Cute Wife Gourmet

Chapter 16: Developing Games

The dinner was white porridge with meat pie.

The white porridge is thick and soft, and the meat patties are made with fresh pork, green onions, and pickled lettuce from Aunt Jiang's house. Each one is three inches in size and fried on both sides until slightly yellow. A bite of it is full of freshness and fragrance.

Originally, Xia Chunyu was a little dissatisfied with the simple dinner, but the meat pie tasted really good, and the white porridge had a slight sweetness in its fragrance, which was the sweetness of the rice. It was obvious that it had been simmered over a steady fire for a long time.

"Please feel free to eat, there's more in the pot!" Ye Jiayao acted like a perfect hostess, smiling and inviting everyone to eat more.

Song Qi whispered, "Originally, my sister-in-law asked me to go to the kitchen to get some food, but Old Yu was very stingy and said that we had already brought the chicken for the boss, so he refused to give it to us. So, my sister-in-law had to eat the pork belly pancakes left over from making the lion's head."

Xia Chunyu nodded in understanding: "Forget it, there are thousands of brothers in the village who need to eat, and it's not easy for Old Yu either."

Peng Wu said, "We have almost eaten all the cattle, sheep, chickens and pigs we brought back from the last robbery in Feng Village. It looks like we have to go down the mountain again."

Ye Jiayao served another plate of meat patties and said to Song Qi, "Send a few to Aunt Jiang and Uncle Jiang later to try."

Song Qi happily agreed: "Okay!"

Ye Jiayao asked Xia Chunyu for his opinion: "Do you want to give some to the eldest and second brothers to try?"

Xia Chunyu said indifferently: "Peng Wu, you can send it over later."

After dinner, Song Qi and Peng Wu went to deliver the meat patties, Ye Jiayao was cleaning up in the kitchen, and Xia Chunyu went back to the house to get clothes to go swimming in the nearby lake.

As soon as I entered the room, I was stunned. The room was bright and clean. The vase that was originally placed on the treasure cabinet was now placed on the table, with a few bright red azaleas in it. The bright red satin on the bed was replaced with a plain one, and the gray curtains were changed to white. A pot of orchid was placed on the semicircular table against the wall. With the embellishment of flowers and plants, the whole room seemed full of vitality and refreshing.

Xia Chunyu was born into a marquisate and was never short of servants. His house was always kept clean and tidy, and was stocked with all kinds of valuable flowers and plants. But after moving up the mountain, he didn't know how to do it himself, so he asked Song Qi and Peng Wu to do it. The two rough guys just did a perfunctory job, and although he was not satisfied, he had no choice but to make do with it.

Suddenly, the room became what he had always wanted, which made Xia Chunyu's anger less. Although she had many shortcomings and loved to be self-righteous, she still had some good points, such as cooking well, and not being spoiled like other rich girls, she was also good at housework. Could it be that what she said was true? She was treated coldly and hard at home, so she had to do everything by herself?

There was a set of his spare clothes on the couch, but the rest of his clothes were gone.

Xia Chunyu opened the closet, but found nothing. He then opened the box and saw his clothes neatly folded inside.

A hint of warmth appeared in Xia Chunyu's eyes, even he himself was unaware of it.

Ye Jiayao hid at the kitchen door and peeked out. She knew that she had pissed him off today. During the meal, he also had a sour face and didn't even look at her. She wasn't stupid enough to take his temporary tolerance as a cost of willfulness. Chairman Mao said it well: when the enemy advances, I retreat; when the enemy retreats, I advance. This is a tactic and also a way for a couple to get along. Well, fake couples are still couples.

I hope he can calm down after seeing my intentions.

Seeing the door open, Ye Jiayao quickly moved away and pretended to continue working.

When Xia Chunyu was passing by the kitchen with clothes in his hand, he saw her busy figure and could not help but stop. He hesitated for a moment and said, "I'm going to swim."

Ye Jiayao turned around and smiled: "Do some warm-up exercises before going into the water, otherwise you will easily get cramps."

Uh...she knows so much, she even knows this.

"Can you swim?" Xia Chunyu asked.

Ye Jiayao thought to herself: I used to be on the school swimming team. Do you think I can swim? Maybe I can swim faster than you.

But she couldn't tell the truth. In ancient times, it would be incredible for a rich lady to know how to swim.

"I can't do that, but my brother can. I hear the security guard tell him to do the same before each time he goes into the water." Ye Jiayao said with a smile.

Oh, so that's how it is. Xia Chunyu resolved his doubts and went out.

Ye Jiayao shouted from behind: "Chun Yu... come back soon."

This time, Ye Jiayao did not roll her tongue, but called out very naturally, like a virtuous wife's earnest advice. For a moment, Xia Chunyu felt that having this one more person didn't seem to be a bad thing.

When Song Qi came back, he had a basket of duck eggs in his hand: "Sister-in-law, these are fresh duck eggs given by Aunt Jiang."

Ye Jiayao took it and said, "Aunt Jiang is too polite."

Song Qi said: "Yes, but sister-in-law, the Third Master doesn't like to eat duck eggs because they have too strong a fishy smell."

Uh! Actually, she doesn’t like to eat them. Although duck eggs are good, rich in protein, fat, calcium, phosphorus, iron, sodium and other nutrients, and have the effect of nourishing yin and moistening the lungs, it is not easy to find local duck eggs in modern times.

"Then... make it into salted duck eggs?" Ye Jiayao asked.

Song Qi shook his head: "The Third Master doesn't like to eat either."

"What about the preserved eggs?"

Song Qi was at a loss: "What kind of egg is Songhua egg?" Ye Jiayao remembered that Songhua egg only appeared in the Ming Dynasty. Although this time and space is not the dynasty she knows, judging from the clothing and other aspects, it should be similar to the Song Dynasty, so Songhua egg must not have appeared yet.

Okay, then make preserved eggs. If he doesn’t like them, you can give them to others. There will always be someone who likes them.

"Song Qi, can you get some wood ash and lime?"

Song Qi said: "This is easy."

"Well, bring me some wood ash and lime tomorrow."

Song Qi readily agreed, but was curious about what delicious food his sister-in-law was going to prepare.
After a while, Peng Wu also came back and said that the boss and the second in command both said that the meat patties were delicious, and if his sister-in-law made it again next time, he must make a few more for them.

Ye Jiayao smiled and said, "No problem. Just tell the big boss and the second boss when you want to eat, and I'll make it for them."

Being in a den of wolves, she not only has to maintain a good relationship with Chunyu, but also has to curry favor with the boss and the second in command. In case she and Chunyu fall out, there will be someone to speak up for her.

It’s just getting some food, no big deal.

Song Qi and Peng Wu knew that the third master had gone to the lake, so they also took their clothes and ran to the lake, leaving Ye Jiayao alone at home. Although realgar wine was sprinkled in front of and behind the house and vines were planted, Ye Jiayao was still afraid. She wiped her body roughly and hid back in her room, closing the doors and windows.

In ancient times, there was no TV, no computer, and no way to invite friends to go shopping and drink coffee. Life was so monotonous that it drove people crazy. Ye Jiayao was bored and went to Chunyu's study to find some white paper. She used a knife to cut the paper into 108 pieces of the same size as poker cards. Yes, she was making poker cards, and then she taught Chunyu, Song Qi, and Peng Wu how to play poker. In this way, when they were free, the four of them could play Landlord or double knock together.

There must be no such fun game in this era, so she would be the inventor. Would it be popular all over the country? Everyone would play Landlord and Double Knock. Just thinking about it makes me happy.

When Xia Chunyu came back, Ye Jiayao was sitting cross-legged on the couch, lying on a low table drawing poker cards.

Xia Chunyu saw the couch was covered with pieces of paper with strange patterns drawn on them, and he couldn't help but frowned: "What are you doing?"

"It's just for fun." Ye Jiayao didn't even raise her head, and focused on using sharpened charcoal to draw a Q-version beauty. And it was a Q-version, cute little beauty.

"You have so many tricks." Xia Chunyu sneered.

"Haha, don't get addicted to it." Ye Jiayao smiled.

Xia Chunyu snorted coldly: "I think you are too bored."

Ye Jiayao was not angry at all and asked, "Chunyu, what else do you do for fun besides reading?"

Xia Chunyu thought about it and realized that before he went up the mountain, he had many entertainment options, such as listening to operas, drinking alcohol, drinking tea, betting on horses, playing Cuju, hunting... But since he went up the mountain, he could only read books and occasionally drink with the boss and the second in command. As for gambling on dice, he and the boss never participated. It was really boring to think about it.

"No more." Xia Chunyu said indifferently.

Ye Jiayao shook her head and sighed: "That's really pitiful."

Xia Chunyu "..."

I didn't expect her to make such a comment. How can this be called pitiful?

"But don't worry, there will be fun things to do soon. Just sit for a while and I'll teach you how to play once I get this ready." Ye Jiayao comforted.

Xia Chunyu was extremely speechless. Did he think he was a playful child?
"Don't make such a mess. Uh... where did you get these papers?" Xia Chunyu suddenly realized a serious problem. He picked up the paper she had cut and took a look. Wasn't this his treasured Shanxi rattan paper?

"Who told you to touch my things? Do you know how difficult it was for me to get these papers?" Xia Chunyu couldn't bear it anymore and got furious.

There are many kinds of rattan paper, but the Teng paper produced in Shanxi is the most firm, smooth, white and glossy like jade, which is the best quality. Its production is limited and it is not easy to buy even in the prosperous Jinling. It is even harder to buy in Shandong. He got ten sheets and was reluctant to use them, but she cut them into pieces and drew on them.

Uh, isn't it just a few pieces of paper? What's the big deal? Ye Jiayao was about to roll her eyes when the term "Yanxi Teng Paper" suddenly popped up in her mind. She immediately thought to herself, "Oh no! I was just busy looking for a few pieces of paper to make poker cards, and I didn't notice that Ye Jinxuan knew about Yanxi Teng Paper, but she had always been guided by Ye Jiayao's thinking and ignored it.

This paper is very valuable.

Ye Jiayao smiled awkwardly and said, "I'm sorry, after searching for a long time, I found that this rattan paper is the most suitable. If you feel bad about it, I will try to get you a few more next time. Okay, don't be angry!"

"It's easy to say, but where are you going to get some?" Xia Chunyu was furious.

"Oh, your hair is still wet. Why don't you wipe it dry? Do you know that hair loss is easy to occur? You will be bald at a young age, which will affect your handsome and elegant image." Ye Jiayao got off the couch, fetched a clean cotton towel, pushed him to sit on the chair, and gently dried his hair.

This is called attention diversion.

As expected, after being interrupted by her, Xia Chunyu could no longer get angry, so he could only say angrily: "Don't touch the things in the study anymore."

"Okay, got it. I won't move around next time." Ye Jiayao nodded repeatedly in agreement. She should bow her head when she should. This is called knowing the times.

(End of this chapter)