Wife, Don't Be Like This!

Chapter 20 - Wife's Younger Sister

The proof of virginity had disappeared.

Someone had entered the bedroom after he left and taken the proof of virginity away!

Why?

The course of events seemed to be getting stranger and stranger.

Behind him were rustling sounds. Gu Banxia was changing her clothes.

He had underestimated Gu Banxia a little. Although it was her first time seeing a bra, as long as she knew its general purpose, she could figure out even the metal clasp in the back after a bit of thought.

Looking down at her chest, the white skin and black cloth formed a sharp contrast. The fabric was fine and smooth, clinging tightly to her skin. Those two strange little bowls seemed to be filled with something soft, so even with occasional friction, it didn't feel uncomfortable. In fact, because there was something supporting her, it was much more comfortable.

With the two little bowls holding them up, let alone normal walking, even jumping around probably wouldn't cause the previous embarrassment.

She could almost imagine that if those noble madams and young misses learned of this clothing, they would probably all curse 'shameless and lewd' in low voices, and then silently put it on just like her.

I really don't know what's in the Young Master-in-law's head, to actually make such a lewd object. Shameless.

The only thing that troubled Gu Banxia was... it was too small, too tight.

Regarding this point, Song Yan really couldn't do anything about it. What he had taken out was already an extra-large cup.

Song Yan was a little suspicious. In this ancient era of widespread malnutrition, what on earth did Gu Banxia eat to grow so big? Was she a dairy cow?

Twisting her waist and adjusting for a moment, Gu Banxia straightened the long dress on her body.

"Young Master-in-law, I'm ready."

Seeing Gu Banxia's blushing face, Song Yan nodded with considerable satisfaction, but in his heart, he was scheming to find an opportunity to have Gu Banxia try on stockings.

He likes black stockings.

He had previously seen some spoof pictures on Douyin by netizens, pairing classical beauties with stockings. It had a unique kind of allure.

Thinking this, Song Yan stood up and rubbed his stomach. The rebellion from the temple of his five viscera was getting more and more intense:

"Take me to the kitchen to make something to eat."

Gu Banxia said: "Whatever the Young Master-in-law wants to eat, I can arrange for someone to make it."

"This isn't the Song family, and Madam already gave instructions. As long as you've entered the Luo family's doors, you are a master of the Luo family. No one will dare to show you any disrespect."

But Song Yan shook his head and smiled: "It's fine. I'd rather do it myself."

Helpless, Gu Banxia could only lead Song Yan to the backyard kitchen.

This was a small kitchen. If the young masters and misses were hungry at night, they could make a snack. It was mostly only used by Luo Tianshu and Luo Tianquan, as those two young masters often burned the midnight oil reading.

Although the kitchen was small, it was fully equipped with all kinds of cooking utensils, even iron woks.

In historical dramas, the scenes of people cooking with iron woks in any dynasty are impossible. In ancient times, iron was an extremely important strategic resource. Pig iron was first supplied to the Armament Bureau and the Directorate for Imperial Manufactories to make weapons and armor.

As iron smelting technology gradually improved and pig iron production increased, agricultural tools like hoes also became made of iron.

The Ning Kingdom was basically in such a state. Occasionally, some wealthy families had their own channels to obtain some pig iron to forge cooking utensils, like the Luo family. As for ordinary households, they mostly used bronze, earthenware pots, and the like to cook.

It wasn't until the Song Dynasty period, when iron smelting technology greatly improved and pig iron production exploded, that iron woks came into widespread use.

It was also with the use of iron woks that stir-frying began to become popular.

In the current Ning Kingdom, cooking methods were generally steaming, boiling, stewing, and braising.

The variety of dishes was limited, and seasonings were scarce. Although everything was green and pollution-free, the taste was truly hard to put into words.

Gu Banxia thought Song Yan had a long-established habit of being cautious and meticulous, but she didn't know that Song Yan really just wanted to eat something delicious.

Those fifteen years in the Duke's mansion... fifteen years! Who could know how he had gotten through these fifteen years?

Let's not even talk about the leftovers. Even during festivals and New Year's when he could eat something a little better, the taste was still quite terrible. Almost everything had a hint of bitterness.

It was probably because of the coarse salt, which lacked purity.

But Song Yan was different. He had high-quality iodized salt.

He had Thirteen-spice.

He had MSG.

He had dark soy sauce, aged vinegar, oyster sauce...

In this era where seasonings were scarce, the value of these things was imaginable. If taken to a large restaurant, they could definitely be sold for a handsome price.

In the Duke's mansion, Song Yan didn't dare to take these things out. But now, as a foodie, he absolutely could not continue to wrong his own stomach.

Thinking this, Song Yan began to look around, pondering what would be good to make. The staple food was simple enough, just steaming a pot of white rice.

The dishes were a bit more troublesome.

Tomatoes hadn't been introduced yet, so the classic scrambled eggs with tomatoes was out. Potatoes hadn't been grown yet either, so hot and sour shredded potatoes were also a no-go.

I'll make a Hongshaorou (braised pork belly) first. Then a Mapo Tofu, Shuizhu Yu (water-boiled fish), stir-fried pork with garlic scapes, eggplant with minced garlic, sweet and sour pork ribs, dry-fried beef... Speaking of which, it seems the Ning Kingdom has a law against slaughtering plow oxen. But thinking of Luo Yuheng's domineering personality, it would be very normal to accidentally encounter a cow that died of illness.

Although it was a bit much, with a stomach that had been tormented for fifteen years, eating it all probably wouldn't be a problem... Even if he ate too much, it was fine. He had digestive aid tablets.

Thinking this, he found it amusing.

Gu Banxia watched silently. After a few breaths, she slowly walked to Song Yan's side and crouched down. Feeling the movement beside him, Song Yan looked up, grinned, and smiled at Gu Banxia.

That smile—it was the first time she had seen it on Song Yan's face. It was pure, without the slightest impurity. He was enjoying this process from the bottom of his heart.

At this moment, Song Yan was not the pitiful young master of the Duke's mansion, nor the live-in son-in-law of the Luo family, but just a simple young man.

That smile was very infectious. Gu Banxia seemed to be affected as well. An imperceptible curve formed on her lips. She hooked a fallen strand of long hair behind her ear with her slender pinky finger and rolled up her sleeves.

With Gu Banxia's help, the progress became much faster.

With a sizzle, Gu Banxia's nose twitched, and she smelled an alluring fragrance. In the iron wok, there was only scalding lard and minced garlic, and that fragrance was emanating from the minced garlic.

Her beautiful eyes couldn't help but show surprise. Just garlic, she really hadn't expected it could emit such a wonderful fragrance.

As the pieces of meat were added, the fragrance grew stronger. Gradually, the surprise on Gu Banxia's face grew more and more intense. The thing in that strange bag was salt, right? Why was it so fine, so snow-white, without the slightest impurity, and as soft as sand?

And what was that dark black thing? It looked a bit like soy sauce, but the color was more intense.

And what was that thick black sauce, to be stored in a glass bottle? Isn't that too extravagant?

And those white granules, could they be sugar? Isn't sugar brownish-yellow? Why is this also so snow-white?

Besides, who adds sugar when cooking meat?

What was even more exaggerated was that there were many seasonings she had never even seen before, especially those fine powders. As soon as they were added, the rich fragrance made Gu Banxia's throat move, swallowing the rapidly increasing saliva.

Finally, Song Yan lifted the lid of the wok. A fragrant aroma, along with hot steam, rushed into their faces. Looking at the brownish-red, glossy pieces of meat in the wok, Song Yan felt a bit of regret. He wasn't used to an earthen stove, and his control of the heat wasn't very good. Some pieces of meat had already become browned. But overall, it was still pretty good.

Placing the braised pork belly onto a plate, Song Yan picked up a piece with his chopsticks and held it in front of Gu Banxia:

"Try some?"

Gu Banxia's pretty face turned slightly red. To prevent the sauce from dripping, she placed a small hand under her chin and parted her cherry lips. It had to be said, this action was quite enchanting. If it were in a 'little movie' filmed in the island nation, it would look very bad. Thinking this, Song Yan cursed himself for being dirty-minded.

She chewed in small bites. A beauty is a beauty; even when eating, she is quite pleasing to the eye. The corners of Song Yan's mouth curved up:

"How is it?"

Gulp.

She swallowed.

"Delicious."

Gu Banxia gave the simplest and also the highest praise. In her heart, she felt a little ashamed. She was the handmaiden, yet her cooking couldn't even compare to the Young Master-in-law's. This really shouldn't be.

"Eh? What delicious thing are you making here?"

Just then, a crisp and clear sound came from the doorway. Looking up, he saw two small heads peeking out from outside the kitchen. Two pairs of big, mischievous eyes were furtively looking into the kitchen.

They were two little girls of eight or nine.

Identical looks, plus the same style of white dress. At a glance, one absolutely couldn't tell who was who.

The Luo family's Third Young Miss, Luo Qingyi, and Fourth Young Miss, Luo Caiyi.

The Luo family seems to have a strong gene for having twins.

Although the two little girls had not yet fully blossomed, they were already the standard makings of a beauty. Chubby and pink, fair and tender, extremely cute.

These two younger sisters-in-law, Song Yan had only met once at the wedding ceremony. The concept of 'younger sister-in-law' in this world was very general; all of the wife's younger sisters were collectively called 'xiao yizi', regardless of whether they were the youngest. As for the wife's elder sister, she was collectively called 'da yizi'. Therefore, Song Yan made his own distinction in his heart: Luo Tianyi was 'xiao yizi', Luo Qingyi was 'xiao xiao yizi' (little younger sister-in-law), and Luo Caiyi was 'xiao xiao xiao yizi' (little little younger sister-in-law).

This way, he wouldn't get them mixed up.

"Hello, Brother-in-law."

The two little girls called out very obediently. Then, without saying they wanted to eat, they just looked pitifully at the braised pork belly in Song Yan's hand, not saying a word.

Song Yan was helpless. What could he do? Those two pairs of sparkling big eyes were truly devastating. He couldn't possibly fight with two little sisters-in-law over food, could he?

He placed the plate on a small table, also put down two pairs of chopsticks, and beckoned with his hand.

The two little girls' eyes suddenly lit up. The next second, Song Yan only felt a fragrant breeze rush past his face, and the two little girls were already hugging his arms. With a smack, one on the left and one on the right, they kissed Song Yan on the cheek:

"Brother-in-law is the best."

Then they gleefully went to enjoy the delicacy.

Watching the braised pork belly in the plate rapidly decrease, Song Yan touched his face. It wasn't a loss.

It was only for now. In another two years, they would probably have to start learning the etiquette of a proper young lady and would no longer be as lively as they were now. And this was only in the Luo family, since Luo Yuheng herself was not one to abide by the rules. The young misses of other large households started learning etiquette at an even earlier age.

Thinking this, Song Yan began to prepare the next dish, Mapo Tofu. His original intention was just to fill his stomach, but as he cooked, Song Yan helplessly discovered that the course of events had completely deviated from its tracks. There were more and more people in the small kitchen.

At some point, Luo Tianyang arrived. This guy came up and snatched the last two pieces of braised pork belly from the plate, causing the two little girls to wave their small fists in serious protest.

Luo Tianshu and Luo Tianquan also came. These two were much more observant of the rules. They first called him 'Brother-in-law,' and then very impolitely moved the table outside. After all, the kitchen was too small to seat so many people.

In the end, Luo Tianyi also came.

Seeing her Second Sister, Luo Qingyi called out cheerfully:

"Second Sister, Second Sister, come quickly! Brother-in-law's cooking is delicious!"

As she spoke, Luo Qingyi picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork rib and held it out. She was being clever. She had to butter up her Second Sister, because Second Sister was very fierce and very rough. When she wasn't well-behaved, Second Sister would spank her little bottom. Now that she's eaten her little pork rib, let's see if she'll still have the nerve to spank her bottom in the future.

Can a lady's bottom be spanked just like that?

Luo Tianyi was originally unconcerned, but after taking a small bite, her eyes suddenly lit up. If it were paired with the BGM from ‘Cooking Master Boy’, it would have been even more fitting.

Then... she moved the sweet and sour pork ribs from in front of Luo Qingyi to in front of herself.

The little girl had never expected that just by inviting her Second Sister to eat one piece, she would lose the entire plate. Her mouth puckered, looking as if she were about to cry, but in the end, she didn't have the guts to shed tears in front of her Second Sister. It was just that her cheeks were puffed up angrily, just like a little pufferfish.

That surprised little look from Luo Tianyi greatly satisfied Song Yan's vanity.

After all, it was not easy to see a different expression on Luo Tianyi's face.

The little little younger sister-in-law, Luo Caiyi, was sprawled across the table, her little face full of satisfaction. One small hand was gently patting her round little belly:

"Brother-in-law, the food you make is too delicious! You've made my belly big..."

Song Yan was startled and almost sprayed a mouthful of saliva into the wok. A child's words are truly without taboo. How could she dare to say such things?

Luckily, Luo Yuheng wasn't here, otherwise she might have skinned him alive.

Thinking this, Song Yan subconsciously looked up, and then his eyes met a pair of smiling-yet-not-smiling eyes. He silently retracted his gaze:

I'm finished.

I'm dead.