Chapter 39

The rich aroma of milk and sweetness lingered in the air, impossible to hide. Xu Yunlan tried to play dumb and change the subject, “Zhizhi, why did you come suddenly? And where is this smell coming from? Did you eat something on the way here, so the scent hasn’t dissipated?”

“Staying at home is too boring,” Yang Zhizhi said as she sat on a bamboo chair, which creaked under her weight. She sighed, “So I came to play with you. Yunlan, you don’t know, I haven’t been feeling well lately. My mother called a doctor, and he said I’m too fat and need to lose weight. My mother has been supervising my diet, making me eat boiled vegetables every day with no meat. I’m so hungry.”

Xu Yunlan felt a pang of guilt and sympathy as she ate the delicious milk custard bun while lying to Zhizhi about not eating anything.

Zhizhi took another sniff, still catching the scent of milk. She looked at Xu Yunlan seriously, “Yunlan, you’re lying. You must have eaten something delicious. I can smell it. I didn’t eat anything on the way here.”

She wanted to eat, but her maid was watching her. If she dared to eat, the maid would report to her mother. She had been starving on a vegetarian diet for days, her eyes almost glowing with hunger.

Seeing that she couldn’t hide it any longer, Xu Yunlan hurriedly said, “Alright, alright, I won’t lie to you anymore.” She opened a small cabinet nearby, revealing a white porcelain plate with a single, fist-sized, milk-white bun.

“Is this a small bun?” Yang Zhizhi asked curiously. “Who makes buns this small without any pleats?”

Xu Yunlan laughed, “It’s not exactly a bun, but it is a bun. It’s called a milk custard bun. There’s one left, and you can have it.”

Just one shouldn’t be a problem.

Yang Zhizhi’s chubby, fair hand picked up the milk custard bun. As she took a bite, the creamy yellow filling oozed out. She quickly caught it with her mouth. The filling was sweet, smooth, and delicate. Yang Zhizhi closed her eyes in happiness, “Yunlan, where did you buy this? It’s fragrant and sweet with a rich milk flavor.”

They usually don’t drink cow’s or goat’s milk because of its strong taste. But this milk custard bun had a pleasant milk aroma without any of the strong taste.

Xu Yunlan touched her nose and said, “My father bought it. I don’t know where from.”

Of course, she knew it was from Young Lady Xu. But she didn’t make many, just enough for her family, and sold the extras to them. Her breakfast these days had been milk custard buns, bean porridge, and a plate of pickled radish strips. The pickled radish strips were also bought from Young Lady Xu’s house. They were actually made from turnips, but she called them pickled radish strips. They were fragrant, crispy, and appetizing.

Yang Zhizhi felt a bit regretful but carefully finished the milk custard bun. Even though it was small, she was completely satisfied.

After eating, Yang Zhizhi kept wondering where the milk custard bun was bought. Was it from Qingfeng Pastry Shop or Donglai Restaurant? She thought the small bun was more like a pastry.

Xu Yunlan felt guilty and worried for Zhizhi. Could she really lose weight by eating only vegetables? Would she end up eating a lot more and gaining even more weight? Xu Yunlan truly hoped Zhizhi could slim down and have a healthy body. How wonderful it would be if there were delicious foods that could also help with weight loss.

Yang Zhizhi stayed at the Xu family until noon before returning home. Back at the county office, she told her mother, Madam Wei, about the delicious milk custard bun she had eaten at Yunlan’s house.

Madam Wei looked at her daughter helplessly, “The doctor said you can’t gain any more weight.” She felt sorry for her daughter but had to be strict about her health.

Yang Zhizhi pouted, “I just wanted to share it with Father and Mother. The filling in the milk custard bun was creamy and not made of white or brown sugar. It was a rich, yellow custard with a strong milk flavor.” She praised the milk custard bun again.

Madam Wei couldn’t help but feel tempted. She considered buying some for the whole family to try, as they had two sons. The eldest was already married, and the younger one was only sixteen.

Madam Wei sent the maid to Qingfeng Pastry Shop and Donglai Restaurant, but they couldn’t find the milk custard bun.

Eventually, County Magistrate Yang asked Madam Wei about it, and she explained that Zhizhi had eaten a delicious small bun at Yunlan’s house and couldn’t stop thinking about it. She had sent people to Qingfeng Pastry Shop and Donglai Restaurant, but they didn’t sell it.

County Magistrate Yang guessed it was bought from the chef who had cooked at the Xu family during the New Year. However, he didn’t know who the chef was or their age. Since they didn’t even know where the chef lived, the matter was dropped.

…

Madam Gui stayed with the Pei family for about eight or nine days. Her cough had stopped, and the sores under her arms had healed. She had visibly gained some weight. Once Madam Gui’s health improved, Madam Wen took her to buy new clothes and even went to the county office to have the release letter stamped. Although having the release letter was enough to sever ties with the Wen family, getting it stamped at the county office gave Madam Wen peace of mind.

Madam Gui now enjoyed a leisurely and peaceful life, helping to look after Feng Ge’er and Yuan Jie’er. The Wen family hadn’t sent anyone to check on her.

After eight or nine days, Wen Yuling felt something was off. She mentioned it to her mother, Madam Yue, who raised an eyebrow and said, “Why do you care if they come or not? Concubine Gui is gone, and even if she didn’t have tuberculosis, keeping her here wouldn’t be useful. Besides, she willingly took the release letter and silver to leave. They probably won’t come back for the money.”

Madam Yue couldn’t stand her own concubine-aunt and didn’t understand why her daughter was so concerned.

Wen Yuling pouted, “I was just thinking that if Fourth Sister-in-law’s cooking is good, we could open a restaurant and have her manage it.”

Madam Yue chuckled, “You silly girl, how could you think her cooking skills could be better than those of the chefs at Donglai Restaurant, who have been cooking for twenty or thirty years? It would be better to find a way to poach the head chef from Donglai Restaurant.”

Wen Yunling thought about it and agreed. Even if Fourth Sister-in-law’s cooking was good, it couldn’t possibly compare to the head chef at Donglai Restaurant, who had been cooking for decades.

Madam Yue sighed, “We should indeed think about starting some business. And as for your grandparents, why can’t they buy a few servants to do the work and cook? Why does the third branch have to do it?”

Concubine Bai’s eyesight was failing, and sometimes her cooking still had small stones in it, or the vegetables weren’t properly washed, leaving dirt in the food.

Concubine Bai’s daughter-in-law had inherited her skills. When scolded for the dirty food, she would apologize but continue to cook poorly. Recently, the first branch had been buying breakfast and dinner from outside.

Wen Yunling frowned as well, thinking it would be better to buy a few servants. The third branch couldn’t even wash clothes properly.

…

On Concubine Bai’s side, she hadn’t sent anyone to inquire about Madam Gui, fearing it would reveal something. However, her two grandsons often visited Osmanthus Alley a few times. They saw Madam Gui sitting in the courtyard, basking in the sun, no longer coughing, and looking much healthier than when she was at the Wen family. The two children knew that Madam Gui had been forced to leave the Wen family because of tuberculosis.

Concubine Bai patted her grandsons’ shoulders, “Cheng Ge’er, Gong Ge’er, don’t tell your grandparents. Just pretend you don’t know. Maybe your Concubine Gui’s tuberculosis wasn’t severe, and she’s getting better with some rest.”

The two boys, both teenagers, disliked the first and second branches and their biased grandparents, so they naturally wouldn’t say anything to them.

Madam Meng was usually very quiet and never pried into other people’s business. Wen Shuncheng and Wen Shungong had recently been earning money outside. They couldn’t do much else, and no one wanted them to load cargo at the docks because they were still young and not strong enough. Both were around eleven or twelve years old, and kidnappers wouldn’t target them. So, they went outside the county town, looking for small streams, ponds, and rivers to catch eels. They caught quite a few eels and sold them in town. Wen Shuncheng wanted to sell the eels to Fourth Sister-in-law, as she specialized in fish, but he didn’t dare disturb her, so he sold them to other restaurants instead.

Sometimes, they had good harvests and could earn several dozen wen a day. The money they earned was mostly spent on buying meat buns to secretly bring back to the third branch to improve their family’s meals, with the rest saved for themselves.

Concubine Bai felt reassured after hearing from her grandsons that Madam Gui was doing well.

…

A few days later, the Wen and Pei families, as well as all the families in the Southwest, began to feel uneasy.

News came from the north that a snow disaster had collapsed houses, killed many people, and left many others frozen to death. The heavy snow continued, and it was feared that crops couldn’t be planted in time. Without planting, there would be no harvest in the autumn, leading to famine, which was the most terrifying thing, as starvation would cause many deaths.

It was also said that many people in the north had already started fleeing from the famine.

Upon hearing this news, Xu Qinyu felt uneasy. While cooking fish balls, she was gloomy and didn’t talk to Fourth Brother. As she finished cooking, she muttered to herself, “If only we had sweet potatoes and potatoes.”

In ancient times, natural disasters often led to poor harvests, causing many people to starve.

Sweet potatoes and potatoes, with their high yield of several thousand jin per mu, were ten times more productive than ordinary crops. They were easy to grow, didn’t require fertile soil, and could be harvested once a year in the north and twice in the south. They could be used as both vegetables and staple food. Even in times of disaster, having these crops would prevent starvation. As long as people didn’t die, they could slowly recover.

Xu Qinyu knew she was just talking to herself. She had no way of finding these crops, and the only thing she knew how to do was cook.

In fact, there were already some trade exchanges with other countries here. Some vegetables seemed to have been introduced from other countries, and spices like pepper were also imported. But it seemed they had never crossed the sea, so crops like potatoes and sweet potatoes were not available.

Pei Weixuan heard Yuniang muttering and asked, “What are these sweet potatoes and potatoes you mentioned?”

Xu Qinyu looked up at Fourth Brother and made up a reason, “I just saw it in an old travel journal. It said that there are some crops overseas with a yield of several thousand jin per mu. I don’t know if it’s true. Fourth Brother, do you think if such crops existed, even in years of disaster, people wouldn’t starve?”

Pei Weixuan didn’t speak; he just looked deeply at Yuniang. He knew there was no such travel journal, so did Yuniang come from a place where no one starved even in years of disaster? Could these crops be found by crossing the sea?

“Do you remember what those crops looked like in the journal?”

Xu Qinyu nodded, “I remember.” She didn’t think much of it and casually described the appearance of sweet potatoes and potatoes to Fourth Brother, along with some other crops.

Pei Weixuan remembered all of this.

Two days later, Pei Weixuan went into the mountains and released Bai Yu.

Xu Qinyu felt a bit reluctant but thought Bai Yu was better suited to the deep mountains. In this bustling city, once Bai Yu grows up, it might scare people, and she fears that the officials will come to kill the giant snake.

That night, in the dead of night, Pei Weixuan was sound asleep when he heard three short bird calls outside the window.

Hearing these three short bird calls, Pei Weixuan opened his eyes.