Chapter 46: A Token of Thanks

“It’s not just Sichuan peppercorns,” Zhao Hu said proudly, puffing up his little chest. “There are a lot of edible herbs on our mountain.

“My sister picked a few kinds and dry-roasted them together with Sichuan peppercorns, fennel seeds, and other spices. After roasting, we ground them into powder.

“Whether it’s for dumplings, meatballs, or everyday cooking, adding a bit makes everything smell and taste amazing!”

Qin Ying blushed. What delicacies hadn’t Lord Zhou tasted before?

She quickly tugged on Zhao Hu’s sleeve, signaling him to stop talking.

Zhou Yu smiled gently. “It truly is delicious.”

“We’ve prepared quite a bit for you!” Zhao Hu turned around and brought out a small basket. The basket was divided into compartments, each containing a different kind of dried good.

Aunt Zhao rubbed her hands together and said, “It’s not much. Please don’t look down on it, my lord.”

“This is already a rare and precious treat,” Zhou Yu accepted it with both hands, holding it close. “Thank you for thinking of me so thoughtfully.”

“It’s the least we could do,” Aunt Zhao replied with a simple and honest smile. “You’re such a good official—we wish we could enshrine you! This is nothing.

“Oh right, Uncle Chen Jiu can’t make dumplings. If you’re staying for the New Year, I’ll have Huzi bring you some frozen dumplings later.”

Zhou Yu thanked them again.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, he handed the basket to Xu Xia to carry and bowed to the Zhao family. “Actually, I came today to express my gratitude.”

The Zhao family was startled. Aunt Zhao and her son looked completely confused, while Qin Ying was the first to react. “Do you have news about those two girls you mentioned?”

“Yes,” Zhou Yu’s expression was completely relaxed. “They’ve been found. They’re doing well and haven’t suffered much.

“To be honest, they are my full-blooded younger sisters. They’re now with my grandfather.”

His original plan was to bring his sisters to live with him, but life on his end was too difficult for that.

Aunt Zhao pressed her palms together and murmured a prayer. “That’s wonderful news. Truly wonderful!”

Qin Ying also offered her sincere congratulations.

Zhou Yu then said, “It’s all thanks to the lead you gave me. Without that, things wouldn’t have gone so smoothly. I’ve brought a few thank-you gifts this time—please don’t refuse.”

Aunt Zhao quickly waved her hands. “No, no, we didn’t really help that much…”

“Aunt Zhao,” Zhou Yu’s tone became serious. “To you, it might’ve just been a few words. But to me, it led to finding my long-lost family!

“No amount of thanks would be too much. It’s just that I don’t have much to offer at the moment. If you refuse again, I truly won’t know where to put myself.”

Xu Xia set down the basket and brought in two large sacks from outside, both of them bulging.

Seeing how easily he carried them, Aunt Zhao assumed they weren’t very full and secretly sighed in relief.

At this point, they really couldn’t turn him down anymore.

Qin Ying went and picked some vegetables, along with a bowl of her homemade five-spice tofu. “Please take this to go with your meal.”

Zhou Yu glanced at the two rooms and reminded them, “When An’an wakes up, bring her over to play. I haven’t seen her for a few days—I really miss her.”

He had also prepared a gift for An’an, though it wasn’t convenient to bring it over just now.

After saying this, he took his leave.

The Zhao family escorted him all the way to the courtyard gate.

After returning and shutting the door, they opened the sacks—and were stunned.

Who would’ve thought such humble burlap sacks could contain so many good things?

One sack held ten catties of white flour, ten catties of rice, two dried salted fish, two cured meats, and two sausages. The rice and flour were packed in smaller bags, and the fish, meat, and sausages were wrapped tightly in oil paper.

As soon as the oil paper was unwrapped, the rich, savory aroma wafted out, making all three of them involuntarily swallow.

The other sack held ten catties of cotton, ten catties of soybean oil, two catties of lard, and two bolts of fine cloth.

Zhao Hu tried lifting it—it was heavy—and gasped, “How did Brother Xu carry it like it was nothing?”

Qin Ying grew uneasy and discussed it with Aunt Zhao. “Mother, this is too much. We can’t accept it!”

Aunt Zhao quickly tied the sacks shut again. “Exactly! We mustn’t take this. Let’s return it.”

Suddenly, a head poked in from the doorway—Xu Xia grinned and said, “The lord knew you’d say that! Honestly, he originally wanted to give you silver.

“But this involved the lives of our young misses. The lord wouldn’t have cared how much money he spent!

“It’s just that silver wouldn’t do you much good right now, so we gathered some daily necessities instead. We didn’t dare bring too much at once—it’d be too conspicuous.

“I packed them carefully. Be sure not to spill the oil. I’ll be going now!”

With that, he withdrew his head.

By the time the Zhao family opened the door, he was already outside, waving at them with a smile as he walked away.

The three of them looked at each other in silence. After a while, Aunt Zhao asked blankly, “So… what now?”

Qin Ying sighed. “Let’s just… accept it, then.”

—

On the morning of the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, Uncle Chen Jiu gathered all the villagers outside his home, announcing cheerfully, “Folks! We’re in luck! Lord Zhou has brought us two cans of soybean oil!

“Everyone bring a container and come collect your share—one and a half taels each!”

The villagers were moved to tears, offering endless thanks.

The Zhao family discussed whether they should go or not. They had already received so much—it might be better to let others have more.

Qin Ying said, “Maybe we should still go. After all, the things Lord Zhou gave us were in private. If we don’t show up, others might start talking.

“We can always collect it and secretly give it back to Uncle Chen. Since Lord Zhou is staying at his place, he won’t mind using a bit more oil.”

Aunt Zhao and Zhao Hu agreed with her reasoning.

—

When An’an woke up and found that her energy had increased by 0.05 and there were many new things in the house, she instantly knew that Uncle Handsome had come by.

Looks like his emotions were running strong this time!

Since the weather was cold, the villagers of Tongshu Tun only went out for firewood and rarely lingered on the streets. So, they hadn’t heard much about Zhou Yu’s visit to the Zhao family.

But even if they had, they wouldn’t have minded Zhou Yu offering help—after all, the Zhao family had done a lot.

On the 29th, some people even sent gifts to the Zhao family—soybeans, cornmeal, straw sandals. A few women even got together to make An’an a patchwork quilt.

Folk wisdom says that children who sleep under patchwork quilts will live long and healthy lives.

Aunt Zhao returned the kindness with gifts in return—homemade five-spice tofu prepared by Qin Ying. Luckily, she had made a lot of it, or it wouldn’t have been enough to share.

The villagers also brought gifts for Zhou Yu. Fearing he might refuse, they simply left them at Uncle Chen Jiu’s door and walked away.

Since there were no names or addresses, and the gestures came from sincere hearts, Zhou Yu accepted them.

—

On the 30th, they needed to prepare the New Year’s Eve dinner early. Uncle Chen Jiu accidentally sprained his hand, and Zhou Yu wasn’t skilled in the kitchen, so Xu Xia suggested, “Aunt Zhao and Sister Qin are both great cooks. Why don’t we ask them to help?