Chapter 15 - 15 15 Scalded the Pot Several Times

Words : 1457 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

15: Chapter 15: Scalded the Pot Several Times 15: Chapter 15: Scalded the Pot Several Times “` Old Granny Zhang’s meddling rendered the whole effort to increase friendliness completely pointless—it plummeted into the negatives! But with a hand on her heart, she couldn’t fully blame Old Granny Zhang. No matter how irrationally she acted or how much she twisted the truth, it was all to protect her own. Ming Zhu felt the road ahead was truly bitter; how did she end up barreling down the path of a doomed antagonist? Over there, Wang Yongfu and Lady Lin were scolded until they were drenched in metaphorical dog’s blood, not daring to let out even a peep. Jindou and Jinhoo were eyeing the bowl in front of Ming Zhu, drooling with desire. It was Jinhoo, after all, still a child at heart, who couldn’t resist the tempting aroma and looked pitifully at Ming Zhu, “Old cousin, old cousin, may I have a taste, please?” Their longing faces were both amusing and heart-wrenching. Ming Zhu composed herself, suppressing the ecstasy in her heart, and reluctantly put on a cold face. Feigning arrogance, she dragged over the bowls of Jindou and Jinhoo, filled them with more than half a bowl of soup each, then spoke indifferently, “There, take it and taste. Humph, I’m an elder and won’t stoop to your level.” Jindou and Jinhoo took their bowls of soup, not caring about the heat, gulping down a mouthful. It was so delicious and hot that they didn’t dare swallow, nor did they want to spit it out. The heat reddened the rims of their eyes, and they hopped around for a while before finally managing to down the soup. “It’s delicious!” Jindou held the soup bowl like a treasured possession, took a deep breath, and was utterly intoxicated. “This must be the kind of soup only immortals get to drink. No wonder yellow pine mushrooms are so valuable, city folks really know how to eat!” Jinhoo exclaimed. The performance of Jindou and Jinhoo even made Wang Laozhu lose his composure. He quietly set down his smoking pipe and also took a sip, his old eyes squinting with pleasure. He felt an unusual fondness for his lazy good-for-nothing daughter. No matter who picked these mushrooms, without her, they wouldn’t be drinking this divine soup. The rest of the folks couldn’t resist the temptation either and began to immerse themselves in their soup, the room filled with slurping sounds. Only Wang Yongfu and Lady Lin watched eagerly, swallowing saliva uncontrollably, their hearts scratching with discomfort. Still, Ming Zhu couldn’t bear to watch and gave both of them half a bowl each. Wang Yongfu and Lady Lin looked at her with gratitude, dove into their soup, and didn’t dare utter another word. Thanks to that pot of soup, dinner was devoured with a voraciousness akin to a whirlwind sweeping away remnants. In the end, even the pot used for cooking the soup was shamelessly snatched away by the kids, who rinsed it several times with water until not even a hint of flavor was left before they finally relented. Mountain folks retire early at night to save lamp oil. After dinner, when Ming Zhu wanted to help with the clean-up, everyone stopped her. Lady Jiang and her daughter Jinhua quickly cleared the tableware. Lady Jiang then sweetly offered Ming Zhu, “Little sister, I’ve boiled some hot water for you. Would you like to soak your feet tonight?” Thanks to her little aunt’s blessing, she got to enjoy a little of the divine soup today, and she didn’t know how else to express her gratitude, only knowing that from now on, as long as she and the kids were around, they wouldn’t let the little aunt lift a finger in the household chores. In the kitchen, the children of the third household were very helpful, assisting their mother and sister with the dishes. Despite Lady Jiang’s gentle and kind nature, she had a discerning eye and specifically instructed her three children, “You all must treat your old cousin well, do you understand? After what your old cousin has been through, she seems to have changed for the better. She didn’t forget about us when there was good food, so you must never talk back to your old cousin and be sure to repay her kindness, understood?” The three children obediently agreed. Remembering the unprecedented satisfaction from tonight’s meal, they too felt deep gratitude toward their old cousin. “If only the old cousin could always be like this!” The youngest, Jinshao, didn’t fully understand, but felt that today’s old cousin was especially kind. If she could always be like this, then, other than his mother, he would like her best! In the main house, things were also far from calm. Jinguan vividly recounted how the old cousin almost fell into a dung pit, how she helped drive away the Song Family children, and how she led them to pick yellow pine mushrooms and shared eggs... Listening to this, Wang Yongfu and Lady Lin exchanged glances. Is this really the little sister? Wang Yongfu was a man and didn’t dwell on things, especially since it was his son who had said it. He fully trusted the story, patting Lady Lin’s shoulder, “I think our little sister must’ve changed for the better after the fall into the water. We shouldn’t have doubted her; we were too inappropriate. No wonder mother was angry today. Tomorrow we’ll apologize to her!” “` Lady Lin was at her wits’ end with the way her man lacked insight, believing anything that people said. She had wanted to retort but, thinking about the lingering taste of mushroom soup still in her mouth, she smacked her lips twice and held back. In her heart, a rare glimmer of hope arose. If her little sister-in-law continued to act as sensible as she did today, she wouldn’t mind supporting her for a few more years before marrying her off. After cleaning herself with hot water, Ming Zhu lay on her bed. She felt as if she had forgotten something very important and was trying hard to recall it when she heard the System’s notification, “Task progress complete (12/12). Congratulations to the host for completing the primary task and earning 12 points!” Ming Zhu immediately forgot all other thoughts and opened the System’s interface in her mind. Clothing: Level 0 Food: Level 0, 3 points Housing: Level 0 Transport: Level 0 Available points: 12 (Points can be allocated to any of the above options at will.) Without hesitation, Ming Zhu added 7 of the available points to the Food category, and the interface changed to: Clothing: Level 0 Food: Level 1, 0 points Housing: Level 0 Transport: Level 0 Available points: 5 (Points can be allocated to any of the above options at will.) As she pondered where to allocate the remaining 5 points, whether to add them to Food or to others first, she heard the System’s notification again. “Friendly reminder to the host, upgrading from Level 1 to Level 2 requires 100 points. Host, it’s a long journey ahead, keep up the good work!” Ming Zhu gritted her teeth and muttered, “Why do you need so many points to get to Level 2?” The cheerful voice of the System responded, “Friendly reminder to the host, the number of points required for upgrading increases as you go higher. To upgrade from Level 2 to Level 3, you will need 1000 points, and so on...” To hell with your advice! Ming Zhu’s mood, which had been uplifted seconds before, was on the verge of exploding with anger! The System’s notification in her mind continued, “Reminder to the host, since the Food category has reached Level 1, The Level One Food Market has been unlocked. The market offers a vast array of goods for the host to enjoy shopping! As a reward for completing the primary task, a random draw has been made and issued to the host’s package. Please check the host’s inventory!” Ming Zhu’s eyebrows twitched. Before worrying about any market, she decided to check the reward she received for completing the task. When she opened the package tab, she saw a small glass bottle lying quietly inside. Inside the bottle was a milky white liquid. With a thought, the small bottle floated up into the air beside her, and a line of text appeared: “Primary Plant Gene Evolution Liquid, can be used to enhance plant cell vitality and improve plant quality. Instructions for use: Dilute 1ml by one hundred times and water the plants regularly and quantitatively with the solution.”

Chapter 15 - 15 15 Scalded the Pot Several Times

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