Free Web NovelRuyi added firewood to the stove. After it caught fire, she saw Chen Changsheng boil water and wash the wok.
After sweeping everywhere clean inside and out, Chen Changsheng added some lard to the wok. In years past, few families could afford this stuff, but times were better now, so it felt common enough.
As the oil grew hot, he tossed in pickled vegetables and pickled radish.
Sizzle.
Under the hot oil, the tangy aroma instantly filled the air.
Ruyi gulped. Just smelling the pickled greens frying made her feel a bit hungry.
She then watched Uncle Chen add garlic cloves, ginger slices, and other seasonings. The smell became even richer.
Chen Changsheng looked at Ruyi. “Did Ruyi forget to add firewood?”
Ruyi snapped out of it. “Uh-huh!”
Only then did she remember and tossed a large piece of firewood into the stove.
Ruyi looked up. “They say Immortals don’t eat mortal food, yet Uncle Chen is different.”
Chen Changsheng, eyeing the flame, turned to her. “Where do you see an Immortal in me?”
Ruyi glanced over. Uncle Chen held a spatula, his hands slick, probably from handling the wet pickles and radish.
He didn’t seem to mind at all.
Ruyi said, “Books say a gentleman stays clear of the kitchen. Even gentlemen avoid it, let alone an Immortal like Uncle.”
Chen Changsheng shook his head. “About gentleman — he sees animals alive and can’t bear to see them die; he hears their cries and can’t bear to eat their flesh. That’s why he avoids the kitchen. It speaks of compassion, not meaning a gentleman shouldn’t cook.”
Ruyi countered, “But in ‘Discourse of Qi Masters,’ doesn’t it say gentlemen disregard trivial matters, avoid restraints, and thus shun the kitchen to focus on learning?”
Chen Changsheng paused, then chuckled. “Perhaps what I know differs from what Ruyi read.”
“But to me, whether gentleman or Immortal, they’re all human. Both cultivate the mind and body. If they can’t manage such little things, how can they achieve true learning?”
“What about scholars and famous minds throughout history?”
“Have Ruyi seen any with her own eyes?”
“Not really…”
“So you must see it for yourself.”
Chen Changsheng smiled. “Never mind gentlemen or Immortals. I consider myself neither. Since that’s so, why should I heed such ideas?”
Ruyi blinked and, after a long moment, said awkwardly, “Uncle Chen, you’re so twisted…”
“…”
Lihua popped out from a pile of firewood. “What does ‘twisted’ mean?”
Ruyi chuckled. “It’s not a good thing, Lihua. Don’t learn it.”
Lihua blinked. “Then why did Ruyi say it?”
Ruyi patted Lihua’s paw. “Because Ruyi’s not a good person.”
“Then Lihua isn’t a good person either.”
“More like not a good cat.”
“Hmm, a good cat.”
Chen Changsheng sighed, amused. “Don’t corrupt Lihua, please.”
Ruyi said, “I wasn’t wrong! Not being a good person doesn’t mean being bad either. Being just right is the real wisdom.”
She froze.
That vague reasoning felt strangely familiar. Now she used it herself.
Chen Changsheng smiled. “Well said.”
Lihua perched on the firewood pile, glancing left and right. It couldn’t follow their talk about good or bad.
It blinked. “Can we eat yet?”
Both Chen Changsheng and Ruyi turned to stare.
Lihua paused. “Why’s everyone staring at Lihua?”
Ruyi laughed and scooped it into her arms.
Seeing it was ready, Chen Changsheng added water to the wok, then slid in the marinated fish pieces, now cut into chunks.
It wouldn’t be long before they could eat.
The wok bubbled and gurgled.
Hearing the sounds and watching the firelight flicker from the stove, Lihua mimicked softly.
“Gurgle… gurgle… gurgle…”
“What’s Lihua doing?”
“Talking like the pot does. Gurgle, gurgle…”
Ruyi blinked, stroking Lihua’s paw. “Could any cat be as sweet as Lihua?”
Lihua paused. “Is Ruyi not sweet?”
Ruyi thought. “Sweet, but not as sweet as Lihua.”
Lihua turned its gaze toward her, startling Ruyi with its sudden intensity.
Lihua declared flatly,
“Didn’t notice.”
“…”
Chen Changsheng, standing at the stove, burst out laughing.
Ruyi sighed. “Uncle Chen, could you laugh quieter?”
Chen Changsheng suppressed his grin. “Will do next time.”
Ruyi huffed and looked down. “Not a good cat.”
Lihua repeated firmly, “Not a good cat!”
A pause. It tilted its head. “…Is that about Lihua?”
Ruyi sighed again, utterly defeated.
As the lid lifted, fragrance erupted—fish aroma mingling with pickled tang, making mouths water.
Lihua’s eyes sparkled instantly.
“Fish fish fish fish!”
It leaped from Ruyi’s arms, darted to the cabinet, fetched its little bowl with its mouth, and waited for Chen Changsheng to serve it fish.
Very self-aware.
By sunset, two people and a cat sat at the courtyard’s stone table. The cat’s head vanished into its bowl as before. How much had it eaten? Its belly was perfectly round.
Ruyi couldn’t stop praising how delicious the fish was, how utterly delightful. She got carried away, finishing another bowl of rice and several more fish chunks.
Chen Changsheng cherished these ordinary yet extraordinary moments—finding the special in daily life.
Meeting an old man on the street. Noticing something on a billboard. Casual chatter while cooking. And now, in the twilight, a pot of pickled fish stew at the courtyard table.
Beauty isn’t just in famous mountains or rivers in this busy world. Here, there, everywhere—if you look, there’s always something wonderful to discover.
Chen Changsheng felt this was how life gained meaning.
It was this stubborn belief that made him constantly yearn to laze about, no matter the time or place.
Sometimes he truly wished he could stay forever right where he was.
But it was all the same. Stay anywhere too long, and nowhere seemed to want him. Seeking steadiness amid wanderings was its own hardship. So, all he really needed to do was cherish a moment when it came. That was enough.
After eating, Ruyi cleared the dishes.
Chen Changsheng stayed in the courtyard, chatting with Lihua.
Sprawled on its back on the stone table, Lihua groaned, “Lihua ate too much… can’t get up… Good Human Chen, help…”
Chen Changsheng chuckled. “Lazy, aren’t you? Just don’t wanna turn over.”
“Don’t wanna.” Lihua gazed at the sky. “Sky so pretty. Clouds nice.”
A pause. It added, “Kinda like pickled fish stew… yummy.”
Chen Changsheng looked up. A cloud truly resembled a fish.
Seemed Lihua really loved fish stew.
