Chapter 2: Going South to Pingjiang to Eat a Bowl of Lotus Ginger Steamed Cake
The days of plum rain finally took a break this morning. The sky was no longer foggy, and some light was cast on the wet dock in Gaochun Town.
A half-old black-sailed passenger boat was moored nearby.
Wang Qiulan carried a bag with some spare clothes inside. Wei Jinyun held a bamboo basket in her left hand, filled with the red bean paste buns Wang Qiulan had made that morning. All the leftover oil, rice, flour, and dried goods from the house were packed into the backpack, leaving nothing behind.
"Sister Ling, Sister Qi, hold on tight to me."
Wei Jinyun spoke in a gentle voice and extended his hand.
Wei Fuling grabbed Wei Jinyun's hand and then held her arm tightly. Her big black eyes looked around from time to time, staring at the passers-by.
In previous years, she had only taken boat trips with her grandmother on the creek near her home, catching small fish and herding ducks. Now, this was her first time traveling far away on a passenger ship, and even though she was born in a water town, she felt a little timid.
Wei Fuqiu lowered her eyes. She jumped onto the deck steadily, avoiding Wei Jinyun's arm that was supporting her, and said softly, "I can do it myself."
After getting on the boat, she looked up and saw the large basket on Wei Jinyun's back. Her eyelashes trembled slightly, "Give me the basket in your hand, I'll take it."
Beside them, shirtless porters were carrying loads on their shoulders, an old woman was selling freshly picked lotus pods and water chestnuts, and there were several well-dressed merchants who were bargaining with the boat captain.
The captain of the boat was a silent, dark and thin man who just focused on untying the rope tied to the old tree stump.
The boatwoman was a woman in her forties, wearing a blue cloth polka dot jacket that had been starched to a bleached color. Her shirt was tied at the bottom and spread across her shoulders. She stood straight and looked very capable.
Her face was rosy and her voice was booming. "Grandma Wang, are you taking your granddaughters to Pingjiang Mansion? Come in quickly. There's a compartment at the back of the cabin. It's a little small, but it's quiet!"
What she called a compartment was just a small area separated by wooden boards at the stern, which could barely accommodate four people.
It was low and stuffy in here, and the air was filled with the damp smell of old wood rotten by the river water.
Wei Jinyun helped her grandmother over and helped her sisters sit down, then she sat down against the wall of the boat. She lifted the black awning curtain and looked out at the gradually widening river.
The oars pushed the river water aside and the boat moved slowly.
"Selling freshly picked water chestnuts, the first crop, so tender and sweet!"
"Gardenia, jasmine, and fragrant orchids, buy some and make tea with them, and your whole body will be filled with fragrance!"
"Straw sandals! Cattail leaf fan!"
Naturally, there were all kinds of hawking sounds near the dock, floating into the cabin from near or far.
Wei Fuqiu came close to Wei Jinyun, stuck her head out from behind the curtain, bent down, stretched out her hand, and plucked a lotus flower.
She was so unexpected that Wei Jinyun was so shocked that he quickly grabbed her waist and carried her back, "Sister Qi, be careful not to fall."
"I can swim."
Wei Fuqiu clutched the lotus flower she had ripped off and muttered softly.
"So what? Can Sister Qi catch up with the boat?"
Wei Fuling sat aside and retorted. They were twins, Wei Fuqiu was born before her, but she was unwilling to call her sister, calling her "Qijie'er, Qijie'er" all day long.
Wei Jinyun knew what the child was thinking. He thought that the child wanted to leave Jiangning Mansion where he grew up, so he picked a lotus flower as a souvenir.
When the boat sailed out of Gaochun Town, melodious music rang out all around, penetrating the noisy voices and sounds of water, and floated clearly into the cabin.
Wei Jinyun looked in the direction of the sound and saw a merchant ship much larger and more elegantly decorated than their wupeng boat approaching from the side and rear. This merchant ship had many rooms, each carefully partitioned and clean and tidy.
Of course, they would not take such an expensive boat. One ride would be enough to make several round trips on the black-sailed boat.
For their safety, Grandmother gritted her teeth and returned to Pingjiang Prefecture, not knowing how the shop would fare there. She had to consider how to settle down there and what kind of business to run with it, and every expense required careful consideration.
At the bow of the boat, there was a woman in a plain silk dress, holding a pipa, with her brows lowered, plucking the strings lightly and casually.
The soft tune of Wu dialect flows out with the rolling fingers of the pipa, lingering and sad.
Wang Qiulan also heard the sound of the pipa.
She had originally closed her eyes to rest, but now her brow furrowed slightly, and her hand on the blue cloth bag tightened slightly. She opened her eyes and said as if reminiscing, "It's a little different from Jiangning Prefecture. This is the tune of Pingjiang Prefecture. It's been a while since I last heard it."
In the cabin, the gossip of other passengers also reached my ears.
"I heard that the price of silk in Pingjiang Prefecture has increased again this year. If I can sell this shipment successfully, I can get married."
"The dim sum shop 'Xu Ji' on Shantang Street is incredibly popular. The line stretches all the way to the end of the street early in the morning. Their jujube sesame cakes are making my mouth water just thinking about them right now."
"I'm going to listen to the Pipa music. It's in the northwest corner of the inner city. Drinking tea and listening to music is the most pleasant thing."
Wei Jinyun listened to the passengers' casual chatter about life in Pingjiang Prefecture, absorbing useful information and making quick calculations in her mind. She was also from Pingjiang Prefecture, but from a thousand years later.
Her grandparents were already old when they found her, and she was only a junior in college when they finished preparing for their funeral.
She had wanted to study medicine like her grandfather, but he would always argue with her about which was better, Chinese or Western medicine. She didn't need to learn much, just watch and practice with her grandfather. While she argued with him every day, her grandmother would make a pot of tea and pick out some freshly baked cakes.
Grandfather was eating the cakes, and grandmother was also muttering, "You are an old Chinese doctor, you don't know that your blood sugar and blood pressure are high, give it to your daughter!"
Grandfather quickly stuffed the mung bean cake into his mouth, not forgetting to pick the crumbs that fell on his beard, and retorted, "Not high, not high. I checked my own pulse. I've eaten the cakes you made all my life. How can you not let me eat them in my old age?"
In the end, Wei Jinyun learned the basic diagnostic techniques of diagnosing and treating illnesses, and also learned the pastry-making skills from her grandmother.
The Song Dynasty was bustling and prosperous. If she went to Pingjiang Prefecture, she thought people would look down on her and would not trust her pulse-taking skills as a young girl. It would be better for her to open a pastry shop in such a good location.
It not only suits the tastes of the people in Pingjiang Prefecture at the moment, but she is also good at it, so it is a good way to make money.
As for Wei Jinyun's original major of studying law, it is not easy to be a private lawyer these days. If you say something unpleasant, you may be in danger of being sought for revenge or even exiled.
She also wanted to live longer and better lives with her grandmother and sisters.
At noon, the boatwoman came in carrying a clay pot to add water and casually said, "Grandma Wang, are you going to Pingjiang Prefecture today to seek refuge with relatives? Judging from your accent, you seem to be a local of Pingjiang Prefecture?"
She glanced at the blue cloth bag that her grandmother was holding tightly, which contained the shop's title deed and their pass.
My grandmother didn't even raise her eyelids, but just said "hmm" lightly as a response, obviously not wanting to talk more.
The boatwoman, despite being met with a setback, didn't get angry. Instead, she looked at Wei Jinyun and her sisters and said with a smile, "Oh, these two little girls are so smart, just like dolls from New Year paintings. But they don't look very energetic. Are they seasick? Or is the food on my boat not to your liking?"
The passenger ship provides meals, but they are not good food.
The rice was steamed dry and hard, with a faint sour taste, as if it had been left overnight. The vegetables were bland and tasteless. A small dish of pickled mustard cucumber was too salty, and the only greasy smell was a few drops of solidified lard, which made the two sisters feel limp after eating it.
Gaochun Town was under the jurisdiction of Jiangning Prefecture. Although Wang Qiulan didn't raise her granddaughters in luxury, she did provide them with a full meal, both meat and vegetables. She often took her granddaughters to buy candy and fruits, and to listen to operas, feeling as if she had a lump of gold in her arms.
It is normal for the two sisters to feel uncomfortable nowadays.
Passenger ships were prohibited from sailing at night, and the journey from Jiangning Prefecture south to Pingjiang Prefecture took several days. The weather was getting hot in early summer, and the red bean paste buns made by my grandmother and the fruits my sisters loved to eat would only keep for a few days.
Seeing her sisters' pale faces, Wei Jinyun thought that if they ate the sour rice and got an upset stomach, it would be even worse. She thought that she would have to cook for herself for the next two days.
"Grandma."
Wei Jinyun raised her head, smiled gently, and said in a clear voice, "Can I borrow your small clay stove and earthenware pot? I see that my sisters are feeling a little unwell, so I want to get them something to eat."
The boatwoman was a little surprised, but seeing Wei Jinyun's earnest look, she said readily, "Go ahead, use it. The fire under the stove is still warm."
Wei Jinyun thanked him and stood up.
She took the clay pot from the clay stove, came back to wash her hands, poured the cold water into the pot, picked up the sweet candy that her sisters loved, picked out two pieces, and put them into the water.
The water quickly warmed up, and the malt sugar melted. She took a few mint leaves, rubbed them vigorously in her palms, squeezed out the juice, and threw another piece into the sugar water.
When the sugar water comes to a slight boil, remove from heat immediately.
"Sister Qi and Sister Ling, drink some water."
Wei Jinyun carefully poured the mint syrup into two porcelain bowls, let it cool for a while, and then handed it to her sister.
"Sister, it's delicious. It's sweet!"
Wei Fuling couldn't wait to take a big sip. Wei Fuqiu also took small sips, and her originally listless face relaxed.
Knowing that the journey would take several days and that discomfort on the boat was unavoidable, Wei Jinyun had already picked a few bunches of mint leaves in the yard.
She had no brothers or sisters in her previous life, and her heart melted when she saw these two green glutinous rice balls.
How can there be such a cute sister.
There are two more.
By nightfall, the ship had entered the canal.
The rain began to fall again. The night rain could not dispel the heat at all. Instead, it made the cabin even more damp and stuffy, like a steamer.
Wei Fuling fell asleep on her grandmother's lap, breathing evenly.
Wei Fuqiu huddled in a corner, her face flushed in the dim light of the cabin, her breath burning. Her tiny body trembled uncontrollably, and she pursed her lips, trying to suppress the discomfort.
Wei Jinyun noticed the subtle sound, moved over, and reached out to touch Wei Fuqiu's forehead, which was a little hot.
I think it was the river wind that had brought dampness into my body, causing a mixture of heat and cold, a combination of heat and wind. There were no doctors or medicine on board, and rainy season illnesses were the most troublesome.
Wei Fuqiu was a little confused by the fever, but she still tried to keep her eyes open, with a hint of stubbornness and defensiveness, staring at Wei Jinyun. She wanted to push Wei Jinyun's hand away, but she didn't even have the strength to lift her hand.
"Grandma."
Wei Jinyun came out of the cabin and asked, "Is there any ginger on board? Is the old lady selling lotus seeds asleep now?"
The boatwoman dozed off on a rattan chair at the bow. She stood up and helped dig out a few pieces of shrunken old ginger and a handful of emerald green lotus pods. "I have ginger. I bought some fresh lotus seeds this morning. There are still some left."
She didn't let others make money from it, so she sold the lotus pods one by one and collected two cents more from Wei Jinyun.
"Thank you very much."
Wei Jinyun paid the money and took the clay stove out of the cabin so as not to wake up the others who were sleeping.
She washed the old ginger on the deck, smashed it with the back of a knife, squeezed out the spicy ginger juice and set it aside. She also peeled the lotus seeds and picked out the lotus core with great patience.
She placed the lotus seeds in a porcelain bowl, carefully pounded them repeatedly, and then mixed them with some rice flour, sugar, and ginger juice. Wei Fuqiu didn't like the taste of ginger, and if she just boiled ginger water, she wouldn't be able to drink more than a few sips.
The boatwoman's small clay stove lit up again.
Wei Jinyun cleaned the earthenware pot, poured clean water into it, and brought it to a boil. She carefully washed fresh lotus leaves and placed them underneath the bowl of lotus, ginger, and rice paste. She then placed the bowl inside the pot, covered it, and steamed it.
A warm aroma gradually filled the small passenger ship, the pungent flavor of ginger replaced by a refreshing sweetness.
"Sister Qi."
Wei Jinyun reached out and gently patted Wei Fuqiu's shoulder, who lowered her head in the dim light, and coaxed her softly, "Eat something."
The warm aroma of rice penetrated Wei Fuqiu's nose. Her body twitched slightly. She couldn't help but wipe the corners of her eyes, and her tone was full of grievance. "...I won't eat it. You are not my sister."
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