Xiao Changyi said, "I didn’t agree."
An Jing was taken aback before saying, "Then why did he say that? And he even swore solemnly to lose weight."
"He asked me to teach him a couple of self-defense moves, and I said I’d consider it once he slimmed down. I said I’d consider it, I didn’t agree."
An Jing: "..." Her husband definitely realized that Wang Youbao idolized him and knew that one word from him was worth countless from her. That’s why he said something so misleading, just so Wang Youbao would decisively make up his mind to lose weight!
Originally, An Jing had planned for the three of them to eat on the kitchen table, but Wang Youbao didn’t want to enter the kitchen, and An Jing didn’t insist, so she and Xiao Changyi carried the food to the dining table in the main room to eat.
Five dishes, one plate of braised paddy fish, one plate of eggplant, one plate of greens, one plate of cucumber, and a small bowl of fermented bean curd.
It was called a small bowl of fermented bean curd, but in reality, it was a small bowl with three little pieces of fermented bean curd in it.
As for the rice, it was a mix of sorghum and polished rice boiled together.
Wang Youbao, who usually ate feasts of meat and fish every meal, had never eaten so simply, yet he didn’t show any disdain at all. Instead, he was very happy sitting there waiting for the meal to start.
Seeing that Wang Youbao showed no sign of dislike, An Jing became even more satisfied with this friend, but she still said with a smile, "This is all we have to offer you. Don’t mind it, please just make do with the meal."
"How could I mind? This is already very good," Wang Youbao said sincerely. This was the first time he had been a guest at a friend’s house, and the experience felt great. As for the quality of the food, he wasn’t too concerned.
An Jing pushed the paddy fish in Wang Youbao’s direction and called out, "This is the fish we raise in our fields. Give it a try."
"Okay," replied Wang Youbao, taking a piece for himself before he started to eat.
The paddy fish was tender and flavorful, truly carrying the fragrant aroma of paddy flowers, incomparable to any other fish.
Wang Youbao immediately praised, "This is really delicious! I’ll take all the fish from your fields. They are sure to make my restaurant’s business boom!"
An Jing didn’t say anything right away but served some fish into Xiao Changyi’s bowl, as her husband had already placed quite a lot in her bowl.
After adding some greens to Xiao Changyi’s bowl, An Jing then addressed Wang Youbao, "This fish isn’t cheap."
The fish had been raised since the end of March, and throughout the process, her husband always checked on the water depth in the fields, worrying that too shallow water wouldn’t sustain the fish, while too deep might let the fish jump into the neighboring paddies.
Once there was even heavy rain, and her husband, covered in a straw raincoat, stayed in the fields for hours just to make sure that the water didn’t overflow, and that the fish didn’t end up in someone else’s fields.
In the past month, they had also been scooping up duckweed to feed to the fish. Honestly, raising these fish to their current size had really taken a lot of their efforts; they couldn’t possibly sell at a loss.
Upon hearing that the fish wasn’t cheap, Wang Youbao became serious: "Then how much per catty?"
An Jing didn’t respond, simply looking at Xiao Changyi.
Xiao Changyi didn’t immediately say anything either, but after slowly chewing and swallowing his food, he spoke indifferently, "Fifty coins."
In the market, the price for ordinary fish was nine coins per catty.
In the manner of a businessman, Wang Youbao assessed the situation and pondered, "That is a bit expensive, but that’s compared to other fish... Alright, fifty coins it is."
He knew that his two friends would definitely not swindle him; the fifty coins were surely a fair price.