Ruling the Historical Romance Novel as the Female Supporting Character-Chapter 209: Understanding the Situation of the Villagers

She had some good things obtained from a lottery that she intended to hand over, but she also had her own private motives. If she were truly selfless, she could sneak the items into the research institute. As long as she wasn’t discovered, it wouldn’t matter how they thought about it or if anyone took credit for it. Eventually, those old professors would realize these were valuable items, decode them, and turn them into powerful tools for China. China has never lacked patriotic individuals who secretly donate treasures. They should be used to it by now.

"Sister-in-law, don’t worry. We will do everything we can to protect you," Gao Huabin said, standing straight. His gaze toward Su Yijia was almost reverent, as if he wanted to put her on a pedestal.

Su Yijia felt goosebumps rise all over her body. "Alright, let’s not think about it too much. Let’s clean the crayfish first." She quickly gestured for Gao Huabin to come over. As for hunting the wild chicken hearts, she would need to discuss it with Xia Weiguo at noon.

"Sister-in-law, these things can pinch. Just teach me how to do it," Gao Huabin said, picking up a brush and coming over. Knowing they would be walking on mountain paths and fields, they had bought several brushes. Gao Huabin had washed the clothes and shoes by himself yesterday, so there were still clean brushes left.

"Hold it by the back, brush the belly in water, then pinch this longer tail segment and pull hard to remove the intestines," Su Yijia explained carefully, demonstrating twice for Gao Huabin. Once he got the hang of it, he took the brush from her.

"Sister-in-law, you can leave it here. I’ll handle the rest." Seeing him work efficiently, Su Yijia didn’t argue. With less than two pounds of crayfish to clean, she busied herself with starting the fire, boiling water, and preparing the spices.

Once Gao Huabin finished cleaning the crayfish, Su Yijia had him use pliers to clip the tails off the snails. The moment the crayfish were stir-fried and simmered, their aroma wafted through the air. The children who had been playing by the river quickly gathered around the stove, their eyes fixed on Su Yijia.

"Sister, are you making crayfish?" Yaya asked shyly, nudged by the other children.

"Yes," Su Yijia said, lifting the lid to show them the bright red crayfish in the pot. The delicious aroma made the children swallow loudly, a sound impossible to ignore.

Su Yijia turned and took her bag from the back of the wheelchair, pulling out some White Rabbit milk candies. She handed one to each child.

"This is a reward for not getting pinched while catching crayfish. Well done!"

The children accepted the candies but didn’t eat them right away. Instead, they gave them to the eldest child to share later. They still had to go back to the river and didn’t want to ruin the candies.

"Sister, we’ll go catch more crayfish for you," the eldest boy said, looking a bit embarrassed at the not-quite-full pot. They hadn’t caught many because they thought the "red bugs" wouldn’t taste good. The candies were quite a treat; their grandmother had said last night that White Rabbit milk candy costs seven yuan per pound, and their grandfather had mentioned not taking advantage of the researchers.

"No rush. The crayfish are almost ready. Try some first, and if you like them, we can catch more." Su Yijia understood why the children were reluctant to catch crayfish. She was hoping to use this opportunity to get closer to the villagers. If the crayfish weren’t enough, it would delay their plans.

She had the children wash their hands, and just as they finished, the crayfish were ready. She lifted the lid and demonstrated how to eat them before giving each child three pieces.

"Wow! This is so good!"

"The meat is so fragrant! And the roe is so sweet!"

The children marveled as they eagerly stuffed the crayfish meat into their mouths.

Su Yijia turned to look at Qin Kaize, who could only smell the delicious aroma of the crayfish. She felt a bit bad about it.

"It’s okay. Once I’m better, I can eat them too," Qin Kaize smiled gently, not wanting his little wife to worry about his feelings.

"Alright. I’ll make you some salted duck egg and mushroom porridge later. It’s really good too," Su Yijia said, her mood lifting at the thought of preparing a new dish for him. They had exchanged some firewood for salted duck eggs with the villagers that morning. It seemed like they had traded for quite a few other things as well.

If they weren’t planning to stay long, there was no need to exchange so many items. However, it was clear that Uncle Xia had the same idea as her—to use this method to build closer ties with the villagers.

Once the children tasted how delicious the crayfish were, they became very enthusiastic about catching more. Every twenty minutes or so, they would bring back a basket full. There was no need for Gao Huabin to struggle with his clumsy fishing technique anymore. He just had to focus on cleaning the catch continuously.

Su Yijia also kept busy. After stir-frying the snails, she cooked another batch of crayfish. Once a large pot was ready, she called the children to bring bowls from home to fill.

"Yaya, how many people are in your family?" Su Yijia asked with a smile, patting Yaya who stood at the front of the line.

"Grandpa, grandma, uncle, aunt... thirteen in total," Yaya counted on her fingers, listing all her family members.

Su Yijia gave her thirteen crayfish and two large ladles of snails. She asked the same question to each child in line. The children not only counted their family members but also chatted excitedly about their family situations.

Although the details were superficial, it gave her a basic understanding of everyone in the village. She even gleaned which women raised poisonous insects. Families that used insect-repelling powders, had children carrying scented sachets, dried herbs at home, or occasionally brought back edible items from the mountains were likely involved.

There were quite a few women in the village doing this, including the village chief’s wife. Knowing this would save them a lot of trouble in the coming days.

Although the crayfish and snails were not in large quantities, each family received a bowlful. Once Su Yijia distributed everything, she packed up and pushed Qin Kaize back to the educated youth courtyard.

When the educated youth saw them return, they tensed up. Ding Xiaoyu was the first to break the silence, smiling at Su Yijia, "You’re back? Did you catch any fish in the river this morning? The water here is so clear that the villagers rely on this for their meat supply, so the fish are usually quite small."

"I went to gather snails and crayfish. Fish are too quick for me," Su Yijia replied, acting as if she hadn’t noticed their unease. She then had Gao Huabin hand over the food containers and thermos.

"I cooked this and shared some with the village children. You should try it too."

"Oh, we couldn’t possibly..." Ding Xiaoyu said, but she accepted the food without hesitation. She had thought about inviting them to join for lunch, but seeing that none of the other educated youth showed any intention, her smile grew awkward.

Fortunately, Su Yijia didn’t linger. After handing over the food, she moved to the other side of the courtyard to prepare the ingredients for the porridge she was making.