Chapter 42: Winter Melon Stew with Tofu
As the sun leaned westward and the weather cooled slightly, it was the perfect time for tending the fields. Along the way, they encountered many villagers from the same village.
At noon, news of Su Mulan humiliating Zhang by calling her a pig’s head had already spread throughout the entire Baijia village. Now, when people saw Su Mulan, their gazes were much friendlier compared to a few days ago.
With this incident, Zhang’s popularity plummeted because of her mean mouth. Many people despised her deeply but hesitated to retaliate due to their local relationships. Now that Su Mulan had taken such decisive action, it indirectly relieved their frustrations. The enemy of their enemy had become their friend.
Secondly, after the incident at noon, Su Mulan returned with Bai Shuiliu, and despite the chaos caused by Bai Lixia and Bai Kangyuan later on, Su Mulan didn’t scold the children. In fact, it was widely known that she made mixed sauce meat noodles for the children at noon, which was considered quite commendable.
A stepmother who could go to such lengths was already quite good. From being a malicious stepmother in the past to now being so kind, it was evident that she had truly changed for the better.
Overall, someone who is fierce against wrongdoers and kind to their loved ones naturally becomes popular.
As a result, many people took the initiative to greet Su Mulan warmly.
Although not overly warm, the politeness shown to Su Mulan, who was initially looked down upon upon arriving here, represented significant progress.
You know, they say “misfortune may be a blessing in disguise,” and that saying holds true.
While the incident was caused by Zhang’s outrageous behavior, it surprisingly gained some trust from these four children towards Su Mulan and slightly improved her reputation in the village. One could say she reaped a full harvest.
Following the principle of contentment brings happiness, Su Mulan happily accepted the current situation and, in a good mood, continued cultivating the land with Bai Lixia and Bai Midou.
A few days ago, they had already chopped down all the small trees on this piece of land. This time, their main task was to dig out the stones, weeds, and remaining tree roots left behind by the small trees.
The three of them worked tirelessly until the sun had completely set before hurrying back home.
When they arrived home, Bai Zhuye had already collected all the dried sweet potato slices and, as instructed by Su Mulan, found a winter melon vine and picked a small winter melon.
The small winter melon, at its tenderest stage, was somewhat of a pity to pick and eat now. However, these winter melons tended to grow rapidly in the near future, with almost simultaneous ripening in batches. This would likely lead to situations where they couldn’t finish eating them all once they ripened.
Especially when a winter melon grows large and matures, in a household like theirs with one adult and four children, they would only be able to watch helplessly as the winter melon spoiled.
Rather than letting it spoil later, it’s better to eat it while it’s tender now.
Su Mulan wasn’t reluctant at all. She simply peeled the winter melon, sliced it, mixed it with some pan-fried tofu, and stewed them together in an iron pot.
Winter melon naturally has a refreshing flavor and doesn’t require many seasonings. Combined with tofu, which releases a rich taste of high-quality plant protein, and the crispy texture of the pan-fried tofu adds freshness. Once the large bowl of winter melon stew with tofu was placed on the table, it instantly tempted everyone’s appetite.
Including Su Mulan’s.
She picked up a bowl, scooped some stew, paired it with a flatbread, and enjoyed it with bites of bread and winter melon, creating an incredibly satisfying meal.
When everyone’s bowls were almost empty, Bai Erniu arrived.