Chapter 34

Jiang Li paused his steps and lowered his eyes to look at her.

Her face was very round and slightly swollen—perhaps because she was too fat, it wasn't very distinct—but the pus-filled boils on her skin that shimmered with a greenish light were extremely conspicuous.

Before Jiang Li returned, he had already heard from Wang Bujiu that his new wife was not very good-looking.

He had long since mentally prepared himself.

It was just that seeing her in person, he was still a bit shocked.

Seeing Jiang Li staring at her face without blinking, Du Ruo's thoughts shifted, and she suddenly had a cheeky idea.

She reached out with her chubby little hand, grabbed Jiang Li's collar, and while pulling him toward the bed, she acted like a spoiled child in that cloyingly sweet tone: "Husband, I'm already prepared, shall we rest?"

Jiang Li's tall body stiffened.

Du Ruo pulled twice without moving him, then went to unbutton his clothes: "A moment of a spring night is worth a thousand pieces of gold, husband. The rooster has already crowed twice; if we don't hurry, it'll be too late to have children..."

Jiang Li raised an eyebrow, and a vein on his temple throbbed.

"No rush." His large palm wrapped around Du Ruo's mischievous little hand, his eyes filled with hidden amusement. "I heard people say that if you consummate the marriage when the rooster crows for the second time, it's easier to have twins. Why don't we wait a little longer?"

Du Ruo stopped her movements, looked up at him with a wooden, chubby face: "... Which bastard said that?"

Superstition, not a shred of scientific basis!

No, that's not the point. The point is, why wasn't Jiang Li disgusted to death by her, but instead brought up something about twins? Could he really be planning to consummate the marriage with her? No way, no way, his taste couldn't be that heavy, right??

Du Ruo panicked a little, quickly shook off Jiang Li's hand, jumped onto the bed with a speed inconsistent with her figure, and spread her limbs to occupy the entire bed.

Then she started yawning: "I'm suddenly a bit sleepy. Let's talk about the wedding night later."

After saying that, regardless of the man's reaction, she closed her eyes and pretended to sleep, almost snoring.

The amusement in Jiang Li's eyes deepened. He didn't say anything, just walked straight over, took a set of change of clothes from the cabinet, and went out.

In the main hall, Wang Bujiu was sleeping on two long benches. Seeing Jiang Li come out, his bull-like eyes widened instantly.

He pulled the man over and asked in a low voice: "Finished so quickly?"

Jiang Li threw the clothes in his hand to him and said irritably: "It's a bit old, just make do with wearing it. Ask less about other things."

Wang Bujiu scratched his head. That's impossible; Jiang Li's physique didn't look like there was any problem.

Glancing at Jiang Li's expressionless, handsome face, he suddenly realized: "Oh... I understand. Is it that you don't know how?"

Jiang Li's brow twitched. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again.

Wang Bujiu bumped his shoulder, smiling suggestively: "Hey, what's there to be embarrassed about? When I got married, I spent an hour fumbling around too! How about this, I have a few treasured picture books, I'll bring them for you to look at later. I guarantee you'll know every move!"

Jiang Li's face darkened. He took the other two benches to the courtyard, stayed far away from him, lay down, and went to sleep.

When Du Ruo woke up, it was already broad daylight.

There was no one beside her, and the bedding was cold; clearly, Jiang Li had not slept in the room last night.

She felt relieved. Jiang Li shouldn't have any interest in her for a short time; she would wait until she was eighteen to talk about it. Thinking there were still guests at home, she hurriedly got dressed, washed up, and went out the door.

In the courtyard, Jiang Li and Wang Bujiu were sparring. She couldn't understand the back-and-forth, but it seemed quite impressive.

Seeing Du Ruo come out, Wang Bujiu smiled until his teeth were visible: "Sister-in-law is up? What are we eating for breakfast?"

"What does Brother Wang like to eat? Dumplings, wontons, noodles, scallion pancakes—just tell me what you want to eat. Treat it like your own home, don't be polite."

Wang Bujiu's eyes lit up: "Sister-in-law knows how to make all these?"

Du Ruo nodded: "As long as there are ingredients, it's not difficult."

Wang Bujiu was just about to speak when Jiang Li took over the conversation: "Just eat something simple. After eating, Wang and I plan to go up the mountain to hunt tigers."

Big cats—that's a tiger, isn't it?

Du Ruo was startled: "Aren't pheasants and rabbits delicious? Why think of big cats?"

Wang Bujiu chuckled and explained: "We aren't hunting tigers to eat, but to sell for money. Sister-in-law, you don't know, Jiang and I have already been recruited by the magistrate as constables. But the county town is too far, and going back and forth is inconvenient, so we plan to buy a horse carriage. Pheasants and rabbits aren't worth much; tigers are more reliable."

Du Ruo understood. The logic was sound, but while tigers were valuable, they were also much more ferocious. One careless move and you'd be delivering your head into a tiger's mouth.

Seeing that the two of them had clearly made up their minds, she didn't try to dissuade them. They probably wouldn't listen anyway, and might even find her annoying.

Du Ruo turned and went to the kitchen.

Since Jiang Li and Wang Bujiu were going up the mountain, wontons or noodles wouldn't be suitable; she had to make something that would keep them full.

Looking at the ingredients, she prepared to make three dishes: red-braised pork, pig liver, and the large carp Tie Dan had caught from the pond the night before. For vegetables, she would make dry-fried green beans, and as for soup... winter melon soup would do.

Plus, she would steam some egg custard for Jiang Wan; children all liked it.

Cooking wasn't actually hard, but preparing it took a lot of time, and Du Ruo was busy. After slicing the pig liver and washing the vegetables, she was just about to kill the fish when she turned around and saw someone standing behind her.

"Why did you come in?" she asked suspiciously.

In ancient times, there was a saying that a gentleman should stay away from the kitchen. Except for cooks, men rarely entered the kitchen.

Jiang Li said: "I'm here to help."

He glanced at the stove, his gaze sweeping over the various ingredients, and asked: "Is there anything I can do?"

Du Ruo didn't stand on ceremony and pointed to the fish: "Kill it."

Jiang Li was very straightforward; he picked up the kitchen knife, grabbed the fish, and went out. His efficiency was high, and soon he handed the processed fish to Du Ruo: "It's killed."

Du Ruo took it and looked—uh, she asked him to kill the fish, and he really just "killed" the fish.

The scales weren't scraped, the gills weren't removed, but fortunately, the internal organs were gutted.

She was silent for a long while, remembering the fish Jiang Cheng made the first day she married into the Jiang family, and she probably understood: the men of the Jiang family had no talent for cooking, or perhaps no one had taught them. Either way, what they made was always "dark cuisine."

So she reassigned a task to Jiang Li, having this eight-foot-tall man squat in front of the stove to tend the fire.

The couple's first collaboration was very tacit; half an hour later, the dishes were served on the table.

The salty, fresh, mushroom-scented red-braised carp, the tender and refreshing stir-fried pig liver, the light yet addictive winter melon soup, and the dry, savory, and tangy dry-fried green beans—even the simplest steamed egg looked so appetizing.

Jiang Cheng and Jiang Wan had been eating Du Ruo's cooking for a while and were used to it, but it was the first time for Jiang Li and Wang Bujiu, and they ate with great gusto.

Especially Wang Bujiu, who couldn't restrain his manners as a guest and ate four large bowls.

This fragrance, this taste—it was truly damn good!

Taking advantage of the moment Du Ruo was looking down while eating, he leaned over and whispered into Jiang Li's ear: "Brother, it's worth it! No matter how ugly, it's worth it! How can beautiful scenery compare to this delicious food you can actually eat? Cherish your blessings, brother!"

Jiang Li glanced at the ugly wife sitting opposite him, his face calm, but his foot under the table kicked him mercilessly, causing the outspoken brute to hiss in pain.

Du Ruo looked up at him: "What's wrong, Brother Wang? Is the food not to your taste?"

Wang Bujiu hurriedly waved his hands: "No, no, it's too much to my taste! I've wasted twenty-four years, and this is the most delicious meal I've ever had. Sister-in-law, you could totally be a head chef! This skill, I'd say it's no worse than the best Drunken Dream Restaurant in town."

Zui Meng Ju?

Hearing this familiar name, Du Ruo was stunned for a moment.

The big oaf thought she didn't know, so he grandiosely popularized the knowledge: "Speaking of this Zui Meng Ju, it's incredible. Yesterday, when Jiang and I came back from the county and passed by there, thinking about how we'd been exposed to the wind and sun and carrying sacks on the levee for over a month, it was really hard work. Just happened to have a little money on us, so we thought we'd be generous for once and go into that legendary place for the wealthy to have a good meal. Who would have thought, when we went over to look, mother of god, there were too many rich people in this town! The line waiting to eat at the door stretched half the street! I asked around, and guess what? They said Zui Meng Ju just launched a signature dish called... something... Fish and Lamb Fresh. Everyone says it's incredibly delicious, and everyone in town with a little money has gone to try it."

As he spoke, he curled his lip: "I heard just this one dish costs a few copper coins! Are they cooking gold or ginseng? Can you become an immortal after eating it? Jiang and I couldn't bear to spend the money, so we didn't go in. Although I didn't get to eat it, I, Old Wang, dare to pat my chest and guarantee that that thing called Fish and Lamb Fresh definitely isn't as delicious as this table of food Sister-in-law made! Rich people, they just like to do those superficial things; the name just sounds good. I reckon it's just a plate of something neither fish nor lamb that they messed around with!"