Shen Xiaoyan merely glanced, then followed Yue Qingxin to the main room, wondering if the children had woken up yet.
Zheng Wei and Sima Han exchanged a look and resolutely followed Shen Xiaoyan and the others.
As for persuading people, they were all terrible at it.
Besides, no matter what they said, it wasn't as important as Lu Taobao figuring it out himself.
Upon entering the room, sure enough, the four little ones were awake. Seeing a few people come in, they all grinned and stretched out their hands for a hug.
Luoluo and Huadian Dian were lying not far from the side of the kang. Seeing Shen Xiaoyan and the others enter, they both raised their heads.
"Have they been fed?"
Shen Xiaoyan took Zheng Jiang, asking the wet nurse.
"They just woke up not long ago and have already been fed," the wet nurse replied.
Shen Xiaoyan nodded in agreement, then told the wet nurses to go down.
"What fun did you find in the mountains?"
Luoluo waited until the wet nurses had all gone to the back before jumping onto the kang, squatting in front of Shen Xiaoyan, looking up at her.
"When are you going to get rid of those people? This cat can't do anything now, I can only watch them every day, it's so annoying."
Luoluo didn't wait for Shen Xiaoyan's answer. It didn't care if Shen Xiaoyan and the others had found anything fun; the priority was to deal with those people in the fruit forest. It had no freedom, did it? It could only watch Bai Bai run around, okay?
"Don't be anxious. I will definitely find a way to deal with them as soon as I return. However, we have to wait until they finish repairing the ditch for me. Do you want me to drive them away and then hire another group of people to fix this ditch?"
"Who isn't anxious?"
Lu Taobao's voice suddenly came, and then he walked over.
Shen Xiaoyan and the others were all startled.
Wasn't this guy meditating just now? How did he snap out of it so quickly? Did he hear what they said?
"Is our little darling hungry again?" Lu Taobao walked to the edge of the kang, bent down, and teased Ruan Ruan in Zheng Wei's arms.
Hearing this, Shen Xiaoyan understood that he hadn't heard anything.
While relieved, Shen Xiaoyan secretly glanced at Luoluo. It was all its fault today. It clearly knew Lu Taobao was there but dared to speak.
Luoluo was indifferent to Shen Xiaoyan's gaze. It licked its paw, then jumped off the kang and, together with Huadian Dian, walked away with its head held high.
"This Luoluo is getting smarter and smarter," Lu Taobao said thoughtfully, watching Luoluo leave.
Shen Xiaoyan's heart tightened at this. She said calmly, "Of course. Look at who raised it. How could it not be smart?"
Shen Xiaoyan said this and gave Lu Taobao a look that said, "You're so dumb."
Lu Taobao laughed heartily, "Yes, Sister-in-law is so smart, so the cat she raises must also be smart."
"Glad you know," Shen Xiaoyan arrogantly agreed with Lu Taobao's words.
"Weren't you just looking like you had no will to live and were about to commit suicide? Why are you here now?" Zheng Wei glanced at Lu Taobao and said coolly.
"Cough, cough, who's committing suicide? She's not dead..." Lu Taobao was so startled by Zheng Wei's words that he choked on his saliva, coughing non-stop, his face turning red in moments.
"What's wrong? Are you okay? I just said something casually, and you got so agitated? Then why didn't you speak up and keep them here earlier?" Shen Xiaoyan said, giving Lu Taobao a big roll of her eyes.
A flicker of regret crossed Lu Taobao's eyes, but he just smiled wryly and shook his head without speaking.
Seeing this, Shen Xiaoyan didn't press the matter further.
Not long after, Madam Qu arrived, saying that the items had been prepared.
Shen Xiaoyan put Zheng Jiang down on the kang, immediately stood up, and said, "You all wait here. Today, I will make roast suckling pig for you."
"Sister-in-law, Sister-in-law, take me with you. I want to learn too." Lu Taobao said, and followed Shen Xiaoyan out.
Watching Shen Xiaoyan and Lu Taobao's figures disappear, the three people in the room smiled helplessly.
"Indeed, foodies never forget about food no matter when..."
"Eating is the key to solving all problems." Yue Qingxin pursed her lips as she listened to Zheng Wei and Sima Han's conversation, her heart bursting with laughter. It seemed Lu Taobao would never escape the title of foodie in his life.
When Shen Xiaoyan and Lu Taobao reached the west courtyard, they saw a table set up in the courtyard. On the table was a small wild suckling pig that had just been cleaned. This small wild suckling pig weighed about twenty catties. The first time Shen Xiaoyan saw it, she felt it was good material for roast suckling pig, so she immediately took it. The blood had been drained from the wild suckling pig, and its hair had been singed off. There was a long incision on its belly, and its internal organs had been removed and set aside. This was something Shen Xiaoyan had arranged for Madam Qu to prepare in advance.
Shen Xiaoyan went into the kitchen, washed her hands, and came out again with a long knife.
"Sister-in-law, what are you doing with the knife?" Lu Taobao asked curiously when he saw Shen Xiaoyan come out with a knife.
"Just watch," Shen Xiaoyan said. She walked to the table. She placed the pig belly-side up, split it from chest to abdomen, making the pig flat. Then, she used the back of the knife to cut the third rib, removing all the pig ribs and the two side fan bones. Finally, she scooped out the pig's brain and made two cuts on each side. Shen Xiaoyan performed these actions with fluid grace, not only stunning Lu Taobao but also impressing Madam Qu and Madam Zhou. The reason was that what Shen Xiaoyan was doing at this moment required excellent knife skills.
Next, it was time to apply the seasoning. Shen Xiaoyan coated the pig's chest and abdomen with spices, hooked it with an iron hook, and hung it on an iron rack to drip dry. While this was happening, Shen Xiaoyan mixed various seasonings. After the pig's body had dried, she evenly coated its chest and abdomen with the seasonings and let it marinate for a while. Afterwards, she asked Madam Qu to boil a pot of hot water. When the water boiled, she scooped it into a basin and brought it over, pouring boiling water over the entire pig body. The purpose of doing this was to tighten the pig's skin and firm the meat. Then, she brushed the scalded pig body with sugar water. After applying the sugar water, she propped up the pig's body with wooden strips.
While Shen Xiaoyan was preparing these things, Madam Qu had already lit the charcoal fire. Shen Xiaoyan walked over, divided the charcoal fire into two piles, front and back, placed the grill over the charcoal fire, and then put the prepared pig body on the grill to roast. Until the pig's head and hindquarters were roasted to a dark red color, she poked several holes on them with a needle to release gas. Then, she brushed the pig's body with vegetable oil, spread the charcoal into a long strip, and roasted the entire pig body evenly, constantly turning the pig body to ensure it was heated uniformly. As the roasting time increased, the aroma slowly diffused. Shen Xiaoyan took a deep breath, a satisfied and confident smile on her face. She knew that even though she hadn't done this in a long time, her cooking skills were still as good as ever.
"Wow, it smells so good." Lu Taobao kept sniffing, constantly swallowing his saliva. Seeing his greedy appearance, he really wanted to pounce on it and eat it immediately.
When Shen Xiaoyan had roasted the entire pig body to a deep red color, the suckling pig was considered ready. While Shen Xiaoyan was roasting the suckling pig, Madam Qu and Madam Zhou were not idle. The two of them made crispy butter pancakes in the kitchen, prepared several cold mixed dishes, and a soup. Most importantly, they made suckling pig sauce according to the method Shen Xiaoyan had told them.