Chapter 32 Ham Congee
Qiao Mianmian thought that her parents might not have closed up shop yet, so she decided to go home first to avoid making her mother cook again.
When they arrived at their doorstep, they saw Aunt Wu there as well. Lin Shi had a stern face. As soon as Qiao Mianmian called out "Mother," Zhang Shi called the four siblings away.
"Grandmother, did Aunt Wu come and argue with Mother?" Qiao Mianmian asked softly.
“Your Aunt Wu is still upset and insists on arguing with your mother to see who’s right and wrong. Your mother is very protective of her own, and the two of them have only exchanged a few words. Don’t worry, your mother won’t lose.” After Zhang finished speaking, she saw the vegetables the children had brought home and said with a smile, “We’re in for a treat today. You all sit here for a while, and I’ll go get you some persimmons. Jia Cheng specially brought them over today.”
Persimmons are sweet and juicy, and they taste good, but Qiao Mianmian only ate one and didn't dare to eat more, because eating too many of them can easily make her stomach uncomfortable.
In the front hall, Aunt Wu looked at Madam Lin with a wronged expression. "Today when I went out, even Chun Sheng's mother was being sarcastic. People strive for better things, and I don't think I did anything wrong. Your Xia He is good, but don't you also look down on the Wang family? Why are you targeting me every time just because I stopped Xia He and Er Mao from getting together?"
Is it because of this?
Lin took a deep breath. "Everyone wants things to get better. Your Er Mao is successful, and it's normal for you to marry into the Yu family. What angers me is that you knew your own family was a den of wolves, yet you kept saying yes to Er Mao in order to put an end to his hopes, disregarding Xia He's future. You even mentioned this to the matchmaker, making it seem like Xia He and Er Mao were already in love."
"But let me ask you, when did my Xia He fall for Er Mao? Has she ever said anything inappropriate to Er Mao?"
Aunt Wu opened her mouth, then stopped.
"It's clearly your Er Mao who has a crush on me, and you're still trying to ruin my daughter's reputation. Is this how you do things?"
Lin became increasingly angry as she spoke, “Let me tell you, my family doesn’t have any officials or powerful relatives. But I can’t stand seeing others harm my children. I just don’t associate with you anymore, but I didn’t spread the rumors. You don’t need to come here to feel aggrieved. Since it was you who did it, you should accept my stern face. I’m not going to your house to beat or scold you because of our more than ten years of neighborly relations, and to save face for everyone.”
As she spoke, Lin stood up, indicating that Aunt Wu could leave.
Lin Xiahe, in the backyard, clenched her fists slightly as she held the bowl.
Zhang said in a low voice, "With your mother here, no one can bully you. Xia He, don't think too much, eat up."
"Mm." Lin Xiahe nodded gently, her heart heavy with worry as she thought of her mother's constant concern about her marriage.
"But……"
“There’s no good but. If I were to ruin Er Mao’s reputation everywhere and introduce him to a family whose parents are no good, would you give me a good look?” Madam Lin emphasized. “Go back. Don’t argue with me. If we really make a scene, everyone will hear it, and it won’t look good for either of us.”
If it weren't for her daughter's reputation, Madam Lin wouldn't have kept quiet. Otherwise, if things got out of hand, and unsuspecting people actually thought Xia He and Er Mao were having an affair, she would be in real trouble, and she would have to beg the Wu family to marry Xia He.
Aunt Wu blushed, but she couldn't argue with Lin Shi. Feeling guilty after being criticized, she went back with her head down.
As soon as she entered the house, Aunt Wu started crying. "I... I was confused for a moment. I didn't think that much at the time. I didn't really have bad intentions. Why did she have to accuse me of being a heartless bad person? Besides, how is my family a den of wolves? It's just that my sister-in-law is a bit fierce and my brother can't say anything. But Xia He is diligent and capable. Wouldn't it be better if she got along well with my sister-in-law?"
She became more and more upset as she spoke, especially when she saw her son come out of the house. "My son, I'm caught in the middle now. Lin said she wants to cut ties with me, and Chunsheng's mother has such a nasty mouth, always picking on me. Before long, the whole alley will be saying I'm a snob."
People used to say that Aunt Wu was a snob, but she could still argue with them. This time, however, she was feeling guilty, and if others said a few more words, she couldn't start an argument.
"Mom, how about we move?" Wu Ermao was also uncomfortable living there.
Seeing him every day made him uncomfortable. Qiao Mianmian asked him if he could abandon his mother for Lin Xiahe. Yes, he couldn't do that, so he gave up on Lin Xiahe.
But he still thought about Lin Xiahe. He didn't want to live like that, seeing her every day even after they got married.
"Why should we move?" Aunt Wu disagreed. "Even if I wronged Xia He, it didn't cause any problems, did it? I even bribed the matchmaker to keep quiet. I went to such lengths, but the Qiao family still wouldn't let it go. I'm not moving. I've lived here for so many years, I'm used to it."
The moving agent told the Qiao family that she felt guilty, but she was unwilling to admit it.
Wu Ermao sighed, "Why do you think so much? After we move, we'll just move to a bigger house. People will just think our family has become successful. Who would be so bored? Think about it yourself. I'm moving anyway. I've already listened to you about the marriage. If you don't agree to this, I won't come back to live here."
This time, Wu Ermao took a firm stance, and Aunt Wu responded with an "Eh," watching her son go inside and close the door.
She felt even more suffocated, wondering why her relationship with her son seemed to be growing more and more distant.
Meanwhile, at the Qiao family next door, Qiao Mianmian was showing Lin Shi the dishes she had brought back. "Madam Wang praised my banquet for being well done and gave me an extra five taels of silver as a reward. The other two taels were from Sister-in-law Wang. I have to say, Sister-in-law Wang is really good at dealing with people. From the pastries last time to the extra money for tea this time, it shows that she is a polite person."
With someone like that managing the household, the Wang family's life won't be bad. No wonder Madam Wang is so amiable; she doesn't have to worry about household affairs, her youngest son even passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, and everything in the household is fine. A smile makes people easier to talk to.
When Madam Lin opened the package and saw the money, her mood improved considerably. "As expected of my daughter, you're really amazing. By the way, aren't you going to the Xu family tomorrow?"
Qiao Mianmian said there was no rush, "The Xu family's banquet is less than ten tables, and it's only for one day. We can just start preparing a day in advance." She leaned close to her mother's ear, "Don't argue with Aunt Wu. It's not worth getting angry over someone you dislike. Look at all this gleaming silver, isn't it beautiful? How about I help you calculate how much silver we've saved?"
Qiao Mianmian had roughly calculated that from the time she started selling braised food at her stall until now, more than a month later, the family had earned close to a hundred taels of silver.
"I don't need your help with this. I know my own money." When it came to money, Lin couldn't suppress her smile. At the current rate of earning money, in less than two or three years, or even another year, the family could afford to buy a bigger house.
"Alright, alright, you can keep your money," Qiao Mianmian said. "By the way, why are you closing up shop so early?"
Speaking of this, Madam Lin sighed, "Without you here, many customers can't even order a dish. Business has been much worse these past few days. After noon every day, business is slow. Your grandmother and I discussed it and decided that we should close up shop early and go home to prepare the pork offal and pig's head meat that need to be braised."
Even if the pork offal has been processed before you buy it, you still need to wash it again at home to feel safe.
Qiao Mianmian nodded and said, "That's good too. You won't be too busy while we're not home."
Upon learning that all the pork offal had been cleaned, Qiao Mianmian decided to take a nap. She had been working long hours these past few days and was indeed exhausted.
After watching her daughter go inside, Madam Lin took the silver back to her room. She calculated that she now had 290 taels of silver. It had been a long time since the family had had so much money, and she was overjoyed.
Thinking about her eldest son who will be getting married next year, Lin decided to go to her mother-in-law to discuss something. When she knocked on the door, it opened.
Zhang was looking at the gold ring on the table when she heard the door open. She trembled slightly and nervously pressed down on the gold ring on the table.
Turning around and seeing it was his daughter-in-law, his tense shoulders slowly relaxed. "Oh, it's you. Come in."
When Lin saw the gold ring, she was taken aback, as she knew that her mother-in-law did not have a gold ring.
"Mother, I'll do it..."
"Let me speak first." Zhang didn't want to hold back any longer. She opened her palm, revealing a gleaming gold ring. "These past few days, I've felt uneasy whenever I think about this."
She recounted how Qiao Youfu had saved up money to buy a gold ring, saying, "When I was young, I wanted a gold ring to outshine my sisters-in-law. Later, as you know, the children all got married and started their own families, and we never had any extra money. I never expected that Mancang's father would remember this and save up for over thirty years to buy me this."
Lin hadn't expected her father-in-law to have such thoughts. Her first reaction was that he shouldn't have bought it, but when she saw her mother-in-law's graying temples and the calluses on her palms, she felt ashamed of her earlier thoughts.
“Mother, you should be happy that Father is so kind,” Lin said with a smile. “You have worked so hard for this family for so many years, and now the family is in a much better situation. Mancang and I can afford to buy a new house through our own efforts, so we shouldn’t need your money anymore. Don’t feel embarrassed. Wear it out confidently and show it off to the neighbors. Father will definitely be happy.”
Last time, when they bought the house, her in-laws only contributed a portion of the money, and Lin was already satisfied. One shouldn't be greedy; it's something her mother-in-law has thought about her whole life, and it would be unreasonable for her to nitpick and complain.
“Oh…I…” Zhang wiped away her tears gently and choked up softly. She had never dared to wear the gold ring out because she was afraid that the other family members would think too much. Hearing her daughter-in-law’s understanding, she felt that all her previous efforts were worthwhile. “Mancang is so lucky to have a wife like you. He is blessed in his previous life.”
"I'm so lucky to have a mother-in-law as thoughtful and considerate as you." Lin helped her mother-in-law put on the gold ring. "Look how beautiful it is."
When she has money in the future, she'll buy one for her three daughters, no, she'll buy one for herself too. But she won't wear it every day; that would be too flashy. She still has to set up a food stall.
"It really is beautiful." Zhang was pleased, but then she remembered that Lin had something to say, so she asked Lin what she had come for.
Lin: "Jiawang is getting married next year, and we can't move house anytime soon. The Hu family said they'll provide a bed as part of the dowry, and I'm thinking of having a wardrobe made for Jiawang's wife?"
Moving to a new house would cost too much money; we can afford to buy a cabinet. We should give Jiawang's wife a decent living first.
"But where will they live?" Zhang asked with a worried look. If they rented another house, wouldn't that be the same as dividing the family property? She was afraid that people would laugh at them.
But the house only had three rooms, which was already cramped. If it weren't for this matter, Zhang wouldn't have felt so embarrassed.
Lin said she had thought about it, "I'll partition off my house and make Jiaxing live in a cramped place for a while. I'll make room for Jiawang's wedding in the house they're currently living in. As long as we can get a bigger house before Jiaxing gets married, the problem will be solved."
"That would be too unfair to you," Zhang said.
"There's nothing to feel wronged about; it's all for the children. Besides, our family's situation is much better now, and one day we'll be able to move to a larger house." Lin was very confident about this. "I was thinking that the Hu family and our family have always had a good relationship, so to show that they value us, why not spend a little more money to have a nice camphor wood cabinet made? What do you think?"
The usually stingy Lin hadn't bought herself a new piece of clothing in three years, but instead thought about giving her stepson face.
Moved, Zhang spoke with her daughter-in-law and then privately approached her son, saying, "Your wife has done so much; it's truly remarkable. You must tell Jiawang that even though Lin isn't his biological mother, she raised him and Jiaxing single-handedly. After they get married, he and his wife must respect Lin as they would their own mother, understand?"
A set of camphor wood cabinets costs at least ten taels of silver. Lin said that for better ones, they must be carved and of matching sizes, starting at thirty taels of silver.
This is no small sum for an ordinary family. A set of cabinets costs so much, and then there are banquets, lucky money, and so on, all of which cost money.
"I know, Mother. When we went to meet the matchmaker back then, I said Lin was good. You see, I was right, wasn't I?" Qiao Mancang said happily.
Zhang snorted and laughed, "I know you well enough. Lin is the most beautiful one. You're lucky to have met such a good woman, both inside and out. Alright, remember to tell Jiawang and Jiaxing."
She raised her hand to show off her gold ring, saying, "Isn't it beautiful? Your dad bought it for me."
Before Qiao Mancang could react, he saw a flash of golden light. When he went to the front hall, he heard his youngest daughter praising her.
"It's so beautiful, Grandma. Grandpa is so kind to you. He always remembers what you said. I want to find someone as good as Grandpa in the future." Qiao Mianmian looked at the gold ring on her grandmother's hand and leaned her upper body against her grandmother.
"Shameless! A young lady shouldn't say such things." Madam Zhang affectionately pinched her granddaughter's cheek. "Your grandfather is truly thoughtful. I never expected him to buy me a gold ring. Mianmian, Xiahe, you must keep your eyes open when choosing a husband in the future. For us women, marriage is like a second chance at life. If we meet a good person, we'll have someone to rely on for the rest of our lives."
“Yes, that’s why you’ve been happy your whole life, Grandma.” When Qiao Mianmian praised her grandmother, she saw her grandfather’s lips stretching to the sky and thought to herself that no matter what age people are, they all like to be praised.
Ms. Zhang felt relieved that she no longer needed to hide the gold ring. She happily chatted with her granddaughters about her youth until dinner time.
Tonight's dinner was very lavish, with four dishes brought back from the Wang family. Qiao Mianmian re-fried the ribs and then heated up the other dishes to eat.
The neighboring bartender smelled the aroma wafting over and immediately said, "Sir, Miss Qiao Wu is back!"
Mrs. Qiao doesn't have the culinary skills to cook this. Tomorrow's breakfast will be delicious!
Lu Zhao saw right through Qingjiu's thoughts. "You're really craving it."
“Of course, since we arrived in Lin’an, our food and daily necessities have been far worse than before. Only at the Qiao family’s can we taste good food.” Qingjiu swallowed as she spoke. “Besides, our lives are very simple now. Apart from going to work, we just go home to eat and sleep. Of all these things, only eating is the most anticipated. Don’t you feel the same way?”
Lu Zhao paused for a moment before saying, "Miss Qiao is indeed a good cook. Go and deliver the red beans and ham they sent over, and tell them that we can't cook them and it would be a waste to keep them."
"Alright!" Qingjiu ran very fast. When he arrived at the Qiao family, the Qiao family had just finished eating. "Auntie, Uncle, this was given to my master by someone else. We don't know how to eat it. He said he knew that Miss Qiao Wu was back and asked her to make it for us."
After saying that, he put down his things and left in a hurry, before Lin could even say a word.
"How did they know Mianmian was back?" Lin asked, puzzled.
Everyone else shook their heads. Qiao Mianmian saw the ham that Qingjiu had brought over, which weighed at least two pounds. Since Lu Zhao said so, she would cook some ham porridge for her tomorrow morning.
Qiao Mianmian cut the ham into cubes in advance and told Lin to soak them in warm water for a while the next morning before using them to cook porridge. Then she went to sleep.
Now that my fourth sister is in charge of making the braised dishes at home, Qiao Mianmian doesn't need to lift a finger. Although my eldest brother can't remember the cooking steps, his knife skills are excellent. My second brother is quick-witted; whatever she says, he'll remember it after the second time.
After several hard days, Qiao Mianmian slept very well. When she woke up the next day, she cooked the ham and rice together. There was still more than half of the ham left, which she could save to stew with ribs or steam later.
About half an hour later, the rice porridge thickened and was topped with ham oil. The golden-red ham, like the morning sun, dotted the rice grains, and the salty and fragrant aroma of the ham filled the entire kitchen as the steam rose.
As the porridge was scooped up, the thick porridge slowly dripped down. Qiao Mianmian took a bite while it was still hot. The light flavor of the porridge was mixed with the freshness and saltiness of the ham. After sliding down into her stomach, there was a faint sweet aftertaste on her tongue.
"Not bad, quite delicious." Qiao Mianmian was quite satisfied with today's porridge; the addition of expensive ham made it truly special.
Eating only porridge wasn't enough to fill her up, so she steamed a pot of sweet potatoes. After serving the sweet potatoes and ham porridge, Qiao Mianmian called out to the kitchen, "Dinner's ready!" Her second brother rushed over in an instant.
"I'm here!" Qiao Jiaxing excitedly ran over with a bowl. "The porridge today has ham in it, it smells so good! I've never had ham before, Fifth Sister, how did you know how to make it?"
"I've never tried it before. I only learned about this simple recipe from other people," Qiao Mianmian said with a smile.
When she arrived at the front hall, Lu Zhao and Qingjiu were also there. She greeted them with a smile, "Good morning, Lord Lu, good morning, Qingjiu. Are you hungry? Dinner is ready." She went to the kitchen and got a bowl of pickled vegetables. The sour and spicy pickled vegetables were a good appetizer and went perfectly with the fragrant ham porridge.
"Miss Qiao, my husband has been craving your cooking for so long!" Qingjiu excitedly helped set the table.
Lu Zhao: ...When did he say that to Qingjiu?
Qingjiu didn't notice her master's gaze and continued, "You don't know, without your cooking, the master has lost his appetite these past few days. Every day after I finish cooking, the way he looks at me is so disgusted!"
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