Chapter 28: You’re the Anchor of Our Family
The two of them returned to the village, and only when they were nearing the entrance did they silently take the items out of the space and put them back into the baskets on their backs.
The sudden weight nearly sent Wen Yao sprawling face-first.
She should’ve just waited until they got home.
Still, this was the safer way—better not to arouse suspicion. After all, most people in the village were around at this hour. If she didn’t carry anything back, then turned around and made something, people would start getting curious.
The tale of Wen Yao’s grand clash with the Li family was still fresh in everyone’s mind. So when the siblings returned carrying what clearly looked like heavy loads, although everyone was curious about what was in their baskets, no one dared go up and ask for trouble.
That Wen girl—quiet as a mouse when her mother was alive, now turned into a ferocious tigress. Best not to provoke her.
Back home, Wen Jun changed into another pair of shoes. They were hand-sewn by Liu-shi back when she was still around. Thankfully, those things weren’t worth much, or their old man might’ve sold them off too.
“You sure you don’t need help?” Wen Jun looked at the mountain of supplies in the kitchen and winced a little on her behalf.
Cooking, honestly, was more of a headache than wielding a scalpel.
Wen Yao waved without even turning her head. “No need, I got this. Go ahead, walk slowly.”
Seeing she really didn’t need him, Wen Jun didn’t insist. He just told her to lock up properly and left.
As soon as she heard the door close, Wen Yao finished counting everything, slipped into the space, and the warehouse screen lit up instantly. She stared at her pitiful handful of achievement points, sighed, gave up the tempting snacks, and bought the spices she needed before coming back out.
When it comes to making luwei (braised delicacies), the most important part is the master stock. A little too much or too little of anything and the flavor would be off.
Wen Yao had her own recipe. To keep the measurements exact, she had even shelled out points to buy an electronic scale. As long as she used it secretly, no one would find out.
She weighed everything carefully, tossed the ingredients into the clay pot, added water, and started the fire.
Just as the stock began simmering, she heard the front door creak open. Wen Yao quickly scanned the kitchen to make sure nothing looked out of place for this era, then ran to the door. She saw Granny Luo walking in hand-in-hand with Da Tou.
As soon as Da Tou saw she was home, he ran over and peeked curiously into the kitchen. When his eyes landed on the massive pig head on the table, the little guy instantly shrank back behind Wen Yao in fright—but couldn’t resist sneaking another peek.
“Granny, what brings you here?” Wen Yao called out.
Luo-shi glanced around their yard. Aside from the crude little kitchen, the place really looked more like a home now than before.
“Someone said they saw you and Wen Jun come back, and Da Tou wanted to come home too, so I brought him. Figured I’d come take a look while I was at it.” She seemed quite satisfied with their current living conditions—her tone had softened considerably.
Wen Yao quickly moved aside. “Come in, Granny, sit for a bit. I’m just in the middle of something.”
“What are you making? What’s that smell?” Granny Luo sniffed and stepped into the kitchen.
The scent of the stock was starting to fill the air. Luo-shi found the smell strange. It was fragrant, sure, but there was something odd about it too.
She spotted a clay pot bubbling on the small stove, clearly the source of the smell. But what really made her eyebrows shoot up was the huge pig’s head on the table.
“What are you doing with that thing?” she asked, stunned. Before Wen Yao could answer, she saw her haul out a coil of pig intestines from a bucket.
Granny Luo scolded immediately. “Are you two so loaded you don’t know where to spend your money? If you want meat, just buy proper cuts! Why buy the parts nobody wants?”
She glanced into the bucket—and nearly fainted. “And you bought this much!”
Hearing her rising voice, Wen Yao quickly dropped the intestines into a basin and started explaining. “Don’t get mad, Granny. I bought these for a reason. I’ve been working on a new dish to sell with Dad at the stall.”
Luo-shi frowned deeply. “You can’t ever get rid of the stink in those. Even if you cook them, no one will buy. What’s the point?”
Wen Yao just grinned. “You’ll see. Once it’s done, it’ll be so good people’ll be licking their plates clean.”
Luo-shi rolled her eyes hard. “Go ahead and keep tossing your money into the pot.”
Despite the grumbling, her hands were already picking up the basin Wen Yao had set aside.
“Alright, tell me what to do.”
Wen Yao looked at her with amusement and sang out sweetly, “Granny, you’re the best!”
But the moment Wen Yao brought out flour and vinegar to clean the smelly pig parts, Luo-shi almost hurled the basin and quit on the spot.
Still, even as she cursed under her breath, she helped scrub everything until it was clean.
The pig’s head, after being examined thoroughly by Da Tou, was also cleaned and moved to the chopping board.
As time passed, the stock grew more fragrant, and the ingredients were soon ready for cooking.
“Just cooking this will get rid of the stink?” Luo-shi looked on skeptically as Wen Yao dropped everything into the pot.
Wen Yao placed the lid firmly on top. “Trust me, Granny. Just wait.”
Luo-shi snorted. “Hmph, we’ll see what nonsense you cook up.”
After adding more firewood, Wen Yao cheerfully linked arms with the old woman. “Come on, let me show you my vegetable garden!”
That reminded Luo-shi of something. She gave Wen Yao a once-over and asked, “Your mother couldn’t even tell if radishes grew above ground or below it. And you’re gonna grow vegetables? Don’t ruin my seeds.”
Wen Yao’s mouth twitched. Come on, she was practically raised in an agricultural research institute! Even if she couldn’t, they still had Dad, didn’t they?
“Well, I’ve got you, haven’t I? You’re our family’s Anchor Stone—so long as you’re here, we’ve got nothing to fear.” Wen Yao sweet-talked shamelessly.
“You and that silver tongue of yours. What the heck is an anchor stone?” Granny Luo asked as she followed her to the backyard.
As for Da Tou, well, he’d seen vegetable plots at Granny’s place plenty of times. Nothing new there. But the meat simmering in the kitchen? Now that was worth guarding. He dragged over a stool and stationed himself beside the stove like a little soldier.
Wen Yao chuckled. “It’s something from a storybook. A treasure that, when dropped into the sea, keeps the waves calm. No one in our family can stir up more waves than you, Granny. You’re totally the anchor.”
Granny Luo was very pleased with the explanation. She adjusted her hair and said smugly, “Well, of course. If I weren’t here to keep things in line, who knows what kind of mess this family would be in.”
“Exactly! All thanks to you.”
Despite her usual gruffness, Granny Luo didn’t actually mind Wen Yao’s playful antics. Compared to the quiet, timid, always-proper girl raised under Liu-shi’s strict hand, this bold and lively Wen Yao was much more likable.
