The small wild chicken seemed even smaller after its feathers were removed. Anmin, who was clearly used to this, cleaned the feathers and innards in just fifteen minutes, then placed the chicken by its neck onto the cutting board on the counter.
"Let's see what you can do with this," Anmin murmured softly.
Li Hongying observed her daughter with some surprise. She knew her daughter's temperament well. Despite having her reservations about Yi Roujing, their relationship had improved. It was unclear what had happened during their pigweed gathering today.
The whole chicken was placed on the counter, breast side down. Yi Roujing held the knife with her right hand and felt the wild chicken's back with her left hand. She traced along the spine, confirming the position, and then lightly sliced along the spine, starting the deboning from the right chest cavity.
On the cutting board lay the bones—small ones, whole wing bones, and leg bones—which slowly piled into a small heap. Li Hongying and Anmin watched intently from the side.
Within fifteen minutes, the whole boneless chicken lay limp on the cutting board. Yi Roujing put the knife down, "Alright, we'll use the chicken for stir-frying and the bones for soup. After we eat, we can crush the chicken bones and bury them in the private plot. No one will know."
"Wash the chicken feathers clean and dry them. When we have time, we can make shuttlecocks. A feather duster is a possibility too," Yi Roujing remarked.
"You have such good knife skills," Anmin, coming back to her senses, expressed disbelief.
"Everyone has their strengths; I just happen to excel in this area," Yi Roujing replied without any humility.
"But you're not good at cooking," Anmin remarked, somewhat speechless.
"Of course, I can cook; it just doesn't taste good," Yi Roujing justified confidently. "Cooking is a matter of experience. The more you cook, the better it tastes. But when I was at my parent's house, I was pampered and never had a chance to show off."
Anmin's mouth twitched; she suddenly felt an urge to hit the person in front of her. Although she no longer spewed dirty words, what she said was just as infuriating and hurtful.
"Alright, go outside and I'll call you when it's time to eat," Li Hongying said to Yi Roujing.
"By the way, you need to call Xingchen. You can handle this, right?" Anmin squatted down to start dealing with the eels, looked up at Yi Roujing, and said.
"If you can't find the educated youth spot, remember to ask. And when asking others, remember to be polite," Anmin reminded her again, a little worried.
"Got it," Yi Roujing replied, waving her hand as she left the kitchen. To be honest, this family's people were generally okay. Considering the original owner's reckless three months, the fact that this family held back from hitting her showed they still had some class.
Leaving the kitchen, Yi Roujing saw Ding Weihuo and Anguo twisting straw ropes in the yard. Although the men of the Ding Family rarely went into the kitchen to work, they didn't sit idle either. Seeing this, Yi Roujing held them in higher regard.
"I'll be right back," Yi Roujing called out as she exited the gate.
Ding Weihuo and Anguo paused their actions momentarily.
"Dad, it seems like after falling into water once, the sister-in-law has become more sensible," Anguo whispered.
"Ancheng's wife doesn't have a rotten nature," Ding Weihuo commented, continuing his work without saying more.
As Yi Roujing walked and looked around, she sincerely realized she was unfamiliar with the Dingping Production Team. As for the educated youth spot, she genuinely had no idea.
Spotting a short-haired woman in black clothes with a hunched posture running towards her, Yi Roujing quickened her pace and asked with a smile, "Hello, could you tell me how to get to the educated youth spot?"
The woman's fearful glance upward caused Yi Roujing's smile to freeze slightly. The woman's left eye was bruised and swollen, her lips had broken skin, and her face bore fingerprint marks, now tears covered her face, hence her manner of walking.
"Are you alright..."
"Stand still, you wretch..."
Yi Roujing could clearly feel the woman in front of her trembling as she looked up. She saw a man in brown overalls with one pant leg half-hitched, running toward them with a black cloth shoe raised in his right hand.
"Jianping, slow down, mom's fine, don't worry..."
Recognizable, the slow runner behind the man was none other than the talkative woman from earlier in the morning.
The woman in black exhibited full fear, almost collapsing, as Yi Roujing quickly supported her. "Are you okay?"
"You whore, how dare you hit your mother-in-law? Is this how your parents taught you?"
"B-Big Brother-in-law, I-I didn't hit her..." the woman murmured, trembling.
Big Brother-in-law?
Yi Roujing pulled the woman behind her and faced the approaching man.
"Who are you? Step aside!" Ding Jianping glared at Yi Roujing, anger visible in his expression.
"Who are you, a grown man holding a shoe chasing a woman across the team? From what I heard, you're her big brother-in-law. Who granted you the right to hit your sister-in-law, was it the team leader?" Yi Roujing asked disdainfully.
"This wench..."
"Who gave you the authority to insult women like this? Haven't you heard 'Women can hold up half the sky'? You think the Women's Federation won't come knocking?"
Yi Roujing's rapid-fire questions left Ding Jianping speechless. All he could do was protest, "This woman hit her mother-in-law, does she not deserve a beating?"
"So, are you saying the injuries on her face are from you beating her?" Yi Roujing gently pulled the woman from behind and lifted her face up.
Ding Jianping was immediately stunned upon seeing the injuries clearly. Yi Roujing was puzzled; hadn't he caused them?
"I-I only hit her back with the shoe a few times. I didn't hit her face," Ding Jianping's anger seemed to deflate.
"I heard my mother crying, claiming she was beaten. When I walked in, I saw her standing with her head down, while my mother sat on the ground, bleeding from her forehead. That's when I hit her a few times on the back with my shoe," he explained.
"Mom, what's really happening here? Why is Jianshe's wife covered in injuries?" Ding Jianping turned to ask the woman who had made her way over.
"Humph, she can hit her mother-in-law, but I can't hit my daughter-in-law?" Hupozi Wu Ajuan retorted, spitting defiantly. "A hen that doesn't lay eggs, occupying the pit without moving, isn't filial to her mother-in-law. How did my Jianshe end up marrying a wife like this? Oh, my poor Jianshe..."
"Enough with the mourning," Yi Roujing impatiently cleared her ears, forcing Hupozi to fall silent like a hen with a strangled neck.
"Our family's affairs aren't for you to interfere," Hupozi glared at Yi Roujing, speaking angrily.
"Won't you try to argue the barely healed wound on your forehead is the alleged evidence of your daughter-in-law hitting you?" Yi Roujing sneered, "Anyone can see that's a self-inflicted wound from bumping into something. How about going to a hospital to have a doctor examine it?"
"If you fail to provide any substantial evidence, I'll have the police bring you to the station for proper education. Even as a mother-in-law, violently beating your daughter-in-law is still illegal."