CH 21.2

Sure enough, a big fish was caught in the net. It was too big to get out of the net, so it bumped and stirred wildly. The fish twisted so badly that the water splashed out. 

The fish hadn't been caught for a long time, and the strength hadn't been exhausted yet. The net was not too big, and it could be lowered in the gentle and narrow section of the river where the water and grass were lush. Lu Gu was afraid that the big fish would break through the net and ran away, so he quickly collected the fish.  

He worked a lot, and he still had some strength in his hands, but the fish was slippery. He was afraid that the net would be broken, so it took him a while to get the big fish out of the entangled fishing net.

Now that he caught it, there was no coarse salt to pickle the fish here, and he couldn't take it down the mountain to sell. He remembered that he had heard people say that the fish stewed with pepper and chili peppers was delicious and spicy. It was time to eat something meaty, and it was cold in the evening, so it was warm to eat a stewed fish. 

Lu Gu glanced at the fish in the wooden bucket, and thought that there was water here, so it was better to take a knife and killed it by the river, so as not to pollute the yard. 

It could be said that he was the only one in a ten-mile radius. He took the knife and came over, but the wooden barrel was still in place. 

This fish was too big, it was not dead right now, it fell out and fluttered on the ground, it was slippery, Lu Gu couldn't hold it down a few times, let alone kill it, the head of the fish was also big, he slapped it a few times with a knife but it didn't faint from the shot, so he had to pick up a fairly clean stone and smashed it to death. 

After dissection and scraping the scales, he cleaned up the big fish. He washed the kitchen knife and the blood on his hands, and went back with the fish in one hand and half a bucket of water in the other hand. 

There were plenty of meat fish after it was chopped into pieces. Lu Gu used a wooden basin to hold them. After chopping, he didn't take a break. He carried the wooden bucket and ran a few times, filling the water tank until full. 

He was busy in and out of the courtyard by himself, and felt the sun was shining brightly in the courtyard, but it was already noon. 

This meal should be rice porridge, but he added a small handful of rice and a ladle of water by himself, and it was easy to burn the pot. 

He also thought that rice porridge was good for people, and if Shen Xuanqing wanted to eat it, he could make more, scooped out a large bowl from the pot and put it away. When Shen Xuanqing came back, he even put the bowl in the drawer and heated it up. 

In the main room, Lu Gu had lunch alone. 

There was not much rice in his bowl, he only scooped up the thin porridge on it, and the dishes were simple, only half a bowl of pickles, and he ate two steamed buns. 

Such a simple meal was enough for him. When he could eat in the Lu family, he ate leftovers, most of which were cold, which couldn't compare to hot rice porridge and hot steamed buns. 

Shen Xuanqing was not around, so he didn't dare to eat those dishes. 

The vegetables they brought were mostly green onions, ginger, and garlic, such as green vegetables, autumn spinach, autumn cowpeas, and winter melons. They would wilt after a few days when they were dug out, and they couldn't bring too much If there were too many vegetables and they were rotten It was a pity, he had to dig wild vegetables in the mountains in the future. 

People in the country didn't feel rare if they ate too much wild vegetables, and the vegetables they grew were expensive. Of course, Lu Gu didn't dare to eat alone behind his back. 

The sky was blue and high, and thin clouds drifted past like a light mist. Lu Gu found a hoe to loosen the soil in the vegetable field in the front yard, and ran back and forth three times with the wooden bucket, watering several rows of vegetables. 

he had been busy for most of the day by himself, and now he stopped, there was silence in his ears, no one's voice was heard. 

He put the barrel back to the door of the kitchen, and stood there in a daze after he had no work to do. The secluded forest gave him a kind of hesitation and loneliness, as if he was the only one left in the world, abandoned outside bythe world. 

Shen Xuanqing would come back. 

Lonely and helpless, he thought of Shen Xuanqing, and he was firm in his heart, Shen Xuanqing would be back soon. 

Lu Gu made himself busy again, and there were only ten steamed buns left. Shen Xuanqing ate a lot, and it was not enough for two days. With the pot empty, he started making pancakes. 

Wei Lanxiang specifically told him to eat pancakes in exchange steamed buns , and he would get tired of eating only one thing all day long. People lived to earn this mouthful of food, not only to be full, but to be happier when they could eat well. 

Although the thick pancakes he baked were not as fragrant as the oiled shortbread, they were more chewy and more delicious, because they were baked on the bottom of the pan, round and thick, and one was as big as three shortbread. It was also very full, and it was very durable to bring one as dry food when you were on the road. 

There were five big ones and one small baked in a pot. If you usually ate them, you cut them into four. According to Lu Gu's own appetite, one fourth of the big pancakes was enough. 

six pancakes plus those steamed buns were enough for the two of them to eat for several days, so Lu Gu didn't make any more. 

It was getting late, so he went outside the door to pick peppercorns, and while there was fire at the bottom of the pot, he started to stew the fish, maybe when Shen Xuanqing came back, he could just eat it. 

The autumn peppercorns brought here were still green, and they look good together with red dried chili peppers. The autumn peppercorns would disappear after a few days, and only dried chili peppers would be eaten in the future. 

Although Lu Gu had never stewed fish, he remembered it when Ji Qiuyue stewed spicy rabbit meat. He fried red and green chili peppers and Chinese prickly ash with less oil. The numbness and spicy taste made him cough and teared up. Fortunately, it would be less stronger after pouring the fish meat and adding water. 

Soon the pot was gurgling, spicy and tangy, and the pot was neither sticky nor spoiled. He was very happy, if his mother was still there, he would definitely say that he was really good. 

The fire at the bottom of the stove was changed to a small fire, Lu Gu looked at the gate of the courtyard, and there was no one in the forest, not even a dog barking. 

Waiting was the longest, making people gradually startled. Lu Gu looked at the gate for a long time before going back to add two sticks of firewood. 

The sun was setting in the west, he added firewood several times, added water to the pot twice, and set up a drawer to heat the rice porridge, but Shen Xuanqing still didn't come back. 

Hunting was like this, coming back sooner or later, he told himself, maybe he would see someone when he looked up. 

The afterglow of the setting sun shone in front of the house, and Lu Gu sat on the threshold with a panicked expression. 

It was getting dark, if Shen Xuanqing didn't come back, there were wolves and old bears in the old forest, what if something happened, he didn't know the way, he couldn't even find Shen Xuanqing. 

These terrifying thoughts made his face turned pale, he had no time to think about the fish in the pot now, and for the first time waiting for Shen Xuanqing to return late, he was full of panic. 

Until a few barking dogs broke the silence of the evening, Lu Gu looked over subconsciously, and saw Shen Xuanqing appearing in the forest, already very close. 

And when Shen Xuanqing got closer, he seemed to have just realized that he got up and was about to meet him, but he stopped his pace immediately and stood there for a while, finally regained his composure, and said with a trembling voice: "You come back ." 

Shen Xuanqing had come to the front, and when he heard the words, his eyes seemed guilty, and he said in a low voice, "you have been waiting for a long time." 

In the forest, he saw Lu Gu sitting on the threshold, thin, gazing at the east with a terrified and pitiful expression, as if he had been waiting there for a long time, and didn't even react until he came over. 

Shen Xuanqing, who originally brought back something good, felt a little pain in his heart because of this scene. Although he hadn't expressed love at this time, but Lu Gu waited for him like this, even a man couldn't be hard- hearted. This was his husband, but he didn't take good care of him, which made him felt guilty, so he unloaded the bamboo basket, took out something wrapped in several layers of big leaves from inside, and after peeling it off , a golden honeycomb was revealed.