Chapter 9: Fish Fillet and Water Shield Soup

But even in this good thing, it wasn’t without flaws.

Mrs. Diao sat beside the bed, massaging her knee with circular motions using the palm of her hand, and spoke gently, “The manager said it’s okay for you to help, but delivering food to the young ladies must be given to Big Zhao.”

Chu Chaoyun baring her teeth in a smile, raised her chin with a bit of pride on her face: “I expected that! She’s just afraid I’ll slip away halfway~”

Actually, it wasn’t only Manager Zhong who was afraid; Mrs. Diao herself had some doubts in her heart.

At first, when Chu Chaoyun said she wanted to enter the kitchen, Mrs. Diao’s mind was full of good thoughts about this girl, so she didn’t think much of it.

She lightly nodded, intending to say something, but Chu Chaoyun sat right next to her.

Under the moonlight, Chu Chaoyun’s bright eyes shone like stars; blinking, she placed her hand on the back of the woman’s hand, saying, “If there’s a chance in the future, I’ll take you with me.”

Mrs. Diao’s pupils moved slightly, “I…”

She knew this was Chu Chaoyun expressing her intentions to her. Regardless of whether she was willing to leave, Mrs. Diao appreciated this heartfelt sentiment.

After a long silence, her eyes reddened, she agreed softly, “Alright, alright! You really are a good child.”

Once the matter was laid bare, Chu Chaoyun could completely relax in her actions.

She rubbed her roughened fingers that had suffered hardship these past few days, eager to try something, when a sound suddenly broke the quiet space peculiarly.

The sound came from the end of the narrow passage, and besides her room, only the newly arrived woman’s room remained there.

Chu Chaoyun ignored it and lowered her voice slightly, smiling as she asked Mrs. Diao, “Auntie, are you tired? If you’re not busy sleeping, I’ll go make some hot soup. Drinking some warm stuff will help you sleep better!”

One of the benefits of being allowed into the kitchen was being able to occasionally improve one’s own meals.

But Mrs. Diao had never cooked extra dishes for herself before, because Manager Zhong had said: it was fine to cook, but ingredients had to be provided personally; a small amount of oil and seasonings could be used, but nothing else.

So Mrs. Diao didn’t bother too much, just buying some snacks at the market on disembarking.

But with so few silver coins, apart from dumplings and cold porridge, she couldn’t afford any meat dishes.

Hearing Chu Chaoyun ask like this, Mrs. Diao quickly explained the rule about not using kitchen ingredients.

Chu Chaoyun nodded like a little chick pecking, without saying more, and left the compartment.

Seeing her rush off like the wind, Mrs. Diao could only shake her head, half laughing, half crying; a clever wife is helpless without rice to cook—she hoped the little girl wouldn’t sulk when she came back later.

By now, Chu Chaoyun had arrived at the kitchen.

She picked out a slightly thicker dry branch from the firewood pile, sharpened one end with a machete, grabbed it, and went down to the river.

After swimming to the shallow water area, she bent her knees and looked into the river.

She hadn’t prepared to catch fish suddenly, and combined with limited vision at night, she wasn’t very confident.

But her craving for fish couldn’t be stopped, so she had to give it a bold try.

Fortunately, the company’s team-building had included a few wilderness survival lessons, one of which was fishing.

However, it wasn’t easy to succeed. Chu Chaoyun broke three fire sticks in a row, struggling in the river and on the boat several times, only barely catching a small fish in the end.

Well, it counts as meat, even if small.

Chu Chaoyun was satisfied.

With the meat secured, she tied up her clothes and went to find some vegetable ingredients.

There were plenty of aquatic plants in the river, but she still kept a little mind on the water shield she saw the other day.

Though hard to pick, water shield didn’t require much in the soup, so she could manage to get some.

After half an hour of coming and going to gather ingredients, Chu Chaoyun cheerfully entered the kitchen to start making the soup.

Although she couldn’t tell the type of the little fish, when slicing the fillet, there were no small bones.

In the wooden cabinet by the stove, there was a small jar of sourish liquid with a faint plum scent.

Chu Chaoyun poured some into the bowl holding the fish slices to remove the fishy smell.

After handling the water shield and blanching it, she drained it and set it aside.

She scooped some small pieces of lard into the pot, heated it to fry the fish slices slowly.

When both sides were golden, she added some water into the pot.

Once the water boiled, thick white fish soup bubbled vigorously; the aroma immediately wafted out.

Chu Chaoyun swallowed hard, then put in the nearly dry water shield, cooking for a while, then randomly grabbed some seasonings to flavor it.

A rich and delicious fish fillet and water shield soup was ready.

She first served two small bowls, then recalled what Manager Zhong said about Mrs. Diao taking care of the woman in the inner room, so she took another bowl to also serve the remainder.

Holding a tray, Chu Chaoyun quickly entered Mrs. Diao’s room.

She didn’t see Chu Chaoyun sulking and pouting, but saw a face blooming with a smile.

Mrs. Diao, surprised, couldn’t help but glance at the bowl.

Heavy chores every day and plain bread weren’t enjoyable for anyone; it’s not a lie to say they craved good food.

Moreover, this was a fish fillet soup with meat!

Mrs. Diao almost didn’t ask Chu Chaoyun, “Where did you get the vegetables and meat?”, just took the bowl with both hands and drank a big mouthful eagerly.

The milky fish soup combined the fragrance of lard and the freshness of water shield.

In a moment, an expression of shock, which didn’t match her age, appeared on the woman’s face.

Before swallowing, she couldn’t help but drink a second mouthful.

The fried fish meat remained crispy even soaked in soup, with fresh fish providing a tender texture.

The water shield felt smooth and fresh in the mouth.

For a moment, Mrs. Diao didn’t know whether to first praise the delicious fish or the refreshing water shield.

Seeing Mrs. Diao enjoy the food, Chu Chaoyun eagerly tried a bite herself.

The warm fish soup entered her stomach, quenching the dryness in her lungs like sweet rain after drought.

Chu Chaoyun felt her nose stir with emotion, almost tearing up.

Just then, Mrs. Diao suddenly exclaimed, “Chaoyun, what’s this green thing? It looks like—”

Startled, Mrs. Diao almost lost her grip on the soup bowl.

She’d been too busy enjoying the food to look closely before, but now, calming down, she hesitated to confirm.

Actually, she wanted to say it looked exactly like a slug!

Chu Chaoyun didn’t respond immediately, just continued drinking more than half the bowl of soup, eating both fish and water shield happily, then giggled: “This is called water shield, it’s what they called ‘slug’ that day.”

Hearing this, Mrs. Diao’s hands holding the bowl trembled even more.

Chu Chaoyun, tired, sat down, continuing to drink soup and eat fish, and smiled to ask, “Water shield is actually a rare aquatic plant; why do you say it’s a slug?”

Seeing her so happy eating, and herself having eaten quite a bit without issue, Mrs. Diao tucked her worries away and briefly explained.

She said someone accidentally touched water shield while fishing, and when returning home, the touched skin became red and itchy, then not long after, that person died.

This story spread, growing more exaggerated, eventually becoming well-known throughout Ruizhou.

After speaking, Mrs. Diao puzzled, “This… water shield, it’s called water shield, right? If it’s not a slug, why does it have something slippery and slimy?”

Chu Chaoyun chuckled at Mrs. Diao’s confused expression.

The rumor may not be completely untrue, but was mostly coincidence; in ancient times, without advanced medical care, many minor ailments could be fatal.

After thinking a bit, Chu Chaoyun leaned closer to Mrs. Diao, “Water shield is very nourishing, even the emperor loves eating it.”

“Emperor?”

“Yes.”

In her heart, Chu Chaoyun added: but not an emperor of Great Qi.

It is said that delicious food can heal the heart, and at this moment, Chu Chaoyun felt an inexplicable joy.

The long-standing gloom and oppression she’d felt since transmigrating almost disappeared along with this fragrant bowl of fish fillet soup.

She stood up and touched the temperature of the other bowl—it hadn’t cooled yet.

She told Mrs. Diao and then carried it to the woman.

From Manager Zhong, Chu Chaoyun learned the woman’s name—Xu Xianghe.

The sound Chu Chaoyun had just heard was indeed from Xu Xianghe’s room.

Not seeing the door closed, she went straight in and quickly shut it, afraid the aroma might spread and tempt other boatwomen.

This place, known for harsh conditions, was hard for everyone.

But besides barely protecting herself and taking some care of Aunt Diao, Chu Chaoyun had no capacity to “save everyone.”

What she could do was to avoid others’ view as much as possible to prevent discomfort among other boatwomen.

Entering Xu Xianghe’s room again, the stench seemed stronger, not only sour but also faintly urine-like.

Chu Chaoyun’s shoes were still in the compartment; she had been barefoot all this time.

But soon she realized the source of the urine smell: looking down she saw her feet wet.

Chu Chaoyun: “…”

Xu Xianghe crouched in the corner without shame.

Her hair was tangled into a bird’s nest; except for a few fierce scars on the side of her face, it was hard to tell her original appearance.

She stood in the darkness rigidly, exuding a deep deathly aura.

Chu Chaoyun didn’t dislike her, sat on the bed edge nearby, and in a soft voice said, “Manager Zhong asked us to look after you.

There’s fish soup in the bowl, still hot.

Drink it, and I’ll wash the bowl afterward.”

The woman heard but was indifferent, not even moving.

Chu Chaoyun got up, opened the small window, letting in wind to dilute the smell, revealing the aroma of fish soup.

In the dim light, the woman’s stomach involuntarily growled twice.

Chu Chaoyun sat quietly for a while, seeing no movement, urged, “Drink quickly, cold soup won’t taste good.”

“Go… away…”

Xu Xianghe’s lips struggled to part, uttering roughly.

Her attitude was hostile, and listening carefully, a tone of disdain and distortion was in her voice.

Chu Chaoyun swung her legs on the bed, ignoring Xu Xianghe, and stood, expressionless, holding the bowl.

She said “Oh,” “Don’t want to drink it? Fine then.”

She made to open the door.

From behind came soft sobbing.

Chu Chaoyun stopped, turned, and handed over the bowl, still calm and composed:

“So, do you want to drink it?”

After a long while, until her arm felt numb, the sobbing woman still only shed pitiful tears in the corner.

Chu Chaoyun tried to open the door again.

But as her hand grasped the doorknob, Xu Xianghe sobbed even louder.

Chu Chaoyun laughed, put down the bowl with a slight sharpness in her voice, speaking clearly:

“If you don’t want to die, who are you showing this drama to?”

The words seemed to work.

Xu Xianghe froze, suddenly looked up at her sharply.

Chu Chaoyun turned aside:

“Back then, when you hit the wall and purposely didn’t kill yourself, that was smart—I thought you had plans.

But now it seems I was mistaken.

They sent you to the boat not to compromise with your tantrums.

If you think acting out will let you escape, I advise you to forget it.

Keep going, and your end will only be being thrown into the water to feed the fish.”

Xu Xianghe stopped crying, seemingly scared by her words.

Chu Chaoyun sat down again, “Now you have two choices: continue to create trouble and starve yourself to death, or,” she looked at Xu Xianghe steadily, “recover your health, work honestly, and survive.”

After a brief silence, Xu Xianghe spoke for the second time today, “I… want to leave this place. Do you have any way?”

“If I had a way, I wouldn’t be sitting here talking to you,” Chu Chaoyun replied indifferently.

“True…”

Xu Xianghe muttered in despair, then asked, “Then are you resigned to your fate?”

Chu Chaoyun’s calm eyes blinked lightly, “What else?”

Silver moonlight shone on both their faces as the two women looked at each other.

Chu Chaoyun was not a beauty, but had clear, delicate eyes—when smiling, like the moon; when not, always quiet and serene—a look that somehow soothed the soul.

After silence, Xu Xianghe slowly took the bowl and drank the now cooler soup while Chu Chaoyun withdrew her gaze, sitting aside waiting.

Xu Xianghe’s facial scars had mostly healed; under the peeling scabs, new pink tissue showed.

Otherwise, Chu Chaoyun wouldn’t have given her this; eating fish isn’t good if wounds aren’t healed.

And Chu Chaoyun’s earlier response about resignation was somewhat perfunctory.

She wasn’t childish and inexperienced, thus wouldn’t easily open her heart to anyone.

She had plans for the future but wouldn’t share them with Xu Xianghe.

Xu Xianghe really was quite hungry, not only finishing the soup but licking the bowl clean.

Chu Chaoyun took the empty bowl and left quietly, climbed the wooden ladder.

Besides washing the pot and bowls, she also washed her feet and upon returning saw through the door crack that Xu Xianghe seemed asleep.

Stretching tiredly, she returned to her own compartment.

…

The sun rose in the east, a new day began.

Chu Chaoyun came out from the washing room and coincidentally met two boatwomen in line.

They greeted her warmly and then exclaimed in surprise, “Hey? Chaoyun, you look quite well today!”

“Maybe I slept well last night,” she smiled, replying as she took her cloth and walked to the boat’s edge.

Last night’s fish soup lingered in her mind, and indeed, her complexion improved—not because of any miracle in the soup, but because the original owner’s previous condition was poor.

She guessed the original owner’s family was limited in means and probably hadn’t eaten many good foods before.

After working a while, it was time for breakfast.

Chu Chaoyun took buns to the corner of the boat, unusually not going back to the dark storage.

From afar, Mrs. Diao came over, walking unsteadily; though still weak, her complexion had visibly improved.

Mrs. Diao sat beside Chu Chaoyun and chit-chatted idly.

Seeing Chu Chaoyun had two buns today, Mrs. Diao was puzzled:

“Huh? You didn’t used to like these, why today…”

Before she finished, Chu Chaoyun couldn’t hold back a laugh.

After laughing, she looked around, seeing no one nearby, then leaned to her ear and whispered in a tiny voice:

“You should take some more back.

These dry buns are top-notch ingredients.

Tonight, I’ll cook something delicious for you~”