Chapter 345: Chapter 345: Exhilarating Chapter 345: Chapter 345: Exhilarating Half a cartload of fish was stored in wooden barrels, all of the large variety. When Su Yunjin hired the ox cart, she had made a deal with the driver, offering the driver a few extra copper coins.
When she got off, the driver helped her move all the fish from the cart.
Earning some silver, the driver naturally wouldn’t refuse, and was quite happy to agree to Su Yunjin’s request. Su Yunjin instructed the driver to carry all the barrels to the kitchen. Following Su Yunjin’s orders, the driver moved the barrels of fish one by one from the cart into Su Yunjin’s kitchen.
After he finished, the driver dusted off his clothes and, smiling, approached Su Yunjin, “Miss, it’s done. I’ve moved all your fish!”
“Uncle, thank you for your trouble.” With that, Su Yunjin took out the copper coins she had prepared in advance and paid the man. The man counted the coins, saw there was no shortage, then took the money and left with his ox cart.
Su Yunjin returned to the kitchen, where all the fish were alive and kept in water, so even in the hot weather, there was no fear of the fish going bad.
Without any condiments at home, making Pickled Fish Sauce was not possible; she would have to go buy ginger, chili, and such the next day. For today, Su Yunjin decided not to make it.
Having promised to share the fish with her mother-in-law, Mrs. An, and sister-in-law, Mrs. Chu, Su Yunjin found two wooden tubs and sent half a tub each to Mrs. An and Mrs. Chu.
At noon, Su Yunjin boiled fish soup and also made dumplings. She and Gu Ya accompanied the fish soup with the dumplings, both feeling very satisfied, especially Gu Ya, who consumed three bowls of fish soup and five to six dumplings on his own.
He was soaked through with sweat.
His forehead was covered in perspiration.
A bowl of fish soup went down and brought out a body full of sweat.
“Yunjin, this fish soup is really fresh!” Gu Ya took another bowl.
Smiling, Su Yunjin said, “My lord, if you fish soup, we can continue having it this evening, maybe alongside some flatbread. What do you think?”
“Sure! I think it’s good.” Having enjoyed such a meal at noon, Gu Ya felt fully satisfied. His young wife’s suggestion to eat the same way in the evening naturally pleased him.
Today, Su Yunjin made a lot of fish soup, nearly half a pot, and initially thought it wouldn’t be finished. In the end, the nearly half a pot of fish soup was completely devoured by the two of them.
After lunch, Su Yunjin and Gu Ya, the husband and wife, were both drenched in sweat due to the heat and had to wipe it off, so they brought some hot water.
Su Yunjin washed her face first, then wrung out the towel and handed it to Gu Ya, “My lord, you should also wipe off. Your face is all sweaty.”
Gu Ya subconsciously took the towel.
He roughly wiped over his face.
Not knowing if it was because the towel had just been used by his young wife, when he wiped his face, Gu Ya could smell a pleasant fragrance.
Similar to that of soapberries.
Although Gu Ya couldn’t precisely identify the scent, he knew it belonged to his young wife; he was all too familiar with it when he held her close at night.
“What are you thinking about?”
Su Yunjin looked at Gu Ya with suspicion.
Even wiping his face, the man seemed lost in thought.
Under his wife’s scrutinizing gaze,
Gu Ya coughed deliberately.
Of course, he wouldn’t tell his wife that he had just been thinking about her scent.
He handed the towel back to his wife and, without answering her question, he said to her, “Yunjin, get me some more water, I want to take a bath.”