Looking north towards the rivers and mountains

Chapter 172 Lunch

Liu Xing carried two buckets to the backyard, and glared at Shao Shuyi before leaving.

Shao Shuyi seemed oblivious as he scooped the newly caught carp out of the bucket, skillfully gutted it, removed its gills and scales, and then washed it clean.

Considering that he had brought a few brothers with him, he killed ten fish in a row, placed them one by one on the cutting board, and then began to make the seasonings.

Finely chop two ounces of coriander, add salt and spices, mix well, and coat the fish inside and out to allow the flavors to penetrate.

After finishing those, she began chopping coriander leaves, ginger shreds, and radish shreds, placing them in a porcelain bowl, while chopped scallions were put in another bowl. "You're quite skilled," said Madam Liu, who had changed her clothes and was leaning against the doorframe.

"When you're away from home, you always eat dry food, and sometimes it's really hard to stand. So I thought of ways to learn how to cook." Shao Shuyi bent down and scooped out two catties of wheat flour and one catty of bean flour from two earthenware jars, one large and one small.

"I used to be on a ship," Liu said. "I went back and forth between Wenzhou and Changguo Prefecture once and then came back. After that, my family refused to let me go on a ship again. At that time, I ate dry rations all day long. It was okay at first, but I really couldn't stand it after a while."

"How can we let a woman on board?" Shao Shuyi laughed. "A ship full of brothers who were getting along so well would fall apart and their morale would collapse because of a woman. Wouldn't that be a laughing stock?"

"Have you ever been out to sea by boat before?" Liu asked again.

Shao Shuyi, who was adding water to mix the batter, paused for a moment, then understood what she meant and said, "Sit down."

"Where are you sitting?"

Even if I told you, you wouldn't know.

Tell me about it.

Have you heard of Gulangyu Island?

"Never heard of it."

"You wouldn't know even if I told you." Shao Shuyi picked up his chopsticks and quickly stirred the flour and bean flour in the basin, gradually turning them into a paste. Liu fell silent for a moment.

"Where will we spend the New Year?" After a long while, just as Shao Shuyi finished preparing the dough, Liu asked.

"It should be in Taicang," Shao Shuyi said.

Liu nodded in agreement.

"And you?" Shao Shuyi asked.

Jiangyin.

"one person?"

Madam Liu laughed and said, "Don't you still have family?"

"Is Lin She back?"

Liu shook her head.

Shao Shuyi understood. For ordinary people, the New Year is just the New Year, but for people with certain wealth and status, the New Year is more than just the New Year; there are many other things to do.

"With Liu Xing and Liu Ming around, the New Year isn't too quiet," Shao Shuyi said.

"They all have families," Liu said calmly.

Shao Shuyi smiled awkwardly and changed the subject, talking about the scenery and local specialties of Jiangyin, as well as places to enjoy the views during the Spring Festival. Liu Shi knew what he meant and cooperated in the conversation, but as the conversation went on, she eventually lost her mood and couldn't continue.

Shao Shuyi picked up a fish, dipped it into the basin of flour, and covered it with batter. He said, "I learned this method in Taicang. There are many people from all walks of life there, and over the decades, they have all kinds of food from different places. You've definitely never seen this before."

"Are you trying to make me happy?" Liu asked.

Shao Shuyi nodded and said, "It's just to make you happy."

Liu's lips curled slightly as she said, "What haven't I seen..."

Shao Shuyi was focused on applying paste to the carp, seemingly oblivious to Liu's emotions, and simply said, "Humans aren't plants or trees, how can they be without feelings? You've helped me so much, of course I want you to be happy."

Liu remained silent for a moment, as if she were thinking about something.

Shao Shuyi quickly cleaned the fish, placed it on the stove, lifted the lid, and poured some sesame oil into the pot.

"Will you start the fire or should I?" Shao Shuyi asked, turning his head.

"You should get married after the New Year, right?" Liu asked suddenly.

With a helpless expression, Shao Shuyi said, "Never mind, I'll start the fire. You just keep an eye on the stove."

After saying that, he crawled behind the earthen stove, sat on a small stool, pulled out a bundle of straw, lit it with a fire tinderbox, and stuffed it into the stove hole. Then he skillfully added bean stalks and thin twigs, and finally put in a few large pieces of wood.

"We're still a long way from getting married." Shao Shuyi got up and went outside to wash his hands, saying, "What family would even consider me?" "You're too picky," Liu said. "I have a niece in Wenzhou who is pretty, virtuous, and has never been involved in any of those messy things her elders did. If you're interested..."

"Oh? Is that so?" As he passed by Liu, Shao Shuyi paused, looked into her eyes, and asked.

Liu turned her head away and hummed in agreement.

Shao Shuyi stood in front of the stove, his back to Liu Shi, a smile playing on his lips.

Madam Liu wanted to introduce a younger member of her clan to him as a wife? Under what complex emotions did she come up with this idea?

The age gap between them is indeed too big. Being friends with benefits is more suitable than anything else, so why let the good stuff go to outsiders? "I don't like it." Shao Shuyi replied decisively. Seeing that the oil was hot, he put the two carp into the oil and fried them carefully.

"If you don't like it, then forget it," Liu replied.

Shao Shuyi skillfully flipped and fried the carp until it was almost done, then took it out and placed it on a plate. He then added two more and continued frying them. Liu watched all this in amazement, feeling a real pang of hunger.

"Come and help me!" Shao Shuyi called out as he turned his head.

Liu hesitated for a moment, then took the spatula and began to fry the fish.

Shao Shuyi first went to the stove hole, then used fire tongs to pick up a piece of burning wood and put it into a stove hole next to him. He then stuffed in straw, bean stalks, and branches to ignite it. Finally, he washed his hands and started heating oil in a wok.

Once the oil is hot, add the pre-cut ginger strips, coriander leaves, radish strips, and salt to the pan and stir-fry together.

Liu watched him as she fried the fish.

Shao Shuyi stirred the fish with undivided attention, quickly scooped it up and placed it in a bowl. Then he ladled some water into the pot, preparing to boil it and make soup. He then evenly poured the scooped-up seasoning over the fried fish, finally sprinkled it with chopped green onions, and it was done.

"Want to try some?" Shao Shuyi pointed to the fish and asked with a smile.

Liu put down the spatula and was about to pick up the chopsticks when she heard Shao Shuyi exclaim, "Watch out for the pot!" She immediately reacted and hurriedly flipped the fish over.

Fortunately, the situation was handled in time and the fish was fine. Just as she breathed a sigh of relief, she felt a piece of soft, savory fish meat being brought to her lips. Looking around, she saw Shao Shuyi holding a piece of fish meat, looking at her expectantly.

Liu originally intended to do it herself, but when she saw Shao Shuyi sweating profusely while cooking, and his eyes filled with eagerness, her heart softened, and she ate the fish.

"Is it delicious?" Shao Shuyi asked.

"Not bad." Madam Liu nodded and said softly, still flipping the fish in her hands.

"It's really burnt now, can't you see?" Shao Shuyi pointed to the pot and smiled maliciously.

Liu glared at him, quickly scooped up the fish, and said, "Do it yourself, I'm too lazy to do it."

Shao Shuyi chuckled as he placed two fish in the pan and took the spatula to fry them.

Liu sat down at the table and watched Shao Shuyi cook while happily eating the fish and meat.

After a moment, she suddenly asked, "When are you coming back after the New Year?"

"It might be past February," Shao Shuyi said. "In March, I need to go out and collect cloth, so I can come to Jiangyin legitimately."

"Buy cloth? Do you have money?" Liu asked.

This question stumped Shao Shuyi.

"There's always some," he said.

"How many salted fish do you still have in Ma Tuo Sha?" Liu asked.

"That's all," Shao Shuyi answered honestly. "Apart from the few hundred kilograms given to the subordinates during the New Year, that's really all."

"How much more can be pickled?"

"About 18,000 jin."

"I'll buy it first. You can ask Liu Ming for 180 ingots later," Liu said. "Just send it to me after it's pickled next year." Shao Shuyi was overjoyed. In this way, his working capital would exceed 500 ingots.

Before the New Year, we collected the debts from the ruffians and shopkeepers, and another three hundred ingots were deposited into the account.

These days are wonderful!

With this money, we can make great strides next year and further expand and strengthen our business.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony," Shao Shuyi said with a smile. "Don't worry, I'll send it to you as soon as it's ready next year. I won't let you suffer any loss." "You're satisfied with just this little bit of money?" Seeing Shao Shuyi's delighted expression, Liu's eyes were also full of smiles. She asked, "What's the most money you've ever seen in your life?"

"Three thousand ingots," Shao Shuyi said.

"The time you robbed Li Daweng?" Liu asked.

Mentioning Li Da-weng, Shao Shuyi suddenly felt somewhat helpless, saying, "What exactly does that scoundrel Li Da-weng want? Now I don't even dare to go south." "How about..." Liu hesitated for a moment, then said, "I'll ask him for you?"

"How should I ask?"

"Wenzhou people are part of the same group. Li Daweng, Cai Luantou, and others all have Wenzhou people under their command, so they can pass messages through them."

"What should I do if he demands money from me?"

"We can negotiate the price. Li Da Weng may not be the best person, but he's trustworthy." At this point, Liu glanced at him and said, "Of course, you can't get ordinary people to be trustworthy; it has to be someone you know well."

"No, this is too much money, I don't want to pay it back." Shao Shuyi finally shook his head and said, "Once I'm rich and powerful, I won't have to pay it back, so this matter, hehe, let's just forget about it."

"Whatever you say," said Madam Liu. "This year, the imperial court actually helped you avoid disaster, with the navy making large-scale patrols. It's hard to say what will happen next year." "We'll talk about next year next year," said Shao Shuyi, scooping two carp into a plate.

"Do you have any debts outside?" Liu asked again.

"have."

"How many?"

"One hundred and seventy-five ingots," Shao Shuyi said. "When it comes time to repay the money, I'd be embarrassed to only repay this much; I'll have to give you at least two hundred ingots."

"Whom do you owe?"

"The Zheng family's."

"Zheng Yonghe's family? And anything else?"

"The Shen family."

"Could it be Shen Wansan?"

Shao Shuyi laughed and said, "I haven't even had a chance to see Shen Wansan, how could I possibly owe him money?"

Liu glanced at him and asked, "The money you owe from women?"

Shao Shuyi was astonished. How did he guess that?

Liu glanced at his expression and immediately understood what was going on.

"Hurry up and prepare the dishes and bring them up." Madam Liu put down her chopsticks, got up and left.

Shao Shuyi hummed a little tune as he finished cooking all ten fish, then made a vegetarian soup before inviting everyone to eat.

Tie Niu was the most honest and was the first to come over and serve the dishes.

Shao Shuyi stopped him and said, "The place that Ma Tuosha rented has set aside more than ten acres of wasteland, a bamboo grove, and two ponds. If your family members are willing to come, they can take them. They can help with pickling salted fish on weekdays, and level the fields when they have free time. If your family can't manage it all, ask your relatives if they are willing to come. Many hands make light work."

"Oh, okay." Tie Niu responded blankly, then picked up the carp and was about to leave.

"Wait a minute." Shao Shuyi pulled him back.

Iron Bull stopped in his tracks.

"Do you know why I made this arrangement?" Shao Shuyi asked.

Tie Niu shook his head, looking completely bewildered.

"You blockhead," Shao Shuyi said with a laugh, "Go back and think it over carefully."

Tie Niu responded and, seeing that there were no further instructions, took the dishes and left.

To be honest, he couldn't be bothered to think about it much.