chapter 6

“Cheng Hui asked me what else I had worth selling besides my blood.

“‘My virginity,’ I said.

“He laughed and said he wasn’t short of women.

“‘My body, then. I can be a drug trial subject,’ I suggested.

“He shook his head; he wasn’t short of those either.

“Finally, he said the only thing he was missing was a ‘wet nurse.'”

You Hua looked incredulous. “A wet nurse?”

I nodded, scooped up the pufferfish meat, placed it on the cutting board, and sliced it with a few quick strokes.

“You heard me right. A wet nurse.

“Human milk is highly nourishing for one’s vital essence and can prolong life. And the milk produced by young virgins through specific medicinal induction is called ‘Immortal Wine.’ It’s even more potent.

“Later, I gradually learned that many powerful people ordered ‘wet nurses’ through Cheng Hui.

“Since I had just turned eighteen, I was considered Grade-A stock, so he kept me for himself. Every day, I had to provide Cheng Hui with at least five hundred milliliters of milk.”

As I spoke, I turned on the gas stove and added water to the pot along with pre-prepared ginger slices, scallion segments, cooking wine, and salt.

His gaze drifted unconsciously to my chest. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard.

To hide his loss of composure, he picked up his cup for the first time and took a sip of tea.

I lowered my eyes and slid the chopped pufferfish into the boiling pot, turning the heat down to a simmer and setting a timer for twenty-five minutes.

“With high-quality ingredients, the best approach is to return to basics. Simmering pufferfish in a clear broth is the best way to bring out its freshness.

“This was the first dish I learned to make after I started following Cheng Hui.”

Money can buy ninety-nine percent of the things in this world. No matter how perverted the profession of a “wet nurse” might be, plenty of young girls were eager to do it.

If I wanted to last, I had to be different from them.

You Hua questioned me again. “As far as I know, Cheng Hui doesn’t like pufferfish. It was his late wife who enjoyed it.”

“That’s what Cheng Hui said at the time, too. But it’s different once you add milk.”

I poured a small bowl of milk into the pot, and the broth turned visibly white.

I spoke with deep meaning, and the tips of his ears instantly turned red.

“Don’t worry, I used cow’s milk for today’s pufferfish stew,” I said with a light chuckle.

At my laugh, the red on his ears deepened. He poured himself another cup of tea and drank it down, gulp after gulp, with his head lowered.

At this point, I was essentially certain that in twenty-five minutes, he would definitely take a bite of my pufferfish.

Because men like him, who lacked maternal love since childhood, have an extraordinary obsession with anything maternal.

Just like… Cheng Hui.