Perhaps her expression had exposed her desires too transparently, for the other three quickly nodded in agreement. Bai Lin turned her head to wipe her eyes covertly. It was a common occurrence for a daughter with child to crave nourishing food, and the sight of her own daughter lusting after a fish must mean the baby in her womb longed for it too.
"Alright, I'll go prepare the fish," declared Bai Lin, suppressing her own emotions and moving to pick up the fish. But Bai Ruozhu stopped her in her tracks, suggesting, "Mother, you've had a hard day. Please rest. I can handle the fish."
"That won't do. You lost a lot of blood today; you mustn't overwork yourself," Bai Lin immediately countered.
Bai Ruozhu quickly took her mother's arm, her tone playful and cajoling as she protested, "Mother, I'm not made of paper! I've been resting all afternoon and I'm fine now. If I don't do anything, my health will only deteriorate. Plus, I'm only planning on steaming it. It's simple, really and requires no effort."
"Mom, let the girl do it. I'll help her clean the fish," Bai Yihong suddenly intervened, then took the fish to the well for cleaning.
Bai Lin, reassured her daughter won't have to clean the fish, said nothing more.
Bai Ruozhu breathed a sigh of relief. She was determined to cook the hard-won fish to perfection, eager to show off her culinary skills to her family.
During her study in the United States, she'd learned to cook to avoid the local fast food. As a result, over the years, her culinary skills had dramatically improved. She could prepare a variety of standard home-cooked dishes very well, and even a few signature dishes worthy of a banquet. In the year before she left the United States, she was even invited to work as a chef in a Chinese restaurant, which helped her quickly save up the money to set up a clinic back home.
As a foodie with excellent culinary skills, how could she not make good use of the fresh and tender sea bass at hand?
Soon, Bai Yihong had prepared the fish. Bai Ruozhu made three cuts on each side, then placed it in a dish. She quickly used the available condiments to create a sauce, poured it over the fish, stuffed the fish with sliced ginger, flipped it over, covered it with chopped spring onions, and then put it in the pot to steam.
Steaming fish was a delicate process. Both the intensity of the heat and the timing had to be carefully controlled to prevent the fish from being overcooked and losing its tenderness. Soon, Bai Ruozhu served the steaming, fragrant fish. Bai Lin tried to help her to prevent any burns, but as the aroma of the fish reached her, she couldn't help but inhale deeply.
"Oh, the fish Bai Ruozhu cooked smells so delicious!" Bai Lin praised loudly. She beamed with pride at her daughter's culinary skills.
Both Bai Yihong and Bai Zehao couldn't resist complimenting her upon catching the aroma, with Bai Zehao cheerfully saying, "I'll go get my second brother to taste the fish our sister made."
The delicious scent of the fish was not only due to Bai Ruozhu's culinary skills. She had noticed while cooking that the meat of this sea bass was incredibly fresh and succulent. Only the best ingredients could produce such a delectable dish.
"Ruozhu, the fish you used to cook didn't taste this good. Where did you learn these cooking skills?" Bai Yihong asked, his eyes crinkling in mirth. He was pleased with his daughter's newfound dexterity.
This caught Bai Ruozhu off guard. If she claimed she learned it from someone in the village, it would easily be exposed as a lie. Finally, she replied, "These are methods that Chang Sheng taught me."
The mention of Chang Sheng immediately erased the smiles from the faces of Bai Yihong and Bai Lin. Bai Lin even let out a quiet sigh.
Just then, Bai Zehao and Bai Zepei entered. Bai Ruozhu quickly changed the subject. The entire family shared the fish meal, though Bai Yihong and Bai Lin seemed somewhat distracted. Watching them, Bai Ruozhu felt a sense of urgency. She couldn't let the memory of Chang Sheng continue to be taboo in their home. She had to find an opportunity to talk to her parents earnestly about it.
After finishing the fish, Bai Zehao volunteered to wash the dishes and pots, while Bai Zepei was sent back to his room by Bai Lin to continue studying.
The next day, the entire family went back into the fields. Bai Ruozhu was repeatedly asked by Lin Ping to stay indoors. Feeling bored, Bai Ruozhu entered her personal space, washed her feet in the pond, ate some fresh water caltrop, then began to ponder how to make the best use of this space.
After some thought, Bai Ruozhu noticed some small shrimp and clams swimming in the lake. Her eyes lit up. They had run out of chicken essence at home, resulting in many dishes tasting bland. Why not use the aquatic products she had on hand to make some fresh soup ingredients as a substitute for chicken essence? It would not only benefit her as a foodie, but she could also sell some for silver.
With a thought, several small shrimps and clams from the pond flew onto the shore. She laid them out to dry, which saved her the manual labor. The drying process was quick in her space—by the time she reentered it the next day, the shrimp and clams were already dried.
The following days, while her family was busy in the fields, Bai Ruozhu quietly made some fresh soup ingredients. She tasted it herself and was delighted with the flavor. But how should she bring it out?
Finally, Bai Ruozhu gritted her teeth, wrapped the soup mix with oil paper, and carrying a wooden basin with a few pieces of clothing, she headed to the riverside.
Luckily, there weren't many people by the river, probably because most were busy in their fields. She casually washed some clothes and then took the basin back home. On her way back, however, she ran into her worried mother searching for her.
Bai Ruozhu felt guilty about having worried her mother, but she was out of options. She couldn't have fresh soup mix appear out of nowhere.
"Why don't you listen? What made you go out to wash clothes by yourself?" Lin Ping rebuked Bai Ruozhu in a low voice, more worry than anger in her tone as she took the basin from her.
Bai Ruozhu hastily hugged her arm, cajoling, "Mom, I'll get sick if I stay idle all the time. Look, I'm fine, aren't I?"
"We'll talk about it when the wound on your head has healed. Even if you won't look after yourself, shouldn't you think about the child?" Lin Ping shot Bai Ruozhu a glance.
Bai Ruozhu smirked and, holding onto her mother's arm, began talking as they walked, "Mother, a traveling merchant approached me earlier asking for directions. I helped him, and in appreciation, he gave me a packet of soup mix as a gift. He said it was a type of seasoning."
"What kind of mix? How could you accept something from a stranger? Hurry home and let your father take a look at it," Lin Ping became worried immediately.
As soon as they got home, and before Bai Ruozhu could say anything, Lin Ping had already mentioned it. Bai Ruozhu had no choice but to elaborate, "I didn't think he was a bad person. He got lost, and I not only explained the route to him, I even drew him a map when he couldn't understand. He was so grateful, he insisted on giving me a packet of seasoning. I refused to take it, but he just left it on the ground and walked away."
Bai Yihong furrowed his brows as he unfolded the oil paper wrapping and examined the soup mix, feeling at a loss, "We can't just eat this indiscriminately. Maybe we should just throw it away."
Bai Ruozhu panicked upon hearing this. She had spent several days preparing it and had even lied about it under duress. She couldn't simply let it go to waste.
"No, the man said it was a soup mix he traded as a merchant. The restaurants in the city are competing to buy it. Even if we don't eat it, we could sell it at a restaurant for some silver," Bai Ruozhu protested. "Father, I've heard it's quite valuable. What a waste it would be to throw it away!"