Chapter 188 Save these tears, and cry them out after you've eaten your fill.
(Thanks to "Don't Bother Me" for casting 4 monthly tickets.)
Li's mother and Zheng Meiniang really used all their skills, but even the most skillful cook can't cook without rice. In the end, what they served was just a stack of white flour pancakes, with their own pickled radish strips, and a plate of fried eggs with chopped wild onions.
Li's mother was a little embarrassed. She said to Yan Jiuniang, who was sitting cross-legged on the kang with a very proper posture, "Mr. Yan, please don't mind. We don't have many good things at home. Please make do with this meal for now."
I'll go buy a chicken and stew it at home later!
Here, take it, don't be shy.
Yan Jiuniang took the chopsticks handed to her by Li's mother. She could feel Li's mother's sincerity. The food on the table was, of course, rather meager compared to the eight bowls and twelve dishes she used to eat.
But this was something Li's mother had prepared with great care; she had used the best things in the house to specially prepare for her, her guest.
In this world, sincerity is the most precious thing.
Therefore, Yan Jiuniang was naturally happy and grateful, and after watching Li Shiyue bite into the pancake, she then reached for the dishes on the table with her chopsticks.
Li's mother and Zheng Meiniang had already eaten. After exchanging glances with Li Shiyue, they left the room, leaving only Li Shiyue and Yan Jiuniang to eat.
After discussing it outside, Li's mother and Zheng Meiniang drove the donkey cart out and headed towards Qingsong Town.
According to Li Shiyue, Yan Jiuniang will be staying at our house for a while, so we'll need to buy some things for the house.
Clothes, bedding, eating utensils, and food all need to be purchased.
Yan Jiuniang picked up the cup next to her and took a sip. The water tasted slightly sweet. She hadn't expected the water in the cup to be sweet!
As soon as Li Shiyue saw her expression, he knew what she meant, so he explained, "There's honey in it, which my brother and I picked from the mountain."
This is specially made to soothe children; it's a little sweet water with honey that your mother uses to comfort you.
Don't listen to Li Shiyue's words that are just Li's mother "coaxing the child." How could Yan Jiuniang, a wealthy merchant, not know the value of wild honey?
Li's mother has brought out all the most precious things in the house to entertain her.
With a lump in her throat, Yan Jiuniang felt like crying as she chewed on the soft white flour pancake.
“Hey, cry later, after you’ve eaten. Eat first, save your tears, and cry them out after you’ve eaten.”
Li Shiyue used the serving chopsticks on the table to put a piece of wild scallion omelet on Yan Jiuniang's plate, gesturing for her to eat quickly.
Yan Jiuniang, who was about to cry, was suddenly amused by Li Shiyue's words and burst out laughing.
Yan Jiuniang burst out laughing and glared at Li Shiyue with a hint of reproach: "Shiyue, how can I possibly cry when you say that?"
After the two finished eating, Li Shiyue scooped up some hot water, and the two soaked their feet together before lying down side by side on the kang (a heated brick bed).
"Come on, go to sleep. It would be best if you could sleep until the next day."
Even with her eyes closed, Yan Jiuniang couldn't fall asleep quickly after lying down.
Li Shiyue then began to talk in detail about what she was currently doing or would be doing in Liujiatun.
"...The paper mill can now produce paper of three grades: superior, medium, and inferior. Shops have also opened on Shuyuan Street in the prefectural city..."
I still have the construction of houses and schools to attend to. The autumn market is coming up, but the bridge hasn't been built yet, and the road hasn't been repaired either..."
Amidst Li Shiyue's soft, fragmented words, Yan Jiuniang finally drifted off to sleep.
Hearing Yan Jiuniang snoring softly beside her, Li Shiyue opened her eyes. She carefully got up from the kang (a heated brick bed) and closed the door behind her.
While Yan Jiuniang was asleep, Li's mother and Zheng Meiniang, who had just returned from Qingsong Town with a full load of goods, learned from Li Shiyue about Yan Jiuniang being forced into marriage.
"...It should take three or four months, which is around the time after the autumn harvest, when she will leave."
They've been staying in our village for a while now. Our place is quite remote, so the King of Zhenbei would never guess it's here.
With a great general providing cover, everything should have been fine.
Even if we are found, I'll just run away with her again.
We should always be ethical. If someone helped us when we were in our most difficult time, it's only right that we lend a hand when they are in trouble.
Mother? Aunt? How are you?
At first, Li's mother was a little worried, after all, that was the Prince of Zhenbei, the highest-ranking official in Andong.
But then he heard that Liu Tan, the general of the Xuanjia Army, secretly supported Yan Jiuniang, and that his family was now inextricably linked to Liu Tan. What else could he do?
That's the only way.
And as a mother, how could she bear to see Yan Jiuniang, such a beautiful young woman, being recklessly married off to a man much older than her to become a stepmother for the sake of power?
Put yourself in her shoes. If someone wanted October to become someone else's stepmother, she would definitely be the first to run away with October!
So when Yan Jiuniang woke up because she needed to urinate, she was lying on the kang (a heated brick bed) and felt something warm beneath her. There was also the smell of burning wood in the air. Only then did she realize that she was in Li Shiyue's house.
After getting dressed and getting off the kang (a heated brick bed), Yan Jiuniang opened the door and saw Li Shiyue standing in the courtyard outside.
"Awake? Do you need to go to the outhouse?"
After going to the outhouse, Li's mother stuffed some fried dough sticks into Yan Jiuniang's hands.
"Mr. Yan, please don't be offended. This is a small town with only two pastry shops. Their fried dough sticks are delicious too, please try them."
“Auntie, just call me Ninth Sister. Calling me Teacher is too formal.”
Mother Li glanced at Li Shiyue, who was eating fried dough sticks, and after seeing Li Shiyue nod slightly, Mother Li quickly smiled and nodded in agreement: "Alright, then I'll call you Ninth Mother just like Shiyue."
After pouring Yan Jiuniang a glass of water, Li's mother said to her in the dim light of the oil lamp, "My aunt and I went to town to buy you a new quilt and picked out two sets of clothes to fit your size."
Go inside and try it on. If it doesn't fit properly, tell me and I'll alter it for you.
So when Yan Jiuniang returned to the house, she saw the new bedding and two sets of clothes neatly folded on one side.
One outfit was peach pink, and the other looked like pale yellow—both bright colors that the little girl liked.
“There are plenty of rooms in the house. If you want to sleep alone, this room is available for you. My aunt, my maternal aunt and I will share a kang (heated brick bed).”
Yan Jiuniang also noticed that in the Li family, Li's mother and aunt slept in one room, Li Shiyue's brother slept in another room, and Li Shiyue and her two sisters slept in the third room.
Yan Jiuniang didn't reply to Li Shiyue's question. Instead, she rummaged around in her bosom and pulled out a small purse.
After placing the purse in Li Shiyue's hand, Yan Jiuniang said, "It's alright, I feel more at ease sleeping with you."
"Take this. It contains some gold leaves. You can use it to pay for my meals while I was staying at your house."
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