"Have some meat."
Gu Jinchen had noticed that his wife had recently preferred sour flavors, but seeing her only eating shredded potatoes with vinegar, he couldn't help but speak up.
As he spoke, he placed a piece of the lean meat that she usually liked onto her plate.
"No need, you eat it yourself. I'll serve myself," Luo Ge said.
She felt that she was performing exceptionally well today; the shredded potatoes were unusually delicious, so she couldn't help but eat more.
Just after saying that, she picked up another chopstick-full of shredded potatoes.
Gu Jinchen: "......"
"Eat the meat, don't be picky." He still put the meat in her bowl, as he hadn't seen her touch any other dishes that night.
Upon hearing this, Luo Ge glanced at the man and obediently ate the meat, but her small brows furrowed ever so slightly.
The shredded potatoes were still more delicious.
With Gu Jinchen supervising his little pampered wife, she didn't pick her food, but she still ate very little of the other dishes.
At this rate, when would he be able to fatten her up?
The man was secretly pondering how to make his wife plumper, while Luo Ge was thinking about what other dishes might be as sour and delicious as these shredded potatoes.
"Oh right, my husband, the fish in our village river are so good to catch. Let's go fishing tomorrow when we have time?"
Sour and spicy, yet tender and smooth, sour fish soup? That would be great!
"Okay!" The man who was thinking about how to fatten up his wife immediately agreed upon hearing this.
"Big Brother will also go. Big Brother will catch shrimp for Sister-in-law. The river shrimp in our village are so delicious!"
The little one's eyes lit up as he spoke. In the past, Gu Jinchen's cooking skills were truly mediocre.
But if he had to name one dish he could make well, it would be river shrimp.
Once, Gu Jinchen had searched for and brought back a jin of river shrimp from the river. Although he had only boiled them in water with salt, they were unexpectedly fresh and sweet.
During that period when his uncle did the cooking, river shrimp was the most delicious thing they had eaten.
"Little Brother will also go. Little Brother is great at catching river shrimp. Uncle's river shrimp are so delicious."
Not long ago, they had caught some river shrimp together with Elder Brother Tie Dan in a small stream by the river, although there were only a few.
"Good, let's all go." She hadn't had shrimp for a long time either.
"Shall we try my husband's cooking skills then?" she asked.
She had witnessed her husband's culinary skills, but now the little ones said they were delicious, so she was truly looking forward to it.
Gu Jinchen: "...Okay."
He had been helping his wife in the kitchen for so long, and his cooking skills had improved somewhat recently.
He would give it a try.
...As Luo Ge had expected, early the next morning, Li Shopkeeper came with his men to collect the dried fruit.
"Exactly one hundred jin. Twenty-seven taels of silver. Madam Gu, please accept this."
Upon hearing this, Luo Ge looked up at Li Shopkeeper. "Shopkeeper, haven't you miscalculated? You had already left a deposit of ten taels last time."
Li Shopkeeper smiled at her words. "No mistake. That deposit was for the next order."
Saying this, Li Shopkeeper gestured behind him, revealing two carts full of fresh lychees glistening before Luo Ge's eyes.
"These past few days, I've had people collect some fresh lychees, around two thousand jin or so. I'll have to trouble Madam Gu to help process them." Li Shopkeeper smiled at Luo Ge.
"Not a problem." This was just as she had suggested before. Of course she would gladly accept.
Although they hadn't signed a contract, when they settled the accounts later, she could deduct their costs.
She had inquired about it - these wild, sour lychees weren't in high demand, so the price wasn't high either, around three to four fen per jin of fresh lychees.
Two thousand jin, at most eight taels of silver. The profit they could make was still quite high.
"Previously, Madam Gu mentioned that she would make other kinds of dried fruit as well. Now that it's peach season and the peaches are ripe, I wonder if Madam Gu would consider processing that fruit?"
Li Shopkeeper truly appreciated Luo Ge's straightforward nature and asked another question after considering it.
Dried peaches?
"Certainly." Luo Ge simply nodded. She knew this was probably the intention of Li Shopkeeper's backer.
"Excellent. I've just acquired a batch of fresh peaches these past few days. Shall I have someone deliver them here this afternoon? It's only around a hundred jin or so, just for Madam Gu to try first."
"Very well."
Li Shopkeeper still had to manage the shop in town, so after communicating with Luo Ge, he left.
"Ah..." Looking at the fresh lychees in the courtyard, Luo Ge sighed. More peeling to do.
Two thousand jin was no small amount. It would take the two of them two days to finish.
So for now, she didn't find anyone to help. She planned to find helpers when the quantities became more stable and larger.
Like Wang Sister-In-Law, Aunt Zhang, and Elder Sister Xiu Niang - they were all quick workers and trustworthy.
Their relationships were good too, so if she asked them to lend a hand, they would.
Hearing his little wife's sigh, Gu Jinchen tapped her nose with amusement.
"I'm here to help." He had peeled a few times now, so his speed was quite fast.
"It's good I have you." Luo Ge said sincerely. Without Gu Jinchen's help, she would truly be overwhelmed.
Making money isn't easy, hence the daily sighs.
"Let's leave them for now. Drying fruit takes time, we can do it later. Let's go catch fish first?"
He remembered she had said she wanted to eat them yesterday.
"Okay, call Big Brother and Little Brother." The two little ones were nowhere to be seen early in the morning.
"Got it."
The two little ones hadn't gone far. Upon hearing the call, they scampered back, excited to hear they would be going to catch fish.
Gu Jinchen knew of a spot with plenty of fish and shrimp where the water wasn't deep - just behind the mountain behind their house.
"Here it is. Be careful, don't slip," Gu Jinchen reminded them as they entered the water with their fine mesh nets.
"We know." This place was basically deserted, so Luo Ge boldly rolled up her pant legs to just below her calves.
She joined the two little ones in wading through the water and feeling for shrimp. It was so fun.
These river shrimp liked to cluster together, so scooping rapidly often yielded a few at a time.
Fish were slippery and agile, so she couldn't catch them. She would just team up with the children.
After all, she believed in her husband's abilities - he would surely return with a bountiful harvest.
Indeed, she knew her husband well. Not long after entering the water, Gu Jinchen had already caught a plump fish.
He placed the fish in a bucket, then glanced over at his wife and the two little ones. Noticing his little wife's bare little feet in the water, his gaze darkened slightly.
Those tender white feet were dangerously distracting.
Recalling their intimate touch, the man's breathing grew heavier.
"Put your shoes on. The stones are sharp," he said in a deep voice as he strode over, fetching her shoes from the side and slipping them onto her feet without asking.
What he said was true - there were many sharp stones in the river that could easily cut her feet.
If her shoes got wet, they could be washed and dried later. But an injury would be much harder to deal with.
"But it's more comfortable with bare feet," Luo Ge wrinkled her nose and said softly.
"You'll get hurt. It'll be painful," Gu Jinchen frowned.
"...Okay then."
Seeing his serious expression, Luo Ge didn't say anything else. She shifted her feet uncomfortably in his grasp.
The two little ones looked down at their own bare feet, then at their uncle and sister-in-law.
They felt like they were being treated like spoiled children. Why didn't their uncle say anything to them?
Wasn't he worried they would cut their feet too?
Gu Jinchen noticed their gazes and casually glanced over.
"Boys are tougher." His words seemed to guess what they were thinking.
The two little ones nodded, feeling there was truth in that.
That's right, Sister-in-law was a girl.
Girls were more delicate, unlike them boys. It made sense to be more careful with her.
Looking at the man, Luo Ge just sighed: "........"
The phrase 'double standards', young folks may need to understand a bit.
