The final step for Pickled Cabbage Fish was pouring on hot oil. Some places included this step, while others didn’t.
Huang Wei thought adding the last step made the dish more fragrant, so she included it. Before the hot oil, she scattered on chopped scallions and cilantro.
She didn’t cut the cilantro, leaving the sprigs whole. The hot oil sizzled loudly, “Tzzzz,” and Huang Wei smelled the aroma.
After that, Huang Wei quickly prepared two vegetable dishes and was done. She’d cooked earlier than usual today. Once she finished everything, Sister Cui took her own family of three’s portion plus the raw vegetables for the players, and headed to the guesthouse.
Faced with the long-awaited Pickled Cabbage Fish, Cheng Luyun and Huang Chengcheng were both in high spirits.
But the moment she saw the cilantro on top, Huang Chengcheng’s eager little face instantly fell. She truly disliked cilantro—even more than Huang Wei did, by the looks of it. Huang Wei picked up a small bowl, fished out the cilantro that hadn’t been chopped, then added some fish, pickled cabbage, and broth, placing it in front of Cheng Luyun.
Cheng Luyun narrowed her eyes, which now held a murderous glint. “Brother Wei, what’s the meaning of this? Giving only me this?”
Huang Wei hurriedly shook her head. “No, it’s just that Chengcheng and I both dislike cilantro. Ah Yun, you like it, so I scooped the cilantro out. This way, everyone’s happy.” Huang Wei silently sighed in relief: At least Chengcheng and I aren’t the type who can’t even stand the smell.
She’d met people before who hated cilantro so much they’d gag at the scent, even throwing up.
Huang Wei and Huang Chengcheng merely disliked eating it. If they absolutely had to eat it… well, just like the cold cilantro beef salad, they could force it down if they had to. But given a choice, neither of them would pick anything with cilantro in it.
If the one wanting the cilantro weren’t Cheng Luyun, Huang Wei wouldn’t have bothered at all.
Hearing Huang Wei’s explanation and seeing the slightly aggrieved look in Huang Chengcheng’s eyes, Cheng Luyun said nothing, but the dangerous glint faded. She stretched out her chopsticks, picked up a piece of fish, incidentally catching a sprig of cilantro as well. The cilantro and fish entered her mouth together, that flavor making it impossible for her to stop.
The fish was tender and smooth, the pickled cabbage crisp and refreshing, and it carried an irresistible spicy kick. Even before the fish reached her mouth, Cheng Luyun had already noticed saliva pooling in her mouth—she’d been craving this Pickled Cabbage Fish terribly. Gobbling quickly, she soon finished the portion in her small bowl. Then, without hesitation, her chopsticks headed straight for the main battlefield—that big basin of pickled cabbage and fish.
The black fish Cheng Luyun had given Huang Wei was exceptionally large and meaty, estimated to weigh five or six jin. It was big enough to use for a fish hot pot. Even after removing the head and tail, there was over four jin of fish left. They’d given some to Sister Cui’s family, leaving about two jin for the three of them. Paired with rice and vegetables, it would be plenty to fill an ordinary person.
But no one in their family besides Huang Wei was ordinary. The large basin of Pickled Cabbage Fish was quickly polished off, the broth poured over rice and eaten directly.
The rice cooker at Huang Wei’s house was always scraped clean, which perfectly illustrated how huge the mother and daughter’s appetites were.
Not even a whole cow could fill them.
Fortunately, both mother and daughter knew their limits. If they didn’t, Huang Wei suspected Cheng Luyun would be whipping her with a little leather strap to force her to cook non-stop.
After lunch, Huang Wei watched TV with Huang Chengcheng for a while.
Huang Wei sat on the sofa, Huang Chengcheng nestled in her lap, and the doll nestled in Huang Chengcheng’s arms. Cheng Luyun went to do the dishes, also washing the clothes Huang Wei had changed out of yesterday before hanging them in the yard to dry. Only then did she wash some cherry tomatoes and bring them into the living room.
The TV program seemed vaguely familiar to Huang Wei. Thinking back, it felt quite similar to what had played during the last cycle. She was a bit stunned: This instance dungeon even repeated TV shows? How could Cheng Luyun and Huang Chengcheng stand watching it? Every evening when she had free time, Huang Chengcheng wanted to watch cartoons, preferably with Big Ya and Little Ya.
Big Ya and Little Ya had no memories, so for them it was a brand-new experience. But for Huang Chengcheng, she could practically recite the cartoons by heart.
Kids really have perseverance.
Huang Wei yawned, not wanting to watch this program anymore. She’d seen this TV drama before, and it made no sense—watching just the middle part with no beginning or end. It was honestly pretty boring. Huang Wei decided to do something more meaningful with Huang Chengcheng.
Lowering her head, she asked, “Would you like to hear a story?”
Huang Chengcheng froze for a moment, then immediately answered, “Yes!” As she replied, she tilted her head up, leaning against Huang Wei’s chest and giving her a big, bright smile.
Huang Wei thought of the popular fairy tales from her own world and decided to start with Snow White. She’d teach Huang Chengcheng how terrifying a stepmother could be, making sure she firmly supported her and wouldn’t let anyone take her place. Holding Huang Chengcheng like this, Huang Wei began the story.
Huang Chengcheng hugged the doll in her arms tightly and listened with complete seriousness.
These fairy tales she’d never heard before held great appeal for her. Especially when Huang Wei told her she could later share this story with Big Ya and Little Ya—they hadn’t heard it either and would definitely think Huang Chengcheng was amazing for being able to tell such a tale.
Huang Chengcheng desperately wanted to be admired by Big Ya and Little Ya. Especially Big Ya, who was older, more mature and steady—that naturally attracted younger kids. Younger children instinctively crave admiration from older ones, so Huang Chengcheng listened with utmost concentration.
When she heard that Snow White was poisoned by the apple from the wicked stepmother queen, worry spread across Huang Chengcheng’s face. She asked Huang Wei, “But the dwarfs will definitely save Snow White, right?” Huang Wei hesitated a moment before nodding.
In the original story, Snow White was awakened by the Prince’s true love’s kiss. But Huang Chengcheng was still so young, she couldn’t understand what true love’s kiss meant. Moreover, Huang Wei didn’t want to plant the idea in Huang Chengcheng’s mind at such a tender age about a man coming to rescue a woman.
Thinking it over, Huang Wei made some adaptations to the story. In her telling, the dwarfs refused to bury the princess. They tried many methods and managed to wake this princess who had once helped them. After awakening, Snow White realized how wicked the Queen was. She rallied her dwarf and animal friends, defeated the Queen, and ascended the throne to become the ruler. She then transformed the kingdom into a place where humans and nature lived in harmony.
After Huang Wei finished, Huang Chengcheng’s eyes were positively sparkling.
She held the doll up high. “Chengcheng wants to be the Queen of Humans and Nature too!”
That might be a bit difficult. For starters, Huang Family Village barely had any humans. Secondly, apart from the pig and ducks at home, Huang Wei hadn’t seen any other animals so far. Even the black fish today had been freshly killed before reaching her—its tail didn’t so much as twitch.
But Huang Wei didn’t want to shatter a child’s innocent dream. She rubbed Huang Chengcheng’s head and nodded, saying she would definitely achieve it.
After the story, it was time for an afternoon nap.
The family of three went upstairs to the bedroom. Huang Wei changed into a nightgown and lay down on the bed with Cheng Luyun, Huang Chengcheng placed between them. Gently patting Huang Chengcheng, Huang Wei drifted off to sleep. Naps really were such a comfortable thing. Before coming to this world, Huang Wei hadn’t really had any time for naps.
Work filled her world. At most, she’d slump over her desk after eating—that wasn’t a nap, just a brief rest. After arriving in this world, aside from the initial fear and anxiety, now at this point she actually found it much more comfortable than before.
When she woke from the nap, only Cheng Luyun remained in bed. Huang Chengcheng was nowhere to be seen.
Yawning and stretching, Huang Wei asked Cheng Luyun where Huang Chengcheng had gone.
“She went with Big Ya and Little Ya to tell the story you shared today.” Cheng Luyun sat propped against the headboard, holding a book she was leafing through. But Huang Wei noticed that Cheng Luyun’s gaze wasn’t on the book—it was fixed on her.
“What’s wrong?”
Her look made Huang Wei think she had something on her face. She unconsciously reached up to touch her cheek.
Cheng Luyun closed the book. “That story you told today—the second half didn’t match, did it?”
Huang Wei was a little surprised. She hadn’t expected Cheng Luyun to notice. “You could tell?”
“I’m not Chengcheng. Your narration style before she asked that question and after it was completely different. The later part didn’t sound like the original story’s style. Did you improvise it?”
Cheng Luyun truly was different from Huang Chengcheng. Huang Chengcheng was especially easy to fool, falling for it completely. But for Cheng Luyun, all grown-up, to belittle little Huang Chengcheng… that almost made Huang Wei laugh out loud. Holding back her laugh, she nodded. “I didn’t think you’d see through it.”
The complimented big kitty curved her lips upward slightly—this praise clearly pleased Cheng Luyun deeply.
“So what was the original story?”
Huang Wei hesitated. “The original story might not be something you’d prefer.”
“I want to know.”
Since Cheng Luyun said so, how could Huang Wei refuse to tell her? Huang Wei was just a hopeless romantic—whatever Cheng Luyun said, she’d go along with. So she slowly recounted the original ending faithfully. Cheng Luyun’s slightly turned-up lips gradually drooped flat as she listened.
After hearing the full story, Cheng Luyun offered her thoughts. “I think the ending you made up is much better.”
Huang Wei was speechless. “How can you say that? It’s one of the most beloved fairy tales from my world. But perhaps… you’re right. As times have progressed, girls no longer want to wait for a prince to save them. They’d rather break out of the cage themselves.”
Cheng Luyun nodded at this, but after a moment, she grew angry again. Huang Wei didn’t understand at first why Cheng Luyun was upset, but then it hit her: She thinks I’m making a pointed remark about her!
Cheng Luyun’s predicament was just like the poisoned Snow White, lying in a crystal coffin, conveying her wish to Huang Wei, hoping she would save her. According to what Huang Wei had said, Cheng Luyun should act on her own—waiting for rescue was pointless. Huang Wei hurried to soothe her. “But it doesn’t have to be a prince coming to save you. Can’t another princess do it?”
Huang Wei blinked at Cheng Luyun. “This princess is here to save you.”
