Chapter 63

Chapter 63: When did I develop such patience?

Was it not intentional?

Of course…

It was intentional.

Before the apocalypse, she was busy studying, earning scholarships, just surviving.

After the apocalypse, she was busy fighting, gathering resources, just surviving.

Du Yinsui didn’t have much experience in comforting others, nor did she have the time or energy to get deeply involved in others’ lives.

This led to her struggling when Jiang Wu’s thoughts drifted toward pain, and she found herself unable to offer effective words of comfort.

However, Du Yinsui found her own way.

Wasn’t it just burnt, salty, bitter, damp, and moldy… a rather unpleasant scent of anger, sadness, and anxiety?

As long as she let the pleasant scents prevail, wouldn’t that cover it up?

Anyway… that aura was always strong enough, so she just gave it a little push when it seemed to weaken.

Really, just a small touch, a seemingly accidental brush, a slightly longer gaze, or even feeding a small pine nut—all could instantly lift that slightly bitter, sweet and sour feeling.

Though secretly liking someone wasn’t exactly a great thing, it was much better than being eaten up by old anger and sadness from over a decade ago, right?

Du Yinsui hoped that Jiang Wu could, at least, pick a slightly better unhappiness among many unhappy ones.

But Jiang Wu’s affections were too easily stirred…

Du Yinsui even felt a pang of guilt.

Long before they reached Shuzhou, Du Yinsui had thought hard about whether she was letting Jiang Wu drink poison to quench thirst.

But… didn’t she stop walking alone?

By not leaving, wasn’t she less like poison?

But wasn’t a love with no future still poison?

The thoughts wrestled in her mind, leaving Du Yinsui confused for a long time.

Until one night, just after they entered Shuzhou, when they were still finding places outdoors to rest.

Jiang Wu had another nightmare, and Du Yinsui, almost without thinking, did the usual things: held him down, woke him up, and soothed him with soft words.

In the end, a comforted Jiang Wu blushed and curled back under the blankets to sleep.

But Du Yinsui lay there, staring at the starry sky, unable to fall asleep for hours.

When did I develop such patience?

The sudden realization nearly frightened Du Yinsui.

Even though it was a secret affection that might never come out, it was still a kind of "plan".

During the apocalypse, meeting someone like him, she would stay far away, or fight them off if she couldn’t avoid it. Of course, the vibe from those people wasn’t the gentle warmth of secret affection.

Yet… however gentle, it still meant they wanted to be with her?

Care when she was unconscious, the help of pushing the cart, those grimy buns…

She was sure she had repaid those debts long ago.

Why?

Why was she woken up in the middle of the night, not angry at all, only hoping the person beside her would quickly escape the nightmare and sleep soundly again?

Du Yinsui wasn’t a fool.

Maybe because she had always planned to leave alone or was busy teaching others survival skills.

She had never thought about it that way before; she just hadn’t considered it…

She didn’t dislike it; she even found it funny, comforting, and nice.

This was the first time Du Yinsui felt this way, but once the thought lightly touched her mind, it became clear.

Trying to trace back, she couldn’t remember when her heart started feeling like this.

Was it stirred by the steady scent of daily choices, or even earlier…?

That night, under the starry sky, she smelled the faint bitter-sweetness from the sleeping person next to her and wondered what her own scent might be.

Sadly, like a healer who can’t heal themselves, Du Yinsui couldn’t smell her own emotions.

But… Du Yinsui guessed it must be sweet.

After all, her sharp sense of smell told her that the person she liked secretly liked her back.

Hmm… compared to that, Jiang Wu was unlucky because he couldn’t tell she liked him too.

Understanding her feelings, Du Yinsui was still stuck, not knowing what to do next due to inexperience.

Truly awkward.

This awkwardness carried on into Shuzhou, awkwardly as they began studying, awkwardly…

Spicy shrimp, sweet-and-sour shrimp, salty shrimp…

After handing in the ten calligraphy sheets Jiang Wu had written for her, everyone was at the dinner table.

Soon after sitting down, her bowl was piled high with peeled shrimp.

"You should eat too," Du Yinsui said, peeling a shrimp for Jiang Wu, rolling it in thick sauce, and putting it in his bowl.

As for him smelling sweet-and-sour now, with no sign of distress… so what! She felt like peeling, so she did!

"You eat too," Jiang Wu peeled a sweet-and-sour shrimp for Du Yinsui, dipped it in sauce, and placed it in her bowl. "Didn’t you want shrimp a few days ago? But we had no tools to catch any on the road. Let’s look tomorrow morning before we leave and see if we can buy a small fishnet."

Chu Xiulan, peeling shrimp for the little one who was drooling and struggling to eat it, chuckled, figuring out why it was an all-shrimp meal.

"Now we can enter towns and cities. We can buy what we want with silver; no need to fish or hunt ourselves." Du Yinsui picked up her chopsticks and started eating the shrimp Jiang Wu had peeled for her.

Besides what they took from robbers, selling some ginseng in Dingchuan City earned them a lot. They still had a small bundle of ginseng in the carriage, unsold, so they had plenty of silver to buy anything.

Oh, Jiang Wu realized this too, his hands pausing slightly as he peeled shrimp.

The money came from Du Yinsui turning the tables on robbers. The ginseng was found by Du Yinsui…

In short, all the silver was earned by Du Yinsui. If they didn’t need to hunt anymore, what was his purpose?

He… well, he had just gotten good at hunting.

As Du Yinsui ate her shrimp, she suddenly noticed the scent beside her had changed, sourness now stronger than sweetness. What was he thinking about now?!

"What’s wrong?" Du Yinsui put down her chopsticks, peeled another shrimp for Jiang Wu, glanced at the others at the table, and placed it in Jiang Wu’s bowl instead of feeding it to him.

"I…" Jiang Wu hesitated, then said, "Those paintings in the palace signed as bamboo and pines—I thought I took them out secretly at first. But now I realize the Emperor probably knew. I can paint in other styles; I don’t need to use that name to sell paintings."

Du Yinsui understood he was upset because he didn’t want to rely on others.

"Alright, if not bamboo and pines, you can be Shrimp Master," Du Yinsui said, chewing slowly on a shrimp. "Money—you can never have too much. After we leave Shuzhou for Yuzhou, we’ll find a spot to sell your paintings. When we earn money, we’ll have another shrimp feast."

Chu Xiulan, quickly peeling shrimp for the little one, thought, "Still more to eat!"

"Shrimp… Master…" Qin Chongli muttered, finding his own shrimp less tasty. "Must it be such a name?"

"Well, not really—" Du Yinsui had said it casually.

"It’s fine, just Shrimp Master," Jiang Wu affirmed.

Chu Xiulan closed her eyes, thinking, "Oh heavens, what a pushover!"

Unable to accept it, Chu Xiulan absentmindedly stuffed the peeled shrimp into her own mouth.

A soft plop—the little one’s drool fell nearby.

Qin Chongli was the most opposed. "Bamboo and pines" was so elegant, but Du Yinsui turned it into Shrimp Master! Jiang Wu might as well be "Lard Master," with lard clouding his mind!

Qin Chongli’s hand shook with anger, trembling so much the shrimp he held dropped back into his bowl. Finally, he glared at Du Yinsui: "Finish eating and write ten more pages of calligraphy!"

"Oh, alright," Du Yinsui said, fearlessly biting into a large shrimp since she had a hired writer.

Jiang Wu, who had just finished ten pages, thought, "…"

Freed from days of rough living and foraging, Jiang Wu’s idea to become Shrimp Master appealed to the others too.

After all, no one wanted to be a freeloader.

To repay Du Yinsui for all she had done, they felt they must earn money so she could enjoy shrimp feasts daily.

Chu Xiulan, always interested in Du Yinsui’s "perfume" idea, saw the chance to buy supplies in towns and experiment. Du Yinsui agreed, suggesting that if they started a business in Jin Kingdom, they could offer custom scents—another way to make money.

With Du Yinsui’s support, Chu Xiulan felt eager to skip past Yuzhou and Yizhou and reach Jin Kingdom fast.

By then, her brother and sister-in-law should have arrived in Jin Kingdom with her secret letter, and the Chu family’s trade would find its place there.

Inspired by the perfume plan, Qin Haoyang, who knew many of Du Yinsui’s recipes by heart, raised his hand to become a "master chef." He wanted to earn money so everyone could have three tables of shrimp dishes daily.

Becoming a chef wasn’t urgent due to his age and their constant travel, but his drive was good. Du Yinsui suggested starting with "spice" blend experiments on the way—a faster, easier money-maker than cooking.

The boy calmed down happily.

Qin Chongli scratched his chin, eyeing another child who could count to two hundred but didn’t grasp earning money.

Halfway through the shrimp feast, only the smallest clueless one and himself were freeloading.

This wouldn’t do!

Unlike Jiang Wu, who learned quickly and adapted, Qin Chongli struggled. His paintings and calligraphy were famous in the Capital, but his decades-old style was rigid.

As a scholar, he couldn’t sell art for cash. Teaching, writing letters, or advising didn’t fit their situation.

Qin Chongli felt so troubled he couldn’t eat shrimp, worried almost to baldness.

The gloomy mood spoiled the shrimp’s fresh smell, so Du Yinsui reassured him: "Teacher, you paint faster than Jiang Wu with your skill. I’ll give you some designs later; you can make more for perfume or spice packaging. After selling, we’ll pay you per design used."

"What kind of designs?" Qin Chongli asked eagerly, ignoring why age meant speed.

"Um, like this," Du Yinsui said, pulling out a charcoal stick.

Qin Chongli quickly handed over papers from his sleeve.

Du Yinsui stared at her own calligraphy paper, paused, then drew a Q-version cat head on the back. "Something like this."

"Simple lines, quick to draw," Qin Chongli nodded.

"Use charcoal. It’s fast," Du Yinsui suggested, waving the stick.

Qin Chongli froze, "…"

Was this payback for banning her charcoal use?