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For lunch, Zhucui and Chengmao prepared a simple noodle dish – a basic noodle stir-fry.
They cooked minced meat with rehydrated dried soybeans, creating a savory topping for the smooth and tender noodles. It was a typical homemade dish.
While Zhucui’s culinary skills were decent, the noodle dish wasn’t extraordinary but had a comforting taste. Paired with braised pork head meat brought from home, everyone enjoyed a hearty meal.
In the afternoon, Song Jingyun went to the academy to study, while Jiang Mixia familiarized Zhucui and Chengmao with the house, detailing their daily tasks and explaining her and Song Jingyun’s routines.
The next day, Jiang Mixia took the siblings to explore the nearby streets, introducing them to the neighborhood, including the shops, restaurants she frequented, and the location of the Wende Academy for future errands.
Attentive to Jiang Mixia’s instructions, Zhucui and Chengmao listened carefully, making mental notes for future reference.
After about three to four days, the siblings had become familiar with their surroundings, and they could now run errands in the area smoothly as instructed by Jiang Mixia.
If they encountered places they hadn’t been to before, they no longer felt fearful. After all, when in doubt, they could always ask for directions.
Seeing Zhucui and Chengmao diligently and earnestly carrying out their tasks, with a willingness to adapt when necessary, Jiang Mixia was pleased with their work ethic.
Through the adjustment period of these days, Zhucui took charge of household tasks while Chengmao handled outdoor responsibilities. As siblings, their coordination was quite harmonious.
For lunch, Chengmao was tasked with buying marinated goose, braised shredded pork, Dongpo pork, and a pot of cabbage soup from the restaurant to accompany the steamed rice prepared by Zhucui.
Chengmao was already very familiar with the route to the restaurant, and due to his frequent visits over the past few days, the staff recognized him and packed the prepared dishes into a food container for him.
Despite being only twelve years old, Chengmao was large in stature, resembling someone fifteen or sixteen years old. He possessed considerable strength, easily carrying the weighty food container without spilling a drop of soup.
Walking back from the restaurant through the alley, Chengmao encountered Mrs. Niu.
Due to losing a front tooth, Mrs. Niu had been staying indoors lately and avoided conversations. However, enticed by the lunch hour, she ventured out to take advantage of the cheaper prices from vendors selling vegetables after a morning of selling.
Initially walking with her head down, Mrs. Niu caught a whiff of the delicious food scent and couldn’t resist looking up, spotting Chengmao approaching.
Unfamiliar with Chengmao, Mrs. Niu, wary of his towering figure in the narrow alley, cautiously inquired, “Who are you looking for?”
With a lisp due to the missing tooth, Niu Shi’s speech was unclear, leading Chengmao to misinterpret her question, “I don’t want chili peppers.”
This caused Mrs. Niu to pause, then realizing the misunderstanding due to her speech impediment, she felt a mix of frustration and urgency, trying to remain calm, and asked slowly, “Which… house… are… you… looking… for?”
“Oh, you were asking which house I’m looking for,” Chengmao finally understood, pointing towards his home, “I’m not looking for anyone’s house, I’m going home. See, my house is over there.”
As he spoke, Chengmao gestured in the direction of his home.
Following Chengmao’s gesture, Mrs. Niu spotted Jiang Mixia and Song Jingyun’s house.
“Are you… related to her family?” she inquired.
“No,” Chengmao shook his head, “I’m a servant in Lady Jiang and Lord Song’s household. My name is Chengmao.”
A servant?
Mrs. Niu glanced down and noticed the heavy food container Chengmao was carrying, recalling Song Jingyun’s mention of hiring help for Jiang Mixia, who often went out to buy food.
Initially angered by this revelation, upon further reflection, Mrs. Niu realized that Song Jingyun’s statement was likely to save face and assert authority, possibly intending to provoke Jiang Mixia.
However, considering the cost of hiring a servant, which required a significant sum of silver coins for wages and monthly expenses, Mrs. Niu understood the financial burden involved in such a decision.
Unexpectedly, Song Jingyun had indeed hired a servant, tasking Chengmao with running errands to purchase meals from the restaurant for Jiang Mixia.
Truly exasperating!
Mrs. Niu stomped her foot, shot Chengmao a fierce look, then turned around and slammed the door shut with a loud bang.
The force of the slam shook off the dust from the top of the door, causing it to flutter down like a soft rain.
Bewildered, Chengmao scratched his head, wondering if he had said something wrong.
Did he say something wrong?
He couldn’t recall anything.
Why was that person so angry?
How strange…
Perplexed by the encounter, Chengmao was so taken aback that even as he approached the house carrying the food container, he couldn’t help but glance back a couple of times.
“What are you looking at?” Jiang Mixia was in the yard tending to the plants, ensuring they survived the winter. Seeing Chengmao gazing around at the door, she asked.
“I just met a strange person.”
Chengmao recounted the incident with Mrs. Niu to Jiang Mixia in detail, concluding with, “That person was really strange, speaking with a lisp as if missing a tooth, yet didn’t seem too old to have lost teeth.”
In any case…
Very peculiar!
Recently, Jiang Mixia had heard about Mrs. Niu losing a tooth, so upon hearing Chengmao’s story, she surmised the person he encountered was Mrs. Niu.
The reason for Mrs. Niu’s anger likely stemmed from the realization that they had indeed hired a servant.
As Chengmao described, Mrs. Niu was indeed an interesting character.
Spending more time worrying about others’ lives than her own.
Jiang Mixia shook her head, advising Chengmao and Zhucui that if they encountered Mrs. Niu in the future, they should not pay too much attention to her. However, if Mrs. Niu said anything annoying or hurtful, they should stand up for themselves and not allow any mistreatment.
Although Zhucui and Chengmao didn’t fully understand the reasons behind Jiang Mixia’s instructions, they trusted her judgment. If she asked them to act a certain way, they believed she had a valid reason for it. They didn’t need to ask questions; they simply followed her guidance.
Moreover, since they were in good hands with their main household, if Jiang Mixia said they could stand up for themselves, it implied that Mrs. Niu wasn’t a kind person.
On the other hand, Mrs. Niu, feeling frustrated in the courtyard, decided to stay indoors to avoid encountering any more upsetting situations.
However, the thought of the market vendors possibly selling out of vegetables by afternoon made her reluctantly venture outside to purchase some.