Ye Zhinan hated it most when others talked in riddles with her, especially the man in front of her. He always made people impatient.
"You can either tell me or not. I'll go ask Sister Hong!"
Before her voice faded, she had already run out.
"Boss, can't you just be straightforward? It makes us onlookers anxious!"
Chen Zhenhai suddenly felt a thump on his head.
Qin Yihuai didn't want to be secretive; he just knew that one had to walk their own path.
Ye Zhinan huffed and puffed as she poured out her grievances at Sister Hong's place. Sister Hong poured her another cup of water.
"You! The vast Northland is all under the king's rule."
"Right! You mean the ducks are all at the supply station?!"
Ye Zhinan slapped her forehead, put down the teacup, tossed out a "thank you" and ran off.
If she could have taken things out of the space openly, she would have put on a down jacket long ago. Otherwise, she wouldn't have had to plead so pitifully.
Ye Zhinan rubbed her frozen little face and forced a smile.
She secretly packed two bags of food. One she gave to Chen Zhenhai to share with the brothers, and the other she reserved for the "impartial" Inspector Qin.
"Let's go and take a look!"
Qin Yihuai popped a piece of chocolate into his mouth and walked towards the backyard.
Ye Zhinan looked at the straight back in front of her and was quite satisfied.
Men, indeed, needed to be coaxed!
When she thought she had satisfied his appetite, Qin Yihuai was actually overjoyed that the little woman had bribed him without any hesitation.
"Hey? Where did all the duck feathers go?"
Ye Zhinan complained as she looked at the clean duck pen.
"They're all in the back warehouse. I always thought it was a waste to throw them away, so I saved them."
"Sure enough, reading books is not in vain!"
Ye Zhinan cast an approving look.
"You can use them as you like. There's no record of them. But if you need to use a large quantity, we have to plan carefully."
Qin Yihuai had far - reaching concerns. With the Ye family's status, everything had to be done carefully. Moreover, he didn't want to repeat past mistakes.
After Ye Zhinan carried a bunch of duck feathers home, she shut herself in her room again, calculating during the day and researching at night.
Finally, one day, she mysteriously appeared in front of everyone with a stack of things in her arms.
"Dad, Mom! Try these!"
Ye Zhinan handed two clothes to her parents.
The clothes looked no different from ordinary ones, just a bit thicker.
Han Xiangmei was amazed after putting it on.
"It's warm and light. It's so convenient for doing work!"
Although Ye Shenyan didn't say anything, he took it all in.
"Brother, yours is still being made. It'll be ready in a day or two."
Ye Yingfeng glanced at the things hidden at the bottom of the package and coughed twice.
"It'll take you a while to make five sets by yourself."
Ye Zhinan awkwardly wrapped the package tightly and changed the subject.
"All the duck feathers have been used up for our family. If we were to make them for the whole village, I'm afraid..."
"This is not something a single family can handle."
Qin Yihuai didn't know when he had stood at the door. Ye Yingfeng waved to him to come in.
"Mr. Ye, Mrs. Ye, sorry to bother you!"
"Inspector, you're being too polite. You think about the people, which is a blessing for the people. But when there are too many people involved, things won't be that easy to handle."
Ye Shenyan was quite right.
Everyone would be happy if they could seek blessings for the people.
But not everyone was willing to make efforts first and then reap the rewards, just like the initial greenhouse project.
Everyone lowered their heads in silence. It was Ye Zhinan who broke the deadlock.
"It doesn't mean we have to do everything together."
The so - called "the rich help the poor get rich"! It wasn't selfishness. Her primary task was to improve her own family first and then find like - minded people.
"Yes, take it slowly. Lay a good foundation and we can go further!"
Ye Shenyan affirmed again.
This "foundation" was not only for the outside world but also for Ye Zhinan herself.
He meant it in two ways, and his daughter understood.
With the down jackets to keep them warm, the Ye family was more efficient in their work than others.
Ye Zhinan secretly took out some down from the space. During her spare time from work, she made down jackets for Sister Hong, Liu Donghang, and Shen Rong's family. She also taught them the making method without reservation.
Only with reciprocity could human relationships last longer.
Everyone remembered Ye Zhinan's kindness and kept their mouths shut. Even if the Ye family didn't remind them, no one would say anything.
Shen Rong even was reluctant to wear the down jacket. If Ye Zhinan hadn't forced her, she would have waited until spring to take it out.
Just like this, life was peaceful for a while.
Although Wei Shiqi flaunted herself in front of Ye Zhinan every day, Ye Zhinan just gave her a disdainful look at most. The peaceful days made her feel more and more uneasy.
"Brother, my left eye is twitching again."
"Surely it's because you've been dealing with duck feathers for too long recently."
Ye Yingfeng was busy with his work and replied casually.
"Mom, my left eye is twitching badly!"
"I've always told you to go to bed earlier, but you just don't listen."
Han Xiangmei thought her daughter was still keeping an eye on the two breeding ducks at home and didn't dare to relax her vigilance.
"Dad, why is my left eye always twitching?"
Ye Shenyan gave her a disdainful look and hid in the room to read the ancient books.
"Hey, ducks! They don't care about me!"
Ye Zhinan tried to get closer to the duck pen but was pushed out by Ye Yingfeng.
"The one who cares about you is here."
Ye Zhinan was pushed in front of Qin Yihuai who was standing at the door. Her face blushed like a ripe peach.
"Do you... also want to eat roast duck?"
She blurted out.
"Sure!"
He wasn't being polite!
Since someone had asked, Han Xiangmei couldn't refuse.
"But I don't know how to make roast duck!"
"It's roasted duck!"
Roasted duck was recorded as early as the Southern and Northern Dynasties. By the time of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang in the Ming Dynasty, the imperial chefs used Nanjing ducks and roasted them over charcoal fire to make the skin crispy and the meat delicious.
Ye Zhinan had secretly learned how to make it in the space for a while in order to eat roasted duck, hoping that her mother would have some impression of "roasted duck".
"That's a national - banquet - level dish. I've only eaten it once. Your mother has never even eaten it, let alone made it."
Ye Shenyan spoke first.
Han Xiangmei quickly nodded in agreement.
"It doesn't matter if you haven't eaten it. Just knowing how to make it is enough."
Ye Zhinan was persistent.
"You know how to make it?"
Ye Shenyan looked at her in disbelief.
Everyone turned their eyes to Ye Zhinan at the same time.
There was hope!
Ye Zhinan nodded repeatedly.
"Just roast it with fruit woods like jujube, peach, and apricot trees. It's very simple, extremely simple."
She emphasized again and again. At this time, Ye Yingfeng slapped his forehead.
"There's a jujube tree behind our house!"
With that, he rushed towards the back of the house with an axe in his hand.
What a great brother!
Ye Zhinan gave him a mental thumbs - up.
In this way, the jujube tree she had prepared in advance and the ducks she had fattened for several days weren't in vain.
Seeing everyone so eager, Han Xiangmei had no choice but to reluctantly prepare for it.
After a full meal, Ye Zhinan was very satisfied. Then she remembered her twitching left eye.
"My left eye has been twitching all day. It turns out it's because Inspector Qin came to my house to eat duck. By the way, what did you come for?"
Qin Yihuai looked a bit mischievous. He hesitated for a moment.
"I'm here about the frozen pears you found after the heavy snow last time..."