TSWPF -Chapter 243 Stubbornness

For the sake of safety, Li Qingling and the others didn’t go too far. They stayed on the outer edges of the mountain, hunting and picking wild vegetables.

Li Qingling and Liu Zhimou caught three wild chickens and two wild rabbits. Feeling that it was enough to eat, they stopped and went to look for Mr. Luo and the others.

“Great-Grandmaster, where are you?”

After calling several times, they finally heard Mr. Luo respond. Following the sound, the two of them walked over and saw Mr. Luo with the children, picking mao-wowei.

When Li Qingning saw Li Qingling and Liu Zhimou, she lifted the mao-wowei in her hand. “Elder Sister, Brother-in-law, look—there’s so much mao-wowei here.” Big and tender too. If they took it back to stew with chicken, it would definitely be delicious.

Just thinking about it made her mouth water.

“You’ve picked so many wild vegetables and mao-wowei?” Li Qingling looked at the bamboo baskets the children had brought along. They were filled to the brim with wild greens and mao-wowei. “We’re in for a treat tonight.”

Apparently, not many people came up this mountain to gather wild vegetables, so everything still looked quite tender.

“Wow, Elder Sister, you caught so much game?” As soon as Li Qingning noticed the prey Li Qingling had put on the ground, she hurriedly placed the mao-wowei from her hands into the basket and ran over. She poked at the animals with her finger. “Elder Sister, can I eat roasted chicken and roasted rabbit?”

She couldn’t help swallowing. It had been a long time since she last ate roasted chicken or rabbit.

Li Qingling smiled and said yes. She told Mr. Luo and the others to keep picking mao-wowei, while she and Liu Zhimou took two wild chickens and one wild rabbit to the small stream by the mountain to clean them, planning to roast them right there.

By the time Li Qingling and Liu Zhimou finished preparing the chicken and rabbit, Li Qingfeng and the others had already thoughtfully gone to collect firewood. Li Qingling could roast them straight away.

Mr. Luo sat to the side and, following Li Qingling’s instructions, roasted the chicken and rabbit.

Turning to the steward, he said, “Thanks to these children, I’ve finally experienced the joy of a picnic.” When he was younger, he had gone hunting with a few close friends, but he had never personally roasted the game.

Those were things he never had to do—servants would naturally prepare everything and bring it to him.

It was only now that he truly experienced this kind of pleasure.

The steward suppressed the twitching at the corner of his mouth and smiled as he responded with a hum.

An old child, truly an old child. He felt that phrase fit Mr. Luo perfectly right now.

Mr. Luo didn’t care what the steward thought. He turned back to Li Qingling and eagerly asked how the remaining chicken and rabbit would be cooked.

In just these two days, Li Qingling felt that Mr. Luo was about to turn into a foodie. Out of ten sentences, nine were about food.

Was it really true that one becomes like those they spend time with? Mr. Luo had only played with the children for two days, yet he’d already been turned into a food lover by them.

No matter what she thought in her heart, she still answered him with a smile. “The remaining chicken will be taken home and stewed with mao-wowei—it’ll be wonderfully fresh. The wild rabbit can be stir-fried directly with chili peppers; it’s especially good with rice.” As she spoke, her own mouth started to water. It had been a long time since she’d eaten such authentic wild game.

She felt that with only one chicken and one rabbit left to take back, it might not be enough. After finishing the roasted chicken and rabbit, she planned to hunt a few more.

Slurp… As soon as Li Qingling finished speaking, the sound of swallowing came from the children.

Hearing that, Li Qingling smiled at them. “Your saliva’s about to drip—wipe your mouths.”

Li Qingning really did reach up to wipe the corner of her mouth. She sidled up to Li Qingling. “Elder Sister, should we go catch a few more chickens and rabbits? I think one chicken and one rabbit won’t be enough.” In her opinion, Second Brother and Third Brother alone could finish them. Truly not enough!

Tilting her head to glance at Li Qingning, Li Qingling raised an eyebrow and deliberately teased her, saying that she was still young and shouldn’t eat so much meat, and that she should save it for her brothers.

At that, Li Qingning’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Elder Sister, if I don’t eat meat, I won’t grow!” Waa… How could Elder Sister be so cruel? Making her not eat meat was practically taking her life.

She was someone who couldn’t live without meat!

“Eating too much meat isn’t good for your health. I think you should eat more vegetables and keep a balanced diet.”

Was Elder Sister trying to deprive her of her right to eat meat? Li Qingning looked at Li Qingling with a face full of grief and indignation. With a howl, she pounced onto Li Qingling’s back, rubbing her cheek against Li Qingling’s neck and shamelessly acting cute.

As long as she could eat meat, even making her write five more sheets of calligraphy would be fine.

But if she wasn’t allowed to eat meat, she felt the world would truly turn gray.

Li Qingling was tickled by her rubbing and burst into laughter. Unable to take it anymore, she reached out and lightly patted Li Qingning’s little bottom, telling her to get down.

“Elder Sister, if you don’t give me meat, I won’t get down.”

“Alright, alright, you’ll have meat,” Li Qingling laughed. “Elder Sister was just joking. How could I not let you eat meat?” If she really didn’t give her meat, she’d definitely make a scene that would shake the heavens.

She had never seen someone who loved meat so much—missing meat for even one meal was unbearable.

Fortunately, she usually urged her to eat vegetables too, so it hadn’t led to an unbalanced diet.

Hearing Li Qingling’s words, Li Qingning finally relaxed. Her meat hadn’t run away after all.

She beamed and planted a kiss on Li Qingling before climbing down. Then she scooted over to sit beside Mr. Luo, staring unblinkingly at the roasted chicken in his hands.

Seeing that her eyes didn’t even blink, Mr. Luo chuckled. “Ningning, close your mouth. A mosquito’s about to fly in.”

Li Qingning obediently closed her mouth, gave Mr. Luo a goofy grin, and asked when the chicken would be ready.

She rubbed her stomach, feeling that it was already completely flat from hunger.

“That, I’m not too sure,” Mr. Luo said, patting her head. He couldn’t bear to let her go hungry, so he turned to Li Qingling and asked whether the chicken was ready yet.

Li Qingling took a look and told him to sprinkle on the seasonings and roast it a little longer, and it would be done.

Hearing that it was almost ready, Li Qingning’s eyes lit up. She hurriedly took the seasonings and evenly sprinkled them over the roasted chicken.

Mr. Luo roasted it a bit more. When Li Qingling said it was ready, he took the chicken down.

He was the first to use his dagger to cut off a roasted chicken leg and handed it to Li Qingning to eat first.

Although Li Qingning was very greedy, out of respect for the upbringing she’d received since childhood, she shook her head and told Mr. Luo to eat first.

Mr. Luo smiled and told her to take it, saying he would eat in a bit too.

Li Qingning took the drumstick, then turned to look at Liu Zhimou and Li Qingling. Only after seeing them nod did she smile and start gnawing on it.

She didn’t keep it all to herself either. After taking one bite, she handed it to Liu Zhirou and let her have a taste.

Liu Zhirou smiled, took a bite, then passed it to Li Qingfeng.

Just like that, the children shared the drumstick, taking turns until it was finished.

Seeing this scene, Mr. Luo felt a faint warmth in his heart. These children had truly been raised well. Even the youngest, Li Qingning, though hungry, didn’t think only of herself but shared with her brothers and sisters.

He pressed his lips together, then quickly cut up the rest of the roasted meat and handed portions to the children.

The children insisted that Mr. Luo and the steward eat first. Only after seeing them eat did the children start eating too.

On Li Qingling’s side, the roasted chicken and rabbit were ready as well. After finishing the two roasted chickens and one roasted rabbit, everyone’s stomachs were full.

They sat by the river to rest for a while. Li Qingling reminded them not to run around, then she and Liu Zhimou went hunting again.

By the time they all returned from the mountain to the estate, the sun was already close to setting.

Li Qingling handed the hunted chickens and rabbits to the estate manager, asking him to prepare them and set them aside for her to cook later.

That evening’s dinner left Mr. Luo and the steward—both old men—completely stuffed. They hadn’t expected Li Qingling’s cooking to be so good, even better than the chefs back at the manor. Once they started eating, they couldn’t stop, and ended up overeating.

“Xiao Ling, your cooking is really excellent,” Mr. Luo praised.

Li Qingling smiled. “I only know how to make simple home-style dishes. If Great-Grandmaster likes them, I can cook for you whenever I have time.” She knew very well that the food tasted better because she used spiritual water.

Without that little cheat, her dishes wouldn’t taste quite so amazing.

“That would be wonderful,” Mr. Luo said cheerfully. He didn’t treat Li Qingling like an outsider at all and readily agreed.

In fact, he was starting to envy Old Xue. Who knew how many delicious meals he’d been enjoying at home?

Should he trick Liu Zhimou and the others into moving to his residence instead? That way, he could teach Liu Zhimou while also eating Li Qingling’s cooking—killing two birds with one stone.

As he thought about it, he said it out loud.

Liu Zhimou and Li Qingling were both stunned. They really hadn’t considered moving out of the Xue residence at all.

And even if they wanted to, the old man wouldn’t agree.

“Great-Grandmaster, thank you for your kindness,” Liu Zhimou said with a smile as he gently declined. “We’ll stay with Grandpa for now. After the spring examination, we can make other plans. Besides, too many people come to visit you at your residence—it wouldn’t be very convenient for us to live there.”

If he didn’t want to be exposed too early, he had to avoid other people.

After hearing about those matters from his teacher, he deeply felt that once he was exposed, trouble would follow endlessly.

Before the spring examination, he needed to cut off such trouble at the source.

Hearing this, Mr. Luo finally remembered that point. His residence really wasn’t suitable for Liu Zhimou and the others to live in—at least not before the spring examination.

“Alright, we’ll talk about it later,” he replied, then changed the topic.

During these days at the estate, Liu Zhimou and the others had an exceptionally good time—so enjoyable that they almost didn’t want to leave.

Little did they know that the old man back at the manor was on the verge of collapse. Looking at Liu Zhen, who sat beside him as immovable as a mountain, he let out a heavy sigh and asked why he had come again.

Liu Zhen gently set down his teacup and looked at the old man. “Old Xue, do you really not know where my grandsons and granddaughters are?”

He had received a reply from his eldest grandson. When he read the contents of the letter, his heart was filled with both sorrow and joy.

Sorrow that his youngest son was gone. Joy that his youngest son had left behind several children—and that those children had come to the capital and were staying at Old Xue’s residence.

The moment he learned this, he rushed straight to the Xue residence. Yet Old Xue stubbornly refused to admit anything. Liu Zhen couldn’t use force either, so with no other choice, he could only come over whenever he had time, pestering Old Xue endlessly.