Chapter 15 Cooking
Aman was born in the countryside, and her story is nothing more than some village matters.
At first, Fu Yunxiu only found her incessant chatter noisy, but gradually he was drawn in by her stories: the wildflowers covering the mountains and fields, the "cuckoo" that urged the crops to grow taller, and the carefree little girl digging for wild vegetables in the mountains.
The bed was warm and cozy, and the pain in his legs had somehow disappeared. The woman's gentle voice was like a gentle stream, and Fu Yunxiu felt completely comfortable. Gradually, he lost consciousness.
When Aman heard his steady breathing, she stopped breathing as well.
Sure enough, listening to stories can distract from the pain and relieve some of it. This method works for the old lady and also for the young man.
Moving her slightly sore arms, Aman reached into Fu Yunxiu's blanket to check the temperature inside.
The blanket was warm, and the clod of earth was still warm to the touch. Aman withdrew his hand and then heard the crowing of roosters outside.
It's almost dawn.
It was still pitch black outside. Aman was exhausted after tossing and turning for so long that she took a short nap by Fu Yunxiu's bedside.
When I woke up, it was already broad daylight outside.
Seeing that Fu Yunxiu was sleeping soundly, Aman didn't wake him. She got up, folded the quilt on the soft couch, put it back, and tiptoed out the door.
Thinking that breakfast was still undecided, Aman went to the kitchen first.
Last night, Mantou left her dinner—three big steamed buns—but Aman didn't eat them; they're still sitting under the porcelain bowl. In the cupboard, there's also a small bag of rice that Mantou bought last night.
It seems the Marquis's residence won't be sending anything this morning, so Aman is thinking of cooking some rice porridge and heating up some steamed buns for breakfast.
But the hot water for washing up hadn't been boiled yet, so Aman had to boil the water first.
Aman thinks that when the kitchen is renovated, the stove should be rebuilt and a clay pot should be embedded next to the firebox. Then, no matter what kind of food is being cooked, hot water will be available as long as the fire is lit, which will save time and firewood.
After lighting the fire and boiling water, Aman planned to go back to her room to change her clothes. However, she bumped into Mantou as she went out, and the two almost collided. Fortunately, Aman was quick-witted and took a step back in time.
Mantou didn't sleep well last night and woke up late this morning still feeling groggy. This almost scared him to death, and he immediately felt much more energetic.
He barely managed to grab the door frame before realizing it was Aman. His eyes widened immediately. "Aman, why are you up so early?"
His gaze fell on Aman's knees. "Your legs don't hurt anymore?"
His reminder made Aman realize that her leg was still injured. However, she had checked it yesterday; it was just a large bruise, and after a night's sleep, it felt completely gone. As long as she didn't touch it intentionally, it didn't affect her daily life.
Aman shook his head, "I'm much better. You've come at the right time. You can watch the fire while I go change my clothes."
Mantou then noticed that Aman was still wearing the same clothes as yesterday, but Aman had already gone far away, so he couldn't ask and could only follow his instructions to start the fire.
When Aman returned after changing her clothes, the water was already boiled. Mantou had finished washing up and was about to fetch hot water to help Fu Yunxiu get up.
Upon seeing Aman enter, he instructed, "The water is already heated. There's rice I bought yesterday in the cupboard over there, and leftover buns from yesterday under the porcelain bowl. Make some breakfast first, and after you've served the young master, we'll go to the market together."
As Mantou was about to pick up the kettle and head out, Aman stopped him, saying, "Young Master is still asleep. You should wait a while before going, so as not to wake him."
"Hmm." Mantou was still figuring out where to find someone to fix the house when he heard Aman say that, so he subconsciously responded. But once he had one foot out of the kitchen door, he finally realized something was wrong. "Hmm...? Wait a minute, how did you know the young master hasn't woken up yet? Did you go to check on him?"
“Young Master’s leg pain flared up last night, and he was up most of the night, only falling asleep close to dawn,” Aman said.
"Oh dear," Mantou said, stamping his foot in regret, "How could I have forgotten about this?"
The young master's leg pain flares up when he gets cold. Yesterday afternoon, the wind was so strong outside, and the young master stood by the window to enjoy the wind, yet he didn't even think of this and let him stay by the window for so long.
"Then why didn't you call me?" Mantou's tone wasn't very friendly, and there was even a hint of blame towards Aman.
Doctor Cheng said that if the young master's leg pain flares up, placing him in a warm place will relieve the pain.
He noticed that the brazier that Aman usually used to burn charcoal to keep the young master warm was still in the dining hall, and he knew that Aman was unaware of this matter.
I wonder how much suffering you endured last night, young master.
Seeing Mantou's distressed expression, Aman knew he was just worried and didn't hold it against him. Instead, she patiently explained, "It was the young master who told me not to call you, but I used clods of earth to warm him up, and it seemed to work. He fell asleep in the middle of the night."
"That's good," Mantou breathed a slight sigh of relief, then asked, "What is a clod of earth?"
This was really beyond his comprehension.
"I found large chunks of mortar in the collapsed house over there. I heated it up, wrapped it in a cloth, and it's still clean."
Looking at the obvious fatigue on Aman's face, and remembering that she had just finished dealing with the troublemakers in the west courtyard yesterday, Mantou felt extremely guilty.
In the end, it was his fault for not serving the young master properly; he didn't even know the young master had a seizure in the middle of the night, and now he has the nerve to blame others. Mantou felt ashamed, and even a little afraid to look into Aman's clear, bright eyes.
He tightened his grip on his fingers, lowered his head, and said sincerely, "I'm sorry, my tone was bad just now, please don't take it to heart."
How could Aman get angry with him over this? She waved her hand casually, "It's just a small matter, it's not a big deal."
After saying that, Aman pointed to the withered branches and broken grass all over the front yard, looking worried, "Brother Mantou, if you have nothing to do, could you sweep the yard?"
Yesterday, the wind blew all afternoon, blowing broken grass and fallen leaves from the roof into the yard. The small yard, which was already not very tidy due to water damage and house demolition, became even more unsightly.
Aman was used to living a clean life with her grandmother, and seeing the yard so dirty made her feel uncomfortable. If it weren't for the fact that someone had to be on the stove while cooking porridge, she would have swept it herself.
Since Mantou had nothing else to do, and the young master hadn't woken up yet, he decided to sweep the courtyard first.
Aman scraped out the excess water from the pot, then switched to a different pot for cooking, poured in the washed rice and an appropriate amount of water, and started cooking porridge.
Once the porridge was boiling, Aman pulled out two pieces of firewood, turned the fire down to a simmer, placed chopsticks on it, and began heating the buns.
There was still some leftover pickled vegetables from yesterday morning at the bottom of the porcelain basin. After thinking for a moment, and adhering to the principle of not wasting food, Aman went to the backyard to find some wild vegetables and planned to cook a pot of vegetable porridge.
As the mist dissipated, the first rays of morning sunlight fell on the courtyard. Amidst the rising smoke, a woman picked vegetables at the kitchen door, while a man swept the yard. The broom scraped across the ground with a soft thud, and this usually quiet courtyard seemed to come alive with a touch of warmth and life.
Therefore, this was the scene that Fu Yunxiu saw the first thing when he got up.
"Steamed bun."
Hearing someone call him, Mantou looked up from between the brooms and saw Fu Yunxiu pushing a wheelchair, dressed neatly, standing at the door.
"Young Master." Mantou dropped what he was doing and ran forward in a few steps. "Young Master, you're awake!"
"Hmm," Fu Yunxiu responded faintly, his clear black and white eyes scanning the surroundings as if searching for something. "Where's Aman?"
"She's making breakfast in the kitchen!" Mantou said.
Cook!
Upon hearing this word, Fu Yunxiu felt a slight tingling and pain in his heart, as if something had touched it.
From as far back as he could remember, "cooking" was a word that was far removed from his life. The Marquis's mansion had a kitchen, and the meals were prepared by the kitchen and delivered to each courtyard. The word he heard most often on a daily basis was "eating."
Later, when Fu Yunting was born, his mother, who had never lifted a finger in the kitchen, began to learn how to cook and make some baby food for him, but she only made it for Fu Yunting and still kept it far away from him.
Later, when they arrived at Wutongyuan, the two grown men were so incompetent that it was a miracle they didn't set the house on fire, let alone cook.
So when Fu Yunxiu hears this word now, he feels both familiar and unfamiliar with it.
Ignoring the slight unease in his heart, Fu Yunxiu did not speak, but simply nodded slightly.
Seeing that her young master seemed to be in good spirits, Mantou finally felt relieved and asked, "Young master, how is your leg? Does it still hurt?"
Mantou had no idea that he had suffered from leg pain last night, so how he knew is self-evident.
"Did Aman tell you that?" Fu Yunxiu asked.
Moreover, judging from his tone, he seemed a little unhappy that Aman had talked too much. But Mantou had served him for many years and knew his temper well. She pouted and said, "Young master, don't try to change the subject. Last night's situation was so dangerous. If Aman hadn't known some medical knowledge, you would have suffered so much!"
"It's alright, just bear with it and it will pass." Fu Yunxiu seemed nonchalant in the face of Mantou's worry.
It's just a leg ache, nothing that's going to kill you. He's gotten used to it over the years.
only……
Remembering how Aman barged into his room like a rogue last night and ignored his words, Fu Yunxiu should have been angry and taught Aman a lesson. But the problem was, faced with Aman's domineering yet impolite behavior, he felt no anger at all; instead, he had an indescribable feeling in his heart.
That's strange, so very strange.
"Young master, you always don't take your health seriously." Mantou was furious, but she couldn't say anything more. Besides, it was all her fault for being careless. She had forgotten that the young master's body couldn't be exposed to the cold, and she had let him stand in the wind for so long yesterday.
Never mind, I'll just be more careful from now on.
Mantou let out a sigh of relief and asked again, "Is the young master going to the outhouse now?"
"No need," Fu Yunxiu shook his head. He just felt refreshed after waking up and, hearing the noise outside, couldn't resist coming out to check.
Mantou nodded, "Then young master, please go inside first. It's cold outside, don't catch a cold. I'll go get you some water to wash your face."
A note from the author:
----------------------
Please add this to your favorites and leave a comment!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
