Chapter Seven: This is Your Home

"I still have a few yuan here. I'll go buy a few kilograms of grain tomorrow," Guo Xiang took out the remaining four yuan from her pocket.

Wang Guiying looked at the money in her hand in surprise. She actually had money? Did the Guo family give it to her or did her son leave it for her?

No matter what, it was her own money. How could a mother-in-law take her daughter-in-law's money?

"It's yours. Keep it for yourself..." Wang Guiying shook her head and said.

"Mother, I'm your daughter-in-law. My money is your money. Zhennan left this for me. It's meant for us, not just me," Guo Xiang said with a smile.

In her previous life, she had heard a lot of unhappy stories between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law. She knew that her mother-in-law would never be the same as her mother, so she did not have much hope in their relationship. However, Wang Guiying was a good person. She treated her well and treated her with kindness. She should also return the favor.

"What Zhennan left for you is yours. I didn't even buy you a new dress or a pair of new shoes when you got married. I'm really sorry..." Wang Guiying said embarrassedly. She did not expect that the Guo family would not give her any dowry.

"Mom, I'm the one who should say sorry..." Guo Xiang said. This marriage was forced by the Guo family. She should be the one who was embarrassed. 

"Mom, I want to eat white rice!" Guo'er chimed in just in time. She looked at her mother pitifully and then looked at the rice on the table, swallowing her saliva.

Wang Guiying sighed. The child was still growing, but she never had a single good meal, so she felt sorry for her.

"Well then... eat up!" Wang Guiying smiled bitterly.

"Yay, there's rice to eat!" Guo'er cheered.

Guo Xiang felt a lump in her throat. Since when did eating a nice meal become a privilege? 

She patted Guo Xiang's small head, "Guo'er, don't worry. With me here, you can eat white rice every day in the future."

"Okay!" Guo Xiang's eyes lit up. For some reason, she felt that her sister-in-law would definitely do what she said.

"Oh, right..." Guo Xiang slapped her forehead. "I also bought fish and tofu. I forgot about it because of the fight."

"There's fish to eat?" Guo Er was pleasantly surprised.

Guo Xiang dashed back to the yard. She had put the fish and tofu on the ragweeds. Fortunately, Uncle Gu's family didn't see it when they went out, or they would have taken them.

Guo Xiang brought the fish and tofu into the hall. Wang Guiying came up to her and scolded her, "What are you spending this money for?" However, she was still happy deep in her heart.

"Mom, you're injured. Let me do it..." Guo Xiang regretted saying it the moment she finished. After all, she didn't know how to cook it.

"Guo'er, you can cook. I'll teach you," Guo Xiang waved at Guo'er.

"I'll do it. She doesn't know how to..." Wang Guiying said.

"It's okay, we can do it. Mom, you go and rest," Guo Xiang quickly stopped Wang Guiying.

Although she never cooked, she knew the methods. After all, she had a photographic memory. In her previous life, she watched her mother cook and also watched cooking shows on TV. She had a lot of recipes stored in her head from reading, but she rarely practiced them.

First of all, her family didn't need her to cook, and second, she didn't know how hot the stove should be or how much seasoning she would need to add. She just had a method, so she could teach others to cook, but she couldn't do it herself.

In her previous life, she had tried cooking, but her dishes were always raw or burnt. They were either too salty or too bland. She didn't have the talent to cook.

But, she was a living recipe book.

"Okay, Guo Xiang, you can teach me!" Guo'er said with a smile.

Kids who grew up in poor families often mature at a younger age. Although Wang Guiying was always at home, Guo'er still had her share of chores. Her mother worked hard, and her brothers weren't at home. By doing some chores, Mom wouldn't have to work so hard.

"Take care of the fish first. Scrape the scales and remove the internal organs," said Guo Xiang.

"If you find fish oil and fish eggs, keep them to the side and don't throw them away," Wang Guiying added.

Guo Xiang smiled and stayed silent. In an era where food was scarce, internal organs were considered to be very valuable. It would be a waste to throw them away. 

However, the fish was too small and there were no fish eggs. The organs were too small, so Guo'er took out all the internal organs and asked to throw them away. Wang Guiying couldn't bear wasting food, so she took the internal organs and gave them to the chickens

"Put some oil in the pot, cut two pieces of ginger, and two shallots. Put the fish down and fry it. When both sides of the fish are brown, pour some wine... if there's no wine, forget it. Just add water," Guo Xiang said.

"Actually, we have sweet potato wine at home," Wang Guiying commented and poured some wine from the kitchen cabinet.

Guo'er scooped a spoonful of lard. Before she added all of it in the pan, Wang Guiying exclaimed, "Enough, enough, don't use too much..."

Guo Xiang didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

The oil heated the ginger slices and shallots. When the ginger and shallots were ready, the carp went in too. The two sides of the carp were fried until they were brown, and the fragrance of the fish soon spread across the room.

Guo'er poured in a little bit of wine, and with a sizzling sound, steam rushed out along with a delicious smell. Then, she poured in some water. She placed the lid on top and turned up the heat. In a short while, the fish soup started to become cloudy.

She cut some of the tofu and put it in with the fish. The fragrance of fish mixed with the fragrance of ginger and shallots floated out of the pot.

"It smells so good!" Guo'er sniffed. It had been a long time since she had eaten such a fragrant dish.

When the tofu was almost done, Guo Xiang asked, "Mom, do you have any perilla at home? You can get rid of the fishy smell by putting two leaves in."

"There are some in the field. I'll go pick them," Wang Guiying said.

She walked to the backyard and picked a few perilla leaves. She rinsed them with water and handed them to Guo'er.

Guo'er threw the basil into the pot and boiled them for another two minutes. The fragrance became stronger. Then, she added salt to spice it up and sprinkled some scallions. The carp tofu soup was soon ready.

The milky white soup and the emerald green scallions made Guo'er as hungry as ever.

Guo'er gulped as she scooped up the fish soup. It smelled so good!

"We're having a feast today. It's like the New Year!" Guo'er looked at the yellow eggs on the table and the fragrant fish and tofu soup with a big smile on her face.

Guo Xiang felt a little sad. A simple plate of eggs and a bowl of fish soup were considered to be a feast to them. In her previous life, she had gotten sick of delicacies. To her, eating meat was no longer anything special. 

But now, they were so happy with such a simple meal. Was she too extravagant in the past?

"Hurry up and eat!" Guo Xiang patted Guo'er's small head and said lovingly.

"Well, Guo Xiang, you should eat too." Guo'er nodded and smiled with her eyes curved. She was so happy to have white rice, fish, and eggs!

Although Wang Guiying felt bad for using up so many ingredients, she was still happy to see her daughter so happy and her daughter-in-law so filial.

"Eat More!" Guo Xiang gave Guo'er some fish meat. Wang Guiying didn't want to waste the meat, so she ate the fish head instead.

"Guo Xiang, you eat too!" Guo'er smiled and picked up an egg for Guo Xiang. From now on, she sincerely acknowledged Guo Xiang as her sister-in-law.

Seeing that the two were getting along, Wang Guiying felt very grateful.

"Well, it's delicious. Guo'er did a really good job," Guo Xiang praised her while drinking the fish soup.

"You taught me well," Guo'er grinned. This was also the first time she made such a delicious dish.

"Guo Xiang, you said you didn't know how to cook, but you did such a good job," Guo'er was curious. 

"I don't know how to cook. I just read the recipe and remember how to make it..." Guo Xiang chuckled, a little embarrassed.

"It's okay, Guo Xiang. I'll cook in the future. Just tell me how to cook it," Guo'er said with a smile.

"Okay," Guo Xiang nodded and pointed at her own head. "I have a lot of recipes here. This fish soup was my mother's recipe, and there are others..."

"Your mother?" Wang Guiying and Guo'er looked at Guo Xiang in surprise. Was she talking about that shrew from the Guo family? 

"Uh..." Guo Xiang put down her chopsticks and bowl. "Actually, I'm not the biological child of the Guo family. I was saved by the Guo family a year ago. Before I knew it, I had spent a year in their house. Then, I almost drowned once and met Zhennan. As a result..."

"Why don't you go back to your own home?" Guo Xiang asked curiously.

"I lost my memory..." Guo Xiang smiled bitterly. "Now, I don't know who I am or where my home is. I only vaguely remember what happened this year..."

"The taste of this fish soup is very familiar. In My mind, I recognize it as my mother's recipe. In fact, I don't remember who my mother is or where she is..." Guo Xiang was deep in her thoughts. Losing her memory was a lie. In fact, the world she was in probably no longer existed. 

"Guo Xiang..." Guo'er looked at Guo Xiang sympathetically. She finally learned the whole story. The Guo family had blackmailed her brother and her sister-in-law didn't know anything about it. She did not do it on purpose.

Moreover, she had lost her memory and could not even remember where her home was. How pitiful.

"Xiang Xiang, don't be sad!" Wang Guiying reached out for Guo Xiang's hand and patted it lightly. "From now on, this is your home. You are my daughter by blood. If Zhennan dares to treat you badly, I will not forgive him!"

"Mother..." Guo Xiang was moved. The sentence "This is your home" touched her deeply. He had transmigrated here as a modern person who had never experienced any hardships. She did not have a home and had no one to rely on. If she were to meet a terrible mother-in-law, she would have no idea how to go on.

Although Wang Guiying was an uneducated rural woman, she was a kind and reasonable good person. Guo Xiang was very glad that she could come to this home.

She thought that even if she divorced Gu Zhennan in the future, she would still treat Wang Guiying as her own mother and Guo'er as her own sister.