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Living like a parasite in the Gao family was incredibly boring; all I did was eat and sleep all day with nothing to do.
The weather has gradually cooled down these past two days, and so has Madam Shen's face, which is as cold as frost. The two maids serving in the courtyard dare not gossip too often. They only chat with Jingwan when they have a spare moment, saying that Madam Shen was originally a woman with great ambitions. She had served the old lady before, but after being sent to Madam Wang's courtyard, she wanted to be a first-class mother in front of her. However, she was unexpectedly sent to this side courtyard by Madam Wang to serve a concubine's daughter.
Jingwan understood why the old woman hadn't given her a friendly look from the start.
Sure enough, today's meal consisted of steamed buns and pickled vegetables, with a slightly extra plate of stir-fried meat. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be just a few slices of fatty meat that were really hard to eat.
This also affected the two young maids in her courtyard. Every mealtime, they had to be ordered around by Madam Shen to do chores. If they complained, she would threaten to sell them off to the mansion.
Jingwan ate the two steamed buns without touching any of the fatty meat. The two maids were so hungry that they finished off the remaining meat as soon as they finished cleaning up the dishes and went outside.
Even children born out of wedlock shouldn't be treated so harshly. Jingwan guessed that the old servant had taken it upon himself to deliberately treat her coldly.
Wasn't she eager to prove her loyalty to Lady Wang? How could she not take this opportunity to torment this illegitimate daughter?
But Jingwan still felt that Madam Chen was wasting her time. She didn't seem to realize that Madam Chen came from the Old Madam's courtyard, and regardless of the reason, the Old Madam would...
She sent her to Wang's courtyard. In this daughter-in-law's eyes, wasn't it just that she felt her mother-in-law was keeping an eye on her? Wang certainly couldn't accept her, so she just used Jingwan's visit to the mansion to pass the buck again.
No matter how much Wangshi does, she can't get her mother-in-law's people to be constantly in front of her. Mother, you should just give up on that idea!
But she's still growing, and she can't be hungry all the time. After thinking about it, Jingwan went to the kitchen.
The Gao family has many members, and each member has a specific use for the kitchen.
For example, the old lady was old and had set up a private kitchen in her own courtyard, where she was responsible for making soup, decocting medicine, and preparing snacks.
There was also a large kitchen in the mansion, where the Duchess and her two children ate the meals delivered by the kitchen.
Gao Yun and his wife, Wang, did not eat with their sister-in-law's family. Although they lived in the Duke's mansion, they maintained certain boundaries with the Duke's wife's family. For example, when it came to meals, the two families ate separately.
Logically speaking, living together shouldn't lead to things that cause brothers to drift apart. They're clearly family, so why are they eating at two different restaurants' tables?
However, Wang was born into a wealthy merchant family and had grown up eating delicacies. After marrying into the Gao family, she couldn't get used to the refined and light flavors of this noble family, so she set up a small kitchen in her own courtyard. Gao Yun wanted to demolish the kitchen several times, but Wang was domineering. Whenever Gao Yun tried to demolish the kitchen, she would take her two children and leave home. Over time, the matter was dropped, so later, even Gao Yun started eating in her own courtyard.
And so the two families parted ways.
Jingwan was not liked by Madam Wang. When Gao Yun suggested that Jingwan join them at the table for dinner, Madam Wang coldly replied, "If you want to eat, go eat with your elder brother. This kitchen's food is not for just anyone."
Enraged, Gao Yun threw down his chopsticks, refused to eat, and left home with a cold face.
After several such incidents, even Wang's old servant, Xi Mama, couldn't stand it anymore and advised her young mistress to control her temper and not to keep pushing her husband out the door.
Xi Mama was Wang's wet nurse. She came to the Gao family as part of the dowry and was always trusted by Wang.
Now that she said this, Wang felt a pang of regret, but mostly she was furious. She slammed her chopsticks down and her hands heavily on the table, grumbling, "I just can't stand him caring about that little bitch! Thinking about it reminds me of the time he went to the Northwest. I really regret letting him go back then!"
The two children were already used to it. The father would leave home in a rage, and the mother would feel sorry for herself. This scene was commonplace. They just ate their meals as usual.
Like Wang Shi, who came from Jianchuan, they loved spicy food. Gao Qian ate with sweat dripping from his nose, pouring red chili oil over his rice, mixing it with slices of meat and shrimp, and eating it spoonful by spoonful. This made Wang Shi even angrier. She pointed at Gao Qian's forehead and scolded him, "All you do all day is eat. You're turning into a pig's head."
Her fingernails left a mark on her forehead. When Gao Yun saw this, fearing that her mother's anger would spread elsewhere, she put down her chopsticks and ran away.
Jingwan, unaware of the dinner table drama between her father and stepmother, wisely went to the main kitchen.
The head chef in charge of the main kitchen was a man surnamed Li. When Jingwan asked to borrow the kitchen to cook something, he immediately refused, saying righteously, "Every bowl, every ladle, every dish, and every grain of rice in this kitchen is strictly arranged according to the population rations of the household. If Miss wants to eat this food, what will the people in the household eat?"
Jingwan nodded, took out a small amount of silver from her purse, and handed it to Master Li, saying, "I'll only make a bowl of noodles and use a little oil. Consider this silver as my food expenses. If there's any left, Master Li can keep it for himself!"
She took out at least five qian of silver, which Master Li readily accepted: "You can't take the meat!"
The people in the manor are so easy to bribe. Jingwan shook her head, smiled, and went to start a fire.
She mixed the flour into a paste, steamed it in a steamer, and then cut it into strips and put them in a bowl.
The kitchen couldn't find chili oil, only some chili flakes, so they heated the oil, poured it into a bowl, and stirred it. The aroma of burnt chili immediately filled the air.
After pouring chili oil over the noodles, followed by garlic juice and vinegar, Jingwan couldn't help but swallow hard. She quickly stirred the noodles and took a big bite.
Unfortunately, it lacked sesame paste, so the flavor wasn't quite authentic.
Just as she was enjoying her meal, she suddenly heard someone say, "It smells so good!"
At that moment, Jingwan was still shouting about the noodles she hadn't swallowed, and she turned her head away with a silly look on her face, her lips covered in a ring of red chili oil.
Lu Chang smiled and slowly walked over.
Jingwan was surprised. It was said that her cousin had moved out of the Gao family home in order to win the imperial examination and rented a house in the quiet East Corner to study. He didn't come back often. How could she run into him in the kitchen today?
Lu Chang wouldn't tell her that he came because he smelled the chili oil.
The old lady and her aunt had a light palate and didn't eat chili peppers, but the taste of this chili oil was somewhat familiar, reminding him of his days in the Northwest before he was ten years old.
Before I knew it, I had wandered into the kitchen and found the greedy little cat.
Seeing her cousin staring at the bowl of noodles in front of her, Jingwan felt a little uncomfortable, but she still pushed the bowl forward slightly and asked her cousin if he wanted some.
She was just being polite, after all, she was going to eat the noodles first, and her handsome cousin, who was as beautiful as an immortal, would probably find them unappetizing.
Unexpectedly, this celestial being was now descending to earth, and he spontaneously brought out bowls and chopsticks, picking away most of the dough.
He ate very quickly, emptying his bowl in just a few bites. As if he hadn't had enough, he glanced at Jingwan's bowl. Before Jingwan could ask him if he wanted more, the immortal took out a handkerchief and elegantly wiped his mouth.
Jingwan deftly put the noodles in her bowl into her mouth. While she was still chewing, her cousin handed her a handkerchief. She took it shyly and wiped her mouth like him.
After finishing their meal, the two remained silent for a while.
Jingwan smiled somewhat awkwardly: "It seems my cousin really likes noodles."
She rarely spoke to men, well... if Azhiqi can be considered a man.
He was a proud and arrogant boy. Even at a young age, he loved to talk about fighting and killing on the battlefield. Even if his own father handed him a piece of pork knuckle, he would shout, "Hey, let me go!"
Therefore, this young master never liked Jingwan talking to him about food. Whenever food was mentioned, the ten-year-old would give him a disdainful look.
If I were to talk about food with my cousin now, he would probably look down on me!
Unexpectedly, Lu Chang replied seriously, "Back in the Northwest, I used to eat a bowl of this every day, but after I came to Pingdu, I stopped eating it."
He mentioned the Northwest, and Jingwan finally looked up at him.
She had heard from the young maids that her cousin's father was a great general, and that he was born in the Northwest and came to the Gao family when he was ten years old.
Now, six years have passed, and it seems that this cousin has never forgotten that childhood time!
Having found someone from the same hometown with whom she could talk about things they both knew about, Jingwan became less shy and said with a smile, "If you're talking about the best food in the Northwest, it has to be roasted pork."
She loved the place where she had lived for twelve years, even though that land had been ravaged by war, and now that she had left, she didn't know when she could go back.
"Lamb tastes best when it's grilled with a good balance of lean and fat, and it has to be grilled meticulously. When my mother was alive, I got to eat all the lean meat, but she preferred the fatty parts."
Speaking of this, she couldn't help but swallow hard and asked Lu Chang if he liked barbecue.
The boy, barely a teenager, recalled the past and said softly, "When Father won a battle, he would share roasted meat with the soldiers and the people. Although there were many wars and life was hard back then, even without spices, everyone ate happily."
Although her cousin remained calm and collected, Jingwan sensed that he was not happy.
If someone feels unhappy when recalling their childhood, is it because they had a bad childhood or because they are having a bad life now?
Judging from her cousin's appearance, Jingwan guessed that he must have had a bad time in the past. Now that he was treated as an honored guest in the Gao family, how could he have had a bad time?
But if her childhood was unhappy, how could she tell her those past events buried in the yellow sands of the Northwest?
Fortunately, Lu Chang didn't want to talk to her any longer. He put the two bowls and chopsticks away and put them in the pot, instructing Jingwan not to wash them, as the servants would take care of it.
Seeing that Jingwan was still looking at the bowls and chopsticks, as if she wanted to roll up her sleeves and get to work as soon as he left, he asked with a smile, "Do you think the servants of the Gao family are obedient?"
Jingwan didn't understand what he meant, but she still thought about it.
She couldn't help but nod repeatedly and give a heavy "hmm." Whether it was the two little maids in her courtyard or Chef Li who was in charge of the kitchen, they were all obedient as long as they were given enough money.
Lu Chang continued, "Giving you access to the kitchen is already enough money; if you let them do the rest of the work, you'll only be at a disadvantage."
Once he finished speaking, Jingwan understood and nodded in agreement.
Lu Chang walked ahead, and as he was leaving, he turned back to Jingwan and said, "What I said to you today, you should forget it all once you leave this door! Now that we've arrived in Pingdu, we shouldn't think about those past events anymore."
He left as soon as he finished speaking.
Jingwan didn't know if this was a hint, but she felt a little sad. Coming to Ping was a last resort, and she never thought of not going back.
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