Her Cultivation Diary-Chapter 115 - : 115. Signature Dish_1

Chapter 115: 115. Signature Dish_1

In the rural kitchen, the stove was large and so was the pot, making the cooking process quite fast.

One stove was for cooking rice, the middle pot for boiling water, and another large iron pot, now some twenty-five years old, was from the time of their wedding.

After so many years, it had been seasoned by lard to a shiny gloss, making the vegetables fried in it silky smooth and delicious.

Today, for about twenty people, Wu Lan made more food but not more varieties (mainly because it was the season with few vegetables), and each dish was served in a basin.

The highlight, without a doubt, was a large basin of Milk Vetch stir-fried with cured meat.

Logically, the highlight should have been a stew, but unfortunately, the lettuce from Grandma’s garden wasn’t of that quality yet, so lettuce stewed with canned meat had to take second place.

Then came chives stir-fried with eggs.

Yesterday, Song Tan had harvested all the chives, and the family spent hours making all sorts of dumplings and chive pockets.

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And so, there was a large plate of chive pockets at lunch, serving as another staple.

As for those that weren’t wrapped, they were all stir-fried with eggs today.

The reason it wasn’t the main dish was simply because it had no meat; it seemed less ceremonious.

Then there was spicy pork stir-fried with chili peppers and cabbage stir-fried with tofu.

These were all vegetables currently available on the farm; the rest had been bought early in the morning from the town and weren’t worth mentioning.

But despite that, the dominant aroma of the chives, the unique crispy scent of the chive pockets, and the various fragrances released when frying the Milk Vetch with meat… had everyone present barely resisting their growling stomachs.

If it weren’t for the last bit of self-control, they’d already be fighting over the food with their chopsticks!

Not to say anything else, but someone really needed to take a bite of those chive pockets! So hungry!

However, by the time all ten basins were on the table, Auntie and Sun Yanyan had still not returned.

Everyone sat around the table with chopsticks in hand, growing increasingly anxious.

Uncle’s face looked somewhat displeased:

“I’ll make a call, you guys go ahead and start eating.”

But who would start eating first?

Only after a corresponding ringtone sounded in the yard did everyone realize—they had gone out to pick vegetables and didn’t take their mobile phones with them.

Wang Lifan was puzzled: “The vegetable garden is only so big, and there weren’t many lettuces left, so what’s taking so long, did they fail to dig them up, or what?”

“Qiaoqiao,” Song Tan said with a smile, “go check at Grandma’s house to see if Auntie is there?”

Qiaoqiao was always eager to run errands.

Without hesitation, he stood up, and even acted like an adult, “Sigh! It’s time to eat and they are still not back, such playfulness!”

Uncle’s face was looking increasingly displeased, and Song Tan patted him: “Hurry up and go.”

Qiaoqiao was tall and had long legs, sprinting all the way at a jog; in less than five minutes, he ran back panting:

“No one’s there. Nobody at Grandma’s house, not inside the house, not in the vegetable field, not in Big White’s shed either.”

The focus for everyone present was on where the missing persons had gone, but Song Tan glanced at Qiaoqiao, knowing he must have checked Big White’s den as well.

Since Big White had moved up the mountain, his ragged basket of a den had been left unattended, except for the care from his good brother Qiaoqiao.

With the phone unreachable and the whereabouts of the people unknown, Song Tan suggested, “Auntie said she was going to cut Milk Vetch this morning, but there’s none left in the field; she wouldn’t still be looking in the field, would she?”

So Qiaoqiao was sent to the gate to look towards the field.

Looking all around, only brown earth remained in the field; no people in sight.

No one knew whose stomach grumbled, but Uncle’s face turned even more awkward, so he picked up his chopsticks: “We won’t wait any longer, let’s eat! We’re all family, no need to be polite.”

He was both family and a guest now, and those missing were from his household. Once he spoke up, everyone really couldn’t hold back any longer.

The boss in charge of plowing had heard long ago that Song Tan’s home-cooked meals were exceptional, but he had always been skeptical—who in the countryside hadn’t been to a few feasts? He’d had his share!

Yet, this noon, when the scent wafted over, he immediately regretted it and wanted to slap himself twice!

“Serves you right for being picky, serves you right for scrounging for a meal!”

The fragrance of the Milk Vetch carried a distinctive quality. Just how many good things had he been missing out on?

The thought of himself ruthlessly burying them all under the soil with the plow the day before left his hands and feet trembling with anger—

If only he had been willing to cut a basketful?

Just then!

There arose a sudden clamor from the back mountain as if someone were shouting, calling out!

The voice was both pitiful and filled with fear, sobering everyone up. Song Sancheng instantly sprung to his feet, “My pigs!”

The back mountain was home to his cherished pigs, which he had raised spoonful by spoonful of pig feed. He couldn’t tolerate the slightest loss!

Though Qiaoqiao had no pigs to feed, his chicks, his ducks, his noble brothers Big White and Big King, and even the newly employed main force for composting—pig manure!

They were still up on the mountain!

At this moment, he too suddenly stood up.

But his face turned red, unable to remember which of his belongings to call out for first.

My Big King? Or my Big White? Or my pig manure and ducks?

A silence fell for a while, and the shouting from the back mountain grew louder. Now, no one could sit still, and they hurriedly ran outside.

No sooner had they turned the corner of the back mountain than they were surprised by a few buzzing bee hives by the trail, only to see two disheveled and bedraggled women bursting from the woods.

They were bawling for their parents and crying out as they stumbled downhill.

It wasn’t until they saw the others that they finally sat down on the ground with a thump.

“What in the world are you doing?”

Uncle Song was clearly suppressing his anger, even his voice was trembling.

Mao Li let out a wail:

“We were so close… so close to dying, to losing our lives!!!”

Sun Yanyan, too, looked terrified, her eyeliner smeared from crying, “Exactly, Dad, you have no idea. There’s a monster up the back mountain, so terrifying!”

No sooner had she spoken than there came another rustling in the underbrush, causing everyone to hold their breath and listen intently. Sun Yanyan and Aunt Song shrank together, looking like birds frightened by the mere twang of a bow.

Then, a loud “honk, honk, honk” rang out, and the first thing to emerge was a white head wearing a little yellow cap.

When Big White saw Qiaoqiao, it eagerly spread its wings, puffed up its chest, and strutted out with a swagger.

Though it was just a goose, it bore the demeanor of a mighty army.

Qiaoqiao cheered, quickly squatting down with his arms outstretched, and the two embraced each other in their well-practiced manner.

Only then did Big White settle down.

…That’s it?

This is just an ordinary goose, not some fearsome lion-headed goose. Was there really any need to scream like that?

The villagers looked at the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law with bizarre expressions, each sharing a collective moment of estrangement.

But at that moment, there came a faint sound from the bushes.

Song Tan lifted her head and saw a big dog’s head poking out, quietly observing the group of people in front of it.