Zhou Yueshen had no idea just how busy he was—how could he not have noticed at all?
Logically speaking, as the owner of a pig farm, he certainly shouldn’t be lacking in meat.
Yet the three children were as thin as monkeys.
No wonder the old woman harbored such hostility toward her. Taking care of the kids here, she must have been skimming plenty of benefits for herself!
Si Nian took a deep breath and dumped out all the meat, eggs, and fine flour.
Aunt Liu, who had just come in with the dishes, let out a shriek at the sight. "What are you doing?!"
Si Nian smirked coldly. "Cooking, of course. Got a problem with that?"
Aunt Liu choked back her words, her eyes guiltily fixed on the slab of fatty meat on the cutting board. Her heart ached as if it were bleeding.
That meat had been delivered by Zhou Yueshen just this morning, and she hadn’t even dared to touch it.
Yet this woman had found it!
If she said anything now, and this woman complained to Zhou Yueshen when he returned, she’d be finished.
Aunt Liu wasn’t stupid—there was no way she could claim the meat as her own now.
Gritting her teeth, she spat, "What a wasteful woman! Just married into the family and already so greedy."
Si Nian laughed instead of getting angry. "Being wasteful is fine. After all, if I weren’t, this meat might end up in someone else’s mouth. Don’t you think?"
Aunt Liu was both shocked and furious but didn’t dare say more. She threw down the dishes and stormed off in a huff.
This woman was different from the last one who’d come—she had no way to handle her.
If things continued like this, it would only be bad for her.
Clenching her jaw, Aunt Liu resolved to find a way to get rid of this woman.
Stepping out of the kitchen, she spotted the quiet Zhou Yuedong and his younger brother. Her eyes darted craftily as she pointed toward the kitchen and whispered, "Yuedong, Yuehan, look—this is the stepmother your uncle brought home for you. She’s already acting this arrogant on her first day. Who knows? In a few days, she might even convince your father to kick you three siblings out! You’d better be careful."
Zhou Yuedong’s arms tightened around his little sister.
Aunt Liu knew that while Zhou Yueshen wasn’t great at taking care of the kids, he was extremely concerned about their well-being. If the children expressed dissatisfaction with Si Nian, there was no way she’d be allowed to stay.
After all, Zhou Yueshen had hired her specifically to look after the children.
If she couldn’t even do that properly, what was the point of keeping her?
Thinking that Si Nian wouldn’t last more than a few days, Aunt Liu’s resentment eased a little, and she swaggered off.
"Waaah, brother, Little Han doesn’t want to be kicked out…" The younger Zhou Yuehan was frightened. Ever since coming to this household, they’d learned that every woman who arrived was bad—none of them had ever treated them well.
Now another one had come, and she was going to drive them away.
What were they supposed to do?
Zhou Yuedong’s jaw tensed. He didn’t say a word, but his eyes darkened.
Only little Yaoyao, oblivious in his arms, babbled and tugged at his clothes.
Si Nian had no idea what the two brothers were thinking. With Aunt Liu gone, she felt much more at ease. She poured the flour into a basin, added water, and stirred until the consistency was just right before kneading the dough with vigor.
Once it was smooth, she set it aside to rise. Then she minced the marbled meat, seasoning it with salt and MSG.
The house didn’t have many vegetables, so she decided to make steamed meat buns.
Luckily, the ingredients on hand were fresh.
After the dough had risen, she kneaded it once more and began shaping the buns.
Outside, there were three children, but it was extremely quiet. They were nothing like the noisy kids from other families. There was not a hint of liveliness.
Si Nian remembered the little kid Yaoyao and decided to make some steamed custard for the child. She cracked two eggs into a bowl, added a little salt and warm water, and planned to steam it in the pot along with the buns.
She made a dozen or so buns before using up all the minced meat.
She rolled the remaining dough into plain white flour buns. It was a pity that there was no sugar at home. Otherwise, sweet buns would be extremely soft and delicious.
Kids loved them the most.
Si Nian had come early in the morning and hadn't had a single drop of water or a bite of food until now. She was so hungry that she felt dizzy.
Fortunately, the buns cooked quickly. Soon, the tantalizing aroma wafted far and wide.
Si Nian swallowed her saliva. When she thought the time was right, she reached out to open the lid. The moment she opened it, steam billowed up, and the whole room was filled with the fragrance of fresh meat buns.
Meat buns made with top - grade refined flour and well - marbled meat were the most delicious.
"So fragrant, so fragrant!" Zhou Yuehan, who was doing his homework outside, suddenly stood up. His eyes were like those of a starved wolf cub, fixated tightly on the direction of the kitchen, drooling.
The two boys were in their growing years. They only had two meals a day, and it was just plain rice porridge. They never got enough to eat.
They went to bed hungry every day.
Zhou Yuehan had smelled the meaty aroma earlier.
He thought it was just an illusion caused by his intense craving for meat.
Unexpectedly, it suddenly became so fragrant. The rich aroma filled the whole house. He watched helplessly as the very beautiful woman walked out with a large bowl of buns as big as an adult man's fist.
Each bun was still steaming, and the fragrance was overwhelming.
Not only him, but even Zhou Yuedong, who was more steady - tempered, couldn't help but keep shifting his gaze.
The little kid Yaoyao even drooled and let out a series of "wa - wa - wa" cries.
