He Zhiran did not say things too directly. She believed Xie Tianhai could understand her meaning.
"Alright, I'll do as you say and come over tonight," Xie Tianhai replied in a low voice.
He Zhiran looked at the carp she was processing and spoke again, "Uncle Xie, I'm planning to roast and eat these fish later. I'll have sister-in-law send one to Lin'er to nourish her body."
Xie Tianhai had just seen He Zhiran catching fish, and already instructed his two sons to follow her example and go down to the river to catch a couple fish to nourish their grandson.
Who knew, the two sons were useless beyond belief. After making a fuss for half a day, they caught nothing.
Now that He Zhiran said she would send a fish to Xie Lin, it was like bringing fuel in snowy weather to Xie Tianhai.
He lowered his status to thank He Zhiran profusely.
At the same time, Xie Tianhai had already decided in his heart that no matter whether the Xie family's exile was related to Mo Jiuye, he would let the matter go.
Anyway, the Xie family had already been exiled. Their family was still in-laws with the Mo family. And now they had received such a great favor from He Zhiran, so continuing to resent and blame would be futile.
It would be better for the two families to get along well. To safely arrive in the northwest, even if they could only live on thin rice gruel in the future, as long as they were alive it was good.
The Mo family women were usually waited on by servants at home, and were unfamiliar with handling fish.
However, they had already recognized the reality. If they wanted to avoid starvation in the future, the best way was to work with their own hands for food and clothing.
So everyone gathered around He Zhiran to learn from her and help process the carp.
Although their movements were not as skilled as He Zhiran's, it was still good to have help.
Soon, everyone worked together to cleanly process the fish.
He Zhiran found some evenly thick tree branches to string all the carp, then gathered some large rocks to build a makeshift barbecue grill.
"Sisters-in-law, please go gather some firewood."
Although she felt bad for the Mo family women, she also didn't want them to continue being useless rice worms who never lifted a finger. After all, the road ahead was still long, and it was necessary for them to gain more survival skills.
The women went to gather firewood while He Zhiran went to borrow matches from the officers.
The officers knew they would get a share of the grilled fish the Mo family was making, so they not only did not make things difficult for her, but also took the initiative to give He Zhiran some salt.
He Zhiran had originally planned to ask for some salt too, and was even prepared to spend some silver to buy it from the officers.
Unexpectedly, the officers were so accommodating and took the initiative to give it to her.
Salt in ancient times was unrefined, with large grains that were somewhat black.
But that was no problem. As long as she had this salt for cover, she could find an opportunity to take out refined salt from her space.
One should know, the small kitchen in her medical room still had quite a complete assortment of seasonings.
It was just a pity she still hadn't found an excuse to take these things out yet.
But adding some inconspicuous seasonings was harmless.
He Zhiran returned to the built barbecue grill and quickly started a fire, then neatly arranged the strung carp over it.
Soon, sizzling sounds emerged, and fragrance spread around.
Smelling this scent, people around continuously swallowed saliva.
The smell of grilled fish was appetizing, but He Zhiran was not very satisfied.
She unconsciously muttered softly,
"It would be perfect if I could brush on some oil."
Unexpectedly, her words happened to fall into Zhang Qing's ears as he passed by.
Smelling the fragrance of grilled fish, Zhang Qing had long been drooling with gluttony.
Moreover, hearing He Zhiran's meaning, if she could brush on some oil over the grilled fish, the flavor would be even better.
"Miss He, did you say the grilled fish needs to be brushed with oil?"
He Zhiran looked up and casually replied, "Yes, the taste would definitely be much better than now if I did that."
"Wait for me." Zhang Qing threw down a sentence and hurriedly left.
Soon, he came back carrying a small jar.
"This contains rapeseed oil, extremely precious. Use it sparingly."
He Zhiran had not expected the officers to be so well-equipped. They even had rapeseed oil.
If she had known earlier, she would have definitely asked for some oil.
But it wasn't too late now that it was delivered to her.
"Don't worry Sir, I guarantee I'll use it sparingly."
Opening the jar, He Zhiran broke off a leafy tree branch, washed it clean in the river, and used it as a brush.
Sure enough, after brushing rapeseed oil on the carp, the aroma that spread became even more fragrant.
He Zhiran also secretly took some thirteen-spice powder and refined salt from her space and sprinkled it over them. With this, the first outdoor grilled fish meal in ancient times was complete.
This time, He Zhiran grilled a total of ten fish.
It was assumed she would first give the fish to the officers to curry favor with them.
Unexpectedly, He Zhiran did not do that at all.
Instead, she selected the biggest one and first handed it to Old Lady Mo.
Old Lady Mo hesitated for a moment, and deliberately looked at the officers again.
He Zhiran naturally understood mother-in-law's meaning. She just wanted He Zhiran to share the grilled fish with those officers.
To put Old Lady Mo's heart at ease to eat the fish, she gave the other party a reassuring look.
Then she also distributed one fish each to her eight sisters-in-law.
One was left. She looked at Mo Jiuye still lying limply on the wooden cart, then looked at the salivating Mo Hanyue. In the end, she chose to give it to Mo Hanyue.
Seeing her actions, the officers instantly became unhappy.
Especially Zhang Qing. He had hurriedly brought rapeseed oil to her, but in the end there was no share for him.
"Miss He, is this how you were taught to conduct yourself since you were young?"
He Zhiran looked up, answering evenly,
"What's wrong with how I conduct myself?
My father taught me since I was little that when there are nice things, elders should get them first. I gave to mother-in-law first, and my eight sisters-in-law. They are all older than me, so it's not improper for me to give to them first.
My young sister-in-law is younger, so of course I should take care of her a bit more. Sir, tell me, where did I do wrong?"
Zhang Qing was left speechless, unable to retort.
Indeed there was no issue...
Zhou Laoba, on the other hand, was patient. Seeing Zhang Qing's impatience, he nudged him, hinting for him to keep calm.
After all, it was reasonable for someone to not want to give you their own things.
If needed, they could just find an opportunity to make things difficult for the Mo family later.
Zhang Qing struggled to suppress the anger in his heart as he sat there glaring at He Zhiran.
Peng Wang, upon seeing all this, actually found it quite amusing.
In all his years working as an escort officer for exiled prisoners, this was still the first time he had met someone unafraid of them.
Moreover, the other party could always reason things out, leaving others unable to refute.
Thinking of this, he looked again at Mo Jiuye lying next to him.
"Your wife is becoming more and more extraordinary."
Now, aside from describing He Zhiran as extraordinary, Peng Wang could hardly find other words.
Mo Jiuye turned his head and feigned weakness, "She just has a sharp tongue."
"Oh... don't be modest. I say your wife is extraordinary and she is."
How could she not be extraordinary?
Not only could she heal illnesses, she could also catch fish from the river, and her tongue was so smooth.
Anyway, Peng Wang was now convinced. It was just a pity that He Zhiran was a woman.
Otherwise, with her capabilities, she could definitely become an amazing figure.
