Transmigrated as My Aunt in the 70s
Chapter 70 - 069 Delivery Fruit

Chapter 70: 069 Delivery Fruit

Tian Bajin and his companions refrained from drinking; they had to work in the afternoon, and if they drank, other villagers would surely smell the alcohol on their breath. The Tian Family already aroused envy among some villagers for having two dry meals a day, now if they had alcohol every day, the jealousy would be even greater. Better to provoke less gossip: they only drank a little wine at night, not at noon.

"Today’s dishes are all cooked by Ah Nan, what chef?" Li Yuedi couldn’t help but reveal the truth, and upon saying this, the room suddenly buzzed with excitement.

Tian Manmu took a piece of fish and put it in his mouth. After only a few chews, he praised, "Not bad, Ah Nan’s culinary skills are really good! The fish is cooked just right, not too salty and not bland, delicious."

After a few bites, others also joined in the praise. Even Zhu Aiqing, who always criticized her, smiled and nodded in approval. As for Tian Manjin, there was no need to say – even if Tian Sisi cooked poison, he would praise it as delicious, let alone that she had made an exquisite dish. He kept commending his precious and capable daughter, and Tian Sisi couldn’t help but wear a smug expression.

"It’s all thanks to the generous use of oil; you don’t know. The oil Ah Nan uses for one meal is more than Granny uses in three days," Tian Shouhua pointed out Tian Sisi’s shortcoming. He had been anxious seeing Tian Sisi pouring the oil, thinking whether it was oil or vegetables they were eating.

Tian Sisi felt a little guilty; she had forgotten that people nowadays preferred to boil their food and accidentally resorted to stir-frying with oil, just as in her previous life. Tian Xinhua, seeing Tian Sisi’s embarrassed state, hurriedly said, "It’s not as exaggerated as fourth brother says. Ah Nan is just young and accidentally poured a little too much. Qinghua, eat fewer snails, I haven’t had many yet."

Everyone else was attracted by Tian Xinhua’s loud voice and saw that the snails in the dish had indeed been eaten halfway by Tian Qinghua. They quickly reached out with their chopsticks to pick the snails – the most plump and fresh just before Qingming, with people saying that snails before Qingming are better than goose meat. After Qingming, the snails become thinner, and there are many small snails inside which are less satisfying to eat.

Seeing everyone was no longer fixated on Tian Sisi’s use of oil, Tian Xinhua slightly smiled. He would still need to remind Ah Nan to be a bit more cautious in the future and not make it so obvious. He had already noticed that great-grandpa’s home had much more abundant supplies of meat, rice, and oil, which must be related to Ah Nan. He would need to be more careful in the future; she was young and might not think of these things. He would have to watch more closely.

After lunch, they continued wrapping Qingming Cakes. In the afternoon, Tian Xinhua and Tian Shouhua, along with Tian Sisi and a few other little ones, were sent out to deliver the cakes. Tian Sisi and the younger ones delivered within the village, while Tian Xinhua and Tian Shouhua went outside the village, mainly to deliver to the daughters of the Tian Family who had married out. This was to let their in-laws know that their natal family was well-off with the material for Qingming Cakes being plentiful and tasty, helping the married daughters to gain face and stand tall in their in-laws’ homes.

Jianguo also went with them; he wanted to go back and see how Tian Manlan was doing, and tell Mama how well he and his two brothers were living at their maternal grandparents’. Since his last visit, he hadn’t returned home and didn’t know how Mama was doing. Weiguo and Baoguo stayed at home, with the chance to go another time.

Tian Sisi carried a large basket, and Tian Qinghua and Donghua also carried their baskets, each filled with Qingming Cakes. Tian Sisi’s basket contained savory cakes; Tian Qinghua’s was filled with sweet, powdery Snow Balls, and Donghua’s held plain White Cakes.

First, they went to Zhong Fugao’s house. There, only Zhong Wanhua and Zhong Fugao’s wife Gao Qiuming were home. The mother and daughter were also wrapping Qingming Cakes. Tian Sisi asked Zhong Wanhua to bring out a winnowing basket and put fifteen of each type of cake in it, arranging them in a green and white pattern, which looked very pleasing.

"Ah Nan, your Granny is really too kind; who gives away so many cakes?" Gao Qiuming didn’t expect the Tian Family to bring so many cakes, such generosity.

"Nanny Zhong, my Granny said we should thank Sister Wan Hua for her help. She also said that our two families have a good relationship, so we must give more cakes."

Tian Sisi’s grown-up remarks amused Gao Qiuming, who reached out and gently pinched Tian Sisi’s cheek, "Has Ah Nan’s little mouth been smeared with honey? You make Nanny Zhong’s heart so sweet, of course, Sister Wan Hua should help you. Ah Nan, you better be careful in the future and stay away from Zhong Yuying."

Gao Qiuming was also taken aback when her daughter told her about it yesterday and hurriedly asked her to be careful as well. As for the other children, since they were all sons, she was not too worried.

"I know, Granny also said so. Nanny Zhong, we’re leaving. Sister Wan Hua, next time let’s go to the mountains and dig for wild vegetables together," said Tian Sisi, waving goodbye. They still had to deliver to several more households.

They had delivered Qingming grass they picked from the mountains to several girls’ families in the village, making everyone praise the Tian Family’s people skills. Based on the depth of the relationship, the amount of Qingming Cake given varied: for example, more was given to Zhong Anmei’s family. Tian Xinhua had specifically instructed to do so previously, as Tian Xinhua had a particularly good relationship with Zhong Anmei’s two older brothers. Tian Sisi also liked Zhong Anmei’s bright and hearty personality, so she was naturally willing to give more.

As it was under the guise of gratitude, Tian Sisi didn’t sneak around and knocked on landlord Zhong’s gate openly. When Zhong Anmei opened the door and saw it was Tian Sisi, she was taken aback, but then immediately smiled. She did not expect Tian Sisi to actually knock on her door in broad daylight, which increased her fondness for Tian Sisi.

Tian Sisi specifically brought more savory cakes and steamed savory snowballs, smiling as she said, "I made these; they have a savory filling. I think they taste quite good; you try them and see if they’re tasty?"

The savory snowballs were already steamed and still warm. Zhong Anmei took a bite of one; the delicious filling mixed with the fresh aroma of Qingming grass was incredibly tasty. She nodded with her eyes squinted, "Delicious, Sisi, the Qingming Cakes you’ve made are so tasty. I didn’t know snowballs could be made savory too. I will make some like this when it’s our turn, and I’ll invite you to try them."

"Okay, I will wait for that. We’re leaving now. Please keep these Cakes safe; these are raw and need to be steamed before eating." Tian Sisi gave some instructions and then walked away with Tian Qinghua and Donghua. The last of the Cakes were for Zhong Juying and Zhong Meiying’s families; both received fifty Cakes each.

Zhong Anmei hummed a tune as she carried a basket of Qingming Cakes to the kitchen to cook dinner. When the Zhong family came back from work in the evening and saw a big plate of greenish-white Qingming Cakes, they thought Zhong Anmei had wrapped them herself at home. Zhong Yubai’s wife Yu Xiuhua complained, "An Mei, didn’t Mama say to wait until I came back before wrapping them? You wrapping them alone could hurt your hands; after we eat, let your father massage them for you."

Yu Xiuhua lived up to her name - she was a very delicate and fair-looking woman. Despite wearing simple cloth clothes, she stood out from the typical rural woman, exuding a scholarly aura. Yu Xiuhua’s family was not from Sui City, but from Ningbo. Her family was also considered a family with a history of scholarship, but now they were wealthy farmers. Zhong Yubai’s grandfather and Yu Xiuhua’s grandfather were very good friends, so the two families became in-laws, and since both were wealthy farmers, there was no disdain for each other.

With a tall, elegant stature, Zhong Yubai always had an indifferent look on his face, as if he was never in a hurry. Because he and Yu Xiuhua were both very good-looking, their three children were also very beautiful and had a refined temperament, not looking like ordinary rural children. Raised by the exemplary conduct of their parents from a young age, the children of the Zhong family were detached and not materialistic, which is why in their previous life, Zhong Yubai’s two sons were very successful. The eldest son, Zhong Anping, became a major entrepreneur like Tian Xinhua, and even though the second son, Zhong Ankang’s company was not as big as his brother’s, he was still a successful individual.

Zhong Anmei hastily explained with a smile, "Daddy, Mama, it wasn’t me who wrapped them; these were brought by Tian Sisi. I steamed half of them, and we’ll save the other half for tomorrow. I just tried one, and they taste really good with plenty of filling inside."

The Zhong family had another good habit - they never hid and ate good things by themselves. According to Zhong Yubai’s philosophy, tasty food should be eaten fresh, and hoarding them for a long time before eating was the most irrational practice. Thus, unlike other families who were stingy with their food, the Zhong family ate quite generously. Although they often needed to drink sweet potato porridge, they would always be generous with their portions, using less sweet potato and more rice.

PS: Thank you to the reader Humble Me! Thank you to readers Viki Lili, Maple Leaf Frosty Far, 123, pixhxxx, Breeze Past and others for your support!