Song Tan’s Chronicle - Chapter 146.2

Last night, she had climbed the back mountain, spending a few hours nourishing the peach grove first, then turning her attention to the fields.

King, Da Bao, and Er Bao were all very pleased, but San Bao and Si Bao in the chestnut grove were left feeling aggrieved.

Tonight, she would have to share her attention evenly!

Sigh, spinning like a top during the day and again at night!

If there wasn’t a good harvest, she would lose face, dragging a hundred-year-old reputation down with her!

But this frustration was something no one could know.

Song Youde calculated, “What work is there this morning? If nothing needs doing, I’ll take a few nets to the ditches and catch some fish. We released a lot of water yesterday, and plenty of fish must have been washed down.”

Hearing this, Song Tan wanted to sigh again.

For fish to grow well, the two ponds needed sufficient spiritual energy. She felt like a sponge squeezed dry, releasing a drop here and there, completely drained.

She thought for a moment and said, “No rush, Grandpa. Why don’t you and Dad set up a few large stoves at the front of the house for Seventh Granduncle? It would be more spacious for everyone to have meals together.”

Even though there were only nine of them, they could easily eat enough for fifteen to twenty people. Keeping Seventh Granduncle cramped in their kitchen wasn’t fair.

“Sure.”

Looking at the sky, Song Youde agreed, “You should go sell the vegetables early today. Your dad and I will set up a canopy and build the stoves this morning. I estimate it’ll rain again this afternoon, so afterward, we can check on how to fix up Seventh Granduncle’s old house.”

Grandma Wang Lifen seemed a bit lost. “So… we’re not busy anymore?”

After so many days of busyness that felt like a battle, even when she was picking tea leaves, she felt anxious.

Now that things were quiet, she felt a bit aimless.

Thinking for a moment, she quickly tied up her basket, “Since breakfast isn’t ready yet, I’ll make a round at the tea hill.”

Song Tan couldn’t help but laugh, “Grandma, even if you go around twice, I’ll still only pay you a hundred yuan a day. Why bother? You should rest when you can.”

Wang Lifen also laughed, “Helping my granddaughter, why should I rest? But just going to the tea hill and back won’t be much work… I could help you feed the pigs instead.”

Oh no, she couldn’t allow that.

The mountain path was difficult, and carrying a heavy bucket of pig feed might be too much for her grandmother.

Song Tan thought for a moment, “I noticed a lot of wild vegetables growing on the back mountain again. If you have time, Grandma, you could help pick them.”

Over in the peach grove, the soil had been turned and exposed to the sun, so weeds wouldn’t sprout quickly.

But in the areas where spiritual energy had spread, the wild vegetables were growing vigorously. Even now, in early April, tender new sprouts continued to appear.

—It would be a waste not to eat them.

However, Grandma thought about it and said, “Let your mother go instead. Let her have some time to relax too. I’d rather go pick tea; there’s a wage for that.”

Song Tan: …

This hundred-yuan wage was indeed very motivating.

As she carried the bucket of pig feed back, she saw that Wu Lan and Song Sancheng had already woken up Zhang Yanping and Qiao Qiao. The four of them were weighing and packing the bamboo shoots, moving quickly.

Peeking into the kitchen, smoke curled gently from the stove, and Seventh Grandaunt sat by the stove, continuously adding wood to the fire.

Rice was cooking fragrantly in the pot. Beside her, Seventh Granduncle held a bunch of pickled long beans, chopping them with quick and precise movements.

He chopped the long beans into fine pieces.

Then, he took out the leftover chilies from yesterday, chopped them finely, and cracked a bowl of eggs.

Finally, he rummaged through the kitchen and found a few pieces of yellow cabbage, which he quickly stir-fried with some smashed garlic.

When the dishes were ready, the rice was just done as well. Seventh Granduncle expertly scooped up the excess rice soup, then let the remaining rice steam slowly with the residual heat.

The rice soup wasn’t wasted either; he poured it into a pot, added some frozen pieces of astragalus from the refrigerator, cracked in two eggs, and made a simple yet delicious-looking soup with green leaves and yellow flowers.

Everyone quickly set up the table. Though there were just three dishes and a soup, they were abundant, and everyone couldn’t help but swallow a gulp.

How to put it?

With a skilled chef, breakfast finally wasn’t something to make do with!