Chapter 17: Fresh Shrimp Porridge

“You want to ask me about what happened today?” Chen Ningya asked in a gentle voice, looking as if she understood everything.

Wen Youshan gave a few awkward laughs and hurriedly declared his loyalty. “Wife, it’s not that I don't agree with you fighting, it’s just that fighting is dangerous. What if you hurt yourself? In the future, if something like this happens, just tell me, and I will stand up for you.”

“Pfft!” Chen Ningya laughed and gave Wen Youshan a reproachful look. “Aren't you worried I'll cause trouble for you? Although I don't wander around the village, I still know a bit about what goes on. That Huang Meng's family is nothing but trouble. They won't dare to retaliate openly, but they will definitely try to play dirty...”

Before Chen Ningya could finish, Wen Youshan had already slapped the table and stood up, saying angrily, “He dares! If they dare to play dirty, I’ll definitely throw them into the Yong River!”

The Yong River was a large river that wound around the back of the village and eventually flowed into the sea. In the section passing their village, the current was quite swift. Generally, villagers wouldn't swim in the Yong River, but those with good swimming skills would go to set baskets; if they were lucky, they could catch a big fish to sell for a few coins. Wen Youshan often did this.

Speaking of the Yong River, Wen Youshan tapped his head. “I almost forgot. I went up the mountain today and caught two wild rabbits and a bamboo rat in the traps. I also happened to catch a snake coiled near a trap. I'll dig out its gallbladder in a bit; tomorrow when I go to the county town, I'll ask if anyone buys it. Also, there are some things in the fish basket—a carp weighing about four pounds, and the other three are small, probably only one or two pounds each. The rest are some river shrimp. I didn't take the tiny ones, but I brought all the big ones back. These things won't live long, so I won't sell them; we'll keep them to eat ourselves.”

In truth, Wen Youshan didn't particularly like eating those things; they didn't have much meat and were time-consuming to prepare. Selling them was also a long way away, and since the river shrimp died shortly after being brought ashore, he often ended up working hard for nothing. In the past, he would have just thrown them back into the water, but this time he thought that since Chen Ningya had just regained her memories, she might like them.

Sure enough, Chen Ningya's eyes lit up when she heard about the river shrimp. Without needing Wen Youshan to say more, she ran to the courtyard. Fearing she might be startled by the snake, Wen Youshan hurriedly chased after her and, with a few quick movements, fished out the river shrimp.

Upon seeing them, Chen Ningya was delighted. “Not bad, not bad. They aren't small at all. Let's boil them in porridge first thing tomorrow morning to nourish the children.”

“These things don't have much meat, how can they be nourishing? Should we kill a rabbit instead?” Wen Youshan asked hesitantly.

Chen Ningya shook her head. “No need. It's rare for us to go to the county town, so we should take everything there to sell. We'll just keep these river shrimp; I'll add an egg, and it'll be fine.”

In her past life, Chen Ningya had no memory of the Yong River behind their house, and she hadn't expected there to be so many good things in it.

Seeing that she liked them, Wen Youshan quickly added, “When we get back from the county town, I'll go set a few more baskets. There are plenty of these river shrimp in the Yong River. The villagers don't like catching them; they only scoop some up occasionally for a treat.”

“Is there anything else in the Yong River besides shrimp and fish?” Chen Ningya asked curiously.

Wen Youshan thought carefully. “I think there are many things with shells, though I don't know how they get in there. But there aren't many; we only scoop a few up occasionally. Those things are even more unpalatable than the shrimp.”

Hearing Wen Youshan say this, Chen Ningya couldn't guess what they were, so she dropped the subject.

The next day, Chen Ningya woke up at the hour of Yin. She first went to the kitchen to start the fire and put the rice in the pot, then went to prepare the river shrimp. After a night, the shrimp looked a bit listless; she estimated they would die in a few hours. She hurried to peel their shells while they were still alive, then chopped them into small pieces and cracked two duck eggs into them, mixing them together. When the porridge was almost cooked, she added them in along with some minced vegetables. Thus, a fragrant, fresh shrimp porridge was ready.

Mrs. Zhang's room was closest to the kitchen. Wen Yuanliang and the others sleeping inside woke up from the aroma. Unable to fall back asleep, they hurriedly scrambled out of bed.

During the meal, Wen Youshan looked at the children somewhat gloomily. Glancing at the sky, he asked, “Don't you plan to go back and sleep for another hour? It's not even light out yet!”

The children all shook their heads in unison, their eyes fixed on the porridge in the center of the table. Even the youngest, Wen Yuanxing, was repeatedly slapping the table, drool running all over him.

Amused, Chen Ningya served each of them a bowl of porridge and then held Wen Yuanxing to feed him.

As soon as Wen Youshan took a bite, the children immediately started eating.

The moment Wen Yuanzhen took her first bite, her eyes lit up. She asked excitedly, “Mother, the porridge is so fragrant! And it's not just watery like before.”

Even Wen Youshan was somewhat surprised. “Wife, this porridge just has river shrimp added? The taste is indeed much better.”

Wen Yuanxing waved his hands happily, shouting incoherently, “Eat, eat, eat!”

Chen Ningya didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Fearing he might fall, she tightened her grip on him and coaxed, “My little ancestor, can you please stop moving and eat your porridge properly? Otherwise, it'll be gone in a moment.”

The little fellow seemed to understand and immediately stopped making a fuss. Only then did Chen Ningya explain to everyone, “Our family has little land. Every year, even without paying taxes, the grain we harvest isn't enough to fill our bellies. Now that the spring planting has just ended, the crops in the fields haven't grown yet, so grain prices are much higher than after the autumn harvest. To save money, we can add things to our porridge in the future. This will not only fill our bellies but also be nourishing. Besides today's shrimp porridge, we can also make fish porridge. I will make it for you in the future.”

Upon hearing this, Wen Yuanliang immediately said, “I'll go catch river shrimp today.”

Chen Ningya's expression changed, and she shook her head decisively. “No. The Yong River's current is swift; even grown adults don't dare to go into the water casually. You are not allowed to go there. If you really want to catch them, look in the village streams. There are plenty of river shrimp in the streams anyway. Regardless, you are not allowed to go to the Yong River, do you understand?”

Wen Yuanliang rarely saw Chen Ningya look so serious. Knowing she was earnest, he nodded immediately and promised, “Mother, don't worry, we won't go to the Yong River. Father said people drown in there every year, so we mustn't go near it.”

Only then did Chen Ningya feel at ease.

The family finished breakfast amidst laughter and conversation. Before heading out, Chen Ningya specifically brought all the children along and said to Wen Youshan, “We'll only be out for the day. I won't feel at ease leaving the children at home, especially since Yuanxing is so active now; it's too much work for the second girl to look after him. I think it's better to take them to Auntie Sun's. We'll provide a day's worth of food, and when we return, we can just buy something for Auntie Sun.”

Seeing how thoroughly Chen Ningya had considered everything, Wen Youshan immediately agreed. He led the way with a pile of things on his back, not noticing at all that the mother and son behind him were whispering.

Although the Sun family could be seen at the foot of the mountain from outside the Wen family's fence, it would still take about fifteen minutes to walk there. Moreover, the mountain paths were uneven, and small animals would occasionally dart out unexpectedly.

(End of Chapter)