Chapter 10: 10

Qi Yun’s body was weak and the internal heat in his body hadn’t cleared, so he couldn’t casually leave the house. Instead, he took advantage of this time to organize the ledger books. 

It’s common for a doctor to check his pulse every three days, and Ye Jiao also watched over him every day. She didn’t dare sleep with him though.

For a time, Qi Yun didn’t take the initiative to visit Liu Shi [1]. However, Ye Jiao went to Liu Shi’s yard every morning after eating breakfast.

Although the Little Ginseng didn’t quite understand the usefulness of meeting and chatting every day, since Fang Shi went daily, she felt that this was part of being a daughter-in-law. Thus, she also went.

What Ye Jiao didn’t know was that Fang Shi originally didn’t visit every day.

Normally, Fang Shi had to take care of her own business [2]. Eldest Son Qi Zhao was now in charge of the village’s affairs, and he usually left early and returned late at night. Fang Shi took care of their son and Qi Zhao was also very busy.

It’s just that winter was coming. Fang Shi wanted to visit to see if she could get some benefits from her mother-in-law. In addition, Liu Shi’s clothes that were made for her son Stone were already on his body. In order to win Liu Shi’s favor, Fang Shi went more diligently now.

But while she didn’t want to visit every day, she found that Second Son’s wife always walked to Liu Shi’s yard.

This gave Fang Shi a sense of crisis.

Although the Qi family’s sons were all older, the two elders were still alive and they were a family. Whoever mentioned the separation of the family [3] would be scolded to death. The most important voice in this family, outside the men, was Liu Shi.

Usually Liu Shi didn’t care about much, but when it came to food and clothing in the house, everyone listened to what Liu Shi said.

It stood to reason that Fang Shi was the eldest daughter-in-law of the Qi family, and she gave birth to Stone. Liu Shi was also close to her, so there was no need to worry about her position in the family. However, Fang Shi read into things and was small-minded. She wasn’t very clever, but always liked to think things into a twist.

Seeing that Qi Yun’s body was better than before, the newly-wedded Chongxi bride Jiao Niang was becoming favored by her mother-in-law, Liu Shi. The second siblings also had pleasant appearances, speaking even better than herself.

In the past, Fang Shi was able to curry favor in front of Liu Shi. Afterwards though, with Ye Jiao as a comparison, would Liu Shi pick her? 

If this idea was known by Eldest Son Qi Zhao, he would say that his wife was foolish. 

There weren’t many rules in the family, and Liu Shi was forgiving. Ordinary families weren’t court officials, and there were no morning and evening rules. Normally, the three sons lived their own separate lives, and they also ate together every night. Those who came in and out (of the house) could always meet, and Liu Shi was never picky about anything.

She’s (Fang Shi’s) the eldest sister-in-law and had a son. No one would bat an eye if she walked sideways. What kind of nonsense was she thinking about?

If Liu Shi really cared about her pettiness, when it happened in the past, how could Liu Shi bear it up to now?

But Fang Shi nonetheless got herself involved and followed Ye Jiao to talk to Liu Shi every day, which made Liu Shi confused for a while. 

Liu Shi didn’t refuse. Of course, she was happy to see her grandson every day.

So the two daughter-in-laws actually urged each other to persist for nearly ten days. Liu Shi remarked that they had found two filial daughter-in-laws.

The way she expressed their closeness was to prepare something to eat when the two came over, which made Ye Jiao fall more and more in love. Little Stone also called to visit grandma to eat cookies every day, so Fang Shi couldn’t even go later like she wanted.

When Fang Shi came carrying Stone that day, she saw Ye Jiao already in the room.

Because it was winter, Liu Shi’s leg – which she bumped when she was young and had problems with since – hurt from the cold. So, the charcoal fire in Liu Shi’s house was lit the earliest. 

Fang Shi held open the curtain and entered, feeling the heat and warmth.

Ye Jiao was holding a bowl in her hand and was about to eat with a spoon. Seeing Fang Shi come in, she got up and smiled: “Sister-in-law, it’s cold outside. Why don’t you wear more clothes?”

Fang thought this sentence was weird, and suddenly marveled: Isn’t this what she said to her before?

At that time, she was just being polite. Ye Jiao kept it in her heart though, learning and applying.

Fang Shi kindly replied: “Younger sister-in-law is caring, I will remember next time.” She held Stone and greeted Liu Shi: “Come on Stone, greet grandma and second aunt.”

“Grandma, second aunt.” Shishi was young and just started speaking. With a whimpering voice and a tigerish head [4], he was at the age of playfulness.

Ye Jiao seemed to like it and picked up a cookie on the table to give to him.

Stone blinked his big eyes and looked at Ye Jiao. Seeing Fang Shi nod at him, he smiled and showed his small front teeth. His tiny hand grabbed the cookie, and with a soft and balmy mouth exclaimed: “Thank you, second auntie!”

Stone nimbly said this. Recently, whenever he followed Fang Shi to visit Liu Shi’s yard, the person who gave him cookies to eat was this beautiful aunt.

The second aunt always had the smell of osmanthus, just like osmanthus candy. Stone liked her very much.

Seeing that he was well-behaved, Liu Shi smiled and said to Fang Shi: “Sit down, try the freshly stewed apricot cheese.”

Fang Shi sat down, put Stone aside, picked up the bowl and smelled it.

Apricot cheese is almond tea, a snack passed from the court to the people.

First, the almonds are mashed into a slurry. Then, the residue is filtered out and rice noodles are put in and stirred. Finally, sugar is added while it’s slowly cooking. It’s much thicker compared to ordinary tea and has a beautiful, milky-white appearance. It also smelled very sweet.

However, it’s not easy to cook this apricot cheese. Fang Shi’s mother’s house(‘s apricot cheese) wasn’t bad, but this bowl of apricot cheese was far better than the ones bought outside. After a bite, Fang Shi was even more surprised. 

It’s not too sweet, but very fragrant and delicious.

Fang Shi had been married to the Qi family for more than five years, but had never eaten this. Seeing that Liu Shi now ate it often, she couldn’t help but ask: “Mother, where did you buy this?”

Liu Shi’s expression was faint, and she turned the Buddhist beads in her hand: “Mama Liu made them. Mama Liu’s cooking skills have always been good.”

Liu Pozi [5] was standing next to Liu Shi at the moment, and after hearing this, she smiled and said nothing.

Fang Shi couldn’t help looking at Liu Pozi who had always been with Liu Shi. Suddenly, she felt that it would be good to come to Liu Shi’s place every day and walk around, so she wouldn’t miss out on this bowl of apricot cheese.

Ye Jiao didn’t think so deeply. She happily held the bowl and ate the sweet dish.

When the bowl was finished, she said to Liu Shi: “Mother, can I bring a bowl back to Xiang Gong [6] ?”

This immediately softened Liu Shi’s eyebrows, and she warmly said to Ye Jiao: “I only cooked three bowls today, but I’ll bring them to Second Son next time.”

Ye Jiao had a pitiful look on her face. She felt that it was a shame Xiang Gong missed out on such delicious food.

Fang Shi looked at Ye Jiao in surprise. She didn’t expect Ye Jiao to care so much about Qi Yun. 

Liu Shi carried Stone in her arms, nuzzled the little guy’s head, and said: “Third Son is coming back from the academy these days. When you go back, tell Eldest Son and Second Son so we can eat dinner together. Don’t delay.”

Fang Shi naturally agreed. Although Qi Yun was busy at the village, only Third Son Qi Ming studied in this family. In Fang Shi’s heart, it was the top priority to study as a scholar. Even if the matters of the village were set aside, it was more important to pay attention to Qi Ming first.

Ye Jiao pursed the corners of her lips. Although she remembered that Qi Yun said she should follow Liu Shi, her worries about Qi Yun still prevailed. She faintly replied: “Mother, Xiang Gong’s body has not fully recovered yet.”

As soon as Liu Shi thought of her second son who was sick and weak, her face showed a little distress. She turned the beads and said: “Let’s take care of his body first, so that he can rest well, and you can come.”

Ye Jiao responded with a smile and stretched her hand out to grab a cookie.

Liu Shi didn’t stop her. She just watched and laughed.

When Liu Shi went to see Qi Yun before, she heard her second son say that her daughter-in-law was good at everything, but just a bit greedy. In addition to three meals a day, she always gave herself extra meals.

While Qi Yun and Liu Shi were talking, he thought about how Ye Jiao always acted in front of Liu Shi. Since this hobby couldn’t be concealed, might as well explain it first so Liu Shi doesn’t mind.

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Jiao Niang liked to eat and drink, and Qi Yun was willing to spoil her, but he was afraid that Liu Shi would dislike her daughter-in-law.

Little did he know, Liu Shi didn’t dislike it, and honestly liked it a bit.

Because Fang Shi was born round, she usually ate very little. Even if the whole family ate together, she moved her chopsticks a couple of times and put them down, afraid that an extra bite would go to her face. 

Ye Jiao was different. She never worried about eating and drinking. Every time she ate, the food seemed very fresh. Liu Shi felt comfortable watching her.

She (Liu Shi) didn’t care whether her daughter-in-laws were fat or thin. Fang Shi’s plumpness was good-looking in its own way, and Ye Jiao’s thinness was good-looking in its own way – as long as they were healthy. But watching Jiao Niang eat well made her feel especially satisfied and comfortable.

Older people always felt that there were too few dishes in the bowls of juniors. [7]

Fang Shi still didn’t eat or drink too much. When she left Liu Shi’s yard, she only ate apricot cheese and didn’t take a bite of anything else.

Ye Jiao went back with a full stomach. First, she went into the house and looked for Qi Yun. Seeing that the man’s face was as usual, she picked up the flowerpot. She was careful not to disturb Qi Yun who was reading the account book. Ye Jiao withdrew and lightly closed the door, whispering: “Xiang Gong looks really good today.”

Xiao Su, who was cleaning on the side, couldn’t help but poke her head out and peeked through the crack of the door the moment before it closed.

She saw a pale and gloomy face flash by.

Xiao Su: …Where is it! The Young Lady lies!

Ye Jiao strolled in the yard holding the flowerpot, looking for a place with sunlight.

The stone bud grass in the flowerpot was no longer as thin and delicate as before. It had grown a bit taller. It hadn’t matured except for the three flowers that were already open, but the buds have changed from half-formed to fully-formed.

Of course, it’s still small and inconspicuous.

She didn’t know if she could support this little thing. She could only try to raise it by bringing it out to get some sun and letting fate take its course.

After strolling for a while, Ye Jiao put down the flowerpot and asked Xiao Su to teach her how to kick the shuttlecock.

Don’t just look at her gluttony for food – the Little Ginseng was not idle. After receiving a body, it’s natural to use it properly. She could digest as much as she ate.

Ye Jiao had never played with a shuttlecock before, and the Ye Jiao in her memory hadn’t played them as well, so she had to learn from scratch now.

But what made the Little Ginseng helpless was that while her brain was still easy to use, her physical coordination wasn’t very good. After learning for a few days, she could only play a few times.

Xiao Su taught Ye Jiao very patiently. In fact, for Xiao Su who was in her early teens, it was better to play with Ye Jiao than to teach her.

Of course, the little girl was happy to be accompanied by someone.

It’s just that every time she saw the black feathers on the shuttlecock, she felt pain in her heart.

Her Xiao Hei (the rooster) was so pitiful…

Compared to being taken away by the second young master to be made into chicken soup, it was worth sacrificing a few feathers.

Xiao Su was a little curious: “Second Young Lady, why do you have to learn this?”

Ye Jiao bent over to pick up the shuttlecock, sweat beading on her head, and said with a smile: “This was given to me by Xiang Gong. Isn’t it a waste if it just sat there?”

Xiao Su didn’t quite understand what it had to do with who gave it to whom, but after hearing Ye Jiao’s words, she nodded as if she understood. She prepared to kick the shuttlecock with her.

What they didn’t know was that Qi Yun, who got up and was going to the desk to change the account book, clearly heard Ye Jiao’s words when he passed the window.

The window was closed, and it looked tight, but the paper window could not completely block outside noises.

Qi Yun lowered his eyes as he listened to Ye Jiao’s words. He pursed the corners of his mouth and finally lifted them into a smile.

His, Jiao Niang.

Ye Jiao didn’t stay in the yard the whole time. At noon, she went into the house and wiped her face. After taking down her hair, she took an afternoon nap on the soft couch.

Because Qi Yun was in poor health recently, Ye Jiao let him sleep on the bed by himself.

As for why they were separated: Qi Yun was afraid that he would pass his sickness, and Ye Jiao was afraid that she would make his condition worse again. They got to the same conclusion by different routes and safely slept as such. 

When Ye Jiao woke up from her nap, it was still bright outside and there was a lot of time before dinner.

Ye Jiao sat up, stretched her waist, and turned to look at Qi Yun. However, she found that Qi Yun was not in bed, and the screen beside her was gone.

“Hua la~”

The sound of water made Ye Jiao’s eyes glance over. She saw that the screen moved to the outer room.

There was charcoal fire inside and outside the house, making it warm. Ye Jiao put on only her coat and shoes, and walked directly behind the screen.

Ye Jiao, who was standing, and Qi Yun, who was in the bathtub, suddenly looked at each other.

Qi Yun was stunned and didn’t react for a while.

Ye Jiao blinked, her bright eyes clean and clear. She glanced at Qi Yun and said, “Xiang Gong, your body is so white.”

***

The author has something to say: 

Ye Jiao: Xiang Gong, your body is so white… Hey Xiang Gong, why are you red now?

=w=

Sorry for the late update! [Directly lays on the ground] Tomorrow must be on time!

Random red envelopes in this chapter, covers face

***

Footnotes

[1] Shi: At the end of someone’s surname, is used to denote their maiden name.

[2] Literal translation is that she takes care of the business of the stalls in her yard. Back in ye old days, the wife would manage household affairs of the servants (maid, chef, etc) and people in her yard (husband, concubine, children), which kept her busy.

[3] Separation of a family in ye old days meant dividing the family’s assets to each household, causing them to go independent.

[4] This description describes a young child who looks strong, healthy, and honest.

[5] Pozi: Old Lady. She is also referred to as “Mama Liu” by Liu Shi.

[6] Xiang Gong: Husband. This is how the FL, Ye Jiao, refers to Qi Yun.

[7] This has a similar energy to when a grandma says, “Eat more, eat more, you’re too thin!”

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