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Chapter 180: Chapter 182: Puppy_1
"Wife, my leg has truly healed," Tan Zhenghong saw that Qiao Duo’er’s expression was off, immediately changed his words, "Wife, I’ll just sit and boil the water."
Only then did Qiao Duo’er agree, but once outside, Tan Zhenghong completely forgot his words.
He took over all the washing and cleaning chores, intercepting them immediately whenever Qiao Duo’er reached out to do anything.
As fate would have it, Hu’s Clan had come over, so Qiao Duo’er could only let him off for the time being.
"Sister-in-law, Butcher Chen delivered some meat today, I saw you were all asleep and didn’t disturb you. I’ve already cleaned it."
Hu’s Clan was somewhat anxious, fearing that Qiao Duo’er would find her meddlesome.
"From now on, you can just receive those cuts of meat yourself."
Qiao Duo’er acknowledged with a sound; this wasn’t a big deal to her.
Hu’s Clan nodded her head eagerly, "Then I’ll have Da Ya record the weight from now on, so you can tally the accounts with Butcher Chen."
Qiao Duo’er trusted her so much; she couldn’t let Qiao Duo’er down.
"Hmm, just put the meat in the pot and stew it, I’ll come over and help after breakfast."
Hu’s Clan quickly refused, "I can manage on my own, you need to rest as you’re still sick."
Qiao Duo’er didn’t refuse further, "Then I’ll send over the spices later."
After Hu’s Clan left, Tan Zhenghong had already washed everything that needed washing, making Qiao Duo’er’s job easier.
She finely chopped the wild vegetables and diced the mushrooms, then poured a bit of oil into the pot, waited for it to heat up before tossing in the mushrooms to sauté. When she could smell the aroma, she added water and rice.
Tan Zhenghong put the firewood into the stove and then came out, using a small stove to start brewing the medicine.
Seeing all this, Qiao Duo’er’s face was so dark it could drip ink, but in the end, she said nothing.
Well... she did not want to bother Tan Zhenghong again at night.
With nothing else to do, Qiao Duo’er decided to wash the clothes for the past few days, as the recent rains meant they were nearly out of clean clothing.
After hanging the clothes to dry, Qiao Duo’er checked the pot; the porridge had become thick. Only then did she add the wild vegetables, seasoned with salt, and once it was boiling again, a pot of fragrant porridge was ready.
Enticed by the aroma, Tan Zhenghong’s stomach embarrassingly growled twice.
Qiao Duo’er said laughingly, "Go get some chopsticks and come eat!"
Tan Zhenghong immediately grabbed some chopsticks, eager to taste the porridge his wife had made.
Indeed, the taste was sensational!
He had already memorized how Qiao Duo’er made it and thought after a few more tries, he might be able to produce the same flavor.
After breakfast, Qiao Duo’er packed the spices in a cloth bag and delivered them to Hu’s Clan.
She also checked on the marinade; the broth was clear and bright in color, its taste increasingly rich—the pot of marinade was well-maintained.
Hu’s Clan was reliable, but Qiao Duo’er still needed to keep some secrets, such as the spice recipe and the tricks of the trade.
To get a nice color for the marinated meat, she needed to fry some caramel coloring every few days and add it to the marinade.
Frying caramel coloring meant stirring sugar in a pot until it melted and turned into a caramel color.
Qiao Duo’er carefully fried the sugar until it turned color, just as a girl happened to pass by her door, her eyes red.
"Chao Lian, what’s happened?" Hu’s Clan couldn’t help but ask.
"My dog Wang Cai gave birth to two puppies, my mother won’t let us keep them, told me to get rid of them," Lin Qiaolian’s eyes turned red again.
Hu’s Clan didn’t know what to say to comfort her, knowing the girl cherished the dog as a treasure, but how could farmers who were struggling to feed themselves worry about dogs?
Qiao Duo knew the girl; every time she passed by her house, she would greet her as sister-in-law, a rather shy girl.
