Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

Liu Yunlan pushed away the peach Juhua offered, smiling as she said she had just eaten and was still full. Then, she eagerly asked how Juhua was going to prepare the chicken.

Juhua said, "Stuff the chicken’s belly with garlic, sliced ginger, and red chilies. Then wrap it in lotus leaves and tie it tight. After that, coat the outside with yellow mud—the kind you use for curing duck eggs—and stick it into the stove hollow. Bury it in the hot ashes, just like you would a stew pot. When you pull it out tomorrow morning, the aroma will be incredible. Hmm, maybe we won’t even have to wait until tomorrow morning. When you slow-cook something in a pot, it’s full of water, so it definitely takes longer. This chicken is buried directly in a layer of mud, so it should cook a bit faster."

Liu Yunlan was fascinated and quickly said she wanted to give it a try.

Juhua had just finished a peach and said to her, "I just steamed a pot of buns, so I can prepare this chicken now. I’ll use the remaining fire to stick it in the stove hollow, and we’ll be able to eat it tonight."

Liu Yunlan urged her to hurry up and prepare it so she could watch.

Juhua first found a small hoe, located a patch of damp soil by the courtyard wall, and buried the peach pit right next to the wild chrysanthemums. Only then did she go into the kitchen with Liu Yunlan to prepare the chicken.

Watching Juhua plant the pit right after eating the peach, Liu Yunlan asked, amused and impressed, "Aren’t all the peach trees at home enough for you? You’re planting another one?"

Juhua turned her head and smiled. "It’s no trouble, and it doesn’t take any effort. When there’s no more room to plant in the courtyard, we’ll plant by the river and on the mountainside. Just think, Sis, in a few years, the foot of the mountain will be covered in peach trees. Not only will we have peaches to eat, but imagine how beautiful it will be when the blossoms bloom. The mountains are full of acorn trees, which are also beautiful in the fall. And, hmm, the wild chrysanthemums will spread more and more. Just thinking about it gets me excited."

As the saying goes, one generation plants the trees, and the next enjoys the shade. People usually don’t pay much attention to these things. They often only know how to cut down trees, not how to replant them. In truth, with just a little effort, one’s surroundings can become beautiful and abundant!

Take these peach trees, for instance. Just casually tossing a pit aside can be enough for it to sprout a small seedling. Of course, there’s a lot more to learn if you want the fruit tree to grow well. But if you keep planting, even if some get sick and die or don’t grow properly, the majority will thrive. Wouldn’t the peach grove just get bigger and bigger? When the land is covered in peach trees, who cares who planted them?

Liu Yunlan nodded. "Ah! You’re right. It doesn’t take much work to be a little more diligent. Oh, dear! I’ve been throwing away all my peach pits!"

She stomped her foot and sighed with a laugh. "I get it now. I suppose most people are like me—not very thoughtful, only focused on the here and now. Otherwise, like you said, there really would be fruit trees everywhere. I’ll remember next time. You have no idea, with this pregnancy, my cravings are terrible. I’m so happy to have all these things at home to eat that I never even thought about learning to plant trees like you all do."

Juhua smiled, pressing her lips together. "It’s not too late to learn. It’s best to plant peach trees every year, because not every one you plant will survive. Once they grow bigger, they also need to be pruned. Otherwise, they’ll grow all crooked. Besides, once the trees get too tall, it’ll be hard to pick the peaches."

As they talked, they stuffed the chicken’s belly with seasonings and sewed it shut with a needle and thread. Juhua wrapped the chicken in the leftover lotus leaves from noon, tied it securely with straw, and then kneaded some yellow mud—as if she were kneading dough—before tucking it into the stove hollow.

Liu Yunlan said, "Preparing it like this, you’ll definitely be able to eat it tonight. No need to wait for morning."

She immediately decided to go back and prepare her own, saying she would bury it at night and eat it the next morning.

Juhua quickly saw her out, reminding her to walk carefully. She watched until Liu Yunlan entered her own courtyard before turning back. She then washed the remaining peaches, placed them in a wooden bucket, and lowered it into the well to keep them cool, waiting for Huai Zi and the others to come home and eat.

After finishing all this, she went to the backyard to pick some vegetables for dinner.

Squatting by the well to wash the vegetables, she thought with a smile, ’Back when I lived with my parents, I was too busy to go out. Now that I’m married—even if it’s just next door—I’m still too busy to go back to my parents’ house. And now, the family that’s always on my mind is my husband’s.’

’Raising a daughter is really a losing proposition!’ she mused. ’Hmm, I should make something special to honor Mom and Dad soon. I need to let them know that even though I’m married, I’m still thinking of them.’

In the evening, He returned early from the fields again, carrying a large bundle of Huangdou under her arm. When Juhua saw her, she smiled and said, "I was just thinking of pulling up some Huangdou to shell and eat tonight, but I forgot to mention it to you at noon, Mother. I can’t believe you brought some back."

He smiled. "I was craving some Huangdou too, so I remembered."

Juhua brought the rice to a boil, then took the eggplant that was soaking in a basin—already cut into large slices—and placed it along the sides of the rice pot to steam. She also steamed two green peppers, put the lid on, added some firewood to the stove, and let the rice simmer. Only then did she sit down under the eaves with He to shell the Huangdou.

By the time Zhang Huai returned, carrying a large wooden tub filled with several smaller wooden basins and buckets, Juhua was already calling out that dinner was ready.

He put the items in the kitchen, set the large tub in its place, and saw Juhua busy by the stove. He sidled up next to her and asked with a smile, "What’s for dinner tonight?"

Juhua picked the steamed eggplant and green peppers from the side of the rice pot and placed them in a large, coarse porcelain bowl. She added some crushed garlic, a spoonful of lard, a pinch of crushed salt, and some finely chopped scallions. Then, she stirred everything vigorously with chopsticks until the eggplant and peppers became a fragrant, mash-like paste before she stopped.

Only then did she look up at him and smile. "You’ll never guess what new treat we’re having today."

Huai Zi had only asked casually—he just wanted to talk to her. But he didn’t expect Juhua to have actually made something special. His curiosity piqued, he asked, "What is it? How come I don’t see it?" As he spoke, he looked all around. Seeing nothing on the large cutting board, he even went over to the cupboard and checked it, shelf by shelf.

Juhua just beamed and let him search, offering no hints. ’If I don’t tell him,’ she thought, ’he could probably search until tomorrow morning and still not find it.’