The galley at the back of the cabin was filled with the sound of pots and pans, and there was a crisp crash at intervals.

Xiao Chu, who was lying on the couch at the bow of the boat, closed his eyes and listened to the movement for a while.

He looked sideways towards the stern of the ship, but the middle was blocked by a hatch, and he couldn't see the rear cabin.

For no reason, there is an expectation in my heart.

I carried a few dishes into the inner cabin and rested them on the table.

"It's time to eat." I shouted into the bow of the boat.

Xiao Chu entered the door, glanced at the tabletop, and said with a smile: "It looks pretty good." ”

"Of course, I don't see who did it." I said proudly.

His chopsticks wandered around between several dishes, and he frowned: "The green vegetables are too old, so they should only be fried with cabbage." ”

"The bamboo shoots are too salty, add too much salt."

"And this fish soup, the fish has been cooked, and the heat is not right."

I looked at him expressionlessly and said, "It's what you just said is pretty good." ”

I remind him!

"Really?" He looked at me and said, "First impressions are sometimes wrong. ”

"You're so picky, you can do it yourself."

"I'm doing it myself, what do I want you to do?"

"You're really impressing."

"How?"

"You are very comfortable lying in the bow of the boat, blowing the wind, I worked hard in the aft cabin to cook a meal, and brought it to you to eat, but you are still picky about this is not good, that is not good!"

"It's not a good job."

I said patiently: "I gave you a very wise advice, it is better for you to do it yourself." ”

"It's not a lot of work to cook for three people, and it's okay if you're idle."

"So what do you do?"

I thought about it, looked up at him and smiled, "I can wash the dishes." ”

"The cutlery used on the ship is porcelain from the official kiln in Dingzhou," Xiao Chu said, holding up a plate, "like this." ”

He tapped softly, making a muffled sound.

"About five taels of silver each."

I opened my mouth and was stunned, bowed my head and said, "Then I don't want to wash the dishes, in case I smash it, I can't afford to pay for it." "You can't cook. What can you do if you can't wash the dishes? “

I thought about it for a while, and said dejectedly: "It seems that there is nothing more that can be done, so it is better for you to throw me off the boat now." ”

Xiao Chu smiled: "It's not nothing, there is one more thing you can do." ”

I looked at him with some confusion.

"As you just said, I'm lying on the bow of the boat blowing the wind, but I want to read a few more books, but I read it by myself, and it's tiring to lie down, so you read it out for me."

I gave him a blank look and said, "Someone sued you." Are you lazy? ”

He looked at me strangely and said, "I'm in the palace, I'm at home." It's always been like this. I spent most of my time in bed every day, and I lived this life for more than ten years, and someone studied for me, and I listened. “

I looked at him speechlessly and said, "Your body is really worse than mine. At least I can still get up, hey, it's kind of sympathetic to what you've suffered in the past ten years, I'll just read it for you. “

The boat sailed through a gorge, and the scenery around me was particularly charming, and I read the words in the book with great emotion, and my eyes looked at the mountains by the river from time to time.

It's a good time for spring, and the wildflowers are blooming on the cliffs. "Mispronounced." Xiao Chu suddenly said in a loud voice, "The meaning of that sentence just now. You have made a conjure. ”

"You pay attention." He laughed.

I turned my face to look at him, he was leaning back on the couch with his eyes closed, and I sat on the deck to read for him.

With a sigh, I withdrew my gaze and continued reading in a louder voice.

The river is open. My voice was heard far and wide.

I flipped through a page, stopped and said, "Xiao Chu, this book is almost over, which one to read next." ”

He bowed his head on the couch and took a copy from the pile of books that was resting beside him, and said, "This one." ”

After reading a few lines, I laughed out loud, Xiao Chu suddenly opened his eyes, looked at me with clear eyes and said, "This book is funny?" ”

"No," I said with a smile, "I happened to hear others talk about the Four Princes in Guanlan, just like the characters in this book, using those words. ”

Xiao Chu's eyes darkened and said, "What's wrong?" “

He lowered his voice and said, "The fourth prince deserves all the praise. “

I looked at him in a daze, and he looked up at me and said, "What's the matter?" "I didn't believe it when I heard it in Guanlan Town, I thought there would be such a person in the world," I said with a grin, "but now, I kind of believe it." “

Xiao Chu looked at me with an inquiring expression. "From your mouth, a person like you has given him such a high evaluation, he is probably a great character." "What does this sound like you're not going to do, what do you call a person like me."

He leaned back on the couch and moved slightly. "Poisonous tongue, picky." I blinked and said, "It's rare to be able to give a good review." “

Xiao Chu didn't smile, he turned his head and looked at me seriously and said, "I don't think he deserves it." "You know him well?" "Sort of." Xiao Chu raised his voice and said, "I found that you were lazy, and you diverted the topic, so keep reading." “

The sky slowly darkened, my voice was almost hoarse, and the wind on the river was stronger, so I closed the book and said, "Don't read it, let's stop here, and continue tomorrow." “

After that, I stood up and prepared to go to the cabin, I sat on the deck for too long, and as soon as I stood up, my leg was numb and painful, and I almost fell, and in an instant, Xiao Chu quickly got up from the couch and surrounded me.

There was a nice smell of freshness mixed with a faint medicinal scent on his body, and I took a breath and looked up to see him looking down at me.

He was tall, a lot taller than me, and it was as if he was holding me in his arms.

I looked at his beautifully curved jaw, and suddenly a thought flashed through me, how could I have seen it somewhere?!" Leg numbness? He whispered. Not by you. “

His body suddenly took off, and the next second he raised his hand to pick me up and walk into the cabin. "That's not good, let me down." "You're not heavy, I can hold it."

He stopped talking, and stubbornly carried me into the cabin and placed me on a chair, my face still uncontrollably red.

coughed, in order to ease the awkward atmosphere at the moment. I found a topic and said, "Who's going to cook dinner?" ”

Xiao Chu took out one of the books from the pile, flipped through a few pages, and took it in his hand to the back cabin.

After waiting for half an hour, I had a meal that tasted and tasted good.

"Wouldn't it be nice if you did it sooner?" I said with satisfaction.

He put down his chopsticks, looked at me in surprise and said, "It's my first time cooking, and I'm not sure if it's delicious or not, so I originally pinned my hopes on you." ”

"For the first time?" I looked at him in disbelief and said, "Could it be that book you just took was that?" ”

"It is the Min Garden Food Classic written by Mr. Min, to put it simply, it is a recipe."

I looked at him in amazement. Then he picked up the spoon and took a sip of the fish soup he had made. There are a lot of fresh fish caught in the river in the bamboo basket near the water behind the boat. This ingredient is used in fish soup made at noon and at night.

I solemnly put down the spoon and looked at him without speaking.

Xiao Chu observed my expression, lowered his head in confusion, he picked up the spoon and followed me to take a sip and said, "Doesn't it taste right?" "It's not. It's so delicious," I laughed, "and it's almost as delicious as Mr. Mu's soup, and I really miss the taste." “

My eyes looked at Xiao Chu for a moment, and I exclaimed: "Retract your previous evaluation of you, you are a person, except for being lazy, boring, and entangled in the relationship between men and women." There are still advantages. “

He laughed and said, "You eat the food I cooked, and say I'm lazy, don't forget that I hired you." "As for boredom," he said, tugging at the corners of his mouth, "I admit it." Yes, there is. "But the relationship between men and women is entangled, where did you get this conclusion?" "I have a hunch that that beauty is about to catch up." "You're a crow's mouth." "Xiao Chu, can you tell me about Yingtian?" After I finished eating, I leaned on the edge of the table and looked at him with my head propped on my elbows and asked. "You've never been to Yingtian City?" He put down the book in his hand and turned to look at me.

His eyes swept to the leftovers on the table, and he frowned and said, "Eat so slowly, clean the table, wash the dishes, and come back to listen to me." “

Before leaving, I confirmed one thing: "Xiao Chu, I don't have to pay for breaking the bowl, right?" ”

"No, you don't." He raised his head and said lightly, "You don't have any money, what do you pay?" ”

"You don't have to lose money if you break a spoon, you break a plate, you don't have to break any piece of porcelain, do you?"

"No," he said, putting down his book, "just be careful." ”

"Alright." I lifted the curtain of the inner cabin, held a pot of tea in my hand, poured a cup for him on the table, and said in a cheerful tone, "Tell me quickly." ”

"Although I came from Yingtian, I have grown so old that I have not been around the city a few times, and several of them have not been able to get out of the carriage."

"What's the fun in that? Isn't it just about walking on the street? ”

"I also thought, the body is not good, what can be done. However, it is good to stay alone at home for a long time, even if it is just to go out in the car and listen to the lively voices of people on the street. "We're kind of alike."

"I am in the valley, there is only the sound of birds every day, where I live, no outsiders come, Mr. Mu saved me, I live with him."

"He is a doctor, and every once in a while he travels over the mountains to the nearest village to exchange some things for the medicine that the mountaineers have prepared."

Xiao Chu listened to me intently, and asked me from time to time, which can be regarded as exchanging such a big life experience with each other

At dawn, our boat arrived at the next stop, which was a larger town than Guanlan, and the wharf along the river was much more lively. "Xiao Chu, are we going to take the land route instead?" I asked him.

After him got into the carriage, Xiao Chu's expression looked very tired, and he said in a low voice: "Let's go to a nearby house for a day first, the carriage also needs to prepare some things, and it will leave tomorrow morning." “