Chapter 911 Li Shu: A wave of the hand speaks volumes

Having received a reply from the taciturn young man, Li Wan returned to her room with a satisfied expression.

Ouyang Rong glanced at her somewhat excited back view.

Perhaps because she was going to deliver vegetables to visit her promising son tomorrow, Li Wan had changed into a new long dress; she must have just been trying on new clothes.

I wonder where she got all these things from in this secluded place.

However, when Ouyang Rong thought about how Li Wan seemed to enjoy strolling around the island and generously buying things from various ladies, he wasn't too surprised. These new clothes were most likely handmade by one of the ladies.

Li Wan is quite picky about her quality of life.

Previously, Ouyang Rong had always been puzzled as to why she had come here with her son Lu Jinghong. No matter how much she had scraped together in this secluded place, the food, clothing and daily necessities were not as comfortable as the mansion down the mountain.

But seeing her preparing this food delivery as a treat, I can barely understand it now.

This is probably similar to those mothers who accompany their children to school in my past life; they have too much hope that their children will become successful.

Ouyang Rong withdrew his gaze and turned to go back into the house.

Looking at the empty room, he stopped turning on the light and stood there lost in thought for a while.

"I wonder how Ah Qing is doing with Consort Zhi Shuang..."

Ouyang Rong suddenly realized that he, as the elder brother, was actually quite similar to Li Wan, who hoped her son would become a dragon.

The latter liked to come to him for chats, perhaps partly out of mutual respect.

"Little Rongzi, this fairy doesn't like her."

Miao Si suddenly popped her head out from Ouyang Rong's arms and shouted something.

Ouyang Rong glanced at the door and reminded him:

"Keep your voice down."

Miaosi jumped onto his shoulder, grabbed his ear, and shouted:

"No, no, I won't."

Ouyang Rong shook his head:

"Do you have to shout it out loud whether you like someone or not? No wonder you don't have many friends. Besides, what does it matter to me whether you like her or not? You don't need to tell me."

"You're the one who has no friends! This fairy has friends all over the world! Besides, I'm afraid you'll be bewitched."

"You've outlived them all, haven't you? People from all over the world want to visit each other's graves and reminisce?"

Ouyang Rong muttered a complaint and shook his head:

"Dazed? No, not at all."

Miao Si crossed her arms haughtily and glanced at him:

"It's hard to say."

Ouyang Rong thought for a moment and then explained:

"I just find this mother and son quite interesting. Besides, I wouldn't say I dislike them, and I don't think it's worth it."

Miao Si snorted coldly:

"Don't be careless and make a mistake. This kind of woman is obviously cunning. Her smile is very uncomfortable. This kind of woman is the most troublesome. Unlike young girls who are thin-skinned, simple, and affectionate... This kind of woman is full of shrewd calculations of interests. You men are always overconfident and presumptuous about your so-called big picture. Be careful not to be eaten alive by this kind of woman."

Ouyang Rong was helpless:

"Is it possible that I never truly believed her?"

Miao Si looked at him with her eyes:

"It's hard to say. Who knows if you're just being reckless and trying something new?"

Ouyang Rong shook his head and asked, "Think about it, are these words used to describe a gentleman? It's utter nonsense."

"You're a complete scoundrel! Pah! I've never seen such a shameless gentleman. This fairy has seen true, solitary, ethereal scholars, reclusive and otherworldly—those are the real virtuous ones..."

"You have absolutely nothing to do with them. Those who are involved in worldly affairs will eventually have to struggle in the mud. They can't just walk away cleanly. In short, Confucian scholars who are actively involved in worldly affairs are unlikely to be true gentlemen. True gentlemen are meant to be bullied. You bully this fairy every day and never suffer any loss. Who will you let bully you? You think you're a true gentleman? Who are you trying to fool? Humph, shameless."

After making a comment, seeing that Ouyang Rong seemed too lazy to pay attention to him and turned to leave, Miao Si's expression immediately changed. She jumped three feet high, tightly gripping his clothes with both hands, her small body dangling in the air, swaying from side to side as she muttered:

"Little Rongzi, this fairy is starving! And you, you cook for that dim-witted little girl for free every day, without caring about your own people at all. Following you is the worst luck I've ever had. If you keep this up, this fairy is going to run away from home."

Ouyang Rong replied:

"If you keep being this bored, I'll have to keep an eye on your production of spirit ink. Looks like you've been pretty idle lately, coming here to pick a fight with me."

Miao Si's expression changed slightly, and with a "whoosh," she disappeared, disappearing to who knows where.

Ouyang Rong was speechless for a moment, then turned around and went to the courtyard to wash up and get his things.

At night, he secretly drew another Kui Xing talisman and sensed the white sturgeon outside the Sword Marsh.

The little guy still obediently lingers in front of Lu Changgeng's grave on the isolated island, helping to locate it.

Ouyang Rong pondered for a moment, calmed the white sturgeon down, and let it remain hidden by the grave. Then, he withdrew his senses.

After entering Jianze, we were delayed for quite some time, but we still had to explore this grave. However, there was about to be new progress at the dining hall, so we had to put it aside for the time being.

Nothing was said that night.

The next morning, Ouyang Rong went out, taking the camellia chicken from the yard, to the Qingliang Valley dining hall.

Looking up from the pier, the cool valley in front of me is hidden in the hazy morning mist.

From Ouyang Rong's aesthetic point of view, this island is exceptionally beautiful, not much less so than Mount Lu.

In summary, there are three spectacular sights: a waterfall, sheer cliffs, and clouds and mist.

Yet, this magnificent mountain on such a large island is rarely visited by people.

These days, Ouyang Rong has rarely seen Yue women appear among them.

The known rumors are that the Five Heroines and the Water Prison are located there, but the exact location is unknown.

Ouyang Rong thought of something and muttered to himself:

"It seems that Chen Jiaxin has sworn allegiance to the Five Goddesses. By the way, is she also in this Cool Valley, like A Qing, where direct disciples are required to stay at their master's side...?"

After a short while, Ouyang Rong snapped out of his thoughts and went to the dining hall.

He walked briskly to Aunt Zhu's stove and began preparing the camellia chicken...

He has a lot of dishes to cook today.

Since I had arranged to go to Zhutang with Li Wan in the afternoon, I also needed to prepare an extra sumptuous meal.

Before long, Aunt Zhu, Wu Cui, and others came to take their shifts. They were not surprised to see Ouyang Rong quietly working by the stove, as if they had already gotten used to the quiet and hardworking young man.

Ouyang Rong took the initiative to approach Aunt Zhu and whispered a few words to her.

The general idea is that we need to use the stove more often today.

Aunt Zhu readily agreed, only asking him not to delay the preparation of lunch and dinner at the dining hall.

As she turned to leave, Aunt Zhu caught a glimpse of the ingredients he had prepared and said with a surprised expression:

"Pork? What kind of dish are you making? This ingredient is difficult to handle; it has a strong flavor and is usually just stewed together..."

Ouyang Rong said in a muffled voice, "It's a dish from my hometown, I've forgotten the name."

Aunt Zhu was only curious for a while, then didn't ask any more questions and gave him the stove.

Ouyang Rong remained calm as he skillfully set up two stoves, one to simmer camellia chicken soup and the other to stew his signature Dongpo pork.

The embroiderer had eaten this dish before; he had made it for the women around him in Xunyang City.

Moreover, this dish is relatively simple to make, and pork is not as scarce as tea flower chicken, so the portion is large and filling.

In terms of cooking difficulty, it can replace the large pot meals made by Aunt Sun and Aunt Zhu.

This was also carefully selected by Ouyang Rong.

Before long, the sunlight on the ground at the entrance gradually moved westward, and it was already the middle of the morning, almost time to prepare lunch.

Just before the dining hall got busy, a small dark figure slipped in through the door as expected.

The familiar short-legged little girl, pulling on a thin string and dragging something, came to Ouyang Rong.

"Mmm mmm mmm."

Judging from the tone of voice, it was someone calling his name.

Ouyang Rong put down his work and glanced at her.

Li Shu tilted her chubby baby face up to meet his gaze, and at the same time reached out to offer him a thin thread.

Ouyang Rong wiped his hands and habitually took it.

Looking down, I suddenly realized that the ingredients given today were neither fish nor chicken.

At the other end of the thin line, a listless old turtle was caught, its back covered with slippery moss.

The old turtle persevered in crawling towards the door, seemingly trying to escape the little girl's clutches. Unfortunately, it hadn't crawled two steps before Li Shu, who had her hands behind her back, quietly kicked it back to its original position.

Its shell flipped over, leaving it upside down with its four legs in the air, unable to straighten itself—truly a fish on a chopping board.

Upon seeing this, Ouyang Rong's lips twitched slightly.

This turtle looks very old; it might even be older than the two of them.

I wonder which deep pool Li Shu was fished out of.

Ouyang Rong shook his head, recursively pointing to the thin thread, and said in a serious tone:

"I've prepared another of my specialties today, so how about we skip this one? Let's eat something else, something you'll probably like, it's a new dish."

"Mmm, mmm!"

The short-legged little girl shook her head, then nodded, and pushed back the hand that Ouyang Rong had offered.

She happily clenched her fist at Ouyang Rong and shook it vigorously.

It seemed to be saying that she wanted it all.

Ouyang Rong, expressionless, pointed to the turtle lying on its back and said:

"This is a main dish, symbolizing longevity. It's an expensive dish, something for wealthy families. I... I'm not very good at making it..."

After listening, Li Shu looked down at the turtle for a while, then habitually bit her thumb, raised her head, and revealed an expression that Ouyang Rong was very familiar with...

The little girl in Wu's clothes looked up at the dull young man with longing eyes, her big, black pearl-like eyes glistening with tears, as if she were yearning for something.

Ouyang Rong: ...

After a moment, Ouyang Rong silently accepted the turtle.

Li Shu stepped forward, jumped up, and patted his shoulder heavily.

He seemed to be entrusted with an important task.

After encouraging the young chef, the short-legged little girl, seemingly imitating her master, put her hands behind her back and swaggered out the door like a little adult.

Just then, the voice of the taciturn young man who had accepted the turtle came from behind.

"I have something to do this afternoon, so I won't be in the dining hall around this time of evening. Come and eat early."

"Mmm."

Li Shu didn't think much of it and nodded her little head.

Ouyang Rong glanced at the little girl's retreating figure, then turned back to the stove to continue cooking.

Lunchtime ended quickly.

In the afternoon, when the dining hall was less crowded, Li Shu arrived as scheduled.

Based on Ouyang Rong's understanding of her, she probably saved room for lunch, specifically to eat his meal.

"Mmm mmm mmm."

The little girl greeted him with a familiar tone, as if she were calling his name.

Although it's just a simple "um," the length and intensity of the sound can create different tones. Multiple "um" sounds can be stacked and combined... This girl can come up with a hundred different meanings with just one tone word.

"What a linguistic genius that should not be underestimated..." Ouyang Rong sighed.

Ouyang Rong was busy all morning and prepared an exceptionally lavish spread of dishes, with large portions, because it wasn't just for Li Shu alone.

The main dishes are three: stewed chicken soup, stewed turtle, and Dongpo pork.

Li Shu leaned closer to the stove pot, sniffed it for a while, and nodded with a satisfied and contented look on her face.

"Mmm."

She made two sounds and was about to find a bowl to eat when, in the next instant, a large hand blocked her way.

The short-legged little girl rolled her eyes and saw that it was a dull-looking young man who stood in front of her.

"Hmm?" She tilted her head in confusion.

Ouyang Rong waved his hand and said:

"These soups in the pot are for other people; I've already packed yours."

After saying that, he took out an insulated food box, which already contained two soups and one dish, including turtle.

Ouyang Rong handed the food box to Li Shu, and under her curious gaze, said earnestly:

“Besides the portion you ate, there were a few extra portions inside. You can take them back and share them with the people around you…” He paused, then became a little more direct, trying to use simple and easy-to-understand language: “I’m new to the dining hall, and I noticed that the food they make every day doesn’t seem very good. This is a small token of my appreciation, and I hope the other goddesses and fairies can also try it.”

Li Shu glanced at the food box without making a sound, then looked up and quietly observed his expression.

Ouyang Rong and she looked at each other silently, his eyes very serious.

"Mmm!"

Li Shu mumbled twice, took the food box, hugged it to her chest, and turned to run towards the entrance of the dining hall.

Ouyang Rong couldn't help but give instructions:

"Don't forget to pass on what I just said. Tell them that I made these dishes. My name is Liu Aliang, and I am the cook at Qingliang Valley Restaurant."

"Hmm!"

Li Shu's short legs seemed to raise her hand and wave it forcefully from behind, as if in response to something.

It's unclear whether this is a refusal or an expression of "no need for further explanation."

Ouyang Rong watched the short-legged little girl run away and sighed softly.

If his new dishes could attract the attention of the two ladies and lead them to let him take charge of cooking the daily meals, that would be a great success.

If they were even luckier... Li Shu would have brought the food directly to the embroiderer, who would have recognized him immediately, without Ouyang Rong having to go to the kitchen to cook.

Ouyang Rong knew that this possibility was somewhat wishful thinking, but some of Li Shu's actions were indeed quite suspicious.

For example, her constant mute "uh-uh" sounds, combined with her young age, make it seem like a child imitating a friendly adult...

"It seems that the good fortune hasn't materialized yet, and I don't know where it will land. I hope it will come in stronger soon..."

Ouyang Rong muttered to himself for a moment, then turned around and went to find the head cook, Madam Sun, to ask for half a day's leave.

Whether or not Madam Sun had received instructions from Li Wan beforehand, she approved it directly without asking Ouyang Rong what he was going to do.

Ouyang Rong took a new food box, filled it with the three soup dishes, cooked them thoroughly, packed them into the box, and took it out of the dining hall to find Li Wan...

(End of this chapter)