Chapter 239: True Happiness Lies in Simplicity
When Ning Xiyue reached the kitchen door, the irresistible aroma of spicy, fragrant fish from the next kitchen hit her nose. It made her mouth water.
She sniffed and hurried to open the door—she wanted to eat the fragrant, numbing fish as soon as possible.
Opening the kitchen, Ning Xiyue brought a large wooden basin and asked her second brother to dump all the fish into it.
With the weather being so cold, the fish couldn’t be kept alive overnight. If left in water, they would freeze into a solid block by morning. They had to be processed immediately.
Most of the fish caught this time were crucian carp. They looked heavy but weren’t very numerous, so gutting them wouldn’t take long.
Only the few big fish needed extra time to slice for fish fillets—the cooking process would be more involved.
But Ning Xiyue didn’t have to worry about any of that—after all, she had a good brother.
Ning Qingyuan volunteered to handle all the fish preparation himself.
“Little sis, you just cook the fire and handle the rice. Leave the fish to me. Whatever you want to eat, just tell me—I’ll prepare it.”
Ning Xiyue stroked her chin, looking at the fish swimming slowly in the basin. She also noticed the black fish lying belly-up and considered her plan.
“Alright, brother. For lunch, let’s do dry-fried blackfish fillets, and use its head and bones for soup.” She crouched, pointing at the nearly lifeless black fish, then glanced at the group of crucian carp.
“Let’s take the smaller crucian carp, coat them in flour, and deep-fry them. For the larger ones, we’ll process them in the afternoon: half for salted fish, half for pickled fish. Then tonight, we can use the carp for spicy fish fillets. How’s that, brother?”
Ning Xiyue looked at him expectantly, waiting for his opinion.
“Sure, why not? Let’s do that. Go ahead and get busy—I’ll start,” Ning Qingyuan said. Rolling up his sleeves, he grabbed a cleaver and a small stool, and settled by the kitchen door to begin work.
Ning Xiyue brought over a basin to hold the prepared fish. Watching her brother skillfully gut a fish with the first chop, she hurried to rinse the rice and start cooking.
By the time she had drained the rice water and prepared to steam it, Ning Qingyuan had already finished gutting the fish and coated the crucian carp in flour.
Ning Xiyue stoked the fire under the big iron pot, while Ning Qingyuan began deep-frying the fish.
At that moment, Chen Ye Chu arrived from the neighboring kitchen, carrying two bowls of fish—one bright red, the other green.
“Xiyue, I brought you some fish,” she said, setting the bowls on the table, then turned and left without lingering.
“Ye Chu…” Ning Xiyue called after her, raising her voice. Watching her hurry away, she couldn’t help laughing helplessly. “Wow, that girl walks fast.”
Ning Xiyue went to the table and looked at the two bowls of fish. The red one was spicy fish fillet; the green one was pickled cabbage with pepper fish fillet.
Just by their colors, they looked delicious and flavorful.
These must be from the big grass carp they had worked together to reel in earlier.
She took two bowls from the cupboard to hold the fish, keeping them warm on the stove, then washed Chen Ye Chu’s bowls and placed them near Ning Qingyuan on the counter.
“Brother, when the fried fish and dry-fried blackfish are done, put a portion in these two bowls for me.”
“Sure, I’ll fry two now,” Ning Qingyuan said, draining a bowl and placing the freshly fried fish inside.
With the rice cooked, Ning Xiyue added some firewood to the frying stove and helped her brother prepare the ingredients for the dry-fried blackfish.
Ning Qingyuan handled the cooking while Ning Xiyue assisted, and soon the fish was fried and the blackfish prepared.
While Ning Qingyuan continued simmering the fish head soup, Ning Xiyue carried Chen Ye Chu’s bowls over to her.
Passing by, Chen Ye Chu happened to be eating.
“Ye Chu, I’m returning your bowls,” Ning Xiyue said, imitating Chen Ye Chu, placing the bowls on the table and walking away immediately—giving no chance for a response.
Chen Ye Chu swallowed her bite of rice and looked at the fish on the table and the departing figure with a hand on her forehead, laughing.
Were they exchanging lunch dishes? It was too funny.
Eating alone, Chen Ye Chu had four dishes and a soup—she was truly happy. She happily ate a piece of dry-fried blackfish, nodding as she chewed, then picked up a crispy fried fish, enjoying every bite.
Having such a friend was wonderful: they didn’t interfere in each other’s daily life, but could provide support when needed. It was a comfortable and pleasant relationship.
For her reborn life, having such a reliable friend was truly rewarding.
A couple of good friends and some learning in the countryside was far better than going home having gained a scumbag boyfriend.
Yes—stay away from jerks and live happily. Truthfully.
Chen Ye Chu continued enjoying her meal.
Meanwhile, the fish soup was ready. Ning Xiyue brought the dishes to the table, and the siblings sat down happily to eat.
“This really counts as a full fish feast—fried, boiled, steamed, and braised.”
Ning Qingyuan picked up his chopsticks, ready to start. “Only steamed is missing. We can save two crucian carp for steaming tonight—one each. Now, let’s eat.”
“Agreed. Let’s start.”
Ning Xiyue’s first bite went to the pickled pepper cabbage fish from Chen Ye Chu, to open her appetite.
“Mm~ delicious.”
The fish was tender and flavorful. Despite looking mild, it was perfectly seasoned, with a numbing spicy taste and a hint of pickled cabbage’s sourness—truly satisfying.
This unique flavor came only from Chen Ye Chu’s special pepper oil pack, so they could only enjoy it through her—a rare treat.
“Brother, try this fish. It’s delicious,” Ning Xiyue urged, pointing at the pickled pepper fish for her brother, who had never tasted this flavor.
“Alright, I’ll try it.” Ning Qingyuan picked up his chopsticks.
Ning Xiyue then enjoyed the spicy fish fillet from Chen Ye Chu. Indeed, Chen Ye Chu was a good cook—the fish was perfectly cooked, spicy and numbing, exactly to their taste.
Clearly, their tastes were similar—they both loved spicy food and couldn’t resist a kick of heat.
Lunch was comfortable and satisfying. There were four dishes and a soup on the table; even after eating, some was left for later.
In the afternoon, the siblings didn’t go fishing. There were still fish in the Youth Hostel from Chen Ye Chu.
Ning Xiyue and Ning Qingyuan prepared the remaining fish in the kitchen: she made pickled fish, and he worked on salted fish.
Seeing this, Chen Ye Chu brought her leftover crucian carp to help. Together, they processed the fish into pickled and salted varieties.
While working, they chatted, and time flew by.
Winter was cold, and Ning Qingyuan would have to leave soon. Dinner was prepared early—by five o’clock they ate together, each contributing a dish to complete the table.
After finishing dinner and cleaning up, Ning Qingyuan leisurely carried a box of fried fish back.
Ning Xiyue and Chen Ye Chu, meanwhile, soaked their feet in hot water with Chinese herbal packs to dispel dampness and cold, sitting comfortably on the kang while reading.
She lay back, closed her eyes, and entered her study space, reflecting on how a simple, full day had passed.
Life’s true happiness lies in simplicity.
In her previous life in modern society, nightlife wouldn’t even start until after seven p.m. Here, her unique “nightlife”—study—had already begun.
She reviewed high school textbooks, studied medical texts from Comrade Ji, learned about new herbs, researched bone-setting formulas, and made eye cream to reduce dark circles—methodically going about her tasks. When tired, she relaxed by weaving crafts.
Nearby, System waved his notebook, unsure what to write.
“Host, I feel like dating or not dating makes no difference. My love observation notes only have a few entries.”
“You don’t understand. For a modern independent woman, life’s greatest purpose is exploring and learning. Romance is just a bonus. Single-minded love isn’t fashionable anymore—progressing together is the long-lasting kind.” Ning Xiyue tapped on her turtle shell, full of self-love.
“System, if I were like Wu Xiuli, always thinking about love, would Comrade Ji even notice me? Excellent people attract excellent people—we have to focus on our careers.”
“…” System had never seen someone so roundaboutly praise herself—our host’s confidence was remarkable.
“You wouldn’t understand. I’m going back to work on my formulas—if Comrade Ji gets promoted to deputy company commander while I’m idle, it’ll be pointless.”
Ning Xiyue ended the conversation and continued researching formulas. Earthworm and safflower seemed effective for bone and tendon repair, so she would try those first.
This time, Ning Xiyue crafted the bone-and-tendon formula using her own knowledge of Chinese herbs. Having learned so much, she wanted to apply it practically, not rely entirely on the system’s pre-made formulas.
The system might leave one day, but the knowledge she gained would remain. Flexible application was essential.
