Chapter 8

Madam Wen went back to the room to wash up while Xu Qinyu stayed in the small kitchen to continue brewing the medicine. Once the medicine was ready, she poured out the liquid and saved the dregs, as the doctor had said they could be boiled three times and should be kept for tomorrow.

Returning to the room, Xu Qinyu found that Madam Wen had only managed to eat a bun and was now sitting by Pei Weixuan’s side, worried and with red-rimmed eyes.

Xu Qinyu didn’t know how to comfort her, so she handed Madam Wen the bowl of medicine to feed Pei Weixuan. She then went to the innkeeper to buy some strong liquor. If her husband’s fever didn’t go down by night, she would need to dilute the liquor and use it to wipe his body for physical cooling.

After buying the liquor, Xu Qinyu explained how to use it to Madam Wen, who nodded in understanding.

Xu Qinyu stayed with Madam Wen for a while, noticing that Pei Weixuan lay there motionless as if he wasn’t even breathing. She couldn’t help but worry and wanted to check his breath, but with Madam Wen there, she didn’t dare. After sitting with her for a while, she mentioned that she needed to go out the next day and went to sleep.

It was a rare good night’s sleep. The next morning, she woke up to the sound of pattering outside. She put on her winter coat, went to the window, and opened a crack to look outside. It was snowing, with snowflakes hitting the window. The cold wind blew in, so she quickly closed the window. Turning around, she saw Pei Jianing sitting by her husband’s bedside with Feng’er and Yuan’er. Madam Wen had stayed up all night and was now asleep.

Xu Qinyu quietly told Pei Jianing, “Ning Jie’er, you stay with Fourth Brother. I’ll go out to buy some rice and fish to make fish porridge.”

She planned to make fresh fish porridge to nourish everyone. Pei Weixuan was still sick, and fish porridge was easy to digest and nourishing, suitable for him.

Pei Jianing opened her mouth, wanting to ask for meat instead, as meat porridge would be better. Fish was tricky with its smell and bones, but meat was expensive, and they needed to save money, so she said nothing.

Feng’er and Yuan’er looked at her expectantly.

Xu Qinyu smiled at the two children and patted their heads. “Feng’er, Yuan’er, be good. I’ll bring you some candy.”

From the original owner’s memories, she knew these children used to be chubby and beautiful, but now they were as thin as bean sprouts with lifeless eyes. Any slight movement filled them with fear, which broke her heart.

Xu Qinyu went out and bought some short-grain rice and a large green fish. In ancient times, fish was cheap, especially with the Grand Canal nearby, making it even cheaper. The large green fish, weighing six or seven pounds, cost only ten wen, less than two wen per pound. She also bought two pounds of short-grain rice. In ancient times, short-grain rice and meat were expensive. Short-grain rice was similar to regular rice but chewier and more nutritious.

Short-grain rice costs eleven wen per jin, while meat costs thirty to forty wen per jin, and that’s just for regular pork. Other meats like lamb and beef are even more expensive, and beef is generally unavailable for sale. This is also why people in ancient times could hardly afford to eat meat once a month and rarely ate short-grain rice. Short-grain rice was something only wealthy families, large clans, and royal families could afford because it was too expensive.

In addition to short-grain rice and fish, Xu Qinyu also bought some tofu, which cost one wen per piece. She bought a few pieces. She bought such a large fish because she had other plans.

By the time she returned to the inn, it was already past the hour of Chen, around eight o’clock.

People here generally eat two meals a day, one around nine in the morning and another around four in the afternoon.

Xu Qinyu went to find the innkeeper and told him she needed to continue using the small kitchen to prepare medicine and food, so she would give the innkeeper thirty wen a day. However, she needed to borrow some of the innkeeper’s seasonings, such as salt, ginger, garlic, green onions, soy sauce, and vinegar. In ancient times, these were the common seasonings. Other spices like Sichuan pepper, black pepper, star anise, cinnamon, and bay leaves were expensive because they were considered medicinal herbs, and people rarely used them as seasonings.

The innkeeper surnamed Zhou, about forty years old, of medium build, and ordinary appearance, laughed when he heard Xu Qinyu’s request and said, “Miss, there’s no need to give so much; a few wen will do.”

It was common for guests to borrow the kitchen, and those who did were usually relatively poor, so a few wen would suffice. This young lady must be crazy, or she has too much money to spend. Giving thirty wen a day to borrow the kitchen when an average family wouldn’t spend thirty wen a day on food and drink.

Xu Qinyu smiled and said, “It is indeed thirty wen, but no matter what I do in there, the innkeeper must not interfere. Of course, even if I use the innkeeper’s seasonings, I will not waste them.”

Such a profitable deal, Innkeeper Zhou naturally wouldn’t refuse and agreed.

Xu Qinyu took the ingredients she bought to the small kitchen and brought the maltose she bought back to the room for the two children to eat. She instructed Ning Jie’er to look after the children and Fourth Brother before she went to the kitchen to prepare medicine and food.

Preparing the medicine was simple; she just added water to the dregs from yesterday and continued to boil it on the small stove.

She borrowed another stove to prepare raw fish slices. She picked a large clay pot from the kitchen, added water to boil, and washed the short-grain rice clean, adding a few drops of oil. Once the water in the clay pot boiled, she could add the rice to cook.

While waiting for the water to boil, Xu Qinyu took the green fish to the courtyard to scale, gut, and clean the fish. There was a well in the courtyard, making it convenient to handle.

She handled the big green fish quickly and skillfully, attracting the attention of the head chef and the kitchen helper, who both came out to watch.

She didn’t throw away the fish offal, bubbles, and roe. After cleaning them, she could stew them with the fish bones and belly, which would taste great.

The inn’s guests mainly stayed for lodging, so the food was not as good as that in the city restaurants. Most guests preferred to eat out, so the kitchen wasn’t very busy. At this time, no customers wanted food, so the head chef and the kitchen helper squatted down to watch Xu Qinyu handle the green fish.

Xu Qinyu cleaned the fish offal and placed them on a plate. The slightly chubby head chef couldn’t help but ask, “Miss, why are you keeping the fish offal? It smells worse and tastes worse than the fish meat.”

Xu Qinyu smiled and said, “It’s for eating. You’ll know once it’s done, Chef Zhou.”

Chef Zhou was the son of the Innkeeper Zhou.

She then chopped off the fish head, sliced two pieces of fish meat from the back, and removed the fish belly.

The fish belly was too fatty, unsuitable for raw fish slice porridge, and better for stewing. She then used a slanting knife to slice the two pieces of fish meat into thin slices.

The fish slices she made were crystal clear, as thin as a piece of paper, causing Chef Zhou and the kitchen helper to gasp. By the time she finished handling the big green fish, the water in the clay pot had boiled, and she poured in the washed short-grain rice to cook for fifteen minutes.

While the rice was cooking, Xu Qinyu cleaned the sliced fish and added ginger shreds, a little salt, and strong liquor to marinate and remove the fishy smell.

There was no cooking wine in this era, so she could only use a few drops of strong liquor to remove the fishy smell. Using Huadiao wine would be better, but the kitchen didn’t have any.

After cooking the rice for fifteen minutes, she turned off the heat and let it simmer for another thirty minutes. Then she brought it to a boil again, added a little salt, and poured the marinated fish slices into the boiling porridge, quickly stirring them to separate. The aroma of the fish slices was immediately released, mixing with the fragrance of the rice, making the porridge smell fresh and delicious. Unfortunately, there was no pepper powder. Otherwise, it would have tasted even better.

The fish meat was so tender that extra vegetable oil was not needed. Finally, she sprinkled a little chopped green onion for garnish.

Looking at the pot of fish slice porridge, which was full of color, aroma, and taste, Chef Zhou was stunned. He didn’t know that fish slice porridge could be cooked this way. They usually cook fish porridge by adding chopped fish pieces to the boiling porridge and then adding seasonings. But even then, they couldn’t cover the fishy smell, so they added a lot of seasonings, making the taste heavy and unpopular.

Xu Qinyu divided the cooked fish slice porridge and brought it back to the room. Seeing Pei Weixuan was still asleep, she let Pei Jianing, the two children, and Mrs. Wen eat first. She left a portion for him in the kitchen and served herself a portion. There were still two bowls left, so she gave one to Chef Zhou and one to Inkeeper Zhou.

Innkeeper Zhou, who was in the front hall, smelled the fresh and rich aroma and couldn’t help but run to the back kitchen to take a look. Seeing that the young lady had given him a bowl, he smiled and thanked her, then took it to the front hall. Looking at the bowl of porridge, Innkeeper Zhou couldn’t help but take a bite. He was surprised by the taste—there was no fishy smell at all, the texture was smooth and tender, the rice porridge was rich and fragrant, and the fish meat was extremely tender and fresh.

Innkeeper Zhou had never eaten such delicious fish slice porridge in his life.

Xu Qinyu also brought her bowl of fish slice porridge to the guest hall to eat. She watched the bustling peddlers and busy townsfolk outside. Although it was snowing today, it was light and granular, not hindering the city’s various activities.

Some people, smelling the aroma, couldn’t help but stop in front of the inn and exclaim, “What a fresh smell!”

The ingredients and seasonings in her raw fish slice porridge were few, highlighting the natural, fresh taste.

She guaranteed that anyone who smelled this aroma would have their appetite awakened.

Food is the most important thing for people, and no one can resist delicious food.

A burly man happened to pass by the inn. This man was even more robust and tall than Deputy Officer Chen, who had previously escorted them to the southwest. With a full beard, he looked to be in his thirties. Smelling the aroma, he couldn’t help but sniff and glance into the inn before striding inside.

Two other men, looking to be in their twenties and dressed in cloth robes, followed him.

Seeing the burly man enter, Innkeeper Zhou hurriedly greeted him, “Commander Liang, what brings you here? It’s truly an honor. Please come in.”

Hearing this title, Xu Qinyu understood that this man was a fifth-rank official and a commander stationed at the military camp in Raozhou City.

Commander Liang entered and asked, “Innkeeper Zhou, what delicious food are you serving? It smells so good. Did you hire a new chef?”

Commander Liang’s voice was as loud as his stature, like a booming bell.

Innkeeper Zhou chuckled, “Commander Liang, you misunderstand. It’s the inn’s guest who borrowed the small kitchen to make some food.”