An ordinary person seeing this gaze would likely be startled, then wonder if the child was possessed.
But Lu Runrun noticed the deviation in Qian Jinniang's line of sight. Standing by the window, she looked left and right, and suddenly noticed something new below the window. It turned out a swallow from somewhere was carrying mud, building a nest along the crevice beneath the window frame.
This swallow was rather lazy; spring was nearly over before it started nesting, and it had only built a small half. The new mud was still wet.
Moreover, compared to other swallow nests, it clearly used much less mud, supplementing with many straw fragments to reduce the number of mud-carrying trips. But precisely because of this, its nest differed in shape from others. Other swallows built nests resembling half a bowl, narrow at the bottom and gradually widening upward, while this one… was crooked and sloppy.
It looked as if it might fall down at any moment.
Seen this way, perhaps this swallow wasn't lazy but simply unskilled at nest-building. It might have lost its nest twice already and was now diligently starting over.
Thinking this, Lu Runrun's gaze toward the swallow instantly turned sympathetic, though she couldn't help shaking her head. Diligently toiling in vain—this swallow was pitiful, yet also somewhat comically endearing.
After understanding the reason, when Lu Runrun looked at Qian Jinniang again, she realized that although the girl appeared expressionless, subtle emotional fluctuations could still be detected on her still-childish face. For instance, when the swallow carried more straw, her distinct black-and-white eyes clearly shifted slightly. Lu Runrun keenly discerned the underlying worry behind that tiny movement.
Although the Qian Family rented a house from Lu Runrun's family, because the connecting door was locked, they usually only encountered each other occasionally in the alleyway. Thus, she hadn't seen the Qian Family members often.
This was the first time she observed Qian Jinniang so attentively. Around eight or nine years old, she wore a peach-pink cloth headscarf, her hair styled into a "bao ji" bun divided into left and right sections. The ribbons tying the buns hung down on both sides, swaying in the wind—a hairstyle that emphasized liveliness and charm. This style was typically worn by older children, and only those with servants to attend them, as it was much more troublesome than the casually tied double-hanging buns or the common child's topknot.
Qian Jinniang's clothing was also conspicuously bright: a red Moxiong (chest wrap), an orange-red Beizi (long outer coat) with a front opening, and a goose-yellow skirt.
It was evident that Madam Qian cared deeply about Qian Jinniang's appearance.
Yet despite such meticulous dressing, Qian Jinniang as a whole still lacked the innocent liveliness typical of children her age.
Her eyes were large, but her pupils scarcely moved, almost fixed on one spot. No amount of noise could attract her attention. Her face was expressionless, and because she hardly spoke, her lips remained tightly pressed together.
Her quietness gave an impression not of obedience, but of peculiarity.
However, compared to what Nanny Chen called "sinister," Lu Runrun instead sensed that she must be very intelligent, seemingly more focused than other children her age.
The alleyway below the window remained noisy. The newly risen sun cast slanting light under the eaves and white walls, which were already stained by wind and rain. Leaning against the freshly painted red window frame, Lu Runrun held a bowl of botuo noodles, idly stirring them while watching Qian Jinniang.
When Qian Jinniang truly looked at her, she smiled calmly, even picking up her bowl and raising it slightly, not at all bothered by Qian Jinniang noticing her direct gaze, until Qian Jinniang slowly averted her eyes.
The noisy voices and scattered groups of people became nothing more than an ignored backdrop.
It wasn’t until Nanny Chen appeared, carrying two catties of mutton tied with straw rope, that the argument finally came to an end, her presence alone drowning out the quarreling voices.
When Nanny Chen entered, besides the mutton and spring onions, she was also holding three large strings of coins. Her face was full of triumphant joy, as if returning from a victory, and she said proudly, “Finally managed to catch her! She dared show her face in front of you even though she owed several days of house-rent fee.
“Young lady, look—three guan! If we didn’t press her, letting her delay a few days every month, she’d practically be cheating us out of a whole month’s rent.
“Where’s your mother? Still asleep, I suppose. Never mind, let her sleep. She must be tired from all the worrying and hard work.
“I saw the breakfast vendor parked under your window. You’ve already eaten breakfast, right? Perfect, we’ll have lunch a bit later—I’ll stew some mountain-style mutton for you! Look, fresh leg of mutton. I specially went to the butcher’s stall at Dunyi Fang Bridge Market yesterday and asked them to save this for us.”
Lu Runrun came downstairs and asked curiously, “Don’t we have a butcher’s stall in our own neighborhood market? There’s even a new meat stall set up in the alley. Why go all the way to Dunyi Fang?”
Mentioning the meat stall in the alley, Nanny Chen pursed her lips and waved her hand dismissively. “What kind of stall is that? They’re selling conscience, not meat! Short on weight, and the meat isn’t fresh. As for the butcher’s stall in our neighborhood market, the owner went back to the countryside to get married, and who knows when he’ll return.”
Lu Runrun let out an “oh” and didn’t ask further.
These household matters weren’t really her responsibility, so she didn’t worry much about them.
She needed to first try making a batch of pine pollen cakes.
She had to test the recipe and taste the results before making a large batch according to the instructions. Otherwise, if anything went wrong, an entire bag of pine pollen would be wasted, and buying more might not be possible in time.
Lu Runrun carefully washed her hands under the water flowing from the bamboo pipe in the courtyard, even using a soap ball to scrub them.
Looking at the soap ball in her hand, Lu Runrun couldn’t help but find it amusing. After transmigrating to ancient times, aside from the lack of a mobile phone, her quality of life hadn’t declined too much.
There were bamboo pipes similar to modern water systems, channeling fresh water from outside the city into storage ponds within the city, where lime was added to settle impurities. The water was then directed through bamboo pipes to flow into countless households. There were also soap balls like this one for personal hygiene and cleaning.
Of course, part of it was due to her fortunate rebirth into a good family this time.
Even in Bianjing, not every household had bamboo pipes—many still had to queue at wells to fetch water. To continue living this kind of life, she still had to work hard at learning culinary skills. Having a skill to rely on was essential.
Lu Runrun shook the water droplets from her hands, reinforcing her determination to learn cooking.
She walked into the kitchen, ready to start making pine pollen cakes.
Thanks to Tan Xianniang’s identity as a professional female chef, and the fact that this kitchen was built later, the room was quite spacious. The stove had space for two pots, and several iron pots of different sizes along with a stack of steamers were placed in the corner. In front of the stove was a bamboo stool, and behind it were two bundles of firewood, one of which was already a little less than half used.
Tan Xianniang wasn’t a chef known for extravagance, so the household didn’t own gold or silver kitchenware or dishes. Most of the utensils were made of iron or bamboo and wood, such as bamboo strainers and the like.
But if there were anything of value, it would be like the wall by the window where a rope was strung, hanging many cured meats. Two newly made ones occasionally dripped a few drops of oil, and Nanny Chen had deliberately placed two ceramic bowls underneath.
In the corner, there were also two wine jars sealed with rice husks and mud.
And there was a pinewood cabinet that took up about half the wall. Over time, the corners had chipped a bit, and inside were many jars of various sizes. A few drawers were locked, containing expensive spices. For example, pepper—one tael of pepper was worth one tael of gold—and if brought to the market, it would sell without any trouble.
The kitchen was so spacious that one felt comfortable upon entering. Near the door, there was a long table about the size of two Eight Immortals tables, with a height just below the waist.
Nanny Chen had long since instructed Huan'er to tidy up. The table was free of clutter, clean and neat, with only the jar of honey Lu Runrun had requested and a bag of pine pollen placed on it.
Lu Runrun sat in front of the stove, first pouring some wood shavings into the stove, then opening the lid of the fire starter and blowing hard to revive the embers. She used the fire starter to ignite the wood shavings, then added firewood, and slowly the fire caught.
Next, she poured some water into the pot, added a bit of honey to a ceramic bowl, and steamed it over the water.
When the time was about right, she added some maltose candy to the honey, stirring until it melted. Then she took the ceramic bowl out of the pot, added pine pollen to it, stirring with a spoon as she added, until the pine pollen in the bowl reached a consistency that was somewhat clumpy and somewhat loose, and kneaded it by hand.
Then, she rolled it into strips, divided it into small portions, rolled them into balls, coated them with a layer of pine pollen, and pressed them with a wooden mold to form flower-shaped pine pollen cakes.
Compared to other pastries, the method for making pine pollen cakes was truly simple.
She picked up a finished piece and tasted it.
Hmm… a bit sour.
But it wasn’t unpleasant.
This sourness was similar to biting into a whole piece of preserved fruit in a pastry, mixed with the sweetness of the cake. It was sour with a hint of sweetness, and when savored, it carried a faint pine fragrance.
Lu Runrun finished the entire pine pollen cake in just a few bites. She clapped her hands, shaking off the crumbs, and wore a thoughtful expression.
It was still a bit too sour.
But pine pollen itself had a slight bitterness. To mask the bitterness, honey was added to bring out the sourness, which was unavoidable. She figured the amount of maltose candy wasn’t enough. After some thought, Lu Runrun found some powdered sugar and prepared to add it to try again.
She stood with her hands on her hips, glanced at the sky outside, and prepared to give it her all!
Finally, just before sunset, she succeeded in making the pine pollen cakes.
Not only did she add maltose candy and powdered sugar to balance the sourness, but she also made two types: one without filling, which was much less sour than the first batch, with a moderate sweet and sour taste, and another with filling, containing brown sugar and toasted sesame seeds, which tasted much sweeter, with the sesame seeds inside adding a fragrant chewiness.
This way, those who preferred sweetness and couldn’t tolerate any sourness could eat the filled ones, while those who liked a lighter taste could eat the unfilled ones.
Lu Runrun sprinkled sesame seeds on the filled pine pollen cakes, making them easy to distinguish.
Nanny Chen called her to hurry and eat dinner. Watching her eat with such relish, Nanny Chen smiled affectionately, her eyes brimming with satisfaction.
Nanny Chen didn’t forget to arrange the next day’s affairs. First, she asked Lu Runrun which outfit she would wear tomorrow so she could air it over the incense burner in advance. Then she told Lu Runrun to go to the Perfume House for a bath right after dinner, otherwise she would have to wait later when it got crowded. Since the next day was the fifteenth, many people planned to visit the temple and would certainly bathe that night.
Nanny Chen went on and on by herself. Lu Runrun was already used to her chattering. Having worked hard all day and made many pine flower cakes, she was now very hungry. She could only lower her head and eat dinner, unable to open her mouth, so she kept nodding.
The day passed in such a hurried and flustered manner.
The next day, when the sky was still a bit hazy and not fully bright, Nanny Chen was already standing at the door waiting for the sedan chair.
The sedan chair had been hired in advance. Not only that, she had also hired a porter specifically to carry the two large boxes of pastries, each nearly half a person’s height. Today was the fifteenth, and with so many people, how could they manage to carry the pastries and squeeze through the crowd without hiring a porter?
Lu Runrun hurried out, and Nanny Chen urged her into the sedan chair before locking the door.
Originally, Tan Xianniang should have gone with them today, but she had to visit a relative at the last minute, so only Nanny Chen and Lu Runrun went.
The sedan chair swayed slightly. Nanny Chen pressed Lu Runrun’s head against her shoulder, patted her back, and coaxed, “Lean on Grandmother’s shoulder and sleep for a while, dear. There’s still a way to go, no rush.”
Lu Runrun shook her head. “Forget it, I don’t want to be groggy when we enter the temple.”
She simply lifted the curtain and let the cold wind wake her up.
The closer they got to the Great Xiangguo Temple, the more people there were. By the time they got off the sedan chair at the temple gate, the crowd was so dense that Lu Runrun and Nanny Chen were almost separated. Fortunately, Nanny Chen had been holding Lu Runrun’s hand tightly.
The reason it was so crowded today was probably because it was the fifteenth and also coincided with the Great Xiangguo Temple’s monthly market, which was held five times a month.
However, once they squeezed into the temple, it was better. The Great Xiangguo Temple covered a vast area, and as they walked inside, it suddenly became spacious.
Only then could Nanny Chen pat her chest and catch her breath, wiping the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve. She sighed, “There are so many people today.”
But Lu Runrun noticed something else. Not only were there many people, but there were also many scholars, both young and old. She wondered, “Why are there so many scholars?”
It dawned on Lu Runrun belatedly. “It seems there hasn’t been a Zhuangyuan parade this year. Strange, why is the Imperial Examination System so late this year?”
Nanny Chen was well-informed. As soon as Lu Runrun asked, she looked as if she understood everything and began to talk at length. “Oh, I heard some great scholar fell ill, and the Emperor postponed the Provincial Examination just for him. All these Juren can’t leave, and those without money at home have taken lodging in temples.
“I heard many Juren have run out of money. Fortunately, the Emperor is benevolent and ordered the government to provide relief.
“Ah, when you think about it, studying is wonderful! If you pass the exams and become an official, and later even a prime minister, that would truly bring glory to the family!” Nanny Chen really liked scholars. As she spoke, a smile appeared in her wrinkled eyelids. She even looked at Lu Runrun and couldn’t help saying, “In my opinion, you should find a scholar in the future. Our family can afford to support him through the Imperial Examination System. When he becomes an official or even a prime minister someday, you’ll be granted the title of Imperial Noblewoman's Decree.”
Just thinking about that scene made Nanny Chen grin from ear to ear.
But Lu Runrun was very rational and said sternly, “How would a scholar be willing to enter a matrilocal marriage? I’m not some imperial relative or a princess.”
Nanny Chen couldn't bear to hear Lu Runrun belittle herself and immediately retorted unhappily, "There are plenty! Not just scholars, even officials have entered matrilocal marriages. Although our family's wealth isn't that great, we still have no worries about food and drink. What's wrong with inviting a scholar into a matrilocal marriage? That would be a blessing his ancestors cultivated for him."
In Nanny Chen's eyes, Lu Runrun was absolutely perfect in every way!
Author's Note: