The next morning, Su Wan got up, washed up, and went to the kitchen, where she saw that Lu's mother was already busy at work.
The kitchen was steamy, and the pot lids on the stove were making a popping sound from the heat. Lu's mother was chopping vegetables at the cutting board.
The soldiers' meals were prepared by the army's cooks, while Lu's mother mainly prepared meals for the generals, including Wei Jingzhuo and Su Wan. In other words, they were given special meals.
Seeing Su Wan approach, she quickly put down the knife, wiped her hands on her apron, and said with a smile, "Dr. Su, why are you up so early? I haven't finished cooking yet. If you're hungry, have some flatbread to tide you over."
Su Wan noticed two stacks of flatbread in a winnowing basket next to the stove, seemingly freshly made. She assumed Lu's mother was about to prepare other dishes.
She rolled up her sleeves and said to Lu's mother, "I'm not hungry, let me help you cook."
Now that she'd come to this camp, she couldn't just do nothing and freeload all day. That wasn't in line with her personality.
When Lu's mother saw her reach for the vegetables, she quickly stopped her, saying, "Oh, no need, no need. You have your own things to do, leave the cooking to me. What if you hurt your hand with the knife? How will you get medical treatment then?"
Su Wan said, "Aunt Lu, I don't need a knife. How about I help you pick out the vegetables?"
Seeing her insistence, Lu's mother had no choice but to return to the cutting board, pick up the cleaver again, and laugh, "Alright, it seems you're not one to sit still either."
Su Wan squatted down to pick up the vegetables and asked, "Aunt Lu, where did Xiao Zhao go?"
While chopping vegetables, Lu's mother laughed and said, "Her? She's such a crazy girl. She got up before dawn, saying she was going to the mountain to pick some wild vegetables..."
“I’m not a crazy girl,” Lu Zhao’s laughter came from the doorway. “Mother, please don’t speak ill of me in front of Doctor Su.”
Su Wan turned her head and saw a basket being held out first, followed by Lu Zhao's smiling face: "I'm back! I'm exhausted from climbing up and down all that."
Lu Zhao's morning harvest consisted of only half a basket of wild vegetables, enough for just one stir-fried dish.
Mrs. Lu said with a worry, "There aren't enough vegetables. What should we do?"
Su Wan said, "I have an idea."
These wild mountain vegetables, some green, some red, were a riot of colors. In her opinion, they would be perfect to stir-fry with cured meat.
There happened to be a piece of cured pork hanging in the kitchen. She stepped on a stool to take it down. While Lu's mother was slicing the cured pork into thin slices, Su Wan and Lu Zhao picked and washed the wild vegetables.
With everything ready, Su Wan personally took charge of cooking and stir-fried a dish of wild mountain vegetables and cured pork.
She had learned this dish herself in her previous life, and now she was showing off her culinary skills. Even before the dish was finished cooking, the aroma of cured meat and wild vegetables filled her nostrils, whetting her appetite.
This dish could only be served in one plate, so Su Wan asked Lu's mother to divide it into three portions. The three of them would eat one portion, and the other two portions would be given to the generals in the army.
The generals, led by General Zhao, were greatly amazed when they ate the stir-fried cured pork and wild vegetables by Su Wan with flatbread. Several generals devoured both dishes, licking their lips and wiping their mouths, still feeling they hadn't had enough.
These generals had never eaten this before, so they all asked Lu's mother to find Su Wan and beg her to make it again at noon, as they hadn't had enough.
Su Wan didn't mind, as there was still half of the cured meat left. Lu Zhao complained, saying to his mother, "These people are really ignorant, even if they don't understand. Wild vegetables don't just grow back the next day after you dig them up. If we want to find more, we have to go deep into the mountains, and I dare not go by myself."
When General Zhao found out, he patted his chest and said, "That's easy. Send ten capable soldiers to escort them."
Everyone's stationed here, and besides daily training, there's not much else to do. Going out to dig for wild vegetables or hunt a wild boar is a way to add some variety to life.
Seeing how much everyone was craving it, Lu Zhao agreed.
She wanted to go pick wild vegetables with Su Wan, but Su Wan refused.
Su Wan wanted to go to Suiyang County to check on her pharmacy.
Su's father was honest and upright throughout his life, but he also owned a pharmacy. This was so that if he retired from his official post in his old age or was demoted by the emperor in anger, he would still have a business to run and wouldn't be without income.
When Su Wan left the Su family, she took the land deed for this pharmacy. She hadn't had time to take care of it until now. Since she had some free time, she decided to go check it out.
She arrived in Suiyang County just after lunchtime. She went straight to the pharmacy and saw pedestrians coming and going on the street in front of it, with people going in and out of the pharmacy. Business seemed to be doing quite well.
Just as she was about to step inside, a middle-aged man suddenly ran out of the pharmacy, clutching his head. Behind him, a pharmacy clerk chased after him, brandishing a stick and cursing, pointing the stick at the man and saying:
"No money? What kind of medicine are you going to buy if you have no money? Do you think our pharmacy is a charity? Get out of here, don't block the way for other customers. If you dare to cause trouble again, we'll send you to the yamen with this notice."
Seeing that the waiter was aggressive and behaving rudely, Su Wan said, "Let's talk this out. Why are you kicking people out?"
Upon hearing this, the shop assistant sized her up and down, and seeing that she was a handsome young woman, he put his hands on his hips and said, "What, you're doing this to stand up for what's right? He has no money but wants medicine... You mean we have to give it to him? How are we supposed to do business then?"
Su Wan said, "Paying money for medicine is a matter of course. I'm talking about your attitude. How can you be so rude to others?"
The shop assistant curled his lip: "So what if you're arrogant? Don't you even know who the owner of our shop is?"
Who is it?
“You wouldn’t understand even if I told you,” the waiter waved his hand and turned to walk inside. “Just mind your own business.”
Su Wan initially wanted to chase after him, but then she changed her mind and stopped, turning back to chase after the middle-aged man who had just escaped.
The middle-aged man, dressed in tattered clothes, stood out in the crowd and was sighing as he walked. Su Wan caught up with him and said, "Brother, wait a minute, I have something to ask you."
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