Chapter 18: Eating Fish

Hearing his words, Chen Qiao'er immediately nodded. "Qiao'er understands, Qiao'er will wait here."

After waiting for about the length of an incense stick, the reeds finally started to move. First one shake, then another, and then several more. Chen Xiaobei felt secretly pleased.

With a splash, a fish jumped into the water, quickly swam toward the umbrella-net, and in a few moments, he pulled the net halfway up.

The umbrella-net had half of it underwater and half of it exposed. Chen Xiaobei could clearly see a big fish inside, more than half a foot long. As for the smaller fish, he no longer cared.

He dared not recklessly pull such a big fish out of the water all at once. Instead, he dragged the net, slowly moving it toward the shore. Once it was close enough to the edge, he suddenly applied more force, threw the umbrella-net onto the shore, and quickly stepped forward to pin the big fish down.

Once the fish left the water, its strong survival instincts made it struggle desperately. If he let it flop around, the net would definitely fall apart, so he had to press down hard.

The big fish struggled for a while longer, but eventually, it had no more strength left. Only its gills were still moving, and it was too weak to fight anymore.

Chen Xiaobei carefully reached in and pulled the fish out, also catching several smaller fish. He then picked up a branch nearby and strung the fish onto it.

With the experiment a success, he carried the fish in one hand and the umbrella-net in the other, calling for Chen Qiao'er to come back home.

As soon as they got home, Chen Qiao'er happily ran inside, grabbed Cui Hongyu's hand, and pulled her outside.

"Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, look, brother caught a big fish!"

Cui Hongyu stepped outside and was a bit surprised by the sight. Chen Xiaobei was holding up the big fish, shaking it at her.

"Didn't I say so? Tonight we're having fish."

Seeing such a big fish, Cui Hongyu felt a wave of joy. This one fish would be enough for the three of them to eat.

No, it would be better to sell it. With that thought, she shook her head. "Since it's still early, I'll take it to the county and sell it. We'll get a few coppers back."

Chen Xiaobei felt an inexplicable pang in his heart.

In that moment, he realized what Cui Hongyu's look had meant earlier when he was making the fishing net. She was worried about him wasting money.

"Hongyu, I heard from people in the county that when a new bride arrives, she has to eat fish. It symbolizes that we'll always have fish every year. Tomorrow morning, I'll catch more fish and take them to the county to sell."

After hearing Chen Xiaobei's explanation, Cui Hongyu felt a bit of joy in her heart, even though she knew it was mostly an excuse. But somehow, she felt happy with the excuse.

"Then, I will follow my husband's wishes and go prepare the fish."

Chen Xiaobei quickly stopped her. "No, no, I heard that when a girl is wearing red, she can't touch cold water."

Those words made Cui Hongyu's face turn bright red. She shot Chen Xiaobei an annoyed look.

"Stop talking nonsense. Who told you such things?"

Chen Xiaobei chuckled and leaned in close to her ear, whispering, "You look so beautiful when your face turns red."

His words made Cui Hongyu's face turn even redder. Flustered, she stood up and said, "I'll go do some embroidery."

Qiao'er, looking confused, watched Cui Hongyu leave in embarrassment and asked, "Brother, brother, why did sister-in-law turn red?"

Chen Xiaobei was taken aback by the question. After thinking for a moment, he smiled and said, "Sister-in-law is thirsty. You should go give her a cup of water."

Though Qiao'er didn't understand why being thirsty would make someone blush, she obediently ran to the kitchen to fetch water for Cui Hongyu.

Chen Xiaobei skillfully scaled the fish, gutted it, and removed the insides. He rubbed salt on the fish and let it sit for a while. Then, he added a little pork lard to a hot pan, fried the fish until it was golden on both sides, and added water, letting it simmer.

As the saying goes, "Tofu is good when it boils a thousand times, fish is better the more it boils." The fish would taste even better as it cooked.

Inside the house, Cui Hongyu was embroidering while answering Qiao'er's many questions. The two of them chatted and laughed, creating a lively atmosphere. Suddenly, Qiao'er sniffed the air.

"What's that smell? It smells so good."

Cui Hongyu immediately recognized the aroma—it was the smell of Chen Xiaobei's fish stew.

She was a little surprised. She hadn't expected Chen Xiaobei to be such a skilled cook, making the fish taste so delicious.

Chen Xiaobei, smelling the fragrance, was also quietly analyzing why the fish smelled so good. Besides the freshness of the live fish, it was likely because he had fried it in pork lard.

Qiao'er couldn't wait any longer. She hurriedly ran out of the room and went up to Chen Xiaobei, asking over and over when they could eat.

Chen Xiaobei smiled and gave her nose a playful tap. "Wait a little while. Once your sister-in-law is done, we'll eat."

Chen Qiao'er bounced into the room again and soon dragged Cui Hongyu out.

As expected, she was quite the little schemer. Chen Xiaobei grew fonder of Chen Qiao'er with each passing moment.

After bringing the fish to the table, Chen Xiaobei first placed a piece of fish meat into Cui Hongyu's bowl, then did the same for Chen Qiao'er, while he himself took the fish head.

Seeing this, Cui Hongyu didn't speak, but her heart was deeply touched.

In her home, her father had always been strict with her. Whenever they had fish, her father would always take the best parts, leaving her with the fish head and tail.

But now, Chen Xiaobei had voluntarily taken the fish head for himself, which made her feel incredibly warm inside.

That night, when it was time to sleep, Chen Qiao'er once again insisted on sleeping with Cui Hongyu. Cui Hongyu looked helplessly at Chen Xiaobei.

Chen Xiaobei, appearing equally helpless, said, "Then you can sleep with Qiao'er, and I'll sleep here."

After a long day of playing, Chen Qiao'er quickly fell into a deep sleep.

Cui Hongyu quietly got up and moved toward the oil lamp to continue her embroidery, but she was stopped by Chen Xiaobei. "Hongyu, come here, I need to talk to you."

Cui Hongyu, assuming he was referring to something intimate, blushed and whispered, "Well, why not move Qiao'er's bed to the inner room? It's not good to wake her if there's any noise."

Seeing her blush, Chen Xiaobei realized she misunderstood. He shook his head and said, "That's not what I meant. Come here, I need to tell you something important."

Cui Hongyu reluctantly sat down next to the bed.

"Hongyu, tomorrow, I'll be up before dawn to catch fish. I'll leave Qiao'er with you. In the kitchen, I've already salted some wild chicken eggs and there's some rice. You two can make porridge and have the eggs."

As Chen Xiaobei continued giving instructions, Cui Hongyu was surprised. "Husband, what about you?"

"I won't be back for dinner. After I catch a couple of fish, I have to head to the county. The weather's hot, and if I wait too long, the fish will spoil."

Cui Hongyu felt a warmth in her heart. This man was really doing his best for their family.