Su Yunyi drew water from the well, then lit a fire and started the stove, pouring the water into the pot to heat.
Meanwhile, Xiao Ze had finished preparing the fish.
Su Yunyi hurried him to change his clothes, saying she could cook the fish.
Xiao Ze, half-believing, handed the fish to her.
When he came out after changing, Su Yunyi had already sliced the fish into pieces and was marinating them with salt.
Seeing that she could indeed cook fish, Xiao Ze went back to wash the dirty clothes he had just changed into in the yard.
As Su Yunyi cooked the fish, she looked back and called to him, “Xiao Ze, while the sun is out, wash the bedsheets and pillowcases too.”
After saying that, she regretted it. It was all Xiao Ze’s fault for being so helpful today that she forgot he was a troublemaker.
Xiao Ze raised an eyebrow at her, so she was already bossing him around.
He coldly threw back a sentence: “If you think they’re dirty, wash them yourself.”
The intimacy of sleeping in the same bed was nothing more than this.
Her heart ached.
Su Yunyi looked up at the sky, turned her back, and forcefully closed and then opened her eyes that were about to tear up.
Don’t cry.
Too pathetic.
The wider she opened her eyes, the blurrier her vision became.
Suddenly, someone patted her head from behind.
“You’re so capable, crying at the drop of a hat. Fine, I’m scared of you, I’ll wash them.”
Hearing footsteps, the person walked away. Su Yunyi quickly used her sleeve to rub her eyes vigorously and glanced in the direction the person had left.
When the water was boiling, Su Yunyi first put the fish head and tail into the pot to cook for a while, skimmed off the foam, and then added the fish slices.
Soon, the soup turned milky white. Su Yunyi sprinkled salt and a handful of chopped green onions on the fish soup. The rich fish aroma made one’s appetite whet.
Su Yunyi scooped the fish slices into an enamel bowl. The white fish soup paired with the tender fish meat, garnished with green onions, looked very appealing.
It was just that without ginger or wine to remove the fishy smell, she wasn’t sure if it would taste good.
“Dinner is served!”
Su Yunyi carried the fish soup out of the kitchen. The man was facing away from her, drying the bedsheets. His bare, sun-tanned, muscular body, still wet, glistened in the sunlight. Su Yunyi felt embarrassed to look further and turned her head, quickly walking into the house.
She placed Xiao Ze’s fish soup on a stool.
She carefully picked up a bowl for herself, blew on it, and took a gentle sip from the edge of the bowl.
It was the freshest taste of fish soup.
Su Yunyi closed her eyes. The rich and delicious taste spread in her mouth, making her lips curl into a smile.
Xiao Ze entered the room and saw this scene.
In the empty house, Su Yunyi sat on a small stool that didn’t quite match her figure, savoring the fish soup in her bowl with a look of intoxication, her expression as satisfied as a cat stealing fish.
Seeing him enter, Su Yunyi put down the chopsticks she had already picked up a piece of fish with and pointed to the large bowl on the stool next to her: “That’s yours. There’s more in the pot if you finish. The fish you caught was big, I made a large pot.”
Xiao Ze stirred the bowl with his chopsticks. She had served herself a large bowl of meat. Had she changed her ways today?
He picked up a piece of meat and put it in his mouth. The fish was tender, blending with the rich white broth, melting in his mouth. It was surprisingly delicious.
Su Yunyi must really know how to cook. Her skillful movements were not a lie. Why had she been so lazy in her previous life? Had she changed because he had changed?
Xiao Ze couldn’t figure it out, but it didn’t stop him from drinking the soup in his bowl to the last drop.
When he went to the kitchen to get more soup, Su Yunyi had already finished eating and was washing the dishes.
After washing the dishes, Su Yunyi went into the room and put on a small army green crossbody bag. She asked him, “I want to buy some chicks. Do you know where they sell them?”
Seeing his suspicion.
Su Yunyi could only continue, “I want to raise some chickens myself. Eating eggs is nutritious.”
Xiao Ze, who was still drinking soup, put down his bowl: “Do you know how to choose chicks? Can you tell the difference between males and females?”
Su Yunyi had only raised them before; she really didn’t know how to distinguish chicks. They were always delivered to her by others.
Xiao Ze saw her blank expression, clearly having hit the mark. He casually said, “I’m going up the mountain later. I’ll take you to buy them tomorrow.”
Xiao Ze had made up his mind. He wasn’t someone who could earn work points by diligently farming. Since he had the chance to live another life, he had to lead his family to a good life.
He glanced at Su Yunyi, who had gone back into the room to put away her bag. Of course, including her, if she was willing to live well with him, he would treat her well too.
“Are there bamboo trees on the mountain? I want to get some to weave chicken coops.”
Su Yunyi poked her head out.
“Yes, bamboo roots are too developed, so they’re only on the mountain. Then you’ll go with me. You cut the bamboo and come back.”
Su Yunyi saw him carrying a basket on his back and putting two tools, a red cloth strip, and a piece of cloth into the basket.
She quickly put on her gloves, tied the door, and followed him.
The back of Dahe Village connected to a mountain, and their house was not far from the foot of the mountain, very close to the mountain.
“There are wild boars and snakes on the mountain. Don’t go up the mountain for no reason.”
Xiao Ze carried the basket and walked ahead, while Su Yunyi followed him.
After entering the mountain, they soon saw a bamboo forest. It was probably a place where villagers would come to cut bamboo. She saw some discarded bamboo stumps.
Xiao Ze took a machete from his basket and handed it to her: “Do you know how to cut?”
Su Yunyi took the machete, selected a few bamboo stalks about as thick as her arm, chose the direction they would fall, and skillfully chopped at the bamboo stump in that direction.
Xiao Ze saw that she could indeed cut and called out, “If you can’t carry it back, leave it there. I’ll take it back when I return. Don’t linger on the mountain. I’m leaving.”
Watching the man walk into the depths of the mountain, Su Yunyi didn’t know what he was going to do. Could it be that he was going to hunt wild game or something?
In a short while, she had cut seven or eight bamboo stalks.
She cleaned the branches and leaves from the cut bamboo and threw them aside. She tied the bamboo stalks together with cloth strips, slung them over her shoulder, and slowly dragged them home.
Su Yunyi’s body was truly not up to par. Lacking exercise, she was flabby, pampered, and out of breath and sweating profusely after walking not far.
It took her more than an hour to transport this bundle of bamboo home.
Fresh bamboo needed to be dried for a few days before it could be used to make furniture.
She dragged the bamboo into the yard and spread it out to dry. She drank a bowl of well water and only then felt alive again.
There was only one basket at home, not even a basket.
In her previous life, she had specifically learned how to weave bamboo baskets from an old craftsman in the village to shoot a video. That episode had been a hit.
Su Yunyi moved a small stool out and sat in the yard, took a piece of bamboo, sawed it into small sections, divided them into bamboo strips of uniform size, and split them into bamboo strips with a knife. This step required skillful technique. People who hadn’t practiced would either break it or have uneven sides, no matter how they split it. She had practiced for a long time to reach her current level.
She had split about 20 bamboo strips and started weaving from the middle. Ten strips were used for the warp and ten for the weft. After adjusting the position, she secured the edges with thread and added two large bamboo pieces in the middle for reinforcement. The upper part was woven in a crisscross pattern. After weaving the four corners, they were brought together to the right to form a basket. Then, the remaining bamboo strips were folded back, pulled tight, and finally, the excess bamboo strips were cut off with a knife.