The peanuts, freshly dug from the ground, were shelled and peeled of their red skins. The white peanut kernels were tender and juicy, bursting with flavor when chewed. They tasted like tender green walnuts picked from the tree in June or July—incredibly delicious.

They were also busy eating roasted sweet potatoes.

Freshly dug sweet potatoes didn’t need washing or peeling. They simply dug a pit, lit a fire, buried the sweet potatoes in the pit to simmer, or roasted them over a twig…

No matter the method, they were soft, sweet, and incredibly delicious.

There were also roasted soybeans, roasted corn, and water radishes pulled directly from the ground, peeled, and eaten raw…

Su Yujin ate to her heart’s content. She even took a lot of peanuts, sweet potatoes, water radishes, and mustard tubers with her on the way back, constantly planning how to eat them.

These tender peanuts, besides being eaten raw, can be thoroughly peeled, the red skin removed, and then mixed with bitter chrysanthemum or previously dried shepherd’s purse after soaking and dressing as a cold dish. Alternatively, they can be ground into a sticky paste using a small stone mill, boiled, and sweetened to make peanut milk, which is also quite delicious for breakfast.

Water chestnuts can be made into crunchy pickles, great as a side dish or with rice.

Mustard greens can be shredded, dried, and then pickled into dried mustard green shreds. These can be sealed in a jar, and when you want to eat them, take some out and mix them with chopped scallions, sugar, vinegar, sesame oil, etc., to make a refreshing cold dish. And because they’re sealed in a jar, they can be kept all winter, and the flavor will be even better when eaten the following spring.

As for sweet potatoes…

There are countless ways to eat them!

Roasted, steamed, boiled into porridge, sliced ​​and fried, pan-fried, diced and wrapped into sweet potato buns, mashed into sweet potato cakes…

Su Yujin had been planning all the way home, her mouth practically watering the entire time.

So much so that as soon as the carriage arrived at her doorstep, Su Yujin hurriedly called for Liu Mama to help unload things, telling her to wash the sweet potatoes first and add some to the rice porridge for dinner.

Red date, sweet potato, and rice porridge… the best porridge ever!

Without a doubt!

Liu Mama opened the courtyard gate and gestured towards the house. “Miss, we have guests.”

Guests?

Who could they be coming at this hour?

Looking at Liu Mama’s slightly strange expression, and considering the coincidence that she always saw certain people on her way back from the farm, the guest was likely…

Before Su Yujin could speak, a figure in bright red rushed to her side. “You’re finally back! I’ve been waiting for you for ages!”

It was indeed Lu Wenjing!

This coincidence always happens!

“Miss Lu,” Su Yujin said with a professional, fake smile, then noticed a beautiful, well-maintained woman in her early thirties beside Lu Wenjing, exuding an air of nobility. She asked in surprise, “And this is…”

Lu Wenjing excitedly introduced her, “She’s my…”

“Yímā¹!” Madam Lu interrupted.

“Yes, yes, she’s my Yímā.” Lu Wenjing echoed with a smile.

A Yímā. She must be a relative from Lu Wenjing’s mother’s family.

The woman didn’t offer much introduction, so Su Yujin simply curtsied to Madam Lu, “May you have a long and happy life, Madam.”

“Greetings, Miss Su. Madam Lu’s smile was quite amiable. “Jing’er told me that Miss Su’s cooking skills are excellent. Jing’er just mentioned she was coming to find Miss Su for a delicious meal, so I asked her to bring me along.”

“I apologize for disturbing you, Miss Su.”

“You’re too kind, Madam.” Su Yujin curtsied again. “I went to the estate today and returned quite late. I apologize for keeping you waiting, Madam and Miss Lu. Please wait a moment longer; I’ll go prepare dinner.”

“Thank you for your trouble, Miss Su.” Madam Lu gave a slight bow, her smile deepening.

Su Yujin had Ai Cao attend to Lu Wenjing and the other woman, while she and Mama Liu went into the kitchen together to get busy.

Sipping the exquisite osmanthus tea and savoring the delicate snacks on the plate, Madam Lu couldn’t help but nod slightly, “Her skills are indeed excellent.”

Lu Wenjing had no mind at all to savor the tea and refreshments. Taking advantage of Ai Cao’s absence, she finally asked Madam Lu in surprise, “Gūmǔ, why did you introduce yourself as my xiǎoyí²?”

Gūmǔ was her biǎogē’s mother. Her biǎogē was the master of Su Yujin, who was his concubine, which meant that gūmǔ was also Su Yujin’s master. If her master had come over for a meal, there should have been no need to hide her identity.

“You know your biǎogē’s temperament. If he knew I was coming in private, he would probably think I was interfering in his private affairs and would get angry with me,” Madam Lu sighed helplessly.

That was true. Her biǎogē always had his own ideas, and he didn’t like to talk to others. He would get angry if others asked too many questions, and it was the kind of anger that he wouldn’t say on the surface, but people could tell he was angry just by looking at him, and it would make people feel uneasy.

Sure enough, she wasn’t the only one afraid of her biǎogē…

Lu Wenjing felt somewhat relieved, but she blinked her eyes, her face full of curiosity and gossip. “Seeing how cautious Gūmǔ has been, could it be that Gūmǔ didn’t come today just to enjoy a good meal?”

Although when Madam Lu begged her to come along, she said it was for the food, Lu Wenjing always felt that adults weren’t as bored as she was.

“Of course.” Madam Lu didn’t hide anything from Lu Wenjing. “Your biǎogē is so old and still hasn’t settled down. Now that he finally has someone he likes, he’s been hesitant to tell the family. I wonder if he’s afraid we won’t approve.”

“So I was thinking, why don’t I come and take a look? If she’s a dutiful and devoted woman to your biǎogē, I’ll make the decision for him and bring her to the mansion sooner rather than later. That way, your biǎogē won’t have to worry about this place all the time and waste his energy running back and forth.”

This wasn’t just her idea, but also Old Madam He’s.

“Yes.” Lu Wenjing nodded in agreement.

If Su Yujin could enter the He family sooner, given her relationship with them, it would be much easier for her to frequently visit and ask for favors than to come to Qinghe.

So, why not emphasize Su Yujin’s good points so she could enter the He family sooner?

Lu Wenjing cleared her throat. “Speaking of which, this Miss Su is indeed quite remarkable. Not only is she an excellent cook and a skilled healer, but she also seems to be quite adept at business. She owns two shops and a farm, managing them all very well and making quite a bit of money.”

“Furthermore, on her previous visits, she was always very polite and knew her place. She never acted coquettishly or pretentiously in front of my biǎogē; her demeanor was always very composed and elegant. If one didn’t know better, one might think she was a lady from a prominent family.”

“Yes, yes, speaking of which, Miss Su has never seemed to ask for any formal status from my biǎogē, and she hasn’t caused him any trouble because of it. It’s clear she cares deeply for him.”

“In any case, I think that if biǎogē marries Miss Su, then Gūmǔ won’t have to worry about a thing. You can just sit back and enjoy a life of comfort.”

(End of Chapter)

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Footnote

1. Mother’s sister
2. Mother’s youngest sister