“Ah, finally done. I’m exhausted.”
Qiu Huang finished picking out the last bee pupa, then stood up and stretched his body.
“Husband, how should we cook these bee pupae?”
The women looked at the three big bowls full of bee pupae. The quantity was already quite large.
“As usual—deep fry them.”
Bee pupae did not require any special cooking skills. Simple deep frying was already very good.
“Alright.”
The women had no objections. Whatever Qiu Huang said, they would do.
“Oh right, husband, should we invite Sister Cuihua over to eat this time?”
Hearing this, Qiu Huang frowned. It was not because he was unwilling, but because he had invited her several times before. After the first one or two times, Miao Cuihua stopped coming. After that, they stopped inviting her as well.
In fact, he understood Miao Cuihua’s concerns. As the saying goes, widows’ doors bring trouble. Miao Cuihua was afraid of gossip, so she would rather chew tree bark and eat wild vegetables than come and eat with them.
“Yuexue, go invite her. If she really doesn’t want to come, then forget it.”
Qiu Huang never forced anyone. If Miao Cuihua was willing to come and eat and live with them, he would welcome her. If she refused, he would not force her.
“Alright, I’ll go now.”
Su Yuexue washed her hands, took off her apron, and walked out, heading straight to Miao Cuihua’s home.
…
“Cuihua sister, are you at home?”
“Yes.”
A woman holding a wild vegetable walked out. It was Miao Cuihua.
“Sister Cuihua, my husband asked me to invite you over for dinner. Would you do us the honor?”
Su Yuexue directly stated her purpose. Like the others, she was a rural girl and did not know polite wording.
“No need, Yuexue. Please tell your husband I appreciate his kindness, but I won’t come for the meal.”
Even though she was from the countryside, Miao Cuihua understood one thing deeply: you become obligated when you eat someone’s food. If she went to Qiu Huang’s house, how would she ever repay it?
Right now, she had nothing—only herself.
But she knew very clearly that she was not worthy of Qiu Huang. Moreover, he already had wives—ten of them. She did not want to cause any trouble or discord between them.
“Alright then.”
Seeing that Miao Cuihua refused, Su Yuexue did not insist and turned to leave.
Miao Cuihua watched her back, suddenly feeling a sense of loss.
Sigh.
She sighed and went back into her house. Even she did not know how long she could continue like this.
After leaving Miao Cuihua, Su Yuexue returned to the courtyard house.
“Husband, Sister Cuihua refused to come.”
“It’s fine. Don’t force it.”
Qiu Huang said calmly. He knew Miao Cuihua could not cross that mental barrier, and he never forced her.
Soon, dinner was ready. There was white rice, and three dishes: fried bee pupae, fish soup with fish and fishy grass (Houttuynia cordata), and cold-marinated fishy grass.
The first dish was made by Tang Shiyi and the others. The second was made jointly by Qiu Huang and the women. The last dish was made by Qiu Huang alone.
“Let’s eat.”
Qiu Huang was the first to start. Although he had said there were no rules in their home, the women still refused to eat before him.
After he started eating, the women finally picked up their chopsticks.
“Wow, the bee pupae are so delicious!”
“This is the best thing I’ve ever eaten in my life.”
“You’ve said that so many times already.”
“Hahaha…”
They laughed and ate happily.
But Qiu Huang noticed that they basically only ate the bee pupae and avoided the other two dishes. He did not force them to eat the cold-marinated dish, but the fish soup was also very nutritious and delicious.
“Shiyi, give me your bowl.”
Tang Shiyi did not understand, but she still handed it over.
Under everyone’s gaze, Qiu Huang scooped a spoonful of soup into her bowl.
“I know you don’t like fishy grass and dislike its smell, but this is fish soup. Try it and see if you can accept it.”
He returned the bowl.
Tang Shiyi looked at the milky-white soup with some hesitation. If it were normal fish soup, it would be fine—but this one contained fishy grass.
“Try it,” Qiu Huang said gently.
Everyone was watching her.
“Alright, husband. I’ll try it.”
She did not want to disappoint him. Without him, they could not imagine what their lives would be like now.
She scooped a little soup and drank it.
“How is it? Any strange taste?” Qiu Huang asked.
Tang Shiyi chewed slightly and swallowed.
“Husband… there’s no strange taste. The soup is very delicious.”
“That’s good.”
Qiu Huang finally relaxed. The fishy smell had basically been removed by combining fish and fishy grass.
“Really no strange taste?”
The women were still doubtful.
“It’s true. If you don’t believe me, you can try it too.”
Tang Shiyi nodded and finished her entire bowl.
The others looked at each other in disbelief.
Qiu Huang said, “Actually, many things in this world can be eaten and are very delicious—you just don’t know how to remove the bad taste.”
The women nodded. They did not disagree.
For example, mutton has a strong smell. If not cooked properly, it is hard to eat. But if the method is right and the smell is removed, it becomes a delicacy.
“I’ll try.”
Shan Feng scooped some soup. Since Tang Shiyi was not rejecting it, she should be fine too.
“Wow, so delicious!”
After drinking it, Shan Feng praised it nonstop.
“Is it really that good?”
The other women could not sit still anymore and all tried it one after another.