CHAPTER 38: CHAPTER 35: SPACE PROSPERITY 17

Noon arrived as expected, and Jiang Mingyue cooked her first meal in Qingshan Village. As she anticipated, Jiang Zhenmei was the first to ask out of curiosity.

"Ming Yue, where did you get the rice? Oh my goodness! You even cooked dry rice. Heaven knows I’ve never had dry rice; at most, when I was sick, I could have porridge made from white rice and wild vegetables."

Jiang Mingyue explained with a reason she had prepared long ago, which didn’t arouse any suspicion.

Mrs. Jiang laughed and said, "Ever since our Ming Yue came back, our family life has been getting better and better. Eldest and second sons, you two should head back up the mountain later and bring some game back for Ming Yue."

The eldest and second sons were in full agreement with this arrangement.

"Hmm, hmm! We’ll listen to Mom." Hunting would fill their bellies, and they wouldn’t mind not sleeping.

So, the two brothers secretly discussed when to go up the mountain again.

The lunch included meat; Jiang Mingyue cut up a braised chicken and told Mrs. Jiang that it was one of the wild chickens they had caught earlier, which she had fattened up. There was also a spicy diced rabbit dish; in fact, she made ten servings and stored the rest with the braised chicken for later use, saving her the trouble. Next city visit, she would need to buy more containers.

Apart from these two meat dishes, there was a pot of mint egg soup, the aroma filling the main hall and whetting appetites.

Three dishes, beautifully presented and fragrant, were placed on the table. They astonished the siblings, causing them to gasp in surprise. Although they were delighted, they were more worried: "Yueyue, will we have to eat wild vegetable and corn porridge next meal? We can eat anything, but... but, will we be hungry for ten days or half a month?"

Mrs. Jiang couldn’t bear to hear it, took up her chopsticks, and tapped the table: "Look at what you’re saying! So little ambition? Didn’t you all say you would go hunting more often before? Alright, Yueyue cooked, so you eat. These delicious dishes are not enough to shut your mouths? Don’t worry, if there’s no food at home, I’ll find a way." After all, she wouldn’t let her Yueyue go hungry, even if it meant going to her family’s home for help.

With this reassurance from Mrs. Jiang, the eldest brother, second brother, and third sister began to eat, and with just one bite, the food was so good they had no chance to speak again.

It really was too delicious!

The spicy rabbit meat was numbing and fragrant, perfect with rice, and the braised chicken was unforgettably flavorful. They had never tasted such delicious chicken, feeling like they had been living in vain before. After almost finishing, they had a bowl of mint egg soup, the fresh taste of eggs mixed with the coolness of mint, making them feel comfortable and satisfied.

Jiang Jianjun: "Wow! Mom, for the first time in my life, I feel truly happy being human."

Mrs. Jiang sneered: "Are you implying you wanted to be a pig or a dog before?"

Jiang Jianjun: "..." His mother’s animosity towards him was great! "Ahem, of course not. Well, I’ll go do the dishes." He better slip away quickly.

By this time, they should be starting to split the household at the old house, so Mrs. Jiang, uneasy, took her eldest son and headed there first.

Jiang Mingyue, per usual, delivered food to Granny Shi and then brought Jiang Zhenmei to the old house as well.

The news that the Jiang Family’s main house, which had supported the old house for many years, would be splitting, had somehow leaked, immediately becoming Qingshan Village’s hottest topic.

Those living nearby found their afternoon nap insignificant and walked towards the Jiang Family with the idea of watching the excitement.

On the way there, Jiang Mingyue even overheard groups of three or five people discussing.

Villager 1: "I say, it should have been split long ago. The righteousness father and son have done everything by the book over the years; they also have to live, not to mention spending their entire life supporting the second house?"

Villager 2: "Shh! Lower your voice. Only you, their neighbor, know about this; the rest of the village doesn’t—with many thinking it’s all thanks to the second house’s competence."

Villager 1: "Those lazy bums in that second house?"

Perhaps fearing Villager 1 would say something outrageous, Villager 2 pulled the person away, not daring to let him speak further.

Jiang Mingyue clicked her tongue: It turned out most villagers didn’t know about this! Thinking of Jiang Beishan’s superior attitude that day, Jiang Mingyue suddenly wanted to slap her in reality.

"Third Sister, I’m not going there. I want to find someone." Jiang Mingyue held onto Jiang Zhenmei and described the young man on Baihua Forest’s hilltop that day.

Jiang Zhenmei didn’t disappoint Jiang Mingyue and immediately guessed who it was, "You must be talking about Yun Di? That child is quite pitiful. It was his mother who raised him. Three years ago, his mother fell off a cliff while picking wild fruits and by the time the brigade found her, the body had already turned cold.

Since then, he’s been living alone. At that time, he was only eleven, with no relatives, scavenging for food like a stray dog. The mischievous village children would throw stones at him, calling him a wild child... sigh! Anyway, life was hard, surviving is a miracle."

Jiang Mingyue couldn’t rightly say why no one offered a helping hand; after all, when she first arrived at Qingshan Village, she saw how everyone lived—how could they think of helping others when they were nearly starving themselves?

"Yueyue, he actually lives in Baihua Forest. Head east, and you’ll see a shabby little hut."

"Then, Third Sister, I’ll head over. I have something I need his help with."

Jiang Zhenmei didn’t question further, merely nodding, "Alright, you go ahead."

Jiang Mingyue found it intriguing how this family wasn’t consumed by curiosity; they all seemed to possess high levels of restraint towards others, as if curiosity didn’t exist for them.

This also made her feel very at ease and comfortable.

Following Jiang Zhenmei’s guidance, Jiang Mingyue found the place. At the time, a raggedy teenager was tending to a pit that had just been put out near his thatch hut. There were a few embers, indicating it had just been extinguished.

A stick retrieved a coal-like object from the fire; the boy treated it like a treasure, though with his head lowered, it probably had a twinkle in his eye. Despite its heat, he cherished it, tossing it about in his hands, blowing on it, and began peeling it, revealing the golden flesh—it was a baked potato!

Jiang Mingyue stepped forward and stood in front of the boy.

The boy raised an eyebrow, thinking someone was there to snatch his food and prepared to fight, but upon seeing who it was, he quickly stood up and stammered, "It’s you!" Suddenly feeling his tongue was clumsy, he awkwardly offered the half-peeled potato forward, "This is for you, it’s delicious!"

Jiang Mingyue certainly knew it smelled good, especially for someone who was often trying to stave off hunger. To them, not only would a roasted potato be aromatic, even edible leaves would smell extra appealing.

"You have it; I’ve already had lunch. I’m not hungry."

The boy held his hand out for several seconds before retracting it, though he didn’t eat in front of Jiang Mingyue.

Even though she saw him gulping just a moment ago.

He was a self-disciplined, honest young man!

"You eat first, and then we can talk."

The boy was somewhat confused, unable to fathom what there would be to discuss between them; he was, after all, just a nobody—the shunned wild child. The village children, whether mischievous or well-behaved, seemed to avoid him as if he represented some disgrace in association.