Chapter 81: The Bamboo Lounge Chair

Chapter 81: The Bamboo Lounge Chair

The fish, scored with knife marks, was fried until golden, then set aside. Ginger, scallions, and garlic were stir-fried until fragrant, followed by a handful of dried spice berries, water, sugar, soy sauce, and a sprinkle of red Sichuan peppercorns.

The ginger, soy sauce, and Sichuan peppercorns were all purchased by Zhou Ye at the market. Along with these, he also bought a small jar of vinegar and a packet of coarse loose-leaf tea. Knowing her fondness for culinary experimentation, Zhou Ye had picked these up while buying a water jar. Lin Shu only discovered them later when organizing their supplies.

The money Zhou Ye spent came from the wild mushrooms he had gathered. His willingness to spend it on these items for her only deepened her appreciation for his kindness.

Once all the seasonings were added, the fish was returned to the pot, and the heat was reduced to a gentle simmer.

By the time Lin Dashan returned home, the entire courtyard was filled with the enticing aroma of fish, instantly whetting his appetite. Learning that the three children had caught three buckets of fish from the village river left him first astonished, then utterly delighted.

The fish was soon ready for the table, and He Guixiang stir-fried a plate of greens to accompany it.

A large pot of crucian carp soup, simmered to a milky white, offered an incredibly savory taste with just one sip.

A generous bowl of stewed fish, glazed with a thick, rich sauce and garnished with scallions, looked incredibly appetizing. A piece of fish, coated in the sauce, delivered a spicy yet subtly numbing flavor that awakened the taste buds.

Lin Dashan kept "hissing" with pleasure as he eagerly helped himself to the stewed fish, prompting a light chuckle from He Guixiang. "I thought you didn’t like spicy or numbing flavors, but you seem to be enjoying it quite a bit!"

Lin Dashan chuckled. "This is different—the spiciness and numbness are just perfect."

Lin Shu explained, "Knowing you don’t like overly spicy or numbing flavors, I only used a small handful of spice berries and Sichuan peppercorns in this pot. For those who truly love strong flavors, three or four handfuls wouldn’t be excessive."

"Sister, will we get to eat this stewed fish for breakfast every day from now on? The stewed fish you make is so delicious!" Lin Xiaopu asked.

"Even if it’s delicious, we can’t have it every day. Next time, I’ll try a different recipe. Besides, we still have loaches and river snails—we can rotate between them."

As she ate the fish, Lin Xiaopu began eyeing the pheasant in the chicken coop. "The pheasant Brother A Ye caught last time is so picky—it doesn’t even like the chopped chicken greens Mom prepared. I have to catch small insects to feed it. Sister, you said we’d stew the pheasant next month after harvesting the taro stems. By then, it won’t have starved and grown thin, will it?"

Lin Shu laughed at her. "If it likes eating insects, just catch more for it—it definitely won’t starve. You’re still eating fish, yet you’re already thinking about the pheasant. You’re the biggest foodie in this house!"

Lin Xiaopu snorted. "You’re one to talk, Sister—you’re a foodie too! If I’m first, you’re second!"

He Guixiang watched the sisters bicker and gently chided them. "Hurry up and eat, you two talk too much."

Lin Shu immediately retorted, "Mom, our family doesn’t follow the rule of 'no talking during meals or sleep.' Eating is all about chatting while we eat—it makes meal times lively. As long as we don’t talk with our mouths full, it’s fine."

As she spoke, she glanced at Zhou Ye. Here was one who spoke little.

Zhou Ye indeed spoke little, but he was also too engrossed in eating to talk.

No one else cared for the crucian carp in the soup due to its many bones and scant meat; everyone preferred the more flavorful stewed fish. So, he unceremoniously scooped the crucian carp into his own bowl. Aside from the main backbone, he chewed and swallowed the small bones along with the meat. The ginger in the soup eliminated any fishy taste, and he ate several fish in a row.

By the time everyone had eaten their fill of the stewed fish, there were still two and a half fish left in the bowl. Only then did he begin to finish the leftovers, devouring the stewed fish along with its sauce and three large bowls of brown rice until everything was gone.

The thought of having such delicious stewed fish for every meal from now on filled Zhou Ye with an irrepressible joy, making him seem much more vibrant compared to his previously quiet and hardworking self.

After the meal, Lin Shu served two cups of tea.

"Dad, A Ye bought some loose-leaf tea at the market the other day. I’ve already brewed two cups with hot water—they’re ready to drink now. Mom doesn’t like tea, so you and A Ye can each have a cup."

Lin Dashan felt it was a waste of money—what did a simple man like him need tea for? But the money was earned by A Ye, and the children were being filial, so he didn't complain.

He took the tea cup from Lin Shu, sipped it slowly, and smiled. "The tea my daughter brewed is delicious."

Zhou Ye also drank leisurely, his expression revealing a rare sense of contentment.

Lin Shu said, "We’ve been busy with all sorts of things these past few days. Once things calm down a bit, Xiao Pu and I will go to the hills out back to pick some herbs and flowers for tea so you can have a different variety every day!"

"Alright, sounds good," Lin Dashan replied.

"Dad, I’ve already talked to Mom—we’re all going to the market at the end of the month. We’ll drink tea and listen to storytelling at the teahouse! The stories the storyteller tells are really captivating!"

"Hehe, we’ll go, all of us!"

"Did you see the small bamboo chairs A Ye and I made, Dad? One for each of us."

"I saw them, I saw them! I even sat on one—it’s great!"

"Today, I’ll make an even better one for you—a bamboo lounge chair!"

Lin Dashan’s smile deepened, and he eagerly agreed. Since his daughter had returned, his face had been beaming nonstop.

After Lin Dashan left for the fields and the table was cleared, Lin Shu took advantage of the time before Lin Yushu arrived to sketch the design for the bamboo lounge chair. Given its complex structure, she drew several detailed diagrams.

"A Ye, take a look at the diagrams and think it over first. After I finish teaching Cousin Yushu, I’ll help you make the bamboo lounge chair."

Zhou Ye nodded, taking the diagrams to study carefully. When Lin Yushu arrived, Lin Shu went into the main room, and Zhou Ye set to work.

Compared to bamboo stools and chairs, the lounge chair was much more complex. Lin Shu had designed one with a collapsible frame. However, Zhou Ye had already gained experience from making bamboo stools and chairs. Though the lounge chair was intricate, the construction techniques were similar.

By the time Lin Shu finished her lesson and came out, she was surprised to see that Zhou Ye had already completed the seat of the lounge chair!

Since it was a recliner, the back of the seat needed to be sized appropriately to support the backrest, and holes had to be drilled in advance into the bamboo poles at both ends to attach the armrests. Yet, without her help, Zhou Ye had managed to measure and drill all the necessary holes himself!

Lin Shu felt that even she, with her skills, couldn’t have worked as efficiently as Zhou Ye.

Lin Yushu also watched in amazement for a while. "Brother A Ye, are you making a large bamboo chair?"

Lin Shu pointed to the diagrams nearby. "He’s making this bamboo lounge chair."

Lin Yushu pored over the diagrams carefully and, once he understood, praised repeatedly, "Sister A Shu, I’ve never seen a bamboo lounge chair like this before. Its design is quite ingenious. Did you draw this, Sister A Shu?"

Lin Shu thought to herself: This wasn’t invented until the late Qing Dynasty, so of course you haven’t seen it.

"I drew the diagrams, but the design isn’t my idea—I saw it in an ancient book."

"Have you ever seen the finished product, Sister A Shu?" Lin Yushu asked curiously.

Lin Shu pointed to the work in Zhou Ye’s hands. "I hadn’t seen it before, but your Brother A Ye is skilled. He can make the bamboo lounge chair from the diagrams. With his speed, it might be finished by tonight, or tomorrow at the latest."

The bamboo lounge chair was structurally complex—even experienced bamboo craftsmen would need a full day to make one. But A Ye had exceeded her expectations and might finish it that very day.

Lin Yushu marveled sincerely. "Brother A Ye is as skilled as a master craftsman—truly impressive. I can understand the diagrams, but if you asked me to make it, I definitely couldn’t."

Lin Shu remembered something and smiled at Zhou Ye. "Don't judge others by your own strengths, and vice versa. If your Brother A Ye had to sit and listen to me teach for an hour every day like you do, he definitely couldn’t manage it either."

Zhou Ye looked her way upon hearing this.

"What are you looking at? Am I wrong?"

Zhou Ye shook his head and continued working on the bamboo.

Though neither said anything, a quiet understanding seemed to flow between them, unseen by others.

Lin Yushu suddenly felt he shouldn’t linger any longer. "Sister A Shu, Brother A Ye, I’ll get going now."

"Cousin Yushu, wait a moment. Mom has gone to fetch the bucket. The wooden bucket A Ye borrowed from your house this morning, you can take it back with you."

He Guixiang quickly came over carrying a wooden bucket. Lin Yushu reached out to take it, and only upon holding it did he realize the bucket contained water. Looking down, he saw two large live fish inside!

"Auntie, this... this isn't right. Please take them back!"

Seeing that Lin Yushu refused no matter what, Lin Shu waved him over, "Cousin Yushu, come with me."

Confused, Lin Yushu followed Lin Shu out of the courtyard and toward the vegetable garden behind the house.

He was aware of Second Uncle’s family’s fish pond because Brother A Ye had been working on it these past few days. After the mountain spring water was channeled through bamboo pipes, he had gone to take a look and thought Sister A Shu was truly ingenious.

But now, looking at the fish pond again, Lin Yushu was astonished.

A bamboo contraption had been added to the fish pond. The mountain spring water flowed down into the bamboo tube, moving from high to low, both clever and beautiful.

But that wasn’t what surprised Lin Yushu.

What astonished him was that the crystal-clear mountain spring water already held quite a few fish. Large fish were clearly visible, and one grass carp even leaped out of the water before swiftly and nimbly diving back to the bottom of the pond.

So many fish—there must be at least forty or fifty, right?

"Sister A Shu, did... did you catch all these from the river?" Lin Yushu stammered.

Lin Shu gave a smug ‘mm-hmm’, "I have a clever way of catching fish—it’s quite easy. So just take those two fish back and raise them. Eat them whenever you feel like it."

Lin Yushu still declined, "Sister A Shu, I really can’t accept this."

"Just take them when I tell you to. Last time, Third Aunt gave me a pair of straw shoes at the market, and I accepted them, didn’t I? Did you see me making a fuss about it?"

Hearing this, Lin Yushu finally accepted, though he thought to himself: When I go back, Mom and Dad will surely scold me. Mom will worry again about what to give Second Uncle’s family in return.

After seeing Lin Yushu off, Lin Xiaopu obediently sat inside practicing her characters. Lin Shu joined Zhou Ye to work on the bamboo reclining chair together. However, she found that Zhou Ye had already taken care of all the measurements and markings himself. Her joining in wouldn’t be of much help. Was it possible she had no place here?

"A Shu, wait a moment," Zhou Ye said to her. He left briefly and soon returned with a large basin of water, handing her the bamboo water gun he had made the day before. "Just sit and keep me company. If I do anything wrong, speak up and remind me. If you get bored, mess around with the water gun."

Lin Shu: ...

"A Ye, are you trying to babysit me?"

Zhou Ye had already resumed his work. Hearing her, he lifted his downcast eyes to look at her and retorted, "Aren’t you, though?" A faint hint of laughter tinged his words.

Lin Shu immediately drew a tube of water with the water gun and squirted it at his face. "Let me cool you off, since you’re talking trash about me!"

Zhou Ye calmly wiped the water from his face with his sleeve, letting her mess around while he focused on his task.

Lin Shu sat on the small bamboo chair, zapped Zhou Ye a couple times with the water gun, and then stopped. Squirt guns are only fun if the other person makes a big reaction; with someone like Zhou Ye, it was no fun at all.

She slouched in the bamboo chair, stared up at the blue sky, played with her fingers, and then propped her cheeks with both hands as she watched Zhou Ye work.

Perhaps afraid she would get bored or fidgety, Zhou Ye, after working for a while, took the initiative to ask, "A Shu, does this step look right to you?"

Lin Shu lazily nodded. "Yes, just like that. A Ye, you work so fast. At this rate, Dad will be able to use this bamboo reclining chair tonight! I didn’t want to put more on your plate, but since you’re so capable, I’d like to add a bamboo rocking chair. Once you lie back on the bamboo rocking chair and push with your feet, it rocks back and forth—so comfortable..."

Zhou Ye waited for her to finish before replying, "Then we’ll make it."

Lin Shu curled her lips, "Whatever I say goes? Are you too much of a pushover?"

Zhou Ye, however, explained earnestly, "During this period, the main work in the fields is weeding—it’s not too busy. Second Uncle Lin can handle it alone, and I’ll make time to help in the fields every day. By the end of the month, we’ll need to fertilize the fields once. After that, when the rice heads form, we’ll need to go to the fields daily to remove weeds and scare off birds and animals. Later, we’ll need to drain water to prevent flooding, control water to promote ripening, and then harvest in autumn—that will be the busiest time. After the rice harvest, we’ll need to plow and sun the fields, then plant wheat in both the paddy and dry fields..."

The smile on Lin Shu’s face gradually faded. So he agreed to make the bamboo rocking chair only because there wouldn’t be time later, not because he wanted to make it for her?

Zhou Ye, you doofus—couldn’t you just say something sweet to go along with what I said?

Just as she was complaining in her head, Lin Shu heard Zhou Ye add softly, "But whenever A Shu wants something made, it’s fine. No matter how busy I am, I’ll make time for it."

Unconsciously, Lin Shu’s lips curved upward, and she felt happy again.

Zhou Ye glanced at her, and he cracked a little smile.

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