For several days, the Zhao family took turns showing up at Bai Qianqian’s door, offering to fetch water and deliver firewood. But she refused to let them in.
The snow outside was falling harder now. As Qianqian opened her door, a sudden chill made her shiver. She worried that Li Niang’s carriage might not be able to get through today, but she still had to get the brown sugar jujube cake steamed.
Hmph! They just won’t give up, she thought, hearing movement from the Zhao family’s direction. She knew they were trying to sneak a peek and learn her recipe again. She hurried to prepare the ingredients.
*
“Hmph! Why are we up so early? It’s freezing. No one will come to buy Madam Bai’s cakes in this weather,” Madam Lin grumbled from under her covers.
“Get up, you fool!” the eldest Zhao son snapped. “If we learn that recipe, you’ll be the biggest contributor! Mother will treat you like a queen. And Yang’er—he might even become more successful than our third son! Now go on, get up!”
Though his words sounded encouraging, he remained wrapped in his own quilt, refusing to budge.
Once she was dressed, Madam Lin went to wake Zhao Chengshuang. “Chengshuang! Are you ready yet?”
“Stop rushing me! I’m almost done!” Chengshuang snapped back, before picking up a jar of face cream to apply to her skin.
Madam Lin shivered in the cold outside as Zhao Chengshuang finally opened the door.
Seeing the smooth, greasy sheen of the face cream on Chengshuang’s skin, Madam Lin gnashed her teeth in frustration. But she quickly reminded herself there were more important matters at hand and suppressed the urge to scold her daughter.
By the time the two women reached the kitchen, Bai Qianqian had already set the brown sugar jujube cake to steam. They hadn’t seen a single thing.
“Second Sister-in-law,” Chengshuang complained, “why did you start so early? We were coming to help you!”
“If I’d waited for you, the cakes would’ve been long gone,” Bai Qianqian shot back. “I already told you that I didn’t need your help. Now stop getting in my way.”
Watching their wounded expressions, Qianqian sneered internally. The Zhao family really thought a few days of firewood and buckets of water would magically repair their relationship? How laughable.
“Sister-in-law, you’ve been up so early,” Madam Lin cooed, trying to steer Qianqian away from the stove. “Why don’t you go back inside and rest? We can handle things here.”
Her plan was simple: get Qianqian out of the kitchen so she and Chengshuang could keep an eye on the stove. Better yet, if Qianqian fell back asleep, they could be the ones to handle the delivery when the customer arrived.
“No,” Bai Qianqian snapped, her patience fraying. “You won’t get the heat right. Stop being a nuisance or I’ll lose my temper!”
“We came here to help you out of the goodness of our hearts, and you have the nerve to throw us out?” Zhao Chengshuang fumed. “How ungrateful!”
Calling Bai Qianqian “Second Sister-in-law” had been her biggest concession.
She’d dragged herself out of bed early to help, only to be met with a cold shoulder and a direct order to leave. This time, she couldn’t hold back.
“You think I don’t know what you’re up to?” Bai Qianqian retorted. “Let me be clear: I will never give you the recipe, and I will never teach you how to make it. Give up on that idea once and for all!”
“Sister-in-law, we’re all family!” Madam Lin interjected, trying to smooth things over. “Saying such things is truly disheartening. Chengshuang is young and doesn’t know how to speak properly. As her elder sister-in-law, you shouldn’t take her words to heart. We really did come to help you, so there’s no need to lose your temper like this…”
Seeing that her daughter was about to start another war with Bai Qianqian, Madam Lin stepped in to lecture her. After all, as the eldest daughter-in-law of the Zhao family, she felt it was her right to admonish the younger one.
“I can’t be as generous as you, Sister-in-law,” Bai Qianqian snapped, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “You’re the one who puts up with your sister-in-law’s tantrums at home, and you even handed over the cotton shoes I embroidered for Zhao Anyang just to cover for her lies. You’re certainly a virtuous and generous one, aren’t you?”
She didn’t hold back, throwing the previous incident in Madam Lin’s face to remind her exactly why she was so angry.
Madam Lin’s expression darkened, the memory of Zhao Chengshuang’s actions filling her with a fresh wave of disgust.
“What’s with that face, Sister-in-law?” Zhao Chengshuang snapped. “I didn’t beg you to take those shoes out of the house! Besides, Father gave you fifty wen for them!”
She couldn’t believe Madam Lin was still nursing a grudge over a single pair of shoes. The woman was unbelievably petty.
“And why shouldn’t that money have been mine?” Madam Lin retorted, her voice rising. “I do all the heavy lifting around the house while you do nothing but gather pigweed. I’ve never seen a girl as lazy as you!”
The more Zhao Chengshuang argued, the more furious Madam Lin became.
Bai Qianqian watched them trade insults until their faces were crimson, making no effort to kick them out. She simply enjoyed the show.
Finally, Zhao Chengshuang, unable to bear Madam Lin’s accusations, stormed off to find Old Madam Zhao to complain. Only then did the drama end.
“We sent you two to learn the recipe, yet you come back empty-handed after fighting with each other?” Old Master Zhao scoffed. “You’re absolutely hopeless.”
“How is this our fault?” Zhao Chengshuang argued. “Madam Bai guarded that recipe like a hawk! We wasted our time chopping firewood for her for nothing!”
“Since we can’t get anything out of Madam Bai, we’ll have Yang’er play with Yao’er more often,” Old Master Zhao said.
“They’re young, but they still see and hear a lot. Maybe we can get some information from the boy.” He didn’t even look at Zhao Chengshuang and Madam Lin as he spoke, knowing full well he could never rely on the two of them.
*
Bai Qianqian had assumed the carriage from town wouldn’t be able to make it today. Her brown sugar jujube cake were already steamed and ready; normally, the carriage would have arrived to collect them by now.
Yet, an hour later, the sound of galloping hooves echoed outside.
“Lady Bai!” the driver called out as he stepped down from the carriage. “After this pickup, my shopkeeper says he won’t be back until after the New Year. I’ve bought all the grain you asked for, and the shopkeeper also sent this as a New Year’s gift.”
He unloaded two bags of grain, some spices, and a box of assorted pastries.
Bai Qianqian hadn’t expected the driver to brave such heavy snow to get her supplies. Grateful for his trouble, she gave him a piece of cured meat and asked him to deliver the remaining basket of cured meats and sausages to Li Niang as a gift.
After loading the last of the cakes onto the carriage, the driver quickly drove away.
Bai Qianqian carried the supplies inside, ignoring the envious and jealous glares of the onlookers.
“That woman Bai is truly unfilial,” Old Madam Zhao spat, her eyes glued to the goods. “Not a single thing sent our way.”
“Just wait until Second Brother returns,” Zhao Chengshuang said. “He’ll teach her a lesson!” Unable to touch Bai Qianqian herself, she could only pin her hopes on Zhao Chengwu’s swift return.
Thud!
Bai Qianqian slammed the door shut, blocking the prying eyes from outside.
She took stock of their provisions: cured meat and sausages, white flour, rice, and coarse grains. For vegetables, they only had the dried wild greens she’d gathered, the pickled mustard greens and preserved vegetables bought from Auntie Liu, and the wild yams she’d dug up earlier.
Combined with the ten taels of silver she’d earned from selling the brown sugar jujube cake and Candied Winter Melon, they had more than enough to comfortably last the winter.
Still, Bai Qianqian couldn’t afford to be complacent. Many villagers had watched her sell her pastries, and the Zhaos weren’t the only ones scheming. Now that everyone knew she’d broken ties with them, others might harbor their own opportunistic ideas.
She had to stay vigilant.