Chapter 92: A Donkey Can’t Be as Stubborn as You
"This basket of fish is your family's share, and these other large ones are from your uncle Zhang's family to make soup for Xu Yu to nourish his body."
Aunt Wu sighed, "Old Zhang's family originally came to see us, but the two children Xu Yu rescued both had high fevers, and they couldn't spare anyone at home, so they asked me to come and take a look."
"Xia Xia, is Xu Yu really alright? The doctor we invited is still at Old Zhang's house. Why don't we ask him to come over and take a look?"
Sang Zhixia smiled bitterly and shook her head: "He's strong and healthy, so there's no need to call a doctor."
This is also what Xu Yu himself meant.
If Xu Yu hadn't insisted on talking, she would have called a doctor long ago.
Aunt Wu, reluctantly feeling relieved, warned, "Being in an ice hole is no small matter. Even if you can't see any problems right away, you can't be too careless."
"You should work harder at home and remember to keep an eye on the people. If anything happens, just let us know, okay?"
Sang Zhixia smiled and nodded repeatedly. She walked Aunt Wu to the door and was about to turn around when Aunt Wu suddenly slapped her forehead and said, "Look at my memory. I almost forgot."
"When I came here, Changgui asked me to tell you how to build the shed you want to put up in your field. Tomorrow, when everyone is free, go and help you build it all at once."
Sang Zhixia didn't want to alarm so many people, so she paused for a moment and said, "Actually, there's no need. That's just..."
"Why not?"
Aunt Wu subconsciously glanced inside the house and whispered, "Your Third Uncle is very frail. The only one who can do the hard work is Xu Yu. Xu Yu fell ill while trying to save someone. Without anyone to help you, how will you ever be able to get that thing up?"
"It's settled. Tomorrow morning you go to the field and take charge. It will be ready for you in two or three days. It won't be too much trouble."
After saying this, Aunt Wu hurried away.
Sang Zhixia leaned against the door frame and sighed silently.
"Xia Xia, what should we do with this fish?"
Although only half a day had passed since the net was pulled up, the fish in the basket had frozen into long bricks, each one harder than the other.
Second Aunt Xu poked at the fish's tail, which was covered in ice, with embarrassment. She said helplessly, "This looks like it must be at least several dozen kilograms. I can't finish it. Won't it go bad if I leave it like this?"
"It won't break."
Sang Zhixia exhaled and said, "Aunt Wu just told me that if we can't finish the food, we can just spread it out in the yard. The winter freeze will last until the beginning of spring in March next year, so it won't go bad for a while."
Bitter cold weather also has its benefits.
Anything left outside is like being put into a natural refrigerator, and it is kept in a low-temperature quick-freezing mode, so it will be fine as long as it is stored throughout the winter.
She was just about to find two clean straw mats to spread out and take out the frozen fish and put them away, when Xu Wenxiu, who had gone into the house to check on Xu Yu out of worry, came out with red eyes.
Aunt Xu whispered, "Sister-in-law, is Xu Yu okay?"
Xu Wenxiu thought of Xu Yu's improved spirits and took a deep breath, saying, "He looks okay. No signs of fever. He should be fine after some rest."
Everyone's face was much more relaxed, except for Sang Zhixia, who couldn't lift the corners of his mouth.
good?
That stubborn donkey in the room can't even find the strength to sit up, how can that be considered okay?
She knew Xu Yu was afraid that Xu Wenxiu would worry, so she swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue, picked a lucky fish at random and said, "This fish came at the perfect time. I'll make some fish soup."
The soy milk ground yesterday was pressed by stones in a wooden frame overnight to set its shape. Now when it is poured out, it becomes square tofu blocks.
Freshly caught big fish, remove the scales and gut it, clean it and chop it into pieces that are easy to put into the pot. Marinate it with wine and ginger for a while to remove the fishy smell, then heat the oil in the pot and fry it first.
Fry the fish skin until golden brown, add hot water to the rich aroma, put in large pieces of tofu and simmer together with the fish.
The prepared stewed rice was already cold, so I put the mulberry branches and summer peppers into the pot to heat it up again. After everything was done, the fish soup was almost done.
The soup is milky white and rich, and the aroma of beans and fish fills the nose.
Sang Zhixia was preparing to bring Xu Yu's portion into the house alone, but the door creaked open and this stubborn donkey came out!
The old man had just had an argument with the old lady who had been lying motionless not long ago, and his face still looked bad.
He looked at Xu Yu and couldn't help but frown: "Didn't you say he was kept in the house? Why did he come out?"
Xu Yu sniffed nonchalantly and muttered, "It's not a big deal. Why should we be so cautious?"
"You guys."
He turned his gaze to the little ones and said seriously, "Two children fell into an ice hole today. It's not safe over there. You're not allowed to play there. Got it?"
Several younger ones stood up and nodded vigorously, and a smile appeared on Xu Yu's pale face.
"The ice surface where you've drilled an ice hole is very risky. It's easy to fall through the ice if you're not careful. I'll take you there again when it freezes solid next year."
Xu Yanran quickly brought a small stool and moved it towards the charcoal basin: "Brother, please sit down first. I'll go get you some hot water."
“No, you…”
"Yanran, you sit down and eat. He drinks this."
Sang Zhixia stuffed the bowl full of milky white fish soup into Xu Yu's hand and sat down next to him without showing any emotion.
"Aunt Wu said that someone from the village will help us build a greenhouse tomorrow, so I have to go to the fields early in the morning."
"I'll go with you."
Uncle Xu preferred the bacon and radish soup. He took a big gulp, not caring about the burn on his tongue, and said vaguely, "We've almost got all the bamboo we need. With some help, we can get it up in a couple of days."
Sang Zhixia lowered her head and took a sip of the fish soup. "It would be nice if someone from the village could come and help. If we can figure it out, then we can bring everyone along and do it together. It would save us the trouble of explaining everything to everyone."
According to the local climatic conditions, the village will officially start spring plowing at least four months later.
According to her expectation, the growth rate of grain seeds in the greenhouse is twice that in the natural environment. After four months, the first batch of grain in the greenhouse may be full of ears.
This is an anomaly that goes against the local farming order and customs, and will definitely attract other people's attention. It is better to let people see how it is done from the beginning than to bother talking about it later.
When talking about business, Sang Zhixia's eyes were filled with a faint light. Xu Yu looked at her calmly for a long time and said, "I also..."
"You're home."
Sang Zhixia interrupted him without a second thought and said coldly, "Lie down at home."
"But……"
"how?"
The brief conversation was indescribably tense, and the corners of Sang Zhixia's lips, which were often smiling, were tense as well.
Xu Yu thought that he had accidentally acted too arrogantly. Knowing that he was weak, he rolled his tongue but didn't say anything.
The old man said solemnly: "She's right, you are not the only one who can make a difference."
"Tomorrow I will go with your uncle, and Yu'er will rest at home."
Sang Zhixia lowered her eyes and said nothing. Xu Yu buried half of his face in the bowl and said okay with a helpless smile.
After dinner, Xu Yu remembered his fragile personality at the moment, and went back to the house very consciously without waiting to be chased away.
When Sang Zhixia entered the room, he was already lying down quietly.
A soft, white hand rested on his forehead.
Xu Yu blinked, his overly long eyelashes brushing against Sang Zhixia's palm, and his voice was also filled with laughter: "It's not hot, I touched it."
"Then you are quite self-aware."
Sang Zhixia withdrew her hand and frowned: "Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?"
Xu Yu thought for a moment and said weakly, "Does it matter if I don't have the strength?"
Sang Zhixia's brows suddenly furrowed even tighter.
Feeling weak all over is often a precursor to fever, and if something unexpected happens at night, it will be even more troublesome to deal with.
She was struggling with whether to ask the doctor for a prescription for fever-reducing medicine, just in case. But Xu Yu quietly took her hand and said, "Zhizhi, Grandfather and Mother think I'm fine, so don't tell anyone."
I have to say, this donkey has some acting skills.
Everything was normal while eating in the main room, and he didn't look sick at all.
But when he carried the person back to the house, Sang Zhixia followed him worriedly and saw that his hands were shaking even when he pushed the door open. He even had to push it several times before he could open it.
This doesn't look like nothing's wrong!
Sang Zhixia felt suffocated when she thought of him holding onto the door frame and struggling to push the door open. Her face darkened for a long time before she said, "It's not up to you to decide whether to make it public or not. Let's keep it for now and see how it goes."
"If you have a fever, you can't listen to your donkey's braying."
Donkey bray?
Xu Yu's face showed a hint of amusement: "Are you calling me a donkey?"
Sang Zhixia smiled slightly, her eyes sincere: "You think too much."
"A donkey is not as stubborn as you."
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