Chapter 204 Affectionate couple
Gu Xiran was sitting at the desk, writing with a brush. He suddenly stopped and sneezed a big sneeze.
“What’s wrong? Have you caught a cold?” Shu Huan originally wanted to go look for thicker clothes for him, but then she looked at her muddy hand and sighed. “Call Meijing to get your clothes for you.”
“No need, it’s not a cold. Someone is probably talking about me!” Gu Xiran shook his head and said with a smile, “Come and help me take a look at how to write this traditional Chinese character.”
Traditional Chinese characters!
Usually, she could read them but she often suddenly couldn’t remember how to write them.
Shu Huan laughably put down the duck eggs that were being salted with salt mud. With both mudded hands, she moved closer to Gu Xiran to see what he had written.
As the two of them were discussing with their heads down, Meijing lifted the curtain and came in with a smile. She said, “Second young master, someone is looking for you.”
Gu Xiran didn’t look up and asked casually, “Who? Let them in.”
“This is not right, there should be the ‘cun’ character below here.” After Shu Huan finished talking, she looked up and saw someone coming. She couldn’t help but be stunned.
Gu Xiran noticed her distraction and followed her gaze. He saw two people standing in front of the curtain. One of them, a woman with a married woman’s hairstyle had a somewhat old red velvet flower stuck in the hair. One hand was carrying a cloth bag and the other hand was firmly held by Meijing. She also looked at the man next to her with a shy smile. He looked familiar but Gu Xiran couldn’t remember the name for a moment.
“Second young master, second young mistress.”
As this pair met their (SH&GXR) gazes, they hurriedly paid their respect to them.
“Huiyun…,” Only now did Shu Huan regained her senses and also recognized the man next to Huiyun. He was that very good cook of Gu household’s resort, named Zhen Shun. She (SH) unconsciously smiled, “I didn’t expect to be you two, but you two are….”
“Second young mistress, we have married,” Huiyun shyly lowered her head. “When we married, we didn’t report first to second young master and mistress. Please, be the bigger person and don’t take offense.”
Don’t take offense? How could he (GXR) not take offense?!
Gu Xiran was extremely dejected. These two people were just simply reminding him that he had to mourn for three years before he was able to marry again. How could he not take offense?!
While he (GXR) was in all kinds of envy and jealousy, Shu Huan was curious and asked Huiyun, “Why suddenly…I mean, I didn’t see you two get close when I was at the resort.”
If she had seen them, then they didn’t have to first decapitate then present their trophy? She would’ve already prepared a dowry and helped Huiyun with her marriage.
Cook Zhen Shun used to bury his head in the kitchen and rarely met with Gu Xiran and Shu Huan. He wasn’t as casual as Huiyun when speaking and was relatively restrained. At this moment, he looked at Huiyun and smiled shyly again. “We…after second young master and second young mistress returned to Gu residence, there were fewer people at the resort….”
This half-sentence was disorderly but it was actually a very implicit answer. The fact was that when there were fewer people at the resort, everyone was idle and very boring. So the two of them often met and would talk a bit with each other to divert themselves from boredom. While they chatted, they found that the other person was not bad, so they both felt affectionate toward each other.
Huiyun blushed and said, “There was also a calamity at the resort. We were trapped in the same place for several days. If I didn’t marry him, I also won’t have the face to marry anyone else.”
Zhen Shun was very kind to her and protected her all that time during the calamity. When there was food, he would save her the food too. Moreover, she had a somewhat favorable impression of him. Besides, he was a cook and not an ordinary servant. His status was invariably more unrestrained. It was already very lucky to be able to pick such an honest person to marry and to spend her life with him. She had also given up and no longer seek that kind of ethereal feel. Even though, when she saw Gu Xiran, there was still some sadness in her heart.
Huiyun used to scheme and play tricks to become Gu Xiran’s concubine. So, Shu Huan had to protect herself and guard against her (H). Now that she (H) was married, this worry was gone. While Shu Huan was relieved, at the same time her (SH) attitude towards her (H) became more casual and gentle. The maids, Liangchen and Shang Xin, also heard of the news and came over. As several people gathered around to talk, the room became lively too.
After exchanging greetings to each other, Shu Huan quickly washed her hands. Then she opened a box and took out some of the fabrics that were sent by the wife of the magistrate a few days ago. She picked out some festive colors to add to Huiyun’s dowry. She then took out ten silver liang and added to her (H) dowry too. After that, Meijing took them out to arrange a place for them to stay. She then turned around and looked at Gu Xiran.
“Listening to what they said, they just escaped a calamity at the resort. They originally wanted to go to Gu residence but was met with nothing. Afterwards, they roamed around the city for two days. After asking around, they heard that we were here so they came. But Huiyun is a maid of Gu household, after all, Zhen Shun is also a cook of the household. Keeping them here isn’t so right, right?”
Gu Xiran laughed. “Staying for a few days won’t be a problem. We can send them to Suhe City later. Coincidentally, Zhen Shun is a true cook and can make us a few good meals. We have tasted Shang Xin’s cooking for so long. Occasionally, we should change the taste.”
Shu Huan laughed too and said, “What kind of special flavor can you make out of wild vegetables and grains?”
She was wrong. On the night of the day she said this, Zhen Shun made her look at him in a new light again.
Both (SX, ZS) made corn steam bread with the same grains but why did those of Zhen Shun was so exquisite, delightful and looking so alluring? In addition, it was also very delicious. It was even divided into two flavors: a sweet one and a standard one.
The sweet one was to mix the wild vegetables’ juice with sugar syrup, then brush the sweet syrup on the surface of the corn steam bread. After steaming it, it looked clean and good. The taste was lightly sweet in the mouth and with the good texture, it wasn’t greasy. It tasted like mixed grain pastry. In addition, Shu Huan used to use those sugars only to season the rice porridge. She couldn’t think of any other use than that. As for Shang Xin, she never even used sugar for cooking.
As for the corn steam bread with the standard taste, she didn’t know what Zhen Shun had mixed in it. It tasted more soft and exquisite than those of Shang Xin. It could also be served with dried radish and a small amount of minced meat stir-fried with peppers. Salty and spicy, it made people unable to stop eating. In the end, Shu Huan ate too much. She had an excessively full stomach so she could only hold her belly and groan.
In fact, no matter how good Zhen Shun’s corn steam bread was, it was only the grade of wild vegetables and grains. In terms of deliciousness, it was far less than the dishes he used to make with all kinds of seasonings and exquisite ingredients at the resort. However, this was a time of shortage of resources. In these days, Shu Huan didn’t care about the taste when she was eating. She only wished to fill her stomach and to not starve to death. Her taste buds had become numb. So when she suddenly tasted delicious food, she naturally regarded it as exotic delicacies.
After eating too much and chatted for a while after dinner, Shu Huan was dragged out for a walk by Gu Xiran.
The weather was good these days. The sky was full of stars, the two walked hand in hand in the cool wind. There was a kind of physical and mental relaxation in the cool breeze.
Shu Huan closed her eyes slightly and took a deep breath. She was silent for a while and then suddenly smiled, “Gu Xiran, if I go find a good cook to marry now, is it still too late?”
Gu Xiran paused, then took her by the hand and pulled her back. He brought her into his arms and then looked down at her, pretending to laugh evilly twice. “Don’t even think about it!”
As if the stars were falling into his eyes, bringing out a bright smile.
He lowered his lips.
Her eyes closed.
A gentle night was lingered with affection for a long time.