Lard mixed with rice, in her past life, young Li Jiaojiao had eaten plenty of it. Lard was fragrant, and with just a pinch of salt, even without any side dishes it was delicious. She finished a bowl and urged Wang shi to hurry up and eat too.
Wang shi didn’t quite dare. “Your grandmother told you to eat it, if I eat well too… your grandmother will get angry again!”
“She won’t get angry!” Li Jiaojiao said with certainty. “Mother, ten taels of silver, do you know how much that can buy?”
Once Wang shi finished eating, she cleaned the kitchen spotless before finally stepping out.
On her way back to the room, Wang shi vaguely spotted a figure hurrying out through the courtyard, from the shape, it looked like a woman. She looked back at the two rooms nearby, both already dark, who could it be at this hour?
Wang shi walked forward, meaning to call out to her, but before she could, the figure had already run straight out.
Back in the room, Wang shi mentioned it to Li Jiaojiao, who gave a cold laugh. “Who else could it be? Besides my dear Third Aunt, who else would it be?”
Li Jiaojiao had taken the things Wan Yuxiu had given her and sold them, being the loyal little lapdog she was, of course Hu shi would rush off to report it to her.
“Jiaojiao, if she finds out you didn’t use those things, will she, will she come after you again?”
Li Jiaojiao’s smile faded, that was quite possible indeed. She stood up and said to Wang shi and Li Qiao, “Mother, I’ve been thinking… why don’t we earn a bit more?”
Hearing this, Wang shi waved her hands in alarm. “Oh no, don’t! We sold it for twelve taels, and you told your grandmother ten, that nearly scared me to death as it was! Jiaojiao, don’t try to trick your grandmother, she’s not stupid. If she finds out we’ve been hiding a private stash, we’ll be in real trouble!”
Seeing Wang shi’s face gone pale with fright, Li Jiaojiao’s smile faded at once. She’d only meant to tease Wang shi a little, but seeing her this frightened stirred up a pang of guilt.
“All right!”
Seeing Li Jiaojiao agree, Wang shi let out a breath of relief and urged her, “You two, brother and sister, get to bed quickly! Your Third Aunt, well, she just loves people with money. To be honest, that’s not so strange in itself, it’s just that she looks down on us so much, and yet insists on living under the same roof with us!”
Li Jiaojiao pursed her lips, snobbery was a sickness, and sicknesses ought to be cured!
That night, no sooner had Li Jiaojiao lain down than the vessel spirit’s voice sounded in her mind. She immediately sat up, gripped the coin, and slipped into the space.
The small, fluffy white creature stood there with its paw raised imperiously. “How did I end up with such a dim-witted host? I am the Eight Treasures Imperial Coin, this one is not only of noble standing, but has existed for so long I don’t even know how many years I’ve lived myself… and a little bit of oleander, and you didn’t even think to ask me, running off to the pharmacy in town instead?”
Li Jiaojiao raised an eyebrow slightly. To be honest, she’d completely forgotten she even had a space, so naturally it hadn’t occurred to her to ask this all-knowing vessel spirit either!
“Hmph, next time something like this happens, remember to ask me more!”
Seeing the vessel spirit puff itself up proudly, Li Jiaojiao couldn’t resist crouching down and grabbing it into a hug, rubbing it vigorously a couple of times, the fluffy little thing felt wonderful to touch, it was just too much fun!
“Stop rubbing me, do you know who this one is? How dare you, how insolent!”
Reluctantly, Li Jiaojiao let it go and clapped her hands. “Of course I dare. All right, I’ll remember. In a bit, I’ll bring these herbs out to dry!”
When Li Jiaojiao crouched down to pick up the rehmannia, her eyes suddenly lit up, the rehmannia, once of only mediocre quality, now gleamed a deep, glossy black. Even in the gray, misty space, it seemed to catch the light faintly, and not only that, it had already dried out completely, top-grade quality now!
Early the next morning, the moment Li Jiaojiao got up, she saw Hu shi standing under the eaves cracking sunflower seeds. Seeing her open the door, Hu shi couldn’t resist a jab. “Jiaojiao, you really know how to waste money! Do you have any idea how much that cosmetic case was worth? Selling it for ten taels, that’s something other people would beg for and never get, and here you are, blessed and not even knowing it!”
Li Jiaojiao looked up, and seeing the envy and jealousy mixed in Hu shi’s eyes, couldn’t help pressing her lips together in a smile. “Third Aunt, what do you mean by that?”
Hu shi gave a cold laugh. “Nothing, just saying. If it were me, and someone thought that highly of me, I wouldn’t go and pawn off their heartfelt gift like that. If word got out, how embarrassing that would be…”
Li Jiaojiao rolled her eyes, then looked around and spotted Deng shi coming out from the back yard carrying a large wooden bucket. She hurried over to Deng shi. “Grandmother, come here quick! Third Aunt just said I pawned the cosmetic case for money to give you because I look down on Chen Xuan’s wife, that I don’t know a good thing when I see it! She also said it was Chen Xuan’s wife’s heartfelt gift, Grandmother, did I do something wrong?”
Hu shi trembled all over in fright and immediately turned to Deng shi. “No, Mother, I, how could someone my age say something so thoughtless? Mother, I just saw Father heading out, let me go get ready and head out to work too!”
Deng shi shot Hu shi a cold glance and pointed at the wooden bucket in her hand. “Your father, at his age, still has to go work on the mountain. This is chicken manure I’ve saved up for over half a year, you’re carrying it up the mountain for the planting.”
Li Jiaojiao couldn’t help a cold laugh as she watched Hu shi walk off.
Deng shi glanced at Li Jiaojiao and dusted off her hands. “Jiaojiao, the work up the mountain is heavy today, and your mother needs to go up too. You and Qiaoqiao stay home and cook today. I’ve cut off a piece of cured pork, stir-fry some meat, give everyone a treat!”
Once Deng shi and the others had gone up the mountain, Li Qiao took Li Jiaojiao’s hand into the kitchen, where a wooden basin sat on the stove, holding the rice Li Jiaojiao was to cook today, along with the meat she’d stir-fry in a bit.
This time, Deng shi hadn’t skimped on the grain, a large basin’s worth, to be rinsed clean and steamed in the pot.
Cured pork was hard to wash clean. Li Qiao, with his small strength, scrubbed away for a long time without getting it clean.
Once Li Jiaojiao had set the rice to steam, she sat down to wash the cured pork. “Qiaoqiao, go pull up a handful of garlic sprouts, and get some white radish and cabbage too, while you’re at it!”
Young as Li Qiao was, a country child naturally knew how to work, and he took a basket and headed off to the vegetable garden out back.
Li Jiaojiao felt a bit anxious, she wanted to finish cooking quickly so she could make a trip into town. The rehmannia in her space was at least six or seven catties, and at two taels of silver a catty, seven catties would be fourteen taels of silver!
Thinking of the silver she’d have saved up, Li Jiaojiao felt her future looked bright indeed!
She scraped the thick layer of black grime off the surface of the cured pork with a knife, rinsed it twice more, then sliced it and put it in a large bowl.
Li Qiao came back with the vegetables he’d picked, and Li Jiaojiao hurried to clean them too, washing and shredding the radish, cutting the garlic sprouts into segments. Once everything was ready, she began cooking.
The cured pork was tough, so before stir-frying it, it needed to be boiled in water first. Once the cured pork was cooked through and the moisture had evaporated off, only then did she start stir-frying it.