Chapter 15 The Three-Inch Golden Lotus: It's All for Your Own Good

The woman wore a plain red brocade dress, her fair face glowed like pearls, and her cheeks were tinged with pink. Her hair was styled in a single bun, adorned only with a red gold and ruby ​​comb.

Before her was a small wooden table with a bamboo tea tray and a few scattered bamboo cups. Tea scoops and tea strainers lay scattered to the side. Although there was no incense burning or calligraphy and paintings, the scene of mountains and flowing water, a beautiful woman in an earthen courtyard, and wooden table and bamboo utensils created a unique atmosphere. A small earthen stove sat alone at the corner of the table, weighed down by a tin kettle, which was boiling water, but the lid of the kettle was open to the side.

The woman said softly, "You must pay attention to the water temperature when brewing tea. Today I will teach you how to 'watch the water.' You must learn carefully, because if you don't know how to watch the water, you won't be able to brew tea well." As she spoke, her words were gentle, as if carrying the fragrance of orchids.

Li Yang found it strange and wished he could stretch his neck over the courtyard wall to see.

What is 'looking at the water'?

I've only ever heard Uncle Fang say that boiled water needs to cool down before you can brew tea. How do you "see" that?

The woman in the courtyard spoke again: "Look closely, the water has already started to bubble. Now the bubbles are like shrimp eyes, which means it has boiled."

A moment later, she said, "Look, boil it for a little longer, until it's the size of a crab's eye. When it starts bubbling like beads strung together at the bottom of the pot, that's the second boil."

A moment later, her voice brightened, "Now the water is boiling vigorously, this is triple-boiled water. We grow green tea here, which needs to be pan-fried and dried. We drink the freshest brew of the tea leaves. When brewing this kind of tea, you should use double-boiled water. Double-boiled water is too weak, and triple-boiled water is too strong. If the water is too weak, it won't bring out the aroma of the tea leaves. If the water is too strong, the tea will lose its vibrancy. Do you understand?"

The children's innocent voices answered in unison, "We've got it!"

Unable to see the boiling water in the kettle through the courtyard wall, Li Yang silently recited in his mind, "The first boil is like shrimp eyes, the second boil is like beads, the third boil is like surging waves, and the second boil is for brewing tea." He found it extremely interesting and thought that he would try it when he got back to his room tonight to see how the first boil made the water tender and the third boil made it tough.

She kicked out along the base of the wall, and a small pebble 'whooshed' across the low wall, leaving a small arc before squatting still. Li Yang took two steps forward and kicked out again, following closely behind the entrance to the courtyard, with Mo Lian two steps behind.

Li Yang planned that once he mastered the skill of "reading water," he would challenge Fang Yuan to a duel. It was a shame that her family owned a teahouse, yet she had never mentioned the intricacies of tea. He was sure he could get a big advantage from her this time. Thinking this, a smile already crept onto his lips.

Suddenly, a piercing cry came from the neighboring courtyard, "Mother! Mother! It hurts so much, Mother! It hurts..."

What's going on? Li Yang frowned and hurriedly ran towards that courtyard.

“Zhaodi, my son… just bear with it a little longer, bite down on this burlap…” The old woman’s voice was like the autumn wind, “Mother knows you are in pain, but only after you have endured this pain can you exchange it for a lifetime of wealth and leisure.”

“If you don’t pull your feet back now, you’ll never be able to. Do you think it’s so easy to enter this grand mansion… How can a pair of unbound feet possibly catch the eye of a nobleman…”

"Mother is doing this for your own good... for your own good..."

The girl's sobs were as thin as broken lotus root threads, and the word "pain" was barely out of her mouth before being drowned out by the old woman's withered voice. Whether the old woman was trying to persuade her daughter or herself, she only repeated "for your own good" intermittently, making Li Yang's internal organs clench.

She knew that in Songshan Town, bound feet were highly valued; only those with small feet could enter a fine pleasure boat and marry a wealthy merchant as a concubine. But binding feet involved breaking the toe bones, and it wasn't a year of major disaster or epidemic; were they so poor they couldn't even afford food? How could a mother be so heartless!

The girl's sobs gradually subsided, and Li Yang's heart skipped a beat. Ignoring Mo Lian's attempts to stop him, he rushed into the house.

"Stop it!"

In the dimly lit room, a young girl huddled in a corner, her back pressed against the earthen wall, unable to move as she was forced to sit on a peeling, foot-binding stool. Two rough hands pinned her leg bones firmly to the stool's surface; her fingers dug into the wood, splinters digging into her fingernails and drawing blood, but she could no longer utter a sound. A thick roll of cloth was wrapped around a mechanism on the stool, one end pulled out and tied to the girl's feet. The old woman, busy binding her feet, tightened the cloth even more in her hands.

"Stop! Did you hear me! Stop!" Li Yang shouted anxiously.

The people in the room were startled for a moment, then continued with their work. A burly woman, her hand on the girl's leg, rolled her eyes at her and said, "Whose daughter are you? Don't get in the way here, get out."

“You…” Li Yang’s teeth chattered as she provoked him.

Seeing this, Mo Lian stepped forward and said slowly, "This is the young mistress of the Chen family, salt merchants in town. She is accompanying the young master on his inspection of the estate today." After all, she was a maid who had been working in Chen Junbai's study for a long time. Although she was usually quiet and reserved, she was able to intimidate these peasant women with a bit of authority on the estate.

Upon hearing that this was someone from the master's household, and seeing that the young lady was dressed in brand-new brocade clothes, and even the maid following behind her was dressed in extraordinary attire, the several strong women immediately let go of her and looked at each other in bewilderment.

Seeing this, Zhao Di's mother, who was busy binding feet, also loosened the strips of cloth in her hands and hurriedly put on a smiling face, "Young Madam, oh dear, it's all my fault for being old and blind, I didn't recognize you, please don't take offense. Everyone here is here to help, my son is having his feet bound today, and I can't manage it all by myself."

Upon hearing this, the three rough women surrounding the girl echoed her sentiments.

Zhao Di's mother continued to explain, "The family felt sorry for her and never tied her hair. A couple of days ago, someone came to see her and said that the girl is already too old, and if they don't tie her hair now, they won't be able to tie it anymore."

The girl in the corner looked no more than nine years old. She was huddled up and trembling, and it was heartbreaking to see. Li Yang asked loudly, "Why are you binding her feet?"

These words were truly strange, and Zhao Di's mother felt a pang in her heart, thinking to herself: This young mistress of a wealthy family is truly out of touch with reality. I'm binding my own daughter's feet in my own home, even if I break the bones, what business is it of hers, an outsider? How can she say it with such self-righteousness?

But she could only force a smile and say, "Young Madam, the matchmaker from the Thin Horse Pawnshop came to take a look the other day. She said my girl has beautiful features and if she's well cared for, she can marry into a wealthy family." As she spoke, she reached for her daughter's feet. "It's just that these feet are a real hindrance. Look at this girl, she's so beautiful, she's born to be born into a life of luxury. How can we let these feet confine her to the ground?"

"She's your daughter, and you're going to sell her to a brothel?" Li Yang was incredulous. How could a mother do such a thing?

The girl on the stool couldn't help but cry out, but her mother slapped her across the face, making her swallow her sobs.

Li Yang hurriedly shouted, "Don't hit him!"

The old woman looked at Li Yang with a strange expression. "Young Madam, what are you saying? Our country girls are not as pampered as you. If they don't go to the brothel, where will they get food and clothes? Besides, my Zhao Di can eat and drink well there and learn skills. Isn't that better than staying in the fields?"

Hearing the old woman spill her grievances, Li Yang cursed inwardly: What a shrew! She actually sold her daughter like an object for money! What kind of skills did this perfectly good girl learn at the brothel? How could her mother be so shameless!

She blurted out, "Those are all meant to be sold into brothels! How can you, as their mother, be so heartless! They can't be sold!"

"What? You can't sell her?!" Zhao Di's mother sneered. "Young mistress, that matchmaker said that it's lucky my Zhao Di is pretty; she might still be worth fifty taels of silver. If we don't sell her, my whole family will starve!"

Fifty taels? No wonder this old woman insisted on selling her daughter. Fifty taels was enough for a family to live on for three to five years in this village. Thinking of this, she added, "But this is your daughter..."

"So what?" The old woman's eyes sharpened. "She's just a little girl who wastes the family's food every day, and she'll still end up marrying someone else. In all these surrounding villages, I've never heard of any family that can afford a dowry of fifty taels. You just casually say you won't sell her, and my fifty taels of silver... sigh, those fifty pure taels will just fly away like a hen turning into a duck?"

Fifty taels!

Li Yang's face turned red and then white as he listened. He pursed his lips and remained silent, his eyes fixed on the girl in the corner.

Seeing her remain silent, the group exchanged glances and rushed towards the child again. A cacophony of shouts and cries filled the air, reaching the rooftops. Li Yang watched as his hand slowly clenched at his side, his fingertips and the base of his thumb turning white. In a blink, as if making a decision, he declared, "I'll buy it!"

"What?" Everyone except her was stunned.

Li Yang: "Fifty taels, I'll buy her, then release her." As he spoke, he reached into his pocket and pulled out her only silver coin.

Mo Lian frowned, stepped forward, and whispered in her ear, "Young Madam, this matter still needs to be discussed with the Young Master before we proceed..."

Before he could finish speaking, the former interrupted him, "It's alright, I'll buy it with my own money."

Upon seeing the silver ingot, Zhao Di's face lit up with joy, and she reached out to take it.

"Wait!" Li Yang slightly withdrew his hand. "Go find the broker now and bring him to the estate at 7 PM. Then we'll draft a contract and sign it. Only then will the money be yours."

Zhao Di's mother quickly calculated in her mind: If this brat's feet are bound, she won't be able to do farm work, and it'll take several more days of feeding her. Besides, if the matchmaker changes her mind after the feet are bound, there's nothing she can do; farmers won't marry a woman with bound feet… But this time, they're offering a hefty sum of cash…

Thinking this, Zhao Di's mother wiped away non-existent tears from the corner of her eye with her sleeve, pulled her daughter from the stool over, made her kneel down, and began to kowtow, saying repeatedly, "Thank you, young mistress, young mistress, for your great kindness..."

After looking around at everyone in the room, Li Yang said, "There's only one condition: if her foot becomes permanently injured and she can't run or jump anymore, then I don't want her. Oh dear, you need to find someone to set her foot right away."

"Alright, alright, it's only been bound for two days, just let it go, it's fine." With that, the old woman reached out to pull off the strips of cloth from her daughter's feet.

Driven by sheer courage, she bought the person. After the agreement was reached, Li Yang and Mo Lian walked out of the earthen courtyard with somber expressions.

But she herself still lives in the Chen family home, so this girl, once bought, will have to go back to the Chen family home with her.

Only now did Li Yang realize that Mo Lian's reminder was absolutely right; this matter really did need to get past Chen Junbo first...

A note from the author:

----------------------

My darlings, this story will be updated daily starting today, and will be published promptly before 4 PM every day.

Since the daily updates are based on the original 42 chapters, the system won't show an 'updated' marker for updates before chapter 42. Please check back after 4 PM to see if you're satisfied. Thanks! [pink heart][pink heart][newbie][newbie][green heart][green heart]