Wu Shufen swatted Lin Lan playfully. "Grandma will take you. Your mom’s being an, refusing to take you and laughing at you instead."
Li Xiangyang smiled and took his hand. "Co on, Uncle will take you."
Now that he had soone to go with, Little Douzi wasn’t scared anymore. He turned and ran toward the pigpen.
Wu Shufen said to Lin Lan, "Morel mushroom chicken soup is very nutritious. I’m going to the Lin family’s place up ahead to buy a hen, and I’ll get a rooster too for tomorrow."
Lin Lan nodded. "I’ll go with you."
Wu Shufen knew she wanted to pay. "You don’t need to go. Stay here and keep your aunt company!"
Wu Shufang smiled. "I’d like to go for a walk with you, too. Let Little Lan and Xiangyang stay ho."
"Okay!" Wu Shufen stood up, took off her apron, and got so candy. The two sisters left together, heading for the house of their kinsman, Lin Changgui, which they had passed on their way.
As they passed Aunt Lin’s house, they saw her standing in the doorway, whispering and gesturing conspiratorially with an old woman. When she saw the two of them approaching, she spat on the ground.
Wu Shufen glanced at the old woman and recognized her as Zhou Chunlan’s mother. She grabbed Wu Shufang’s arm and walked straight past them.
When they arrived at the Lin family’s ho, Granny Lin saw them and ca out to greet them warmly. "It’s been so long since we’ve had a chance to talk! I was just saying I’d co visit you for a bit once I wasn’t so busy." Then she looked at Wu Shufang. "Elder Sister, co on in and sit for a while."
Wu Shufang smiled. "Don’t go to any trouble. We were just sitting at ho and decided to co out."
Granny Lin pointed to a winnowing basket under the eaves and smiled. "I was just about to sort out so good mushrooms and bring them over with so vegetables for you!"
Wu Shufen laughed. "Well, I’m here for the sa reason. Thank you so much for helping look after our place." As she spoke, she handed over the sugar. "I bought so candy for the kids, and two packs of brown sugar."
Granny Lin accepted it, looking a bit embarrassed. "Last ti Xiuqing ca back, she brought at and candy. Now you’re back and bringing more. You really shouldn’t have!"
Wu Shufen gave her a mock glare. "We’ve been like sisters for decades, and you’re saying this to !"
"Alright, I won’t say another word!" Granny Lin said happily, pulling her into the main hall to sit down. "You’ll be staying for a few days this ti, won’t you?"
Wu Shufen smiled. "We weren’t originally planning to co back. But Little Lan said she wanted to bring the children back for a visit, and since her in-laws were coming too, we decided to co back with them."
Granny Lin nodded. "With such rare guests visiting, of course you should co back to host them. Just a mont ago, Accountant Lin walked by with the in-laws. I got a look at them—city folk really don’t seem to age. They’re so fair and plump, looking young and prosperous!"
Wu Shufen said, "Her in-laws are good people, and they’re good to Little Lan. We’re very grateful for that."
"Now that your family is doing well, so people are green with envy." Granny Lin gestured in Aunt Lin’s direction. "Zhou Chunlan’s mother and Lin Laoer’s wife have been spreading rumors everywhere. They’re saying your Little Lan instigated Yuezhen to disown her own brothers, and now that she’s well-off, she doesn’t even co back for Qingming to pay respects to her parents."
Wu Shufen said, "What are they talking about? The reason Yuezhen didn’t co back to pay respects to her parents is because she’s pregnant. How can she visit the graves with a baby in her belly?"
"What!" Granny Lin looked at her in surprise. "But didn’t they say she couldn’t have children? That that’s why her first husband kicked her out?"
Wu Shufen curled her lip. "It was never Yuezhen who couldn’t have children. I’d bet it was her first husband who was the problem, but they always bla the woman. Yuezhen’s current husband treats her very well. Her good days are just getting started!"
Wu Shufang said, "Exactly. If no seeds are sown, how can anything grow?"
Granny Lin nodded. "That’s right. Yuezhen suffered so much at her in-laws’ house, and when she ca back, she was looked down on and tornted by her brother and sister-in-law. Now that she’s proven she can have children, let’s see what they have to say."
"What else can they say? It’s a total slap in their face! No need to pay any mind to those gossips. The only thing that matters is living your own life well!" Having said her piece, Wu Shufen changed the subject. "I ca over because I wanted to buy a couple of chickens from you. My eldest son’s sister-in-law sent over so morel mushrooms, so I was thinking of buying one to make a stew, and another to cook with taro."
Granny Lin nodded. "The capons at ho are big now. Do you want one?"
"Great, capons are excellent, of course." Wu Shufen thought for a mont, then added, "You should raise so more capons and spotted ducks. In the second half of the year, I’ll have my eldest son co back and buy them from you."
"You got it! I’ll pick out so eggs for a hen to sit on tomorrow."
Granny Lin happily agreed. She grabbed so rice husks and led the two sisters to the backyard. She poured the husks into the chicken trough, calling all the chickens over.
While the chickens were all gathered around the trough, heads down and gobbling up the feed, she singled one out and snatched it. "One capon should be enough for you all," she said. "You don’t even have any chicken feed at your place right now. Just co and grab a chicken whenever you want to eat one."
Wu Shufen nodded repeatedly. "Okay. When we finish this one, I’ll be back for more."
Back in the front yard, after so more pleasantries, Granny Lin brought out a steelyard scale. The chicken weighed in at over ten pounds, but she only charged Wu Shufen ten yuan. She also gave her so fresh mushrooms, taro, other vegetables, and so pickled vegetables.
As the two sisters left Lin Changgui’s house, they saw Lin Changyou and Old Li walking ahead, each carrying a bundle of mugwort. They quickly called out to them.
It turned out the two n had been for a walk. Lin Changyou, thinking that the house had been empty for over half a year, had cut so mugwort to bring back and smoke out any insects.
When the four of them got ho, Lin Changyou and Old Li found so straw, tied it together with the mugwort into bundles, and prepared to smoke the house.
Wu Shufen ladled out a bowl of water, added a pinch of salt, and stirred it a couple of tis. Li Xiangyang grabbed the chicken, held its neck, and slit its throat. The blood flowed into the bowl, and after a few stirs, it quickly coagulated.
Lin Lan brought out a bucket of boiling water and poured it over the dead chicken in a large wooden basin. Li Xiangyang turned it over a few tis and spread its wings to make sure all the feathers were soaked through. With a gentle tug, the feathers ca right off.
After the feathers were plucked, they washed the chicken again and singed the fine hairs off over a fire.
Li Xiangyang looked at the fat chicken, its grease dripping constantly, and laughed. "This thing is so fat, it’s almost as big as a goose."
Hearing this, Wu Shufen said, "Your Uncle Lin’s family likes to raise geese. After we finish the chicken, we can buy a big goose to eat."
Lin Lan laughed. "Mom, we haven’t even started on this huge chicken, and you’re already thinking about geese."
Wu Shufen said cheerfully, "Life is good now, so I can dare to think like this. We would never have dread of it in the past!"
They cut the chicken in half. One half was chopped into small pieces, blanched, then stir-fried to remove excess moisture. Two ladles of water were added, along with so slices of ginger and spring onion. After bringing it to a boil over high heat, they added the morel and Termitomyces mushrooms and let it simr over dium heat.
Only then did they wash the rice and start cooking it. By the ti the chicken in the pot was tender, the rice in the stear was ready too.
Wu Shufen blanched so spinach, squeezed out the water, and made a cold-tossed salad. She stir-fried mixed mushrooms with green peppers and garlic, and chicken giblets with pickled vegetables. She also made a plate of shredded potatoes, the children’s favorite.
Lin Lan then began to fry gardenia flowers. First, she cured the flowers with a small amount of salt for a while, then mixed flour, eggs, salt, and five-spice powder into a batter.
Wu Shufen watched as she pulled so many seasonings out of her bag as if by magic, and laughed. "This girl... she’ll never outgrow her love for good food."
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