Chapter 37 The Peculiar Dew
Aunt Zhou was carrying a string of radishes when she came over and saw the wood. She frowned, then squatted down and scraped the wood with a knife.
She touched the powder she had scraped off with her finger, smelled it, and her eyes widened in surprise. She exclaimed, "This is the finest sandalwood!"
As soon as he said this, Zhou Zhao and Zhou Feng gathered around.
"Mother, is this really sandalwood? How can there be sandalwood in this rocky ground?"
The best sandalwood usually grows in forests, and it is rare to find sandalwood buried in rocky ground.
Aunt Zhou looked up at the trees around her and said, "Perhaps this used to be a sandalwood field, but it was all cut down later, and some of the wood was buried underground."
This explanation is far-fetched, but no one can find any other reason to explain what exactly happened.
Finally, Du Wanchun dispelled their doubts and said with a smile, "Mother, let's quickly dig out this sandalwood. We can make it into incense later."
Upon hearing this, Aunt Zhou's face was full of joy. "That's right, such a large piece of fine sandalwood, if made into incense, could probably fetch a lot of money."
As soon as she finished speaking, she quickly arranged for her two sons to come and dig together.
Du Wanchun assisted from the side, and soon a sandalwood tree at least one meter long was dug out.
Zhou Zhao tied the piece of wood with a rope and carried it on his back.
Du Wanchun helped pack all the pulled radishes into the basket, and then followed Aunt Zhou, who carried a basket on her back, towards home.
Zhou Feng followed behind, carrying the vegetables he had just picked.
The family returned home with their purchases complete.
Du Wanchun first helped Aunt Zhou clean the radishes, and then helped clean the sandalwood.
Before evening, she and Zhou Ruiyuan loaded the cleaned radishes onto the carriage.
Before nightfall, the couple delivered the radishes to the Li and Fang residences.
Aunt He gave her the remaining two hundred coins.
The Fang family was generous; when they delivered the radishes, their steward gave them a tael of silver as a reward.
That's a lot of money.
Du Wanchun looked at the silver in her hand, her hand trembling slightly.
This was the first time in her life she had ever seen so much silver.
With the silver and copper coins, the family no longer had to go hungry.
Seeing her staring intently at Yinzi with moist eyes, Zhou Ruiyuan put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into his embrace.
"Don't worry, we'll have many more in the future."
Du Wanchun wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and nodded emphatically, "Yes!"
The two of them took the copper coins and silver and, in addition to buying a boiler for making fragrant liquid, also bought some rice, oil, and some cloth.
In addition, some writing brushes and ink were bought for Zhou Feng.
After buying all these things, it was already completely dark when we got back.
Aunt Zhou cooked rice, radish soup, and Chinese cabbage, waiting for Du Wanchun and the others to come back for dinner.
As soon as Du Wanchun arrived home, she smelled the aroma of food, and her stomach rumbled with hunger.
Zhou Ruiyuan called Zhou Zhao and Zhou Feng to help carry the purchased items into the house.
Looking at the boiler and bottle she had bought, a trace of sadness flickered in Aunt Zhou's eyes. She silently took the two items to the backyard and didn't come out for a long time.
Du Wanchun took the fabric into the house and went to the backyard to call her for dinner.
"Mom, dinner's ready."
Aunt Zhou wiped away her tears and quickly looked up, saying, "Okay, I'm coming right now."
Seeing the tear stains on her face, Du Wanchun approached her and asked, "Mother, what's wrong?"
Aunt Zhou's nose tingled slightly, but she forced a smile and said, "I thought that was the end for me and Ruiyuan, but looking at these sandalwood and roses, I know that our path is not over."
Looking at her like this, Du Wanchun pondered for a moment and finally asked the question she had always wanted to ask: "Mother, were you and my husband from a prominent family in the capital?"
Aunt Zhou did not refute, but stood up and said, "Wanchun, I know you have many doubts in your heart, but there are some things you are better off not knowing, because the more you know, the more likely you are to bring disaster upon yourself. Don't blame Ruiyuan and me for keeping it from you. We didn't tell you because we wanted to leave you a way out."
Du Wanchun was slightly taken aback. Since Aunt Zhou didn't want to talk about it, she wouldn't force her. From the beginning, she had made up her mind that no matter what her husband's background was, she would stand firmly by his side.
With a smile, she changed the subject with Aunt Zhou, saying, "Mother, come and eat. After we finish eating, we'll quickly make the fragrant dew."
Aunt Zhou's complexion improved considerably, and she nodded, saying, "Yes, Wanchun, you eat first, I'll be right there."
Du Wanchun replied with a smile, "Okay, Mother, hurry up, or the food will get cold."
Aunt Zhou nodded at her.
After the family finished dinner, Du Wanchun busied herself making fragrant dew with Aunt Zhou.
They first had to set up the boiler for making the balm.
Few people in Cheng'an County make incense, so Du Wanchun bought the simplest kind of steamer.
Fortunately, Aunt Zhou was skilled, and in no time she transformed the steamer into a stove for making fragrant dew.
The two women, mother and daughter-in-law, washed the rose petals and then steamed them in pots.
Zhou Zhao was in charge of chopping wood, while Zhou Ruiyuan and Zhou Feng were in charge of starting the fire.
They steamed it all night, and the next morning, they finally made their first bottle of fragrant dew.
Aunt Zhou held the freshly made rose-scented dew to her nose and smelled it. Suddenly, she was startled and called out to Du Wanchun, "Wanchun, Ruiyuan, come and smell it! This fragrance is different!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
