Chapter 26 Braised Fish

Both of them quickly agreed on the trade, finding it an acceptable arrangement.

The carp weighed around two catties (about 1 kg), and the two sections of lotus root were over a catty (half a kg).

Li Chunfang wasn’t greedy and only asked for one yuan, which was about the same price as in the supply and marketing cooperative.

Since Liu Yinyin didn’t have money on her at the moment and her house wasn’t far, she invited Li Chunfang to come along while she fetched the money.

On the way, Liu Yinyin considered asking if Li Chunfang’s family had any surplus grain for sale.

Li Changquan was a village cadre, meaning his family received more work point subsidies than the average household, so they probably had more grain stored up.

But… thinking about next year’s uncertain harvest, Liu Yinyin ultimately held back from asking.

“Yinyin, my village has plenty of ponds. If you ever want to eat fish, just let me know in advance, and I can bring some for you when I have the time. After the autumn harvest, they’ll drain the ponds to catch fish and dig up lotus roots on a large scale. If you want, you can buy more then,” Li Chunfang said as she took the one yuan, openly sharing the details.

In these times, conducting business transactions was technically not allowed, but people had needs. As long as both parties agreed and kept things discreet, there wouldn’t be any trouble.

Liu Yinyin was delighted—when that time came, she could buy some fish to make cured fish for storage.

The household’s food variety was still too limited, especially in terms of meat. Other than eggs, there wasn’t much else.

She smiled and nodded. “That would be great. Thank you, Auntie.”

“Alright, when my home village starts catching fish, I’ll let you know,” Li Chunfang said cheerfully before heading off.

The carp had just been killed not long ago and was still fresh.

With the weather being so hot, the fish wouldn’t last long, though the lotus root could be saved for the next day.

For lunch, Liu Yinyin made braised fish, braised eggplant, and loofah soup.

The staple food was still cornbread. Since she wasn’t sure how much Gu Cheng would eat, she made eight cornbreads.

She only needed two for herself, and any leftovers could be saved for dinner.

She timed the meal preparation carefully, and just as she finished, Gu Cheng returned home.

He was drenched in sweat and immediately took a quick shower before coming into the kitchen in a white undershirt.

A man who kept himself clean was certainly nice, Liu Yinyin thought as she set the table.

Seeing the braised fish on the table, Gu Cheng’s eyes widened in surprise. “Where did the fish come from?”

Liu Yinyin blinked twice and explained truthfully, “I got it from Aunt Chunfang, the village chief’s wife. We, um… traded for it.”

Since Gu Cheng was a soldier, she wasn’t sure how he felt about such things, so she quickly changed her wording, carefully avoiding any mention of having paid for the fish.

“Then I’m in for a treat,” Gu Cheng said with a smile in his eyes.

Seeing this, Liu Yinyin let out a small sigh of relief. Having an extra person in the house really was a hassle. If she were alone, she wouldn’t have needed to spend money on fish at all.

Gu Cheng picked up a piece of fish and ate it with his rice. The next moment, he looked up at Liu Yinyin and said, “You… cooked this really well.”

He was genuinely surprised—he had never known his wife was such a good cook.

“Then eat more,” Liu Yinyin replied lightly.

Of course, it tasted good—she had used plenty of seasonings.

Since she was in the later stages of pregnancy and needed to control her weight, she stopped eating after finishing two cornbreads.

Having spent so much time in the military, Gu Cheng was used to eating quickly. Once he saw that Liu Yinyin had finished eating, he cleaned up the remaining food in just a few bites.

Liu Yinyin was utterly stunned.

“……”

Oh my, all eight cornbreads—he ate six of them!

On the table, the only thing left was half of the braised fish.

Liu Yinyin stared at him in amazement. “You… are you full?”

He ate so much—so he must have been controlling his appetite before.

“I’m full. Actually, I don’t usually eat this much.” It was his first time eating a meal cooked by his wife alone, and it tasted so good that Gu Cheng lost control and indulged himself.

Liu Yinyin wasn’t upset about how much he ate. The real issue was that, at this rate, the household’s grain supply would be gone in just a few days.

She felt she had to talk to Gu Cheng about this.

“Um… The thing is, before, I was living alone, so I didn’t store up much grain.”

Gu Cheng immediately asked, “Are we running out of food?”

“…Yeah.” It was true. Liu Yinyin didn’t hide it from him. “With what’s left in the kitchen, I don’t think it’ll last very long.”

Besides, she hadn’t worked much in the fields this year. Even with Gu Cheng helping now, they wouldn’t be getting a large grain distribution.

If Gu Cheng kept eating at home like this, it wouldn’t be long before they had nothing left.

Liu Yinyin did have the system, but that was her secret—she couldn’t tell Gu Cheng about it.

While tidying up the dishes, Gu Cheng said casually, “It’s fine. Tomorrow afternoon, I’ll take two hours off, borrow the village’s ox cart, and go to the county to buy some grain.”

Liu Yinyin was taken aback. “Can you even buy it? Do you have ration coupons?”

Having money alone wasn’t enough to buy food—unless he was planning to get it on the black market…

But knowing Gu Cheng’s character, it was unlikely he would go to such places.

“Wait a second.” Gu Cheng suddenly thought of something, then strode into the room and came back out with an aluminum lunchbox.

“Here.” He handed it to Liu Yinyin.

“What for?” She was confused.

Gu Cheng explained, “Inside is all my savings from the past few years—my allowance, bonuses, and the severance pay from my transfer out of active duty.”

Liu Yinyin: “……”

She opened the lunchbox and found a passbook, several stacks of large-denomination bills, some loose change, and a thick bundle of ration coupons.

When she saw the balance on the passbook, she inhaled sharply. “How do you have this much saved? Didn’t you send all your allowance to your mother?”

The household finances were managed by Gu’s mother, and Liu Yinyin had heard that Gu Cheng sent her dozens of yuan every month. She assumed that was his entire allowance.

“No, my allowance has increased a lot over the years, plus bonuses. I make at least a hundred yuan a month. I send my mother twenty yuan regularly, and I save the rest,” he explained.

Living in the military didn’t require much spending, so over time, he had managed to save up a large sum.

“Oh.” Liu Yinyin responded, then closed the lunchbox and handed it back to him. “Then keep it safe.”

“You keep it.” Gu Cheng didn’t take it back. Now that he was home, it was only right for his wife to manage the money.

He had saved all this money for his future wife and children anyway.

Gu Cheng added, “From now on, when I get my salary, I’ll hand it over to you too.”

His married comrades in the army had all said that women loved managing the household finances. Since other men did it, Gu Cheng wasn’t going to let his wife feel left out.

Liu Yinyin: “……”

Wait a minute, big guy, wasn’t their relationship not at that level yet?

She refused. “This is your hard-earned money—you should manage it yourself.”