Chapter 469 A Dream of Youth 1
The cold wind mocks the flowers, the smoke shrouds the willows, and spring's end is hastened by a thousand miles away.
As evening approached, wisps of smoke rose from the chimneys, enveloped in the fine spring rain. The mist and rain permeated the sky above the town. Newly sprouted bamboo shoots peeked out from the walls, their green color like jade tassels. The powdery frost on their skin had been washed away, and the tender bamboo tips swayed in the wind and rain, colliding and intertwining with each other.
A chill crept into the pillow and curtains. Xie Ning sat obediently on the bed, waiting for Chen to dress her. She had been dressed for seven days, but the child had caught a cold and hadn't made it through.
This is still a child under four years old. Xie Ning felt somewhat helpless. She couldn't act too mature, but with her experience, she couldn't portray the child's pure innocence and naivety. She could only rely on being quiet and well-behaved.
Chen tied two little pigtails for Xie Ning with a hair tie. The bells hanging from them jingled as they moved, making her look incredibly cute. Looking at her little girl with her big, obedient eyes, Chen couldn't help but pinch Xie Ning's round little face, which felt very soft to the touch.
"Baby is so good."
She was sick and lost a lot of weight, so she needs to take good care of herself and become plump and adorable.
"Come, have some tea. I'll take you to deliver umbrellas to your father and brother." With that, she picked up a teacup that was placed to the side.
The teacup is shaped like a conical hat, with a small foot, a wide mouth, and a shallow belly. It has a sloping, curved wall, making it elegant and graceful. The glaze is lustrous and captivating, and the flowers floating on it look as if they were freshly picked, adding to its charm.
This is plum blossom tea sealed in bamboo leaves and thick paper in the twelfth lunar month. When you want to use it, put a little honey in the cup, add two or three flowers, pour in boiling water, and you can drink it like tea. Red plum blossoms are rare. In her family, only white plum blossoms are beautiful on the branches in winter.
Although it wasn't the first time Xie Ning had drunk it, she still found the tea, with its slightly sweet taste and plum aroma, to be very much to her liking.
As the rain outside intensified, Madam Chen picked Xie Ning up with one hand, then handed her the empty bamboo basket to carry. She walked from the corridor to the hall, grabbed two umbrellas, opened them, and went outside.
The rain pattered against the umbrella, like a symphony of spring.
There were only a few people outside the alley. A peddler walked over from a distance. It was Liu Dalang, a neighbor who lived in the same alley. He must have been packing up and returning home. He walked with a limp and would rest every now and then. A woman holding an oil-paper umbrella hurriedly ran over to hold the umbrella for him.
Turning around, he saw Chen bringing Xie Ning out, so he took out a square object from inside and handed it over.
"Ning-jie'er, you're all better now? Here, have a piece of cake, it's delicious!"
Xie Ning didn't take it immediately. Instead, she looked at Chen Shi and waited for Chen Shi to nod before taking the pastries wrapped in oil paper. "Thank you, Aunt Wang."
"Oh, Ning-jie is so well-behaved."
Mrs. Chen replied with a smile, "This child has been sick, but he's become more and more well-behaved. I've been busy taking care of him these past few days. I wonder what Brother Liu is up to..."
Wang glared at Liu Dalang, then put her hands on her hips and angrily said, "It's all because of those yamen officials arresting people randomly! My husband was just hawking his wares around the covered bridge, and they arrested him, asking if he was dissatisfied with the officials. Good heavens, we're just ordinary folks, we don't even know where we got into this mess, and we even got a beating. If it weren't for my husband's good health, he would have been dead from that beating!"
"Pah, pah, pah—" Liu Dalang tugged at Wang's sleeve, "Stop talking, it's all bad luck."
Moreover, if someone else reports this to the authorities and says he is dissatisfied with the government, he will be beaten and his life will be over.
Xie Ning watched the two bicker as they entered the door. She listened for a while but didn't quite understand. To this day, she didn't even know what this dynasty was called. After all, who usually talks about dynasties and eras? They usually just gossip about everyday matters.
Seeing Xie Ning looking blank, Chen laughed and said, "Eat quickly, you little glutton."
As soon as the oil paper was opened, a rich aroma of rice filled the air. The rice was soft and chewy, sweet but not cloying. As she walked, Madam Chen said to Xie Ning, "In spring, it is advisable to reduce sour foods and increase sweet foods to nourish the spleen. This five-spice cake is good for the spleen. I was planning to make it for you in a few days, but I didn't expect you, my little glutton, to eat it first."
However, what she made was different from what the Liu family sold. The Liu family claimed to sell five-spice cake, but it didn't contain ginseng. Instead, it contained mung beans, which were suitable for people with dry mouth and a tendency to get inflamed, but not for people with a cold spleen and stomach.
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