e leaned in and pleaded with his mother, “Mother, after we get home, could you please not tell Hongying... about that woman I really have no ill intentions, I didn't even say a word to her!” Li Lao...Having said that, Li Zhensheng urged, "Mother, you and your sisters-in-law should take Funiu home. I'll keep an eye on things here. Your sister-in-law has been very tired lately. She needs to rest these few days and think about new dishes."

"The guests who made a reservation don't have any dietary restrictions, but they especially like to eat duck. Sister-in-law, see if you can come up with some different ways to cook it"

"Duck" Tao Hongying's mind quickly flashed through several cooking methods, nothing more than stewing soup or braising. It wasn't particularly novel. She frowned slightly.

Jiayin gave her mother a kiss and blinked hard, sending signals to her.

When it comes to eating duck, Kyoto in the past was second to none. There's no reason why duck wouldn't be popular in Heian-era Kyoto either.

So, Mom doesn't need to worry about this. Her omnipotent daughter is sharpening her knife and aiming for the duck!

Tao Hongying saw that her daughter's eyes were twitching from blinking so much, and she couldn't help but smile and say, "Okay, take a break from blinking, I know."

After giving a few instructions to the kitchen staff, she took her daughter and mother-in-law home.

The village headman, accompanied by Li Lao'er, strolled around the front hall and back kitchen twice, looking quite satisfied.

On the way back in the carriage, he discussed with Li Laoer, "When the boys from the village have learned for another two years, if they are not made of scholarly material and don't want to go out and make a living, can we send them to work at Mr. Da's restaurant"

"Don't worry about the pay, just come here to broaden your horizons, meet more people, and improve your skills."

"Of course," Li Lao Er readily agreed on behalf of his elder brother, "No matter who we use as a clerk, they're all here to work. Besides, our own child can read and write, and is much more reliable than outsiders."

The village head heard this and beamed, “That’s right, that’s right. When I get back, I’ll have the children study hard.”

Chattering and laughing all the way, they soon arrived at the village.

To be honest, there's strength in numbers. In just a few days, Li Yong's new house is almost ready for its roof to be put on.

The villagers all pitched in, and Li Yong was also willing to spend money. He provided two meals a day, at noon and in the evening, with meat in every meal. Everyone ate so well they felt moved.

But Li Yong and Huiniang said, "If we don't eat enough, we won't have the energy. We must have meat!"

Everyone was satisfied, eating hearty meals and working with no effort left in them.

The Li family was also concerned. Old Mrs. Li didn't even enter the house, she went straight to the construction site with her granddaughter to check on the progress, and then went to visit the three little ones at the Liu family.

Tao Hongying also rolled up her sleeves and went to the village head's house to help Huiniang cook.

Huiniang has lost some weight, she's no longer as plump as she was during her confinement period. She's also tanned a bit, but her complexion looks great and her eyes are bright and sparkling.

Clearly, she was filled with anticipation for her new home and the days to come, no matter how hard or tiring things might be!

In the evening, while the Li family was still preparing dinner, Huiniang beat them to it by delivering the meal herself. It turned out that Zhao Shushu and several other elderly gentlemen had already finished their meal at her place.

The entire Li family was exhausted after a whole day of chaos. Without any delay, they ate the ready-made meal and went to sleep hastily.

Jia Yin borrowed a pretext of missing her mother, clinging to her mother's chest and returning together to the private room.

As a result, Tao Hongying just turned around to wash her face when a pile of recipes appeared on the kang, and there was also a chubby girl grinning foolishly and pretending to be well-behaved.

She still had something she didn't understand. Holding her daughter in her arms, she kissed her again and again.

"Damn it, Fu Niu'er, Mom will definitely make some delicious home-cooked dishes for you, earn a lot of money, and save up a lot of dowry for you!"

Jia Yin hugged her mother's neck, rubbing against her like a kitten. She inhaled deeply the faint scent of soap on her mother's body and then yawned widely.

Tao Hongying patted her daughter's back gently, again and again. After hearing her daughter fall asleep, she carefully placed her on the soft mattress and removed her clothes and pants with care.

The little girl was round and plump, her arms and legs like bamboo shoots. Even in her sleep, her small mouth twitched occasionally, perhaps dreaming of something delicious.

It's so adorable, it melts your heart at first glance.

Tao Hongying lowered her head and gently kissed her daughter's hand.

Sometimes, she couldn't even believe it herself, that she could give birth to such a good child. So filial and sensible, intelligent and adorable, just like a little fairy who fell from the heavens!

Perhaps others were unhappy with their child's naughtiness, but she actually relished it.

Because this child is coquettish, gluttonous, and troublesome, she can feel that this is a real child, a piece of her heart that has fallen off.

"Sleep now, my little girl."

Tao Hongying pulled her daughter's little quilt closer, then put the recipe book on the table and prepared to rewrite it.

Although she wouldn't let anyone see this recipe, she wanted to be prepared just in case. She didn't want her daughter to be in any danger at all.

It has to be rewritten in her handwriting. Whether it's something good or bad, it will fall on her head.

Thus, she copied while watching over the sleeping chubby little girl.

The lamplight cast her shadow on the window, unusually tall and solid…

It was another dusk, colder than before, and the evening breeze carried a message to all who felt it.

That means winter is almost here!

Every household has chopped firewood and stored necessary items, just waiting for the first snowfall.

In Li's grand courtyard, the old matriarch brought along Old Madam He and Shuiyun to bring out all the winter clothes.

Several elderly gentlemen, including Zhao Shu and their families, as well as Li Yong, Huiniang, and the twins, filled a large kang.

This is still a few coats of the cotton-padded clothes from Jia Ren and his boys, they've already been sent away, otherwise the kang would be piled high.

The old woman carried a half-bald chicken feather duster in her hand. After knocking on each piece, she felt the cotton clothes were softer, so she stopped.

Jia Yin had just changed into her cotton-padded pants. Now she was holding her legs and rolling around on the kang, making a mess of it.

The old woman found it amusing, she took a feather duster and pretended to hit her, causing Jia Yin to roll around even more. She was acting like a ball, showing everyone what it meant to bounce!

Grandma He and Shuǐyún and the others were all laughing, shaking their cotton clothes from time to time, lifting up their cotton pants, pulling at their hands, helping Jiāyīn's "egg" dodge Grandma's feather duster, continuing to cause mischief.

Just as everyone was having a good time, Tao Hongying burst into the room with a beaming smile, shouting, "Mother, it's done, the duck is roasted!"

Before Old Madam could reply, Jia Yin had already darted into her mother's arms, giggling and shouting, "Mother, roast duck! Fu Niuer wants roast duck!"

The old lady also laughed, "Come on, go try it! The smell has been wafting around all afternoon. Don't even mention Fu Niuer, my mouth is watering like a river!"

Tao Hongying hurriedly hugged her daughter and led her mother-in-law out.

In the corner of our yard, a new oven was built yesterday. Because time was tight, no adobe bricks were made, and instead, blue bricks from Li Yong's house were used directly.

To say it's a kiln wouldn't be quite accurate; it's more like a large, covered pot with a charcoal fire underneath and an opening at the top.

Three plump ducks hung on the edge of the can, roasted with a reddish-brown skin, sizzling with oil.

The embers below still held a faint red glow. When the dripping oil met them, they hissed and turned into blue smoke, rising lazily upwards. The aroma of meat became even stronger.

Tao Hongying carefully hooked up a roast duck with a hook, excitedly saying, "That duck this morning was poorly roasted. This time I removed most of the charcoal and kept it simmering for two hours."

As she spoke, she placed the roast duck on a tray and carried it back to the main hall.

A crowd gathered around, inhaling the increasingly rich aroma and secretly swallowing their saliva.

Tao Hongying endured the heat and first tore off a duck leg for her grandmother.

The old woman smiled and only took a tiny bite, pretending to eat, then handed it to her granddaughter.ad tears streaming down her face, gritting her teeth to encourage Huiniang!"If something were to happen to you, child, after the baby is born, you'll have to live under your stepmother's control and b...