Chapter 19 – Dumplings

Ji Jingze suddenly looked up, a bit surprised that Chu Xiaoqi neither hit him nor scolded him.

Their conversation was also heard by Ji Jingxuan inside the room.

Just because Chu Xiaoqi didn’t discipline him didn’t mean Ji Jingxuan wouldn’t.

He called Ji Jingze into the room and gave him a long, old-fashioned lecture, filled with “morals and righteousness,” until Ji Jingze nearly fell asleep from boredom.

When he saw Ji Jingze nodding off and almost falling to the floor, he got so angry he shouted:

“Ji Jingze, you, you… you’re hopeless!”

Ji Jingze was startled awake by the yelling, pouted, and said with clear dissatisfaction:

“Sister-in-law didn’t lecture me…”

Ji Jingxuan twitched at the corner of his mouth. Had his standing in this family fallen so low?

Chu Xiaoqi was one thing—he didn’t dare to mess with her—but now even his younger siblings were ignoring him.

“Xiao Ze, go meet Father and see where he is. Make sure no one bullies him,” Chu Xiaoqi shouted from beside the medicine shelf toward the room.

“Okay…” Ji Jingze immediately responded to Chu Xiaoqi’s call and, without even glancing at Ji Jingxuan, turned and ran off quickly.

Ji Jingxuan watched Ji Jingze’s figure disappearing into the distance and held his chest.

Heartache. Real heartache…

He slowly shuffled outside and stood beside the medicine shelf, speaking in a slightly aggrieved tone:

“Xiaoqi, Xiao Ze made a mistake. Why didn’t you teach him properly? If you don’t correct him now, what if he grows up to make bigger mistakes?”

Chu Xiaoqi turned around. “Then tell me—did he listen to a single word of your lecture?”

Ji Jingxuan was left speechless.

“Xiao Ze is a thoughtful child. He knows his limits. A simple warning is enough.

Otherwise, are you planning to raise another person like your father?

Someone timid and fearful, bullied and spineless?”

At the courtyard gate, Ji Father and Ji Jingze, who had just arrived, looked at each other but said nothing. After a pause, they silently carried their basket into the courtyard.

Back in his room, Ji Jingxuan kept thinking about Chu Xiaoqi’s words. His father had always taught him since childhood to respect teachers and follow the rules, to avoid offending anyone—never fight back, never talk back. Always submissive.

He’d followed those teachings and lived cautiously for twenty years.

The result? Everywhere he went, people treated him like a pushover. Anyone who thought he was easy to bully would come step all over him.

Take his book-copying work, for instance.

The bookstore owner paid other copyists 30 wen per thin manuscript and 70 wen per thick one. But for him, it was 10 wen for thin ones and a maximum of 50 for thick ones.

The bookstore owner was always the last to pay him and always acted like he was doing Ji Jingxuan a huge favor.

Everyone else who copied books came from poor families too, but they had the guts to bargain and fight for better pay.

He’d wanted to stand up for himself, confront the boss—but his family was dirt poor, and there were so many mouths to feed. He had no choice but to swallow his pride, endure the bitterness, and keep working.

He looked out the window and saw Chu Xiaoqi sitting on a small stool in the courtyard, sorting vegetables, and a wave of warmth flowed through him.

If it weren’t for her, he’d still be suffering in that unfair bookstore, wouldn’t he?

Chu Xiaoqi hadn’t noticed Ji Jingxuan watching her. She was focused on her work. Seeing that it was getting late, she called Ji Jinglan to the kitchen.

There was no yeast to make leavened dough, and food supplies were limited, so they’d be eating vegetable dumplings.

She kneaded the dough and set it aside to rest, salted the greens and squeezed out the moisture, stir-fried eggs and mixed them in, then drizzled some oil and added seasoning.

Once the prep was done, she was hit with an unfortunate realization—this northern family, the Ji family, didn’t even own a rolling pin.

Had they really never made dumplings before?

Carrying a chopping knife, she went out back, chopped down a section of bamboo, and dragged it home again…

…after cutting and shaving it.

The whole Ji family had no idea what she was doing, and none of them dared to ask. They just stood nearby watching.

She carried the bamboo tube back into the kitchen, with Ji Jinglan and Ji Jingze following behind her like little tails, happily trotting after her.

“Big Sis-in-law, what are you doing?” Ji Jinglan asked curiously.

“Making dumplings,” Chu Xiaoqi replied as she used the cleaver to cut the dough, roll it into balls, and began rolling out the wrappers.

Ji Jinglan tilted her head and looked at Ji Jingze with curiosity. “Dumplings? Like the ones Uncle’s family eats during New Year?”

Ji Jingze, drooling from the smell of the filling, shook his head. “I don’t know.”

Chu Xiaoqi’s hands paused for a moment. She’d guessed it right—despite being a northern family, this second branch of the Ji family had never even made dumplings. Just what kind of life had they been living all these years?

She sighed deeply and looked at the two innocent, childish faces in front of her.

Forget it. As long as she was part of the Ji family, she would never let them go hungry again.

Once Ji Jingxuan passed the imperial exams, life would be better for all of them.

“Xiaolan, come here, I’ll teach you how to roll the wrappers.

You roll, I’ll fill and wrap. That way it’ll be faster.”

Chu Xiaoqi called Ji Jinglan over to help.

Ji Jinglan had wanted to try for a while but had been afraid she’d mess it up and get scolded, so she hadn’t dared to ask.

She picked it up quickly—after two or three demonstrations from Chu Xiaoqi, she had it down, and even started teaching Ji Jingze how to roll.

Ji Jingze, not to be outdone, went and chopped a piece of bamboo like Chu Xiaoqi had done, then joined Ji Jinglan in rolling out the wrappers while Chu Xiaoqi handled all the wrapping.

With teamwork, their efficiency improved greatly, and soon all the dumplings were ready.

Next was boiling the water and cooking the dumplings.

Chu Xiaoqi taught them how to cook dumplings without breaking the skins, and how to tell when they were done and ready to scoop out.

She did this because—if one day she were no longer around—these two would still be able to feed themselves if they ever craved dumplings.

Before the dumplings were even served, Chu Xiaoqi stood in the kitchen and called out, “Wash up, it’s time to eat!”

At her shout, everyone ran to the well to wash their hands, grab bowls and chopsticks, and sit down, ready for the meal.

A large bowl of dumplings was brought to the table. Even before eating, the aroma was mouthwatering.

Once Chu Xiaoqi called “Let’s eat,” the whole family raced to grab their share.

Even though the filling was all vegetables, it somehow tasted even better than meat.

The entire Ji family genuinely appreciated Chu Xiaoqi and treated her with deep respect. They consulted her on all major decisions.

Chu Xiaoqi wasn’t trying to take charge of the family—but if she didn’t step up, she feared she might not even live to see Ji Jingxuan succeed in the exams.

After the meal and cleaning up, everyone went back to their tasks.

Ji Father carried a basket and went out to dig clay. Chu Xiaoqi took Ji Jinglan and Ji Jingze with her to Yanwang Mountain.

This time, though, they approached from a different side of the mountain and circled around to the usual entrance they took into Yanwang Mountain.

Not for any particular reason—just to stay under the radar and avoid unnecessary trouble.

The group wasn’t affected by yesterday’s encounter with the wild boar. They continued on their usual route, gathering chestnuts.

Ji Jingze wasn’t interested in gathering chestnuts—he insisted that Chu Xiaoqi teach him how to spear fish.

Unable to resist him, Chu Xiaoqi carved a wooden spear and led him to the river.

It had only been a few days, but the river water was already icy cold. After teaching Ji Jingze to spear one fish, she hurried back to shore to put on her shoes and socks, then headed to the chestnut trees.

By the time she arrived, Ji Jingxuan and Ji Jinglan had already collected a pile of burr-covered chestnuts and were peeling them.

“You two keep peeling chestnuts here. I’m going to dig for herbs.

Once you’re done, wait for me by the river—I’ll come find you there,” Chu Xiaoqi said, slinging a basket onto her back. Before she could—

When Ji Jingxuan and his siblings tried to talk to her, she simply turned and walked away.

Ji Jingxuan lifted his hand, wanting to call out to her and say he’d go with her, but before he could even speak, she was already far off in the distance.

“Big Brother, do you still want to divorce Sister-in-law?” Ji Jinglan asked, seeing the disappointment written all over Ji Jingxuan’s face.

Ji Jingxuan sighed and sat down, picking up a chestnut burr and tearing it open. “Look at me now—does it look like I’m the one who wants to divorce her? Clearly it’s all up to whether she still wants to or not…”

“Big Brother, I think Sister-in-law has changed so much since she woke up. She’s become really amazing.

She was already pretty, and now she knows how to make money, cook, and nothing seems to stump her.

If I were a man, I’d want to marry her too.

You better keep a close eye on her, Big Brother. Don’t let someone else steal her away or you’ll be crying with nowhere to cry.”

Of course Ji Jingxuan knew that. But there had never been any emotional foundation between them—only mutual dislike.

Now, it wasn’t that he wanted a divorce anymore—it was that he was afraid of it.

He didn’t know if one day she might suddenly bring it up again. These days, he treaded carefully every single day, terrified that she’d remember he once suggested divorce.

Meanwhile, Chu Xiaoqi wandered around the edges of the chestnut grove, digging up medicinal herbs. Because of the wild boar incident yesterday, she didn’t dare venture too far.

It wasn’t that she feared danger for herself—she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to rush back in time if the Ji siblings ran into trouble.

Yanwang Mountain had never suffered from human destruction; it was covered in wild herbs, some good, some not so useful.

Before long, she had filled her entire basket.

She sat down to rest for a bit before heading back, idly scanning the surroundings. She was on a small hill, from where she could see the Ji siblings below.

She couldn’t see behind her or across the river, which meant this Yanwang Mountain was actually quite vast. She’d need to explore it more while the snow hadn’t fallen yet—see if there were any hidden treasures around.

Once the snow hit, getting in would be impossible.

Just as she was squinting into the distance, analyzing the terrain, something suddenly flew right past her face—it moved fast, and she didn’t even get a good look at it.

She remained seated and completely still.

Moments later, a brilliantly colored wild pheasant strutted proudly right past her.

Quick as lightning, she grabbed it by the neck and held it up, then knocked it out cold with her hoe.

What the heck… Was the wildlife in Yanwang Mountain too arrogant, or just missing a few brain cells? It had actually dared to strut past her like she wasn’t there.

Walking past her so nonchalantly—clearly, it was offering itself as a bonus meal.

She tossed the pheasant on top of the herbs in her basket, then headed down the mountain in a great mood.

When she got back to the chestnut grove, Ji Jinglan had already taken her basket of chestnuts to the riverbank. Ji Jingxuan was sitting alone on a large rock in the grove, playing absentmindedly with a piece of foxtail grass.

Seeing Chu Xiaoqi return, he quickly got up to take the basket off her back.

“You caught another wild pheasant in just that short time?” Ji Jingxuan asked in surprise.

Chu Xiaoqi nodded. “Mm-hmm, it ran right into my hands—would’ve been a waste not to catch it.”

Ji Jingxuan’s eyes widened. He looked unconvinced. “I’ve been sitting here all this time, and not a single pheasant ran into my hands.”

“That just means I’ve got better luck than you.” Chu Xiaoqi grinned and slung her hoe over her shoulder, striding off toward the riverbank with exaggerated swagger.

Ji Jingxuan chuckled and followed after her, laughing as he said, “Yes, yes, you’ve got the best luck.”

The two chatted and laughed as they walked toward the river, and from a distance, they heard Ji Jinglan clapping and shouting excitedly:
“Second Brother, you’re amazing!
Over there—over there!
There’s a big one!”