Chapter 10

Chu Jiujiu was staying at the Zhang family and couldn't cook by herself. Not only could she not cook the raw fish she brought back, but it might also be taken away by Zhang Po and her friends. Han Shengyi lived in the cowshed and according to the rules he couldn't eat food beyond the quota. Even the fruits he picked on weekdays had to be eaten secretly at night, not to mention these live fish.

So, the two of them hit it off, started a fire on the spot, prepared everything and then took it back.

Chu Jiujiu caught the fish alone, but she made it clear she wanted to share it with Han Shengyi. Han Shengyi, whose fire-making skills were as good as Chu Shao's, threaded the prepared fish onto a stick. Han Shengyi found a few stones, inserted the sticks into them, and then went back to work on the honeycomb.

The honeycomb was too big to be taken back like this. He broke off a few suitable banana leaves by the stream and in a few seconds, he weaved the huge banana leaves into a conical cup. He smashed the honeycomb open and sticky golden honey immediately flowed out. Han Shengyi used the banana leaf cup to catch the honey. At the same time, he broke off a little honey block and handed it to Chu Jiujiu.

"Try it."

Chu Jiujiu was stunned.

It turns out...it turns out there really is honey in the honeycomb!

Seeing that she didn't move, Han Shengyi tilted his head to look at her, and directly stuffed the honey block into her half-open mouth. Chu Jiujiu chewed it unconsciously twice, and finally came back to her senses.

“So sweet!”

Han Shengyi smiled and was about to continue processing when Chu Jiujiu squatted beside him, her eyes shining as she said, "Apply some on the fish, it will taste delicious!"

Han Shengyi: “…”

If there were not too few banana leaves and too much honey, Han Shengyi would never have agreed to her wasteful behavior.

The fish caught by Chu Jiujiu were of different sizes, and the very small ones had been released by Han Shengyi. After listening to a lot of things he said, Chu Jiujiu finally understood what sustainable development meant and promised not to catch such small fish to eat again.

After the largest one was cooked, he gave it to Chu Jiujiu first. Chu Jiujiu took a bite and immediately exclaimed, "It's delicious! Brother Shengyi, you are such a great cook!"

After saying that, she tore off a piece of meat from the fish's belly and handed it to Han Shengyi, who ate it and said with a smile, "You are good at catching fish. The fish you catch are all delicious."

Chu Jiujiu was even happier; she loved being praised. This fish was wild and pollution-free, and it was indeed delicious, but it had a fishy smell. They hadn't added ginger or cooking wine, so it was amazing at first, but after eating it, the taste was just average.

While picking out the fish bones, Chu Jiujiu thought that when she had money, she would buy all the seasonings and cook this kind of fish again.

Chu Jiujiu's mother is multi-talented. There are many handicraft books at home, and of course there are no shortage of recipes. After Chu Jiujiu stopped going to school, she stayed at home with nothing to do, so she read these books, especially the recipes with colorful pictures, which were her favorites.

Even though she couldn't do it, even though she didn't recognize some of the words, Chu Jiujiu still remembered them all in her mind with her strong memory.

There were more than a dozen fish. Chu Jiujiu ate a big one and Han Shengyi ate two small ones to fill their stomachs. Han Shengyi also dug out all the larvae from the hive. After they were all roasted, they prepared to go down the mountain.

Chu Jiujiu refused to accept the roasted insects, even though they tasted better than roasted fish. In the end, Chu Jiujiu took half of the fish and a palm-sized piece of honey, and gave the rest to Han Shengyi.

Han Shengyi was a little surprised. Chu Jiujiu explained, "Chu Shao and I live together. We're small, so we don't have much to eat. We don't have a refrigerator right now, and the weather is too hot. If we don't eat it, it will go bad. Brother Shengyi, you still have to take care of grandpa and grandma. This honey is good for the elderly if you make water with it. Even if you can't eat it, there are other people living in the cowshed. You can give it to them."

While eating and chatting, Chu Jiujiu roughly knew what the situation was in the cowshed. Han Shengyi looked at the heavy thing in his hand, not knowing what he was thinking. Suddenly, Chu Jiujiu's embarrassed voice sounded in front of him.

"That...Brother Shengyi..."

Han Shengyi looked up.

Chu Jiujiu felt a little embarrassed. Her previous companions were all of the same age, and all girls. To her, Han Shengyi was like an older brother, and she didn't quite know how to get along with such a playmate.

She asked expectantly, "Can I come and play with you tomorrow?"

Han Shengyi blinked slightly, then shook his head, "No."

Chu Jiujiu was stunned.

"I have to work and can't play like the other kids. I'm sorry. Thanks for the fish. I have to go home."

After saying that, Han Shengyi smiled at her again, then turned and left. Chu Jiujiu looked at him walking away quickly, and always felt that the reason he gave was not true.

He must have despised her.

Chu Jiujiu lowered her head and looked at the still warm grilled fish in her arms. She curled her lips and felt like crying, but in the end she didn't.

Isn't it just being disliked? It doesn't matter, she still has her grandfather. As long as her grandfather doesn't dislike her, it's fine.

Well, that's it, she only needs grandpa, no one else.

Chu Shao didn't know what Chu Jiujiu was thinking. He only knew that he had just come back from work and found a aggrieved Chu Jiujiu at the intersection.

After being exposed to the sun on the boat for a whole day, Chu Shao didn't have a hat, so the uncle who went with him kindly lent him one. Even so, when he came back, his whole body was sunburned, and his jacket was half open. Chu Shao looked at the small figure, first breathed a sigh of relief imperceptibly, and then sighed meaningfully.

The former was because Chu Jiujiu was still safe and sound after he had been gone for a day, and the latter was because Chu Jiujiu was like a little ancestor, with mood swings too quickly, which always put a lot of pressure on him who had no parenting experience.

When she walked in front of Chu Jiujiu, she saw a pair of legs appear in her sight and realized that Chu Shao had returned. She wanted to force a smile, but after thinking about it, she decided to hand over the grilled fish in her arms first.

"Grilled fish, I caught it." Chu Jiujiu took credit.

Chu Shao looked at the grilled fish, and then a small hand handed him a piece of something wrapped in leaves that looked like a candy.

"Honey, it wasn't me who bumped into you." Chu Jiujiu explained.

Chu Shao: “…”

He could understand catching grilled fish, but what was "hitting honey"?

The two found a quiet place. Chu Shao ate fish while listening to Chu Jiujiu talk about her ups and downs in life today.

After hearing the whole story, Chu Shao tried to recall the people in the cowshed, and finally connected the Han Shengyi that Chu Jiujiu had mentioned with the "boy who lived in the cowshed" who had a low profile in his memory. Chu Shao didn't quite understand the heartbreak of being rejected by a friend. He never wanted friends, and even if someone asked him to play, he was not willing to pay attention.

After finishing the fish, Chu Shao began to summarize: "Since he doesn't want to, you shouldn't rush him. There are so many children in the village. It doesn't matter who he plays with."

"Look at you, you get chased by a dog when you go out. I told you not to go up the mountain, but you went anyway. Can you be a little more obedient?"

Chu Jiujiu defended herself: "I was chased up the mountain by a dog, and Grandpa, you told me not to go up the mountain alone, but I didn't go up alone. Brother Shengyi was with me."

Chu Shao: "We've only just met, and you're already calling me Brother Shengyi. I think he's right. Don't go looking for him anymore, and don't go to the bullpen. Stay away from them."

Chu Jiujiu didn't understand, "Why?"

Chu Shao pursed his lips. There were too many things involved and it was too troublesome to explain. Chu Shao was obviously not a patient person, so he learned the adults' tricks on his own.

"Why would a kid ask so many questions? You'll understand when you grow up."

Chu Jiujiu: “…”

Chu Shao ate most of the grilled fish, and the two of them shared the honey. After they finished everything, they returned to Zhang's house. They were scolded again when they entered the yard. Chu Shao pretended not to hear. Chu Jiujiu followed Chu Shao and turned around before entering the door. She made a face at Mrs. Zhang, which made Mrs. Zhang so angry that she scolded her several more times.

Soon, it was dark, and Han Shengyi returned to the cowshed under the moonlight. When he had a harvest, he would come back at this time. If he found nothing, he would come back earlier.

When I handed the grilled fish and honey to my grandmother, she was very surprised and asked, "Shengyi, did you find all these?"

Han Shengyi paused while drinking water and said, "The fish was given to me by a child from the village."

Grandma Han frowned: "Which child?"

"Chu Jiujiu."

Grandma Han was still wondering who Chu Jiujiu was, but Grandpa Han, who was lying in bed, was the first to be surprised. "Is she the daughter of Zhang Fengjuan you mentioned yesterday?"

Han Shengyi nodded.

When Grandma Han heard this, she immediately got angry: "Shengyi, what did I say yesterday? Did you ignore my words?"

Han Shengyi's voice was very gentle, and no matter how angry someone was, it seemed that his voice could extinguish their anger. "Grandma, it's okay. She won't come to see me again."

Grandma Han was puzzled: "Why?"

"Because I told her so."

After saying that, Han Shengyi smiled, turned around, pushed the door open, took off his clothes, put them in a wooden basin and started washing them. These were his only clothes, and he had to wash them tonight so he could wear them tomorrow morning.

Grandma Han sat in the room and didn't speak for a long time.

Grandpa Han coughed and said, "Why do you..."

Grandma Han: “Shut up.”

Grandpa Han: "Okay."