Chapter 19 - Mustn’t Skimp on the Gifts (2/2)

Xue Dongting nodded and said no more.

Song Yuming looked at his little wife’s gentle, demure face. “Do you feel any better today?”

“All better… I’ll go cook something hot.”

Song Yuming quickly stopped her. “It’s cold in the kitchen, I’ll do it.”

Xue Dongting smiled. “I’m already well, how delicate do you think I am?” She went out.

He laughed and went to the kitchen with her. She cooked while he loaded more wood into the fire.

Xue Dongting happened to look at him, the flames lighting up his cheeks, the lines of his face sharp and distinct. He gazed into the fire, his eyes glowing.

She asked him off-hand, “So you found that dragon saliva incense on a little island?”

Song Yuming nodded. “Yes. Last year I went out to sea and picked it up off this little deserted island.”

She listened to him say that like it was nothing, but going out to sea alone, he must have run into many dangers. She remembered the oil lamp in the bedroom and asked, “So the lamp in the bedroom uses whale oil?”

“Mm”, he said. “When I went out to sea there was a beached whale on the island. If I had not had that whale meat to eat I likely wouldn’t have survived to make it back. Before I left I filled a jug with whale oil paste and put it in the cellar. I’ve been burning it for over a year and still haven’t used it all. It burns a lot longer than regular oil.”