Chapter 175: Young and Precocious, Celebrating a Festival
Chapter 175: Chapter 175: Young and Precocious, Celebrating a Festival
Your sweetheart, Hua Yusen?
’How could this little girl say something like that! So young, yet so worldly. That’s Little Red Carp for you.’
"Haha! How did Hua Yusen become my ’sweetheart’ in your words?" Zhao Nuanyue burst out laughing when she heard Little Red Carp.
"But he is! I saw you two kissing," Little Red Carp whispered, her big, mischievous eyes exceptionally bright.
"Huh?" Zhao Nuanyue was stunned. "When did you see that?"
’It seemed that after Little Red Carp became human, she and Hua Yusen had never done anything inappropriate in front of her!’
"Hehe, I peeked when I was still a fish, and more than once, too! So just admit it. You can’t fool me," Little Red Carp said triumphantly, looking incredibly proud of herself.
"Uh, okay, fine. We’ll say you’re right for now." Zhao Nuanyue nodded, then smiled in relief. "You have a very effective way of comforting people. I was getting stuck in my own head just now. Everyone makes their own choices. Others can’t control me, and I can’t interfere with them. Since we’re all fighting for our own side, we’ll just have to rely on our own abilities."
"Right. As long as we have a clear conscience, that’s all that matters," Little Red Carp said, hugging her sister’s arm and comforting her kind-hearted sister.
Zhao Nuanyue found some people from the village, especially Wu Dazhu, and asked him to bring men to help them get their boat to the riverbank and flip it back over. Then, Zhao Nuanyue and Little Red Carp rowed the boat out and slowly pulled up the fishing nets they had set earlier. There were a lot of fish on them, enough to meet today’s quota.
Little Red Carp looked nervously at Zhao Nuanyue and said, "Sister, that Wang Yuan really did go to the backyard of the Dragon King Temple, but it seems she hasn’t decided what to put the potion in. After all, there’s only enough for two servings. It’ll be very difficult for her to ensure Elder Gu consumes it!"
"Indeed," Zhao Nuanyue agreed. "If she puts it directly into the water vat, Wang Yuan would worry the elders might use the water for laundry instead of cooking, and it would be wasted. If she puts it in a pot, it might get washed away when the pot is scrubbed, which would also be a waste."
"Oh my, Wang Yuan really didn’t use the stuff in that little porcelain bottle. It’s probably like you said, she doesn’t dare risk putting it in, for fear of wasting it," Little Red Carp replied, then looked at Zhao Nuanyue with sparkling eyes. "Sister, what method do you think she’ll use then?"
Zhao Nuanyue shook her head. "I can’t think of anything right now, but with your amazing surveillance, whatever she does is under our watch. Besides, that potion is just plain water now. No matter what method she uses, we’ll just be turning her own plan against her."
"Exactly! Our plan today to secretly swap the poison was the best!" Little Red Carp said proudly. "It’s all thanks to me stirring up those waves and making Wang Yuan fall into the water."
Zhao Nuanyue nodded and said, "Yes, you’re absolutely right. It is all thanks to you. My Little Red Carp is the most amazing."
The two sisters took all the fish they had caught that morning to the salted fish processing area and gave them to Dong Sanshu to be weighed, recording the wages they earned. Even though Wang Yuan hadn’t come, since Zhao Nuanyue was in her group and had completed the task, Wang Yuan would also receive the same wage.
Zhao Nuanyue also kept many of the small miscellaneous fish for herself. After cleaning them back home, she could make an especially delicious fish soup.
By the time they got to the Dragon King Temple, Wang Yuan had already finished cooking the meal.
Li Qiong said in surprise, "Wow, Wang Yuan, how did you get back so early today? And you’ve already made lunch?"
"Our boat capsized, and I fell into the water. Nuanyue rescued me. I wasn’t feeling well, so Nuanyue let me stay at the Dragon King Temple to rest," Wang Yuan answered with a smile. "I don’t think I have a fever anymore, and I felt a bit better, so I got up to cook for you all."
"Oh, I see," Li Qiong nodded. "Thank you."
As everyone else returned, they also thanked Wang Yuan one after another.
During the meal, Wang Yuan said with a broad smile, "My, time flies. Summer is over, and autumn is almost here. The Moon Festival on the fifteenth of the eighth month is coming up. Shouldn’t we have a proper celebration?"
Hearing this, Li Qiong frowned and said, "Oh, the Moon Festival falls right during the rice harvest. We’ll be incredibly busy. Who has time to celebrate the Moon Festival?"
"Haha, well, there are grand ways to celebrate and simple ways," Wang Yuan said with a laugh. "We work during the day and come back at night. We can just make some extra nice food. With so many of us, it won’t be much trouble, and it’ll let us have a little fun amidst all the hard work."
Zhao Nuanyue could already guess that Wang Yuan was planning to make her move during the Moon Festival. To turn Wang Yuan’s plan against her, she naturally had to play along.
"Sure, let’s have a great Moon Festival celebration. The grain harvest is good this year anyway, and there’s plenty of fish. When you men have time, you can go set traps in the mountains and see if you can catch any game. We’ll all pitch in," Zhao Nuanyue agreed. "What do you all think?"
Yang Guanghui loved to join in the fun, so he nodded in approval. "Sounds good! We work all year and rarely get a festival, so let’s celebrate together. Hua, it’ll be up to your skills. I’ll follow behind you and carry your things."
"Haha, all right then, let’s do that," Hua Yusen said with a smile. "You all handle the cooking, and we’ll be in charge of getting the meat!"
Seeing everyone so happy, Li Qiong no longer objected. She nodded and said, "In that case, I’ll go gather some more mountain delicacies. They’re delicious whether in soup or other dishes."
Wang Yuan was very happy. She hadn’t expected her suggestion to be met with such easy approval. As long as everyone agreed, the rest would be easy to handle.
’Then my chance has come.’
Hua Yusen glanced at Zhao Nuanyue, and Zhao Nuanyue gave a slight nod.
Li Qiong happened to see the interaction between Zhao Nuanyue and Hua Yusen and sighed to herself. ’It might be annoying,’ she thought, ’but as her friend, I have to say something.’
After the meal, Li Qiong saw Hua Yusen heading out to work and followed him.
"Hua Yusen, wait up!" Li Qiong called, chasing after him. His strides were so large that she had to jog to catch up.
’Why is Li Qiong calling out to me?’ Hua Yusen wondered.
"Li Qiong, did you need me for something?" Hua Yusen asked. He still needed to go to the Dragon King Temple to help the elders, as they had a lot of work to do that afternoon.
Seeing that Hua Yusen had stopped, Li Qiong didn’t beat around the bush and got straight to the point. "Mr. Hua, I know I have no right to meddle in your and Nuanyue’s affairs, but as Nuanyue’s good friend, I have to say this, even if you find it annoying."
Hua Yusen was surprised to hear her words. "What do you want to say? Just say it."
Hua Yusen had always cared deeply about anything that was good for Zhao Nuanyue.
Li Qiong had her flaws, but her virtues outshone them. She was a very upright young woman who got along well with Zhao Nuanyue, so Hua Yusen was willing to hear what she had to say.