The Male Lead’s Wife in the ’80s

Chapter 26- We’re Going to Eat Firewood Pheasant Tonight

Translator’s Note: I don’t know much about cooking so I might have translated things incorrectly, but I tried my best.

Su Man-er felt the movement behind her.

She tilted her head and looked at him: “Do you want a nap, too?”

Didn’t he say he wanted to make a walking stick when he was eating at the table?

Chi Yunchen: “Yes, I’m tired, I’ll have a rest too!”

Su Man-er: “…”

Fine, she can’t stop him when he’s tired, can she?

She moved inwards a little, for fear that he would have no place to sleep if she slept outwards too much.

But, he grabbed her shoulder.

He pulled her back in place with a slight pull of his arm.

She frowned and turned to look at him, puzzled and unpleased: “What are you doing?”

Chi Yunchen coughed gently.

His eyes dodged slightly, his low voice was faintly mixed with uneasiness: “Winter is cold, if we’re near each other, it’ll be warmer.”

Su Man-er: “…” Is this person so afraid of the cold?

But her body was also afraid of the cold.

So…

She stretched out her hand and pulled him by the arm: “Come closer to me then.”

Chi Yunchen was stunned as if he had not thought that she would have such a considerate response.

After he was stunned for a moment, he moved his body and got close to her.

The two people transferred heat to each other as they were close together.

Su Man-er yawned and closed her eyes: “It really is warmer like this.”

Ai, she recalled that he was leaving tomorrow. 1

There were no electric blankets and hot-water bottles in this era.

So she was afraid it would be a little hard for her to sleep alone without him.

Chi Yunchen looked at her and saw that she was so tired that she seemed like she didn’t want to chat more. He frowned slightly and closed his eyes.

Grandma said that she wanted to hold her great-grandson, born between him and Su Man-er, as soon as possible.

But now it seems, he was afraid that he had to let down Grandma about this matter.

……

At this moment, next door at Li Cuihua’s house.

In the dirty and messy central room, Li Cuihua fiercely beat Hu Yujiao with a broom and scolded: “Lowly wench, d*mned lowly wench, you dare steal this old lady’s money, you really deserve a beating!”

The thrashing turned Hu Yujiao’s face white with pain.

She looked at Li Cuihua sadly: “Aunt, don’t hit me, please don’t hit me.”

“If I’ll beat you to death, I will beat you to death, you wench! Shameless wench, you stole my money and framed Chi Yunbo, causing me to go to Chi Yunbo’s house and be humiliated. Lowly wench, this old lady will beat you to death today. I’ll beat you to death, you scourge!” The more Li Cuihua thought about it, the angrier she got. As she got angrier, her movements became more ruthless.

She hit like crazy, truly wanting to beat Hu Yujiao to death.

And Hu Yujiao’s body was restrained by Dai Qiaoqiao and Sun Siyao. She couldn’t struggle even if she wanted to.

At the side, Chi Jiayu and Chi Jiaheng watched, clapped their hands, and cheered: “Good hit, good hit. Grandma, hit her hard, hit her hard.”

The two children were not frightened by the scene at all but were very excited.

Hu Yujiao firmly bit her lip.

She took a look at Li Cuihua who was beating her and looked at Dai Qiaoqiao and Sun Siyao who were holding down her body. Finally, she set her eyes on Chi Jiayu and Chi Jiaheng.

This family is bad from top to bottom!

She’ll retaliate against these wicked-minded, malicious, and rotten people sooner or later! Hu Yujiao vowed that one day, she would let these people repay her with double the pain she endured today!

A strong cold desire appeared deep in her eyes. She no longer begged for forgiveness nor struggled.

Because she knew that it was useless for her to beg for forgiveness and struggle!

These malicious and rotten people had no mercy at all. She might as well shut her mouth and save her energy!

……

When Su Man-er woke up, it was past five o’clock in the afternoon.

She got off the bed in a hurry. After tidying her hair simply, she rushed out in a hurry.

Chi Yunchen, who was making a walking stick in the yard, saw that she was awake. He first moved his eyebrows imperceptibly, then lowered his eyes and continued his hand movements.

Su Man-er walked up to him and spoke to him unhappily, “What’s the matter with you? Why didn’t you wake me up when you woke up? Now it’s so late, those people in the village will definitely not go to the grain drying ground. Then this matter about the apology…”

“Third Sister-in-law, Aunt has already apologized. At three o’clock in the afternoon, Third Brother called a lot of people in the village, and then called Aunt and the others. He made Aunt apologize to me in front of many villagers.” Chi Yunbo said in a hurry with a smile on his sickly face.

He was very happy when he thought of Aunt’s sullen appearance in the afternoon.

In the past, Aunt always bullied their family. Today, they finally let Aunt admit defeat.

“What? She already apologized?” Su Man-er’s eyes widened.

Xiao Jiayue ran to her: “Yes, Third Aunt. Grandma was very unhappy then. She was pouting her lips up.”

Her lips were so high up that you could hang sausages.

Su Man-er: “…”

She held her forehead, a little gloomy.

She bent over and sat down on the bench where Chi Yunchen sat: “Even if she apologized, I’m still not happy. I didn’t get to see such an important spectacle. I also want to see how she looks when she admits defeat!”

Li Cuihua who was peeling sweet potatoes in the courtyard next door: “…”

D*mn, Su Man-er, that little lowly wench, still wanted to see her admit defeat?

Haha, go eat sh*t!

She spat. Li Cuihua glared ruthlessly at the house next door, then continued to bow her head and peel sweet potatoes.

……

Chi Yunchen turned his eyes to look at Su Man-er, the emotion in his eyes stirring slightly: “If she makes trouble again next time, you can let her apologize in front of the whole village again. Then you can see how she looks when she admits defeat.”

Su Man-er: “…” The corners of her mouth twitched and her gaze was a little stunned as she looked at Chi Yunchen.

Was he serious or was he joking?

And Li Cuihua next door was so angered that her eyes popped out.

D*mn. Pooh! You still want me to apologize in front of all the villagers? What a pipe dream!

“Are you joking? But if she dares to make trouble again, I certainly won’t let her off!” After Su Man-er was stunned for a few seconds, she answered word by word.

Chi Yunchen lowered his head to cut the peach wood in his hands and he smiled imperceptibly.

He knew she was very intelligent.

With her here, perhaps Aunt and the others couldn’t bully his family anymore.

Usually, he is not at home, with her here, he is much more at ease.

After Su Man-er sat on the bench for two minutes, she got up and went to the kitchen.

It was a little late now. She could start to cook dinner.

What’s more, she wanted to get a pheasant to eat and make a big meal tonight. It took more time to cook a big meal.

She went into the kitchen and found a pheasant that had already been dealt with lying in the wood basin.

The pheasant had been cleaned up, without half a feather on it.

Su Man-er raised her eyebrows. Did Chi Yunchen deal with it? When did he do it?

She looked out of the kitchen, looking at the man dedicated to dealing with the peach wood. Her lips gently hooked up, a smile appearing on her face.

She found out that the male lead was becoming more and more pleasing to the eye as she looked at him more. 

She withdrew her line of sight, lifted the pheasant from the basin, and put it on the chopping board.

She was going to make firewood pheasant tonight. 2

Firewood chicken (look at footnote)

During this harsh winter evening, it was best to eat some warm and savory firewood pheasant.

She imagined the scene of everyone eating around the stove. Her lips were hooked up again and her face was filled with a delighted smile.

Because the family was quite poor, they didn’t buy many seasonings. But fortunately, she is good at cooking. Even if she didn’t have some seasonings, she could make it very delicious.

This pheasant had a lot of bird fat. She extracted oil from the bird fat and saw that there was a lot of oil. She ladled out a bowlful of oil and put it aside.

Chi Yunchen would leave tomorrow and he would leave for a long time. She wanted to make him something at home, wanting to give him a bottle of sauce to take away.

Life outside was certainly not easy. The food was certainly not so good. With a bottle of her sauce, his diet might be a little better.

She was busy in the kitchen, and Chi Yunbo and Chi Jiayue voluntarily came in to help her.

After Su Man-er extracted, she left some bird oil at the bottom of the pot. She then put in ginger, scallion, and Sichuan pepper. After she stir-fried for a while, she added her chopped chili.

The air was instantly filled with a fragrance that appealed to the taste buds.

Xiao Jiayue aggressively sniffed the fragrance, blinked at Su Man-er, and said, “Third Aunt, it’s so fragrant. My saliva is going to flow out.”

As he spoke, he stood on tiptoe and looked into the pot.

Not even one piece of bird meat had been put into the pot yet, but it was so fragrant even without bird meat.

It was so fragrant that he wanted to bite his tongue.

“Little greedy cat, don’t worry. The pheasant hasn’t even been put into the pot,” Su Man-er smiled, holding a wok spatula in her hand. She stir-fried the chili in the pot.

She stir-fried several times. Seeing that the degree of heat was good enough, she put the pheasant into the pot.

After stir-frying the pheasant in the pot for a while, the fragrance in the air was richer.

Even Chi Yunbo, who was sitting in front of the stove opening to tend the fire, smelled that it was fragrant that he wanted to bite his tongue.

At this moment, Chi Yunbo was secretly looking forward to the meal being ready sooner.

He was looking forward to being able to eat the delicacy in the pot sooner.

Su Man-er stir-fried the pheasant back and forth until it was somewhat brown before putting it with the garnish.

The garnish included mushrooms, potatoes, and radishes.

She stir-fried the garnish and pheasant one more time together. Su Man-er put down the wok spatula and ladled some water into the pot.

She placed the lid on the pot, went to the cupboard, and took out a large bowl, ready to make some corn cakes with cornmeal and flour. 3

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Corn cakes

It was good to eat firewood pheasant with some corn cakes.

At this moment, Chi Yunchen came in.

Chi Yunchen looked at her: “Do you need my help?”

As he spoke, he glanced at the covered pot.

He didn’t know how she made it and how she made the pheasant so fragrant.

He was outside just now. He also smelled that it was fragrant.

In the past, during the Chinese New Year, they would luxuriously get half a bird to eat.

But the bird they cooked in the past was not so fragrant.

Su Man-er looked at him: “No need, you go pick up Grandma and Mom. It’s so late now, they should come back.”

In the afternoon, after the business at the grain drying ground was over, Grandma Chi and Xiao Wanxiu went to the field.

They said they would go to the field and see how the Chinese cabbages and pea shoots were growing, and pick some pea shoots while there.

Chi Yunchen: “…”

He was silent for a second and nodded: “Ok.”

As he spoke, he turned around and walked out. Before he even got to the door, he heard Grandma Chi and Xiao Wanxiu’s voices. They had come back.

Grandma Chi’s feet were inconvenient and Xiao Wanxiu couldn’t see, so they squandered half a day to come back.

As soon as they entered the door and smelled the fragrance in the air, they both aggressively swallowed their saliva.

It must be Man-er making delicious food again.

With Man-er here, they enjoyed fine food.

Grandma Chi carried a basket in her hand which contained many pea shoots.

Chi Yunchen came forward to take the pea shoots and then helped his mother and grandmother enter the house.

“Grandma, Mom, you’re back,” Su Man-er mixed flour and cornflour, mixing it with some water.

As she kneaded the flour, she watched Grandma Chi and Xiao Wanxiu speak.

Grandma Chi looked at Su Man-er’s figure and said with a smile: “What delicious thing is Man-er making? I smelled the fragrance just now outside the door.”

“We’ll eat firewood pheasant tonight,” Su Man-er answered in a hurry.

Firewood pheasant?

Grandma Chi and Xiao Wanxiu were both stunned. Chi Yunchen was also stunned.

Just listening to the name of firewood pheasant, he knew that it was a kind of bird recipe, but he had never heard of firewood pheasant.

He glanced at Su Man-er, where did she learn these cooking techniques?

Chi Yunchen wanted to ask her, but Su Man-er suddenly looked at him: “You help me wash some mushrooms. Yes, wash about a catty’s worth.”

Chi Yunchen: “…”

What he wanted to ask was immediately swallowed.

He looked at the mushrooms in the basket that was put aside: “Wash that many? Am I washing it to stir-fry or stew in soup?”

If it was used to stew in soup, she didn’t need that many mushrooms.

Su Man-er replied faintly: “It’s used to make a sauce.”

“Make a sauce?” Chi Yunchen was a little surprised: “What sauce are you making?”

Su Man-er said: “I’m making a mushroom-pheasant sauce. Aren’t you leaving tomorrow? I want to make you a bottle of sauce for you to take. If your meals usually aren’t good at the factory, you can eat the sauce with rice.”

Chi Yunchen: “…”

Hearing this, his throat bobbed. A strange feeling suddenly filled his chest.

Grandma Chi and Xiao Wanxiu were very touched.

Yunchen had a good wife. She also knew how to be distressed for her husband.

Yes, good, good, good. This daughter-in-law is very good. She is the best.

Chi Yunchen took a profound look at Su Man-er. Instead of saying anything more, Chi Yunchen went to the basket, picked out about a catty of mushrooms, and began to wash it.

When the pheasant in the pot was just cooked, Qin Sufang and Hong Yashan came back together.

Seeing Qin Sufang, Grandma Chi and the others were all stunned.

“Elder Sister Qin, why are you here? Sit down quickly,” Grandma Chi said, inviting Qin Sufang to sit down on the bench.

Qin Sufang held a bag of white sugar in her hands. She handed the white sugar to Grandma Chi: “My son came back from the provincial capital. He brought me several bags of white sugar. I see that I can’t finish eating it, so I brought you a bag. Your health usually isn’t good, you can use it to make sweetened water to drink. You should be more energetic after drinking it.”

“How would I have the nerve to take it? About this, I…” Grandma Chi wanted to refuse.

But Qin Sufang saw the pheasant in the pot.

The pheasant was shiny due to the oil and had even given off a very alluring fragrance.

Qin Sufang immediately swallowed her saliva aggressively.

She pointed to the pot of pheasant: “Are you eating pheasant?”

Su Man-er thought that this elder was a good person and had helped her family before.

So she laughed and invited the elder: “Yes, this is a pheasant caught from the mountain today. I see that Grandma Qin shouldn’t have eaten yet. Why don’t you eat here together?”

“Oh, how would I have the nerve? It’s really not good for me to eat pheasant with you,” She said it wasn’t good, but Grandma Qin sat down on the bench next to Grandma Chi.

Chi Yunchen, Chi Yunbo, and the others looked on: “…”

If it’s not good, why did you sit down?

And in the yard next door.

Chi Jiayu pulled Li Cuihua’s sleeve and said: “Grandma, I want to eat at Second Grandma’s house. I want to eat at her house!”

Chi Jiaheng also said: “Second Grandma’s family must be eating delicious food today. I can smell the fragrance from her home!”

Footnotes

Ai (哎）is a sound for sighing.Firewood pheasant (柴火鸡) is better known as firewood chicken, but Su Man-er was cooking with pheasant, so I changed it. Here’s a link with a video about someone eating firewood chicken and some background history: https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/fresh-firewood-chicken-rural-sichuan-china玉米粑粑 (translated as corn cakes) is a popular dish in Southwest China, according to Baidu.(https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E7%8E%89%E7%B1%B3%E7%B2%91%E7%B2%91)