First, spread a layer of glutinous rice on the bamboo leaves, then add a poached egg, a layer of stir-fried cured pork and potato shreds, and finally add a few pickled cowpeas and pickled chili peppers. Then add another layer of glutinous rice, wrap it into a flat shape, and steam it until cooked. This makes a rice roll with rich fillings and nutrition.
Jin Chengjie touched the sticky bamboo leaves, initially feeling quite disgusted.
When they opened the bamboo leaves, they found the bamboo was cold, which made them even angrier.
If the Jin family's nanny dares to let the young master eat cold food, she will be kicked out the next second without him even having to say a word!
But everyone else is eating it with gusto, and it does look really delicious?
He decided to give the now-cold rice dumpling a chance.
If it doesn't taste good, I can take the opportunity to ridicule Jiang Xiaoman: Look! It's because you didn't choose the right time to be born that you can only eat this kind of cold rice dumpling now, unlike me, who was born into a life of luxury...
After only a few bites, I found it really delicious.
Jiang Youliang felt sorry for Jin Chengjie, a city boy who worked hard in the fields and couldn't get used to the zongzi they brought, so he must be starving. He hurriedly arranged to kill a chicken and make dried bamboo shoots. Jin Chengjie secretly touched his stomach and found that he wasn't actually very hungry.
Because he ate both of those big rice bags.
Jiang Xiaoman carried a washbasin to the sink, filled it with water, and happily plunged his head into it. He had recently shaved his head, making it very convenient to wash his hair and face. He quickly washed himself clean and then went to get three new towels for Jin Chengjie and the others to wash their faces as well.
Picking flowers in the mountains is hard work, and the weeds in the mountains are all seeded this season, sticking to your body and hair and feeling especially uncomfortable. Jin Chengjie didn't mind that Jiang Xiaoman's towel wasn't 100% cotton and hadn't been ironed. He took the towel and basin, and imitating Jiang Xiaoman, filled a big basin with water, and plunged his head into it. It felt so good!
With a lot of things to do at home and at the factory, Jiang Xiaoman was too lazy to cook a big meal to entertain them. So she simply chopped up the chicken that Jiang Youliang had killed, cut half a basin of potato chunks, and made a big pot of potato and chicken stew rice. She also took two plates of pickled vegetables from the pickle jar.
Jiang Youliang's face turned pale when he saw the meager meal on the table.
Xiaoman from their family is always warm and hospitable. But this time, it's his own younger brother who's come back. This shouldn't be happening.
Unexpectedly, upon seeing the table of food that resembled pig swill, Jin Chengjie seemed to guess something, a smug smile appearing on his thin lips. He even went so far as to comfort Jiang Youliang—
"Uncle Jiang, please don't blame my brother. I know he still hates my mother and resents her for abandoning him and running away back then."
"Actually, my mother had no choice back then. She was a woman, penniless, and simply couldn't afford to raise a child. She's felt guilty about it all these years..."
Feeling so guilty, she wished she could shower all her maternal love on Jin Chengjie. Jin Chengjie was practically all well and powerful in the Jin family. Almost all the money Yan Susu got from President Jin went to support her son.
No wonder Jin Chengjie has already had several girlfriends at such a young age.
If you have so much money you can't spend it all, shouldn't you find a few more people to help you spend it?
Jiang Youliang immediately fell silent.
He couldn't be sure if Xiaoman still harbored resentment towards her birth mother.
There should still be some, right?
After all, who is abandoned by their own mother at birth, only to find out later that their mother remarried and had another son, who was pampered and spoiled since childhood, even though they have the same mother? The contrast is too obvious, isn't it?
If Jiang Youliang put himself in his shoes, wouldn't he feel resentful if he were in that situation?
Who knows—
"Why would I hate your mother for no reason?" Jiang Xiaoman had already picked up her bowl and started shoveling rice into her mouth.
The bamboo leaf cakes I made last night were enough for him, and there were even some left over. So he made a few extra, just in case his dad got hungry when he came home tonight, and he could have a couple to tide him over before dinner.
Unexpectedly, Jin Chengjie and his two companions ate them all.
He didn't even get enough to eat.
After taking a couple of bites of rice, seeing that no one had touched their chopsticks, Jiang Xiaoman stopped eating, rolled her eyes, and earnestly explained to Jin Chengjie—
"You came all this way, not just to show off to me, right? Are you afraid I'll take your mom away from you?"
"Don't worry, my dad is doing well, and I don't need a mom. If you don't believe me, go and look at the videos I posted before. There are at least several million fans online who want to be my mom. I heard that's called a 'mom fan.' These female fans are so good to me. They encourage me every day by calling me 'my boy,' and they even spend money to tip me and buy me local specialties."
"Look, I have millions of mothers, why would I go and steal your mother?"
Jin Chengjie: "..."
Millions of mothers? What the heck?
However, his new girlfriend, Kang Xinyue, is indeed in the entertainment industry. Let's ask her what kind of creature "mommy fans" are. How can they even "virtually raise" their children?
However, Jin Chengjie absolutely refused to believe Jiang Xiaoman's claim that he didn't care about his biological mother at all.
You're just being stubborn!
Never hide under the covers and cry alone at night.
But this potato rice is so delicious!
Although Young Master Jin was stubborn, his body language betrayed him as he picked up his rice bowl.
As soon as he picked up his chopsticks, the driver and assistant who had come with him quickly picked up their rice bowls as well.
They've had so much work to do today, they're all starving! Time to eat!
The authentic free-range chickens from Langshan, along with freshly dug potatoes and tangy pickled vegetables, whetted everyone's appetites. By the end, they even scooped up the crispy rice crust at the bottom of the big iron pot and crunched it up.
After dinner, Jiang Xiaoman led the three to the living room and pointed to the price list hanging on the wall—
"It's so late, you probably won't be coming down the mountain, right? There's nowhere to stay in the village down the mountain. If you don't mind, we have guest rooms. The price list is on the wall. You can just scan the code to pay and stay."
"Don't be fooled by the slightly high prices of my rooms. We include three meals a day, and if you stay for three days, we'll also give you a gift pack of local specialties from Langshan."
Jin Chengjie froze for a moment, then stared at him in disbelief—
"Jiang! Xiao! Man! I'm your own brother! You, you, you..."
"I'm a guest at your house, and you're trying to charge me for a room?!"
Do you still want to go live a good life with my mom at the Jin family's house?
Jiang Xiaoman never even considered going to the Jin family, and of course she didn't care to curry favor with this young master of the Jin family.
"I've already told you I won't acknowledge your mother as my relative, nor will I go to your house." With her father not around, Jiang Xiaoman didn't bother with formalities and immediately rolled her eyes at Young Master Jin.
"I advise you to stop being so delusional. Just because you love your mother doesn't mean everyone in the world loves her!"
"I have my own father! My father is much better than yours!"
What?!
Jiang Youliang, that country bumpkin, how is he any better than his father?
His father is the founder of Jinyan! A billionaire!
"Young Master Jin, the internet remembers everything. Haven't you ever searched online for your father's past romantic relationships?"
"Do I need to remind you how many wives your father married and how many children he had? It seems there were also some mistresses and children born out of wedlock among them?"
Jin Chengjie's handsome face turned bright red.
His father was indeed a bit of a jerk in relationships, but aren't all successful men like that?
How can a man spend all the money he earns if he doesn't have several women?
The two childish kids argued for more than ten minutes about "whose dad is better," until Jiang Youliang finished washing the dishes and came out. Only then did Jiang Xiaoman let go of Young Master Jin and run off to fawn over his dad.
One moment she was massaging his father's shoulders and legs, the next she was fanning him and lighting mosquito coils. After a while, Jiang Youliang took out the bamboo artwork that he hadn't finished yet, and Jiang Xiaoman quickly helped his father fix the tripod. The live stream was also turned on.
Jin Chengjie was startled!
This old man from the mountains is actually doing live streaming?
I peeked over and saw Jiang Youliang's live stream name, then pulled out my phone and searched it—wow! There were already over 30,000 viewers?!
How could this unattractive old man from the countryside have hundreds of thousands of followers online?
What's so interesting about carving bamboo?
Jin Chengjie failed to win over his father, and angrily told his assistant to scan the QR code to pay before going upstairs to take a shower.
I'm so angry!
His father doesn't have any craftsmanship and doesn't have hundreds of thousands of fans.
Those netizens also frequently called his father a scumbag...
It seems we can't compare that anymore; we need to compare his father's advantages!
Let's fight again tomorrow!!!
Jiang Xiaoman doesn't care about competing with him based on his father's connections; how childish!
However, although Young Master Jin has a bad personality, his face can still be used.
These past two days, the people who came to help them pick flowers were mostly uncles and aunties from the village. As for netizens, most of them are just looking at his face. Although his face is young, his fans have seen it so many times that they no longer find him amazing.
Short videos must boldly feature new faces and new talents...
Why not give his adopted younger brother a try?
Chapter 237
In the golden autumn of October, Langshan is at its most beautiful.
The distant mountains were draped in colorful clouds, with fiery red maple leaves, brilliant ginkgo leaves, and verdant pines and cypresses, all under the azure sky, creating a scene as beautiful as a giant oil painting.
Yesterday, after climbing a mountain path for a long time and being dragged to do farm work for half a day by the heartless capitalist Jiang Xiaoman, the pampered young master Jin collapsed and couldn't get out of bed.
Jiang Xiaoman wouldn't tolerate him.
"Get up and eat! In my family, people eat first, then the pigs. If you don't eat, I'll serve the pigs my sweet potato porridge after I finish eating, okay?"
Is this what a biological brother should say?
Have you heard what people say?
Jiang Xiaoman didn't seem to be joking with him.
Young Master Jin dawdled as he climbed out of bed, brushed his teeth, washed his face, and ran downstairs. By then, everyone else had already finished eating, and all that was left on the table was a bowl of cold sweet potato porridge and two egg pancakes—these were only left for him by his assistant, who had saved them from his own teeth; otherwise, Jiang Xiaoman would have fed them to the dog.
The guard dogs kept by families in the mountains eat the same food as their owners, cough cough~~
The sweet potato porridge was delicious, made with authentic red-fleshed sweet potatoes from sandy soil, but there was only one bowl, and Jin Chengjie wasn't full.
"Young Master, I've hidden a roasted sweet potato for you. Uncle Jiang just gave it to me." The assistant secretly pulled a roasted sweet potato out of the brazier.
Jin Chengjie stared at the dark, fragrant roasted sweet potato for a while, then hummed, "Peel it for me."
After the meal, Jiang Xiaoman gave each of them a basket. Jin Chengjie only realized after putting the basket on his back that he had come to see Jiang Xiaoman make a fool of herself! No, he came to Langshan to find the intangible cultural heritage of Tu embroidery. Why was he helping Jiang Xiaoman's family pick chrysanthemums?