Chapter 16: Salt and Pepper Shrimp and Shrimp Soup Soaked Bread?

Before coming down, Chu Chaoyun took a small bamboo basket from the kitchen. It was narrow at the mouth but deep—just right for holding these river shrimp.

Near the vicinity of the Flower Boat, fishing boats rarely came by, so the river shrimp here grew fat and large, looking mouth-wateringly delicious.

When Xu Xianghe saw the tiny creature being pinched, she couldn't help exclaiming, “River shrimp?!”

River shrimp were a good thing, and their market price was a bit higher than ordinary fresh-water fish. Though not exactly a rare delicacy, less affluent families really couldn’t afford to eat them.

The Xu family was better off in earlier times, but gradually, much of the property had been squandered by the old master Xu. Xu Xianghe had only eaten shrimp a few times as a child. Since her birth mother passed away, many of the good things she used to eat had slowly disappeared.

Xu Xianghe swallowed her dry saliva and handed over the bamboo basket. Chu Chaoyun tossed the river shrimp into it and casually handed her the fishing net.

Xu Xianghe wanted to ask how Chu Chaoyun caught shrimp without a net, but she saw Chu Chaoyun quickly roll up her sleeves; without needing to roll up the arm itself, the cuffs were rolled neatly.

Then, Chu Chaoyun bent over and, using the moonlight, scanned between the grass. Her hands bent slightly, and with quick and precise scoops, a small shrimp was caught in her palm.

But she wasn’t so skillful that she never missed—sometimes she missed.

The two of them busied themselves for quite a while but only caught about half a basket of shrimp.

Wiping sweat from her forehead, Chu Chaoyun raised her chin and said, “This should be enough for a meal. You take the basket and tools back to the boat first, I'll grab some cattails and come.”

Saying this, Chu Chaoyun dove into the water, traveling a little further. Before long, she came back wet through.

Since Xu Xianghe couldn’t be asked to enter the kitchen, Chu Chaoyun told her to dry off and rest at Mrs. Diao’s place.

Chu Chaoyun shook off the water and, upon entering, busied herself washing the shrimp, splitting them open along the back, and removing the shrimp veins. Then she blanched some cattail stalks.

The river had many aquatic plants, but their flavors were similar to green vegetables, and Chu Chaoyun didn’t want to bother looking for others, so she simply stuck with cattail.

After preparing the vegetables, Chu Chaoyun heated oil in a pan and began stir-frying the shrimp.

The heat from the stove helped dry her clothes. Cooking in the kitchen felt quite warm.

The shrimp turned golden with a reddish hue, and the soft shells became crispy and firm. Chu Chaoyun then added some chopped cattail stalks to stir-fry alongside.

After the pan dried out, she added a handful of seasonings, filling the small kitchen with the spicy and fragrant aroma.

Because the seasoning contained pepper, Chu Chaoyun reluctantly called this dish “salt and pepper shrimp.”

She didn’t waste the shrimp oil left in the pan; the aroma remained. She added some water and dumped in the remaining cattail stalks, making a fresh soup.

When she returned to Mrs. Diao’s place, Xu Xianghe’s clothes were mostly dry.

Chu Chaoyun removed the hard crust of the dry bread, tore it into small pieces, and placed them in her own soup bowl. The bread was softened and soaked with flavor.

Mrs. Diao and Xu Xianghe looked at each other in surprise and asked in unison, “What kind of strange way is this to eat?”

Chu Chaoyun thought for a moment and smiled, “It’s not strange. You can call it ‘shrimp soup soaked bread’!”

Chu Chaoyun had only ever eaten mutton soup soaked bread before, but since she couldn’t afford mutton now, she took some shrimp soup instead, which also had a unique taste.

Seeing the bread was soft enough, she took a sip to taste it. Chu Chaoyun thought that ancient river shrimp tasted fresher than today’s because they were wild; the flavor was somewhat different.

Before they could ask, Chu Chaoyun picked up a shrimp from the plate, peeled off the shell, chewed it, and explained, “This dish is called salt and pepper shrimp. You should try some quickly!”

Xu Xianghe had wanted to eat shrimp for a long time. She shyly picked a smaller one to try.

After one bite, her eyes rounded wide, “Mm mm mm, it’s so fragrant and crispy from stir-frying. It’s my first time eating shrimp like this!”

“Don’t you usually cook shrimp like this there?”

Chu Chaoyun asked curiously.

After swallowing, Xu Xianghe took a sip of soup and replied, “We do stir-fry shrimp, but the flavor isn’t quite like this.”

Chu Chaoyun looked at Mrs. Diao, who awkwardly shook her head: “I’ve never eaten shrimp.”

Thinking about the situation in Ruizhou a few years ago, Chu Chaoyun understood.

…

After that meal, Chu Chaoyun told Xu Xianghe to come shrimp-catching with her on the river every night. Besides river shrimp, she also paid attention to catching some bamboo fish to keep.

Sometimes, the task of cooking for the girls was assigned suddenly. Chu Chaoyun had to prepare thirty fish balls for Liu Xincai. If she didn’t prepare them in advance, she feared she wouldn’t have enough time.

She hid the caught fish and shrimp at the bottom of the basket; if they weren’t used the next day, she would cook them for Mrs. Diao and Xu Xianghe at night.

But for several days, Chu Chaoyun didn’t get such a job.

That day, the three of them gathered again to make cotton-padded clothes for the managers. Normally steady Chu Chaoyun was a bit anxious: “This business is frustrating. I bet Liu Xincai is waiting impatiently. I’m afraid I’ll lose his trust.”

In business, reputation is everything, and Chu Chaoyun constantly worried about ruining her image in Liu Xincai’s eyes.

Luckily, only she knew how to make fish balls well. Even if Liu Xincai could figure it out, he couldn’t find the special seasoning anywhere.

Though not very fair, that was the only way Chu Chaoyun could console herself.

While thinking this, she suddenly realized that if Mrs. Diao went out to deliver meals, she could talk to the girls in the yard.

Looking around, she met Manager Zhong’s gaze. Without a sound, she turned slightly and whispered to Mrs. Diao, “Aunt, next time you go to deliver food, please help me find out about Chu Xilan’s situation.”

Chu Chaoyun could still catch glimpses of Chu Yu from time to time, though Chu Yu’s life was rough. But she hadn’t seen Chu Xilan in a long time.

Old Lady Li had said recently that the newly recruited girls would soon board the ship. She had hoped so, but until today, she hadn’t seen a single girl.

Old Lady Li was just full of empty talk.

Chu Chaoyun secretly rolled her eyes at the old lady.

Mrs. Diao knew that the three siblings were all trapped in this damn place. She gave a light “hmm” and, seeing that Manager Zhong still stared at them, loudly said to Chu Chaoyun, “You’re doing it wrong here. Tear it down and sew it again. I’ll make a sample first; you watch and learn.”

Chu Chaoyun understood Mrs. Diao’s meaning and pretended to humbly ask, “Okay, I’ll tear it down immediately.”

Manager Zhong withdrew his gaze, glancing at Old Lady Li, who was knocking smoke pipes by the boat rail, frowning slightly, then shifting his eyes to other boatwomen.

Near evening, Chu Chaoyun finally got a meal delivery task.

Though she was excited inside, she dared not show it. Under the envious eyes of the boatwomen, she quickly entered the kitchen to prepare.

Chu Chaoyun was openly using public resources for personal purposes, but she had found a loophole.

When outside cooks prepared meals, no one was allowed to be present. If help was needed, the cook girl either brought her own helper or had the old women wait outside.

After all, since they made a living by this skill, they had to be vigilant.

Once the cook girl left, apart from a few women who brought food to guests, no one stayed long in the kitchen. Chu Chaoyun could put her mind at ease as long as she worked fast.

She started immediately cutting fish meat to marinate, and in the remaining moments, peeled shrimp.

Because chances to get off the boat were rare, she thought long and hard in recent days. This time, besides the thirty fish balls for delivery, she also made some shrimp balls.

Shrimp was more expensive than fish, so shrimp balls naturally sold for a higher price.

Catching a chance, Chu Chaoyun made over thirty fish balls and thirty shrimp balls in one go.

She gave the extra fish balls to the girls to cook in porridge. After finishing, she neatly packed them into food containers, feeling even the weight in her hand.

Chu Chaoyun personally handed the food container to Mrs. Diao and muttered something. Mrs. Diao gave her a reassuring look and carried it towards the gangplank.

Standing at the West Wharf was Big Zhao. When Mrs. Diao came over, Big Zhao raised his hand to help but Mrs. Diao immediately smiled and stepped aside, “I’m done with my tasks. No need to trouble the manager today. I’ll deliver it myself.”

Big Zhao, who was usually suspicious, glanced at her awkward legs and raised his eyebrows, “Why have you been so diligent lately?”

Mrs. Diao felt angry inside but kept calm on the surface, sighing as if playing the victim, “The weather is about to turn cold. I want to buy some things to keep warm. Please understand, Manager.”

Big Zhao snorted, his eyes full of the meaning “Your life is nothing,” but lazily moved aside.

Better without him going—he didn’t even want to.

Chu Chaoyun watched Mrs. Diao stuck at Big Zhao for a while, worried.

The unfinished padded clothes were put away again. Manager Zhong and Old Lady Li went to a temporary resting place to take a break.

With the manager absent, the square-faced boatwoman dared to speak. She seemed deliberately waiting for Chu Chaoyun to come, then muttered to the boatwomen beside her, “It’s her again going to cook! Mrs. Diao is too busy to move anymore. It’s time to take turns fairly, right?”

Another said, “The girls said the other day that the meals Chu Chaoyun makes smell good. The girls themselves asked for her to cook.”

“Yes, yes, and the manager decides these things anyway, not Chu Chaoyun…”

The long-faced one hurried to agree.

The square-faced boatwoman straightened her neck, rolled her eyes at them, “Does she think she’s the cook girl? The girls are used to the cook girl's skill. How good can her cooking be? Why do you believe whatever others say?!”

The two wanted to argue more, but seeing the square-faced boatwoman was unmovable, they gave up.

Actually, they were quite unwilling inside. They wanted the cooking jobs not only to steal a bite but also to get closer to Manager Zhong.

Befriending the manager always had perks—they naturally thought Mrs. Diao was an example.

Every boatwoman, when first boarding, Manager Zhong would lay out the rules and mention cooking for the girls, but over the years, only Mrs. Diao had ever entered the kitchen.

Already on the boat, there was no fairness left.

Manager Zhong loved to call Mrs. Diao to do the cooking, and they couldn’t stop him.

Recently, they discovered Mrs. Diao’s leg illness seemed worse this year and felt a little pleased, thinking their turn would come finally—but instead, the job fell to Chu Chaoyun.

In their eyes, Chu Chaoyun wasn’t special, and they even felt their seniority was longer.

Seeing Chu Chaoyun ignore them and go back to the dark storage, the square-faced boatwoman couldn’t hold back.

She suddenly threw down her towel, stood up, and followed after her, “Today, I must have a word with Chu Chaoyun! We’re all the same. Why does she think she can do whatever she wants?!”