Concubine Xu laughed and said, “Well, I see. You should go to rest earlier.”
With that said, Yin Hui left.
After she left, four rough women brought in the water tank, which contained about twenty sea bass nearly two feet long, all of which were swimming happily.
The transportation of sea fish was more troublesome than river fish. Even if the taste was equally delicious, sea fish was several times more expensive than rare river fish. Moreover, sea fish was difficult to raise and could not be stored for long. One must have to eat it quickly in the next few days, or they would die.
King Yan liked fish, so Princess Xu decided to send one fish to each courtyard in the mansion, and send the rest to King Yan’s kitchen.
“Princess, such a large sea bass is sold for one thousand eight hundred taels of silver, right?” After the maids left, the confidant of Concubine Xu said in a low voice.
Concubine Xu: “Almost, if you sell it in the capital, it will be more expensive.”
The Mama said, “The Yin family is really rich. When the third lady went to her natal home, the Yin family spent a thousand taels of silver. It can be seen that the old man loves his granddaughter very much.”
Concubine Xu thought of the two million taels of military supplies that the Yin family “voluntarily” donated. For such a wealthy family, what was a gift of a thousand taels of silver?
The third master married the daughter of the Yin family, and he lost face and gained benefits. Different people had different opinions on how to measure gains and losses.
After Yin Hui bid farewell to Princess Xu, she went to Mrs. Wen.
Mrs. Wen was surprised that her daughter-in-law came back so early, “Why didn’t you stay longer?”
Yin Hui smiled and said, “I am very satisfied that I was able to go back and see my grandfather, so I dare not stay too long. By the way, grandfather is very grateful to you. He heard that you like chrysanthemums, so he specially picked this picture of autumn chrysanthemums and asked me to give it to you.”
She held the precious masterpiece in both hands and gave it to Mrs. Wen.
Mrs. Wen was born in a farming family, and her knowledge was incomparable to that of Yin Hui, so she had never heard of any masters of calligraphy and painting. After opening that painting, she only felt that the chrysanthemums in the painting were lifelike, conveying a self-forgetful charm. She also went to look at the inscription on the scroll, but she didn’t recognize it.
“Ah Hui, isn’t this painting expensive?” Mrs. Wen asked in a low voice.
Yin Hui: “It’s not expensive. The most important part about a painting is that it can be passed on to those who like to appreciate it. Although my grandfather likes to collect calligraphy and paintings, he doesn’t have time to appreciate them. Therefore, it’s just right for you.”
Mrs. Wen sighed softly, “I don’t know how to appreciate it, I just look at the surface.”
When her brother was young, he wanted to take the imperial examination, so there were some books in their house. She once tried to study to read and write with him, but she only learned superficially, and was a bit better than ordinary village women. It was hard to have elegant handwriting.
Yin Hui thought for a while, and asked, “I understand it a little bit, so I can tell you about this painting.”
Mrs. Wen immediately became happy, like a studious student who met his wife with a look of longing.
Yin Hui was amused by her mother-in-law’s expression. She had become a grandmother, but her temperament was still innocent and simple.
As for Yin Hui herself, she studied with the famous masters hired by her grandfather since she was a child. She was proficient in all kinds of poems, songs, piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and even learned a set of women’s swords skills. It was not that she herself was hardworking and studious, but that her grandparents loved her too much, and the Yin family was so rich that they didn’t need money . Yin Hui’s interests also changed from time to time. For example, when she was seven years old, she liked reading, so she learned more from the teacher who taught her. When she was eight years old, she wanted to learn sword fighting. When she became sensible, she could study everything seriously.
There were seven or eight female teachers in the family. Until Yin Hui was about to get married, those who were not needed by the cousin left happily with generous rewards.
“Ah Hui, you know a lot.”
After listening to Yin Hui’s explanation, Mrs. Wen just felt that she didn’t want her to finish talking. Her daughter-in-law was beautiful and her voice was soft and pleasant.
Yin Hui smiled, and just as she was about to leave, Princess Xu sent a sea bass over. So she asked Mrs. Wen, “There are many ways to eat sea bass, steamed, braised, fried, how do you like to eat?”
Mrs. Wen swallowed, “I am used to eating braised fish in soy sauce. Ah Hui, what do you think is better?”
Yin Hui smiled and said, “We have different tastes, so I can’t say which is better, but I prefer grilled fish. I will let the kitchen grill fish.”
Mrs. Wen asked, “How to grill?”
She was not a very picky eater. She usually ate what the kitchen cooked, and when she encountered something that didn’t suit her appetite, her servant would tell the kitchen and she would not eat it in the future.
Yin Hui was a foodie and knew how to do it, so she asked the maid to prepare a paper and pen, and she wrote down the recipes of grilling fish on the paper.
“Ah Hui, your hands are beautiful, and your handwriting is also beautiful.”
Mrs. Wen sat beside her, watching her daughter-in-law write on the rice paper, and the words of praise came out without thinking.
Who made her daughter-in-law really versatile?
Yin Hui was in a better mood after being praised. In her previous life, Mrs. Wen was easy to get along with. Now that she went back in time, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had more fun getting along with each other.
“Let the kitchen make it tonight. If the kitchen doesn’t make it well, next time I will ask someone to prepare it and bring it to you.”
Yin Hui said carefully when leaving.
Mrs. Wen’s heart got warm, and she sent her daughter-in-law to the gate of Jinghao Hall before turning back.