1040 For the Fish

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Qiao Mei was now in the late stages of pregnancy. The Xia family members were so careful that they probably would not let her touch such things. In that case, the fragrance was probably from Xu Lan.

"These plants are all… quite green. Auntie must have taken good care of them," He Ning sang praises against his conscience.

The plants in the Xia family's house had once again died at Xu Lan's hands, although this time, they lasted much longer than the last time. By the time everyone realized there was a problem, the cactuses in the house had either rotted from being given too much water or shriveled up because Xu Lan had forgotten to water them.

They did not know what Qiao Mei did in the past two days to bring these flowers and plants back to life after just two days. Qiao Mei was not spouting nonsense when she said that she knew a lot about flowers and plants. She was really knowledgeable.

He Ning, Xia Wen and Xia He chatted awkwardly. Out of politeness, they did not feel good about leaving He Ning alone in the living room.

Qiao Mei sat in the corner of the kitchen and quietly watched on as the helper did the cooking. The fish was the last dish to make. Qiao Mei had just slaughtered the fish, so it was definitely fresh. However, the smell of blood was making her a little dizzy.

"Mei Mei, why don't you wait outside? There's too much oil and smoke here and it's not good for your health," the helper said worriedly.

"It's fine, Auntie. Our guest is outside and we can't let him find out what's happening. I'm fine," Qiao Mei said with a smile.

The helper did not argue with Qiao Mei and quickly put all the ingredients into the pot. She put the fish in last and then let the pot simmer over low heat. She did all the steps very smoothly and skillfully.

"You can go out now. I'll watch the fire," the helper said.

Qiao Mei slowly walked out of the kitchen and sat down beside Xia He. She smiled at He Ning and said, "Pay me."

He Ning thought that Qiao Mei was asking for the bodyguards outside to deliver the money. He was about to get up to call for them when Qiao Mei stopped him.

"I'm talking about my fish. Don't tell me you think you can eat my fish for free?" Qiao Mei asked.

"Isn't this fish what you're giving me in exchange for my help? Why are you putting a price on it now?" He Ning said.

"I didn't say last night that I'm giving it to you in exchange. You have misunderstood it yourself. This is a fish which the government gave to our family. We can't even bear to take it out," Qiao Mei said with heartache.

Even if it was the one and only fish in the world, He Ning must still eat it today!

"How much?" He Ning said.

Qiao Mei stuck out one finger and smiled at He Ning as she said, "10,000 dollars."

"10,000!!! Are you crazy about money!" He Ning lost his cool and yelled out. Then, he realized that his voice was a little ear-piercing and said softly, "Qiao Mei, your fish is worth at most 100 dollars. It's too much to charge me 10,000 dollars."

Qiao Mei had no intention of changing the price at all. In any case, the money which He Ning brought already belonged to the Xia family. All the people outside had seen He Ning enter the Xia family with their own eyes, so that was good enough. Qiao Mei's wish had already been fulfilled. As for He Ning's wish, he would have to work hard to fulfill it himself.

"1,000 dollars. I don't have that much cash with me today," He Ning said through gritted teeth.

"Deal!" Qiao Mei happily reached out to He Ning for the money. He Ning had no choice but to take out the money from his pocket and give it to Qiao Mei. It was so hard for him to eat this fish!

He Ning was sure that Qiao Mei must have put some kind of magical potion in the fish dish, otherwise he would not be so obsessed with it. After He Ning ate Qiao Mei's fish dish for the first time, he asked all the famous chefs in the capital to come to his house to cook fish for him. He was not satisfied with any of the dishes and he felt that Qiao Mei's dish was the best.

During that month, the stray cats outside his house all gained a lot of weight. They did not even bother about ordinary things and just waited outside the He family's house to scour the trash bags for food that He Ning threw out.

Qiao Mei quickly took the money from He Ning and handed it to Xia He. The two of them started counting the money excitedly.

"You should discipline your younger sister and sister-in-law. Isn't your Xia family's values about living a simple life?" He Ning looked at Xia Wen and questioned him.

"You make it sound like you can control He Mei," Xia Wen rolled his eyes and said mockingly.

He Ning was rendered speechless. He could not even educate his own niece well, so it was true that he did not have any right to lecture Xia Wen.