However, fortunately, Gu Chaobei's condition had been normal these past few days, putting his family at ease.
As the family of doctors, Gu Qingcheng and Hu Lanfang had received basic medical knowledge. By the sixth day, seeing that Gu Chaobei was still unharmed, the mother and daughter's worries significantly lessened.
If he was fine for so many days, he was basically fine.
Hu Lanfang even considered breaking the rules and letting Gu Chaobei out to walk around the ship and get some fresh air.
It made sense; being confined in a small room, even with all the amenities, for six days would drive anyone mad.
But Gu Chaobei insisted, stating he wanted to complete the final day of isolation and would only come out on the seventh day.
With only one day left until Gu Chaobei could be released from quarantine, the atmosphere on the ship had already become noticeably lighter.
To celebrate the upcoming victory, Hu Lanfang personally decided to make a Three Cup Chicken.
This was Gu Chaobei's favorite dish and the only one she could cook well.
With her mother in such a good mood, Gu Qingcheng naturally wouldn't dampen her spirits and would cooperate fully.
However, for Three Cup Chicken, fresh chicken was best. Gu Qingcheng only had frozen chicken in the storage cabinet, not live ones.
Just as Gu Qingcheng was in a dilemma, Hu Lanfang suddenly produced a live hen from the very corner of a bathroom.
Seeing this, Gu Qingcheng was astonished and asked, "Mom, you've kept this bathroom locked all this time; it turns out you were raising a chicken? When did you get a live chicken on the ship? I didn't even notice."
Hu Lanfang chuckled and said, "When we boarded the ship from Cliff Mountain that day, the chickens we raised in our backyard ran out. I casually grabbed two and brought them onto the ship."
"Two? So that means there's another one?"
Gu Qingcheng couldn't help but laugh. What was her mother secretly raising chickens for? And not telling them.
Hu Lanfang was a little embarrassed and mumbled to herself, "Hehe, yes, there's one more. I was bored and wanted to raise a few chickens for fun. I was afraid you two would find them smelly and dirty and wouldn't let me. But I clean them every day, the bathroom isn't dirty at all."
"I give up on you. But no matter how smelly a chicken is, it can't compare to that terrifying stench from outside. As long as you clean regularly, it's fine."
Gu Qingcheng could only "magnanimously" agree, albeit with feigned reluctance.
She didn't have the nerve to oppose anything her mother decided to do.
Indeed, the older people get, the more they become like children.
Raising live chickens on a ship?
You truly live and learn!
The "aged" Hu Lanfang was quite adept at preparing the chicken. She slit its throat, bled it, plucked its feathers, and removed its entrails, quickly cleaning the bird.
Then she began making the Three Cup Chicken. Once it was done, she let Gu Qingcheng and Mi Guo taste it first.
This was actually a display of pride. Everyone knew she wasn't a great cook, but this dish was her secret recipe, and only by eating it at this moment would they praise her.
Growing up, Gu Qingcheng could only eat it once a year, on Gu Chaobei's birthday.
No matter what delicious food or drinks the family prepared, this Three Cup Chicken was always present, showcasing Hu Lanfang's love. So, in Gu Qingcheng's memory, eating Three Cup Chicken was like consuming her parents' affection, and it tasted especially good.
Upon tasting it, Gu Qingcheng found it was still the same excellent flavor as in the past.
Gu Qingcheng gave a thumbs-up and praised, "Familiar recipe, familiar taste."
Hu Lanfang said beaming, "Of course, it's delicious. To learn to make this dish back then, I even apprenticed myself to a chef at a five-star hotel and paid him a hundred yuan for the lessons."
"Mom, why were you so determined to learn this dish?"
Gu Qingcheng, being young at the time, had been too shy to ask. Now, having grown up and reached this point, she felt more like a friend to her parents and had the courage to ask.
Hu Lanfang recounted the story: "When your father and I were dating, he was more mature than me and took great care of me, showering me with attention, which deeply moved me.
So, I wanted to do something that would leave a lasting impression on him.
But your father came to university from the countryside, and I felt he wasn't from a wealthy background. He disliked all sorts of external luxuries and cautioned me against wasting money. After much thought, I finally decided to learn to cook a dish he loved.
You see, even if I spent money to learn, I wouldn't lose out, would I? The skill would be mine for life. That way, your father wouldn't criticize me!
Your father's favorite dish was Three Cup Chicken, so I found the best chef at the best hotel in town and learned it from him."
"So that's how it was. Mom, you were truly thoughtful."
Gu Qingcheng finally understood the reason for her parents' enduring love.
They were both willing to make sacrifices for each other.
Hu Lanfang continued, saying that on Gu Chaobei's birthday, he indeed got to eat the Three Cup Chicken as she had wished. Gu Chaobei had never eaten such delicious food made by Hu Lanfang, and he was deeply touched.
Love isn't measured by how much someone says they love you, but by how much they are willing to do for you.
From that day on, their relationship rapidly deepened, leading to their marriage and having children.
Listening, Gu Qingcheng suddenly felt that her own fate had been decided by this dish. If not for this dish, perhaps her parents wouldn't have ended up together, and she wouldn't exist.
Gu Qingcheng looked at the dish and suddenly let out a soft chuckle.
Hu Lanfang couldn't have imagined that Gu Qingcheng's thoughts could wander so far.
After recounting the past, she took the dish upstairs to Gu Chaobei's cabin.
Upon receiving the familiar dish in his cabin, Gu Chaobei couldn't help but ask through the cabin door, "Lanfang, where did you get live chicken?"
Gu Chaobei asked this because the secret to making this dish taste its best was to slaughter the chicken fresh; frozen chicken wouldn't do.
Hu Lanfang then sheepishly confessed that she had hidden two live chickens.
Unexpectedly, Gu Chaobei became very excited. He asked Hu Lanfang to bring the live chicken to him, saying he wanted to share a room with it.
Hu Lanfang was stunned. If she could have entered his room, she would have felt his forehead to check for a fever.
"Old Gu, if you're bored, I can come in and stay with you. Why do you need a chicken?"
Gu Chaobei heard this and felt a mix of amusement and helplessness. His wife thought he had gone mad from being confined for too long.
He quickly replied, "No, I want to conduct a live experiment to see if living animals get infected by the virus when they are with me."
In truth, viruses rarely transmitted between species, but one couldn't be entirely sure. This era was different from the one he had lived in before.
Moreover, lying in bed alone and lost in thought, he recalled that while treating Prince Xia, he had inadvertently glimpsed a maid carrying a dead rabbit out of Prince Xia's bedroom.
At the time, he hadn't paid much attention, but the more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed. What was the rabbit for?
He had never heard of Prince Xia keeping pet rabbits.
And even if the Princess wanted one for the children to play with, the Princess and children weren't in the cabin.