Chapter 31: Returning to the City

Zhang Ping'an stayed at home for eight days after the New Year, and every few days he would take a few cousins and other children to wander around the Back Mountain, harvesting quite a bit of game during that time.

Of course, the main joy for the children going to the Back Mountain was not catching game, but enjoying the fun of the hunting process itself.

Since most of them were children, Zhang Ping'an only took them to wander around the periphery. Even so, whenever they saw a wild rabbit, they would shout and chase after it. In the end, Zhang Ping'an would use a blunt wooden arrow to stun it and bring it back, and the final rabbits were all given to the younger children as toys.

People travel on the third, sixth, and ninth days. On the morning of the ninth day of the Lunar New Year at 8:30, Zhang Ping'an took his fourth sister and a hodgepodge of things back to Sijiucheng.

"Ping'an, come notify me when your third sister is about to give birth." Zhang Xiaohua had no parents-in-law, so she, as the mother, had to go over to take care of her during her postpartum month.

"Alright, Mother."

It was near noon when Zhang Ping'an arrived at the Siheyuan, where Yan Bugui was sitting with his legs crossed, sunning himself on the long veranda.

"Yo, Ping'an, you've come back really late. Were you not planning to return until your fourth sister started school?"

"Teacher Yan, look at what you're saying. I'm still just a child; isn't it normal to be homesick?"

"Ah, yes, yes, yes." If he hadn't seen Zhang Ping'an's muscular build and his height of nearly one meter seventy in the middle of summer, he really would have believed it.

After Yan Bugui finished speaking, he circled around Zhang Ping'an twice as if he had discovered a new continent.

"Ping'an, have you lost weight? Tsk tsk, everyone gains three or five pounds over the New Year, how did you lose weight instead?"

This old fellow's eyes weren't big, but they were truly sharp. Those four eyes of his really didn't grow in vain; currently, only Yan Bugui had noticed he had lost weight.

"Teacher Yan, I haven't lost weight. It's just that I bought new cotton-padded clothes this year that are warmer, so I wore two fewer layers."

"Is that so?" Yan Bugui looked suspicious.

"Naturally. Or should I take them off for you to see?"

"Don't, I don't have that hobby."

"Zhang Shu, don't pay attention to that old fellow. Let's go back and roast sweet potatoes to eat."

Last time Shazhu was cooking in Zhang Ping'an's courtyard, he saw sweet potatoes in the kitchen while cleaning up the fire and casually stuffed two into the stove cavity; he didn't expect to get hooked after eating them.

Plus, having eaten plenty of rich food over the New Year, eating something light was just the thing to cleanse the palate.

"That's right, Zhang Shu. Old... cough, Teacher Yan can come along too."

"Alright, let's go. Si Jie, you take the things Mom and Dad asked us to bring to San Jie's place first."

"Okay."

It just so happened that no one had lived in the house for ten days or so; having more people would add some life to it. Besides, they couldn't let them eat the sweet potatoes for free; they still needed to do some cleaning.

As for Yan Bugui, he could let him tutor the fourth sister on her schoolwork; Zhang Ping'an had to arrange everything for them clearly.

"Zhuzi, Damao, I'm going to roast sweet potatoes for you, and you go clean up for me. Teacher Yan, you..."

"If you don't clean it thoroughly, there will be no sweet potatoes to eat," Zhang Ping'an said, knowing these two lazybones would likely try to cut corners if he didn't say it beforehand.

"Hehe, we won't, we won't." Their little schemes were exposed, and they looked at each other and smiled awkwardly.

"Zhang Shu, we're here!" The voices of five-year-old Yushui and Xiaoling came, with the fourth sister leading them, one in each hand.

"Come, come, come. You go into the room first and supervise your brothers while they clean, and you'll have roasted sweet potatoes to eat in a bit."

"Oh, we get to eat roasted sweet potatoes!"

Hearing there was food, the two little brats hurried to carry out the task Zhang Ping'an had assigned, which forced the originally sluggish Shazhu and the other to suddenly turn on their motors.

Zhang Ping'an made some rice porridge, the dish was fish head stewed with tofu, and he stuck a circle of corn cakes around the pot, letting the sweet potatoes steam in the residual heat. Seeing the two of them cleaning earnestly, Zhang Ping'an finally went out.

"San Jie, Dongxu, let's go, let's go over to eat."

"Alright."

The two of them were on either side of Zhang Xiaohua, each supporting one of her arms.

"It's fine, no need to support me, I can walk myself."

"San Jie, it's freezing cold out, it's better to be supported."

"That's right, Mother."

"Fine, fine, fine, I'll listen to you."

"San Jie, if you ask me, you should still live at my place; it's more convenient for using the restroom and such."

"No way." Zhang Xiaohua refused without even thinking.

Zhang Ping'an, who had lived two lifetimes, didn't understand that a new house couldn't be lent to others for giving birth. There was an old saying about lending for death but not for birth, which had some truth to it.

Inside the room, Yi Zhonghai's wife looked at Zhang Xiaohua, who was heavily pregnant, with eyes full of envy. When would she be able to get pregnant?

Tan Xiaocui had actually gone privately to find the Divine Doctor Wang mentioned earlier. Divine Doctor Wang did indeed say her body was weak and that she had likely had a miscarriage before, which had left a root cause of illness because she hadn't recuperated properly at the time.

However, Tan Xiaocui had also taken medicine for a month or so, and her body had recovered quite well, but she still hadn't conceived. She didn't suspect it was Yi Zhonghai's problem, because in this era, as long as women couldn't conceive, they generally felt it was their own problem and had nothing to do with the man.

Divine Doctor Wang hadn't seen Yi Zhonghai, so it was hard to draw a conclusion. After all, pregnancy was something no one could be sure about; sometimes people prepared meticulously and still couldn't conceive, while those who didn't care ended up conceiving.

The three returned to the courtyard. Shazhu and Damao had finished cleaning, and the sweet potatoes had been dug out and eaten, with each of them smeared like a tabby cat.

"You guys only ate the sweet potatoes; there are corn cakes in the pot, they're very fragrant." Zhang Ping'an went up and took off the pot lid, and a fragrance immediately wafted out.

"So fragrant!" It wasn't just the fish and tofu fragrance; it was also mixed with the aroma of cornmeal.

"Hurry up and go wash up, all of you." Zhang Ping'an ladled the fish head stewed with tofu into a large bowl and shoveled out the corn cakes.

"Si Jie, Teacher Yan, wash your hands and eat."

"Cough, Ping'an, I'd better go back."

Yan Bugui's original thought was that gnawing on two sweet potatoes was harmless, but eating a meal here was still a bit embarrassing.

"It's fine, Teacher Yan, everything is made, let's sit down and eat together."

"That's right, Lao Yan."

"Alright then, I'll impose on you."

"Mmm~ Zhang Shu, your skills are about to catch up to Shazhu's."

"Ah, yes, yes, yes."

Shazhu was too lazy to argue with him; although most people's palates found them similar, a professional chef could taste the difference in one bite.

"Zhang Shu, we're full." The two little ones had already eaten a sweet potato just now, and now they were full after gnawing on only half a cornmeal pancake.

"Mm, go play if you're full."

Shazhu and Damao were about the same; one cornmeal pancake was enough to fill them up. Zhang Ping'an's pot was a size five or six and large enough, so the cornmeal pancakes were not small in size either.

Yan Bugui, with that bird-like stomach of his, didn't even finish one pancake, whereas Zhang Ping'an and Jia Dongxu each ate two and a half, then drank some porridge to fill the gaps—perfect.

"Comfortable."

"Zhang Shu, now that we're full and satisfied, let's go... ice skating."

"Not going, it's boring, and it's still cold outside." Zhang Ping'an thought it was a famous quote from Teacher Tao Jiji.

"Then let's go blow up the latrine."

"……"

"Damao, have you finished your winter break homework?"

"Teacher Yan, don't talk about this when I'm happy; I'm afraid I won't be able to help myself from calling you an old geezer."

"……" Yan Bugui.

"Hahaha, Damao, hurry back and do your homework."

"You're one to talk, you only have these two days off; don't you have to go to your master's place tomorrow to chop vegetables again?"

"You... I... damn."

"Alright, Zhuzi, you study your culinary arts well so we can eat more delicious food. Of course, Zhuzi, you also need to change your hygiene habits; wash and change frequently. You are a Chef, stop scratching your head for no reason. If your personal hygiene isn't up to standard, how can you give people an appetite?"

"Damao, you also hurry up and do your homework. If you don't understand something, hurry and ask Teacher Yan, or ask me, just don't end up being chased all over the courtyard by your dad again. Plus, your younger sister will be starting school in these next two years; if you don't do as well in your studies as her by then, I'd like to see what you'll do."