Bo Qinghuan

Kapitel 4

The third sister smiled, a hint of anticipation on her face, yet also a touch of worry: "But second sister, I heard that even in Yangzhou, there's no limit to the daily necessities. If we go to Tokyo, I'm afraid it will be even worse..."

She stopped talking.

Gu Zao clenched his fist and waved it in front of her.

Third Sister looked at her in confusion, and Gu Zao smiled and said, "Third Sister, we have hands and feet, brains and dignity. If we work hard, are you still afraid of not having enough to eat?"

The third sister burst out laughing, and all the worry on her face vanished.

Gu Zao casually asked, "Third Sister, the village head's wife and I are going to the county town to buy some vegetables tomorrow. Could you tell Mother that we can go together tomorrow?"

Third Sister's eyes lit up, and she nodded hastily. Gu Zao smiled and went into the house with her to cook dinner.

The next morning, Gu Zao and her third sister arrived at the village entrance early to wait.

A sudden rainstorm struck last night, but the sky cleared up early this morning. Only the dark, glistening leaves of the old, crooked locust tree at the village entrance and the damp soil on the ground showed traces of the rain. A breeze blew by, making it very cool.

The third sister had a smile on her lips from the moment she left. It turned out she hadn't been to the county town for several years, so she was naturally very excited. Qingwu was also eager to go, but Gu Zao thought that today was a shopping trip for the master's family, not a personal outing. If the third sister went, she could help carry some things, but if Qingwu went, she was afraid that Madam Fan's sister would gossip. So she cruelly rejected his idea. Qingwu had no choice but to reluctantly agree, watching the two sisters leave early in the morning, speechless with longing. Madam Fang felt sorry for her son and scolded Gu Zao a few times, saying that she had instigated the third sister to go out, and that she would have to cook for her after returning from the fields today.

After waiting for a short while, the village head's wife arrived in a hurry, carrying a bamboo basket. The three of them stood under the old locust tree and talked for a short time. Then, a blue-and-white mule cart came along the road in the neighboring village. A woman was sitting on the cart, her big feet swaying. It turned out to be Lady Fan's younger sister, Madam Lü.

The village head's wife and Madam Lü were acquainted. After exchanging greetings, the three of them climbed onto the cart, sat cross-legged on the back, and Madam Lü flicked her whip, causing the mule to pull the cart toward the county town.

After traveling for about an hour, the number of pedestrians and carriages on the road gradually increased. Occasionally, they could see one or two well-dressed people riding tall horses past them with their heads held high and their heads held high. After traveling for another half hour, the sun was already high in the sky when they finally entered the city.

This county town was indeed incomparable to a rural place like Dongshan Village. Upon entering the town, one could see bustling traffic and crowds everywhere. All sorts of shops lined both sides of the road, selling incense, tea, silk, and restaurants, one after another. There were also vendors along the street selling embroidery, collars, flowers, pearls, jewelry, hats, tassels, and so on. Not to mention Third Sister, even Gu Zao found it extremely novel. Looking at the village head's wife and Madam Lü beside her, their eyes were also looking around, and they were reluctant to leave.

Gu Zao was worried about the purchase of goods for tomorrow's banquet. Fearing that there would be no good goods left if they arrived late, he tugged at the village head's wife, who then woke up. The four of them hurriedly headed towards the market in the east of the county town.

Upon arriving at the market, Gu Zao took out the shopping list that Qingwu had written the night before. It listed vegetables that were not readily available in the countryside. As for chicken, duck, pork, mutton, and fish, Madam Fan had already ordered them from the local villagers. Gu Zao read out the items on the list in order, and the First Madam and Madam Lü immediately began haggling with the vendors. After a flurry of activity, the vegetables listed—such as water chestnuts, lettuce, water bamboo shoots, and pine mushrooms—were all bought and piled halfway up the cart.

Gu Zao followed behind, not saying much, but for each item she bought, she used a homemade charcoal stick wrapped in old cardboard that Qingwu had used to write down the cost. After buying the vegetables, the group went to the fruit stall, picking and choosing, and bought a bunch of rouge peaches, pink pomegranates, and honey berries, which looked fresh and smelled delicious. They also bought lychee sago cakes, long-wrapped peach strips, crispy walnuts, and wrapped pear flesh to make a platter, and some oil, salt, soy sauce, fermented black beans, ginger, pepper, tea, and some sweet sugar and honey. Seeing that they had bought almost everything on the list, and noticing that the sun was past noon and the four of them were a little hungry, they went into a noodle shop by the roadside.

Although Madam Lü said the cost of the meal would be deducted from the public funds, Gu Zao glanced at the menu hanging on the wall and still only ordered the cheapest bowl of minced meat noodles for herself and her third sister. The head wife, on the other hand, ordered pork and mutton noodles, while Madam Lü ordered bamboo shoot and pork noodles. They also asked the shopkeeper to heat up a pot of wine. She and the head wife drank together, their faces flushed and their cheeks rosy, before they burped and helped each other out.

The four of them went to finish the remaining items on the list. Seeing that it wasn't too late, they strolled out together again. The village head's wife bought a lot of hair oil, powder, and handkerchiefs, while Madam Lü also bought a lot of odds and ends. Gu Zao remembered that the palm-leaf fan on Madam Fang's bed was broken and only a few stems remained. Since it was still a bit stuffy on the summer night, she also bought a brand new green palm-leaf fan.

Gu Zao gave Third Sister twenty coins. She looked around for a long time and took a fancy to a pair of clove earrings. However, the vendor asked for thirty coins, so Third Sister reluctantly put them back. Gu Zao closed his eyes and started bargaining. After a lot of spittle flying, he got them for only eight coins. Third Sister took out the plugs from her earlobes, put on the earrings, and wanted to return the remaining ten coins to Gu Zao. Gu Zao smiled and told her to keep them. Third Sister then happily put them into her purse.

Gu Zao remembered the clothes Qingwu was wearing; the elbows and cuffs were worn white. Seeing a cloth shop by the roadside, she went in and bought a few feet of blue cloth. Looking back at her third sister staring at a piece of floral cloth with reluctance, she calculated the money and asked her third sister to buy a piece as well, so that they could make a new dress together. However, her third sister shook her head repeatedly.

Gu Zao knew that she was considerate of him and was touched. She calculated the three hundred coins she had earned yesterday. The village head's wife had given her one hundred, Fang Shi had fifty, and her third sister had just given her twenty. Now that she had bought Qingwu's cloth, she really didn't have much left. After thinking for a moment, she smiled and said, "That's fine. I won't buy any for you today. When I have more money, I'll let you wear new clothes every day."

After leaving the fabric shop, they saw some snacks and miscellaneous foods for sale by the roadside. Gu Zao himself didn't like them, but thinking of the daily meals that his third sister and Qingwu ate without oil or sauce, he bought a few bags of crispy honey snacks, fragrant candies, glutinous rice cakes, and sesame balls. He let his third sister carry them, and then he went to buy some fried quail wrapped in lotus leaves and some roasted goose and duck ribs. Only then did he and his third sister return home with their four hands full of things.

The mule cart had been empty when it arrived, but now that it was going back, it was crammed full of things. Madam Lü sat in front driving the cart, while the village head's wife, who was rather plump, took up a lot of space by herself, leaving not much room for others. Fortunately, Third Sister was still small, and Gu Zao herself was quite slender, so they squeezed together and headed towards Dongshan Village.

When the mule cart arrived at the entrance of Dongshan Village, the western hills were already ablaze with fiery clouds. Gu Zao and her third sister carried their belongings, got off the cart with the local lady, and watched as Madam Lü whipped her whip and continued on her way to Madam Fan's house.

Gu Zao and her third sister returned home. Before they even reached the door, they saw Qingwu running towards them from afar, taking the things from Gu Zao's hands. The three of them happily entered the house. As soon as they put down the things they had bought during the day, Fang Shi came over and started rummaging through them, muttering, "Where did they get so much spare money to buy all these things? It's just to appease them and make them feel good for a moment..."

Gu Zao smiled, then simply held the cloth up to Qingwu's body before telling her third sister to take it and make Qingwu a new summer outfit when she had time.

Fang glanced at Gu Zao and said in surprise, "Second sister, your needlework used to be the best in the village. You can make a piece of new cloth yourself when you have time. How can third sister compare to you?"

Gu Zao stammered, "Mother, you don't know, ever since I touched those pots and pans in the kitchen, my hands have become quite rough. Now I can't even touch needles and thread..."

Fang rolled her eyes at her, patted Qingwu who was picking at quail legs, picked up the food, and went to the kitchen, saying it was for dinner. At dinner, Qingwu ate two large bowls of rice, and even her third sister ate half a bowl more than usual. The fried quail and braised goose and duck ribs in the lotus leaf wrap were almost gone. Fang felt both heartache and sadness. Gu Zao smiled and put the last piece of goose leg on top of her rice.

The next day was the wedding at the Fan family's house in the neighboring village. Gu got up at midnight and called her third sister to help out. She wrapped a blue cloth with a blue floral pattern around her head and wore a drab coarse cloth outfit. After they got ready, they went out. It was still dark, and a pale crescent moon had just risen and was hanging in the sky. Taking advantage of the moonlight, they headed towards the Fan family's house. When they arrived at the gate of her house, it was not yet four in the morning. From afar, they could see the red candlelight at the gate and two red "double happiness" characters that were faintly visible. There were already people moving around inside.

Madam Fan was already directing people to get busy in the courtyard. Seeing that Gu Zao was so attentive and had arrived so early, she was already somewhat pleased. She then led her to the backyard, where a shed had been set up. Inside, as Gu Zao had instructed, two large pots and a small pot were already set up, along with two large water vats. The ground was piled high with firewood and ingredients stacked like small mountains.

Gu Zao called her third sister, and the two of them went to pick and wash some vegetables. Before long, several aunties and women from the village who were helping out arrived one after another. The pork and mutton that Fan Niangzi had ordered from the butcher in the village were delivered one by one. Someone also brought two cages of chickens and ducks and several baskets of fresh fish. Before dawn, everything had arrived.

A small test

Seeing that the food preparation was almost done, Gu Zao silently went through the banquet menu in his mind again. This banquet also had a name, called the "Flying Together" banquet, which consisted of four side dishes, eight hot dishes, four fruit snacks, plus two table-top dishes.

The four side dishes were carved vegetables and fruits, shaped dried fruits and candied fruits, assorted meat dishes, and assorted vegetarian dishes; the eight hot dishes were braised seafood, crispy fried quail, fish balls in milk soup, pipa prawns, scallop spring rolls, peanut and jujube soup, sesame oil chicken wings, and clear stewed pork hock; the four desserts were fragrant acacia cakes, stuffed sugar pastries, sugar-roasted melon seeds, and red bean paste dumplings; the last two dishes on the table were Luohan tofu and roasted mutton.

Gu Zao called on the aunts and women to start a fire, but they remained seated on the benches, staring at her with their eyes. When she urged them on, one of them muttered, "I wondered who the cook was today. It turns out to be the second sister of Fang Dazui's family in Dongshan Village, who was a concubine. Wasn't she supposed to have been kicked out by her husband's family? When did she become a cook?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Gu Zao already understood. It turned out that these women knew his background and were looking down on him.

Upon hearing this, the third sister stood up abruptly, her face flushed red. Gu Zao pulled her back without a word, grabbed a gleaming knife in her right hand, reached into the fish basket with her left, grabbed a large, lively black fish, patted it, and quickly gutted and cleaned it. She cut off two thick slices of pork spine, held them flat in her left palm, and without even looking, the knife in her right hand began to slice diagonally. Slices of white, plump fish flew out like snowflakes, landing one by one on a large plate in front of her. When the fish in her hand was gone, the plate was filled with a neat circle of fish slices. She pinched one slice, and it was so thin that you could see the person opposite her.

The women were stunned by Gu Zaolu's move and couldn't utter a word for a long time.

Just then, a little girl came staggering out of the door and went to the woman who had spoken earlier, grabbing her apron and making a ruckus.

The woman hurriedly tried to soothe the little girl, but to no avail; she wanted her mother to hold her.

Gu Zao reached into the basket and scooped up a white radish, cut it in half, switched to a small knife, and with a few twists, a fresh rosebud appeared in her hand. Gu Zao presented it to the little girl, who happily took it and stopped fussing, running off to the front yard.

The third sister's eyes were filled with envy and pride. She didn't even think about how her second sister could have such skills. She just tilted her head and looked at the aunts and women. Sure enough, they were all standing there with their mouths slightly open like fish blowing bubbles. She couldn't help but laugh.

Gu Zao bent down, pretending to move firewood to start a fire, but the women had already crowded around and were eager to do it, saying, "Second Sister, just go and rest. We can handle these chores."

Gu Zao smiled slightly and, without any ceremony, immediately assigned tasks to the women. He himself was also busy. By the time dawn broke, the large pots were already bubbling away, emitting a fragrant aroma.

When the son of Lady Fan, a scholar who had passed the imperial examinations, got married, everyone in the surrounding villages and towns who had connections with her came to offer their congratulations and feast. Even those who had no prior dealings with her came eagerly to watch the spectacle.

When things get busy, time flies by, and more than half a day passes in the blink of an eye. Around late afternoon, the sound of suonas and flutes from the front yard can be heard deafening, indicating that the auspicious time has arrived and the bride has been welcomed into the house.

"Almost there, almost there, time to take our seats."

Gu Zao heard the village head's wife's voice, looked up and saw her running over in a hurry, her cheeks flushed red, even more so than the bride today.

Gu Zao put down her soup spoon and smiled, "It's almost ready, now we'll serve the side dishes."

The village head's wife looked at the row of carved flower platters already set on the long table and exclaimed with delight, "Second sister, how did you come up with such a novel design? And how did you make it? I didn't even see such a thing at my nephew's wedding banquet in the county town last year. Today, I've truly broadened my horizons!"

The woman helping out nearby chimed in, "Isn't that right? I've lived for decades, and this is the first time I've ever seen such an exquisite thing. It looks almost real!"

Gu Zao glanced at the fruit and vegetable carving plate and smiled. The carving she made today was made without watermelon, dragon fruit, or other fruits yet. Instead, she used pine nuts, blanched red and white radishes, pears, and other fruits to carve various flower shapes and arranged them in a circle. In the center was a red carp carved from fruit, and around it were scattered pomegranate seeds, symbolizing the Fan family's son leaping over the dragon gate and having many children and grandchildren. She herself thought it was nothing special, but in the eyes of others, it was a very novel and exquisite piece.

When the auspicious hour arrived, after a flurry of activity, and once the bride was seated in the tent, the many guests who had come to offer their congratulations took their seats at the banquet according to custom. They first drank three cups of wine, and then they saw that the dozen or so tables in the Fan family's wedding tent were already neatly set with four large platters. A woman who had been serving the dishes was standing by the side, loudly announcing the names of the dishes as instructed by Gu Zao. The dried fruit and candied fruit platter was called "Fruit Offering by the Old Man Under the Moon," the meat platter included egg floss, fish slices, and chicken breast, called "Three Stars Shining Brightly," and the vegetarian platter included mushrooms, walnuts, sweet dew seeds, and water chestnuts, which was called "Four Joys at the Door." In particular, the platter of golden carp that brought children was famous and made everyone marvel. They were so engrossed in looking at it that no one dared to reach out with their chopsticks.

When Madam Fan saw that the master of her son's ancestral temple and the county magistrate, who had been invited from the county town, were also stroking their beards and nodding, she thought to herself that her second sister was indeed capable. Not only had she presented such an exquisite appetizer that caught everyone's attention, but the name of the dish was also auspicious. She was overjoyed and, with a beaming smile, invited everyone to slowly drink three cups before calling them to go to the church to watch the prayers.

After the auspicious ceremony, the bride entered the bridal chamber. By then it was already late afternoon. The guests took their seats again according to their order, and the banquet truly began. Hot dishes were served one after another like a flowing stream. The woman who called out the names of the dishes not only had a loud voice but also a good memory. She called out the names of the eight hot dishes in order: "Happy Family Reunion," "Flying Together," "Love Like Fish and Water," "Harmonious Union," "Keeping a Beauty in a Golden House," "May You Have a Son Soon," "The Roc Spreads Its Wings," and "Soaring Ten Thousand Miles." Then there were the four desserts: "Sweet and Happy," "Joyful and Happy," "Lively and Lively," and "Perfect and Complete."

With each dish the woman called out, the guests exclaimed in praise, saying that today's banquet was top-notch, not only in their hometown but even in Yangzhou city. Madam Fan's smile never faded; eventually, her mouth stretched to her ears.

After several rounds of drinks and nine dishes, when the last dish, roasted lamb skewers that Gu Zao had imitated from later generations, was served, she finally let out a long sigh of relief and sat down on the small stool by the fire, unable to straighten her back.

Third Sister felt sorry for her and came over to massage her shoulders. After a few massages, she saw the old woman who delivered the vegetables happily enter the backyard and said with a smile, "Second Sister, you have such a clever mind. How did you roast this mutton so fragrant? I can't help but drool when I see it. I heard from a guest from the county town that even the current emperor in the capital city of Tokyo uses this mutton roasted over an iron fork as a dessert in the evening. They are so lucky to have the same food as the emperor."

The third sister just smiled and didn't say anything more.

The current Zhao royal family has a fondness for mutton, which has led people all over the country to regard mutton as a top-grade dish, and the price is naturally not low. In order to save face, Lady Fan specially instructed Gu Zao to make this mutton the last dish and the grand finale. Now, hearing from the vegetable delivery woman that everyone should be raving about it, Gu Zao's somewhat anxious heart finally relaxed completely.

While the front yard was still bustling with people drinking and making merry, the back yard was already starting to pack up. Gu Zao was exhausted, so he sat down on a small stool to wash the pots and pans, sighing at his current state of health. Although he was much slimmer and better looking than before, he was also much weaker.

Just as he was marveling at this, he saw Madam Fan happily enter the backyard and come toward him. He wiped his wet hands on the cloth in front of him and stood up.

Madam Fan was satisfied, so she came early to settle Gu Zao's wages. Besides the four hundred coins she was owed, she gave her an extra five hundred coins in a red envelope and packed up some leftover clean vegetables for Gu Zao to take home. Third Sister also received one hundred coins, and even the other assistants received more than agreed upon. They all knew it was thanks to Gu Zao, so as soon as Madam Fan turned to leave, they all pulled Gu Zao aside to rest.

Gu Zao was also feeling tired, so he didn't stand on ceremony and sat down with his third sister. They ate some food and, seeing that the tidying up was almost done and the people in the front yard were starting to leave, he thanked Madam Fan, picked up his things, and went out with his third sister.

By the time they got home, it was completely dark. Fang and Qingwu were still awake. Gu Zao had been there for a while, and to her astonishment, Fang was spinning thread by the light of an oil lamp, waiting for her two sisters to return. When they saw the contents of the oil-paper bundles the two sisters were carrying, they were already somewhat pleased. But when they heard that Gu Zao had earned over a hundred coins that day, and that her third sister had also earned a hundred coins, they were overjoyed, their eyes fixed intently on the purse at Gu Zao's waist.

Gu Zao smiled, counted out another hundred coins and handed them to her. Seeing that she was still reluctant to part with them, he smiled and said, "Mother, after the autumn harvest we will go to the capital. No matter what kind of business we do, we will always need some capital. This money is for this purpose. If it is not enough in the future, I am afraid I will have to ask you for some more."

Fang was startled and hurriedly waved her hand, saying, "Second sister, you're capable now, you can earn your own money. I toil in the fields every day, how could I possibly make any money?"

The third sister chuckled, and Fang glared at her. The third sister quickly covered her purse, shrank back into her room.

Gu Zao smiled and went to the yard to fetch water. She washed herself from head to toe, but when she lay in bed, she still felt that she smelled of oil. However, the smell was similar to that of before, which made her feel at ease, and she quickly fell asleep.

Farming is hard work

After the wedding banquet at Fan Niangzi's house, the reputation of Fang Dazui's second sister for her cooking skills spread. However, with the busy autumn harvest approaching, most families in the village wouldn't rush to hold weddings at this time. Only funerals were held, which were unpredictable and left no room for discussion. Gu Zao ended up cooking for several funerals. But funerals were different from weddings; there weren't as many formalities. Those without much money would simply cook something to fill their stomachs. Only wealthier families who wanted to save face would hire a chef, just like for weddings. Therefore, the wages weren't as high as for weddings. Gu Zao cooked several orders, and in total, she only earned a little over one guan (a unit of currency).

Gu Zao wasn't greedy. Compared to when she first arrived, she now had more than two strings of cash. Although it was only enough to buy a small plot of land, at the market price of rice, it was enough to ensure that she could eat rice every day for a while without starving.

She sat on the bed, counting the money one by one and putting it into the earthenware jar. As she was counting, she heard Fang calling her. She answered, carefully hid the jar under the bed, pushed it to the corner against the wall with her foot, clapped her hands, stood up and left the room.

Fang was wearing a tattered straw hat on her head, a cloth around her neck, and a basket on her shoulder. Qingwu was standing beside her. It turned out that she was going to the fields to harvest the crops.

"Second sister, you've always been unable to do any work. It's no use for you to come with me to the fields. Qingwu and I will go instead. You and third sister can bring me food around noon."

After saying a few words to Gu Zao, Fang hurriedly headed out.

Gu Zao smiled and went over. He saw that there were already two sickles and a water jug in the basket in front of Fang Shi. So he took a sickle from behind the door and threw it in.

“Mother, I’ve had nothing to do these past few days, so how can I just stay home and watch you harvest in the fields? Even though I’m useless, going there can still help you in some way.”

Fang glanced at her, muttered something under her breath, turned around, and swung the basket out the door. Gu Zao hurriedly grabbed a straw hat, draped a wet towel over her head, took Qingwu's hand, and followed her out.

Yangzhou is located in the south, and most of the land is paddy fields where rice is grown. At this time, the water in the fields has been drained, revealing wet, muddy ground covered with large swathes of golden, ripe rice. The sun has just risen over the mountains, and as Gu Zao walked along, his shoes were soon soaked by the dew on the roadside grass. However, in the fields on both sides, farmers were already bent over, busy harvesting with sickles.

"This year has finally been going smoothly, and I have perfectly good land, but someone else just has to take it away for free..."

When they arrived at their three acres of adjacent land by the river, Fang put down her basket, took off her shoes on the ridge, got out of the field, and kept muttering complaints under her breath.

Gu Zao pretended not to hear, and simply took off her shoes, rolled up her trouser legs, revealing her fair little feet, and stepped into the ground.

As soon as his foot stepped in, mud squeaked out from between his five toes. Gu Zao felt a tickle on the soles of his feet, and memories of his childhood in the countryside suddenly surfaced. He couldn't help but indulge his childlike instincts and stomped his feet on the ground a few times, making a series of squelching sounds.

Fang, who had already bent over and started cutting rice from the edge of the field, turned her head to look at her and scolded, "Second sister, I told you not to come but you insisted on coming. Now that you're here, you don't do any work properly. You think this is a pastime? Even Qingwu isn't as mischievous as you."

Gu Zao chuckled to herself, and seeing that Qing Wu had already bent down, she quickly grabbed her sickle and went to his side.

The rice at that time was far inferior to the improved varieties of later generations. The plants were very tall, the stalks were thin, and if there were even a few ears, they would fall to the ground in large swaths.

Gu Zao bent down, his left hand holding the base of a clump of rice stalks, and his right hand wielding a sickle to cut horizontally down an inch of the stalks. The cut rice stalks were neatly stacked to the side. At first, he was a little clumsy and not very skillful, but he gradually got the hang of it and began to wield the sickle with incredible speed. Although he couldn't compare to Fang Shi, it wasn't long before he had cut down a large area behind him.

Fang was a little uneasy and turned to look at Gu Zao, her expression showing some surprise: "Second sister, I underestimated you."

Gu Zao straightened up, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and gave a wry smile.

Things are not what they used to be. In just a short while, I already felt soreness in my back and waist. As the sun rose higher, the field gradually became like a steamer, and sweat kept pouring out. The rice awns stuck to my face and made me incredibly itchy.

When she reached the edge of the field, she drank a few sips of water from the spout of the teapot, rested for a while, and then went back to continue cutting. She would rest for a while and then cut for a while. By noon, when her third sister came with a food basket to bring her lunch, the three mu of land had only been cut down to a little less than half.

The meal my third sister brought was much more lavish than usual: vegetarian pancakes, wonton soup, a pot of millet rice, and a side dish of broad bean sauce.

Gu Zao was already very hungry. After washing his hands by the river, he took the chopsticks from his third sister, rolled up a pancake, and ate it. It was surprisingly delicious.