Chapter 69: Stewed Chicken Soup

Chapter 69: Braised Chicken Soup

"Miss Su, is your Tinghua back already? There’s a little car parked right outside your house!" came Aunt Niu's exclamation from the doorway.

She must have been on her way to her vegetable patch and passed by Su He's house.

Su He quickly went out to greet her, smiling as she said, "Oh no, Tinghua won’t be back till the weekend."

"The weekend? That’s just around the corner."

As Aunt Niu spoke, her eyes remained fixed on the car.

Couldn’t be helped—cars like that were a rarity out in the sticks.

"Expecting company?" Aunt Niu asked again.

"Yes, they’re here to play with Zai Zai and Niu Niu."

Aunt Niu assumed they were friends Su He had made during her time in the city, so she didn’t pry further. After some small talk, she went on her way.

The old Su He hardly had friends—more like folks who couldn’t stand her.

After heading back inside and chatting with Ms. Zhou for a bit, Su He decided to head to the backyard to wrangle a chicken for slaughter.

"I’ll give you a hand," Ms. Zhou offered brightly.

"Uh... no need, I can handle it myself," Su He replied, biting back a laugh. Ms. Zhou, Ji Liangchuan’s grandmother, was clearly a woman who’d never known a day of hardship, surely never having slaughtered a chicken before.

Ms. Zhou flushed, awkward.

"Mind the kids for me. I’ll take care of lunch," Su He said with a smile, noticing her discomfort.

Without Fu Tinghua’s help this time, Su He had to do everything herself—she slit its throat, dunked it in boiling water, and plucked it clean. An hour slipped by.

The chicken Su He had raised was downright hefty, so she decided to use half for soup and half for a mushroom-chicken stir-fry.

Since simmering soup took forever, Su He rarely did it—it was too much trouble. Even when she did make soup, it was usually something quick—maybe a thin veggie broth.

She pulled a soup pot and fixings from her space.

Soup first, she decided.

When the rich aroma of the soup began to waft through the air, Ms. Zhou drifted into the kitchen, where she saw Su He stirring the pot with a ladle.

"You even make soup from scratch?" Ms. Zhou asked, impressed.

Folks up north wouldn’t bother with hours-long soups.

"Yes, I thought since my kids have never had this kind of soup before, I’d make some today so everyone can enjoy it," Su He replied with a smile.

Ms. Zhou was increasingly impressed by Su He. A woman raising two children alone, yet capable of doing everything—she’d make some man real happy someday.

"Chuan and I lucked out, then. That broth’s got my mouth watering," Ms. Zhou remarked, unable to take her eyes off the soup.

By now, the chicken fat had rendered into the broth, and the whole house smelled like heaven.

Fortunately, Su He's family lived in a relatively remote area, and those who passed by their house were usually people with fields nearby.

Otherwise, with the mouthwatering smell of food wafting from their home every day, someone would surely be tempted to sneak a look inside.

Zai Zai took Niu Niu and Ji Liangchuan to catch swamp eels in the fields—this was Liangchuan's first time walking barefoot in the mud.

He didn’t find it dirty at all; instead, he felt incredibly free and excited.

The Ji family was a warlord family, full of rules, which made Liangchuan feel stifled.

But Zai Zai and Niu Niu’s home was different—it was a place of freedom and joy.

"Wow! Brothers, there seems to be a swamp eel here!" Niu Niu pointed excitedly at the ground but didn’t dare to grab it with her hands.

Liangchuan, with fast reflexes, swiftly caught the swamp eel by its tail.

Meanwhile, Zai Zai helped by digging out the mud around the eel, preventing it from burrowing deeper.

After adding another eel to the bucket, the kids broke out laughing.

The weather was indeed about to storm—the sky grew increasingly dark, and strong winds whipped through the crops in the fields.

In such conditions, the swamp eels became even more active, popping up everywhere.

By now, the three kids had already caught five swamp eels, which was pretty awesome.

Just as they were about to continue, Ms. Zhou shouted from the doorway.

"Kids, a heavy rain is coming. Come back inside now!"

Since it was his grandmother calling, Liangchuan wasn’t done playing yet—he wanted to stay longer.

But Zai Zai and Niu Niu couldn’t ignore it. They urged Liangchuan, saying, "Listen to your grandma. Let’s go back first, or we’ll get soaked in the rain."

Still, the kids were a little too slow. By the time they were halfway home, the downpour had already begun, soaking them to the bone.

"Oh no, you’re all wet! You need to get dried off and changed, or you’ll catch a cold," Ms. Zhou said worriedly.

Hearing the rain pounding on the roof, Su He also stepped out to take a look.

This was the heaviest rain since she had come to this world.

It had rained before, but only briefly at night, gone by morning.

As soon as she stepped out, she heard about the kids getting drenched and quickly said, "Let them get dried off and changed. Liangchuan can wear Zai Zai’s clothes for now—I have something that fits him."

With that, Su He went into the room to fetch the clothes.

Liangchuan was half a head taller than Zai Zai, so none of his clothes would fit. Su He simply pulled out a new set for him.

While Su He was getting the clothes, Ms. Zhou fetched hot water from the kitchen pot and began drying the kids off one by one.

Of course, Niu Niu was taken care of first.

Seeing this, Su He came over to help, and soon the kids were all changed into fresh, dry clothes.

Liangchuan, now wearing clothes that fit him perfectly, thought it was weird but kept quiet about it.

In this era, it was normal to buy clothes big so they could be worn for years.

When Zai Zai noticed the unfamiliar clothes Ji Liangchuan was wearing, he didn’t mention a word about it.

Mom's secrets were his to keep.

Mom must be a magical being—she could always magic up things they'd never had before.

Su He had no idea that just one set of clothes had sparked so many wild ideas in the two kids.

Once the rice was cooked, she immediately started stir-frying the dishes.

The rain outside kept coming down hard, yet it seemed to have no effect on the people inside this run-down house.

Though Su He’s home was made of mud, this kind of mud house was surprisingly strong.

The kids played while watching the rain outside, and Niu Niu chimed in, “You can't go home today, can you, Brother Chuan?”

Ji Liangchuan looked at the torrential rain outside and replied, “Not sure. If it keeps raining like this all day, we might not be able to.”

Ms. Zhou, however, saw things clearly—these showers came and went quickly. She smiled and reassured the kids, “Don’t worry, these rainstorms blow over quick.”

Hearing his grandmother’s words, Ji Liangchuan felt his heart sink a little.

He was having so much fun at Zai Zai and Niu Niu’s house—he didn’t want to go back to town at all. It was no fun there.