After changing their clothes, Er Gou had already quickly prepared several dishes. The group took their seats and prepared to eat dinner.
Er Gou's wife rubbed her hands together and said with a grin, "Manager Lan, the fish looks quite fresh. I steamed one, and it'll be ready to eat in a few more minutes. But there's still a lot left. What do you think we should do? Maybe we should quickly marinate it and let it dry so we can eat it after the snow. Or maybe we can grill it and sell it?" This was standard procedure.
Lan Ya Mei's limbs felt weak; she had never been so tired from practicing martial arts. She waved her hand and said, "You can arrange it however you like; anything is fine."
"Hehe, okay, I'll go bring the fish out so everyone can eat it while it's hot." Er Gou's wife turned around and called to the kitchen, "Er Gou, hurry up and bring the fish out." Then she went into the kitchen.
Lan Ya Mei glanced at the stairs and asked, "Aunt Guan, where's Ouyang Xingchen? Why hasn't he come down for dinner yet?"
“He has some family matters to attend to, so he won’t be coming for the next few days. Now that Ouyang Lan’s condition is improving day by day, he can finally leave her to me with peace of mind,” Aunt Guan said wearily, chewing on her rice and taking a bite of shredded potato.
"Oh." Lan Yamei showed a hint of disappointment, quietly picking up the cold pig's head meat and silently shoveling rice into her mouth.
Seeing this, Qiu Zeyu said sourly, "So you've taken a fancy to him? I advise you to be careful, that guy isn't any good either." After saying that, he left without eating another bite.
The people at the table all looked at Lan Ya Mei with resentment, as if to say, "You've messed with the wrong person, why don't you go and persuade her?"
Anyone with eyes can see that Qiu Zeyu likes this girl, but the girl herself doesn't know it.
Lan Ya Mei tapped her bowl with her chopsticks, her cheeks stuffed full, and said, "It's none of my business! I didn't do anything to him."
Just when everyone was speechless, Er Gou's wife brought up the steamed fish.
On the large round plate, the fish's skin and flesh were bursting open, its eyes bulging out, and there wasn't a single piece of scallion, ginger, or garlic. It was a grayish mess that looked completely unappetizing, yet everyone ate it with great satisfaction, taking turns with their chopsticks.
Soon, half of the fish was eaten. Seeing that Lan Yamei wasn't touching her chopsticks, Aunt Guan picked up a piece and put it in her bowl, saying, "It's incredibly fresh, eat up! Go talk to your master later, he's your master, silly girl."
"Oh." Lan Yamei tasted the fish, but couldn't quite describe the feeling. The fish was overcooked, the fish line hadn't been removed, and it had a slightly muddy taste. She quickly and secretly covered her face and spat on the ground. She sighed inwardly, thinking that in those days of scarcity, being able to eat your fill was enough; nobody cared about fancy dishes.
They quickly finished their meal and went about their own business.
The shop was so busy that no one paid any attention to Manager Lan. Feeling bored, Lan Ya Mei went to wander around the nearby clinic.
After the once quiet massage parlor was transformed into Meilinguan Pharmacy, business has become incredibly good. Even though it's past 6 p.m., there are still more than a dozen patients who have traveled from afar to seek treatment from Aunt Guan.
While examining the patient, Aunt Guan quickly gave a prescription, and Uncle Ouyang filled the medicine and collected the money. The old man and his son from the Deli Massage Shop were busy inside, comforting the patient and serving tea and water. They didn't even notice Lan Yamei standing at the door.
Seeing that she wasn't having much fun, Lan Yamei turned around and went out again, intending to stroll around the streets. Having been here for so long, just trying to make a living, what girl wouldn't want to go shopping? Besides, these quaint streets were much more beautiful than the replica ancient towns of her own time.
Just as she stepped down the stairs, someone suddenly jumped down from above, startling Lan Yamei. Before she could scold him, the person grabbed her around the waist, leaped onto the roof, and jumped back up.
Still shaken, she recognized the person as Qiu Zeyu. Just as she was about to say something, Qiu Zeyu turned around and lay down on the roof tile, crossed his legs, looked at the lamplight at his feet, and said sullenly, "I saw my cousin today."
He wanted to get angry, but seeing Qiu Zeyu's distress, he could only feel at ease as he slowly sat down, clinging to the eaves, his fear of heights evident. He casually replied, "Cousin? I've never heard you mention her. Hey! You haven't had dinner, aren't you hungry?"
"I'm starving!" Qiu Zeyu said listlessly. He had already clearly refused to marry his cousin, so why was she still pursuing him? It was a real headache. He had no romantic feelings for her, and they had grown up together; it was really difficult for them to become a couple.
"I've heard that many cousins get married in your generation, is that true?" Lan Yamei asked for some reason.
"What do you mean 'yours' and 'ours'? Are we any different?" Qiu Zeyu retorted.
"Um, um, um, of course we're the same. Hehehe," Bluetooth Girl quickly brushed it off.
Qiu Zeyu didn't pursue the matter and sat up, gazing tenderly at Lan Yamei, asking, "Is the fish delicious?"
"What's so delicious about this! It smells fishy and ruins the fish. If I knew how it's steamed, I would have made it myself." Lan Yamei blurted out, really wanting to complain about the low-end way fish is prepared these days.
"What do you mean? You have a new idea?" Qiu Zeyu loved the surprises Lan Yatou brought him and urged, "Make one for Master?"
Lan Yamei's eyes darted around, and she said, "It's not that it's impossible, but you have to give me some extra lessons."
"Tutoring? Tutoring?" Qiu Zeyu frowned, still unable to understand the girl's words. Sometimes he felt that this girl was easy to understand, and other times he felt that he couldn't see through her and wondered what was going on in her head.
"It's just that my foundation is weak. Could you secretly teach me some more secret techniques so that my kung fu can improve faster?" Lan Yamei said shamelessly, with a bright smile.
"That depends on how well you cook the fish!" Qiu Zeyu said, then grabbed Lan Yamei's hand and jumped off the roof.
Lan Ya Mei was so frightened that she quickly closed her eyes, afraid that she would break her arms and legs.
As she felt a gentle touch on the soles of her feet, she opened her eyes again and found herself firmly on the street. Lan Ya Mei experienced the charm of light-body kung fu for the first time, giving it a thumbs up and further strengthening her resolve to learn it well.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
