Chapter 102: Full of Flavor

Chapter 102: Chapter 102: Full of Flavor

Although she’d already taken a look earlier, the situation at the women’s tables was no better than at the men’s.

After all, you only truly knew once you’d tasted it—seeing the food and eating it were two completely different things!

Amid wave after wave of praise, no one put down their chopsticks. The women, usually so fond of gossiping about household trifles whenever they got together, were too busy to even speak.

Seeing everyone so enthusiastic, Ji Huan was delighted. However, she’d been smelling cooking fumes for so long that she already felt full and had no real appetite. She ate a little vinegar-sautéed cabbage, then set down her chopsticks and spent the rest of her time feeding Dabao.

She had actually set aside half a bowl of food for both Dabao and Dacheng while she was cooking, worried they might get hungry. But Dabao had stubbornly refused to eat, insisting on waiting for Ji Huan.

After all this time, she couldn’t speak for the other villagers, but at least those present no longer saw Dabao as some little monster.

In fact, they felt it was rare to see anyone in the village raise a child as carefully and meticulously as Ji Huan did.

So what if they were biological siblings? That couldn’t compare to being doted on like this.

Looking at how fair-skinned, healthy, and well-behaved Dabao was now, it was hard to even remember the wretched state he’d been in before—filthy, stinking, and nothing but skin and bones.

With so many people watching him, Dabao lowered his gaze, his little brow furrowing. He was clearly uncomfortable with the attention.

Ji Huan wanted him to get more accustomed to being around people, so she pretended not to notice and started chatting with the woman next to her.

"Aunts, why didn’t you bring your children?"

After all, opportunities for a feast in the village were rare, and whenever one came up, entire families usually turned out. Never mind the men who had come, but surprisingly, none of the women had brought their children either.

Sixth Sister-in-law Feng waved her hand dismissively. "A bunch of little monkeys. Why bring them? They’d only cause trouble..."

"Mine are always running wild. I can never find them..."

"Anyway, there’s someone at home and food for them. It’s not like they’re missing out..."

Seeing Sister-in-law Fu nodding along, Aunt Wang teased, "What are you chiming in for, you’re a new bride! Your main job is to hurry up and have a baby."

Everyone at the table laughed, and Sister-in-law Fu’s face immediately flushed red.

Of course, Ji Huan knew they hadn’t brought them for fear of causing her trouble. Otherwise, what parent wouldn’t want their own child to have a share of such good food?

Widow Xie suddenly remembered someone was missing.

"How come Aunt Lu isn’t here? Is she busy?"

Aunt Gao found that strange as well.

"She wasn’t busy with anything, just lazing around at home. When I went to get her, she just hemmed and hawed and spouted a bunch of nonsense. I couldn’t make any sense of it... I guess she must really have something going on. Otherwise, why wouldn’t she come? We all work on the dehydrated vegetables together, how could she not come to help Wuan?"

"Well, it’s her loss. If she knew how many good dishes there were, she’d be kicking herself..."

Ji Huan heard all this but just smiled without joining in. Instead, she ladled a small bowl of sweet soup for Dabao, pressed the spoon into his hand, and encouraged him to drink it himself.

The little stinker was wonderful in every other way, but she still hadn’t completely broken him of the habit of needing to be fed. He was the type who would absolutely refuse to lift a finger if he could get Ji Huan to do it for him.

Halfway through the meal, Hu Ximei arrived, pulling Xiao’an and Hua along with her.

Widow Xie immediately shot her a glare, disapproving of her timing.

Hu Ximei looked aggrieved. "I only came after Granny fell asleep... It was Sister Wan who told me to come."

Ever since they had brought Granny Xie to live with them, Hu Ximei had felt completely tied down. This was especially true after her mother and two older brothers started running a stall in town, leaving her at home to look after her two nephews and care for the old woman.

For this housewarming feast, everyone else had come to the new house to help, but Widow Xie still made her stay behind. Since Xiao’an and Hua were so little, it would have been impossible to watch them with everyone so busy, so they hadn’t been allowed to come either.

That morning, Ji Huan had found Hu Ximei hiding and secretly wiping away tears, so she’d told her to hurry over as soon as Granny Xie was asleep, promising to save all the best food for her.

Seeing that Widow Xie was about to scold her daughter, the others at the table intervened. Ji Huan pulled Hu Ximei down to sit on her other side and gave a meaningful look. Xiao’an and Hua immediately ran to Widow Xie, each hugging one of her legs and mumbling, "Grandma."

How could Widow Xie’s expression remain stern after that? She could only pick out some food the children could eat and feed it to them with her own hands.

Ji Huan gave Hu Ximei a little wink. Hu Ximei wiped away her tears and broke into a smile.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, the men started playing a finger-guessing game, and roars of laughter drifted over from their side from time to time.

The women were also chatting and laughing, discussing all sorts of trivial, everyday matters.

Ji Huan brought out some pastries she had bought earlier, telling everyone to take a handful home as a treat for their children. She gave the rest to Hu Ximei to hand out.

Dacheng suddenly ran in and snatched the pastries, prompting Hu Ximei to chase after him, playfully swatting at him. Xiao’an and Hua toddled after them, stumbling as they ran.

With her dearest Dabao sitting beside her, listening to the chatter inside and the sounds of laughter and playfulness filling the courtyard, Ji Huan suddenly felt a sense of contentment she had never experienced before.

’So this is what it feels like to live a real life, huh?’

’An ordinary, simple life can be this rich and fulfilling.’

Before they knew it, it was getting late. Those who had work the next day announced they had to leave, and the others began to get up as well.

Although there wasn’t a lot of food left on the tables, there were still some leftovers. Ji Huan announced that anyone who wanted to could divide them up and take them home.

In truth, she felt a little awkward about it. ’After all, I don’t plan to eat these leftovers myself, so giving them away feels a bit...’ But this was the custom in the countryside, and no one stood on ceremony with her. Besides, since the bowls and dishes had been borrowed from their own homes, it was convenient for them to just take them back as they were.

Naturally, there was plenty of chatter on the way home, with everyone praising Ji Huan for being so genuine and for hosting such a generous housewarming feast.

Every dish had been a heaping bowl, and with all the chicken, duck, fish, and meat, there had been more than ten main courses in total.

The food was delicious, the wine was good, and everything was made with quality ingredients. It was an incredibly satisfying meal, and to top it all off, they could even take the leftovers home without any fuss!

After everyone else had left, Shi Yong was asked to stay behind.

He thought something was the matter, but to his surprise, Ji Huan brought out a small basin filled with meat dishes for him.

"I saw everyone else taking food home, and I couldn’t let you leave empty-handed. It’s so late, and Grandma Shi is probably still at home waiting for dinner, right? Hurry and take this back to her so she doesn’t go hungry."

"Oh, I can’t... This is too much..." Shi Yong protested, but he didn’t refuse. After all, he desperately wanted his old mother to have a taste of such wonderful food.

Since the family property had been divided, the two of them hadn’t eaten meat in nearly two years.

"It’s not much at all. Second Uncle Shi, you’ve helped me so many times before, and you put in so much effort building this house. I haven’t even had a chance to thank you properly."

Shi Yong waved his hands frantically.

Putting everything else aside, just for the house construction alone, it was Ji Huan who had personally selected him for the job. Thanks to her, he was able to participate and earn a good wage. How could he possibly accept her thanks on top of that?

"You shouldn’t say that. If you hadn’t given me this chance, my family wouldn’t have been able to get through the year without worrying..."

Ji Huan had a good idea of the circumstances of most of the people who came today. As for who had it the hardest, no one compared to Second Uncle Shi.

After the eldest son of the Shi family got married, he no longer wanted to care for his ailing mother. He’d made a huge fuss to divide the family property and had forced his younger brother to take their mother in.

Because Second Uncle Shi had to care for his mother, he couldn’t go out to find work like the other men. He could only chop firewood and work his small plot of land, which wasn’t even enough to cover his mother’s medicine, let alone keep them fed and clothed.

Even in this cold weather, his shoes were split open at the seams.

Earlier, when everyone was helping themselves to the leftovers, he had been too reserved to step forward. So, Ji Huan had gone to the kitchen and filled a basin for him with food that hadn’t even been put on the table.

Widow Xie took the basin from Ji Huan and shoved it into Shi Yong’s arms. "If she’s giving it to you, then take it! You’re a grown man, stop all the dithering!"

Faced with the formidable Widow Xie, Shi Yong didn’t dare refuse. He thanked them several more times before finally carrying the basin out of the courtyard gate.

Everyone had already helped clear away the tables, chairs, bowls, and chopsticks. They would be washed clean the next day and returned.

Ji Huan and Widow Xie began to sort through the housewarming gifts they had received that day.

There were wooden basins, washboards, and cloths—all very practical items.

Besides what she had given to Shi Yong, there was still a lot of food left in the kitchen, as Ji Huan had intentionally cooked extra.

She took out a new basin, washed it clean, and filled it with two pig’s trotters, plenty of "lion’s head" meatballs and braised pork, and some other assorted vegetable dishes for Hu Liang to take home.

Widow Xie protested, insisting that Ji Huan keep the food for herself.

Ji Huan uncovered another basin to show her that she had already kept enough for herself and Dabao to eat for two days; any more would just spoil.

Only then did Widow Xie relent.

After seeing the Hu Family off, Ji Huan was just about to heat some water for a bath and go to sleep when there was another knock at the door.