Chapter 84 – Yan Xiaosi Kills the Snake
Yan Xiaosi felt that Ms. Wang wasn’t scared enough, so she deliberately extended her arm and waved the black-tailed snake in front of Tian Dazhuang.
Ms. Wang, afraid that the snake as thick as an arm would bite Tian Dazhuang, angrily said, “Yan Xiaosi, you little troublemaker, what are you doing bringing a black-tailed snake to my house?”
“Dazhuang, haven’t you told Aunt Tian about the Dragon and Phoenix Soup yet?” Yan Xiaosi ignored Ms. Wang’s shouting and directly asked Tian Dazhuang.
“Xiaosi, I just got home, I haven’t had a chance to say anything yet.” Tian Dazhuang replied with an honest smile.
Yan Xiaosi rolled her eyes, annoyed, “Your efficiency is too low. I’m already hungry, hurry up and tell Aunt Tian.”
Tian Dazhuang waved his hand, signaling her to move away with the snake so as not to scare Ms. Wang.
Yan Xiaosi didn’t want to scare Ms. Wang, because if Ms. Wang got angry, she wouldn’t get to eat the Dragon and Phoenix Soup. When she moved away with the snake, Ms. Wang finally emerged from behind Tian Dazhuang, cautiously glanced at the snake Yan Xiaosi was holding, and then asked Tian Dazhuang, “Dazhuang, what is this Dragon and Phoenix Soup Yan Xiaosi mentioned? Be honest, did you give her the prey you caught?”
“Mom, I didn’t,” Tian Dazhuang answered somewhat impatiently. “The Dragon and Phoenix Soup was Xiaosi’s idea. It’s a dish made by stewing snake and chicken together. Xiaosi said that it’s a royal dish enjoyed by the emperor himself. Today, I happened to catch two wild chickens in the mountain, so I discussed it with Xiaosi and agreed to cook the Dragon and Phoenix Soup at her house at noon. I’ve already handed the two wild chickens to Ms. Zhong and the others for preparation. Ms. Zhong asked me to come back and call you, so we can eat together.”
Upon learning that Tian Dazhuang had given the two wild chickens to Ms. Zhong, Ms. Wang’s heart ached. She pinched Tian Dazhuang and said angrily, “Dazhuang, are you stupid? How could you give both wild chickens to Xiaosi’s mother? Our family only has two people, so we can’t eat two wild chickens. If you wanted to give some away, you should have only given one.”
Yan Xiaosi didn’t feel too good after hearing Ms. Wang’s words, as it seemed like their family was taking advantage of her.
“Aunt Tian, Dazhuang is contributing two wild chickens, and I’m also giving a snake. This black-tailed snake of mine is plump and has no less meat than the two wild chickens Dazhuang caught.”
She walked over with the black-tailed snake, scaring Ms. Wang into hiding behind Tian Dazhuang again.
“Yan… Yan Xiaosi, don’t come over.”
Upon hearing Yan Xiaosi’s words, Tian Dazhuang realized that the black-tailed snake in her hand seemed to have grown quite a bit.
“Xiaosi, why does this black-tailed snake seem to have grown so much?”
Last night, the snake was only as thick as a woman’s arm, but today, it was as thick as a man’s arm.
Yan Xiaosi didn’t dare to reveal the secret to Tian Dazhuang. She held the snake and grinned evasively, “This black-tailed snake might be going through puberty, developing rather quickly.”
“Puber… what?” Tian Dazhuang looked confused as he stared at Yan Xiaosi, asking the question. The concept of puberty was unfamiliar in their society.
Yan Xiaosi didn’t bother to explain and changed the subject, “Dazhuang, how’s your family’s old yellow ox?”
The black-tailed snake had grown so much after eating a little rice from her portable space, and Tian Dazhuang’s old yellow ox had also eaten corn from her portable space yesterday. She wondered if the ox had changed at all.
Her sudden concern for the old yellow ox made Tian Dazhuang curious, but he didn’t ask any further.
“My old yellow ox is doing well, eating, sleeping, and working.”
From the tone of Tian Dazhuang’s response, it seemed that the old yellow ox hadn’t changed. Yan Xiaosi pondered and felt that the snake’s rapid growth had little to do with eating rice from her space. The main reason was probably that the snake had stayed in her portable space overnight and absorbed some spiritual energy. Coincidentally, she had just practiced enough to gather mental power, causing the spiritual energy in her portable space to become denser as her ability improved.
“Xiaosi, why did you suddenly mention my old yellow ox? Do you want to borrow the ox-cart again?”
Tian Dazhuang suddenly spoke, interrupting Yan Xiaosi’s train of thought.
Hearing Tian Dazhuang’s words, Ms. Wang quickly glared at him, feeling angry.
Her foolish son didn’t know how to cherish their belongings.
Yan Xiaosi regained her focus and replied, “I don’t need to borrow the ox-cart. I was just asking casually. Dazhuang, Aunt Tian, do you have anything else to do? If not, come to my house and help my mom and sisters with cooking.”
Ms. Wang immediately breathed a sigh of relief. She glanced at the black-tailed snake coiled around Yan Xiaosi’s arm and asked timidly, “Yan Xiaosi, can black-tailed snake and wild chickens really be cooked together? I don’t want the snake to ruin a pot of wild chicken soup.”
Facing Ms. Wang’s doubts, Yan Xiaosi calmly replied, “Aunt Tian, you’ve never had Dragon and Phoenix Soup. It has an unmatched delicious taste. Even the emperor and the empresses in the palace like it. Once you taste it, you’ll never forget the flavor for the rest of your life.”
In order to get Ms. Wang to agree to give her two wild chickens, Yan Xiaosi really fought hard, making up stories and exaggerating the Dragon and Phoenix Soup. Ms. Wang couldn’t help but swallow her saliva.
Ms. Wang swallowed her saliva and said to Yan Xiaosi, “Yan Xiaosi, if it doesn’t taste good, I’ll settle the score with you.”
Yan Xiaosi wasn’t afraid. With Tian Dazhuang around, Ms. Wang couldn’t do anything to her.
After Ms. Wang locked the door, the three of them headed towards the broken grass temple at the end of the village.
At this moment, Ms. Zhong, Yan Shuqin, Yan Shuxue, and Yan Shuyun were plucking feathers from the two wild chickens in the open space in front of the broken grass temple.
They put the two wild chickens in a wooden basin and poured boiling water over them. After being soaked by the boiling water, the chicken feathers were much easier to remove.
“Mom, Big Sister, Second Sister, Third Sister, I’m back, and Aunt Tian is here too.”
Yan Xiaosi, holding the black-tailed snake, walked in the front.
Ms. Zhong, Yan Shuqin, Yan Shuxue, and Yan Shuyun all looked up simultaneously. When the mother and her three daughters saw the black-tailed snake coiled around Yan Xiaosi’s arm, they were all stunned.
The four women never expected that Yan Xiaosi would catch such a large black-tailed snake. Most people wouldn’t dare to catch such a big snake, let alone Yan Xiaosi, who was a girl.
“Xiaosi, how did you catch such a big snake? Were you bitten by it?”
Ms. Zhong anxiously asked Yan Xiaosi as she looked at the snake.
Yan Xiaosi smiled and replied, “Mom, I’m fine. Black-tailed snakes aren’t venomous. Even if it bit me, it wouldn’t be a problem.”
Ms. Zhong let out a slight sigh of relief, but then her brows furrowed again.
“Dazhuang, do you know how to kill a snake?”
Before, Yan Xiaosi had said she would take care of killing the snake. However, seeing how big the black-tailed snake was, she didn’t dare let Yan Xiaosi handle it anymore.
Tian Dazhuang nodded, “Auntie, I know how to.”
Yan Shuqin, also worried that the snake might bite Yan Xiaosi, hurried to the kitchen to fetch a kitchen knife and was about to hand it to Tian Dazhuang.
“Big Sister, give me the kitchen knife.” Just as Tian Dazhuang was about to help, Yan Xiaosi asked Yan Shuqin for the knife first.
