Chapter 89 It's hot. He seems to have made Ah Shu angry again.
On the way, Lin Shu just walked without saying a word to Zhou Ye.
Zhou Ye was tongue-tied and didn't know what to say, so he remained silent all the way.
Seeing that Brother Ye hadn't finished coaxing Sister when they were almost home, Lin Xiaopu couldn't stand it any longer, so she asked on Sister's behalf, "Brother Ye, why are you taking so long to come back today? I even drew the blueprint for the bamboo rocking chair."
Zhou Ye couldn't answer for a moment.
What did he say? He said he had that dream and felt sorry for Ah Shu, so he didn't dare to face her?
"I, I was just about to go back." Zhou Ye explained, but this explanation was not convincing at all.
Lin Xiaopu shook his head, sighed, and gave him a look that said, "I can't help you, so I'll just fend for you."
If Brother Aye was about to go back as he said, then it would not be that she and her sister had already gone to the fields, while Brother Aye was still in the fields and had not come out.
I don't know what's wrong with Brother A Ye today. Was he too tired from making the bamboo lounge chair yesterday and doesn't want to do it today? So he would rather work in the fields for a while longer and not come back?
This could easily lead to the elder sister misunderstanding that she didn't want to help her with her work. If she were the elder sister, she wouldn't be happy either.
Back in the courtyard, Lin Shu told Zhou Ye to put down the bucket. She then scooped the loaches and snails from the bucket into a wooden basin, changed the water, and added a spoonful of salt. Soaking them in light salt water helped the loaches and snails expel mud and sand faster and more cleanly. Although salt was expensive, there were some things you couldn't skimp on.
Seeing Zhou Ye standing behind his elder sister, looking at a loss, Lin Xiaopu thought that his elder sister was really angry today. Could it be that Brother A Ye did something else to annoy his elder sister?
She didn't understand, but when her elder sister was angry, she couldn't turn her elbow towards Brother A Ye anymore, because that would make her elder sister even angrier. However, she could give Brother A Ye some advice.
"Brother Aye, my sister and I are busy cooking, why don't you go and do your own thing first? The bamboo rocking chair design that my sister drew is right on the table. Take a look and see if you can make it."
If there is anything you don't understand in the drawings, you can just ask your elder sister. The bamboo rocking chair is what your elder sister wants to make. If you ask your elder sister now, she will definitely tell you no matter how angry she is.
Lin Xiaopu felt that his hint was so obvious that Brother Aye would definitely understand it. However, after he picked up the blueprint and looked at it, he went to do the bamboo work, looking very focused on the work. He didn't even think of using the blueprint to talk to Aye.
Lin Xiaopu: ...
Brother Aye is not stupid in other aspects, why is he so stupid when it comes to coaxing people?
Forget it, she will not meddle in other people's business anymore and let them deal with it on their own.
After soaking the loach and snails in light salt water, Lin Shu and He Guixiang sat on a small bamboo chair and rubbed the hemp thread for a while. Before they had the small bamboo chair, they used the wooden blocks in the yard to sit and rub hemp thread. Now with the small bamboo chair made by Zhou Ye, it was more comfortable and convenient to sit on.
He Guixiang glanced at Zhou Ye, who was working on bamboo in the corner of the courtyard, and asked in a low voice, "Ashu, are you and Aye angry?"
She didn't want to get involved. Some couples have better feelings the more they quarrel, but Ah Shu and Ah Ye haven't gotten married yet. What if they become distant from each other after quarreling?
Lin Shu knew that her mother was concerned about her, so she secretly glanced at Zhou Ye. After making sure that he wasn't looking in her direction, she whispered back, "Aye irritated me, shouldn't I be angry? But don't worry, mother. I'm not as angry as you think. It's just that he irritated me and didn't comfort me, so I can't calm down."
He Guixiang finally felt relieved and said with a smile, "Your father would sometimes make me angry, especially when we were young. I wasn't as temperamental as you, so I would just sulk by myself."
Lin Shu frowned when she heard this, "Mother, if you're angry, you should just let it out right away. Isn't it uncomfortable to keep it bottled up inside?"
He Guixiang said, "It was painful, how could I not be? But your father works in the fields every day, he's already tired enough, why should I argue with him over some trivial matter? But later on, I calmed down. Can you guess why? Because your father looked so clueless, he couldn't even tell I was sulking, and I had to bear this anger all by myself! The more I thought about it, the more I felt it wasn't worth it, and my anger subsided."
"But that was all in the past. Your father and I have been married for more than ten or twenty years. Now, if I frown a little, he knows he has offended me. But most of the time he still doesn't understand why I am angry."
Speaking of which, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Lin Shu sighed, "Mother, you are so kind. Father must have accumulated blessings for several lifetimes to marry a wife as good as you."
No wonder A-niang suffered so much before the family split up. She has such a soft personality and everyone wants to bully her.
He Guixiang shook her head gently, "Ah Shu, I'm willing to give in to your father because I know he treats me well and has done a lot for me. Because of this kindness, I'm willing to tolerate and endure his many little flaws. How can a couple not have arguments and quarrels? Some couples get along better the more they quarrel, while others end up drifting apart after a long quarrel. I've said all this just to tell you that Ah Ye is a good child. He may have a lot of little flaws like your father, but as long as he treats you well, that's all. The rest will come slowly. Over time, the two of you will get along well."
Lin Shu said, "Mother is willing to tolerate and forgive men, but I am not. Relationships are not a necessity for me. It is more important to take care of my stomach. If being with Ah Ye doesn't make me happy, why should I suffer the pain of this relationship? Not to mention that nothing has happened between Ah Ye and me yet. Even if I marry him in the future, if he annoys me, I can divorce him."
He Guixiang widened her eyes slightly, as if shocked by her words.
There were cases of divorce in the Dayan Dynasty, but it was not easy for a poor family to find a wife, and there was a lot of gossip among the village women. Once two people got married, no matter how unhappy their life was, the couple would still live a bumpy life.
But if they divorce, the poor man will not be able to save up money to marry another wife, and the wife will be despised by her family when she returns to her parents' home. The gossip of the village women alone can drive a man crazy, and many people even commit suicide by hanging themselves.
Lin Shu thought to herself: This is nothing. She hasn't said anything truly shocking yet, such as that she wants to live together for a while before deciding whether to get married.
She was already being conservative. In the last few years of the apocalypse, who wasn't living life to the fullest? How many people lived each day as if it were the last? Such days were filled with indulgence and excess, filled with primitive desires and wildness, with many people switching partners daily.
She simply had no time to care about other things because she could barely fill her stomach. Although she didn't like this kind of indulgent lifestyle and felt it was no different from that of an animal, if she didn't have to worry about filling her stomach and happened to meet a man who was pleasing to her eyes and shared the same values as her, she would have said goodbye to her single life long ago.
He Guixiang didn't know what was going on when she heard her words, and her brows furrowed. "Ah Shu, why are you saying such things before you even get married? You used to be in the Marquis' Mansion... but what kind of injustice did you suffer?"
Lin Shu quickly said, "That's not the case. I used to be the daughter of a marquis, how could I have suffered any injustice? What are you thinking, mother? I've been in the capital for a long time, and I've seen too many unfaithful men and too many ungrateful people. I think love between men and women is just that. If I hadn't met A Ye, I wouldn't want to get involved with other men. I just want to be a daughter to my father and mother for the rest of my life. This is the truth, not just to make you happy."
Seeing that her brows were still furrowed, Lin Shu changed the subject and said with a smile, "But we have Ah Ye, right? As Ah Niang said, he's a good guy. The more we get along, the more I like him. But he can be honest, dull, and awkward at times, which is really annoying. If I don't show my power today, what will he do to me in the future? Ah Niang, just think of this as a little fun thing between Ah Ye and me."
When He Guixiang heard this, her worry turned into joy, but she scolded him softly, "You are so shameless, girl. How can you even say something like 'interest'?"
"What's the fun?" Lin Xiaopu leaned over with his little head and asked curiously.
Lin Shu immediately covered her mouth and glanced at Zhou Ye in fear. Seeing that he was not looking at her, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Lin Shu withdrew her hand and taught him seriously, "Don't be so noisy when you talk next time. It's unbecoming."
Lin Xiaopu grinned: "As you wish, Master!"
The mother, daughter, and three children each sat on a small bamboo chair, chatting about random things. Lin Shu estimated that it was almost time and started to make breakfast.
My mother has already steamed the brown rice, so all she needs to do is make a few home-cooked dishes.
He Guixiang didn't want Lin Shu to get her hands dirty, so she helped her prepare the loaches and snails, and Lin Shu only had to cook.
The snails are still stir-fried, but this time a handful of dogwood fruit is added to make the snails taste better.
This time, I decided to splurge and make a dish of braised loach.
Cut the loach into sections and place them in a colander to drain the water. Fry over medium heat until both sides are golden brown, then remove and set aside.
The lazy way to make braised loach is to stir-fry it directly and then stew it with sugar, but Lin Shu wants to do it a little more complicated - fry the sugar color with oil.
After clearing the pot of debris, she added sugar to the hot pot while the oil cooled. Lin Shu threw in a handful of crushed rock honey, which she had crushed in advance, and stirred it quickly with a wooden spatula. The rock honey quickly melted into liquid sugar, and its color changed from light yellow to golden yellow, then to red, and small bubbles began to form in the liquid sugar.
Right now!
Pour the hot water boiled in the ceramic pot into the pot, add loach and all the seasoning ingredients, tie a bunch of wild onions into a knot and throw them in directly, slice the ginger, and take a small handful each of peppercorns and dogwood fruits.
After stewing for less than a quarter of an hour, take out the contents and let the sugar color thicken.
When the juice becomes thick and sticky, it is done.
The bright red syrup poured on the loach will whet your appetite just by looking at it.
Finally, sprinkle a handful of wild onion chopped on it, which adds a touch of red and green, and is full of color, aroma and taste.
Just as the braised loach came out of the pot, Lin Dashan came back and said with a grin, "I could smell this aroma from far away!"
"Father, please sit down and take a rest. Another soup will be ready soon."
Lin Shu used the juice hanging on the wall of the pot, added half a pot of water, and made some wild vegetable egg drop soup.
After the soup was cooked, Lin Shu used a large spoon to scoop soup into the bowl, intending to wait until it was less heavy after two spoonfuls before lifting the pot. After all, this iron pot was much heavier than the pots of later generations, with handles at both ends, and she had to hold the two handles to lift the pot.
But before she could do anything, two hands suddenly reached out from the side and easily picked up the iron pot.
Lin Shu suddenly remembered something and shouted, "Be careful, it's hot!"
Zhou Ye had already picked up the pot. His brows knitted suddenly, but he didn't let go of the pot with his hands. He poured the soup from the pot into the bowl and then put it back on the stove.
Lin Shu quickly pried his hand open, and sure enough, there were two red marks on his palm.
Without caring about anything else, she hurriedly pulled Zhou Ye's arm to the stove, unplugged the bamboo water pipe, grabbed Zhou Ye's hand and rushed into the water.
"Ashu, I'm fine."
"Shut up!"
Zhou Ye was distressed. He seemed to have accidentally made Ah Shu angry again.
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