Ch 15: Guide to Feeding a Villainous Husband

Lamb Soup

To Qin Xia, winter is the season for hot soup.

On his way home after closing the stall, he passed by a butcher shop and happened to find some excellent lamb.

A restaurant had commissioned the butcher to slaughter a sheep, taking most of it, leaving the rest on the cutting board for sale.

When Qin Xia arrived, the meat was still steaming.

He bought some leg of lamb, planning to make a pot of soup with white radish at home, and maybe pull some noodle pieces into it.

Back at home, after putting down their things, the two of them naturally walked into the main room.

“Da Fu!”

The first thing Yu Jiuque did after entering was to open the straw cage and let Da Fu out.

The hay inside was somewhat soiled, but bird droppings don’t have much of a smell, so it was easy to clean.

Qin Xia took over and brought the dirty hay to the kitchen, stuffing it directly into the stove.

When he returned, Da Fu, the goose, was already sitting proudly on Yu Jiuque’s lap.

“You’re spoiling it,” Qin Xia said helplessly.

Although they had intended to raise the goose as a pet, seeing how clingy it was, he feared it wouldn’t be easy to manage when it grew up.

Yu Jiuque stroked Da Fu’s feathers, his eyes curving into a crescent moon.

“After all, Da Fu is different from a healthy gosling. We hand-fed it, so maybe it’s more understanding, right, Da Fu?”

Strangely enough, as soon as Yu Jiuque finished speaking, Da Fu responded with a couple of soft “chirps,” as if it was acting cute.

When Qin Xia reached out to pet it, Da Fu, being considerate, nudged its head into his hand as well.

“Well, well, could it be that it’s actually becoming sentient?”

Before this, he never imagined that a goose could make such endearing noises.

“Do your best—if you learn to go potty in a designated spot, we might just allow you inside the house when you’re grown.”

Qin Xia, in a tone of gentle admonishment, tapped the goose’s head with his finger.

Whenever someone was home, the now lively Da Fu would follow either Qin Xia or Yu Jiuque around like a shadow, often almost getting stepped on.

With no other choice, Yu Jiuque reluctantly put it back in its cage.

Afterward, he gathered a few dirty clothes and placed them in a wooden basin. As he lifted it, he called out to Qin Xia, who was in the kitchen, “Husband, I’m going to the river to wash clothes.”

Qin Xia was slicing the lamb when he heard this, and he disapproved, “Why go to the river? The water’s so cold. Just wash them at home, and I’ll help.”

But Yu Jiuque didn’t listen to him.

Washing clothes required a lot of water, and their house was far from the alley’s well. Every time, Qin Xia had to make several trips to fill the water tank, whereas going to the river meant no such trouble.

Didn’t everyone in the neighborhood go to the river? It’s close, so why not go?

“I’ve already arranged to meet Madam Cao from the Wei family across the way.”

Since Yu Jiuque put it this way, Qin Xia didn’t object any further.

“Be careful by the river; it’s slippery.”

Yu Jiuque nodded at his reminder.

When he stepped outside, he found that Cao A’shuang was already waiting for him in the alley.

“Sister Shuang,” Yu Jiuque greeted her, and the two of them headed to the river together.

Cao A’shuang was a new wife in the Wei family, about the same age as Yu Jiuque, maybe a little younger.

Since both of them were newcomers to Furong Alley, they had become acquainted after washing clothes together at the river last time.

Cao A’shuang was petite and lively, getting along well with Yu Jiuque.

After walking a while, Yu Jiuque heard Cao A’shuang quietly ask him, “When I was waiting at your gate, I heard your husband talking to you. Was he not letting you go out?”

Yu Jiuque was slightly taken aback and explained, “He didn’t want me to go wash clothes at the river because it’s cold, but I thought it would use too much water at home, and I told him I had arranged to meet you, so he agreed.”

Cao A’shuang clicked her tongue in surprise.

“So that’s it. I thought he was scolding you.”

Yu Jiuque couldn’t help but laugh, thinking how Qin Xia never even raised his voice, let alone scolded him.

“Why did you think that?”

Cao A’shuang smiled awkwardly.

“Oh, it’s nothing… let’s hurry up, or those good stones by the river will be taken by others!”

Seeing this, Yu Jiuque could only pick up his pace to catch up.

In the kitchen, Qin Xia cut the lamb into small pieces.

Good lamb meat is visibly good—the white is white, the red is red, and only freshly slaughtered lamb has this kind of color. The cold storage meat commonly seen during modern times was dull and dark.

With good meat, making a good pot of lamb soup doesn’t require much complexity.

As long as the ingredients are fresh, you don’t need many fancy techniques to cover up any flaws in the food.

For instance, with this lamb, Qin Xia resolutely skipped the blanching step and put it directly into the pot with cold water.

This reminded him of a conversation he had with a friend in the past.

That friend had tasted Qin Xia’s lamb soup and found it extraordinary, puzzled as to why they couldn’t replicate the same taste at home.

Qin Xia asked about the steps, and the friend started by saying they soaked the meat to remove the blood, then blanched it.

Qin Xia had immediately interrupted him, saying that from the first step, it was already wrong.

If the meat is good, such treatment would turn even good meat into “dead meat.”

In contrast, Qin Xia’s method of cooking lamb soup could be summed up in four words: simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

After putting the lamb in cold water, he didn’t add too much water—just enough to cover the lamb by the height of a finger.

There’s a saying among cooks: “A slow simmer keeps the broth clear, a high boil makes it white.”

The best lamb soup is milky white, so you start with high heat, bringing the water to a bubbling boil.

The next essential step is skimming off the foam.

For the inexperienced, this step can be quite tricky—spending ages with a ladle only to scatter the foam, making the broth even cloudier.

But for someone as skilled as Qin Xia, a quick flick of the wrist with the ladle cleaned the foam off completely.

Next, he reduced the heat to a simmer, and now he could take a break.

This pot of soup would need to simmer for at least an hour. After adjusting the stove’s heat, Qin Xia turned his attention to preparing the filling for the starch sausages he’d need the next day.

Later, when Yu Jiuque returned from washing clothes, they would stuff the sausages together.

Meanwhile, at the riverside, a group of women and Ge’er had already started quarreling.

And the cause of the commotion was, surprisingly, related to their household.

“Bah! Do you really think you’re something special? Shuang’er, let me give you some advice—stay away from that Jiu Ge’er. You’re the wife of a respectable family, and if you associate with someone like him, who was bought from the slae market by that scoundrel Qin Xia, who knows what he did before, you’ll ruin your reputation!”

The spit from these words landed like a nail in front of Yu Jiuque. The quarrel had started simply because he and Shuang’er arrived early and found two smooth stones by the river to wash their clothes on.

But then a middle-aged Ge’er and two women arrived and were upset, claiming that those stones were always theirs to use.

Yu Jiuque and Cao A’shuang had never encountered such unreasonable people before, so they tried to argue using the principle of “first come, first served.”

But this only fueled the fire, and the three immediately began spitting insults.

Yu Jiuque calmly tried to reason with them, but there’s no reasoning with those who refuse to be reasonable.

Cao A’shuang was so angry that she put her hands on her hips to speak up for him. When the others wouldn’t relent, one of them said the above insult that directly hit Yu Jiuque’s sore spot.

“How… how can you speak like this!”

Cao A’shuang was shocked by their outrageous words. Everyone knows that for a Ge’er, reputation is everything, and these words were a direct attack on Yu Jiuque’s honor!

“Jiu Ge’er, let’s go!”

She was still young and inexperienced, so her first instinct was to avoid further conflict. If they stayed, who knows what else these people might say, and Yu Jiuque’s reputation could really be ruined!

But when she tried to pull him away, he didn’t move.

She tried again, but he still didn’t budge.

When Cao A’shuang looked back, she saw that Yu Jiuque’s face was cold, and he hadn’t moved an inch.

“Jiu Ge’er…”

Cao A’shuang gave him a meaningful look, and Yu Jiuque understood her concern, but he was unwilling to back down.

He had forgotten his past, not even remembering what kind of person he used to be.

But that didn’t stop him from believing that he had never been someone who would let others push him around.

Especially when these people had insulted Qin Xia.

He didn’t know these three, but it was clear they were from Furong Alley, likely people who had watched Qin Xia grow up.

Their words made it obvious—they looked down on Qin Xia, and even more so on him.

“Shuang’er, just stay where you are.”

After telling this to Cao A’shuang, Yu Jiuque bent down towards his washbasin.

The foul-mouthed middle-aged Ge’er thought Yu Jiuque was finally going to gather his things and leave, making way for them. He strutted forward with his washbasin, still talking, “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave quickly. If I were you, I’d have hanged myself with a rope after being sold at the slave market, instead of having the nerve to marry and become a main husband!”

He was feeling smug, thinking he had silenced the two young people, but then he heard a scream from one of the women behind him.

Before he could figure out what caused the scream, there was a blur in front of his eyes, followed by a loud crash!

The next thing the middle-aged Ge’er knew, his hands were empty, and when he looked down, his legs went weak.

Yu Jiuque had taken a laundry stick and smashed his washbasin to the ground, scattering the clothes everywhere and shattering the sturdy wooden basin into pieces.

This showed just how much force the young Ge’er in front of him had used!

If that blow had landed on him instead…

The middle-aged Ge’er didn’t dare think further, his face turning pale as a sheet.

“What are you doing! Are you trying to kill someone? Help! Murder!”

The middle-aged Ge’er tried to shout, but fear had taken hold of him, and the sound was stuck in his throat, barely making it out.

Looking at the Qin family’s husband in front of him, he saw that those eyes were filled with a cold, chilling light.

Yu Jiuque advanced step by step.

“Didn’t you say I should hang myself with a rope? Well, let me tell you, even if I were to hang myself, I’d drag a gossiping ghost down with me before I go!”

The middle-aged Ge’er, now in a panic, stumbled backward, causing the two women with him to retreat as well.

They continued to retreat until the middle-aged Ge’er tripped over a stone by the riverbank and fell hard onto the ground.

The two women wanted to help him up but were too frightened to dare.

Yu Jiuque’s eyes remained calm and indifferent.

“My life is worthless, but I advise you all to think twice before speaking in the future. Consider whether you can afford the consequences.”

Seeing that Yu Jiuque was clearly someone with nothing to lose and reckless courage, those who only dared to take advantage with their words didn’t dare to speak further.

The Ge’er, now terrified, left his clothes behind as the two women hurriedly helped him up. In their panic, they fled the riverbank and disappeared down the alleyway.

Yu Jiuque exhaled heavily.

He should have felt a sense of relief after venting his anger, but as soon as his shoulders relaxed, a familiar dizziness overtook him again.

With a clang, the wooden stick in his hand fell to the ground, and Yu Jiuque, unable to stay on his feet, collapsed forward.

“Jiu Ge’er!”

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