To Be the Male Lead's Deceased First Wife in a Historical Chinese Exam-focused Novel - Chapter 27

Chapter 27: First Taste of Meat

Yan An took the clothes Wen Ying had changed out of after her bath and washed them. As she was hanging them up, she saw the sheepskin that Wen Ying had processed and hung on a nearby rack. She had no idea what Wen Ying planned to do with it later.

After washing the clothes, Yan An rolled up her sleeves and went into the kitchen to scoop up some plant ash. She used it to clean the sheep offal. She frowned as she cleaned. Although lamb offal soup was delicious, cleaning these things was a real hassle.

Halfway through, Wen Ying came back with two large bundles of firewood. Seeing Yan An’s tightly-knit brows, she quickly put down her things and came to help.

“Let me do it. You go sit down,” Wen Ying said, trying to take the task from her hands.

“No, you go rest. You’ve been busy and haven’t stopped.” Yan An dodged her outstretched hand. She frowned when she saw a hint of fatigue on Wen Ying’s face. “If you’re tired, go rest. Don’t push yourself.”

“I…” Wen Ying wanted to say that she wasn’t tired, but seeing Yan An lower her head and continue to work after she spoke, the words she wanted to say got stuck in her throat. Her heart was beating too fast, making her feel a little uncomfortable.

“Okay.” Although she agreed, Wen Ying didn’t go back to the room to sleep. After slaughtering the sheep and going up the mountain earlier, even Wen Ying herself couldn’t accept just lying down on the bed like that, let alone Yan An.

She sat on the small bamboo chair with a backrest in the courtyard. She was originally watching Yan An, but after her body relaxed, she was truly tired. She leaned back in the chair, closed her eyes, and lightly fell asleep.

The fight with the goat was not easy. She had a burst of power she didn’t usually have. Then she carried the goat back and processed it. Only now was she truly resting. The deep fatigue made it difficult for Wen Ying to maintain her “not tired” state in front of Yan An.

Yan An washed the offal several times until it was completely clean. Then she put her hands on her lower back and stretched her body. She looked at Wen Ying, who had fallen asleep in the chair. It was clear how tired she was today.

Yan An looked at the large pile of meat in the courtyard, feeling a little sad. Wen Ying was really putting in a lot of effort to make their family’s situation better.

She tried her best not to make too much noise to wake Wen Ying. She looked at the sky and saw that it was getting late. Now was the best time to start stewing the lamb offal soup.

She blanched the offal to remove the gamey smell. Every movement Yan An made was very deliberate. Now that she finally had something to show off her cooking skills with, Yan An was naturally very happy.

As the fragrance wafted out little by little, Wen Ying, who had been sleeping in the chair, slowly woke up. Perhaps she was too tired. Although this sleep could reduce her fatigue, it wasn’t enough to completely relieve it. She was still a little groggy when she opened her eyes.

The smell from the kitchen had already made Wen Ying’s stomach start to cramp. In fact, for a long time now, she had rarely experienced this kind of cramping from hunger, as if she had not eaten enough for years. Now, smelling the meaty scent, Wen Ying’s appetite was completely stimulated.

She rarely had the chance to eat meat. She would only get to eat some meat when the family slaughtered a pig for the New Year. In normal times, even if the family made meat, it was all saved for her younger brothers to eat. Wen Ying didn’t get any.

She got up and followed the scent to the kitchen. She saw Yan An stirring the almost milky-white soup in the pot. She gave Yan An a questioning look.

“I thought these offal couldn’t be stored for a long time, so I’m making lamb offal soup with some of them. I can also make a stir-fried raw lamb offal with the rest for you to try.” One was for warming the stomach, and the other was for eating with rice. Yan An felt that her plan was great.

Wen Ying had heard of lamb offal soup, but she had heard people say that the unique smell was difficult to remove, and the taste would inevitably be strong. But the one Yan An was making smelled so fragrant that it made people’s mouths water. There was no smell that would affect one’s appetite.

However, she had never heard of stir-fried raw lamb offal.

Her gaze shifted from the lamb offal soup in the pot to Yan An. She saw her gently adding firewood to the fire and sprinkling salt into the pot. She pursed her lips and said softly, “When will it be ready?”

“Are you hungry? It will be ready soon. You can have a bowl of lamb offal soup first to warm yourself up,” Yan An said. Hearing her words, she sped up her movements. After she added the seasonings, Yan An got a bowl and filled it to the brim for Wen Ying.

“Here, try my cooking!” Yan An said, lifting her chin slightly, looking very confident.

Wen Ying looked at the bowl of lamb offal soup that she handed over, and then at Yan An’s proud expression. She pursed her lips and let out a low chuckle. She didn’t refuse and took the bowl.

She picked up the spoon and stirred the contents. She could see various lamb offal inside.

Usually, no one wanted to eat these offal. If it weren’t for the fact that meat was hard to come by, even ordinary families disliked these offal because they were difficult to handle and had an unbearable lingering smell.

But what Yan An made was different…

After blowing on it to cool it down, Wen Ying took a sip of the soup. It was fragrant and delicious. Just one sip completely stimulated her appetite. She then took a bite of the offal. She could still taste a hint of lamb, but it wasn’t gamey. It was a flavor that allowed people to distinguish what the ingredient was, and it wasn’t as unpalatable as Wen Ying had imagined.

Her eyes lit up a little. “It’s delicious!”

It turned out that offal could be processed so well. The taste was so good that it completely surpassed the few memories of meat Wen Ying had.

Hearing her sincere praise, Yan An’s eyes became even more smug. “Look at who made it.”

She had spent a lot of time and effort cleaning these things and removing the gamey smell, but thankfully, the result wasn’t bad.

“You eat first. I’ll make the stir-fried raw lamb offal, and then we can have dinner,” Yan An said. She quickly scooped out the lamb offal from the pot, then washed the pot and heated the oil. Her movements were smooth and practiced. The side dishes she needed were all prepared and placed to the side, so she didn’t seem flustered at all while cooking.

Wen Ying looked at Yan An with gentle eyes. She should have been a person in a long robe, with a cool and elegant demeanor, but now she was wearing a simple jacket and stood in the kitchen, covered in the smoke of cooking. Her eyebrows were lively and vibrant. Wen Ying felt her heart warm up, as if because of that mouthful of lamb offal soup she had just consumed.

She sat in the kitchen and slowly finished the bowl of soup. Just in time, Yan An’s stir-fried raw lamb offal was also ready. Wen Ying helped her move the things to the courtyard. At this time, the sun was setting. The orange and dim light had already enveloped the entire land. Soon, the world would be covered in darkness again.

Yan An didn’t get any rice. She also got herself a bowl of lamb offal soup first. After taking a sip, her eyebrows twitched, and she squinted her eyes in satisfaction.

“The taste of meat is truly incomparable to those bland soups!”

Wen Ying looked at her satisfied expression and knew that hunting this goat today was absolutely the right decision. Even though it was very dangerous, looking at Yan An now, she felt that it was all worth it.

Since she had already had a bowl of lamb offal soup, she first served herself some rice and wanted to try the stir-fried raw lamb offal Yan An had made. She hadn’t even eaten it yet, but the fresh and powerful smell from the stir-fry had already filled her nostrils. Wen Ying was a little impatient.

She took a bite with her chopsticks. It was different from anything she had ever eaten. The taste was rich and unique, refreshing and appetizing. She really liked it.

Seeing her start to eat, Yan An also felt a little nervous. She had found that people in this world mostly ate boiled or stewed dishes. Although there were also stir-fried dishes, the variety was not large. Yan An felt that it might be because stir-frying required more oil, so few people did it.

Because of this, she didn’t know if Wen Ying would get used to it.

“Delicious! Yan An, you are so amazing,” Wen Ying praised Yan An with bright eyes. She even took another bite with her chopsticks and ate it with the brown rice, as if to prove that she wasn’t lying.

Yan An looked at her now, especially with that praise. She finally saw a little bit of a girl’s lively spirit in her, instead of being too mature.

“Mmm. We still have other meat. I can make many other things for you later,” Yan An said in satisfaction. No chef didn’t want to see a customer so appreciative.

Wen Ying smiled at her with her eyebrows curved. After finishing a bowl of rice, she felt about 70-80% full, but she still drank a little less than half a bowl of lamb offal soup. After she was completely full, she gave Yan An a shy smile, her voice a little soft.

“This is the first time I’ve been able to eat as much as I want. I hope you don’t mind.”

In the past, when the family slaughtered a pig for the New Year, the internal organs that couldn’t be sold would be used for the family to eat. Even with these things, she couldn’t eat as much as she wanted. It could be said that this was her first time having such a big feast.

Hearing her words, Yan An felt her heart being squeezed by something. She gripped her chopsticks tightly and said, “What’s there to mind? Me too!”

Saying that, she took a large bite of lamb offal and shoved it into her mouth. She chewed and mumbled to Wen Ying, “Wen Ying, thank you. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have any meat to eat.”

This was a very impolite behavior, but at this time, it was just the two of them. Yan An, with her mouth full, didn’t forget to talk to her. In Wen Ying’s eyes, she looked like a little squirrel, which was very cute.

“Then you eat more,” Wen Ying’s voice softened.

“Mmm!” Yan An mumbled, nodding. She had the most delicious meal she had had since coming to this world. After they were full, the two of them sat in the courtyard, enjoying the breeze and helping their digestion.

Looking at the leftover lamb offal soup on the table, Yan An said, “The rest of this will be great for making a bowl of noodles tomorrow!”

It was impossible for them to waste anything now. Even though they had so much meat, they still couldn’t bear to waste anything.

“Okay,” Wen Ying smiled at her.

She hadn’t noticed it while eating, but now that she had finished eating and was resting, the evening breeze was a little chilly. Yan An wrapped her clothes around her. “When it gets colder, we’ll have to eat in the main hall.”

But the light in the main hall would be much dimmer if they didn’t have an oil lamp.

“Mmm. I’ll buy some lamp oil when I go to town,” Wen Ying said, agreeing with her.

After resting for a while, Wen Ying went to hang up the meat in the courtyard to dry. Yan An went to wash the bowls. When she returned to the kitchen, she saw that the water was already boiled, so she told Wen Ying to take a bath first.

Wen Ying finished processing the meat in the courtyard, fed the chickens, and then came over to get the water and went into the house to take a bath.

Yan An looked at the meat Wen Ying had hung up and felt that their family’s assets had instantly become much stronger! With this situation, they would probably have meat for every meal for the next few days. Who else in the entire village had this kind of confidence?

“As expected, following the female lead not only gives you hope, but you also get to eat meat when she eats meat, and it’s not even just meat soup! It shows how great Wen Ying is as the female lead!”

Yan An was happy. She felt that her decision to cling to Wen Ying’s leg was an extremely wise choice!

…

Wen Ying came out of the bath and changed the water in the tub for Yan An. She then went to the kitchen to dry her hair.

She touched her slightly rough hair. It was a clear difference from Yan An’s beautiful, black, long hair. Even though she had been trying to take care of it during this time, the lack of nutrition from before couldn’t be made up for in a short period of time. She didn’t know when her hair would be able to look like Yan An’s.

When her hair was almost dry, Yan An also came over after her bath. She mumbled something that Wen Ying couldn’t understand.

“What is a hairdryer? With that thing, can I dry my hair quickly?”

“If I want to buy a hairdryer, how much silver would it cost? Where can I buy one after I earn enough silver?”

Wen Ying thought about it, but Yan An was just mumbling to herself and obviously didn’t want her to hear. So Wen Ying didn’t ask directly.

Yan An dried her hair and calculated how much money they had left.

The money bag the young lady threw at Yan An had a total of 137 liang. Plus Yi Shuhua’s 10 liang, plus Wen Ying’s income of 64 wen from selling firewood, and the two wen left at home, their total assets were originally 147 liang and 66 qian. But after paying debts and buying things, they now had 134 liang and 324 qian left.

“Hmm… This number doesn’t even include the three liang and seven hundred qian they owed Doctor Zhou.”

It seemed like they had a lot of money, but if they were to open a business, as Yan An said, they would be very strapped for cash.

“Can I get some investment?” Yan An said softly. If she could get an investment to share some of the pressure, she wouldn’t have to put all their assets on the line. If something went wrong, she and Wen Ying could instantly go back to being dirt poor.

But she had “amnesia” now. She didn’t know if the original owner’s social circle had any good and rich friends who could partner with her to start a business. She guessed… probably not, right?

Ever since she woke up, she hadn’t seen any of the original owner’s classmates come to see her. It seemed that her popularity wasn’t that great?

But she felt that that young lady was an exception. Her attitude was a little ambiguous and strange.

“Could it be that I should try to find that young lady for an investment?” Yan An thought to herself, voicing her thoughts.

After she said it, she didn’t realize anything was wrong until she gradually realized that the kitchen was too quiet. She looked at Wen Ying blankly. “Why aren’t you talking?”

There was only the crackling of the firewood in the stove. For a moment, she thought no one was sitting next to her, and cold sweat almost broke out on her back.

Wen Ying’s hair was completely dry. She moved a little to the side to give Yan An more space. When she heard Yan An’s question, she just lowered her eyes and looked at the ground. Her voice was a little flat. “I don’t understand what you said. What is there for me to say?”

Yan An: “…”

For some reason, she felt that Wen Ying’s words were a little strange. Wen Ying was so smart. She really didn’t believe that Wen Ying didn’t understand what she was saying, but she still said something that sounded a little sarcastic.

“Oh, okay. But looking at that young lady’s attitude back then, she seemed angry with me. She probably wouldn’t agree to my request. Let’s just forget about it.” What if she went to her house to get an investment, but the other party regretted it and wanted her to return the money bag?

Wen Ying got up and said, “My hair is dry. I’m going back to the room to sleep.”

Yan An was stunned by her sudden movement. Then she said okay and watched her leave.

“Hmm, Wen Ying seems to be in a bad mood.” But then she thought, “Anyone who has been as tired as she was today wouldn’t be in a good mood.” So she thought she should quickly dry her hair and go back to massage her to help her relax.

She quickly dried her hair and put out the fire. Yan An walked quickly back to the room, kicked off her shoes, and jumped onto the bed.

Wen Ying, who was already lying in bed with her eyes closed but not yet asleep, felt her hurried movements. “…”

She was now as calm as still water and didn’t think too much.

Yan An got into bed and patted Wen Ying’s shoulder. “Turn over. I’ll give you a massage.”

Wen Ying turned over without a word and faced away from Yan An. Even though the room was now completely dark and she could barely see a silhouette, Wen Ying felt a strange sense of suffocation when she looked at Yan An.

The hands landed on her shoulders and massaged them with a firm force. Wen Ying bit her lip, feeling a little itchy where Yan An was kneading.

During this time, Yan An would massage her from time to time, but she still hadn’t gotten used to it.

Yan An had no idea what messy thoughts were going on in Wen Ying’s mind. She focused on massaging her in the correct order, and she would also look for Wen Ying’s acupressure points from time to time. When she finished, she was also tired. She lay down next to Wen Ying, pulled the blanket over herself, and mumbled, “Wen Ying, good night.”

She finished the massage and then suddenly lay down to rest. Even Wen Ying was stunned by her straightforwardness for a moment. She pursed her lips and turned over to face Yan An. She looked at her back and said softly, “Good night.”

However, Yan An had a very good sleep. After she said goodnight to Wen Ying, she fell asleep almost instantly. She didn’t hear Wen Ying’s last words at all.

Wen Ying didn’t get a response. She reached out and tucked the blanket back in for Yan An. She moved closer to Yan An to prevent the large gap between them from letting in the cold wind.

…

Early the next morning, there was too much leftover lamb offal soup from last night. After looking at it carefully, they realized there was no need to add any noodles at all. They just heated up the soup, and after they finished it, they were full.

However, considering that Wen Ying would definitely not be able to make it back for lunch if she went to town, Yan An still had her make a few pancakes to take with her for lunch.

Yan An now understood that if she let Wen Ying go alone, she would rather go hungry than eat in town.

Wen Ying had no choice but to make three pancakes for herself as Yan An had instructed and also brought a pot of water. Yan An stayed at home to take care of the little chicks. She then carried two large bundles of firewood and went to town.

Yan An stood at the courtyard gate and watched her figure go into the distance. She felt a strange sourness in her heart. She inexplicably felt like she was a pampered little wife being kept at home by Wen Ying, especially since they were technically married.

She couldn’t help but sigh. Even Yan An felt that the current situation was a little tricky.

She wanted to go to the city to find opportunities to develop, but their home wasn’t in the city. The round trip was too far. But if they moved to the city, their savings wouldn’t be enough to support it. And if they stayed in the village, it would be difficult to have any good development.

“What a headache.”

After feeding the chickens, Wen Ying had already cleaned the coop early in the morning, so there was nothing for Yan An to do. She then wrapped her hands again and went to clear the land in the backyard.

She turned over the land and cleared out all the weeds. She felt much more at ease knowing that Wen Ying would also buy some vegetable seeds to plant today.

They had a lot of things stored at home, and so much meat, and they were also planting vegetables. She figured that no matter how difficult things got, they would never go back to the state of being hungry and not having enough to eat.

By noon, Wen Ying still hadn’t returned. Yan An ate the two extra pancakes Wen Ying had specially made for her that morning. As she was resting in the courtyard, she suddenly heard a knock on the door.

Yan An was confused. “Shouldn’t everyone be eating in their own houses at this time?” But she still went over and opened the door.

“Scholar Yi.” Yan An was a little surprised to see the person in front of her. She hadn’t expected her to come to their house.

Yi Shuhua bowed to her and didn’t seem to have any intention of coming in. She just took out the money from her sleeve and handed it to Yan An with both hands. “Girl Wen sent some lamb meat yesterday. I haven’t paid her yet, so I specially came to deliver it.”

Yan An was stunned when she saw the money in her hands. Then she quickly refused. “What are you doing? We didn’t plan on taking any money. What we gave you was a gift!”

“I can’t. Your lives are difficult now. How can I take advantage of you like this?”

“You’re not!” Yan An’s eyes widened. “We said before that we would make up for the tuition when we had money. We don’t have money now, but we have meat, so we’re using the meat as tuition. I hope you don’t mind.”

Yi Shuhua: “…” “That’s several jin of lamb meat and some lamb ribs. How could I mind?”

“Okay, don’t be so conflicted. You probably already know that Wen Ying hunted a goat. She specifically sent it to you, so don’t refuse her kindness,” Yan An said.

Yi Shuhua looked at Yan An’s attitude, which was exactly the same as Wen Ying’s refusal to accept money yesterday, and she hesitated. In the end, she gritted her teeth and said, “Then I will shamelessly accept it. But please don’t send anything else in the future. Girl Wen is my lifesaver. It’s only right for me to teach her how to read. There’s no need for anything else.”

“Mmm, okay. I know. Have you eaten? If not, why don’t you come in and have some?” Yan An felt that this time she could invite someone into the house to eat since she could finally serve some decent food.

“No, my mother has already made dinner at home and is waiting for me. I have to go back now,” Yi Shuhua said, shaking her head and refusing. She said goodbye to Yan An and left, still looking a little preoccupied.

After she left, Yan An quickly closed the door. She pursed her lips and mumbled to herself.

Although this Yi Shuhua was not bad, the thought of her developing other feelings for Wen Ying later in the novel made her feel a little disgusted.

“I just hope that even if she does, she won’t show it in front of me. Otherwise, I’ll be so mad.”

“Even though I’m only Wen Ying’s wife in name, shouldn’t you at least respect my existence?”