The Prime Minister’s Little Wife

Chapter 9: Capable at Everything

The three siblings quickly arrived at the riverbank. Xu Da Niu, though thin and small, was incredibly strong. In no time, he had cut a bundle of willow branches.

Xu Xiao Wu neatly arranged the branches his brother had cut. Xu Zhizhi had never done farm work before, but thanks to the original host’s memories, it wasn’t difficult for her to organize everything.

Xu Zhizhi used the willow branches to weave a net-like basket for catching fish.

At first, there was no catch. She added a drop of spiritual spring water to the basket, and soon enough, two fish, each weighing over a pound, swam into the trap.

“Big sister, you can do anything! We never knew you were so amazing,” Xu Xiao Wu said with admiration.

Xu Da Niu also admired his sister, thinking to himself, “She must have caught fish before too, but probably gave them all to Jin Zijun and his mother. That’s why we never saw any.”

Xu Da Niu was actually wrong about this. The original Xu Zhizhi had only been a bit hardworking and had learned a little about medicinal herbs from the village doctor. She hadn’t been capable of much else.

If she had been truly capable, she wouldn’t have let her two brothers and herself go hungry, becoming thin and dark-skinned.

Looking at her seventeen-year-old self, so thin and small that she looked fourteen, Xu Zhizhi couldn’t help but compare herself to Wang Shishi. Standing next to Wang Shishi, she felt like the difference between them was like the moon in the sky and mud on the ground.

The three siblings returned home and helped Father Xu sit up. Together, they started weaving baskets, with Xu Da Niu also learning the skill.

Xu Zhizhi was quite interested in hands-on crafts that didn’t require much brainpower.

Father Xu’s craftsmanship was excellent. Based on Xu Zhizhi’s description, he managed to weave a basket that was not only functional but also quite attractive.

The basket Xu Zhizhi wove was even more beautiful.

“Big sister is amazing! She can do anything. This basket is even prettier than the ones Father makes,” Xu Xiao Wu exclaimed excitedly.

Still young, Xu Xiao Wu was afraid of wasting willow branches if he couldn’t learn properly, so he didn’t try weaving himself. Instead, he handed the branches to his sister and brother.

Xu Da Niu learned more slowly, and his basket was a bit crooked and uneven. Still, it was usable. Xu Zhizhi told him not to undo it and to finish it instead. It could be used at home, even if it wasn’t good enough to sell.

Father Xu finished two baskets, and Xu Zhizhi completed one. Xu Da Niu was still working on his first.

Xu Zhizhi checked the time and realized it was time to cook dinner. She called Xu Xiao Wu to start the fire. “Let’s go cook. I’ll make braised fish for you.”

Actually, she wanted to make sour fish soup, but there was no pickled cabbage at home. The family had been so poor they could barely eat wild vegetables, let alone have pickled cabbage.

She thought about going to the back mountain tomorrow to see if she could find potatoes or wild vegetables suitable for making pickled cabbage.

Although she had bought a lot of rice the other day and stored it in her portable space, it wouldn’t be wise to eat white rice every day. Changing too much too quickly would make it hard to explain. She needed to take things slowly. So, Xu Zhizhi took out a bowl of rice and cut two sweet potatoes to cook porridge.

She made braised fish and a cold wild vegetable salad. The salad needed a lot of seasoning to taste good, and the seasonings from her space made it delicious without being noticeable.

She also picked a green vegetable from her space to stir-fry. Since no one at home recognized it, they thought it was just another wild vegetable.

The family ate with relish. Father Xu, now busy with work and in better spirits, enjoyed the meal even more. Besides, the fish they usually ate had a strong fishy smell.

The family was too poor to buy meat often, so even fish with a strong smell was eaten when they managed to catch some.

Mother Xu, who had always been weak-willed and easily taken advantage of, had often sent whatever little food they had to her parents, leaving herself and her children half-starved.

The five of them were happily eating when the third uncle arrived with Xu Honghua and Xu Er Niu to visit Father Xu. Why did they come right at mealtime?

Probably because they had enjoyed the dough drop soup the day before. Their third aunt was a capable homemaker, but even she didn’t often make dough drop soup with pure refined flour.

Before they even entered, they could smell the delicious aroma. When they saw the fish on the table, Xu Er Niu’s eyes lit up, and Xu Honghua stared longingly.

Father Xu told his eldest son to fetch more bowls and chopsticks. Fortunately, Xu Zhizhi had cooked a large pot of sweet potato porridge.

Xu Zhizhi wanted to fatten up her brothers and herself, making them taller and healthier. She had deliberately cooked extra so everyone could have an additional bowl. Now, it was just enough to serve the third uncle and his two children.

“This is so good! The fish is delicious and so fragrant!” Xu Er Niu said as he picked up a piece of fish with his chopsticks.

He didn’t know the meaning of politeness. Usually, he only got to eat something decent at his uncle’s house during the New Year. Even then, there wasn’t much good food, as his uncle’s family was much poorer than theirs. So, he rarely visited his uncle’s house.

Yesterday, his father had dragged them along to visit his uncle, saying his uncle had been injured saving him. They had no choice but to come.

Who would have thought they’d get to eat such delicious dough drop soup just by visiting? So today, when his father returned from work and said they’d visit his uncle after dinner, Xu Honghua, who usually lazed around, had urged him to go immediately.

Fortunately, Xu Er Niu was smart enough to realize his sister must have had some ulterior motive and had quickly agreed to come along.

Now, he was eating this incredibly delicious fish, which had no fishy smell at all and was exceptionally fragrant.

Xu Er Niu suspected his sister had smelled the delicious aroma from afar and had been eager to come for that reason.

It had to be said: Xu Er Niu had guessed correctly. The fish Xu Zhizhi had cooked was incredibly fragrant, and the smell had wafted far, making many children drool. His sister was one of them.

When she heard her father say they’d visit after dinner, she couldn’t wait and had urged him to go immediately. And they had arrived just in time.

Xu Honghua sat down and started eating voraciously, not saying a word. Nothing was more important than eating.

The third uncle, seeing his children eating like starving ghosts, felt too embarrassed to take any fish.

He thought he hadn’t been harsh on his children, and his wife was good at managing the household. They might not have meat every day, but they never went hungry.

Unlike his sister-in-law, who sent everything to her parents, or his niece, who gave everything to Jin Zijun’s family, leaving her own family half-starved.

When his elder brother had been injured, he had felt like the sky was falling. He had cried bitterly, genuinely heartbroken.

Now, seeing the table full of delicious food, he felt more at ease. But watching his children eat like this made him too embarrassed to take any fish.

“Third brother, eat. I don’t know how Zhizhi made this fish, but it has no fishy smell at all. Try it,” Father Xu said, picking up a piece of fish and placing it in his brother’s bowl.

The third uncle took a bite. The fish was fragrant, tender, and smooth—the best he had ever tasted.

It was delicious, but he couldn’t help but worry about how his brother’s family would manage in the future. This thought inevitably showed on his face.

“Third Uncle, eat more if you like it. The fish was caught from the river, so it didn’t cost anything. See, my father has woven a few baskets, and I’ll grow bean sprouts to sell in town,” Xu Zhizhi said, comforting him.

Although the third uncle didn’t know what bean sprouts were, hearing that they could be sold for silver lifted his spirits. He ate more heartily and felt more at ease.

He thought to himself that if he had known Zhizhi would become so sensible and capable after breaking off the engagement, they should have done it sooner. But he didn’t say this out loud, fearing it might upset his sister-in-law.

By the end of the meal, Xu Er Niu even mixed the remaining fish with porridge and ate it all.

(End of Chapter)