In the kitchen, Zhou Shi was stewing braised pork.
Yu Li and the two children followed the aroma of the meat into the kitchen and then refused to leave. Even though the heat had them sweating profusely, they insisted on staying.
Three pairs of eyes were fixed on the pot where the meat was stewing.
“Grandmother, we’ll help you stoke the fire,” Fu Yanhui and Fu Yansheng said obediently.
Even the children understood that one must work to earn their food. Feeling she couldn’t just sit idly by, Yu Li proactively asked, “Mother, I’ll help you out. What needs to be done?”
Zhou Shi, seeing right through their craving for the meat, found it amusing but didn’t chase them away.
She smiled and said, “I’m making braised pork. Just wait a little longer; it needs to stew a bit more to soak up the flavor.”
She used a bamboo skimmer to scoop the half-cooked rice from the pot and placed it in another pot to steam.
Besides making bean porridge today, she had also prepared a pot of steamed rice, primarily for Yu Li. With her appetite, just eating porridge wouldn’t be enough to fill her up; she needed something more substantial.
Because Yu Li had brought back grain today, Zhou Shi was cooking with a much freer hand.
Although Yu Li was craving the meat intensely, she could only wait since it wasn’t ready yet.
Noticing a small piece of meat left on the chopping board, Yu Li asked what it was for.
“To make some steamed egg and meat patties for Xiao Ge’er to strengthen his body,” Zhou Shi sighed. “Xiao Ge’er doesn’t have much of an appetite and eats very lightly. Since we have fresh meat today, I’ll steam some for him.”
Hearing this, Yu Li nodded, feeling even more sympathy for Fu Wenxiao.
In a world with such delicious food, it was truly pitiful that he had no appetite due to illness.
Learning that the meat needed to be minced, Yu Li thought she could handle this task and picked up a knife to chop the small piece of meat into minced meat.
After finishing, she placed the minced meat into a bowl and handed it to Zhou Shi.
Zhou Shi cracked an egg into the bowl, added a pinch of salt, mixed it thoroughly, and then set it on the stove to steam.
She then cooked a pot of green vegetable soup. By the time the vegetable soup was ready, the braised pork in the pot had also finished cooking.
Zhou Shi took out the steamed egg and meat patties, drizzled a bit of soy sauce over them for added flavor, and sprinkled some shredded scallions on top. She then prepared a small plate of greens and a bowl of porridge and brought them to Fu Wenxiao’s room.
Meanwhile, Yu Li took the braised pork out of the pot.
Zhou Shi had stewed a large quantity of meat—a heaping bowl full. The aroma was overwhelming, making everyone’s mouths water.
Yu Li secretly swallowed her saliva and hurriedly carried the bowl of meat to the table.
Since it was hot and meat couldn’t be kept for long, Zhou Shi tried to cook as much of it as possible. She reserved about two pounds of meat, rubbed it with salt, and left it in a cool place to cure into salted meat, which could last for some time.
Salted meat could also be used to stir-fry eggs or garlic sprouts, adding a unique flavor.
Once Zhou Shi returned after delivering the food, they started their dinner.
Dinner included steamed rice and thin porridge. The muggy weather dulled everyone’s appetite, and after a day of work, they were all quite thirsty. Having something soupy like porridge was particularly refreshing and quenched their thirst.
Of course, eating this way wouldn’t be enough to fill everyone up. During the busy farming season, they would also prepare a pot of steamed rice to eat alongside.
Yu Li had never experienced a lack of appetite. Paired with braised pork, the steamed rice tasted incredibly satisfying to her.
It wasn’t just her—Fu Yanhui and Fu Yansheng were eating so eagerly that they didn’t even lift their heads, their little faces smudged with the sauce from the braised pork.
It had been a long time since the siblings had eaten such delicious meat. Combined with Zhou Shi’s excellent cooking skills, the braised pork was incredibly authentic and flavorful. Even the sauce, when mixed with rice, made the rice taste better, allowing them to eat an extra half bowl.
Seeing them eating so ravenously, Zhou Shi, worried they might choke, reminded them, “Don’t eat so fast. Drink some vegetable soup.”
The two children nodded hastily, barely pausing their eating.
Obediently, Yu Li took a sip of the vegetable soup and sincerely praised, “Mother, your cooking is amazing.”
Zhou Shi’s cooking skills were indeed exceptional, even meticulous. She always managed to make simple ingredients taste delicious, which must have required special learning or practice.
From the memories of the original owner, Yu Li had seen how the Yu family prepared meat. They would either casually toss it into a pot to boil or slice it to stir-fry with some salt, rarely adding any extra flair.
Even so, the Yu family found this boiled meat quite tasty. Only Yu Laoda’s family would show a hint of disdain.
Yu Laoda’s family lived in the county town, likely dining out often, so they naturally looked down on the plain boiled meat typical of rural households.
Zhou Shi pursed her lips and smiled. “If you like it, eat more.”
Yu Li nodded and replied matter-of-factly, “I will.”
The result of Yu Li eating more was that they finished all the rice and porridge cooked for the evening, a large pot of boiled vegetables, and more than half of the meat.
In truth, she could have finished all the meat herself, but considering how precious it was, she restrained herself and left some for the next day.
Everyone ate until they were completely satisfied. With oil and meat in their bellies, they finally felt a rare sense of fullness, no longer plagued by the gnawing hunger.
Indeed, eating meat was the ultimate goal of human evolution.
Yu Li nodded to herself, silently hoping that every meal in the future would include meat.
After dinner, Zhou Shi cleaned up the dishes and finally had time to look through the items Yu Li had brought back.
She first examined the fabric Yu Li had purchased and was already thinking about how to make clothes for her. Yu Li had bought quite a bit of fabric, enough for four or five sets of clothes.
In the countryside, people often went an entire year without a new outfit. Fabric was expensive, so even when making clothes, they would usually buy just enough for one set.
Zhou Shi didn’t think Yu Li had bought too much fabric. Since Yu Li didn’t have a single presentable piece of clothing, it was only natural to make her a few sets to rotate between.
At this point, Yu Li brought over a pouch of money and took out the earnings from selling Yu family embroidery, giving the rest to Zhou Shi.
“Mother, this money is for you.”
Zhou Shi looked at the silver—it was one tael in total.
She knew how much her embroidery could sell for. After buying needles, thread, and fabric, and purchasing medicine for Fu Wenxiao, there would typically only be around 200 wen left. It was impossible for there to still be one tael remaining.
There was no need to ask; it was obvious this silver came from Yu Li’s own funds.
Zhou Shi hurriedly waved her hand. “Li Niang, there’s no need…”
Yu Li said, “Take it. This is for your living expenses, so you can buy whatever you need conveniently.” Then she smiled and added, “I have a job now, so I can support the family.”
Since she was staying with the Fu family, living under their roof and eating their food, it was only right to contribute to their living expenses.
She had heard what the villagers were saying and understood that the Fu family only spent money without much income, especially with the high cost of Fu Wenxiao’s medicine. If she didn’t help out, relying solely on Zhou Shi’s embroidery income likely wouldn’t sustain the household expenses.
Thinking of this, Yu Li added, “The shopkeeper at Jinhua Embroidery House said, ‘Mother, your embroidery work is excellent. Even the magistrate’s wife loves it.’ He suggested you try making other items, such as table screens. Each one could sell for three to five taels.”
Zhou Shi’s eyes lit up at this but then hesitated. “Table screens are more intricate than handkerchiefs or sachets and require much more effort. I’m afraid I won’t have enough time…”
Although there wasn’t much to do at home, when Fu Wenxiao fell ill, she wouldn’t have any spare time to work on such things.
There was another reason—while she wasn’t entirely unwilling, she didn’t want to attract too much attention. After all, they were a widow and orphan who had returned to Qingshi Village, and it was better to keep a low profile.
Yu Li didn’t think much of it and said, “How could you not have time? If you want to do it, Mother, I’ll go to the embroidery house tomorrow and ask the shopkeeper to send over some materials and colored threads for table screens.”
Zhou Shi opened her mouth to say something but ultimately hesitated, thinking about how little savings they had left. Finally, she reluctantly agreed.
Wenxiao’s medicine couldn’t be stopped, and they couldn’t rely solely on Yu Li to earn money. She had to work hard to embroider more pieces to earn a living.
Moreover, it had already been three years. Surely no one was still keeping an eye on them, right?
After discussing this, Yu Li said, “Mother, I didn’t buy much fabric this time. Aside from making two sets of clothes for myself, let’s use the rest to make one set for everyone.”
Yu Li always valued fairness. Under the same roof, if she had something, others should have it too.
Given her own situation and the lack of decent clothing, she could make two sets for herself first. The remaining fabric could be used to make one outfit each for the others.
Zhou Shi quickly interjected, “No need. We all have clothes to wear. Use the fabric to make four sets for yourself first so you’ll have enough to change and wash. Save the rest for later.”
Yu Li glanced at her, considering that Zhou Shi also needed to spend time on embroidery to earn money. She didn’t press the matter further.