"Yu Chi's parents have both passed away, and there are no relatives visiting her now. There are still a few plots of wasteland in Fushui Village where she grows medicinal herbs. If you have time, Aunt, you can come back with me to take a look."
Fu Yuchi appeared silently from behind, tilting his head to look at the kitchen with great interest.
Sun Miao'er turned around abruptly and saw him leaning against the door. She complained, "How long have you been here, Master?"
“I was standing outside just now, but Miao’er didn’t hear me.” Fu Yuchi smiled, looking at her with amusement in his eyes.
Sun Miao'er quickly changed the subject, saying, "Aunt, didn't you say you wanted to find a master to treat your health? Now that the master is back, it would be good to have him take a look at you."
My aunt has left Jiang Yutao, but since she is unwell, she still needs to get better.
When Sun Caiping heard her niece mention this, she was inexplicably moved. At that time, she was thinking about Jiang Yutao and always wanted to get better so that she could have an heir for him. Later, she realized that Jiang Yutao was a heartless scoundrel and stopped thinking about him.
But her niece had kept this matter in mind, which made her very happy. "Miao'er, this...this isn't good, let's just forget about it..."
"Master, please take a look at my aunt's room. I'll add two extra dishes for you today, okay?"
Sun Miao'er's tone was unusually coquettish, and he couldn't resist it. He laughed and said, "For your aunt's sake, I'll agree!"
Sun Miao'er's inner thoughts: That's my aunt, why are you calling her aunt too!
"Master, how is my aunt?"
After taking Sun Caiping's pulse and asking her questions, Fu Yuchi remained calm and composed, unlike those old doctors who would sigh or shake their heads when treating patients.
This made Sun Miao'er even more confused.
Fu Yuchi said indifferently, "Auntie is in good health, just a little weak. I'll prescribe a medicine for her to take care of herself for a while, and there's nothing serious."
"Then why have I not been able to have children all these years?" Sun Caiping bit her lip. It turned out that the reputation of her infertility had been unfounded all these years, and she had been subjected to countless scornful looks and ridicule from others.
Sun Miao'er knew that her aunt's inability to have children had always been a knot in her heart. Since her master had already made a diagnosis, her aunt must be fine. She followed Sun Caiping's words and replied, "Has your aunt ever thought about whether it might be the man's problem?"
Ancient people were superstitious and always blamed women for any problems with childbirth. Sun Miao'er, however, had some knowledge of modern medicine and knew that there were many reasons for infertility. Why was she solely blamed on women?
"This... can men have problems too?" Sun Caiping asked incredulously. "The Jiang family's concubine even gave birth to a son. If it's a problem with the man, how could that be?"
“Men will naturally have problems,” Sun Miao’er said. “Men and women are supposed to be in harmony of yin and yang. If either one has a problem, then having children won’t be possible.”
Upon hearing this, Fu Yuchi looked at his disciple meaningfully and said, "Miao'er, you know quite a lot. I don't remember teaching you any of this."
"I learned it all from medical books, Master, just tell me, isn't that right?" Sun Miao'er avoided his gaze; she was afraid that if she told him everything she knew, she would frighten her master.
Fu Yuchi nodded, “Indeed, judging from the current pulse, Aunt’s constitution is deficient in Yin, but she is not difficult to bear children.”
Sun Miao'er whispered something in Sun Caiping's ear.
Sun Caiping's eyes suddenly widened, and she turned to ask her, "That's impossible, isn't it?"
"What's impossible? The Jiang family's mistreatment of my aunt is their retribution!"
When Xiaoman and Xiaoning came home from school, Xiaoman was overjoyed to see Fu Yuchi and couldn't wait to show off her recent studies.
Xiao Ning wasn't very familiar with Fu Yuchi, but she quietly followed behind, occasionally uttering witty remarks.
Lamb soup is most tempting in winter. Sun Miao'er went to the neighboring market and bought three catties of fresh lamb, along with a sweet and tender cabbage, to cook a pot of lamb soup.
Lamb should be selected from young, fully grown goats. People have always felt that lamb has a gamey smell, but that's actually because they're not eating the right kind of lamb.
Sheep used for wool production tend to have a stronger gamey smell, while goat meat is known for its fresh and fragrant flavor, making it suitable for soups.
When she returned from the main gate carrying goat meat, Liu'er's mouth was practically watering.
I just grab whatever I can get by every day. I'm so busy at the shop that I haven't had a proper meal in ages.
Cut the mutton into one-inch cubes, put it in a pot of cold water and blanch it. Add ginger slices and scallion segments, then pour in some aged Shaoxing wine. Just force out the blood foam from the mutton, then turn off the heat.
The water had just boiled, and the aroma of mutton had already wafted into the courtyard, distracting Xiaoman from her studies.
After blanching, bring the water in the pot to a boil, add the mutton, and start stewing!
While the mutton was stewing, Sun Miao'er heated up a small pot and added some Sichuan peppercorns to flavor it.
When the oil temperature is close to seven-tenths, throw in the fatty mutton. The fat is immediately fried in the hot oil until it turns golden brown, and the aroma is irresistible. Accompanied by the fried Sichuan peppercorns, the flavor is very strong.
The fat in the mutton is rendered out by the hot oil, turning the mutton into crispy, golden-brown bits of meat.
Sun Miao'er poured the hot oil she had just extracted into a small bowl of chili powder, and the aroma of chili immediately filled the room.
The chili powder was from the Western Regions. She had to go to several markets to buy just this little bit. One ounce cost one qian of silver, which was really unaffordable for ordinary people.
The mutton stewed in the pot for an hour and a half until it was very tender. Then, add the chopped cabbage and cook for another hour until the cabbage is sweet and soft. Then it's ready to serve.
After she finished her work, she invited them over for dinner. The group sat around a table with a large bowl of steaming mutton soup in the middle, making their mouths water.
"Sister, what is this?" Xiaoman asked, pointing to the small bowl of chili oil.
Sun Miao'er said, "This is chili oil made from mutton. If you like, you can add it to the mutton soup and try it."
"Chili peppers?" Xiaoman leaned closer to sniff and immediately choked and sneezed.
Xiao Ning covered her mouth and chuckled, saying, "Chili peppers originated in the Western Regions. They are strong and spicy, and have the effect of dispelling cold."
"By the way, try it!" Sun Miao'er served them the mutton soup and handed the fullest bowl to Fu Yuchi. "Master, there's only one dish today. If you don't like it, then eat more."
The mutton was stewed until it almost blended into the broth, and the milky white mutton soup was glistening with oil, looking very appealing.
Once Fu Yuchi took a bite, he couldn't stop. A warm feeling washed over him, and his lips and teeth were enveloped in the aroma of mutton.
After finishing the last drop of soup, he said, "The mutton is good; it's worth the two other dishes."
Xiaoman also praised it highly, but driven by curiosity, he still added chili oil. Unexpectedly, the chili was too potent, and his lips turned bright red. He had to stop eating for a while and then stop again, and he also drank several bowls of cold water.
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