Chapter 28: Enough to Drive the He Woman to Her Grave

Gao Dali sneered, "Why is that impossible? Have you forgotten how skilled Zhenzhen is? She even has that potion the wild beasts are afraid of. It’s quite simple for her to come and go through the forest."

Chen Ada looked unconvinced. "Doesn't that mean we can't steal their gold bracelets? If the four of us go into the mountains at night, it's a death sentence."

Shi Youqian, refusing to admit he was inferior to a child, gritted his teeth and said, "Not necessarily. We can take torches with us to find them. Wild beasts fear fire; perhaps we can succeed."

Feng Fugui asked nervously, "But what if we run into poisonous snakes or something else?"

Gao Dali spoke sternly, "As the old saying goes, fortune favors the bold. If we don't take risks, we’ll starve to death anyway. With those gold bracelets, we and our families could survive for a while longer; otherwise, we're finished."

The other three thought of their families and nodded in agreement. After further discussion, the four decided to return home first. To avoid raising suspicion, they planned to wait until their families were asleep and set out at midnight.

Little did they know, although they reached the vicinity of the cabin successfully at midnight, they were spotted by a large bear as soon as they arrived and were chased away. After enduring great hardship, they finally made it back home, though each of them was battered and bruised. When their families learned why they had been roaming the mountains in the middle of the night, they were soundly beaten and forced to kneel for a day and a night. But that is a story for another time.

...

Mu Xiaoyun returned to the old Mu family residence with a heavy heart. Returning so late meant she would inevitably face another scolding. As expected, she saw He at the door the moment she arrived, and the impatient expression on her face showed she had been waiting for a long time.

Earlier, when Mu Xiaoyun had gone to the cave where the third branch lived, He had wanted to follow with others, but she gave up after seeing from a distance that Yu Jinzhen had already spotted Mu Xiaoyun. To avoid being discovered and doused with urine again, she had retreated home.

Seeing He, Mu Xiaoyun couldn't help but shrink back. "Grandmother."

He eyed her granddaughter and asked displeasedly, "Well? Did Mu San Yue agree?"

Mu Xiaoyun replied anxiously, "He actually agreed at first, but Zhenzhen woke up while she was sleeping and scolded me, so... it... it failed."

He raised her hand and slapped her loudly across the face. "You useless wretch, you’re good for nothing! No food or water for you tonight! Your portion will go to your brother."

Tears streamed down Mu Xiaoyun’s face. This was the grandmother she had been waiting on hand and foot. She washed He’s clothes every day and often cooked her meals. She took care of all her needs, only to end up like this. She felt it wasn't worth it. Although Zhenzhen seemed terrifying, after what happened today, not only did Zhenzhen refrain from hitting her, she even gave her food—the best food she had ever tasted in her life. Her own kin couldn't even compare to a stranger.

*Fine, if I don't eat, I don't eat,* she thought. She was already full and had drunk water; she could survive the night. Mu Xiaoyun made up her mind then and there to serve Yu Jinzhen well—if not for anything else, then for the sake of her own stomach. She also hoped that one day, when He found out she had been helping Yu Jinzhen, it would be enough to make her drop dead from anger.

...

After Mu Xiaoyun left, Yu Jinzhen brought out her hot pot gift set from the tent. Before their eyes, she produced a specialized "mandarin duck" (dual-flavor) pot, pig throat, honeycomb tripe, goose intestines, sliced beef, sliced lamb, shrimp paste, duck blood, and all the necessary seasonings.

Mu Guhuai and his three sons were dazzled by the array of ingredients. Mu Guhuai quickly said, "Zhenzhen, that’s enough. We won't be able to finish all this. We have plenty of meat today; it would be a waste if we can't finish it."

Yu Jinzhen continued setting things out, her voice gentle. "It’s not too much. We might have guests later; it's better to be prepared so we aren't caught off guard."

Guests? The father and sons exchanged glances. Mu Guhuai asked, "Zhenzhen, did you invite guests?"

Yu Jinzhen pulled out a bottle of grape juice and smiled. "I didn't invite them, but there are guests who invite themselves."

After speaking, she didn't stand on ceremony, assigning tasks to each of them and teaching them how to prepare the food. She had a pot but no stove, so she simply improvised a cooking hearth low enough for the children to reach the food while sitting.

Soon, the ingredients were ready. Yu Jinzhen chopped garlic, green onions, cilantro, and fish mint, then taught them how to make dipping oil. "What we're eating today is called hot pot. Since I'm worried about the younger ones not handling spice well, I made a mandarin duck pot. As you can see, half is clear broth and half is spicy red broth. The clear broth is tomato-based, and the red broth is only mildly spicy."

"These are sesame oil and oyster sauce. Pour them into the bowls, then add the garlic, green onions, cilantro, and fish mint..."

The four followed her instructions obediently. The five sat around the pot, and Yu Jinzhen continued, "These items are pig throat, duck intestines, tripe, blue crab, prawns, lamb, shrimp paste, and beef... each has a different cooking time. If you’re unsure, just ask me."

Once she had demonstrated, she asked, "Did you all learn?" They nodded. So that was why the food was raw—they had to cook it themselves!

"It's quite simple," Mu Guhuai said.

Yu Jinzhen added, "If you aren't sure about the timing, just boil it a bit longer. It's better to overcook than undercook, as eating raw food can cause diarrhea. Also, chopsticks used for raw food must be boiled in the pot before touching cooked food, or you'll get sick. Or, better yet, use separate pairs of chopsticks for raw and cooked food."

"Understood, I'll keep an eye on them," Mu Guhuai promised.

"Oh, right," Yu Jinzhen said, bringing out a large bottle of grape juice and several empty bowls. "This is grape juice. Let everyone have a glass."

In her past life, she disliked paper cups, feeling they were unhealthy, so she hadn't bought any. Since her "space" hadn't yielded any cups yet, she had to use the bowls she’d obtained from a blind box delivery just before she died. They were bowl-sized, but worked fine as cups.

Mu Yiyue waited for his bowl to be filled and took an impatient sip. As soon as the juice hit his tongue, his eyes lit up. "It’s so sweet! It’s delicious!"