Chapter 69: A Bright Green Feather
She didn’t pay attention to it. Seeing her mother-in-law coming over, she quickly and consciously gave up her seat to Liu Yuzhi. She acted like a little daughter-in-law and planned to sneakily learn from the side, striving to learn and prevent An An from finding another chance to mock her!
Yun Qinghuan clenched her fist and glanced at An An.
An An thought his mother was disappointed and comforted her very intimately, “Mom, you’re already great! An An doesn’t know how to do it at all.”
Yun Qinghuan: “…”
She didn’t feel comforted at all, but instead felt even more discouraged.
She turned her head, no longer looking at her son, but watched her mother-in-law make the shuttlecock seriously.
She didn’t know if the needle and thread had a soul in her mother-in-law’s hands, but the needle and thread moved so quickly that she could hardly see.
Liu Yuzhi could tell that she did want to learn, so she slowed down her movements.
In a short while, a very beautiful shuttlecock was made. Liu Yuzhi even stood up and kicked it. Although she was old, it could be seen that she had some basic skills in kicking shuttlecocks when she was young, so she kicked it several times without falling, and she could even play tricks.
An An was stunned by the sight, exclaiming.
Yun Qinghuan was also stunned.
After kicking it a few times, Liu Yuzhi felt that the shuttlecock was quite easy to kick. Seeing that her daughter-in-law was staring at her without blinking, she thought she wanted to try it herself, smiled, and handed the shuttlecock to Yun Qinghuan, “Here, you try kicking it.”
Yun Qinghuan took it, her smile a little stiff, “I, can I?”
She had never kicked a shuttlecock before, she had only seen others kick it.
In the past, she had been busy with life and had no time to play these things.
“Of course you can, it’s very simple. If you really can’t, let Naihan…” Not knowing what she was thinking, Liu Yuzhi paused, “If you really can’t, I’ll teach you.”
Yun Qinghuan blinked and really took the shuttlecock from her hand and tried to kick it.
At first, her posture for throwing the shuttlecock was very standard, after all, she was smart and had watched her mother-in-law kick it for a while.
A smile appeared on Liu Yuzhi’s face, “I knew you could do it.”
An An also said, “Mom is amazing!”
However, as soon as the words of praise fell, Yun Qinghuan didn’t catch the shuttlecock. With a “patta” sound, the shuttlecock fell far away on the ground.
Silence.
A dead silence.
Yun Qinghuan was too embarrassed to speak.
The tail of An An’s praise was directly stuck in his throat.
Liu Yuzhi paused, quickly ran over to pick up the shuttlecock and handed it to Yun Qinghuan, “It’s the first time, you’ve done very well like this, come on, I’ll teach you.”
Then she patiently taught her.
Yun Qinghuan learned very seriously.
She was indeed smart, and in just over ten minutes, she had gone from being unable to kick at all to being able to kick more than a dozen in a row.
She couldn’t help but smile.
Seeing that Bai Naihan had already chopped up the chicken, she wiped the sweat from her forehead, “Mom, shall we make chicken soup tonight?”
“Okay, you decide.” Liu Yuzhi smiled.
She had just returned from the field and was sweating profusely. Seeing Yun Qinghuan go to the kitchen to cook, she went to the well to wash her face and hands, ready to help her daughter-in-law cook.
Yun Qinghuan planned to make a fragrant mushroom and chicken soup tonight, and then stir-fry a dish of chili scrambled eggs. She only put two eggs, and the main ingredient was chili, which was very appetizing.
Then she steamed a few steamed buns.
The chicken soup was stewed for a full two hours, until it was soft and juicy, and the aroma could be smelled from afar.
Someone passed by the Bai family and smelled the delicious aroma, “It must be the prodigal daughter-in-law of the Bai family who is cooking something delicious again. Since her husband died, she doesn’t seem to be sad at all, and she keeps changing the way she eats good food!”
“That’s right! Every day, it’s either meat or fine flour, making me unable to eat all the coarse grains in my house!” Yun Qinghuan didn’t care what others said, anyway, she couldn’t hear it. At the moment, she salted the remaining half of the chicken and hung it under the eaves with a rope.
Waiting for the wind to dry it a bit for better preservation.
The whole chicken weighed five jin, and it was impossible to eat it all at once.
She stewed more than a jin tonight, left more than a jin to stew tomorrow, and hung the rest, planning to stew a little each day during the busy farming season to supplement Liu Yuzhi’s body.
After the chicken soup was stewed, An An kept staring at it, and even forgot about the new shuttlecock he had just made. He just stared at the chicken soup in the pot, and then swallowed.
The adults were actually also craving, but they were just a little more restrained.
Seeing An An’s appearance, Yun Qinghuan couldn’t help but smile, took a small bowl and scooped some chicken soup, and also scooped a small piece of chicken meat, “An An, come and taste the soup for your mother to see if it’s salty or not.”
An An’s eyes lit up, and he quickly took the small bowl, not even caring about the heat, he slurped a mouthful and said loudly, “Delicious!”
“Just right, not too salty or too light!”
Seeing him gobble it up like this, Yun Qinghuan twitched at the corner of her eye, “Slow down, don’t burn yourself.”
The little guy stuck his tongue out.
“Hiss! It’s not hot!” An An was still stubborn.
After drinking a mouthful of soup and eating a piece of chicken, the little glutton in his stomach finally calmed down, but he still stared at the chicken soup in the pot, “Mom, when are we going to eat?”
Obviously, this little taste was not enough to satisfy his cravings.
Yun Qinghuan smiled lightly and rubbed his nose, “Little glutton, you can eat in a while, but before that, Mom has a task for you. I’ll serve you a bowl of soup, and you’ll be responsible for taking it to Grandma Chen, okay?”
“Okay!”
The little guy responded excitedly and even bargained, “Mom, you have to reward me with a little star!”
“Okay.”
Yun Qinghuan nodded, thinking that this kid was really good at finding opportunities. He had already saved a lot of little stars, but he had never exchanged them for anything from her.
She first scooped out four or five pieces of chicken, then scooped out a lot of mushrooms, and finally poured a few spoonfuls of fresh chicken soup. It looked delicious just by looking at it.
It was probably a full bowl.
Afraid that An An’s hands would get burned, Yun Qinghuan deliberately used a ceramic pot, which was very large and had ear handles on both sides, so it could be held by hand without getting burned.
The little guy took it very seriously to deliver it to Grandma Chen. Before leaving, he looked at Yun Qinghuan several times, “Mom, you must wait for me to come back before you eat.”
He was afraid that the family would finish the chicken soup in the pot while he was away, and he kept looking back at the stove.
“I know, go quickly.”
Yun Qinghuan waved her hand.
“Mom…” After taking a few steps, the little guy turned around again and wanted to say something, and Yun Qinghuan interrupted directly, “Little ancestor¹, you go quickly, you’ve already said it many times, Mom swears, I definitely won’t start eating without you coming back.”
Yun Qinghuan looked very helpless, and it was as if she was really going to swear.
Bai Jinan: “…”
He looked very conflicted, “Mom, I want to tell you that you have some green onions on your hair.”
Bright green.
Yun Qinghuan: “…”
Liu Yuzhi covered her mouth and laughed, and even the man sitting by the stove couldn’t help but lower his head.
[1] – Calling a child “Little Ancestor” (小祖宗) is a Chinese term of deep affection, highlighting the child’s preciousness and central role in the family, akin to revered ancestors. It often carries a playful undertone, suggesting the child might be a bit spoiled or demanding, and can also be used with a touch of exasperated love for their mischief. Ultimately, it’s a warm and endearing way to emphasize the child’s special importance within the family.
Xoxo 🤍💜🤍
