Ginger and pepper

In mid-May, Wei Qiao plunged into the Liujiang River once again. As the icy water submerged his body, he felt as if Xi Chun was with him. The affairs of the Ministry of War were piling up, and although two vice ministers handled the daily tasks, some matters still required his decision as Minister. After going ashore, he returned to the Prince Zhao's residence and ordered the withdrawal of all personnel still searching for concubines.

He never believed that Xichun was dead, but he heard that the souls of those without graves could only wander aimlessly and would be bullied by other wandering ghosts. So he found two pieces of clothing that Xichun had always liked and the rattle drum that he had bought when he went to Jiangnan, and built a cenotaph for her and her child in the imperial mausoleum.

Meanwhile, on February 25th, Xichun and her party arrived in Nianshui City. With Liu An's help, they obtained new household registration certificates and bought a carriage. After bidding farewell to Liu An and Suanmiao, Xichun and Chu Wei embarked on their journey to Yanzhou.

Two days before arriving in Nianshui City, Xichun hadn't decided where to go. It was only after Chuwei mentioned that her hometown was in Yanzhou, and after hearing from Brother Liu that the customs of Yanzhou were similar to those of Shuzhou Prefecture, that she decided to go to Yanzhou.

Chu Wei drove very steadily, and they traveled swiftly, arriving in Yanzhou in mid-March. Before Chu Wei entered the Prince Cheng's mansion at the age of ten, she had lived in Yanzhou City and was quite familiar with it. After looking at houses for two days with a middleman, they bought a small one-courtyard house in Tangli Lane, three streets away from the south dock of the city, for ninety taels of silver.

"Although this house is a single-courtyard house, it has quite a few rooms. There are three main rooms, and one side room on each side. The kitchen, stable, and storage room are all complete. There is also a well in the yard, so it is very convenient to get water."

"These two cherry trees were bought and planted by the previous owner from the south. They're quite old. I've heard that the cherries here are big, red, and taste very good. I'm not bragging, but you two really got a great deal buying this yard. If the owners hadn't been in a hurry to move to the provincial capital, they wouldn't have been able to sell it for such a low price."

Xi Chun and Chu Wei exchanged a smile after hearing what Lao Zhang said. There was a lot of exaggeration in Lao Zhang's words. He had said that the two houses he had taken them to see were fully furnished, but when they entered the house, there were only two small stools left, and even the dining table had been moved away.

However, he wasn't wrong about the house. Xichun and Chuwei were very satisfied after touring around. It was fully furnished and ready to move in after a little cleaning. Chuwei even brought up a bucket of water; the well water was very clear and clean.

After going to the county government office with Lao Zhang to complete the house transfer, Xi Chun officially became the owner of the house.

The previous owners left behind a lot of things, so Xichun and Chuwei bought some pots, pans, and everyday clothes and bedding and started living in the house.

By March, Xichun was over eight months pregnant. It was Xichun's first pregnancy, and Chuwei was a naive young woman; the two of them, aside from making clothes for the unborn child, didn't know what to do. Fortunately, their neighbor, Aunt Wang, who lived two houses away, was a kind-hearted person.

The day after they moved here, Sister-in-law Wang sent over a dried fish and two pieces of dried meat as a housewarming gift.

Wang Dasao's real name is Wang Yuzhen. She is thirty-eight years old, with a round face, large eyes, and a small black mole the size of a grain of rice on her fleshy nose. She is about the same height as Chu Wei, with a full figure and strong hands. It is said that a thief once broke into her house and was thrown out of the yard by Wang Dasao.

Wang Dasao came to Yanzhou from another place after marrying her husband, Tang Shide, who worked as an accountant at the Qiwei Restaurant in the city. They had a son and a daughter. Their son, Tang Jiaqi, was twenty years old; he passed the imperial examination two years ago and married a new wife last year. Their daughter, Tang Jiarui, was twelve years old and stayed home learning needlework and household chores from her mother.

Wang's mother-in-law never mistreated her; on the contrary, she was very accommodating to her in daily life. As a result, even after more than 20 years of marriage, Wang still has the same cheerful demeanor as when she was young. She lives a comfortable life and is very willing to help her neighbors.

So, upon learning from their conversation that Xichun, who was about to give birth, didn't know what to prepare for childbirth, he immediately wrote a note for Xichun and Chuwei to refer to. Back home, he and his mother-in-law even sewed a swaddle for Xichun's baby. Knowing that Xichun hadn't hired a midwife, he took on the task of finding one himself.

After breakfast that day, he came to find Xichun. "Xichun, I've found you a midwife, Granny Li from the front street. My two children were delivered by Granny Li. Granny Li's father is a doctor, and she's very skilled. Most of the babies in the surrounding streets were delivered by her."

Xi Chun hurriedly invited Sister-in-law Wang to sit down in the main room. She smiled and said, "Sister-in-law Wang, I really owe you a lot. Otherwise, I would have been completely blind and wouldn't know anything."

Looking at Xichun's round belly, Sister-in-law Wang laughed and said, "Hey, this is nothing. This is your first time, it's normal that you don't understand. When I gave birth to my eldest son, I didn't know anything either. It's just a pity that the child was born without a father. Those bandits are really despicable, they not only robbed money but also harmed people."

Xi Chun's story to the outside world was that her husband was killed by bandits while he was away doing business. Her husband's family could not tolerate her, so she came to Nianshui City with her unborn child and maid to start a new life.

Xi Chun originally wanted to say that she and Chu Wei were sisters, but Chu Wei firmly disagreed, saying that since she ate and used her things, she was only fit to be a maid, and besides, the two didn't look alike at all; anyone could tell they weren't born to the same parents. Xi Chun couldn't persuade her otherwise, so she agreed to her statement and gave Chu Wei one tael of silver as her monthly allowance.

Life in Nianshui City was pleasant and comfortable. Xichun was quite far along in her pregnancy and worried that Wei Qiao would send someone to find her, so she spent most of her time in the courtyard. Chu Wei took on the task of grocery shopping for the family. Although Chu Wei hadn't cooked much before, she was extremely talented and, after a few lessons from Wang Dasao, was able to make some decent home-style dishes.

She especially loved steamed buns, and within half a month she had tried more than a dozen steamed bun shops in Yanzhou City, but none of them were as good as Zhang's Steamed Bun Shop in Cuiling. In addition, a vegetarian steamed bun cost two coins, and a meat steamed bun cost three coins. She had to eat at least ten fist-sized steamed buns at a time to be satisfied, so the price was not cheap. Therefore, she started to learn how to make them at home.

Chu Wei was an expert at making steamed buns. After making them a few times, she could wrap them quite well, but she couldn't quite figure out the filling. Xi Chun, having nothing else to do, would also work on it with her. After their combined efforts, the pork and scallion buns and the chive buns they finally made, according to Chu Wei, already tasted about 70% like those from Zhang's Steamed Bun Shop.

By April, Xichun was over nine months pregnant. The midwife came to check on her and told her that she could go into labor at any time. Towards the end of her pregnancy, her feet and calves became severely swollen, leaving a deep indentation when pressed. Chu Wei stopped letting her participate in making dumplings and instead moved a chair for her to sit in the yard and bask in the sun.

On April 16th, Chu Wei and Wang Dasao's second daughter went to the market near the ferry and brought back a Sichuan pepper sapling that was half a person tall.

Chu Wei knew that Xi Chun was from Fuping and liked spicy food, so she excitedly introduced to her, "Xi Chun, you don't know, these are pepper seedlings produced in Liheng County, Sichuan. They are the most authentic ones. The seedling vendor brought fifty seedlings, and they were all snapped up at the market. I had to go to great lengths to get this one."

It was the season for the Sichuan pepper trees to bloom, their tender green flowers adorning the branches, a truly lovely sight. Just thinking about picking some green Sichuan peppercorns to cook with fish in a few months made Xichun's mouth water. The two chose a spot near the courtyard wall. Chu Wei had just finished planting the pepper tree and was about to fetch water from the well to water the sapling when Xichun, standing before the tree and looking at its thorn-covered trunk, suddenly felt a dampness on her skin.

Xi Chun touched her belly and said to Chu Wei, who was carrying water, "Chu Wei, I... I think I'm about to give birth."

"Ah!" Upon hearing this, Chu Wei dropped the wooden bucket in her hand, and the water inside splashed out of the bucket in large whirlpools.

Chu Wei's heart had never been beating so fast. She stepped forward, picked up Xi Chun, and quickly took her back to her room.

"Xichun, wait for me, I'm going to find a midwife right away," Chu Wei said in a panic.

Then he ran out of the courtyard gate as fast as he could.

Fifteen minutes later, the midwife, Granny Li, and Sister-in-law Wang arrived at Xichun's bedroom. Chu Wei was instructed to boil water, while Sister-in-law Wang prepared supplies for the newborn baby.

Xichun felt as if her body was being torn apart alive, a pain she had never experienced before. Large beads of sweat soaked her hair, and her loud cries did nothing to alleviate the pain. Xichun suddenly thought of her mother, wondering if she had suffered the same way when she gave birth to her.

"Almost there, almost there, the baby's head is about to come out," Granny Li said happily.

Sister-in-law Wang wiped Xichun's sweat with a handkerchief and encouraged her, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, I'm here with you."

An hour later, just before Xichun felt exhausted, a loud cry echoed throughout the courtyard.

After cutting the umbilical cord and wrapping the baby up, Granny Li smiled and said to Xi Chun, "Congratulations, Madam Jiang! It's a beautiful little girl."

Sister-in-law Wang brought the child to Xichun and said with a smile, "Look at her, her eyebrows and eyes are so beautiful. She'll definitely grow up to be a great beauty."

Chu Wei gave two taels of silver to Granny Li and saw her off before going inside to check on Xi Chun. Hearing Xi Chun's cries of pain from outside filled her with fear, reminding her of her assassin training. Back then, a dozen or so girls were together, constantly hitting each other, and suffering torture if they didn't complete the tasks assigned by the foreman. At first, she didn't want to hit anyone, so she was always beaten by the foreman with a whip studded with iron spikes; she still remembered that pain.

Giving birth looks incredibly painful; it must be no different from being tortured.

When Xichun woke up from her nap, she found the stench of blood in the room had disappeared, and the baby, swaddled and sleeping peacefully beside her. Looking at the baby's tiny nose and mouth, and its tender pink skin, her heart melted. This was her child, so small.

"Eat something to replenish your strength," Chu Wei said.

It was already night, and Sister-in-law Wang had gone home, leaving only Chu Wei by Xi Chun's side. Seeing that Xi Chun was awake, she brought over a bowl of chicken soup that had been kept warm on the stove and placed it in front of her, watching her eat.

Xichun was indeed hungry, so she took the bowl and ate heartily. After finishing her meal, she fed the baby and then fell asleep again.

The next morning at breakfast, Chu Wei brought Xi Chun a bowl of chicken noodle soup topped with two fried eggs. While Xi Chun was eating, Chu Wei asked, "Xi Chun, what's the child's name?"

Xi Chun turned her head to look at her sleeping daughter, thought for a while, and smiled, "Let's name her Jiang Jiao (姜椒)."

"Which word?" Chu Wei asked.

Xichun pointed to the courtyard and said with a smile, "The pepper in Sichuan pepper. She came here as soon as the Sichuan pepper tree came to our house. It seems that she has a special connection with Sichuan pepper. In addition, my surname is Jiang and her name is Jiao. Both of them are essential seasonings for cooking. I hope that she will be a girl with good fortune in food and talent in the future."

"Jiang Jiao." Chu Wei savored the name; after reading it a few times, it sounded quite pleasant. She got up, walked to the baby, gently touched her cheek, and smiled, "From now on, you'll be called Jiang Jiao."

Spring passed and summer solstice arrived. By early June, Jiang Jiao had grown into a pinkish-white dumpling, so Chu Wei gave her the nickname Tuan Tuan (meaning "round dumpling"). Chu Wei overheard people at the dock saying that the Prince Zhao's mansion was looking for someone. Xi Chun was afraid that Wei Qiao could still find her, so she rarely went out and focused on taking care of Jiang Jiao at home, preparing to open a small shop to make a living after the storm had passed.

Chu Wei was a little bored, and just then, Sister-in-law Wang mentioned that Qiwei Restaurant was hiring a waiter for lunch, so Chu Wei applied for the job. She would work about twenty days a month, each time for two hours at noon, with a meal provided. In total, she could earn about two hundred coins a month for groceries.

In the capital, Wei Qiao was busy with official duties, working in his study until midnight every day. He no longer went to Yunhe Hall, and when Ming Chuqing came to Ming'an Hall to see him, he always avoided her.

Only now does Wei Qiao realize how deeply he erred. He had no feelings for Ming Chuqing, yet she cherished him like a precious jewel, while he treated Xichun, the one he truly loved, like dirt beneath his feet. Things shouldn't be this way; he must change everything.