Chapter 681: Chapter 453: Good Stuff
Besides the wine, there was also meat, and that was what made Commander Yang and the others happiest—so much of it, they could eat and drink as much as they wanted!
Then there were the candies and snacks, which were what the villagers liked best.
Xiaomi hugged a box of candy, wiped her hands clean, and first gave everyone a piece of fruit candy.
That taste that seemed to sweeten all the way into their hearts, together with Xiaomi’s simple, adorable smile, made everyone feel as if their spirits had been soothed.
The remaining milk candies, nuts, dried fruits, and so on were handed over to Father and Mother to distribute.
Commander Yang and the others might only care about wine and meat, but none of them were children anymore; almost everyone had kids of their own at home, and they were more than happy to bring these back for their families to try.
Especially those milk candies that quickly softened in the mouth and were full of creamy fragrance—they made everyone feel they were novel and delicious.
Everyone tactfully refrained from asking where all these things had been bought; since they were here, they just ate. They were all sensible.
There were also mandarins and oranges, and everyone could get quite a few.
Of the several hundred jin of glutinous rice they brought back, half was soaked straight away, so they could make all sorts of delicious things tomorrow.
This wasn’t the first time supplies had been handed out. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect; everyone quickly emptied the carts, some to distribute, some to move into the Jiang family’s storeroom.
All the meat was moved again to a place to freeze; the temperature was likely to drop over the New Year, so there was no need to worry about it spoiling at all.
By this time, Xiaoxue and Liu Ze had already prepared dinner, all using the meat Xiaomi had brought back.
Steamed fish, spicy chicken, boiled beef in chili broth, fragrant pan-fried lamb chops, and they had even stewed an old duck soup.
Xiaomi opened a jar of white liquor and another jar of grape wine.
Fortunately she wasn’t a little kid anymore; Father and Mother allowed her to drink, though only the grape wine.
But that white liquor really was fierce; the few men in the family each had two cups and were all tipsy and drunk.
They shooed the men back to their rooms to rest; then Mother and the two girls tidied up the kitchen and cooked some hangover soup, feeding it to each of them in turn.
"This liquor is really something. Your father usually has no problem with half a jin, but today I reckon it was only about two taels and he’s already drunk like this."
The Second Mother had just come out of her own room and happened to see Xiaoxue and Xiaomi carrying two more bowls of hangover soup, ready to go give Jiang Yu and Jiang Wei each a bowl.
Xiaomi happened to hear and said, "Mother, this is also Father and the others’ first time drinking it. It’ll be fine after they’ve had it a few more times."
Luckily this wine was brewed by Ling’er using grain from the space; even if you got drunk, it wouldn’t make you feel too awful, and it wouldn’t cause headaches, vomiting, and the like.
Of course, mainly they hadn’t drunk that much. Once they felt drunk, they stopped; it was just that the aftereffect was strong, and now they were all asleep.
The two sisters carried the empty bowls back to the kitchen. Second Mother was already washing dishes. Xiaomi had also drunk grape wine; she rarely drank, and her tolerance wasn’t good. Even the sweet grape wine left her a little tipsy.
Once the mood hit, reason was a bit hard to control.
"Mother, Second Sister, hurry up, I’ll take you to see something good."
Xiaomi leaned against the kitchen door, her eyes sparkling.
She was in high spirits as well. Over the past two days she and her big brother had sat down properly and carefully worked out plans for the next few years, which made her feel even more confident and clear about the future.
So tonight she’d had a couple more cups than usual. Plus, by nature she was livelier than Second Mother and Xiaoxue; with a little surprise sitting in her heart, she just couldn’t resist showing off a bit.
Xiaoxue helped Second Mother wash the bowls for the hangover soup, then came over smiling. "What good thing? How about you go to sleep first, and we’ll look tomorrow?"
As she spoke she held onto Xiaomi, afraid she’d fall.
"I’m fine. Second Sister, come on. Mother, you too—help me open the door."
As she spoke, Xiaomi pulled Xiaoxue along at a trot. The moonlight was pretty good tonight; they could see clearly even without candlelight.
Second Mother carried the oil lamp and followed helplessly.
You could tell that Xiaomi was a bit excited tonight, and she herself also wanted to see just what this "good thing" Xiaomi was talking about actually was.
Of the things they’d brought back in the afternoon, everything not given out to others—the meat was all freezing outside; the rest had all been moved into the storeroom.
Aside from the mandarins in bamboo baskets and the wine jars, many of the remaining things were packed in chests or wrapped in oiled paper. Outsiders couldn’t tell what they were and wouldn’t be rude enough to open them.
By the time Second Mother arrived, the two sisters were already waiting at the storeroom door. Xiaoxue looked at her mother somewhat helplessly.
"Mother, Xiaomi seems a little drunk. We forgot to give her hangover soup just now."
They had cooked quite a bit of hangover soup, but what they hadn’t finished had already been poured out. She and Mother had only had a little grape wine, and when they asked Xiaomi if she wanted any, she said no, so they hadn’t drunk any more.
They hadn’t expected that Xiaomi wasn’t not drunk, just slow to get drunk. Only now was she finally starting to feel a bit woozy.
But Xiaomi heard and stubbornly pouted. "I’m not drunk. I’m not drinking hangover soup."
Xiaoxue hurried to coax her. "All right, all right, you’re not drunk. You’re going to show Mother and Second Sister something good, and after we’ve seen it you’ll go to sleep, okay?"
Xiaomi snorted, indicating that this arrangement was acceptable.
Xiaoxue looked at her mother helplessly. Clearly drunk, yet insisting she wasn’t.
Second Mother handed the oil lamp to Xiaoxue and was already unlocking the door. "It’s fine. Xiaomi didn’t drink much, and it was only grape wine. We’ll just send her back to her room in a bit."
Grape wine might not be strong, but the aftereffect wasn’t small. She herself felt a bit tipsy now, though not uncomfortable; a short sleep would fix it.
The storeroom door opened, and Xiaomi, holding onto one on each side, pulled the two of them inside.
When they’d moved things in the afternoon, she had already come to take a look and knew where the thing she was talking about had been put, so now she naturally went straight there.
She then opened a big chest and took out a food box from inside.
"Second Sister, this is for you. I know you like candy best. There are all kinds of candies in here, they’re so tasty. I picked them out especially."
Xiaomi’s eyes were shining. When she was very, very little, her biggest wish had been to take all the candies from the space out and let Second Sister taste them.
She hadn’t expected that more than ten years would pass before she finally found the chance.
Inside were all sorts of milk candies, fruit candies, gummies, crisp candies, chocolates—all chosen by her personally.
And in her memory these had all been very pricey, high-end treats, the kind she’d been reluctant to buy and eat herself.
Of course, Xiaomi herself never had much interest in sweets.
Under Xiaomi’s expectant gaze, Second Mother took the oil lamp while Xiaoxue opened the box to take a look.
As soon as the lid of the food box was lifted, a sweet fragrance rushed out, and Xiaoxue’s eyes lit up at once.
Second Mother brought the oil lamp closer. The box was packed full, with all kinds of candies, each wrapped in glutinous rice paper.
Xiaoxue picked a smaller, white piece of candy and put it in her mouth; rich milky fragrance instantly filled her whole mouth.
"It’s delicious. Thank you, Xiaomi."
Xiaomi was very happy too, but still reminded her sister, "These are all for Second Sister, but you can’t eat too many at once. It’s bad for your teeth."