As soon as Chu Shubao finished speaking, she noticed the white thread that Jiang Yanyi pulled out from the gills of the carp and curiously asked, “What is this?”

Jiang Yanyi pulled the thread out completely, flipped the fish over, and started cutting the other side. “It’s the line from the carp. It has a strong fishy smell. If you don’t remove it, it’ll be hard to eat.”

Chu Shubao seemed to discover something new and walked over to smell the fish line, her face wrinkling up like a bun. “The fishy smell is indeed quite strong.”

Jiang Yanyi couldn’t help but laugh at her reaction.

After cleaning the fish, she cut it in half and laid it flat.

She scored the fish’s back, rubbing it with salt, cooking wine, soy sauce, and sesame oil before marinating it.

Only then did she start working on the perch.

After gutting the perch and washing it clean, she cut it open along the spine to prevent it from deforming when steamed due to the bone contraction.

After marinating it with salt and cooking wine, she began to slice ginger, scallions, and mushrooms.

Chu Shubao rested her chin on her hand and watched, but her mind seemed elsewhere.

After a moment of hesitation, she said to Jiang Yanyi, “Sister Yanyi, my mother has done many things to wrong you. I apologize to you and Yanguo on her behalf.”

Worried that Jiang Yanyi might misunderstand, she added, “I don’t mean anything else; I just hope that our younger generations won’t have any grudges.”

Some wounds had already been inflicted, and seeking forgiveness seemed pointless, but an apology was still necessary.

Jiang Yanyi continued chopping vegetables without losing her pace, casually responding, “What grudges could there be?”

Chu Shubao felt a little embarrassed by Jiang Yanyi’s response, but the fact that Jiang Yanyi didn’t seem to hold any resentment made her feel much better.

As the eldest among the siblings, she hoped for a harmonious family.

Thinking of Chu Liu, Jiang Yanyi realized she hadn’t seen her since entering the estate and asked, “Why haven’t I seen Auntie?”

Chu Shubao answered somewhat uncomfortably, “Mother caught a cold and is resting in her room.”

In truth, it wasn’t just a cold.

Liu Shi had been preparing soup for Old Lady Chu for some time and was exhausted, so she pretended to be sick to avoid serving her.

Chu Shubao didn’t want to embarrass her mother either, but Liu had been using cold water while cooking lately, which had caused her once-beautiful hands to develop frostbite.

She had been crying in her room, leaving Chu Shubao to take care of things in Old Lady Chu’s room.

Jiang Yanyi only asked casually, but upon hearing that Liu was ill, she suggested, “It’s getting colder; we should put more charcoal basins in Auntie’s room.”

Chu Shubao nodded in agreement.

Not wanting to pursue the topic further, Jiang Yanyi placed the perch into a dish, stuffing it with ginger and scallion pieces, sprinkling ham and mushroom shreds around it.

When it came to steaming dishes, timing was crucial; undercooking would ruin the texture and flavor of the dish.

Once the water in the steamer reached a boil, Jiang Yanyi placed the perch inside to steam.

Seeing her handle everything in an orderly manner, Chu Shubao envied, “You know so many dishes.”

Jiang Yanyi was slicing ginger and garlic on the side and replied, “Just a little bit that I learned from the chefs at the restaurant.”

Chu Shubao quickly rolled up her sleeves, “Does your restaurant need any help? I want to lend a hand too!”

Jiang Yanyi chuckled, “I’m not planning to hire anyone right now.”

Hearing this, Chu Shubao felt a bit disheartened.

Jiang Yanyi brushed the marinated fish with the prepared sauce and placed it on an iron plate before putting it in the earthen oven to bake.

As she busied herself, she said, “If you want to learn to cook, you can also learn from the chefs in the household.”

Chu Shubao wrinkled her nose in disdain, “The food they make is so bland that even I find it boring to eat. I’d rather not learn.”

Then, with a suddenly mysterious tone, she asked, “By the way, do you have someone you like?”

Jiang Yanyi was startled by her tone and neither confirmed nor denied, simply asking, “Why are you suddenly bringing this up?”

Chu Shubao looked around to ensure no one was listening before she spoke. “A few days ago, I accidentally overheard Grandmother talking to Third Uncle about your marriage. Grandmother said that if it weren’t for Third Uncle adopting you and Yanguo, she would have wanted Chengmao to marry you, so that no one would dare to bully you in the future.”

Jiang Yanyi’s hand trembled, nearly cutting her finger.

Chu Shubao was startled and hurried over to check, “Are you okay?”

Jiang Yanyi put down the kitchen knife, saying, “I’m fine, I’m fine.”

Chu Shubao said, “Look how scared you are! As for the marriage matter, I’m already tired of hearing my mother talk about it. I just don’t want to listen anymore. Once I save enough money, I’ll open a shop like you and become my own boss!”

Jiang Yanyi didn’t want to talk much about marriage, so she followed her lead and asked, “What kind of shop do you plan to open?”

Chu Shubao thought for a moment, rubbing her chin, “Maybe a cosmetics shop? I’ve played around with cosmetics the most.”

Hearing this, Jiang Yanyi’s eyes brightened, “If you really want to open a cosmetics shop, I can give you a space in my store to try it out first.”

Chu Shubao’s eyes widened in surprise, clearly having never heard such a thing before.

She hesitated, “Selling cosmetics in an antique soup shop?”

Jiang Yanyi explained her previous thoughts to her.

After listening to the plans, Chu Shubao’s eyes sparkled with excitement, “So it sounds quite profitable! I’ll go sell cosmetics in your shop tomorrow!”

Jiang Yanyi replied, “You still need to decide what cosmetics to sell and which ones you can offer to female customers for free. It’s better to take a few days to prepare properly. Besides… your mother might not agree to this.”

Chu Shubao grinned mischievously, “Don’t worry; I have my own methods!”

This girl was always full of energy, and Jiang Yanyi couldn’t help but smile more, becoming focused on cooking.

The bass only needed to be steamed for about fifteen minutes before turning off the heat and letting it “rest” in the steamer for a few minutes.

This method would ensure the fish meat was perfectly tender, and when she lifted the steamer lid, a delightful aroma wafted out.

Since there was no fish soy sauce, Jiang Yanyi directly used regular soy sauce instead.

After drizzling two tablespoons over the fish, she sprinkled on some finely chopped scallions.

Once the oil in the pan heated up, she poured half a ladle of hot oil over the scallions, producing a sizzling sound that released the freshness of the fish and the fragrance of the scallions.

Finally, she garnished it with a few sprigs of cilantro, completing the steamed bass.

While the baked fish continued cooking in the clay oven, Jiang Yanyi moved on to preparing the vegetables.

Common vegetables in winter included lotus root and potatoes, which were perfect accompaniments for baked fish.

The crispy texture of the lotus root and the softness of the potatoes enriched the overall dish.

Jiang Yanyi cut the potatoes into thick strips and deep-fried them until golden brown.

After removing them, she left a small amount of oil in the pan, adding ginger and garlic to sauté until fragrant.

Then she poured in the fermented black beans, and as they sizzled in the hot oil, the aroma was overwhelming.

Jiang Yanyi couldn’t help but swallow, quickly adding the lotus root, bean sprouts, and the fried potato strips to stir-fry together.

Once the fish was done baking, she piled the vegetables on top of the fish and placed it back in the clay oven for another fifteen minutes.

Finally, she drizzled hot oil over the top and sprinkled cilantro.

The air was filled with the fragrant scent of fermented black beans and fish.

If it weren’t for the concern that everyone would notice if any of the dishes went missing, Chu Shubao would have loved to sneak a piece of fish.

She lamented, “Let’s make sour fish next time.”

At least with sour fish, she could sneak a taste.

Dinner was served to everyone in the Chu family at the courtyard of the Old Lady Chu.

Besides the two fish dishes, the main courses included the rib stew and smoked goose breast prepared by the Chu family’s chef earlier that morning.

The soup was a rich black-boned chicken broth that had been simmered all day, flavorful and with a hint of bitterness from the medicinal ingredients added.

Though Old Lady Chu was getting older, she loved strong flavors.

Tonight’s baked fish was especially favored by her, while Old Master Chu preferred the steamed bass.

During the meal, Eldest Brother Chu Dazhang and Second Brother Chu Erye hardly spoke, while a few younger family members chattered away.

Chu Huibao, biting her chopsticks, felt a bit disappointed since it wasn’t sour fish. “It’s not sour cabbage.”

Chu Shubao picked up a piece of bass for her. “Isn’t it good?”

“It’s good, but sour fish is the best,” Chu Huibao mumbled, holding her rice bowl.

Suddenly, Chu Jiabao chimed in, “I like fermented black bean baked fish.”

Everyone at the table was taken aback.

Old Master Chu looked utterly astonished, while Chu Erye, who usually stayed silent, didn’t say much.

Only Chu Yangui glanced at her but quickly lowered his gaze to his own bowl.

Chu Jiabao seemed unfazed by the surprised reactions around her.

With a calm expression, she picked up a piece of baked fish and placed it in her own bowl.