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The cobblestone path leading into the garden had been restored; Hua Xiaomai found rustic charm more interesting and did not arrange the stones too neatly. The moist mud was not yet fully dry, seeping out from between the stones and emitting an earthy scent that was not at all unpleasant.
Following the path further in, one could see that the fish pond was also properly dug, appearing quite spacious. Craftsn were busy laying stones around the periter, with the constant tinkling and clanking of their work filling the air; after walking around it and heading to the northeast corner, there was a lush green bamboo forest. The bamboo was neatly planted, clusters here and patches there, isolating any noise from the outside world.
The nose was filled with the fresh scent of bamboo leaves, and the slender fallen leaves rustled underfoot—as Zhou Yunyun said, stepping into this bamboo forest imdiately dispersed the sumr heat by a couple degrees, leaving one feeling refreshed and comfortable.
"Mother, what do you think?" Hua Xiaomai, content inside, couldn’t help but show off, turning around with a triumphant arch of her eyebrow to ng Yuhuai.
"It’s adequate..." ng Yuhuai surveyed the surroundings, not wanting to inflate her vanity too much, insisting on finding fault like picking bones from an egg, "These bamboos are planted so densely, when the wind blows, leaves are sure to fall. If diners were to sit in this bamboo grove for a al and bamboo leaves fell into their dishes, it would be odd if they weren’t instantly annoyed!"
"Do you think everyone is as hot-tempered as you?" Hua Xiaomai tilted her chin up, "Even if bamboo leaves fall, it’s an elegant affair, an elegant affair, do you understand? Ah, I just can’t explain it to you!"
"Looking for a beating, are we?" ng Yuhuai rolled up her sleeves ready to give her a tossle, and they were both causing a racket when Chun Xi and La i arrived with Qing You in tow.
"ng Madam, Sister Xiaomai!" From a distance, Chun Xi called out, "I guessed you’d both like staying in this bamboo grove. We’ve been keeping an eye on the progress of the garden every day, and whenever we get the chance, we duck in here. It’s much more comfortable than baking under the hot sun!"
Hua Xiaomai turned her head and flashed a grin at the two won, "Thank you both for the hard work, I’ve certainly been hands-off as the owner..."
"Alright, once is enough for that kind of talk, no need to prattle on about it every other day, what’s the fun in that? If it’s really too much for you, maybe next ti La i and I get pregnant and take ti off, you keep paying us our wages, how about that?" Chun Xi laughed heartily.
"Sure, I’m not that stingy," Hua Xiaomai also smiled with a squint, then noticed Qing You carrying a large bamboo basket sealed with mud, and pointed with her chin, curious, "What’s that?"
"It’s from that old Master Wu from Qingping County, sent over yesterday. He said we don’t have this in Tong’an Prefecture. It’s from a friend of his from out of town who knows he likes it and specially sent him so. He wanted you to try it out, thinking you might use it in the restaurant, but we’re currently closed for renovations. Still, it’s just as good for you to take it ho and enjoy." Chun Xi explained as she had Qing You bring the basket over for Hua Xiaomai to see, and continued, "It’s such hot weather, they went to a lot of trouble getting it to Qingping County. They even brought several large barrels of water from the original place, saying it’s proper stream water! We wanted to send it to your ho yesterday, but then we knew you were off to the county, so we held off. Qu You can help you carry it back later."
When Hua Xiaomai looked into the basket, her eyes imdiately bulged in surprise.
The reason the basket was sealed with mud was to keep water inside, where dozens to hundreds of small greenish-yellow fish swam, each with a little orange blotch behind its gills, no longer than the length of a thumb joint. Perhaps because of the long journey, the small fish seed less sprightly than before, swimming listlessly.
Is this... the immortal fetus fish? In the era she had lived before, these fish were already rare, mainly found in the streams along the eastern coastline, and seldom seen on dinner tables elsewhere. She had only heard of them by na, yet here she was, unexpectedly seeing the live creatures.
Although Qingping County wasn’t far from the sea, there was still so distance, so it’s really comndable of Wu Wenhong’s friend—how did he manage to bring these fish here?
What was even more remarkable was that Wu Wenhong had been so generous as to share so with her!
Hua Xiaomai was pleased, carefully squatting down and picking up a fish, she sniffed it by her nose before looking up at the others with a smile, "Co sll this, the fish has a very special scent."
"It’s just a fish, how special can it sll? Like a bouquet of flowers?" ng Laoniang sniffed disdainfully, but then her expression shifted to surprised as she got close and took a whiff, "How is it... there’s no fishy sll at all, instead, there’s a refreshing fragrance? It slls quite like cucumber!"
Chun Xi and La i also ca over to sll, both expressing amazent, and even the honest and straightforward Qing You showed a look of curiosity as he picked one up to his nose, exclaiming "Heh" in surprise.
"The marvel of the immortal fetus fish lies exactly here, making dishes with it results in an indescribable delicacy," Hua Xiaomai said with a smile, "Master Wu is truly generous, I must visit him to offer my thanks soday soon."
"They say eating fish is good for won with child. You take it ho, whatever way you cook it, it will be a blessing to your palate!" La i nodded, but her eyes remained intently fixed on the bamboo basket, unable to look away.
Hua Xiaomai smiled at her but did not say anything then, though a thought began to take shape in her mind.
That evening, once ng Yuhuai returned ho, Hua Xiaomai imdiately dragged him to look at the fish, of course telling him all about the origin and benefits of the immortal fetus fish. In the end, she said, "I have an idea, but I don’t know if you’ll agree to it."
"What are you planning now?" ng Yuhuai, soaked in sweat, rolled up his sleeves while turning to look at her.
"Ever since the little eatery closed down, I haven’t managed anything, and the garden expansion has been entirely overseen by Chun Xi and La i. Also, yesterday Great Saint, my brother-in-law, and Yun’er all helped quite a lot. Although your two brothers were helping out of concern for you, they did trouble themselves on my behalf. In principle, I should thank them."
Hua Xiaomai helped him roll up his other sleeve and said cheerfully, "We can’t finish all these fish ourselves, so why not choose a day to invite them for a al, let them all try sothing fresh too, what do you think?" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welco to vote for it with a recomndation ticket or a monthly ticket at Qidian (qidian). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian to read.)
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