Chapter 9 The Amazing Lychee Garden (09) How about I become your aunt? ...
As Wu Sao led Jiu Li into the kitchen, three cooks were busy preparing lunch. There were four or five stoves on one stove, of different sizes. The smaller ones were used to steam and simmer various exquisite dishes, and most of them were small stoves that people had added on their own.
A large pot of coarse rice and bran was simmering. Once it was cooked, the wilted radishes and cabbages in the basin would be poured in and stirred. This thick porridge, resembling pig swill, was probably the lunch for the patient who couldn't afford any extra money.
Jiuli walked closer to take a look, "Is this what the government gives to the sick?"
Aunt Wu rushed over and said with a smile, "This is still good. The food here may be ordinary, but it's free. The medicine is also free and of good quality. For a sick person, the most important thing is to take the medicine."
"Eating is important too. There's not a trace of oil in this pot. If we eat our fill now, we'll be hungry again in an hour or two." Jiuli noticed several small jars on the shelf. Looking at them one by one, she saw that they contained various kinds of dried meat. The last jar contained lard. She couldn't stand the smell and felt like vomiting, so she quickly covered her mouth and nose. "Put some of these things in too."
Aunt Wu quickly smiled and stopped her, saying, "These things are all prepared as toppings for noodles, and sometimes people want to have them as a late-night snack."
Fearing she might drop something, Aunt Wu pulled her into the kitchen's dining and resting room, brewed her a bowl of hot tea, and praised her, "Truly worthy of being from the Yu family, just like Doctor Yu Du Zhong, both possessing exceptional looks. Miss, what dishes would you like for lunch?"
"If we don't get any more food, will we just eat from that big pot anyway?"
Aunt Wu stood in front of them, clutching her stomach and laughing, "No way, Doctor Yu gave us some money when he came to the garden. We can order the dishes ourselves if we don't need anything else. Anyway, there's fish and meat. You can ask for anything else if you want."
Jiuli nodded, holding her teacup. "I don't need anything else. I've come to trouble you to buy me a comb outside. If you can't find one made of rhinoceros horn, then sandalwood or green sandalwood will do."
They happily agreed, but gradually they heard a commotion in the kitchen. Peeking through the curtain, they saw a young and beautiful woman who had just entered, arguing with three cooks. "I'm not asking you to work for free! I have plenty of money, why can't I do it for others?"
The cook at the stove didn't even look at her, just kept stirring the porridge in the pot. "Whether we do it or not is up to us. We were hired by the government, not your maids."
The young woman, fiddling with a handkerchief, put her hands on her hips and sneered, "If you were to become my maid, I'd find you vulgar!"
The cook turned her head and spat at her, "Pah! I think you're unclean!"
A crowd of onlookers had gathered in front of the door, and Aunt Wu hurriedly went to shoo them away, saying, "Go away! What's so interesting to see? Your mother's remarriage is something else, go home and see your mother!"
He slammed the kitchen door shut with a curse, then turned and sneered at the young woman, "Hey Rouge, I'm only calling you 'Miss' because we're on good terms. You shouldn't be arguing with us like that. Don't make things worse. We're barely literate, but we don't have clean mouths. If we yell 'whore' and everyone in the garden hears, I don't know who will look bad. If you know what's good for you, you'd better leave now. We're not going to take money from just anyone. We'd rather keep some coins in our pockets than risk them."
Rouge angrily pointed at them one by one, saying, "You want to earn the same money as me? Too bad, too bad. Even if you were twenty years younger, you might not have the ability!"
A cook clapped her hands and laughed, "That's wonderful! What's wrong with being honest and upright? Why bother learning those despicable and shameless skills? Singing and laughing for money, selling your skin and flesh, disgracing your ancestors, and instead of being ashamed, you're proud of it! Bah!"
"Sister Liu is right. We're not shameless people who would complain about money. If it weren't for Master Guan's orders, even she would have to eat from this big pot on a regular basis. Now we're adding more. It's not like we're just sitting around doing nothing."
"To be honest, she really is a prostitute. She has men looking after her wherever she goes. With Guan Xiaoguan's wealth and status, he must have seen many women, yet he has also become greedy for this 'coarse food'. Men, no matter what their status, can't escape the allure of novelty."
It turned out that the young woman was named Rouge. Judging from her clothes, one might mistake her for someone's grandmother. However, from the conversation among the group, Jiuli realized that she was a prostitute or actress.
Having never seen such a person before, she couldn't help but stare at her. Seeing that the woman was gradually becoming red-faced and speechless under the onslaught of several cooks, she dropped the curtain and went to mediate, "Oh dear, stop arguing! It seems like the bottom of that steamer has dried out!"
The cooks, dazed, ignored Rouge and went back to their own tasks. For a moment, all activity ceased, except for Rouge, who stood there fanning the fire with a handkerchief, unable to move forward or backward, her cheeks pouting as if she were still unconvinced.
Her eyelids relaxed, and she saw a young girl staring at her with a smile, her face turning awkward. "Who are you? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Jiuli straightened her face and chuckled softly, "This sister really put on a good show, taking on four opponents at once and not losing much." As she spoke, she pulled her into the inner room and pressed her down to sit down, "What dishes would you like to add? I'll go and tell them, and I'm sure they won't refuse me."
"You?" Rouge looked her up and down for a while. There were plenty of beautiful women in Nanjing, but who would be willing to send a young lady dressed in fine clothes like this, even if she were sick, just for the government's free medicine? Then she remembered hearing these past two days that the young lady of the Yu family was suspected of being involved in Lin Mo's death and had been detained in the garden. She guessed it was her. "You are the young lady of the Yu family? Doctor Yu's niece?"
Jiuli nodded repeatedly, "Sister, do you recognize me?"
Such outstanding looks could only come from the Yu family bloodline, Rouge thought, and smiled arrogantly, "Even if I didn't recognize you, I could guess. Why would you help me for no reason?"
“Helping is helping, why do I have to ask why? If I have to say something, then I’m just being nosy. Besides, it’s not a big deal, just a few words.”
Rouge didn't even ask whose tea it was, as she seemed to have never had it before. She picked it up while it was still hot and took a sip, haughtily raising her chin. "Alright then, I'll trouble you to go and talk to them."
Jiuli went out with a smile, and after exchanging a few words with the cooks, she came in after a while, lifting the curtain. "It's settled. Rouge, go out and tell Aunt Wu what dishes you want to add. She's going out to buy some right now."
Rouge then grabbed her skirt and went out, coldly asking Aunt Wu for a fish and some fine rice, wanting to cook fish porridge for lunch. Aunt Wu agreed in a cold tone, and that was the end of the matter.
When they came out, Rouge put aside her aloofness and chatted with Jiuli for a while. Seeing that Jiuli hadn't combed her hair yet, she waved her handkerchief and said, "If you don't mind, come to my room. I have a comb there. Comb your hair first. There are many strangers in this garden. They don't think you look like a young lady. It would be embarrassing for Doctor Yu."
Jiuli naturally agreed and happily followed her back to a small house in the West Garden. Inside, there were two beds, and someone was sleeping motionless on the left bed.
Rouge closed the door, glanced at the bed, and invited Jiuli to sit on her own bed, whispering, "She's asleep, don't wake her."
Jiuli lowered her voice as well, "Is she your maid?"
Rouge took out a comb from the dressing case beside her pillow, then moved a tall square table, placed the dressing case on it, and turned the mirror side up. "I came in alone, there was no maid here. Her name is Xiao Ajin, I didn't know her before, she's quite ill and doesn't seem to be getting better."
Jiuli tiptoed over and gently lifted a corner of the quilt to see a girl about her age, with a beautiful face, but her complexion was pale. She gently felt her pulse again and tiptoed back. "It's alright. The prescription my uncle gave her is correct. Her life can be saved. It's just that she was originally weak, so she will recover more slowly than others and suffer more."
"You can treat patients too?"
Jiuli laughed and said, "It's all from being influenced by what you see and hear."
Rouge didn't believe her and didn't argue. She pulled her down to sit and handed her the comb. "That's right. She came in alone. Her family is poor, and she didn't bring any money with her. She doesn't know anyone here, and no one is taking care of her. She's so young and pitiful."
"So you asked for fish porridge earlier for her?"
"Who's doing this specifically for her? I want to eat it myself too."
Jiuli peered into the mirror, while Rouge rolled her eyes beside her. It turned out she was a person who was tough on the outside but soft on the inside.
"I heard that you have to pay extra to live in a room by yourself. Since she's poor, how can she live here?" Jiuli turned to look at her with a smile. "It was my sister who took up this room and made her move here?"
Rouge looked uncomfortable and pushed her, "Hurry up and comb your hair, you talk so much! It's strange, Doctor Yu is usually such a quiet person."
Jiuli retorted angrily, "I wasn't born of him, so naturally I can't follow his example in everything."
"Yes, why is Doctor Yu so quiet? And he doesn't even look at anyone," Rouge thought with a smile, adjusting her hair. "Not to brag, but there's no man in this garden who doesn't look at me. Doctor Yu is quite an exception. I suppose your aunt must be a stunning beauty?"
Jiuli smiled and shook her head, "There is no aunt in the family, and my uncle has never been married."
Rouge couldn't help but be surprised. "This is strange. I heard that Doctor Yu is almost thirty. Why isn't he married yet? It can't be that he can't afford to get married. Looking at your clothes and accessories, you don't look like someone who can't afford to get married."
Lian Jiuli couldn't quite explain it, but in any case, her family had never said anything like that over the years. It seemed that everything was supposed to be this way: he wouldn't get married, and she wouldn't leave the family. They would just live a quiet and peaceful life together.
She smiled and said, "Nobody advocated for this."
Rouge nodded with an "Oh," and said, "I was wondering. But Doctor Yu earns so much money, and if he doesn't get married, who will spend it for him? Money just sits there unspent and becomes worthless. Hey, what do you think of me? How about I become your aunt?"
Jiuli chuckled awkwardly, then gestured towards the opposite bunk with her chin before changing the subject, "Look, Xiao Ajin is awake."
A note from the author:
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Thank you for reading.
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