Witty Wife, Better Life-Chapter 70 - 68 Yogurt

Uncle Shen had not wanted to say, but he thought that if he didn’t tell Yunfang, the naive girl might still consider them as well-meaning people.

“It was Liu Shude’s family who reported you,” he paused and then added, “And Shen Dafu’s family is related by sisters.”

“I understand.” Inciting others to report her, Shen Yingxue’s family surely couldn’t wash their hands of this. That whole family was quite something, completely shameful.

The next day, Shen Yunfang didn’t bring her own lambs up the mountain. Instead, she tied them up with a long rope and fastened it to the fence so they could graze outside her own yard.

The area was right next to the big mountain, with more vegetation than on the small hillside, so there should be enough for the lambs to chew on for a while.

As for who had wronged her, she and Uncle Shen had a clear idea. Now was not the best time to strike back, so for now, the plan was to conserve energy and wait for the right opportunity to seek justice for today’s incident.

Well, to be exact, although she knew who was behind the trouble, she had no way to confront them since their complaints were justified. What could she say to them? Besides, if she went directly to Shen Dafu’s house, that would be like betraying her own uncle. So the best strategy for now was to keep a low profile and be cautious with her words and actions, not giving others any reason to find fault with her.

After returning from the market, Yunfang put the newly bought chicks, ducklings, and goslings into wooden boxes to raise for the time being.

The fact was, these little creatures were still too small and fragile, and the air outside was still a bit chilly. A single mishap could easily spell their doom, so Yunfang poured her heart into caring for these fifty chicks, ducklings, and goslings.

She placed them in the wooden crates with a layer of plastic underneath, so if it got dirty, she could simply switch out the plastic. To keep them warm, she sacrificed her own cotton quilts, sharing them with the chicks. To ensure they received plenty of sunlight, she would usually place them near the windowsill. In the middle of the day when the weather was warmest, she would move the boxes to the doorway to let them bask in the sun.

“Goodness, your chicks look pretty good, but to raise so many at once, and with both chickens and ducks, they must consume a lot of grain, right?” Dashuan’s wife came over to help Yunfang with the gardening and noticed a bed full of chicks (as an exaggeration). She was both envious and worried for Yunfang.

When the chickens were small, their food intake wasn’t much, but as they grew, feeding so many would require a lot of grain. Moreover, Yunfang seemed not to have thought this through, buying so many at once. Once they grew up, they would need something to eat.

“It’ll be fine. Wild greens are sprouting now. In a couple of days when they’re a little bigger, I can dig up some extra wild greens while herding sheep. Mixing more wild greens into their feed will save quite a bit of grain,” Yunfang said with a smile. She had already thought this through.

She had bought a total of one hundred and fifty pounds of rice, one hundred pounds of cornmeal, and three hundred pounds of bran. Her family had harvested six to seven hundred pounds of sweet potatoes the previous year. In recent months, she spent them on both eating and making wine. The rice was almost gone, but the remaining grain, mixed with the feed for the pigs and chickens, would last a while. If necessary, she could buy more.

But thinking of her wallet deflating at a visible rate over the past few days, it pained her. If she included Dashuan’s wife’s monthly wage, she’d have less than fifty yuan left in her hands.

“Hey, can’t you be normal for once? Last year you didn’t raise anything, but look at you this year, raising two pigs, sheep, and all these chickens, ducks, and geese. Do you think you can handle it all?” Dashuan’s wife could imagine if no one helped, Shen Yunfang on her own would definitely be overwhelmed. With so many mouths waiting to be fed, was money that easy to earn?

“Heh, herding one sheep is still herding, raising two is just the same. Worst comes to worst, if I can’t afford it anymore, I’ll just slaughter them all and eat their meat.”

“Sure, when that time comes, I can have a few bites too,” grumbled Dashuan’s wife, giving her a playful smack.

“I won’t give you any, I’ll save it for Xiaojuan. Speaking of which, why didn’t Xiaojuan come today?” Shen Yunfang still had her neighbor’s daughter on her mind.

“I didn’t bring her along, she’s just trouble.” Dashuan’s wife felt embarrassed to bring her. After all, she came to earn money. Bringing a child along who would play one moment and cry for mom the next was just a distraction. Although Yunfang didn’t say anything, it was a matter of personal responsibility.

“What trouble could she possibly cause? It’s just that you make a big deal out of everything. I promised Xiaojuan that I would make her something delicious today.” Shen Yunfang didn’t think the same way; she adored children and didn’t feel Xiaojuan’s presence would be a hindrance. Having the little girl around, constantly exclaiming in surprise, could be quite entertaining and made the work less tedious. “Wait a second, I’ll go get it.”

She stepped out, circled around to the west room, and from her space took out two bowls of yogurt to bring over.

“What’s this?” Dashuan’s wife looked at the clean, egg-cake-like substance in the bowl, not knowing what it was.

“This is yogurt, try it. I saved some for Xiaojuan. Don’t forget to take it home for the child when you go back, I can’t break my promise.” Shen Yunfang spoke as she began to eat.

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The yogurt was made from ewe’s milk, with a bit of sugar added, giving it a sweet and sour taste that children would surely love.

Shen Yunfang noticed the growing amount of sheep’s milk in her space and decided to make something edible out of it. Yogurt was one of her favorite preparations. She made a lot at once, stored it in her space, and would eat a bowl every day as a snack.

Dashuan’s wife, watching Shen Yunfang eat, also carefully scooped a spoonful along the edge of the bowl and tasted it.

“Hmm, you know, this yogurt stuff is actually pretty good.”

“Of course, you haven’t seen who made it.” Shen Yunfang said with some pride.

“How did you make this? Teach me, sister-in-law. I want to make it often for our Xiaojuan too.” Dashuan’s wife wished to learn so she could prepare it regularly for her child and hopefully improve her appetite.

Shen Yunfang swallowed the contents of her mouth and said, “The method is simple, but the ingredients are hard to find. Did you notice? This is made with ewe’s milk.”

Surprised, Dashuan’s wife looked at the bowl in her hands, “Really? How is there no mutton smell at all?” She scooped another spoonful and tasted it carefully, skeptical.

“Of course it’s real, if you don’t mind the trouble, you could come to my place every day to get some sheep’s milk for Xiaojuan. Whether to drink it boiled or make it into yogurt like this, either way, it’s beneficial for her health,” Shen Yunfang said earnestly.

At that time, medical knowledge wasn’t well-developed, and many illnesses were unknown. For cases like Xiaojuan’s, the doctors couldn’t diagnose the illness and just advised to take good care, eating nutritious foods.

“Yeah, okay, as long as that brat Xiaojuan can eat it, what’s a little effort?” Dashuan’s wife was about to refuse, but learning it could benefit the child, she couldn’t bring herself to say no any longer.

Adults could manage without, not missing out on much, but her child was lacking in nutrition. For her child’s sake, she’d thickened her skin and accepted the offer.

“Keep it on the down-low, okay?” She did feel, upon closer consideration, that she was undercutting socialism, siphoning off its sheep’s milk so to speak. She really needed to keep a low profile then.