Chapter 14 The gluttonous girl Su Zhihan returned to the main kitchen early after her leave...
Su Zhihan returned to the main kitchen ahead of schedule.
As soon as she entered the courtyard, she saw Yinghong sitting alone by the well washing vegetables. Su Zhihan glanced inside and saw that Cao Mama and the others hadn't come over yet. There was nothing else to do in the kitchen, so she went over, picked up a stool, and pulled over a basket of unwashed vegetables.
"Hiss—" Su Zhihan gasped softly.
As the weather grew colder, the water also became extremely cold; her hands froze instantly the moment they touched the cold water.
The cold air from the well water felt like sharp needles, pricking the skin again and again, drilling straight into the bones.
"Han-jie, you can leave it to me." Yinghong noticed Su Zhihan's arrival only after hearing the voice. She quickly pulled the basin to her side and told Su Zhihan to hurry into the kitchen to start a fire.
"Aunt Cao hasn't even arrived yet, why start a fire so early?" Su Zhihan said dismissively, pulling the vegetable basin closer to her. "I'll help you wash them; two people will definitely be faster than one..."
At this point, Su Zhihan paused slightly. She looked around but didn't see the person who was usually there: "By the way, where did Sister Yang Liu go? Did Mom call her to run errands again?"
"..." Yinghong paused for a moment before replying, "She will no longer work in the main kitchen."
"Why……?"
“She went to sweep the front yard—the spot you left before.” Yinghong glanced at Su Zhihan, then picked up the washed vegetables. She shook off the water, put the washed vegetables into the basin beside her, and then continued washing the next batch of vegetables.
While Su Zhihan suddenly understood, a new question arose in her mind. Ever since she said she planned to stay in the kitchen and not go back to sweep, Yang Liu had asked her many questions.
Looking back now, Yang Liu must have had such thoughts back then.
Su Zhihan had accompanied Jiang Zhenniang to deliver gifts and knew that the cleaning lady, Mama Li, was also a greedy person. Her own mother gave her a full string of cash, along with good meat and cloth, which finally made her agree.
Yang Liu's situation is probably not as good as mine!
Su Zhihan whispered, "I remember that Sister Yang Liu's family had a misfortune, and then she was sold to a slave trader before finally entering the manor... Her money from selling herself should have all gone to her family, so... where did the money come from to give to Mother Li?"
"She recognized Li's mother as her godmother."
Yinghong lowered her voice and quietly told Su Zhihan what she had overheard: "They said that from now on, she will give all her monthly allowance to Li Mama to take care of her in her old age and see her off when she dies."
Su Zhihan was unwilling to become someone's goddaughter, but there were plenty of people in the household who were willing to do so, such as Yang Liu. She had little affection for her family and no other way to earn money, so she could only use her monthly allowance to gain Li Mama's favor.
Su Zhihan never expected that while she had gone to great lengths to avoid becoming Granny Zhao's goddaughter, Yang Liu had gone to great lengths to voluntarily become another mother's goddaughter.
These drastically different ideas inevitably left her with mixed feelings. After a long while, Su Zhihan finally composed herself: "Sister Yang Liu is a person with her own ideas, so she must have her reasons. We should celebrate for her and wish her a safe journey."
"What are you celebrating for her!" Yinghong glared at Su Zhihan, her cheeks puffed up with anger. Ever since she witnessed Pearl and Xiuhe arguing outside, Yinghong's relationship with her sister had gradually thawed and was no longer as strained as before.
Because of what happened that day, Yinghong harbored resentment towards Yangliu. Putting aside the time when Pearl and Xiuhe's quarrel implicated her, she hid in the back without saying a word until Xiuhe and her sister bought things to treat everyone to a meal, at which point she came forward again.
Looking back, Yinghong realized that she always paid for her own things when she went out, while Yangliu was always stingy.
From then on, Yinghong ignored Yangliu.
She glanced at Su Zhihan, who was still saying that we should celebrate for Yang Liu, and snorted twice: "Why are you thinking about her? Look at her, she ran away like a hands-off manager, and we're the ones who suffer."
"I suppose Chef Xu will be able to fill the vacancy?" Su Zhihan wasn't worried. Yang Liu had been assigned to the main kitchen by the steward after entering the manor, so she was rightfully under Chef Xu's management.
The Marquis's residence is meticulously managed with numerous regulations. Unless someone like Su Zhihan is specifically assigned by the master to work elsewhere, anyone who wants to change their place of business in private must obtain the consent of both the original steward and the steward of the new location.
Since Chef Xu was willing to let Yang Liu go, there must be a reason. Seeing Ying Hong pouting and looking unhappy, Su Zhihan thought for a while, then pointed to herself: "Could it be that you're worried that Madam Xu wants me to take Yang Liu's place?"
Su Zhihan lowered her voice: "I was sent into the main kitchen by the Second Miss. At most, Chef Xu will teach me to work with Mama Cao. She won't let me directly take over Yang Liu's job."
In the large kitchen, Su Zhihan's position was somewhat awkward.
She was actually paid a lowly monthly wage, but nominally she was arranged by the second young lady to make tea cakes. The cook, Xu, didn't like her, but she didn't want to teach her to take over Yang Liu's work, lest the shameful news spread that the person making pastries for the second young lady or even the ladies of the Earl's mansion was a lowly servant.
If Xu, the cook, were to teach Su Zhihan to be a cook directly, she would naturally be unwilling. Instead, she arranged for Su Zhihan to follow Cao Mama, ostensibly to learn cooking skills.
But Cao's mother had no cooking skills. She was originally a maid in charge of purchasing in the kitchen. Later, someone took a liking to her lucrative position and forced her to become a cook who prepared food for the servants. Every day she made three things: pancakes, stir-fried offal, and stewed offal.
After a few days in the kitchen, Su Zhihan realized that Chef Xu was deliberately trying to curry favor with her. However, after learning about the future of the Marquis's mansion, she was preoccupied with finding a way to redeem herself and did not rush to flatter or fawn over her.
Some people look at Han Jie'er and think she's a silly girl who can't even seize a chance that comes her way. They figure that once the second young lady forgets about the tea cake, she'll probably be back to being a lowly servant and won't have any chance of getting ahead again.
Some people looked at Han Jie'er and thought she was calm, steady, and might have a bright future.
They both complained about her stupidity and worried that she was overthinking things. Neither side had contacted her, which gave Su Zhihan a few days of peace and quiet.
Yinghong leaned close to Su Zhihan's ear and whispered, "I heard that the reason why Madam Xu agreed was because Mama Cao said she wanted her daughter to work in the kitchen."
"Is Cao Mama's daughter coming too?" Su Zhihan was slightly taken aback. She had some impression of Cao Daya and remembered that Cao Mama had compared her to her, which made several old women and servants watch the spectacle.
“Yes.” Yinghong pouted when she saw that Yinghong finally showed a hint of surprise. “Just open your eyes! Look at the mothers in the kitchen, which one would be willing to teach her daughter to do hard work?”
"When the time comes, will you help Cao Daya with her chores, as Cao Mama will teach you? Cao Daya is quite famous in the manor; I've heard she's been sent away from other places several times already!"
It was returned to other places several times?
Yinghong's words sounded so familiar that Su Zhihan couldn't help but look up at her.
Yinghong was initially taken aback, then her face flushed slightly. She pouted and said in a low voice, "I was taken back by my mother because I'm stupid, while she was taken back because she's lazy! It's different!"
Su Zhihan nodded repeatedly in agreement. Seeing Ying Hong puffing out her cheeks and turning her head away, as if ignoring her, she shamelessly moved closer.
She tugged at Yinghong's hand, telling her not to say anything: "There are still people in the kitchen, so please don't say these things again. If someone complains to Aunt Cao, it will only embarrass you."
"I was just worried about you..."
"I know, don't worry!" Su Zhihan is not the kind of person who would let herself suffer a loss; she definitely has a way of making Cao Daya do things honestly.
After the two of them washed the vegetables and fruits and were about to start a fire, Cao's mother led Cao Daya into the main kitchen and greeted the cook, Xu.
Su Zhihan hadn't looked closely that day, but today she made a point of looking at her closely. She saw that Cao Daya was tall and slender, with a round oval face covered with a few freckles, and her appearance was very similar to Cao's mother.
Seemingly sensing that someone was watching her, Cao Daya also looked up, and her eyes met Su Zhihan's.
Su Zhihan's lips curled up slightly, and she subconsciously flashed a polite smile. To her surprise, Cao Daya was taken aback for a moment, then gave her a wide, enthusiastic smile.
Su Zhihan: ?
She was puzzled, but still smiled at Cao Daya and continued with her work until Cao's mother brought Cao Daya over, at which point she stood up to greet her.
Madam Cao smiled and said, "Han'er, I'll have to trouble you to take care of Daya from now on."
"Yes, I understand."
"You don't need to be nervous." Perhaps noticing Su Zhihan's unease, Cao's mother quickly added, "Da Ya is lazy, so please don't spoil her just because of me. Just tell her what to do, understand?"
Su Zhihan: ?
She was increasingly puzzled, thinking that Cao's mother must be being polite. Su Zhihan hesitated before responding, and sensing something was amiss, she glanced at Cao Daya out of the corner of her eye, trying to figure out from Cao Daya's reaction.
Then, she saw that Cao Daya, who had been nagged by Cao's mother about being lazy, not only did not show any dissatisfaction, but was also very excited!
Is this normal?
Su Zhihan muttered to herself, then tentatively asked Cao Daya to fetch firewood and help boil water. She watched Cao Daya's expression and saw that Cao Daya readily agreed and then obediently went to help.
Su Zhihan: ? ? ?
Then Su Zhihan took Cao Daya to fetch water, clean the stove, and help chop vegetables... But Cao Daya finally got stuck at the last step.
Su Zhihan's radish slices were so evenly cut, almost identical to those carved from a mold, that Cao Daya's radish slices made the head cook's forehead veins bulge, and she repeatedly shouted to stop: "What are we going to do with these radishes? Give them to the servants."
"Sister Cao, how come your daughter can't even cut vegetables?" she complained, shooing Cao Daya aside.
Cao Daya's face finally fell.
Just as Su Zhihan was preparing to respond, she perked up again and looked over: "Sister Han, what should I do next?"
Su Zhihan: "...Why don't you go and mince the meat?"
Cao Daya was full of energy and did as she was told.
Su Zhihan was chopping radishes in her hands, glancing at Cao Daya out of the corner of her eye. She was doing it seriously, without showing the slightest impatience or laziness.
"...Has Cao Daya changed her gender?"
“It’s completely different from what you said,” Su Zhihan muttered to Yinghong, who had slipped to her side. “Could it be something someone else said?”
Yinghong thought it unlikely, but looking at Cao Daya, who was engrossed in her work, she felt a little dazed. She hesitated for a moment, then nodded hesitantly: "...Maybe?"
Yinghong felt inexplicably guilty, and took advantage of a break to hand Cao Daya a candied date: "Here, have this!"
Exhausted and thirsty, Cao Daya happily accepted the gift, and then took a bowl of almond water made with almond paste from Su Zhihan. The sweet taste filled her mouth, instantly sweeping away all of Cao Daya's fatigue.
"There's nothing else to do after that, sit down for a while."
"Okay." Cao Daya sat down impatiently, but just as she was about to speak, she heard her stomach rumble.
She subconsciously rubbed her stomach, then looked expectantly at Su Zhihan: "Han-jie, Yinghong-jie, what are we having for dinner tonight?"
Su Zhihan and Yinghong were both taken aback. Yinghong hesitated for a moment before answering, "Dinner? It should be... flatbread and stewed mixed vegetables, right? If I remember correctly?"
"We had stir-fried mixed vegetables for lunch today, and we'll have stewed mixed vegetables for dinner, that's right." Su Zhihan nodded in agreement. Cao Daya, on the other hand, was very enthusiastic, her eyes full of anticipation and excitement, as if dinner was some kind of delicacy.
"Stewed mixed vegetables!?" Cao Daya exclaimed in surprise, her round face scrunched up. After a long pause, she hesitated and gestured wildly, "It's not that kind of stuff with chicken giblets and duck giblets, plus a bunch of cabbage and radishes, stewed together, is it?"
"That's right, this is it."
"..." Cao Daya was struck dumb, tears welling up in her round eyes: "It can't be something like fried rice with soybean paste?"
"You idiot, what nonsense are you talking about?" Cao's mother walked to her daughter's side, but before she could ask two questions, she heard her daughter spouting nonsense, and she immediately became furious.
Cao's mother reached out and pinched Cao Daya's ear, glaring at her and saying, "I knew you were a clever girl. You're lucky to have flatbread and stewed vegetables, why do you want to eat meat!"
"Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch—"
"You only realize your mistake when you're in pain! Look at the radishes you just cut! They're all different sizes, and they look awful! You'll cut me a hundred radishes next time!"
"Why--"
"What do you mean 'oh'? That's how it has to be done." Cao's mother sneered. The previous times her daughter had gone elsewhere, she couldn't discipline her even if she wanted to. But this time, she was right under her nose. If she didn't straighten out Daya's personality, she would change her name.
Watching the quarrel between the Cao mother and daughter, thinking about the fried sauce that Cao Daya mentioned, and then recalling what Yinghong had said, Su Zhihan immediately came to a conclusion that made her both laugh and cry.
Could Cao Daya be a greedy girl who was attracted to work by the fried sauce?
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