Pregnant Salted Fish Chapter 21

Bonus chapter ! Thank you @Emme for the kofis ~~ (୨୧•͈ᴗ•͈)◞ᵗʱᵃᵑᵏઽ*♡

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“Hmm, maybe it’s an illegitimate child Big Brother left in the Xu Family Village!” Xu Yanqing looked up and spoke nonsense with a serious face.

“No, Ah Ning is Daddy and Mommy’s child, not Uncle Xianzhi’s child.” The little one looked at Xu Yanqing, who was reading, “Little Uncle is lying. Children who lie aren’t good children.”

“But I’m no longer a child,” Xu Yanqing retorted without hesitation, openly bullying the child.

Mu Yu finally figured out the child’s identity and then watched, caught between laughter and tears, as his young master bullied the five- or six-year-old chubby kid.

“I need to read. You go out and play with Brother Mu Yu!” Xu Yanqing was at a crucial part of the story, watching the hunter seriously trick the innocent young master. He couldn’t help but smack his lips. It was a bit greasy but very exciting.

“No, I want to play with you.” The little one stared unblinkingly at Xu Yanqing, thinking how handsome his little uncle was, much prettier than Xiao Hua’er from Grandma Chunyan’s house.

Xu Yanqing didn’t even look up this time, focusing entirely on his storybook. At this point, the hunter had taken advantage of the heavy rain to leave the young master in a dilapidated house in the mountains. The two men were hungry and cold. The hunter lit a fire and took off his clothes to dry them by the fire. The flames reflected on the young master’s face, making the fair and jade-like young master even more beautiful and moving.

With such a thrilling plot, how could he bear to put down his storybook and play house with a milky-smelling little child?

Seeing that his little uncle didn’t want to play with him, Ah Ning didn’t make a fuss. Anyway, he heard Uncle Xianzhi say that his little uncle would stay in the village for a long time, and sooner or later, he would get his little uncle to play with him.

Mu Yu took the freshly made egg pancakes to coax Ah Ning to play aside and also placed a plate of hot egg pancakes on the tea table beside his young master.

Xu Yanqing ate pancakes and read, enjoying his leisurely life.

Ah Ning ate a bowl of egg pancakes, played with Mu Yu for a while, and then eagerly ran back to Xu Yanqing.

Xu Yanqing was tired of reading his storybook, and his eyes were a bit uncomfortable. He was resting with his eyes closed when he heard the child’s light footsteps.

“Chubby kid, what do you want to do now!” When Xu Yanqing opened his eyes, Ah Ning had already walked up to him.

“Is Little Uncle going to sleep?” Ah Ning wasn’t scared by Xu Yanqing at all and obediently climbed onto the chair.

Xu Yanqing shook his head: “I’m not sleepy, not sleeping.”

Ah Ning nodded like a little adult, then said to Xu Yanqing, “Then does Little Uncle want to go out and play?”

“What’s wrong? Tired of staying in the courtyard?” Xu Yanqing had been in Xu Family Village for so long but hadn’t gone out for a stroll yet. Now that he didn’t want to read, taking the child out for a walk wouldn’t be a problem.

Seeing that Xu Yanqing seemed to agree, Ah Ning excitedly jumped off the chair and took Xu Yanqing’s hand.

Xu Yanqing slowly stood up and walked out holding the child’s hand. Today was the day of ancestor worship in Xu Family Village, so apart from the ancestral hall, there weren’t many people in each household.

Shaking the child’s hand, Xu Yanqing looked down and asked, “Where do you want to go play?”

“Does Little Uncle want to eat peaches?” Ah Ning raised a finger and pointed in the direction of his house: “There’s a peach tree behind my house’s courtyard, and the peaches are ripe now, but I’m too short to reach them!”

The people of Xu Family Village were simple and honest. Everyone in the village was surnamed Xu, so they were all family. Xu Yuan was the village chief and had to set an example, so the peach tree behind his house’s courtyard was never picked clean all at once. Instead, whoever wanted to eat them would go and pick a few.

As soon as Xu Yanqing heard “peaches,” he remembered the scent of peaches he smelled in his dream, so he nodded with great interest: “Let’s go, let’s pick peaches!”

The peach tree planted in Ah Ning’s home wasn’t tall; it was within arm’s reach. Ah Ning even went home specifically to get a small bamboo basket. Xu Yanqing picked a peach and put it in the small bamboo basket.

The child stared at the peaches in the small bamboo basket, drooling. He had caught a slight cold recently, and his mother and grandmother wouldn’t let him eat peaches, which fueled his craving.

Xu Yanqing picked a few large and red peaches and returned home satisfied. Knowing that his young master had gone to pick peaches, Mu Yu was startled and scrutinized Xu Yanqing up and down several times before finally relaxing, but he couldn’t help warning him: “Young master, you must take me with you next time you go out; otherwise, what if something happens to you outside?”

Ever since he became pregnant, Mu Yu seemed to have turned into a verbose old nanny. To prevent himself from being subjected to Mu Yu’s verbal torment, Xu Yanqing obediently nodded and promised to take Mu Yu along next time he went out.

Ah Ning shook Xu Yanqing’s hand: “Little Uncle, is Brother Mu Yu angry?”

“No,” Xu Yanqing shook his head seriously, “Brother Mu Yu also wanted to go pick peaches, but we didn’t take him with us, so he’s sad.”

Mu Yu felt that his young master was becoming more and more improper, with one trick after another to fool children.

Ah Ning, however, believed him. He ran to Mu Yu and said, “Brother Mu Yu, don’t worry, next time we pick peaches or other fruits, I’ll definitely call you along.”

The child was truly obedient and thoughtful. Mu Yu nodded with great satisfaction: “Then I’ll thank Ah Ning in advance!”

Seeing that Mu Yu seemed less sad, Ah Ning grinned happily. He carried his small bamboo basket to the kitchen to wash the peaches. Mu Yu, afraid he would get his clothes wet, quickly followed to help.

Xu Yanqing took some water from the water vat and washed his hands. Those peaches were fuzzy peaches with many tiny hairs, which would make him itchy if they got on him.

Xu Yanqing looked down and saw that some fuzz had gotten on his clothes, so he went back to his room to change into a new set of clothes. By the time he came out, Mu Yu and the child had already washed the peaches.

The child generously gave Mu Yu a good-looking peach, then picked the biggest and reddest peach for Xu Yanqing, and finally sat contentedly on the chair, hugging his small bamboo basket and eating peaches.

He looked like he was going to devour four or five large peaches at once. Xu Yanqing stared at the child’s bulging cheeks as he ate, then reached out and pulled the small bamboo basket the child was holding. Under the child’s confused gaze, he said very seriously, “Children can’t eat too many peaches; you’ll get diarrhea. You know what diarrhea is, right? If it doesn’t get better, you’ll have to take bitter medicine.”

The child, who had just stopped taking medicine for his cold two days ago, believed him and made a cute, bitter face: “Can I really only eat one?”

“It’s absolutely true, no doubt about it.” Xu Yanqing handed the small bamboo basket to Mu Yu, who was eating peaches behind him. Seeing the child’s teary eyes from being tricked, he rarely felt a pang of conscience: “But don’t worry, I’ll have Brother Mu Yu make the peaches into jam for you to eat with steamed buns.”

“What’s jam? Is it like bean paste?” Ah Ning took a bite of peach and asked curiously.

Xu Yanqing shook his head: “Although they’re both paste, the difference is quite big. Jam is sweet, and bean paste is savory.”

Now Ah Ning was even more curious. He had a piece of peach in his mouth, but his mind was already fantasizing about sweet peach jam.

Mu Yu was also a bit curious; he had never heard of peaches being made into jam!

Seeing the two, big and small, staring at him curiously, Xu Yanqing unhurriedly continued to eat his peach. After he slowly finished his peach, he got up and walked to the kitchen.

“First, peel the peaches, but don’t throw away the peach peels yet.” Xu Yanqing was only responsible for verbal instructions; a salted fish would be lazy whenever possible and never do things himself.

Mu Yu obediently followed instructions, taking out all the remaining peaches from the small bamboo basket, peeling them, and then, as his young master had said, chopping all the peach flesh into small cubes.

Ah Ning sat obediently beside Xu Yanqing, holding the not-completely-peeled peach pits in his hands and gnawing on them, his big round eyes unblinkingly staring at the peach pulp on the cutting board.

After all the peaches were diced, Mu Yu, following his young master’s instructions, placed all the peach flesh into a small basin, sprinkled a thick layer of sugar, and let it sit for a while.

During this time, Ah Ning stayed by the small basin containing the peach flesh. When the time was almost up, he quickly pulled Mu Yu, who was busy with other things, over.

Ah Ning sat in front of the stove and lit the fire, with Xu Yanqing watching nearby. The child was clearly very experienced and started the fire in just a few quick movements.

The marinated fruit pulp was all poured into the pot, and Mu Yu began to stir-fry continuously. At this point, the kitchen was already filled with the sweet scent of peaches, and the chubby kid stoking the fire was practically drooling.

After simmering for a while over low heat, Mu Yu, under Xu Yanqing’s direction, also put the peach peels into the pot, then continued to stir-fry. After a long while, he scooped out the peach peels, squeezed half a citron into the pot, and slowly stir-fried a bit more. The peach jam was ready.

Ah Ning couldn’t wait to dip a little with his chopsticks and put it into his mouth. His small face broke into a satisfied smile: “Little Uncle, the peach jam is so sweet!”

“Is it delicious?” Xu Yanqing raised his hand and pinched the child’s chubby little cheek.

“Shho good…” The child’s face was pinched by Xu Yanqing so much that he couldn’t speak clearly, but he wasn’t angry. His gaze couldn’t help but glance at the peach jam in the pot.

Xu Yanqing got up and pulled the child out of the kitchen: “Peach jam tastes better when it’s cool. Don’t worry, your Brother Mu Yu won’t eat it all.”

Embarrassed by the teasing, the child blushed: “Ah Ning wasn’t thinking about the peach jam… it’s just my mouth that’s craving it!”

When it was almost lunchtime, Qi Chen finally returned from the mountain with his small basket. Seeing the child clinging to Xu Yanqing in the courtyard, he couldn’t help but say, “Did you give birth so quickly?”

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