Chapter 315 (2/2)

”That uh...let's wait until Little Linlin celebrates his first birthday? At that time, I'll go to the capital and partic.i.p.ate in his birthday grab [1].” Yu Xiaocao was still a bit wary of the rich and powerful families in the capital. Thus, she always had some hesitation in going to the capital.

Fang Zizhen thought for a bit and calculated that was less than half a year away, so he nodded in agreement, ”Then we'll agree on that. Don't try to find another excuse or reason to not go then.”

Yu Xiaocao let out a dry chuckle, ”How could I...G.o.dfather, you must be hungry! Let me go into the kitchen and make some of your favorite: braised pork knuckle.”

Fang Zizhen hadn't been able to eat the food made by his daughter for half a year. He smacked his lips and said, ”Okay. I heard that your family is raising a few wild boars. Must be hard in the middle of a disaster year.”

Yu Xiaocao smiled, ”My family didn't really go through that much. We firmly believed in the words of that white bearded immortal, so we harvested everything in the fields well in advance. We had six mu of sweet potatoes that were half grown then and also had some sweet potato seedlings. In addition, we had corn stalks and some wheat husks and such...ah, we also had locust powder that we made from dried locusts in storage. Using that to feed hogs and chickens makes them grow quite quickly!”

For the evening meal, Yu Xiaocao not only made braised pork knuckle but also stir fried some gra.s.shopper sauce for Fang Zizhen to try. Fang Zizhen really liked the savory and spicy gra.s.shopper sauce. In fact, he devoured five to six flatbreads covered with the gra.s.shopper sauce before he finally took a break to talk, ”Daughter ah! How come you didn't send a few jars of such delicious sauce to the capital?”

Yu Xiaocao replied in surprise, ”I asked the young royal prince to give you two jars to try. Did you not get any? I thought that you and G.o.dmother didn't like it because it was made with locusts, so I didn't bring it up later.”

”What? You asked Royal Prince Yang to bring gra.s.shopper sauce to us? How come I didn't hear your G.o.dmother mention it ah? Don't tell me your G.o.dmother didn't like it and sent it as a reward to the servants? That can't be right ah, she always tells me right away when you give stuff to us!” Fang Zizhen was a bit puzzled now.

Yu Xiaocao silently cursed the young royal prince in her heart and pouted, ”G.o.dfather, if you both didn't get any, then the young royal prince must have taken it for himself! That guy is really too much! I specifically told him that two jars were for you and the remaining two jars were for him!!”

The culprit, who had taken the gra.s.shopper sauce, that the two were talking about, was currently far away in the capital. Zhu Junyang was currently happily eating gra.s.shopper sauce while his lady mother and eldest brother watched him with alarm. Suddenly, his nose itched and he let out an enormous sneeze. He inwardly thought, 'I'm sure that la.s.s Yu Xiaocao is talking about me. Did she find out that I took the other two jars of gra.s.shopper sauce? Hmph, what does it matter if she knows? It's only two jars of gra.s.shopper sauce. That la.s.s has so many frozen locusts in the cellar, why does she care about two jars of gra.s.shopper sauce? Such a miser!!'

Princess Consort Jing endured the feeling of her stomach roiling as she worriedly said, ”Yang'er, is this gra.s.shopper sauce really made with locusts? Will there be any problems with eating it?”

Zhu Junyang spread a thick layer of the savory and spicy gra.s.shopper sauce on a white and soft steamed roll. He took a giant bite and said, ”Lady Mother, don't worry. I've eaten it countless times while I was in Dongshan Village. How could there be problems? This gra.s.shopper sauce is very tasty. Lady Mother, Eldest Brother, are you two sure you don't want to try any?”

Princess Consort Jing's mind was currently filled with the images of the dreadful locusts. Insects scared her the most, so she hurriedly shook her head, ”How could I have the nerve to fight for it when I can see that you love it so much? You can keep eating…”

Zhu Junyang hesitated for a bit before he asked Prince Jing, who had a solemn look on his face, ”Lord Father, do you want to try any?”

Prince Jing was silently thinking, 'You little brat, you've finally thought of me. I've been sitting here all by myself and I'm not tiny. Did you pretend that I wasn't here earlier?'

Prince Jing had a very serious demeanor. Even at home he continued to be dignified and imposing. Normally, all of his sons revered him but weren't very intimate with him, especially his youngest son. Ever since his youngest son turned five to six, his personality changed a lot and he became irritable and angry. His youngest son even injured people frequently. Prince Jing had a headache on his hands and punished him severely a few times. Thus, his youngest son started to hate him. Usually, his youngest son would avoid him whenever they crossed paths. If Zhu Junyang couldn't avoid Prince Jing, then he would just ignore him. Thus, Zhu Junyang normally only talked to his lady mother and eldest brother at the dining table and ignored Prince Jing's existence. The sun must have risen from the west today since Zhu Junyang voluntarily spoke to his father.

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[1] Birthday grab (抓周) - A custom of placing a variety of articles (writing brush, abacus, etc) before an infant on his or her birthday. The first one the baby picks up supposedly reveals his future career.