The Herbal Scents of Farm Life

"I do want to lose weight, but can Grandma let me? She would stuff all the meat in the house down my throat if she could, and same with the uncles, aunts in the village, stuffing me with sunflower seeds here, peanuts there, I mean..."

She helplessly spread her chubby little hands.

In reality, the one who feels the most helpless when she's ballooned into a ball is actually her, you know.

"But, with Brother Changfeng home now, I can start losing weight." She stared at Lin Changfeng with a deep gaze and began laughing softly.

Lin Changfeng was puzzled by what she said.

What does his return have to do with this girl losing weight? He's not getting it at all. How could he ever guess the scheming thoughts running through his cousin's mind, that she was planning to regift all the food that Grandma had forced her to eat, to him?

"Are you hungry? I kept some rice and dishes warm for you in the pot, go eat."

"Alrighty, thanks, Brother Changfeng."

Lin Caisang nodded happily and headed toward the kitchen after opening the door.

But when she lifted the pot lid and saw a big bowl filled to the brim with four cornbread buns, she was completely flabbergasted and reluctantly took two out, placing them on the steamer.

A moment later, she looked skyward, speechless.

"Brother Changfeng, didn't we agree I'm on a diet? Are you trying to make fun of me?"

Seeing that there's even a big chicken leg underneath the cornbread buns, she covered her face, feeling as if life truly was impossible to go on!

Quietly, she grabbed the two pieces of cornbread from the steamer, abandoning the delicious chicken leg.

...

In the kitchen during the evening, Lin Changfeng helplessly watched Lin Caisang, who stood off to the side, pointing and gesturing directions at him.

"Sangsang, can't you… just stop talking for a bit?"

Although he wouldn't bear to see Sangsang struggling with cooking and kneading dough, hearing her endless chatter and seeing her disgruntled face at the dishes and cornbread he made, made him want to yell--

Why don't you give it a try yourself?

"Did I say anything? I didn't, right?"

Upon hearing his words, Lin Caisang blinked her innocent eyes.

In her mind, she really didn't say anything much. She was merely hoping that Brother Changfeng could make the dishes taste better and the cornbread look nicer. Is that so wrong?

"Brother Changfeng, we still have mung beans, right? Grind them into powder and add it to the cornbread tomorrow, it's sure to be delicious. And this dish, don't stew it like this, it's turned yellow, you should…"

Her linguistic bombardment on Lin Changfeng continued unabated...

Lin Changfeng: "..."

And she claims she said nothing? It's freezing cold now, wouldn't the dishes get cold if they're not stewed, making them inedible?

Besides, they don't have many ingredients at home: pickled vegetables, cornbread, and some leftover chicken because Sangsang didn't eat any, fried potato shreds...they are all supposed to be yellow, okay?

"Sangsang, the kitchen is greasy, you've borrowed my pens and ink, right? Use it now while it's still daylight. Brother Changfeng has to copy books later, so you will need to return them."

He said to Sangsang.

"Oh, those, I've used them already." Lin Caisang replied nonchalantly.

The most important thing for her now is to watch Brother Changfeng cook. Don't ask her why. She's lived two lifetimes and has never really cooked or fried anything, you know?

If she doesn't learn a bit now, she'll definitely be criticized in the future as not being a 'real woman'!

Lin Changfeng felt helpless, he couldn't possibly say, "Sangsang, why don't you go play outside for a bit?" could he?