Chapter 12: The Neighboring Kids Were Drooling to Tears

It was precisely dinnertime when Chu Chaoyun followed Manager Zhong into the kitchen. Xu Xianghe anxiously ran out and waited nearby. Although she had only recently come aboard, she had already witnessed the methods of Old Lady Li and Big Zhao before. Could it be that Manager Zhong was furious because Chu Chaoyun had secretly harvested reeds? Could she be scolded in the kitchen? Might she even be physically punished?!

The more Xu Xianghe thought about it, the more nervous she became, cold sweat trickling down her forehead. In fact, Chu Chaoyun didn’t need to bring back so many reeds today; last night she even gave Xu Xianghe some leftover reeds from before, so obviously they weren’t lacking. Although Xu Xianghe understood this, she dared not barge into the kitchen recklessly—what if she made things worse and Chu Chaoyun got punished more harshly?

With a distracted mind, she wandered nearby for a while, then hurriedly went to get some food. She grabbed four steamed buns at once but did not take any spoiled soup; after all, she still couldn’t eat much now.

“Why aren’t you eating? After practicing rowing all afternoon, aren’t you hungry?” came a gentle voice from behind—though the tone was steadier than hers.

Xu Xianghe turned around and saw Mrs. Diao, quickly nodding in response, “Yes, Aunt Diao, I’m not very hungry yet, so I’ll wait to eat…”

Having seen Chu Chaoyun come and go with Mrs. Diao, Xu Xianghe knew the two had a good relationship, so she treated Mrs. Diao like a savior and secretly told her everything that had just happened.

Mrs. Diao laughed after hearing the story: “Just eat your food. She’s fine.”

This girl has a lot of tricks up her sleeve, Mrs. Diao thought.

Moreover, Mrs. Diao had long noticed that although Manager Zhong was generally indifferent to the boatwomen, the subtle expressions on her face betrayed her true feelings—Manager Zhong actually appreciated Chu Chaoyun.

Mrs. Diao had prepared cold herbal decoctions for Chun Ye a few times and heard that after drinking them, Chun Ye would vomit. It seemed the alcohol had really damaged her body and she needed proper recuperation.

Mrs. Diao guessed why Manager Zhong called Chu Chaoyun over, and since she had witnessed Chu Chaoyun’s skills before, she wasn’t too worried.

Seeing Xu Xianghe still standing there dumbfounded, Mrs. Diao smiled faintly and comforted her: “Trust me, she’ll definitely be fine.”

Half reassured, Xu Xianghe still didn’t start eating the bun in her hand. Instead, she ran back to the dark cabin to put away her food and sat down to rest for a while.

At that moment, Chu Chaoyun sat on a small stool near the stove, deep in thought.

From her experience with hangovers in the modern world, people usually felt thirsty after drinking, and warm, soft congee was the top choice. But plain congee was tasteless, and meat congee was too greasy. Since Chun Ye always felt nauseous now, she needed to make something both refreshing and tasty.

In the basket by the stove, there was chicken, duck, fish, and meat—everything needed. Since this was food for a young lady, Chu Chaoyun didn’t need to worry about ingredients.

She melted some lard and scooped a handful of flour for later. Although the flour granules were coarser than in the modern world, the ingredients delivered to the Flower Boat were superior, and it smelled quite good.

Chu Chaoyun stayed in the kitchen for about half an hour. Big Zhao, getting impatient, came up to urge her. As soon as he stepped forward, his tightly furrowed brow relaxed suddenly after smelling a previously unknown fresh aroma.

Big Zhao pushed open the door and bumped into Chu Chaoyun, who was carrying a covered food box.

“Hey, Manager, be slower! If you spill it, I’ll have to make another batch!” she said cheerfully, handing over the food box. The aroma was instantly sealed inside by the lid.

Big Zhao reached out to take it, curious about the food inside. The faint fragrance filled his nostrils. He pursed his lips but couldn’t help but ask: “What did you make?”

“Just ordinary hot congee,” Chu Chaoyun replied. “I don’t even know if Miss Chunye can get used to eating it.”

Big Zhao was even more surprised to hear that, but as a seasoned manager, there wasn’t any delicacy he hadn’t tasted, including the cook girls hired externally. If he hurriedly lifted the lid to look now, this little boatwoman might look down on him.

He gave a cool “hmm” and turned to leave the kitchen.

The cooking aroma almost filled the entire boat. If it was nighttime, everyone would have returned to their dark cabins to rest, so it would be no problem. But during the bright daylight, all the working boatwomen passing by could smell it.

Some boatwomen who were grinding on their dry buns secretly wiped tears from the corners of their eyes. They had lost count of how long it had been since they last ate meat or vegetables.

Chu Chaoyun dusted off the soot from cooking and quickly walked out of the kitchen.

The square-faced boatwoman she’d met earlier saw this and came over again, quietly asking: “Chaoyun, you just went into the kitchen to cook? Who allowed you to go in? Manager Zhong?”

Chu Chaoyun tilted her head to look at her, then answered without directly addressing the question: “Auntie, have you eaten dinner yet? Are there any buns left? I’m so hungry my chest feels tight.”

Speaking, she quickened her pace. The square-faced boatwoman unwillingly followed closely behind.

“What did you just make? It smells so good.”

“Just some hot congee. I’m clumsy and can’t cook anything else.”

Chu Chaoyun hurriedly shook off her persistent follower and headed down to the dark cabin directly.

Behind her, the square-faced boatwoman and a few others gathered in a corner and murmured angrily.

On her way down, Chu Chaoyun passed Mrs. Diao's room. Seeing two buns placed on the footstool inside, she cheerfully winked at Mrs. Diao.

Mrs. Diao understood her meaning and silently motioned for her to go rest quickly.

Across from there, Xu Xianghe’s door was still open. Seeing Chu Chaoyun return, Xu Xianghe hurried over and handed her two buns, saying, “Chaoyun, did Manager Zhong give you a hard time? Are you alright?”

Chu Chaoyun shook her head, took the buns, and glanced at the footstool behind Xu Xianghe where two untouched buns rested.

Smiling, she asked, “Are these for me? Thanks. But why aren’t you eating yours? Rowing takes a lot of effort. We both worked hard this afternoon.”

Seeing that Chu Chaoyun was genuinely not badly hurt, Xu Xianghe finally relaxed: “I couldn’t focus on eating without knowing how you were.”

Saying that, she sat back on a bed that hadn’t yet been layered with new reeds, tore off a small piece of bun, and popped it in her mouth.

Seeing Xu Xianghe’s dull, dopey expression while chewing, Chu Chaoyun reached out, took the bun away, set it down, and said, “If you can’t eat, don’t force it. Lie down for a bit and eat later.”

Xu Xianghe looked surprised but soon obediently lay down.

The fish and meat sandwich that night had indeed exceeded her expectations in deliciousness, but it was only because Manager Zhong had asked Chu Chaoyun to look after her that she got to eat it. Now that she could work normally, Xu Xianghe dared not hope Chu Chaoyun would still “special treat” her.

She was greedy but not selfish.

Disliking the wind, Chu Chaoyun closed the door after returning to her cabin.

There were still some girls’ clothes to wash that night. When Chu Chaoyun came out, she saw Mrs. Diao massaging her leg in pain, so she raised a finger to hush her quietly, then gestured to go upstairs by herself.

For her, washing one basin or two basins of clothes didn’t make much difference. Chu Chaoyun sat at the sheltered aft of the boat and began washing the clothes methodically.

The girls’ clothes were thin and delicate, so washing them was not a big task.

While washing, Chu Chaoyun often looked up toward the elegant room above. Occasionally, pleasant music floated down, which brightened her mood considerably.

Nearby on a small boat moored beside the Flower Boat, Xu Xianghe was not idle either. Following the steps Chu Chaoyun had taught her, she rowed the oar stroke by stroke. Occasionally, the boat spun and the edge bumped the Flower Boat with a “thud,” and Zhao Dabian at the dock shot a fierce glare.

Startled, Xu Xianghe hurriedly steered the little boat away and continued her earnest practice.

After finishing the washing, Chu Chaoyun and Xu Xianghe together hung the clothes to dry, then returned to the dark cabin.

…

That night, Chu Chaoyun did not bring her homemade fishing net down to the river; she only picked some cattails nearby. After removing the tender stems and blanching them, she cut them into sections.

Combined with what Mrs. Diao and Xu Xianghe contributed, though they had six buns, Chu Chaoyun did not plan to make meat sandwiches today. She sliced the buns, melted a little lard, and pan-fried the slices until crisp, then put them on a plate.

Using the remaining oil, she stir-fried the cattail stems, added water, and planned to make a pot of hot soup.

Peeking around to make sure no one was nearby, Chu Chaoyun then took out a few fish balls hidden at the bottom of the basket.

Yes. What she made for Chun Ye today was a bowl of hot fish ball porridge.

According to Mrs. Diao, this delicacy from Ruizhou involved people eating fish either steamed or braised, never inventing anything new. Fish balls were something unheard of.

The fish balls Chu Chaoyun made for Chun Ye included a small amount of lard and some wild vegetable bits. The aroma of oil mixed with the freshness of greens made them bouncy and smooth to chew.

But without the kitchen’s flour, she couldn’t have successfully made them using only fish meat.

She also hid some fish balls to let Mrs. Diao try, to see if her fish balls matched the taste of the Ruizhou locals.

The fish ball soup suddenly tasted fresher and more delicious. Chu Chaoyun covered the bowl and draped a clean cloth over the fried buns, then quickly went into Mrs. Diao’s room.

After setting down the food, Chu Chaoyun went to the inner room to call Xu Xianghe. Xu Xianghe swallowed hard before entering—the hunger in her stomach was really intense.

The three sat around a narrow window, sharing buns and soup under the moonlight.

After a sip of the fresh soup, Chu Chaoyun was so excited she almost wanted to jump up: “I wonder what this boneless fish is called? It tastes really fresh and tender!”

Mrs. Diao, being a local and somewhat knowledgeable about food, ate a fish ball and said, “We locals call it ‘Sunke Fish.’ There are plenty of wild Sunke Fish in the Rui River. Most of the ones supplied to the kitchen are this kind, and some fishermen catch them to sell. It’s not particularly rare.”

Hearing this, Xu Xianghe added, “We eat Sunke Fish in my hometown too. It’s not a Ruizhou specialty, but the way you make it is indeed unusual!”

Mrs. Diao said, “Exactly! It’s round and plump, and it bounces in your mouth.” Then she pointed at Chu Chaoyun, looking back at Xu Xianghe: “She says her skills aren’t good, yet she can figure out these strange things?”

Chu Chaoyun stuck out her tongue, thinking to herself, this wasn’t really her invention.

Having eaten full, Chu Chaoyun put down her bowl and asked expectantly, “So? Besides tasting something new, do you find this dish tempting?”

Mrs. Diao laughed, “What kind of ‘tempting’ thing do you mean?”

Chu Chaoyun answered earnestly, “Probably like… eating it makes you want more, tempting the neighbor’s kids to tears?”

Mrs. Diao and Xu Xianghe exchanged a glance and couldn’t help but cover their mouths to laugh: “That’s quite an accurate description. If you can sell this at the market, you might really make the kids cry from envy.”

Sell?

What’s said casually is sometimes taken seriously; Chu Chaoyun smiled, her mind already making new plans.