna rush in and make room?"

As he spoke, he could not help but lift his chopsticks to take the biggest part of the fatty meat. However, she was blocked halfway by her mother-in-law. Madam Zhang angrily glared at her reckless eldest daughter-in-law and spoke in an irritated tone, "I told you to go back to your room to eat, so stop with all your nonsense! By prohibiting children from eating at a table, who are you trying to mock?"